Wrestle Dynasty

Wrestle Dynasty
Promotional poster featuring various NJPW, AEW, CMLL, ROH, and Stardom wrestlers
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
All Elite Wrestling
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Ring of Honor
World Wonder Ring Stardom
DateJanuary 5, 2025
CityTokyo, Japan
VenueTokyo Dome
Attendance16,300[1]
Tagline(s)2 Days to Move the World (Japanese: 世界を動かす2DAYS, Hepburn: Sekai o ugokasu 2 DAYS)
Pay-per-view chronology
← Previous
NJPW:
Wrestle Kingdom 19
AEW:
Worlds End
CMLL:
Sin Salida
ROH:
Final Battle
Stardom
New Year Dream 		Next →
NJPW:
New Year Dash!!
AEW:
Grand Slam Australia
CMLL:
TBA
ROH:
TBA
Stardom
TBA

Wrestle Dynasty was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the Japanese promotions New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and World Wonder Ring Stardom, the American promotions All Elite Wrestling (AEW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), and the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). It took place on January 5, 2025, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, the night after NJPW's Wrestle Kingdom 19.

Twelve matches were contested at the event, including two on the pre-show. In the event's final match, which was promoted as part of a double main event, Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ricochet to retain the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In the other main event, Kenny Omega defeated Gabe Kidd in what was Omega's first match for over a year due to diverticulitis. In other prominent matches, The Young Bucks (Nicholas Jackson and Matthew Jackson) defeated United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) and Los Ingobernables de Japón (Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi) to win the vacant IWGP World Tag Team Championship, and Mercedes Moné defeated Mina Shirakawa in a Winner Takes All match for both the NJPW Strong Women's Championship and the RevPro Undisputed British Women's Championship.

Production

Background

The event was held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

Since 1992, the Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) has held an annual show on January 4 at the Tokyo Dome, a professional baseball stadium in Tokyo, Japan; since 2007, the event has been known as Wrestle Kingdom, and has since become the largest professional wrestling event in Japan.[2] Between 2019 and 2022, NJPW also held a second Wrestle Kingdom show at the Tokyo Dome on January 5. In 2025, the January 5 Tokyo Dome show will be branded as "Wrestle Dynasty". NJPW also holds the New Year Dash!! event in Tokyo on the day after Wrestle Kingdom; in 2025, New Year Dash!! will be held on January 6, the day after Wrestle Dynasty.[3]

In February 2021, the American professional wrestling promotion All Elite Wrestling (AEW) started a partnership with NJPW.[4] Since then, both AEW and NJPW have had their wrestlers appear at each other's events.[5] The working relationship resulted in the creation of AEW x NJPW: Forbidden Door, an annual co-promoted pay-per-view (PPV) event held in North America.[6] AEW and NJPW also have working partnerships with the Mexican promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL): CMLL and NJPW have had a working relationship since 2009 and have co-produced the Fantastica Mania series of events since 2011;[7] and CMLL and AEW entered into a working relationship in October 2023.[8]

In 2019, NJPW's parent company Bushiroad acquired the joshi promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom (Stardom);[9] Stardom would later become a fully-fledged subsidiary of NJPW in 2024.[10] In 2022, AEW owner Tony Khan acquired Ring of Honor (ROH) from their previous owner, Sinclair Broadcast Group;[11] prior to the acquisition, ROH also had a long working relationship with NJPW, including co-producing the War of the Worlds and Global Wars events in North America and Honor Rising events in Japan.

On August 22, 2020, NJPW planned to hold an event under the name of Wrestle Dynasty at Madison Square Garden in New York City; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed to 2021, and later cancelled.[12] After the 2022 Forbidden Door event, then NJPW President Takami Ohbari expressed interest in the next event being held in Japan; Tony Khan said that he was open to the idea of AEW wrestlers performing in Japan, but said that such an event would not be titled "Forbidden Door".[13] Prior to the 2024 Forbidden Door event, Khan expressed interest in a co-promoted show in Japan, but was non-committal over whether the event would be an iteration of Forbidden Door or a new event entirely.[14]

On June 30, 2024, during Forbidden Door, Wrestle Dynasty was announced for January 5, 2025, in the Tokyo Dome, to be co-produced by AEW, NJPW, CMLL, ROH, and Stardom.[15][16] Wrestle Dynasty will mark the first AEW PPV event to be held in Japan, the third AEW PPV event held outside North America (following the 2023 and 2024 All In events, which were both held at Wembley Stadium in London, England), and AEW's first event to be held in a professional baseball stadium.

