NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 In Yokohama Arena Results
A major angle and more at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena
Jan 21, 2023
Following January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, Wrestle Kingdom 17 headed to Yokohama Arena for night two of New Japan Pro-Wrestling's biggest show of the year, pitting NJPW talents against those from Pro Wrestling NOAH. There was a slight twist for the 2023 event as Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena was headlined by a Best-of-Five series between NJPW's Los Ingobernables de Japon and NOAH's Kongo.
Following wins from Tadasuke and Manabu Soya, Kongo enjoyed a 2-1 lead heading into the main event matches but LIJ ultimately won the series 3-2 after Shingo Takagi defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima in a hard-hitting affair and Tetsuya Naito vanquished Kenoh.
However, the LIJ vs. Kongo war won't be the main talking point coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena. What initially appeared to be a straightforward tag team match pitting IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Togi Makabe against GHC Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura quickly descended into chaos following a brutal kick from Kiyomiya to Okada's forehead which drew blood. An enraged Rainmaker went wild on the GHC Heavyweight Champion, hitting him with fast strikes and dumping him onto the table, with the referee calling the match off as a no-contest after he could not regain control.
A Champion vs. Champion match now looks destined to take place, with Kiyomiya challenging Okada after their tag match was waved off. That seemingly won't be the only Champion vs. Champion match at a future show as GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion AMAKUSA challenged IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi to a future clash during The Time Bomb's post-match press conference.
Then, in a major announcement following the main event, Keiji Muto headed to the ring in Yokohama Arena and challenged Tetsuya Naito to face him in his retirement match inside the Tokyo Dome, a challenge which Naito accepted. That show, titled "Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling 'Last' Love ~Hold Out~", will take place on February 21.
Check out the full results from Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena below: