Two additional championship matches have been confirmed for NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 18 at the Tokyo Dome.
The promotion has added a NEVER Openweight Championship match with Shingo Takagi set to defend against former champion Tama Tonga.
Takagi and Tonga met in the G1 Climax this past summer and wrestled to a 20-minute draw. In a rematch at Fighting Spirit Unleashed last month, Takagi beat Tonga to win the NEVER Openweight Championship and ended Tonga’s third reign with the belt.
In a NJPW Television Championship match, Zack Sabre Jr. defends his title against Hiroshi Tanahashi.
January 4 will mark a full year that ZSJ has been Television Champion since the title was created at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom.
ZSJ and Tanhashi have had a long rivalry going back to their first singles match in the G1 Climax in 2017.
Tanahashi is 6-5 throughout their singles matches with their last match occurring at this past year’s G1 Climax with ZSJ winning.
Updated lineup for Wrestle Kingdom 18:
*IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: SANADA © vs. Tetsuya Naito
*Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
*IWGP U.S/U.K. Championship: Will Ospreay © vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay
*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championships: Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney © vs. TJP & Francesco Akira
*IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi © vs. El Desperado
*NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. © vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
*NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi © vs. Tama Tonga
