NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Titles To Be Defended In Tornado Ranbo, DDT’s Kaisei Takechi To Be In Action At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20

Additions to the Wrestle Kingdom card.

January 4th, 2026, is the date of NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20 at the Tokyo Dome. The match card is taking shape, and there have been two new additions.

At the start of World Tag League, NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion YOH staged a sit-in because he wanted a guarantee that he, Toru Yano and Master Wato would have a spot on the Wrestle Kingdom card as 6-Man Tag Team Champions. NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi would eventually make his way out to the ring to grant YOH’s request.

It has since been decided that at Wrestle Kingdom 20, YOH, Yano, and Wato will defend the belts in a Tornado Ranbo match. A write-up about the match was provided by NJPW1972.com:

In the match, an as yet unknown number of teams will make their entrances at one minute intervals. Tornado rules mean there are no tags, and when one member of a team is pinned, submitted or thrown over the top rope, that entire team is eliminated, with the last trio standing the NEVER 6 Man Champions.

It was also decided that DDT wrestler and KO-D 6-Man Tag Team Champion Kaisei Takechi is going to be in action. The idea of him competing at the show was first thrown out there by NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi. Here is the write-up about Takechi:

Also confirmed for Wrestle Kingdom 20, Kaisei Takechi of DDT Pro-Wrestling and pop group the Rampage (itself a member of LDH and the EXILE Tribe) will be in action! 27 year old Takechi made his professional wrestling debut in February of 2024 for DDT, and in September managed to claim his own six man gold, winning the KO-D 6 Man Tag titles alongside Yuki Ueno and To-y. Takechi made a decided impact, albeit in defeat in Korakuen Hall at Purge Night of Torture, and now this stadium pop star is a stadium pro-wrestler in the Tokyo Dome January 4. What will Wrestle Kingdom have in store for Takechi?

The Wrestle Kingdom 20 lineup is listed as follows:

• NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship — Tornado Ranbo: YOH, Master Wato & Toru Yano (c) vs. TBA
• Hiroshi Tanahashi’s Retirement Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada
• Four-Way #1 Contender’s Match For IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Shot: El Desperado vs. Kosei Fujita vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. SHO
• NEVER Openweight Championship: EVIL (c) vs. Aaron Wolf
• NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship & IWGP Women’s Championship — Winner Takes All Match: Saya Kamitani (STRONG) vs. Syuri (IWGP)
• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship — Winner Takes All Match: Konosuke Takeshita (World) vs. Yota Tsuji (Global)