Production Wrestle Kingdom 12

chris jericho wrestle first njpw match in 2 decades @ event

takaaki kidani announced njpw looked 30,000 fans in attendance show. tickets event went on sale on october 25, 2017. njpw said have been shocked @ large number of tickets sold outside of japan situation being described nothing before japanese pro wrestling show in history . on november 27, njpw announced ticket sales 80% previous year 20,000 tickets having been sold.

the event feature special appearance chris jericho, set wrestle first njpw match in 2 decades against kenny omega. billed alpha vs. omega , match mark jericho s first match outside of wwe since 1999. jericho worked njpw in 1997, masked super liger, before returning chris jericho name. jericho s last njpw match before wrestle kingdom 12 took place on september 23, 1998. worked wwe in july 2017, free agent. jericho came idea match after seeing august 2017 fight between conor mcgregor , floyd mayweather jr. , how money made. wanting put match thought fans never think possible, picked omega opponent. jericho reached out , omega s mutual friend, njpw color commentator don callis, contacted omega, talked njpw booker gedo, jericho s tag team partner 20 years ago. 2 sides met in new york city , negotiated several weeks, before deal match reached. @ time, jericho s appearance @ wrestle kingdom 12 scheduled one-time deal. jericho called match throwback 1980s, wrestlers travel overseas matches , stated match push promotions think more , more creative.

behind scenes, jericho became part of group of people started pushing show air on american pay-per-view (ppv) first time since wrestle kingdom 9 in 2015. in njpw felt airing show through njpw world enough, hoping jericho signing increase subscriber numbers. while njpw considered more popular in 2015, when wrestle kingdom 9 did 14,000 buys on american ppv, noted 2018 show take place thursday morning in united states opposed weekend did in 2015, seen major negative in terms of getting buys country. in late november, reported njpw had turned down fite tv s offer ppv rights outside of japan , not allowing event air on american ppv, wanting streaming service way see event live.

storylines

wrestle kingdom 12 feature professional wrestling matches involve different wrestlers pre-existing scripted feuds , storylines. wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events build tension , culminate in wrestling match or series of matches.

tetsuya naito, winner of 2017 g1 climax , number 1 contender iwgp heavyweight championship

wrestle kingdom 12 main evented kazuchika okada defending iwgp heavyweight championship against tetsuya naito. storyline behind match dates 2013, when naito won g1 climax tournament earn shot @ okada , iwgp heavyweight championship @ wrestle kingdom 8 on january 4, 2014. however, @ time, naito, despite being clean cut babyface, disliked njpw fans, led company changing course of action, announcing fan vote determine whether match between okada , naito or iwgp intercontinental championship match between shinsuke nakamura , hiroshi tanahashi main event wrestle kingdom 8. nakamura , tanahashi won vote, resulting in okada , naito losing main event spot. okada went on defeat naito in match retain title. in summer of 2015, naito traveled mexico work consejo mundial de lucha libre (cmll) promotion, joined villainous los ingobernables stable. upon return njpw, naito, using njpw fans rejection of him catalyst, reinvented character, leading him forming los ingobernables de japon stable. despite being villain, fans started getting behind naito los ingobernables de japon merchandise becoming njpw s top seller. when naito defeated okada @ invasion attack 2016 on april 10 win iwgp heavyweight championship first time, had crowd solidly behind him. naito went on lose title okada on june 19, 2016, @ dominion 6.19 in osaka-jo hall.

kazuchika okada, defending , longest-reigning iwgp heavyweight champion

on august 13, 2017, naito defeated kenny omega in finals win 2017 g1 climax. naito being embraced njpw fans, seen conclusion of four-year arch started @ 2013 g1 climax, rejected same fans. following win, naito gained possession of tokyo dome iwgp heavyweight championship challenge rights certificate, granted him shot @ iwgp heavyweight championship @ wrestle kingdom 12. on october 9 @ king of pro-wrestling, naito defended certificate against tomohiro ishii, while kazuchika okada defended iwgp heavyweight championship against evil, setting main event of wrestle kingdom 12 between champion okada , challenger naito. match officially announced in press conference following day. okada has held iwgp heavyweight championship ever since defeating naito @ dominion 6.19 in osaka-jo hall , enters match longest-reigning champion in title s history. match marks okada s fourth consecutive , overall fifth wrestle kingdom main event, while naito has never main evented show before.