Storylines

Wrestle Dynasty logo, featuring the logos of all presenting promotions.

Wrestle Dynasty featured professional wrestling matches that were the results of pre-existing feuds and storylines, with results being predetermined by the bookers of the co-producing promotions.[17] Storylines were produced on the weekly programs, Dynamite, Collision, Rampage, Honor Club TV, and Super Viernes; as well as at other AEW, CMLL, NJPW, ROH, and Stardom events.

Results

No.Results[31]StipulationsTimes[32]
1PMomo Watanabe (Stardom) (with Thekla) defeated Willow Nightingale (AEW), Persephone (CMLL), and Athena (ROH) by pinfallInternational Women’s Cup final four-way match[18][19]
Winner receives a women's championship match from the participating promotion of their choosing.		11:25
2PThe Sons of Texas (Dustin Rhodes and Sammy Guevara) (c) defeated House of Torture (Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) by pinfallTag team match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship[20]9:26
3Taiji Ishimori defeated Hechicero, Kosei Fujita, Soberano Jr., Master Wato, Máscara Dorada, Titán, and El Desperado by pinfallEight-man Lucha Gauntlet match[21]16:26
4Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuyori Shibata ended in a time limit drawGrappling Rules exhibition match[22]5:00
5Mercedes Moné (Strong) defeated Mina Shirakawa (British) by pinfallWinner Takes All match for the Strong Women's Championship and the Undisputed British Women's Championship[23]14:02
6David Finlay (with Gedo) defeated Brody King by pinfallSingles match[24]12:52
7Shota Umino defeated Claudio Castagnoli by pinfallSingles match[25]14:30
8Konosuke Takeshita (c) (with Don Callis) defeated Tomohiro Ishii by pinfallSingles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship and the AEW International Championship[26]13:31
9The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson and Nicholas Jackson) defeated United Empire (Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb) and Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi) by pinfallThree-way tag team match for the vacant IWGP Tag Team Championship[27][28]13:45
10Yota Tsuji (c) defeated Jack Perry by pinfallSingles match for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship[26]13:14
11Kenny Omega defeated Gabe Kidd (with Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) by pinfallSingles match[29]31:53
12Zack Sabre Jr. (c) (with Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, and Ryohei Oiwa) defeated Ricochet by submissionSingles match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship[30]21:17
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
P – the match was broadcast on the pre-show

International Women’s Cup bracket

Preliminary qualifiers
AEW Dynamite: Thanksgiving Eve (November 27)
AEW Collision (December 7)
Stardom (December 20 and 21)		Qualifiers
AEW Collision: Winter Is Coming (December 14)
Honor Club TV (December 12)
CMLL Super Viernes (December 13)
Stardom (December 22)		Final
Wrestle Dynasty (January 5)
Jamie HayterPin
AEW
Queen Aminata9:18
Jamie Hayter12:04
Willow NightingalePin
Serena Deeb9:55
Willow NightingalePin
CMLL
Hanan–
PersephonePin
Saki Kashima–
Reyna Isis12:37
Yuna Mizumori10:16
Sanely–
Momo WatanabePinWillow Nightingale–
Zeuxis–
Persephone–
ROH
Fukigen Death–Athena11:13
AthenaPin
Saya Iida–Momo WatanabePin
Billie Starkz–
SyuriPin
Leyla Hirsch–
Ranna Yagami10:31
Red Velvet10:20
Stardom
Tomoka InabaPin
Momo WatanabePin
Koguma–
Syuri–
Rina–
Tomoka Inaba9:41
Waka Tsukiyama13:39
Suzu Suzuki–
Hina15:01
Konami–
Aya Sakura–
Suzu SuzukiPin

