NJPW Windy City Riot - April 11, 2025

[Chris]

Windy City Riot hits Wintrust Arena April 11!​

Hiroshi Tanahashi’s last US match

Friday April 11 will see NJPW return to Chicago and the Wintrust Arena for Windy City Riot! After an electric 2024 event saw Jon Moxley lift the AEW World Championship and much more besides, 2025 will see all the stops pulled out once more for the electric Chicago faithful.

Hiroshi Tanahashi will wrestle his final match in the USA on the card. The Ace’s incredible global legacy extends to many memorable bouts in the US as well, but this night will see him step in the ring for the final time ever on AMerican sopil. What will Tanahashi’s last American match be?

Tickets for this unmissable occasion go on special venue presale on THURSDAY January 16, with public on sale taking place FRIDAY January 17. Tickets moved fast for last year’s event- don’t miss out!

Windy City Riot TICKETS​

 

[Chris]

Two massive matches set for Windy City Riot!​

Tanahashi's last US match, Ironman match for STRONG title confirmed for April 11

The first two matches have been made official for Windy City Riot, and NJPW's return to Chicago on April 11. Last year, Chicago showed up in force for one of the most memorable events of 2024, and 2025 is sure to be just as hard fought-and emotional.

Windy City Riot April 11 Wintrust Arena Chicago TICKETS (pre sale January 16, on sale January 17!)

Topmost in fans' minds heading into this Chicago event will be the final ever match on US soil for the Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi. From defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to winning IWGP United States gold in New Japan's return from the pandemic, to memorable outings in TNA, ROH and AEW, Tanahashi's legacy is indelible in America as it is Japan. With his last match coming up on January 4 2026 however, the final road for the Ace runs through Chicago for its last American stop, opposite the Alpha Konosuke Takeshita.

Way back in 2014, Tanahashi wrestled a then teenage prodigy Takeshita in DDT, and was far from charitable in his comments toward either Takeshita or his then home promotion following the match. The Ace's comments back then that the two 'didn't belong in the same conversation' would lit a fire that burned brightly in Takeshita, and saw his transformation from the 'The Future' to 'the Alpha' and now NEVER and AEW International Champion.

Takeshita will not let Tanahashi retire without taking out this pent up aggression on Tanahashi, and while this is a Final Road "Kinship" match for the Ace, feelings will be anything but friendly. In Chicago, Takeshita will seek to show he is erverything to the modern era that Tanahashi was to his own, and perhaps more.

Also official for Chicago is a rematch for Gabe Kidd and Tomohiro Ishii, under Ironman Match rules. At Battle in the Valley, an intense, wild fight for Ishii and Kidd saw both men at their hard hitting best, battling for the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship. As both men went the 30 minute distance with no decision rendered however, Kidd took a draw as good as a loss. Now, it might not be one fall that decides this issue for the Mad Man and the Stone Pitbull; under the Ironman Match rules, the most decisions rendered in the 30 minute time period will settle the bout and the fate of the STRONG gold. Should the two tie again however, sudden death will mean they will go as long as it takes. Who will leave the better man?​

 

[Chris]

Three bouts added to Windy City Riot! 【NJoA】​

More bouts set for Chicago card

Windy City Riot is mere weeks away, with anticipation building for April 11 in Chicago’s Wintrust Arena. Now with New Japan Cup in the books and Sakura Genesis fast approaching in Japan, more matches have been made for this huge event in the States.

Windy City Riot April 11 Wintrust Arena TICKETS
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In a rematch from the New Japan Cup semifinals, Zack Sabre Jr. faces Cup winner David Finlay. While this is a special singles match at the time of writing, the stakes of this contest could be raised significantly on April 5 at Sakura Genesis. Should Finlay win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, that title will be on the line here in Chicago, with Finlay seeking his first defence, and Sabre his second reign.

It was Finlay who stopped ZSJ in his tracks during the New Japan Cup, and halted the Briton's plans of getting back to the IWGP World Heavyweight title mix as soon as possible after his defeat at the hands of Hirooki Goto in Osaka this February. Finlay and Sabre's sensational semifinal bout has been hailed by many as the match of the tournament for New Japan Cup 2025, and the competition is sure to be just as intense in Chicago; in the meantime, ZSJ will be in the rare position of cheering for Finlay during the Sakura Genesis main event April 5.

Tag team action will see Rocky Romero and El Phantasmo form a surprising combination against LIJ's Titan and Tetsuya Naito. March 6 and Anniversary saw the last vestiges of any walls between CHAOS and Hontai eliminated, as CHAOS was formally absorbed into the NJPW main group. That means CHAOS stalwart Romero is now officially stablemates with ELP, and years of hostilities that have seen multiple epic bouts will be set aside as both focus on this special tag team bout. In the opposite corner, Titan and Naito will present their own dynamic approach, and ever the magpie, perhaps Rocky will be attracted to the IWGP tag title around Naito's waist should he and Hiromu retain on April 5 at Sakura Genesis.

The STRONG Tag Team Championships will also be on the line when the World Class Wrecking Crew, Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson face the returning Intergalactic Jet Setters. Two time IWGP Junior Heavyweight tag Champions, we haven’t seen KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight in NJPW rings since Wrestle Kingdom, and the Tokyo Terror Ladder Match. Both men might have Best of Super Jr. in mind in the month of May, but before that, could transition from junior heavyweight to openweight tag team success.​

 

[Kairi HoHo]

You already know who I want to win