| Wrestle Kingdom IV | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | January 4, 2010[1] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[2] | ||
| Venue | Tokyo Dome[1] | ||
| Attendance | 41,500[2] (official) 20,000[3] (claimed) | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Wrestle Kingdom chronology | |||
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| New Japan Pro-Wrestling events chronology | |||
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Wrestle Kingdom IV in Tokyo Dome (レッスルキングダムIV in 東京ドーム,Ressuru Kingudamu IV in Tōkyō Dōmu) was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV) event produced by theNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW)promotion, which took place at theTokyo Dome inTokyo, Japan on January 4, 2010.[1][4] It was the 19thJanuary 4 Tokyo Dome Show and the fourth held under the "Wrestle Kingdom" name. The event featured ten matches, five of which were contested forchampionships.
Through NJPW's international working relationships, the event featured wrestlers from the AmericanTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and MexicanConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) promotions for the third and second year in a row, respectively. In addition, wrestlers from Japanese promotionsPro Wrestling Noah andPro Wrestling Zero1 also took part in the show.
Wrestle Kingdom IV featured tenprofessional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[5]
Wrestle Kingdom IV was main evented byShinsuke Nakamura defending theIWGP Heavyweight Championship againstYoshihiro Takayama. This was the first match between the two in six years and was billed as a rematch from the2004 January 4 Tokyo Dome show. That match saw Nakamura defeat Takayama for theNWF World Heavyweight Championship, which was afterwards retired, leading to Takayama announcing that if he were to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom IV, he would immediately retire the title.[6]
The show would also feature the return ofNo Limit, the tag ofTetsuya Naito andYujiro, following their ten-month overseas learning excursion, spent in the MexicanConsejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL) and AmericanTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotions. No Limit had previously wrestled in NJPW'sjunior heavyweight tag team division, but would now work as heavyweights after making the transition in Mexico. Their return match would see them challenge for theIWGP Tag Team Championship in a three-wayhardcore match involving defending champions and TNA representativesTeam 3D (Brother Devon andBrother Ray) as well asBad Intentions (Giant Bernard andKarl Anderson).[7]
The show was headlined by Shinsuke Nakamura making his fourth successful defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Yoshihiro Takayama.[2] The event also featured several matches pitting NJPW wrestlers against wrestlers from thePro Wrestling Noah promotion. These included Noah'sTakashi Sugiura making his first successful defense of his promotion's top title, theGHC Heavyweight Championship, against NJPW'sHirooki Goto, NJPW'sHiroshi Tanahashi defeating Noah'sGo Shiozaki, NJPW'sTogi Makabe defeating Noah'sMuhammad Yone, and Noah'sNaomichi Marufuji capturing theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from NJPW'sTiger Mask.[2]
The fifth match of the show featured veteran wrestlersAbdullah the Butcher andTerry Funk as part of an eight-man tag team match. Funk's quartet won the match after Abdullah turned on his team, made up wrestlers from theChaos stable.[2]
The event also included title matches for both of NJPW's tag team championships. First,Apollo 55 (Prince Devitt andRyusuke Taguchi) made their fourth successful defense of theIWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against the CMLL team ofAverno andÚltimo Guerrero.[2] In the second title match, No Limit defeated reigning champions Team 3D as well as Bad Intentions in a hardcore match to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.[2]
