Wrestle Kingdom 10

Promotional poster featuring various NJPW wrestlers

**Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on January 4, 2016, in Tokyo, Japan, at the Tokyo Dome. It was the 25th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show, which is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest wrestling show in the world outside of the United States". The event featured ten matches and was main evented by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi.

As part of the talent exchange partnership between NJPW and the U.S.-based Ring of Honor (ROH) promotion, the event featured a match for the ROH World Championship as well as the NJPW debuts of ROH wrestlers Cheeseburger, Jay Lethal, Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe.

## Production

### Background

The event aired in Japan as a pay-per-view (PPV) through SKY PerfecTV!, and worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World. As opposed to the previous year's Wrestle Kingdom 9, the event did not air on American PPV, despite the previous year's airing being considered a "solid success". Reportedly both Jeff Jarrett and Ring of Honor (ROH) were interested in getting Wrestle Kingdom 10 on American PPV, but were both turned down by NJPW. Instead NJPW announced that the internet stream would include English commentary, provided by Kevin Kelly and Matt Striker, who had been a part of the first English commentary stream for King of Pro-Wrestling in October 2015, as well as the debuting Yoshitatsu, who was brought in to translate Japanese. Yoshitatsu is a former WWE wrestler, who returned to NJPW in October 2014, but broke his neck only a month later and had been inactive from the promotion ever since.

### Storylines

Wrestle Kingdom 10 featured ten professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

Wrestle Kingdom 10 was main evented by Kazuchika Okada defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. Okada won the title on July 5, 2015, by defeating A.J. Styles at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, while Tanahashi became the number one contender at the Tokyo Dome by winning the 2015 G1 Climax, defeating Shinsuke Nakamura in the finals on August 16. On the road to the Tokyo Dome, Okada successfully defended his title in a rematch with A.J. Styles, while Tanahashi defended his title match contract against Bad Luck Fale and Tetsuya Naito, the two wrestlers who had defeated him during the G1 Climax, leading to the Tokyo Dome match being made official on October 12. This would mark the seventh IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Okada and Tanahashi with both wrestlers having won three of the previous matches. This also marked Tanahashi's sixth consecutive Wrestle Kingdom main event with him having won all five previous main events, two of which were against Okada.

The second match for Wrestle Kingdom 10 was set up on November 7, 2015, after Shinsuke Nakamura had successfully defended the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Karl Anderson at Power Struggle. Before the match, Nakamura had announced he was going to be defending his title at the Tokyo Dome in an open challenge and asked for his challenger to come forward at Power Struggle. Following the match, Anderson's Bullet Club stablemate A.J. Styles entered the ring and made a challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship, which was promptly accepted by Nakamura. The title match was officially announced in a press conference two days later. Styles was pulled from NJPW's end-of-the-year World Tag League due to a back injury, but it was announced that he would be returning at Wrestle Kingdom 10. This would mark the first singles match between Nakamura and Styles with the two having previously only met in one tag team match in August 2008.

Both of NJPW's junior heavyweight titles were also be defended at Wrestle Kingdom 10. In the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match, Kenny Omega was set to defend against KUSHIDA in the third title match between the two. The first took place on July 5, 2015, at Dominion 7.5 in Osaka-jo Hall, where Kushida, the winner of the 2015 Best of the Super Juniors tournament, defeated Omega to win the title. A rematch took place on September 23 at Destruction in Okayama, where Omega regained the title with help from his Bullet Club stablemates. On November 1, Kushida challenged Omega to a "one more match", which was made official for Wrestle Kingdom 10 on November 9. The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship would be defended in a four-way match, where the reigning champions reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly) were set to take on Matt Sydal and Ricochet, Roppongi Vice (Baretta and Rocky Romero) and The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson). Sydal and Ricochet earned their title shot on November 7 by defeating Roppongi Vice to win the 2015 Super Jr. Tag Tournament. However, after the match both Roppongi Vice and The Young Bucks also laid their own claims on a title match with reDRagon. Roppongi Vice had eliminated the reigning IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions from the tournament, while The Young Bucks felt they deserved a rematch with reDRagon, having lost the title to them on August 16. This led to NJPW announcing a title match with all four teams on November 9.

