Wrestle Kingdom V

Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome (レッスルキングダムV ｉｎ 東京ドーム, Ressuru Kingudamu V in Tōkyō Dōmu) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2011.[1][4] It was the 20th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the fifth held under the "Wrestle Kingdom" name.[2][3] The event featured thirteen matches (including two dark matches), four of which were contested for championships. Wrestle Kingdom is traditionally NJPW's biggest event of the year and has been described as their equivalent to WWE's WrestleMania.[5]

Wrestle Kingdom V
Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW wrestler
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
DateJanuary 4, 2011[1]
CityTokyo, Japan[1]
VenueTokyo Dome[1]
Attendance42,000[2] (official)
18,000[3] (claimed)
Pay-per-view chronology
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Circuit New Japan Alive		 Next →
The New Beginning
Wrestle Kingdom chronology
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IV		 Next →
VI

The show included wrestlers from the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and Mexican Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotions for the fourth and third year in a row, respectively. During the show, the TNA World Heavyweight Championship was defended for the first time in Japan. The three matches involving TNA wrestlers were aired by the American company as part of Global Impact 3.[6] Wrestlers from DDT Pro-Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah and Pro Wrestling Zero1 also took part in the show.

While NJPW announced an attendance number of 42,000, which would have been the largest audience at a January 4 Tokyo Dome Show in six years,[7] Dave Meltzer claimed that the actual attendance number was 18,000, tied with the 2007 Tokyo Dome show for the smallest audience in the event's history.[3]

Storylines

Wrestle Kingdom V featured thirteen 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.[8]

Satoshi Kojima, who headed into Wrestle Kingdom V as the defending IWGP Heavyweight Champion

Wrestle Kingdom V was headlined by Satoshi Kojima defending the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi in what was described as a "typical" NJPW storyline, where the company had put their top title on an outsider, leading to their biggest star getting it back at the Tokyo Dome. Kojima had started his career in NJPW, but jumped to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 2002 and was now working as a freelancer.[3]

Event
Other on-screen personnel
Role: Name:
Commentators Shinji Yoshino
Shinpei Nogami
Ring announcers Kimihiko Ozaki
Referees Kenta Sato
Marty Asami
Red Shoes Unno
Tiger Hattori

In the main event of the show, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Satoshi Kojima to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, bringing the title back to NJPW.[2] The semi-main event was a grudge match, where Togi Makabe defeated Masato Tanaka.[2]

The event featured several wrestlers from the American Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion as part of a relationship between NJPW and TNA. In the highest-profile of the matches involving TNA, Jeff Hardy successfully defended the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against NJPW's Tetsuya Naito, who had previously worked for TNA as part of the No Limit tag team.[1] In another interpromotional match, TNA's Rob Van Dam defeated NJPW's Toru Yano in a hardcore match.[1] In the first match involving TNA wrestlers, Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) unsuccessfully challenged Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) for the IWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-way match, also involving Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man).[1]

In addition, the event included two interpromotional matches between NJPW and Pro Wrestling Noah. In the first, Noah's Takashi Sugiura and Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika Okada.[1] This match was a one night NJPW return for Okada, who afterwards returned to TNA to continue his overseas learning excursion.[9] In the second match, NJPW's Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Noah's Go Shiozaki.[2]

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship was also defended during the event with Prince Devitt defeating Kota Ibushi for his fourth successful defense.[2]

Results
No.Results[1][4][10]StipulationsTimes[2]
1DTama Tonga, Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma and Wataru Inoue defeated Chaos (Gedo, Jado, Tomohiro Ishii and Yujiro Takahashi)Eight-man tag team match07:33
2DKoji Kanemoto and Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kenny Omega and TaichiTag team match08:04
3Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) (c) defeated Beer Money, Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode) and Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man)Three way tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship08:36
4Máscara Dorada and La Sombra defeated Héctor Garza and Jyushin Thunder LigerTag team match07:42
5Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeated Takashi IizukaDeep Sleep to Lose match; the match could only be won by choking the opponent unconscious11:13
6Rob Van Dam defeated Toru YanoHardcore match11:28
7Yuji Nagata defeated Minoru SuzukiSingles match16:15
8Prince Devitt (c) defeated Kota Ibushi (with Kenny Omega)Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship16:22
9Takashi Sugiura and Yoshihiro Takayama defeated Hirooki Goto and Kazuchika OkadaTag team match12:08
10Jeff Hardy (c) defeated Tetsuya NaitoSingles match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship11:04
11Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Go ShiozakiSingles match14:17
12Togi Makabe defeated Masato TanakaSingles match12:46
13Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Satoshi Kojima (c)Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship21:57
(c) – the champion(s) heading into the match
D – this was a dark match

See also

References
  1. "1/4 NJPW results in Tokyo: Detailed report on TNA at Tokyo Dome Show – Jeff Hardy's performance, reactions to TNA wrestlers, Borash ring intros". Pro Wrestling Torch. January 4, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  2. レッスルキングダムV ｉｎ 東京ドーム. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  3. Meltzer, Dave (January 10, 2011). "Jan 10 Observer Newsletter: Sonnen legal issues, UFC booking, Dynamite!!, Tough Enough, Tokyo Dome". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. pp. 19–20. ISSN 1083-9593.
  4. Nemer, Paul (January 4, 2011). "1/4 TNA and NJPW Results: Tokyo, Japan". Wrestleview. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  5. Martin, Garrett (January 16, 2015). "Japanese Wrestling's Golden Age Comes to America". Paste. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  6. Martin, Adam (February 22, 2011). "TNA Global Impact 3 to be on demand this week". Wrestleview. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  7. Boutwell, Josh (January 7, 2011). "Viva La Raza! Lucha Weekly". Wrestleview. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  8. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  9. 「仙台で選手権ができる喜びを感じてる」2・20 棚橋の初防衛戦は真壁vs小島の勝者!!. New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). January 5, 2011. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  10. Hoops, Brian (January 4, 2017). "Daily Pro Wrestling History (01/04): NJPW Tokyo Dome cards". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
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