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FIRST WRESTLE KINGDOM MAIN EVENT OFFICIAL, NAITO RETURNING, BEST OF SUPER JUNIORS, NOAH AND MORE FROM JAPAN

New Japan Pro Wrestling

New Japan Pro Wrestling held a press conference today to announce the first match for Wrestle Kingdom 16, the full field for its Best of the Super Juniors tournament and the in-ring return of a marquee star.

Shingo Takagi will attempt his fourth defense of the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against G1 Climax 31 winner Kazuchika Okada at the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 16 on January 4, 2022, in the Tokyo Dome.

The full field for this year’s Best of the Super Juniors is:

• BUSHI
• DOUKI
• El Desperado
• El Phantasmo
• Hiromu Takahashi
• Master Wato
• SHO
• Robbie Eagles
• Ryusuke Taguchi
• Taiji Ishimori
• YOH
• Yoshinobu Kanemaru

The full schedule is:

November 13 in Korakuen Hall
• Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. DOUKI
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Taiji Ishimori vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Robbie Eagles vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. Master Wato
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. SHO

November 15 in Korakuen Hall
• Kosei Fujita vs. Ryohei Oiwa
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Master Wato vs. Robbie Eagles
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. Taiji Ishimori

November 18 in Nagao Athletic Park Gymnasium
• Kosei Fujita vs. Yuto Nakashima
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. El Phantasmo
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Robbie Eagles vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. Master Wato

November 21 in Aichi Prefectual Gymnasium
• Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Master Wato vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. Robbie Eagles
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. Hiromu Takahashi

November 24 in Korakuen Hall
• Kosei Fujita vs. Ryohei Oiwa
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Master Wato vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Robbie Eagles vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: SHO vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. El Desperado
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. Hiromu Takahashi

November 27 in Fujisawa City Akibadai Cultural Gymnasium
• Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Master Wato vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. El Phantasmo
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. Robbie Eagles
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Taiji Ishimori

November 29 in Korakuen Hall
• Kosei Fujita vs. Ryohei Oiwa
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. Robbie Eagles
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Taiji Ishimori vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Master Wato vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. Hiromu Takahashi

December 3 in Gymnasium of Tokorozawa Citizen Main-arena
• Kosei Fujita vs. Ryohei Oiwa
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Master Wato vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. Robbie Eagles
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. YOH

December 5 in Twin Messe Shizuoka
• Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: YOH vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Robbie Eagles vs. SHO
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Master Wato
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. El Desperado

December 8 in Yawatahama Citizen Sports Center
• Kosei Fujita vs. Ryohei Oiwa
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. Master Wato
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Robbie Eagles vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Phantasmo vs. YOH
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: SHO vs. Taiji Ishimori
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. Hiromu Takahashi

December 11 in Aqulier Himeji
• Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yuto Nakashima
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: El Desperado vs. El Phantasmo
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: BUSHI vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Hiromu Takahashi vs. Robbie Eagles
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: DOUKI vs. Master Wato
• Best of the Super Juniors 28: Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Taiji Ishimori

The match order for the final day of block competition on December 11 in Aqulier Himeji will be determined by the standings.

Tetsuya Naito announced he will make his in-ring return to team with SANADA in the upcoming World Tag League tournament (which will run concurrently with the Best of the Super Juniors).

Naito damaged the medial collateral ligament and meniscus in his left knee in his first G1 Climax 31 match against Zack Sabre Jr. on September 18 and withdrew from the tournament. Naito clarified that there was no ligament damage and no need for surgery.

It will mark the first time Naito has competed in the tournament since 2017, when he teamed with Ring of Honor superstar RUSH. Naito’s previous partners in the tournament include La Sombra (now Andrade in All Elite Wrestling), Tomoaki Honma and Yujiro Takahashi.

Big Japan Pro Wrestling

Big Japan Pro Wrestling has updated the card for its show on November 16 in Korakuen Hall due to Yuko Miyamoto’s absence.

The updated card is:

• Kazumasa Yoshida vs. Kosuke Sato
• Abdullah Kobayashi and Masaya Takahashi vs. Jaki Numazawa and Shunma Katsumata
• Kazuki Hashimoto and Kazumi Kikuta vs. Ryota Hama and Takuho Kato
• Kota Sekifuda and Tatsuhiko Yoshino vs. Masato Kamino and Takato Nakano
• Daichi Hashimoto, Fuminori Abe and Hideyoshi Kamitani vs. Daisuke Sekimoto, Yasufumi Nakanoue and Yuji Okabayashi
• Deathmatch: Drew Parker and Yuki Ishikawa vs. Takumi Tsukamoto and Toshiyuki Sakuda
• Deathmatch: Akira Hyodo and Kankuro Hoshino vs. Isami Kodaka and Ryuji Ito
• BJW World Strong Heavyweight Championship: Takuya Nomura (c) vs. Yuya Aoki

Pro Wrestling NOAH

Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced it will air the opening matches of its upcoming shows on November 10 in Korakuen Hall and November 13 in Yokohama Budokan live for free on YouTube.

The matches that will air live for free on YouTube are:

November 10 in Korakuen Hall
• Manabu Soya vs. Yoshiki Inamura
• Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Kai Fujimura and Yasutaka Yano vs. Eita, Ikuto Hidaka, Kotaro Suzuki, NOSAWA Rongai and YO-HEY

November 13 in Yokohama Budokan
• Hajime Ohara vs. Yasutaka Yano
• Tadasuke vs. YO-HEY
• Akitoshi Saito, Mohammed Yone and Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Kendo Kashin and Takashi Sugiura
• Atsushi Kotoge, Daiki Inaba, Daisuke Harada and Kinya OKada vs. Haoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya and Nioh

NOAH’s YouTube channel can be viewed here.

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