NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 - January 4, 2024

[Comrade Khan]

This new belt name is ....very very bad lol wtf is njpw even doing

 

[Comrade Khan]

IWGP Global Championship announced for Dome three way 【WK18】 | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Ospreay, Moxley, Finlay to battle for new title January 4Watch Wrestle Kingdom 18 LIVE and in English January 4 2024!International tickets on sale NOW for Wrestle Kingdom!The post World Tag League press conference on December 11 saw the face of ...

www.njpw1972.com

 

[Leon TrotSky]

TNA had a Global Title first

 

[Comrade Khan]

TNA had a Global Title first

But it was their world title yes?

My issue here is u have a world and a global title. Might as well have called it the universal title at this point lel

 

[Leon TrotSky]

But it was their world title yes?

My issue here is u have a world and a global title. Might as well have called it the universal title at this point lel

The Global Title was one of the many names of the belt that is best known as the TV Title. Its stipulation was that it could only be defended outside of the US against non-American wrestlers. This stip was abandoned after ONE match.

 

[Comrade Khan]

The Global Title was one of the many names of the belt that is best known as the TV Title. Its stipulation was that it could only be defended outside of the US against non-American wrestlers. This stip was abandoned after ONE match.

lol at the last line

and ok so this is actually very similar then, which is funny

In this case Chris Charlton on comms described it as : the world title has competitors travel across the world to challenge the champion, the global title has the champion travel the globe to defend it. Bless that man for trying

sounds like the impact global one was more akin to that Stardom belt though

 

[Comrade Khan]

it's just tragic to me that you had the IWGP HW - IWGP IC and IWGO US titles - and you got rid of them all

 

[Leon TrotSky]

Yeah I was thinking the SWA title but they were really specific about not defending on American soil either

Literally the first defence was in FLORIDA

 

[Comrade Khan]

Yeah I was thinking the SWA title but they were really specific about not defending on American soil either

Literally the first defence was in FLORIDA

 

[Chris]

IWGP Global Championship announced for Dome three way 【WK18】​

Ospreay, Moxley, Finlay to battle for new title January 4

Watch Wrestle Kingdom 18 LIVE and in English January 4 2024!
International tickets on sale NOW for Wrestle Kingdom!
The post World Tag League press conference on December 11 saw the face of January4’s three way battle between Jon Moxley, David Finlay and Will Ospreay change with the official introduction of a new title for the match.

After Finlay destroyed both the IWGP United States and United Kingdom Championships at Power Struggle in November, Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi announced that a new title would replace the IWGP US (UK) Championship designation. Today that title has officially been named the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, with this comment from Sugabayashi.

‘The IWGP US Heavyweight Championship came into being in July 2017 to mark NJPW’s first major event in the United States of America in Long Beach. After its introduction, it became the symbol of NJPW competition in the USA.

In the years that followed, the title would be defended in Japan, becoming familiar to Japanese fans as well. However, with the introduction of the IWGP UK Championship this summer, there was confusion among fans as to the status of the title.

With that in mind, this new championship combines and adds to the US and UK Championship roles, and will be called the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship. As has already been discussed in a recent business strategy presentation, NJPW is working to ensure that 2024 sees our presence grow not just in the UK and the US, but throughout all of Europe, the rest of Asia and Oceania.

With a mindfulness on the international space, there was discussion of renewing the defunct IWGP Intercontinental Championship, but as we see an entirely new level of international involvement, the IWGP Global Heavyweight name was decided to be the most fitting. We hope fans look forward to seeing the brand new title and the matches contested for it.

As a result, January 4’s three way at Wrestle Kingdom between Will Ospreay, Jon Moxley and David Finlay will officially determine the first IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion. Thank you’

​

Title For Title Tag Match official for Wrestle Kingdom 【WK18】​

NJPW STRONG, IWGP titles on the line January 4

Watch Wrestle Kingdom 18 LIVE and in English January 4 2024!
International tickets on sale NOW for Wrestle Kingdom!
After World Tag League 2023 saw Bishamon achieve an unprecedented threepeat with the tag trophies, and become the first champions to ever win the tournament, Hirooki Goto and YOSHI-HASHI had a clear request. After a war of a tournament final in Kumamoto, and with the scores between the teams level at a win apiece, the request was made for a rubber match with a lot of gold on the line.

January 4 will see Guerrillas of Destiny, Hikuleo and El Phantasmo granted one more shot at Bishamon, but have to put their own NJPW STRONG Tag titles on the line in order to do so. It’s winner take all at the Tokyo Dome- historically the IWGP Tag Team Championships have changed hands every year in the Dome since 2013, but by the same measure, the World Tag League winners have been victorious at every Wrestle Kingdom bar one in the last decade. Just who will emerge with all the gold January 4?​

 

[Chris]

I don't really mind the name even though it's just a less cool way of saying IC, and I do like Chris's explanation if they actually stick with it

But that's the worst graphic I've ever seen why does it look like Will is in a handicap match

 

[Chris]

This seems to be the current card with the only thing I'm certain will be added is the pre-show KOPW ranbo. I'm pretty sure Shota vs Narita too but that might be a multi man and it probably ties into their match on the Jan 2 Noah show

• IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Tetsuya Naito
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
• Three-way match: Will Ospreay vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay to determine the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against El Desperado
• NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
• NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi defends against Tama Tonga
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defend against TJP & Francesco Akira
• Winner-takes-all Tag Team title match: IWGP Tag Team Champions Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Hikuleo & El Phantasmo
• Yuya Uemura vs. Yota Tsuji

 

[Comrade Khan]

pretty sick card

 

[Chris]

If only Henare could somehow take out Tama

 

[Apoho Creed]

Yeah Narita/EVIl vs Shota/Kaito has been added to the Card as well. Not gonna lie only a few Matches jump out at me to really care about. Okada vs Danielson, and the 3 Way for this new Global Title. Not to say I don't like the Matches but I've seen alot of the Matches the past few Years nothing different I've haven't seen multiple times before. No Women's or New Japan Strong Women's Title on the Card