Wrestle Kingdom 9
Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotion, which took place at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan on January 4, 2015. It was the 24th January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the first event on the 2015 NJPW schedule. The event featured ten professional wrestling matches and one pre-show match, six of which were for championships.
King of Pro-Wrestling (2014)
In the semi-main event, Kazuchika Okada was booked to defend his certificate for an IWGP Heavyweight Championship match at Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome, which he had obtained by winning the 2014 G1 Climax, against Tetsuya Naito. During G1 Climax, Okada had been defeated by Naito, which resulted in him nominating Naito as his next challenger for the certificate. In the main event, Bullet Club's A.J. Styles would make his third defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. After failing to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Okada at the 2013 King of Pro-Wrestling, Tanahashi announced that he was leaving the title picture. However, after defeating Katsuyori Shibata at Destruction in Kobe, Tanahashi announced he was back and looking for a shot at A.J. Styles. Tanahashi and Styles previously faced off in Ryōgoku Kokugikan on February 17, 2008, and more recently met in a special non-tournament singles match during the final day of the 2014 G1 Climax. Tanahashi won the match, but was afterwards attacked by Bullet Club's newest member, Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett did not make another appearance for NJPW for two months, but was working behind the scenes on getting Wrestle Kingdom 9 in Tokyo Dome broadcast on the American PPV market. On September 29, Jarrett announced he was returning to NJPW at King of Pro-Wrestling.