By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
Dot Net reader “CIARÁN” attended the NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 event on January 4, 2026, at the Tokyo Dome and passed along the following notes.
-We just got back to the Tokyo Dome Hotel after the show finished. Great show to see live. Perhaps the show was nowhere near the standard of previous efforts that made Wrestle Kingdom a bucket list event, but it was amazing to attend.
-The Ranbo was hard to follow but entertaining.
-The crowd popped big for Jake Lee, but if I’m honest, I don’t really see the appeal. He wasn’t impressive in his match or during the post-match attack later on.
-Aaron Wolf was over despite the match being a festival of shortcuts. The crowd ate it all up.
-Yota Tsuji was super over with the crowd; they didn’t stop cheering him on throughout.
-“Go Ace” was the shout throughout the main event, and whilst they’ve had better, it was really enjoyable to watch live.
-The after-match stuff was fun enough. Tetsuya Naito absolutely took the piss with making it to the ring, but it was good to see him.
-Afterwards, when Hiroshi Tanahashi took his lap, most of the exits for the floor seats were sealed. I would imagine that was to prevent people from getting in the way; no one was leaving early anyway.
-Leaving the dome is really chaotic, especially the warning about the winds knocking people over. Funny though.
Powell’s POV: These comments were originally posted in our reader comments section. I attended many Vikings and Twins games at the old Metrodome, which looked similar to the Tokyo Dome. Watching Tanahashi lead the fans brought back some fun memories, as did the note about the wind leaving the stadium. It was strong enough to make me stumble a few times, and I saw plenty of hats go flying as fans were leaving. My review of Wrestle Kingdom 20 is available via the main page. The replay is available via New Japan World for the monthly subscription price of roughly $9.99. I watched the app via Roku and the live stream was flawless.
(Jason Powell, founder and editor of ProWrestling.net, has covered pro wrestling full-time dating back to 1997. He hosts a weekly podcast, Pro Wrestling Boom, and also appears regularly on the Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast. Reach him via email at dotnetjason@gmail.com and on social media via @prowrestlingnet.bsky.social or x.com/prowrestlingnet. For his full bio and information on this website, click here.)
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