Full Wrestle Kingdom 15 Card Announced, Juice Robinson Injured
Full Cards For Wrestle Kingdom 15
New Japan Pro Wrestling finalized the cards for both nights of 2021’s Wrestle Kingdom 15. The events will be headlined by a three-way dash for the IWGP Double Gold. January 4th will see Tetsuya Naito face G1 Climax winner Kota Ibushi for both IWGP belts, and then the winner of that match will go on to face Jay White on January 5th. White not only holds a win over Ibushi in this year’s G1 Clima, but he also won Kota Ibushi’s Tokyo Dome Challenge Contract back at Power Struggle in November.
The Empire’s Jeff Cobb looks to prove that his change in demeanor will mean more gold for the big Hawaiian, while his Empire cohorts face some legitimate legends. EVIL & SANADA clash for the first time since the G1 Climax. Also Master Wato gets a shot at IWGP gold, as he teams with Ryusuke Taguchi to face the IWGP Jr. Tag Champs.
Plus Taiji Ishimori faces the winner of a battle between the Best of Super Juniors 27 winner and the Super J-Cup 2020 winner, the New Japan Rumble returns, and a provisional KOPW 2021 trophy holder will be crowned.
Here are the cards for both nights. They will air LIVE on NJPWWorld.com.
1/4/2021
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15
Night 1
Pre-Show 1am EST, main card 2am EST
- Pre-Show: 22-Man New Japan Rumble (Final four participants advance to four-way match for KOPW 2021)
- Best of Super Junior 27 Winner vs. Super J-Cup 2020 Winner Match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
- IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) (c) vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
- IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Double Championships Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
1/5/2021
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 15
Night 2
3am EST
- Dark Match: STARDOM Match TBA
- KOPW 2021 Four Way Match (Participants determined by New Japan Rumble)
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Suzuki-gun (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado) (c) vs. Rysuke Taguchi & Master Wato
- NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
- SANADA vs. EVIL
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. (Winner of Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Desperado)
- IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Heavyweight Double Championships Match: (Winner of Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi) (c) vs. Jay White
Juice Robinson Injured, Will Miss Wrestle Kingdom 15
Juice Robinson is having a bad month. After losing the World Tag League Finals to Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa, the former-IWGP United States Champion has suffered another setback. A broken orbital bone will keep Juice Robinson from his originally scheduled bout with IWGP United States Championship Challenge Briefcase holder KENTA. The two were set to battle over who would face reclusive IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley.
At the final Road To Tokyo Dome show before Wrestle Kingdom, Satoshi Kojima laid down a challenge to KENTA. The former-IWGP Heavyweight Champion demanded to take Juice’s place. KENTA accepted in backstage comments, but no official announcement has been made yet.
Juice Robinson injured; to miss Road to Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom 15:https://t.co/CZU8yrH9QT#njpw #njwk15 pic.twitter.com/DVcyOpzToD
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 23, 2020