Wrestle Kingdom 1 (2007) – Inaugural Main Event

Lore & Background

Before Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW's biggest annual events were scattered across different dates and venues. The promotion had a rich history of Tokyo Dome shows, but they lacked a unifying brand identity. Wrestle Kingdom 1 was conceived to change that: a single, definitive New Year's event that would anchor the entire promotional calendar and give fans a reason to gather in the Dome every January.

The 2007 edition carried particular weight because it was the very first. Every match on the card was being tested against the question, 'Does this belong on Wrestle Kingdom?' The 6-man tag team main event was chosen as a format that could showcase multiple stars simultaneously, create shifting alliances in the ring, and deliver the kind of sustained drama that a 45- to 60-minute main event demands. Takeru's presence, fresh off his TNA run, gave the match an international hook that helped sell the event as a cross-border spectacle rather than a purely domestic affair.

The legacy of that first main event is less about a single iconic finish and more about the template it set. Wrestle Kingdom main events would go on to feature IWGP title matches, multi-man elimination bouts, and cross-promotional spectacles, but the 2007 6-man tag established the principle: the main event must be a storytelling event, a narrative arc that rewards the audience who has followed the year's feuds and rivalries into the Dome.

In Their Own Story

The Tokyo Dome hummed at 7 PM on a cold January night. The air smelled of popcorn and the faint ozone tang of the ring lights being tested for the hundredth time. In the back, a wrestler rolled his shoulders, taped his wrists for the third time, and stared at the tunnel entrance. He could hear the crowd building in waves, the bass of the entrance music already vibrating through the concrete floor.

His opponent was already in the ring, bouncing on his toes, slapping the canvas with his palms. The referee raised the card. Six names. Three on each side. The bell hadn't rung yet, but the energy was already there, that electric tension of a first time, a first test, a first chapter in a story that would run for decades.

The bell rang. The Dome roared. And Wrestle Kingdom was born.

Reader's Guide

The build to Wrestle Kingdom 1's main event was the story of a promotion redefining itself. Throughout late 2006, NJPW had been positioning the January Dome show as something new, something bigger than the old New Year's cards. The 6-man tag format was selected because it allowed the card to feature multiple marquee names without reducing the main event to a single one-on-one. Takeru, arriving from his TNA tenure, was the international draw, and his presence signaled that Wrestle Kingdom would be a cross-border event from the start.

In the ring, the match unfolded as a shifting three-on-three war. Alliances broke and reformed with every tag. The key spots came in the mid-match stretch, where a double-team move turned the momentum and the crowd's energy shifted from one corner to the other. The turning point came when the lead changed hands for the final time, setting up a one-on-one stretch that the audience had been waiting for.

The finish was a hard, decisive cover that ended the match and sealed the inaugural Wrestle Kingdom with a bang. Fans still talk about it not because of a single spot, but because of the feeling: the sense that a new era of NJPW's biggest night had begun, that the Dome in January would always mean something different now. That first main event was less a highlight reel and more a foundation stone.

Did You Know?

• Wrestle Kingdom 1 was the first time NJPW used the 'Wrestle Kingdom' name as a standalone annual brand, separating it from the older New Year's show traditions that preceded it.
• The Tokyo Dome, where the event was held, has a capacity of roughly 55,000, making it one of the largest indoor venues in the world and a natural stage for a promotion's biggest night.
• Takeru's participation in the 2007 card was notable because it represented one of the early examples of cross-promotional talent headlining an NJPW flagship event, a trend that would grow significantly in later years.
• The January 4 date for Wrestle Kingdom 1 established the New Year's timing that the series has maintained, making it one of the most consistently scheduled major events in professional wrestling.