At their traditional post-blowout event press conference today in Tokyo, New Japan announced the full 8 match card for KING OF PRO WRESTLING 2025, the likely last such event of the year, on 10/13 at Ryogoku Kokugikan. As expected, the main event will be IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Konosuke Takeshita for the title as Takeshita is doing a Sabre from last year and cashing in his G1 CLIMAX winning prize of a title shot at Tokyo Dome early. It paid off for Sabre, will it happen again? The winner is all but going into 1/4 as champion.
Match 7 will be IWGP Global Champion Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji for the title. History actually favors Tsuji slightly as he has an 11-10-2 record against Kidd in single matches.
Match 6 will be NEW IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions OSKAR & Yuto Ice (Ice Baby) vs. Yuya Uemura & Shota Umino for the titles. The history here is when Yuto debuted in 2021 as Yuto Nakashima, his debut match against Uemura barely lasted a minute before he suffered an elbow injury that cost him most of his rookie year. I remember watching that match live on New Japan World, so devastating but an incredible comeback nonetheless.
Match 5 will be MEVER Openweight Champion Boltin Oleg vs. EVIL for the title. Because he is EVIL (…*bad sync-dubbing* INDEEEEEEEED!) and never far from those NEVER titles and will try to become a 4-tome champion.
Match 4 will be NJPW WORLD TV Champion El Phantasmo vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the title. This is a 20th Anniversary match for Phantasmo and probably Tanahashi’s last chance at a title before retirement at Tokyo Dome.
The first 3 matches in order are Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & Titan vs. David Finlay, Taiji Ishimori & Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney vs. SANADA and Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI & the returning Hirooki Goto vs. Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita.
The event will be available live and on demand OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY on New Japan World beginning on 10/13 at midnight PT/3 AM ET. It will be a live & exclusive TV Asahi broadcast in Japan.