His final match is now on the horizon. There are no more dates or arenas to fill. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Kosei Fujita in his second-to-last match at the Road to Tokyo Dome tonight, the last NJPW show before Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th. It was his 1,596th career win. The event itself was the final New Japan outing before Wrestle Kingdom so you knew they were going to push all those hot angles and storylines.
Fujita starts the match in a disrespectful way. He slaps Tanahashi in the face and then throws him out of the ring. Fujita springboard off the ropes onto The Ace on the floor. Fujita gets a two count with a penalty kick back in the ring. Fujita works over The Ace’s leg, knee with various submission holds. A frustrated Fujita begins choking The Ace in a corner. The Ace fights back with a Slingblade. The Ace slams Fujita to the canvass. He gets a two count with a senton off the second rope. A springboard missile drop kick has The Ace down for two. Tanahashi turns things around with his butterfly lock. Fujita comes close to tapping but makes it to the ropes just in time.
Tanahashi kicks out of a bridging suplex. He also kicks out Fujita’s version of High Fly Flow. The fans cheer even louder for Tanahashi. Two Twists and Shouts takes the starch out of Fujita as does a Slingblade for a two count. Fujita moves out of the way of Tanahashi’s High Fly Flow. The Ace kicks out of another deadlift German suplex. The Ace ends a slugfest in the middle of the ring with Slingblade off the ropes and almost pins Fujita with his own suplex. The Ace pins Fujita with a body splash off the ropes and a High Fly Flow, his last in Korakuen Hall.
The United Empire’s new financial backer was revealed at the show. Before The United Empire’s match, commentator Chris Charlton talked about a rumour that The United Empire had a new investor.
The United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young) took on Unaffiliated Bullet Club (Hiromu Takahashi, Gedo and Shingo Takagi) in a match that was mostly a brawl on the floor with superstars being thrown into guardrails and Takagi even taking a chair to Khan’s throat. When the action heads back into the ring, Gedo has to battle Empire alone. Newman eventually puts him out of his misery winning the match for The Empire with David Finlay’s finisher: Overkill.
“Shut the f—k up! Here is my Christmas present to you, you dumb f–ks! I will give you one ‘X’!” said Newman referring to who will be joining and teaming with The United Empire.
The house lights go out and on the big screen is…Andrade!
“The Sombra (The Shadow or Shade) is back in Japan! I am not going to see Tanahashi. I have business all over the world but in Japan I have important business with my friends of The United Empire,” said Andrade.
Charlton called Andrade their “money man”.
“Their investor is Andrade El Idolo!” he said.
The Wrestle Kingdom card for January 4, 2026 at the Tokyo Dome, in Tokyo, Japan is:
Ranbo for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship
El Phantasmo (c) vs. Chris Brookes – NJPW World Television Championship Match
Saya Kamitani (Strong) vs. Syuri (IWGP) – Winner Takes All match for the IWGP Women’s Championship and Strong Women’s Championship.
Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd and Drilla Moloney) and Unaffiliated (Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, and Henare), Andrade El Ídolo and TBA
El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Sho – Four-way match to determine the #1 contender for IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship
Evil (c) (with Dick Togo and Don Fale) vs. Aaron Wolf – NEVER Openweight Championship Match
Konosuke Takeshita (World) vs. Yota Tsuji (Global) – Winner Takes All match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada – Tanahashi’s Retirement Match
Wrestle Kingdom is available on NJPW World, streaming service.
NJPW Road to Tokyo Dome Results
El Phantasmo (c) versus Ryusuke Taguchi – NJPW Television Championship Match
Gedo is dressed up as a reindeer. As ELP tries to roll-up Taguchi he grabs his pants…and we get to see his underwear. Poor Taguchi. The match goes on. Taguchi pulls his underwear to fashion a thong of sorts. He bounces off the ropes to give ELP a Funky Weapon butt attack but ELP gives him a reverse atomic drop instead. Taguchi nails his Bomaye. ELP kicks out. ELP pins him with a Canadian Hammer and after a roll-up battle, he pins Taguchi.
ELP issues an open challenge for Wrestle Kingdom. Santa arrives with a present for ELP. ELP opens it and there is some muppet doll inside. DDT’s Chris Brookes nails ELP from behind, throws the empty box at Gedo and kicks Santa in the face. He challenges ELP to a match for the title at Wrestle Kingdom. He kicks ELP in the stomach and delivers his Praying Mantis Bomb finisher.
“In 2026, the wrestling world changes and it begins with me taking the belt from you,” he says before leaving through the audience.
Winner: El Phantasmo
Boltin Oleg and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima and Tiger Mask
A returning Tomohiro Ishii accompanies Taichi, Satoshi Kojima and Tiger Mask to the ring. Oleg body splashes Tiger Mask in a corner. Hashi clotheslines him in the corner, super kicks him in the face. Bishamon holds up Mask for Shoto but this time Oleg splashes Mask as they hold him. Oleg pins Mask.
Taichi isn’t happy with Kojima. He shoves him. Kojima shoves him back. Ishii steps between them trying to play peacemaker. They put aside their differences and will work as a team during the Never Open Six Man Tag Team, championship ranbo at Wrestle Kingdom.
Winner: Boltin Oleg and Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)
Yoh, Yuya Uemura, Master Wato, Shota Umino and Toru Yano versus House of Torture (EVIL, Sanada, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi)
As the official is distracted, Dick Togo hits his chop from the top rope on Wato. Narita goes for the pin but Uemura saves the match. Uemura and Umino are pushed into the official sandwiching him, taking him out. Kanemaru, Sanada and Narita batter the heels with their whiskey bottle, guitar and push-up bar. Aaron Wolf stops Evil from nailing Wato with that championship belt. Dick Togo chokes him from behind. Evil hits Wolf in the head with the belt instead. Evil kicks Wolf out of the ring. Narita nails Wato with the push-up bar. Narita pins Wato. The House of Torture continues their beatdown as Dick Togo drags Wolf to the back.
DDT’s Kaisei Takechi dives into the ring attacking House of Torture. The numbers game is too much for him until Umino and Uemura jump back into the fray. Umino and Uemura ask Takechi to join their team during the ranbo at Wrestle Kingdom. Takechi agrees to team up with them.
Winners: House of Torture (EVIL, Sanada, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi
United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young) versus Hiromu Takahashi, Gedo and Shingo Takagi
Winners: United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Callum Newman and Jakob Austin Young)
House of Torture (Sho and Douki) versus Kuukai and El Desperado versus Taiji Ishimori and Daiki Nagai
Douki gets caught in Nagai’s Boston Crab. Douki grabs the official in a head lock. Sho hits Nagai in the head with the House of Torture black mirror. Douki pins Nagai.
Winners: House of Torture (Sho and Douki)
TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa) versus Yota Tsuji and Knockout Brothers (Oskar and Yuto-Ice)
Tsuji pins Jackson with a Geneblaster. Ice and Oiwa brawl outside the ring. Oiwa gets thrown into the ringside barricade and beaten down inside the ring. Zack jumps Ice with a sleeper. Oskar puts one on him. Zack gets Knocked Out. The champs stand over their challengers with the belts.
Winners: Yota Tsuji and Knockout Brothers (Oskar and Yuto-Ice)
Hiroshi Tanahashi versus Kosei Fujita
Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi
