FTR & Karl Anderson’s NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 Opponents Revealed
The stage has been set for FTR and Karl Anderson’s title defense at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 17 on January 4, 2023.
Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi, collectively known as Bishamon, won the NJPW’s World Tag League 2022, and they will now challenge FTR for the IWGP heavyweight tag-team championships at the Tokyo Dome.
Bishamon defeated Aussie Open in the finals of the tournament, whereas FTR defeated United Empire and Roppongi Vice at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door to win the tag-team gold. It will be the second AEW vs NJPW match on the card, as Kenny Omega vs Will Ospreay has already been booked for the event.
On the other hand, Karl Anderson will make up for missing NJPW Battle Autumn, as he will defend his NJPW Never Openweight title against Tama Tonga at Wrestle Kingdom 17. Anderson was scheduled to defend his title on Nov 5, but he missed the event as he was working WWE Crown Jewel 2022.
Tonga challenged Anderson for a title match at WK17, which the latter accepted. Tama Tonga is a former Bullet Club member, whereas Anderson is an active part of this faction.
Also, with this match, Karl-Anderson will become the first-ever contractual WWE talent to compete at the Tokyo Dome.