on november 5, 2017, @ power struggle, chris jericho made surprise return njpw, appearing in video, challenged kenny omega match @ wrestle kingdom 12 in tokyo dome. challenge accepted omega, had been engaged in twitter feud fellow winnipegger on past weeks. match, contested omega s iwgp united states heavyweight championship, officially announced following day. due high-profile status of match, omega began petitioning wrestle kingdom 12 have double main event wrestle kingdom shows had had in 2013, 2014 , 2015. omega stated agreed okada , naito should have final match of show, felt , jericho should have second last match, claiming 4 months after creation of iwgp united states heavyweight championship, had made number 2 title in njpw on iwgp intercontinental championship.

in iwgp intercontinental championship match, hiroshi tanahashi defend title against jay white. white joined njpw in january 2015 , worked promotion young lion until june 2016, when left indefinite learning excursion united states, worked ring of honor (roh). during 2017 g1 climax, njpw started airing vignettes individual dubbed switchblade , announced making debut on november 5 @ power struggle. following main event of show, tanahashi defended iwgp intercontinental championship against kota ibushi, switchblade revealed returning jay white, confronted tanahashi , challenged him title match @ wrestle kingdom 12, before laying him out shellshock. following day, njpw officially announced match between tanahashi , white wrestle kingdom 12.

marty scurll, defends iwgp junior heavyweight championship in first four-way match in title s history

wrestle kingdom 12 feature first-ever four-way match iwgp junior heavyweight championship, marty scurll defends title against hiromu takahashi, kushida , ospreay. match set through series of title challenges in second half of 2017. after kushida had defended title against el desperado on september 16 @ destruction in hiroshima, confronted takahashi, ready challenge him title match. however, before takahashi complete challenge, knocked out ospreay, took title match himself , went on defeat kushida become new champion on october 9 @ king of pro-wrestling. following match, takahashi again came out issue title challenge, again interrupted, time scurll, snapped fingers , made own challenge ospreay. led match on november 5 @ power struggle, scurll defeated ospreay become new champion. following match, scurll , ospreay continued arguing, while kushida came out challenge scurll title match @ wrestle kingdom 12. finally, takahashi came out, time wearing helmet , gloves prevent other challengers knocking him out or breaking fingers, , made own title challenge. scurll declared take on 3 challengers. iwgp junior heavyweight championship has been defended in three-way match, prince devitt defending title against kota ibushi , low ki @ wrestle kingdom 7 in tokyo dome, marks first four-way title.

roppongi 3k after winning both iwgp junior heavyweight tag team championship , 2017 super jr. tag tournament en route wrestle kingdom 12

on october 9 @ king of pro-wrestling, sho tanaka , yohei komatsu made return njpw overseas learning excursion, when revealed rocky romero s new mystery team roppongi 3k. working under names sho , yoh , 2 defeated ricochet , ryusuke taguchi become new iwgp junior heavyweight tag team champions in first match back. following month @ power struggle, roppongi 3k won 2017 super jr. tag tournament defeating taguchi , ach in finals, becoming first team win annual tournament reigning champions. following win, 2 challenged young bucks, accepted romero, had significant history 2 involving iwgp junior heavyweight tag team championship , previous team roppongi vice. ever since njpw debut in october 2013, young bucks had become synonymous iwgp junior heavyweight tag team championship 6 title reigns. though 2 teams had faced off in roh during sho , yoh s excursion, marks first match between teams since sho , yoh s rebirth roppongi 3k.

also @ power struggle, cody confronted kota ibushi after had been defeated tanahashi in main event, offering defend roh world championship against him @ wrestle kingdom 12. match officially announced following day. prior wrestle kingdom 12, cody has multiple title defenses scheduled , should lose title, match on january 4 instead contested non-title special singles match .