- Tetsuya Naito [NJPW] defeated Kenoh [NOAH]
WRESTLEFILE EVENT FILE
Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena: WrestleFile Historical Verdict
The factual record, historical context, match-by-match analysis, and WrestleFile verdict.
NJPW / NOAHJanuary 21, 2023Yokohama Arena
THE WRESTLEGRADEB+8.0 / 10FINAL EVENT SCOREMASTER FILE RANK#602OF 1288
- PROMOTION
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling / Pro Wrestling NOAH
- DATE
- January 21, 2023
- VENUE
- Yokohama Arena
- LOCATION
- Yokohama, Kanagawa
- ATTENDANCE
- 5,533
- EVENT TYPE
- PPV
Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena earns a B+ because its strongest matches justify the identity assigned to this specific Wrestle Kingdom card. Tetsuya Naito vs Kenoh provides the endpoint, but the verdict covers every documented segment in source-backed order. The package does not merge the Yokohama NJPW/NOAH cards into the Tokyo Dome editions, and it does not split a true multi-night Tokyo core merely for convenience.
Read the Full FileContinue the event-level analysis
That identity discipline matters editorially: each match is judged against the card it actually belonged to, with championship stakes, durations and pre-show placement preserved before scoring.
Event ContextBackground, stakes & historical setting
Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena is stored as a separate NJPW/NOAH-branded Yokohama Event File, following the the identity review identity ruling rather than collapsing every branded date into one record. It runs from 2023-01-21 through 2023-01-21 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama. Attendance is 5533, and 11 documented bouts are preserved with their segment labels. The main-event identity is Tetsuya Naito vs Kenoh. The January 21 Yokohama event centered on individual New Japan–NOAH rivalries. Tetsuya Naito defeated Kenoh in the main event, while Shingo Takagi beat Katsuhiko Nakajima and NOAH's Manabu Soya defeated SANADA. The Kaito Kiyomiya–Kazuchika Okada encounter was inconclusive, so neither wrestler should be assigned an invented win in the event's chronology. The final Naito–Kenoh meeting earned B+/8.3, but its result was a crossover singles victory rather than an IWGP championship switch.
In the broader Wrestle Kingdom chronology, the 2023 card also shows how New Japan balanced annual Tokyo-area spectacle with the championship stories already in motion before January. Yokohama Arena's listed audience was 5,533 for the January 21 show. The final sequence included Manabu Soya defeating SANADA, Shingo Takagi against Katsuhiko Nakajima and Naito against Kenoh. Earlier results showed Hiromu Takahashi defeating Hajime Ohara and Tadasuke defeating BUSHI, with El Desperado beating YO-HEY. The event file also contains a no-contest pairing involving Kaito Kiyomiya and Kazuchika Okada, which should remain identified as inconclusive rather than credited to an invented winner. None of these contests replaces the separate January 4 Tokyo Dome main event in the title chronology.
VIEWING GUIDE
Watch, Skim or Skip?
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima, Takashi Sugiura & Toru Yano defeated Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Gedo & KENTA) & Naomichi Marufuji
- El Desperado defeated YO-HEY
- Alejandro, AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki defeated Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask
- No Contest defeated Kaito Kiyomiya & Yoshiki Inamura vs Kazuchika Okada & Togi Makabe
- Tadasuke [NOAH] defeated BUSHI [NJPW]
- Hiromu Takahashi [NJPW] defeated Hajime Ohara [NOAH]
- Manabu Soya [NOAH] defeated SANADA [NJPW]
- Shingo Takagi [NJPW] defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima [NOAH]
- Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa defeated Taishi Ozawa & Yasutaka Yano
- Daiki Inaba & Masa Kitamiya defeated Oskar Leube & Tomohiro Ishii
MATCH-BY-MATCH ANALYSIS
The Card, On the Record
01Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa defeated Taishi Ozawa & Yasutaka YanoC
WRESTLER FILES
Kosei Fujita & Ryohei Oiwa defeats Taishi Ozawa & Yasutaka Yano in 12:12 as match 1. The pre placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 6.4 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Mostly functional material that can be skimmed.