See also

References

  1. ^ "新日本プロレスリング株式会社".
  2. ^ Martin, Garrett (January 16, 2015). "Japanese Wrestling's Golden Age Comes to America". Paste. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "NJPW & Stardom reveal Wrestle Kingdom Week schedule for January 2025". F4W/WON. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  4. ^ "AEW, New Japan Pro Wrestling Established Working Relationship". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. February 4, 2021. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "Update on joint AEW/NJPW show rumor". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. April 18, 2022. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  6. ^ Barrasso, Justin (April 20, 2022). "Tony Khan Announces First-Ever AEW, NJPW Joint Pay-Per View Event". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  7. ^ "NJPW and CMLL issue statement reaffirming working relationship". F4W/WON. February 26, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  8. ^ "AEW, CMLL excited for future opportunities to work together". F4W/WON. October 14, 2023. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  9. ^ reserved, Copyright (c) 2014株式会社スターダム, All rights. "スターダムがブシロードグループ「キックスロード」と事業譲渡契約記者会見". スターダム✪STARDOM.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Jordan, Pual (April 23, 2024). "Stardom Now A Subsidiary Of New Japan Pro Wrestling". PWInsider. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
  11. ^ "AEW's Tony Khan purchases Ring of Honor from Sinclair Broadcast Group". F4W/WON. March 3, 2022. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "Wrestle Dynasty postponed to 2021 【NJoA】【WD1】". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. May 7, 2020. Archived from the original on May 10, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  13. ^ Lambert, Jeremy. "Tony Khan: Doing An Event With AEW Stars In Japan Is Interesting, But It Won't Be 'Forbidden Door'". Fightful. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  14. ^ Lambert, Jeremy; Russell, Skylar. "Tony Khan: We Could Do Forbidden Door Internationally, You Never Know". Fightful. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  15. ^ Powell, Jason (June 30, 2024). "AEW Forbidden Door results: Powell's live review of Swerve Strickland vs. Will Ospreay for the AEW World Championship, Jon Moxley vs. Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Title". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  16. ^ "NJPW announces Forbidden Door-esque Wrestle Dynasty event with AEW, CMLL & ROH". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. June 30, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  17. ^ Grabianowski, Ed (January 13, 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  18. ^ "International Women's Cup 4 way to hit Wrestle Dynasty!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. November 19, 2024. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
  19. ^ "ROH On HonorClub Spoilers (Taped On 12/7)". Fightful. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 23, 2024). "ROH Tag Team Title Bout Confirmed For NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty". Fightful. Retrieved December 24, 2024.
  21. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 16, 2024). "Lucha Gauntlet Match Added To NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty". Fightful. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  22. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 4, 2025). "Katsuyori Shibata Returns To NJPW At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19". Fightful. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  23. ^ "Wrestle Dynasty (January 5) full card, preview". Medium. New Japan Pro-Wrestling. December 24, 2024. Retrieved December 27, 2024.
  24. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (December 5, 2024). "House Of Black Member Answers David Finlay's Open Challenge For NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty". Fightful. Retrieved December 5, 2024.
  25. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 25, 2024). "Claudio Castagnoli Bout Added To NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty". Fightful. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  26. ^ a b "Two matches added to Wrestle Dynasty January 5". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. November 11, 2024. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  27. ^ Currier, Joseph (December 9, 2024). "NJPW to crown new IWGP Tag Team Champions at Wrestle Dynasty". f4wonline. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
  28. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (January 4, 2025). "Team Added To IWGP Tag Team Title Bout At NJPW x AEW Wrestle Dynasty". Fightful. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  29. ^ "Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd official for Wrestle Dynasty!". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. November 22, 2024. Retrieved November 22, 2024.
  30. ^ Lambert, Jeremy (November 6, 2024). "Ricochet To Face Zack Sabre Jr At AEW x NJPW Wrestle Dynasty". Fightful. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
  31. ^ Michaels, Corey (January 4, 2025). "Wrestle Dynasty live results: Kenny Omega returns, ZSJ vs. Ricochet". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved January 5, 2025.
  32. ^ Vetter, Chris (January 5, 2025). "NJPW Dynasty results: Vetter's review of Zack Sabre Jr. Vs. Ricochet for the IWGP World HVT. Championship, Kenny Omega vs. Gabe Kidd, Mercedes Mone vs. Mina Shirakawa in a title vs. Title match". Pro Wrestling Dot Net. Retrieved January 6, 2025.