NJPW Championship Officially Retired

NJPW has officially confirmed that one of its championships will be retired, revealing a change to an annual tradition.

The King of Pro Wrestling Championship was a unique NJPW accolade, in which the provisional title is defended all year, before an official champion for that year is crowned in the final title match of the year, meaning each year only has one official champion.

The official title match of 2024 took place on Sunday’s (December 22) Road To Tokyo Dome show, and saw Great-O-Khan become the 2024 KOPW Champion following a controversial double-KO finish against Taichi.

NJPW has now confirmed that the King of Pro Wrestling Championship will be retired, with the Wrestle Kingdom Ranbo battle royal now set to determine a #1 contender for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

NJPW shared the following announcement, confirming proceedings:

A controversial end to December 22’s main event saw the KOPW 2024 Championship surrounded by controversy. A draw was the result of the main event, after Taichi and Great-O-Khan went down to a double KO.

O-Khan was declared the KOPW Champion with the title retained on a draw, but took to the microphone with an important declaration.

O-Khan said that he was retiring the KOPW title, and had one last act as the champion. The Dominator stated that in place of the KOPW Ranbo that has started recent Wrestle Kingdom events, this year the Ranbo should grant the winner a match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Now, an impending challenger after Wrestle Kingdom and Wrestle Dynasty will be determined in the first bout of the new year!

The KOPW Title was initially introduced as a trophy in 2020, before the trophy was replaced by a title belt in December 2022.

Wrestle Kingdom 19 will take place on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, one day before the Wrestle Dynasty crossover show, which will feature stars from NJPW, AEW, ROH, CMLL and STARDOM.

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