Wrestle Kingdom 17 was a two-day professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event co-produced by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah) promotions. The first day of the event took place on January 4, 2023, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan and the second day of the event took place on January 21, 2023, at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan. It is the 32nd January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the 17th promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name. The event was held in honor of the NJPW founder Antonio Inoki, who died on October 1, 2022.
In the main event of night 1, Kazuchika Okada defeated Jay White to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. In other prominent matches, Kenny Omega defeated Will Ospreay to win the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, Keiji Muto teamed with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shota Umino to defeat Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Sanada and Bushi) in Muto's final NJPW match, and Kairi defeated Tam Nakano to retain the IWGP Women's Championship – following the match, Mercedes Moné, formerly known as Sasha Banks in WWE, made her NJPW debut. The event's first night also notably featured appearances from wrestlers signed to All Elite Wrestling, WWE, NJPW's sister promotion World Wonder Ring Stardom, and Noah. In the main event of the second night, which was co-promoted by Noah, Tetsuya Naito defeated Kenoh – after the match, Naito was announced as Keiji Muto's last ever opponent at Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling "Last-Love". In other prominent matches, Shingo Takagi defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kazuchika Okada and Togi Makabe wrestled Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura to a no contest, and Hiroshi Tanahashi teamed with Takashi Sugiura, Toru Yano and Satoshi Kojima to defeat Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Kenta and Gedo) and Naomichi Marufuji.
Night 1 of the event set an all-time viewership record for the NJPW World streaming service.
Production
Background
The January 4 Tokyo Dome Show is NJPW's biggest annual event and has been called "the largest professional wrestling show in the world outside of the United States" and the "Japanese equivalent to the Super Bowl". The show has been promoted under the Wrestle Kingdom name since 2007.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 was officially announced on August 18, 2022, during the finals of the G1 Climax. On November 24, NJPW announced a second night for the event, taking place on January 21 at the Yokohama Arena.
The January 4 event featured wrestlers from All Elite Wrestling (AEW), World Wonder Ring Stardom, and WWE. The January 21 event will see involvement from Pro Wrestling Noah.
The event honors the company's founder Antonio Inoki, who died on October 1, 2022.
Storylines
Night 1
Wrestle Kingdom 17 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
At Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall, Bullet Club leader Jay White defeated Kazuchika Okada to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Okada would later win the G1 Climax for a fourth time (and becoming a back-to-back winner), earning himself another title shot and the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. White defended the title against former Bullet Club original Tama Tonga at Declaration of Power, setting up his and Okada's rematch for the main event of Wrestle Kingdom.
Also at Declaration of Power, New Japan Pro-Wrestling president & CEO Takami Ohbari and TV Asahi representative Hiroyoki Mihira announced the creation of the NJPW World Television Championship. The title's first champion will be determined in a sixteen-man single-elimination tournament, which began on October 14, 2022, at night 1 of Battle Autumn, and will conclude at Wrestle Kingdom. Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Alex Zayne, David Finlay, and EVIL to reach the finals, and Ren Narita defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and Sanada for his finals spot.
After Will Ospreay defended the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship at Historic X-Over, his celebration was interrupted by a video from AEW's Kenny Omega. Omega blamed Ospreay for not being a suitable replacement for him in NJPW and, after receiving a call from management, decided to return to the company after four years and challenged Ospreay for the title at Wrestle Kingdom, which Ospreay accepted.