Wrestle Kingdom 9
On August 10, 2014, NJPW made two announcements. Firstly, Wrestle Kingdom 9 would be held at the Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2015. Secondly, NJPW revealed a partnership with Jeff Jarrett's Global Force Wrestling, which it approached about bringing the event to a new market. On November 4, GFW announced that it would present the event live on American pay-per-view television and that it had a PPV market of 125 million homes.
Wrestle Kingdom 9
Next, Tomohiro Ishii defended the NEVER Openweight Championship against Togi Makabe. Clotheslines, forearms, shoulder blocks, slaps, headbutts, sledgehammers, powerslams, powerbombs, and German suplexes were exchanged. Makabe won the match (and the title) with a running lariat and the "King Kong Knee Drop" from the top rope, followed by a pinfall at 12 minutes and 23 seconds.