NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19 live results: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Shota Umino

NJPW kicks off its biggest weekend of the year today with its biggest show of the year, Wrestle Kingdom 19 in Tokyo Dome.

In the main event, IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Shota Umino.

This is undoubtedly the biggest match of Umino’s career, as the 27-year-old tries to establish himself as the leader of the next generation of NJPW stars.

For Sabre, the match caps a year where he won the G1 Climax, the IWGP World title, and established himself as the top foreign star in NJPW.

A Tetsuya Naito vs. Hiromu Takahashi “dream match” is in today’s semi-main event position. Both are Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemates, but have agreed to a one-time dream encounter.

Today’s other title matches include David Finlay vs. Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Global title, DOUKI defends the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against E Desperado.

The AEW International and NEVER Openweight titles are on the line in a winner takes all match with Shingo Takagi vs. Konosuke Takeshita in a potential show-stealer.

Hiroshi Tanahashi puts his career on the line in a lumberjack match against EVIL. Ren Narita defends the NJPW World TV title in a four-way against Jeff Cobb, El Phantasmo, and Ryohei Oiwa.

Mayu Iwatani will defend the IWGP Women’s Championship against AZM. The main card kicks off at 3 a.m. Eastern time with a Tokyo Terror four-way ladder match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with Intergalactic Jetsetters vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys vs. Catch 2/2 vs. Bullet Club War Dogs.

The New Japan Ranbo to determine the number one contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship is set for the pre-show.

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Pre-show

Hirooki Goto won the New Japan Ranbo

This year’s Ranbo featured the stipulation of determining the #1 contender to the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Having relinquished and retired the King of Pro Wrestling Championship during the Road to Tokyo Dome tour, Great-O-Khan put on an Iron Man performance along the likes of SANADA, Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, and more.

The match came down to a seesaw struggle on the ropes between Khan on the inside and Hirooki Goto on the outside apron. Inevitably, Goto won the Ranbo, earning him the right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at a later date.