Wrestle Kingdom 10 also featured a match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship with Bullet Club's Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson defending against G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma). Makabe and Honma earned their title shot on December 9 by defeating *Los Ingobernables de Japón* (EVIL and Tetsuya Naito) to win the 2015 World Tag League. That same day ROH World Champion Jay Lethal appeared in a video, requesting a challenger for a title match at Wrestle Kingdom 10. The challenge was accepted that same night by Michael Elgin, an ROH wrestler who had taken part in the World Tag League. Elgin had made his NJPW debut during the previous summer's 2015 G1 Climax, quickly becoming a fan favorite. The following day, NJPW backtracked on the title match announcement, instead announcing a "special singles match" between the two with the possibility of it being turned into a title match, provided that Lethal was still the champion on January 4. ROH had previously announced that Lethal would defend the title against A.J. Styles on December 18 at Final Battle. Elgin had earned the title shot by winning ROH's Survival of the Fittest tournament on November 14, stating afterwards that he wanted his shot in Japan. The match continues a working relationship between NJPW and the American ROH promotion, which started in 2014 and was set to continue later in 2016 with ROH holding shows in Japan and NJPW holding shows in North America. On December 18, Lethal retained the ROH World Championship against A.J. Styles, making the title match official for Wrestle Kingdom 10.

The rest of the matches for Wrestle Kingdom 10 were announced on December 10. Included was the seventh title match of the event, which would see Tomohiro Ishii defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Katsuyori Shibata. This match stemmed from the World Tag League, where Shibata pinned Ishii on both the opening and final day. This would mark Shibata's first ever shot at the NEVER Openweight Championship. Another match stemming from the World Tag League saw Tetsuya Naito take on Hirooki Goto, whom he pinned during the tournament. The rivalry between the two had been going on since late 2015, though Naito had been more involved with Goto's tag team partner Katsuyori Shibata, while his *Los Ingobernables de Japón* stablemate Evil had been paired off with Goto. However, Shibata was abruptly taken out of the feud to challenge for the NEVER Openweight Championship, leaving Goto to face off with Naito. NJPW implied that the winner of the match could be in line for a title shot. Also announced was the Bullet Club trio of Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi taking on Toru Yano and two mystery partners and the second annual New Japan Rumble, taking place on the pre-show. On December 19, Yano's partners were revealed as the ROH tag team The Briscoes (Jay and Mark). Two days later, NJPW announced that the match would be contested for the newly created NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship.

## Event

The pre-show featured the New Japan Rumble. Prior to the event, NJPW had announced eight participants for the match, but the match ended up featuring 18 wrestlers. Surprise entrants included the debuting ROH wrestler Cheeseburger, veteran wrestlers The Great Kabuki, Hiro Saito, King Haku, Shiro Koshinaka and Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Kazushi Sakuraba, who entered the match less than a week after being defeated by Shinya Aoki in a mixed martial arts fight. In the end, Jado, who was accompanied by Momoiro Clover Z member Momoka Ariyasu, eliminated Ryusuke Taguchi to win the match.

In the opening match of Wrestle Kingdom 10, The Young Bucks defeated defending champions reDRagon, Roppongi Vice and the team of Matt Sydal and Ricochet in a four-way match to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship for the fourth time. In the second match, Toru Yano and the debuting Jay and Mark Briscoe became the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions with a win over Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi. In the third match of the event, Jay Lethal retained the ROH World Championship, pinning Michael Elgin after hitting him with his manager Truth Martini's book.

In the fourth match of the event, Kushida won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship for the third time by defeating Kenny Omega. Next up, G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) defeated Bullet Club (Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson) to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship, marking Honma's first ever title win in NJPW. In the only non-title match of the event, Hirooki Goto defeated Tetsuya Naito, despite outside interference from Naito's *Los Ingobernables de Japón* stablemates BUSHI and EVIL.

In the seventh match of Wrestle Kingdom 10, Katsuyori Shibata won his first singles title in NJPW by defeating Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Championship. In the first ever singles match between Shinsuke Nakamura and A.J. Styles, Nakamura was victorious, retaining the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. After the match, Nakamura and Styles showed respect to one another with a fist bump. Finally, in the main event Kazuchika Okada defeated 2015 G1 Climax winner Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, marking his first ever Tokyo Dome win over Tanahashi and ending Tanahashi's Tokyo Dome main event win streak at five.

## Reception

The event drew 25,204 fans to the Tokyo Dome, down from the previous year's announced attendance of 36,000.

