The biggest Wrestle Kingdom to date ended in tears for Okada in 2015
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Wrestle Kingdom 9 saw NJPW’s growth and thoughts to international expansion really begin. With the birth of NJPW World and a global pay-per-view audience, more eyes than ever saw an emotional rollercoaster of a main event.
After making his first challenge to Hiroshi Tanahashi at the Dome on January 4 2012, and falling to the Ace at Wrestle Kingdom 7, many thought that the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 9 would close a Tokyo Dome three year rivalry between Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. In the intervening two years since their last Big Egg clash, Okada held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship a huge 391 days, including a successful defense against Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 8. After losing the title at Dontaku 2014, Okada would bounce back and take his second G1 Climax in three years in the Seibu Dome that summer. Okada had well and truly arrived in the global top flight. The only thing that was missing was a main event Tokyo Dome victory, and one against the Ace.
The Rainmaker was an overwhelming favourite heading into the Tokyo Dome on January 4 2015, but Okada’s third reign was not to be at WK9. As Tanahashi taunted that Okada was ‘still a long way from IWGP worthy’, it was salt tears that were falling from the challenger’s face.
As memorable as Okada and Tanahashi’s clash was on January 4 2015, many more fans left with the enduring image of Shinsuke Nakamura’s legendary clash with Kota Ibushi. As Nakamura’s status only continued to grow alongside that of his IWGP Intercontinental Championship, Nakamura faced challenger after challenger before declaring, after beating Katsuyori Shibata at Power Struggle 2015, that he had ‘run the deck’.
It would be Ibushi, having officially turned his focus to heavyweight competition, making the response with a German suplex and an emphatic ‘Yeaoh!’. Nakamura accepted, and in the war of words that ensued, was derogatory towards Ibushi’s ‘graceless’ efforts in the independents and smaller promotions before stepping to the King of Strong Style. Ibushi was keen to prove a point to the man he held in godlike regard, and the result was one of the greatest bouts to take place on any January 4.
This was the second Wrestle Kingdom to see BULLET CLUB as a force in professional wrestling, but the face of the group had changed significantly in the 12 months since Wrestle Kingdom 8. Founder Prince Devitt was no longer a presence, and in his place was the Phenomenal AJ Styles. Entering NJPW in 2014 and instantly seizing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Styles, already a credible force internationally shot to instant Japanese stardom as well. His rapid ascent was a frustration to the Stardust Genius Tetsuya Naito, who faced AJ one on one at Wrestle Kingdom 9.
AJ’s shot out of the cannon momentum was one that Naito had lacked and struggled with, all the more so since his semi main event poll loss and defeat to Okada one year earlier. Naito would suffer another setback against the BULLET CLUB leader on January 4 2015 as well, but after a terrifying second rope Styles Cash ended Naito’s night, and set Styles on the path back to the IWGP gold, a switch flipped in Naito’s head, and the seeds were planted for an ingobernable transformation.
One year earlier at Wrestle Kingdom, Hirooki Goto returned to NJPW with an emotional battle against his teenage friend Katsuyori Shibata. The match ended with a Goto victory, and Shibata raising his hand in respect. That would lead to the two entering into World Tag League by the end of the year as ‘Meiyu (best friend) Tag’. The two would defeat IWGP Tag Team Champions Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows in the final of the tournament to win a rematch with the titles on the line, and Goto and Shibata perservered here as well, a rocket of a PK bringing the two friends the IWGP Tag Team Championships, albeit briefly.