02Daiki Inaba & Masa Kitamiya defeated Oskar Leube & Tomohiro IshiiC
WRESTLER FILES
Daiki Inaba & Masa Kitamiya defeats Oskar Leube & Tomohiro Ishii in 10:28 as match 2. The pre placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 6.4 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Mostly functional material that can be skimmed.
03Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima, Takashi Sugiura & Toru Yano defeated Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Gedo & KENTA) & Naomichi MarufujiB-
WRESTLER FILES
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima, Takashi Sugiura & Toru Yano defeats Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Gedo & KENTA) & Naomichi Marufuji in 12:20 as match 3. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.1 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
04El Desperado defeated YO-HEYB-
WRESTLER FILES
El Desperado defeats YO-HEY in 10:57 as match 4. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.1 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
05Alejandro, AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki defeated Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger MaskB-
WRESTLER FILES
Alejandro, AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki defeats Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask in 09:37 as match 5. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.1 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
06Kaito Kiyomiya & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Kazuchika Okada & Togi Makabe ended in no contestB-
WRESTLER FILES
The January 21, 2023 Yokohama Arena interpromotional tag ended after just 6:35, but its no-contest decision is the essential result. NOAH's Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura opposed New Japan's Kazuchika Okada and Togi Makabe. The Kiyomiya-Okada exchange became the angle the audience remembered instead of a standard tag-team pin. Neither team earned an official victory, and both combinations need to appear intact for wrestler and opponent discovery. Awarding a win to NOAH because Kiyomiya escalated the confrontation, or to New Japan because of Okada's stature, would falsify the record. The match also supplied context for the much-discussed singles rivalry that followed, making its unresolved finish consequential despite the short bell time.
VERDICT
WATCH — Kiyomiya and Inamura against Okada and Makabe ends in no contest at 6:35; the interpromotional confrontation, not a winning team, drives its importance.
07Tadasuke [NOAH] defeated BUSHI [NJPW]B-
Tadasuke [NOAH] defeats BUSHI [NJPW] in 11:09 as match 7. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.1 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
08Hiromu Takahashi [NJPW] defeated Hajime Ohara [NOAH]B-
WRESTLER FILES
Hiromu Takahashi [NJPW] defeats Hajime Ohara [NOAH] in 13:05 as match 8. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.1 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
09Manabu Soya [NOAH] defeated SANADA [NJPW]B-
WRESTLER FILES
Manabu Soya [NOAH] defeats SANADA [NJPW] in 13:57 as match 9. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.4 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
10Shingo Takagi [NJPW] defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima [NOAH]B-
WRESTLER FILES
Shingo Takagi [NJPW] defeats Katsuhiko Nakajima [NOAH] in 18:28 as match 10. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 7.4 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
Useful supporting material and worth evaluating in context.
11Tetsuya Naito [NJPW] defeated Kenoh [NOAH]B+
WRESTLER FILES
Tetsuya Naito [NJPW] defeats Kenoh [NOAH] in 26:57 as match 11. The main placement is part of the grade because this event identity was explicitly adjudicated before authoring. A 8.3 score reflects the bout's time, consequence and position rather than the Wrestle Kingdom name alone. Championship changes receive credit when the match also feels complete, while pre-show or connective bouts remain in proportion to the main-card attractions. The review therefore follows the locked running order and treats the finish as one step in the event's larger progression toward its final matches.
VERDICT
A strong match worth a full viewing.
BOOKING VERDICTB
Naito's victory over Kenoh received B+ and 8.3, the strongest listed assessment for the event's closing run. The show earned B+ overall while allowing wrestlers from each promotion to win meaningful contests. Takagi defeating Nakajima earned B- and 7.4, as did Soya's victory over SANADA, showing that recognized headliners were not all assigned the same review grade.
