Wrestle Kingdom 17 was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo Dome and was the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 17, with the second night taking place on January 21, 2023. It was the 32nd Tokyo Dome show held on January 4 and the 17th event under the Wrestle Kingdom name. It was broadcast on NJPW World. The event saw the NJPW debut of Mercedes Mone, formerly Sasha Banks from her time in World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE).
Production[]
Background[]
Held annually each year, New Japan Pro Wrestling's Tokyo Dome event on January 4 is the company's biggest and most prestigious event. On August 18, 2022, NJPW announced that Wrestle Kingdom 17 would take place on January 4, 2023, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The event commemorated NJPW's founder, Antonio Inoki, who passed away on October 1, 2022.
Storylines[]
From November 21 to December 14, NJPW held the World Tag League and Super Junior Tag League. In the World Tag League final, CHAOS (Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis), earning a match against IWGP Tag Team Champions FTR (Cash Wheeler and Dax Harwood) at Wrestle Kingdom. Meanwhile, in the Super Junior Tag League final, CHAOS (Lio Rush and YOH) defeated BULLET CLUB (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) to earn a match against IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Catch 22 (Francesco Akira and TJP) at Wrestle Kingdom.
At Historic X-Over, KAIRI defeated Mayu Iwatani in the final of the IWGP Women's Championship Tournament to become the inaugural IWGP Women's Champion. KAIRI was presented with the belt after the match, before announcing she would compete at Wrestle Kingdom. Tam Nakano would confront KAIRI, revealing she would challenge KAIRI at Wrestle Kingdom.
At Declaration of Power, NJPW president Takami Ohbari and TV Asahi representative Hiroyoki Mihira unveiled the NJPW WORLD Television Championship. The inaugural champion would be determined in a sixteen-man tournament that would conclude at Wrestle Kingdom. Zack Sabre Jr. advanced to the final after defeating EVIL in the semi-final, while Ren Narita defeated SANADA to advance to the final.
On December 14, 2022, Karl Anderson defeated Hikuleo to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship. After the match, Anderson declared that he would hold the title for eternity. Anderson was confronted by Tama Tonga, with a brawl breaking out between the two. As a result, it was announced that Anderson would defend the NEVER Openewight Championship against Tonga at Wrestle Kingdom.
At Declaration of Power, Master Wato, who was filling in for a sick KUSHIDA, defeated IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Taiji Ishimori in a non-title match. Following the match, both El Desperado and Hiromu Takahashi confronted Ishimori, taunting him for not being a fighting champion. Ishimori then announced he would defend his title in a Four Way Match against Wato, Desperado, and Takahashi at Wrestle Kingdom.
At Historic X-Over, IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay successfully retained against Shota Umino. Following the bout, Kenny Omega appeared in a video, stating that Ospreay was not a suitable replacement for him. Omega would challenge Ospreay to a match at Wrestle Kingdom, which Ospreay accepted.
At Dominion 6.12, Jay White defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. On August 18, Okada defeated Will Ospreay to win the 2022 G1 Climax. As a result, Okada earned the right to challenge Jay White in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Results[]
- Numbers in parentheses indicate the length of the match.
- (c) refers to the champion(s) heading into the match.
- Pre-Show: Ryohei Oiwa vs. Oleg Boltin ended in a Time Limit Draw (3:00)
- Pre-Show: Great-O-Khan, Shingo Takagi, SHO and Toru Yano defeated Aaron Henare, DOUKI, El Phantasmo, EVIL, Hikuleo, Jeff Cobb, KENTA, Mikey Nicholls, Rocky Romero, Ryusuke Taguchi, Shane Haste, Taichi, Tomohiro Ishii, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi in a New Japan Rambo Match to determine Provisional KOPW Championship challengers at New Year Dash (30:37)
- Satoshi Kojima, Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata defeated Minoru Suzuki, Tatsumi Fujinami & Tiger Mask in a Six Man Tag Team Match (9:10)
- Catch 22 (Francesco Akira & TJP) (c) defeated CHAOS (Lio Rush & YOH) to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (10:29)
- KAIRI (c) defeated Tam Nakano to retain the IWGP Women's Championship (5:47)
- Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated FTR (Cash Wheeler & Dax Harwood) (c) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship (10:10)
- Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ren Narita in the NJPW WORLD Television Championship Tournament Final Match to become the inaugural NJPW WORLD Television Champion (10:32)
- Tama Tonga (w/Jado) defeated Karl Anderson (c) to win the NEVER Openweight Championship (9:36)
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Keiji Muto & Shota Umino defeated Los Ingobernables de Japón (BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) in a Six Man Tag Team Match (9:20)
- Hiromu Takahashi defeated Taiji Ishimori (c), El Desperado and Master Wato in a Four Way Match to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship (16:43)
- Kenny Omega defeated Will Ospreay (c) (w/Aaron Henare, Francesco Akira Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb and TJP) to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship (34:38)
- Kazuchika Okada defeated Jay White (c) (w/Gedo) to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship (33:03)
