Shelly Deathlock cares too much about Japanese wrestling and, as Captain of the S.S. Strong Style, she’s here to welcome you on board and fill you in on what’s going on in the world of puro.
Hello shipmates & crew! I’ve been away for a while but I HAVE RETURNED for this most beautiful time of year: Wrestle Kingdom. This year is #10 by number, but New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Tokyo Dome show itself has been running annually since 1992. That’s before some of you were EVEN BORN, so you know it’s a big deal.
How to watch Wrestle Kingdom 10
If you’re new and wondering how to tune in to Wrestle Kingdom 10, let me tell you! It takes place on January 4, 2016 at 4PM in Japan (so 2AM EST). For about $9 USD, you can get WK10 and a whole month of NJPW’s streaming service, NJPWWorld, right on your computer machine (AND it works with Chromecast now!). Here’s how:
- Wait until January 1 (billing starts at the first of the month).
- Go to NJPWWorld’s English signup page at https://njpwworld.com/auth?lang=en
- Sign up & select a payment method (I use a credit card & my bank has no problem with the international transaction; others have been able to use pre-paid Visas and the like).
- Watch wrestling!
I keep a calendar of events that air live on NJPWWorld, so you can reference this to find out what’s going on during WK weekend and what time the events start in your timezone. As of now, I keep this up to date through the year, and it’s pretty handy in general.
You can also reference the official NJPWWorld Schedule to find out what’s going on and when.
WK10 will air in both Japanese and English. It should be easy to select whichever stream you want at the time it airs. The English commentary team this year is Matt Striker & Kevin Kelly, with an appearance by YOSHITATSU to do some translating. Good luck, guys! I’ll be tuning into the Japanese stream. I don’t understand it all but I love hearing them yell about things, it’s fantastic. You can feel free to do the same if you’re adventurous, or stick with Matt, Kevin, & YOSHITATSU if you want some more info about the combatants & the action in English during the broadcast.
Another event of note is the BIG WRESTLING FESTIVAL 2016. This takes place around noon Japan time on the Sunday before WK10. Last year it was a lot of fun and included Gedo & Okada squaring off in Taiko no Tatsujin, a press conference, etc. If you can’t catch it live, the replay should be up for viewing on demand on NJPWWorld soon after. Cross your fingers for more footage of our IWGP Heavyweight Champion playing video games, please.
If all goes well, NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 10 should be a beautiful evening of pro wrestling that everyone can enjoy. Let’s get to the card rundown, including my incredibly biased opinions!
Pre-show:
NJPW Battle Royal
The info:
Participants will enter every sixty seconds. Participants are eliminated by going over the top rope. Last year was the first NJPW Battle Royal, and it looks like it’s becoming tradition! WK9’s saw a number of surprise entrants and was a lot of wild fun. Yuji Nagata was victorious last year and received an IWGP Intercontinental Championship match somehow, but as far as I know, nothing is actually guaranteed to this year’s winner. We’ll see.
The participants:
It could be literally anyone. Last year, The Great Kabuki showed up. With nunchaku. Expect to see Tiger Mask V, Jushin Liger, Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, and more!
Kaomoji excitement rating: o((*^▽^*))o
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Four Way Match:
RPG Vice vs. Young Bucks vs. ReDRagon (c) vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet
The info:
Look, what the hell. We had a whole tournament in recent months between these teams to decide which *two* teams would face off at WK10 for the belts, only to have everyone come out after the finals and make it a four-way match again. Oh well! More wrestling is more wrestling. This should be a lot of fun, and you can guarantee the Tokyo Dome crowd will be into it. A great choice for an opener.
The participants:
RPG Vice: Rocky Romero & Trent Baretta! Part of NJPW’s stable CHAOS.
The Young Bucks: Matt & Nick Jackson! The Bullet Club! Homeowners, fathers! Suck it!
ReDRagon: Bobby Fish & Kyle O’Reilly, good wrestlers, gonna kick the hell out of some dudes.
Matt Sydal & Ricochet: Matt Sydal & Ricochet! They don’t even have an official team name yet! High flying madmen, you’ve probably heard of them.
Kaomoji excitement rating: (ˆ ڡ ˆ) Continue reading