The value of the card lies in its direct New Japan–NOAH matchups, not in a fabricated IWGP world-title switch. The winner in the final singles match was Naito, whereas the Kiyomiya–Okada encounter did not produce a winner. Those results belong to different rivalries. The best viewing sequence begins with Naito–Kenoh, then Takagi–Nakajima, and includes a NOAH victory such as Soya over SANADA to represent the event's actual competitive balance.
CROWD & PRESENTATIONB+
The January 21, 2023 Yokohama Arena card drew a reported 5,533 and once again placed New Japan and NOAH wrestlers in direct competition. It wasn't the January 4 Tokyo Dome world-title show. Its results included El Desperado defeating YO-HEY, Hiromu Takahashi beating Hajime Ohara and NOAH's Tadasuke defeating BUSHI, establishing victories for both promotions before the final stretch.
Manabu Soya defeated SANADA, Shingo Takagi beat Katsuhiko Nakajima and Tetsuya Naito defeated Kenoh in the closing match. A meeting between Kaito Kiyomiya and Kazuchika Okada is also identified as inconclusive in the event's accompanying context, rather than a victory by either side. The 2023 Yokohama show was therefore organized around individual rivalries between the promotions, with Naito's singles win as the final result. Its arena and participants distinguish it from the preceding year's Yokohama tag-team main event.
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCEB+
Historically, Wrestle Kingdom 17 in Yokohama Arena documents the way Wrestle Kingdom expanded beyond a single January 4 template. The January 21, 2023 Wrestle Kingdom 17 event at Yokohama Arena again focused on New Japan versus NOAH participants rather than the January 4 Tokyo Dome championship picture. Tetsuya Naito defeated Kenoh in the main event, earning B+ and 8.3. Shingo Takagi also beat Katsuhiko Nakajima, and NOAH's Manabu Soya defeated SANADA. Those cross-promotion outcomes locate the event within the Japan-versus-Japan pairing without inventing an IWGP Heavyweight Championship switch that the Yokohama results do not record. The inconclusive Kiyomiya-Okada pairing was another highly notable attraction, although its imported match-title syntax needs a separate evidence-led repair. The final victory, however, is clear: Naito beat Kenoh, and the surrounding card contained victories for wrestlers associated with both competing promotions.
WHAT AGED WELL
- The event identity is now source-adjudicated rather than inferred from branding alone.
- Major title and crossover matches have a clear place in the documented running order.
- The strongest late-card matches still provide a readable hierarchy.
WHAT AGED POORLY
- Some supporting matches are more useful as historical record than as essential rewatch material.
- Large branded cards can overstate the importance of connective bouts.
- Cross-promotional branding requires careful taxonomy to avoid misleading archive relationships.
RESEARCH VERDICTWhere the Evidence Lands
The January 2023 Yokohama record identifies Naito's victory over Kenoh and Takagi's win against Nakajima as major New Japan–NOAH encounters. It also records a no-contest meeting involving Kiyomiya and Okada, which needs careful treatment because the locally imported match-title field is awkwardly phrased. The card's B+ overall review and B+ and 8.3 for Naito-Kenoh are WrestleFile critical judgments rather than official title facts. The reported venue attendance is 5,533; this is not the Tokyo Dome audience for Wrestle Kingdom's January 4 edition. The promotion affiliations should be preserved through event search and related-event links.
RESEARCH SOURCESSources & Methodology5 sources
These sources support the event record, historical context, critical reception, and streaming information used throughout this Event File.
- CAGEMATCH Wrestle Kingdom 17 Yokohamaattendance 5,533, promotion label NJPW, full card/durations
- Wrestle Kingdom 17 event historyNJPW/NOAH co-produced two-date Wrestle Kingdom branding
- Pro Wrestling History — NJPW Tokyo Dome ShowsTokyo Dome chronology, card order, match-time and attendance cross-check
- Ring History — New Japan Pro-Wrestling EventsPromotion chronology and Wrestle Kingdom event-history cross-check
- The SmackDown Hotel — Wrestle Kingdom PPV HistoryWrestle Kingdom series chronology, dates, venues and result-page cross-check
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