Dave Meltzer of the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* called the main event "incredible", stating that it felt like a "classic passing of the torch" from Tanahashi to Okada. Overall, Meltzer called the show "fantastic", particularly praising the last three matches, although noting that he felt the show could not match the previous year's Wrestle Kingdom 9. He gave the main event a perfect five-star rating, the semi main event four and three quarter stars and the NEVER Openweight Championship match four and a half stars out of five. James Caldwell of *Pro Wrestling Torch* stated that Wrestle Kingdom 10 was a "perfect example of how to build a card, especially leading to the final three matches with Shibata vs. Ishii hitting four-stars-plus, Nakamura vs. Styles going a little higher, and Tanahashi vs. Okada closing in epic fashion". He gave the main event a perfect five-star rating. Sean Radican of the same site gave the show an overall score of 10.0, stating that "the quality of the big matches on the card more than delivered", while acknowledging that it was a "flawed show in some ways". Mike Johnson of *Pro Wrestling Insider* stated that Wrestle Kingdom 10 was "far superior" to the previous year's Wrestle Kingdom 9. Larry Csonka of *411Mania* gave the event a rating of 9.25, calling it "excellent", stating that the final three matches "brought the show to another level". He, however, also criticized the first part of the show for its "lazy booking", noting how the first six matches all featured outside interference or weapon attacks with several also kicking off with pre-match attacks.

## Aftermath

Hours after the event had concluded, it was reported by multiple sources that A.J. Styles, Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Shinsuke Nakamura had all given their notice to NJPW on the morning of January 4, announcing that they were leaving the promotion and joining WWE. The notices reportedly led to no finishes of matches being changed by booker Gedo. The following day, the rest of Bullet Club turned on Styles, kicking him out of the stable with Kenny Omega assuming leadership of the stable. Omega was also set up as the next challenger for Shinsuke Nakamura's IWGP Intercontinental Championship. This marked Styles' final appearance for NJPW. Meanwhile, the other three were involved in angles setting up future title matches. Anderson and Nakamura remained under NJPW contracts and were expected to finish off their contracted dates with the promotion before leaving. On January 5, WWE released an article on its official website, discussing the rumors of Styles, Nakamura, Anderson and Gallows joining the promotion. The following day, Nakamura confirmed in an interview with *Tokyo Sports* that he would be leaving NJPW at the end of the month and signing with WWE. Styles officially made his WWE debut on January 24, 2016, at Royal Rumble. Nakamura wrestled his final NJPW match on January 30, making his WWE NXT debut two months later on April 1. The departures led to NJPW scrapping its one-year contract system and starting to offer their wrestlers multi-year contracts.

The following month's New Beginning events featured several matches stemming from Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome. The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11 featured two rematches from the show, where Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano to capture the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship and Katsuyori Shibata successfully defended the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii. Also during the event, Matt Sydal and Ricochet won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship by defeating The Young Bucks and reDRagon in a three-way match, while the main event featured Kazuchika Okada successfully defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hirooki Goto. Three days later at The New Beginning in Niigata, the Briscoes and Yano defeated Fale, Tonga and Takahashi in the third title match between the two teams to regain the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. The event also featured Kushida successfully defending the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Bushi and Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma successfully defending the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a Wrestle Kingdom 10 rematch against Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson. In the main event of the show, Kenny Omega defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to capture the vacant IWGP Intercontinental Championship.

In March, Tetsuya Naito won the 2016 New Japan Cup, defeating Hirooki Goto in the finals in a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 10. On April 10 at Invasion Attack, Naito defeated Kazuchika Okada with help from *Los Ingobernables de Japón*, including the debuting Seiya Sanada, to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship for the first time in front of a Ryōgoku Kokugikan crowd that was firmly behind him.

