Multiple Title Changes At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19

New Japan Pro-Wrestling presented their biggest show of the year in Wrestle Kingdom 19 from the Tokyo Dome on January 4 and the event featured plenty of title changes. 

In a crowning moment, Yota Tsuji defeated David Finlay to win the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship to end Finlay's second reign as champion after 245 days. Finlay hit the challenger with everything, including repeated Dominators early in the contest, and he later followed up with Overkill and Oblivion. Tsuji kicked out of everything, though, and he connected with a Powerbomb and a second Geneblaster before pinning Finlay for the win.

The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship also changed hands by forfeit as DOUKI was unable to continue during his title defence against former Suzuki-gun stablemate El Desperado. The match was a risk-taking affair but ended in catastrophe for DOUKI following a Top Rope Seated Senton to the outside as his arm landed awkwardly. Replays showed DOUKI suffered a suspected broken arm and the injury prompted the referee to wave off the contest, handing the win and the belt to Despe. An emotional El Desperado announced following the match that he and DOUKI would run it back when DOUKI is able to do so.

Konosuke Takeshita also became a double champion at Wrestle Kingdom 19, defeating Shingo Takagi in their Winner Takes All Match to become the NEVER Openweight Champion. The match was a very good, hard-hitting affair and Takeshita scored the win following his Raging Fire finishing move.

A feel-good moment took place during the first hour of Wrestle Kingdom as only days following his NJPW return after recovering from cancer, El Phantasmo won a four-way featuring Ren Narita, Jeff Cobb, and Ryohei Oiwa to win the NJPW World Television Championship. House of Torture’s Narita was the champion and he tried to take advantage with a wooden plank following a ref bump but the weapon was quickly broken by Jeff Cobb. The former Lucha Underground star then followed up with Tour of the Islands but the pin was broken up by a Senton Bomb from ELP. Phantasmo then hit Narita with the Thunder Kiss 86 for the win. 

The Ichiban Sweet Boys of Robbie Eagles and Kosei Fujita captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles in the opening contest, winning a Tokyo Terror Ladder Match that featured the Intergalactic Jet Setters of Kevin Knight & KUSHIDA, Bullet Club War Dogs’ Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney, and Catch 2/2’s TJP & Francesco Akira. The win ended KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight’s reign at 82 days.