With Wrestle Kingdom marking the end of one year, and the start of another, there can be a lot of fans jumping in for the first time, or coming back after a long absence. Here’s everything you need to know about the matches on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 16:
ROBBIE EAGLES & TIGER MASK vs. ELP & TAIJI ISHIMORI vs. RYUSUKE TAGUCHI & ROCKY ROMERO
Robbie Eagles made the most of 2021. No other way to put it. Stranded in Australia for much of 2020, with ever-changing travel restrictions leaving the Junior Heavyweight stranded. He came into 2021 and not only won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship from El Desperado, but then became a double champion, winning the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship alongside Tiger Mask.
The two have been a solid unit, but now they face far more seasoned teams. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori are former champions, and while Taguchi & Romero have not held tag team gold alongside each other, Taguchi is a 6-time Jr. Tag Champion, while Romero is the most decorated Jr. Tag competitor in NJPW history, holding the title a record 8-times. A fast and furious opener is promised on Wednesday.
MAYU IWATANI & STARLIGHT KID vs. TAM NAKANO & SAYA KAIMITAMI
A spotlight match for NJPW’s sibling-promotion STARDOM. All four women come from the main factions in STARDOM: Tam Nakano from the Cosmic Angels, Saya Kamitani from Queen’s Quest, Starlight Kid from Oedo Tai & Mayu Iwatani from Stars. Worse for Iwatani, she has some kind of animosity with every woman in this match, her tag partner Starlight Kid included.
The NJPW/STARDOM relationship was announced when parent company Bushiroad purchased STARDOM in October of 2019. It has taken two years two get an official STARDOM match on a Wrestle Kingdom broadcast, due to the complicated politics of Japanese television rights. Sparks will definitely fly as STARDOM looks to get more eyes on their product with this showcase.
TORU YANO vs. MINORU SUZUKI vs. CHASE OWENS vs. CIMA
January 4th’s battle royal to determine the four men in this match was a fever dream. GLEAT star CIMA sharing the ring with NJPW legend Tatsumi Fujinami, it was a wild match.
CIMA survived and will now be the fourth man among a trio of NJPW stalwarts. Toru Yano has been KOPW two-years in a row, only losing the trophy to Chase Owens, who is also in the match, and Minoru Suzuki is a dangerous man, looking more to hurt people than actually win a trophy. Should be a very fun match.
NEXT PAGE: Preview Continued