## References

1. ↑ GFW News: New Japan Pro Wrestling "Wrestle Kingdom 9" press conference details . *Pro Wrestling Dot Net* (2014-12-23). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
2. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2015-12-28. New Japan Pro Wrestling WrestleKingdom preview . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-12-28.
3. ↑ ja:新日本プロレス 16.1.4 東京ドーム大会 (in Japanese). *SKY PerfecTV!*. Archived from the original on 2015-12-25. Retrieved on 2015-12-25.
4. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (December 14, 2015). "December 14, 2015 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Biggest weekend in UFC history, tons more". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 35. ISSN 1083-9593.
5. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2015-10-02. Fri update: John Cena taking time off, Johnny Hendricks hospitalized . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-12-25.
6. ↑ Velten, Dan 2015-12-18. Late news updates from Friday 12/18: Taven injury, weight issues, Tokyo-Dome, NXT . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-12-19.
7. ↑ PPV results - 10/13 New Japan in Tokyo, Japan: Styles drops IWGP World Hvt. Title to Tanahashi, more title changes, former WWE star returns to New Japan, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2014-10-13). Retrieved on 2015-12-25.
8. ↑ Former WWE star suffers broken neck . *Pro Wrestling Insider* (2014-11-25). Retrieved on 2015-12-25.
9. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . *HowStuffWorks, Inc.*. Discovery Communications. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Caldwell, James 2015-07-05. Caldwell's NJPW Dominion PPV report 7/5: Complete "virtual-time" coverage of A.J. Styles vs. Okada IWGP World Hvt. Title match, plus five more big title matches . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Radican, Sean 2015-08-17. Radican's NJPW "G1 Climax Finals" PPV Report 8/16: ReDRagon-Young Bucks, Kushida-Ricochet, Tanahashi-Nakamura match for the ages in final . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Johnson, Mike 2015-10-12. Tokyo Dome main event is set: complete NJPW King of Pro Wrestling 2015 coverage . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
13. ↑ *ja:棚橋がファレ下しＩＷＧＰ挑戦権利証死守* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2015-09-28). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
14. ↑ *ja:棚橋「来年もドームにオカダの涙雨が降る」* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2015-10-14). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
15. ↑ Dominello, Zach 2016-01-01. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Champion vs. The Ace . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
16. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2015-11-06. New Japan Pro Wrestling Power Struggle preview . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
17. ↑ Dominello, Zach 2015-12-31. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Swag vs. The Phenomenal One . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Meltzer, Dave 2015-11-06. NJPW Power Struggle live results 2015: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Karl Anderson for IC title . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
19. ↑ *ja:中邑真輔が初防衛　１・４ＡＪスタイルズ戦浮上* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2015-11-08). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Caldwell, James 2015-11-09. NJPW – big title matches added to Tokyo Dome . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Archived from the original on 2015-11-18. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
21. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2015-12-05. AJ Styles officially removed from NJPW Tour . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-12-05.
22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 ja:【WK10】IC王座を賭け、中邑真輔vsAJスタイルズがついに激突！　因縁のケニーvsKushida、Jr.タッグ4Way戦も正式決定！【1.4東京ドーム第2弾】 (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-11-09). Archived from the original on 2015-11-09. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
23. ↑ Dominello, Zach 2015-12-22. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Cleaner vs. The Time Splitter . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
24. ↑ Show results - 9/23 NJPW "Destruction in Okayama" Event: New Jr. Hvt. champions, A.J. Styles & Bullet Club in big matches, ROH stars, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2015-09-23). Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
25. ↑ ja:【11.7大阪大会の全カード決定！】飯伏欠場により、セミは棚橋＆柴田vsオカダ＆桜庭に！ 「Super Jr. Tag T」決勝はリコシェ＆サイダルvs六本木ヴァイス！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-11-02). Archived from the original on 2015-11-02. Retrieved on 2015-11-09.
26. ↑ Dominello, Zach 2015-12-20. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: reDRagon vs. Young Bucks vs. RPG Vice vs. Matt Sydal & Ricochet . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
27. ↑ Dominello, Zach 2015-12-27. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: IWGP Tag Team Title . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Rose, Bryan 2015-12-09. NJPW World Tag League Finals report: Evil and Naito vs. Makabe and Honma . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-12-09.
29. ↑ World Tag League 2015  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2015-12-09.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Dominello, Zach 2015-12-25. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Ingobernable, The Samurai, the Rambo, and the Rest . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 31.4 ja:【WK10】1.4東京ドーム全カード決定！ 石井vs柴田、後藤vs内藤、真壁＆本間がIWGPタッグ挑戦、リーサルvsエルガン、矢野が来年も“X”を投入!! (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-12-10). Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved on 2015-12-10.
32. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-10-24. ROH – Main Event of Final Battle, more FB set-up . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-12-10.
33. ↑ 11/14 ROH SOTF Night 2 – Tourney Finals, Styles vs. Sydal, Young Bucks, big ROH Title challenge . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2015-11-15). Retrieved on 2015-12-09.
34. ↑ Caldwell, James 2014-02-22. ROH news: Saturday's announcement - New Japan coming to ROH later this year . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2015-12-09.
35. ↑ Laprade, Pat 2015-08-21. ROH, New Japan to extend relationship in 2016 with more shows, more talent . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Archived from the original on 2015-08-23. Retrieved on 2015-12-09.
36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Caldwell, James 2015-12-19. NJPW Tokyo Dome Update – The Briscoes added as mystery partners . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Archived from the original on 2015-12-19. Retrieved on 2015-12-19.
37. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2015-12-09. NJPW January 4th Dome Show lineup set . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2015-12-10.
38. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2015-12-10. Complete NJPW WrestleKingdom 2016 Tokyo Dome lineup announced . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2015-12-10.
39. ↑ Dominello, Zach 2015-12-30. Wrestle Kingdom 10 Preview Series: The Stone Pitbull vs. The Wrestler . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-01.
40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 ja:【WK10】1.4東京ドームは“8大選手権”！ 第2試合は初代NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座戦！ 第3試合はROH世界選手権に！ NJランボー参戦選手も追加！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-12-21). Archived from the original on 2015-12-21. Retrieved on 2015-12-21.
41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.4 41.5 41.6 41.7 41.8 Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-03. Wrestle Kingdom 10 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
42. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】ももクロ有安杏果が邪道Ｖをアシスト* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
43. ↑ 43.0 43.1 43.2 43.3 43.4 43.5 43.6 43.7 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `WrestleKingdom10`
44. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】ヤングバックスがＩＷＧＰジュニアタッグのベルト強奪* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
45. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】「ＮＥＶＥＲ無差別級６人タッグ」矢野組が初代王者に* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
46. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】ＲＯＨ世界選手権　王者リーサルが５度目の防衛* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
47. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】Kushida IWGPジュニア返り咲き* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
48. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】ＩＷＧＰタッグ王座奪取！本間朋晃　涙の初戴冠* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
49. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】ロス軍との抗争決着　洋央紀ＩＷＧＰ奪取へ* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
50. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】石井とノーガードの打ち合い！柴田がシングル初戴冠* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
51. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】中邑がＡＪ粉砕！世界へ羽ばたくインターコンチＶ２* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
52. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】オカダ　掟破りの技の応酬でエース棚橋超え* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
53. ↑ 53.0 53.1 53.2 53.3 Johnson, Mike 2016-01-04. Okada vs. Tanahashi, Lethal vs. Elgin, Styles vs. Nakamura, title changes & more: complete New Japan WrestleKingdom 2016 coverage . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
54. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】棚橋「僕の去就が気になります」* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
55. ↑ *ja:Wrestle Kingdom 9 in 東京ドーム* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
56. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (January 11, 2016). "January 11, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: Cena out with shoulder injury, New Japan stars to WWE". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 20–31. ISSN 1083-9593.
57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 57.2 Caldwell, James 2016-01-04. 1/4 NJPW "Wrestle Kingdom" Tokyo Dome Show – Caldwell's Complete Live Report . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
58. ↑ Radican, Sean 2016-01-05. 1/4 NJPW Wrestle Kingdom X – Radican's Detailed Report & Review & Score . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
59. ↑ Csonka, Larry 2016-01-04. Csonka’s NJPW WrestleKingdom 10 Review 1.04.16 . *411Mania*. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
60. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-01-04. NJPW stars Nakamura, AJ Styles, Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson headed to WWE . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
61. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-01-04. PWTorch Report – Four big names leaving New Japan, heading to WWE . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Archived from the original on 2016-01-05. Retrieved on 2016-01-04.
62. ↑ 62.0 62.1 Daily Update: Styles, Nakamura, Bullet Club to WWE, Rousey to host SNL . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
63. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2016-01-05. AJ Styles & Nakamura-New Japan updates . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
64. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-01-05. NJPW New Year's Dash report: Big Bullet Club angle, NEVER trios titles defended . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-06.
65. ↑ Johnson, Mike 2016-01-05. Bullet Club/Nakamura-WWE update . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-06.
66. ↑ Clapp, John 2016-01-05. Are AJ Styles, Shinsuke Nakamura, Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows coming to WWE? . *WWE*. Archived from the original on 2016-01-06. Retrieved on 2016-01-06.
67. ↑ *ja:インターコンチ王者・中邑が新日プロ退団！WWE入り* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-07). Retrieved on 2016-01-07.
68. ↑ 1/24 Rumble News – two title changes, A.J. Styles, new Divas feud, Rumble, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-01-24). Retrieved on 2016-01-27.
69. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-01-30. NJPW Road to New Beginning report: Nakamura bids farewell to New Japan . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-13.
70. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-04-01. 4/1 NXT Takeover: Dallas Results – Caldwell's Complete Live Report on Nakamura vs. Zayn . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-07-18.
71. ↑ *ja:新日が“至宝”オカダ流出阻止へ２億円プロジェクト* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-13). Retrieved on 2016-02-13.
72. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-02-11. NJPW Beginnings live results: IWGP Heavyweight championship Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
73. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-02-13. NJPW New Beginnings: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Kenny Omega for the IWGP IC Title . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-15.
74. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-03-12. New Japan Cup Finals results: Cup winner crowned; build to Invasion Attack . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-05-30.
75. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-04-09. NJPW Invasion Attack live results: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Championship . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-05-30.
76. ↑ *ja:【新日・両国】ＩＷＧＰ初戴冠の内藤を復活へ導いた魔法の言葉とは* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-04-11). Retrieved on 2016-05-30.
77. ↑ *ja:Wrestle Kingdom 10 in 東京ドーム* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-01-05.