For over a decade, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom has been the ultimate stage for professional wrestling—a showcase of the sport’s best talents in the hallowed Tokyo Dome.
While the event has featured many unforgettable moments and iconic matches, one pattern stands out: foreign wrestlers, or “gaijin,” always come up short in the main event.
Since Kenny Omega first broke the barrier at Wrestle Kingdom 11, several other non-Japanese wrestlers have headlined NJPW’s biggest night.
Stars like Jay White and Will Ospreay have fought valiantly on the grandest stage, delivering match-of-the-year candidates. Yet, despite their efforts, the Tokyo Dome spotlight has never culminated in victory for a gaijin.
This article will explore every foreign wrestler to headline Wrestle Kingdom, the circumstances leading to their iconic matches, and why the tradition of Japanese stars closing the night in triumph has persisted.
From Rikidozan’s foundational legacy to modern NJPW storytelling, we’ll uncover the cultural and historical reasons behind this fascinating trend.
Every Gaijin To Main Event Wrestle Kingdom
Here is a list of all of the foreign wrestlers who have main evented New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Wrestle Kingdom event.
The “main event” is the match that goes on last. In the event of a two-night event, the match that goes on last on night 2 is the true main event.
Wrestle Kingdom 16 had a third night, but this was a cross-promotional event that took place at the Yokohama Arena, not the Tokyo Dome.
Kenny Omega (Wrestle Kingdom 11)
Shockingly, it took 11 years for Wrestle Kingdom to have its first non-Japanese wrestler in the main event. Luckily, they picked well as Kenny Omega battled Kazuchika Okada in one of the best matches NJPW has ever seen.
Omega won the G1 Climax coming into this match, earning his spot against IWGP Heavyweight Champion Okada. Both were two of the best in the world and although Omega wasn’t as popular as he would become, he was still becoming a top star in NJPW.
While Naito vs Tanahashi threatened another fan vote (following the controversy at Wrestle Kingdom 8, which you can discover more about here), Omega vs Okada went on last at Wrestle Kingdom 8.
It was a fantastic battle that changed the way many Western fans viewed professional wrestling. Of course, Kazuchika Okada picked up the win in what would be the first of four iconic matches between the two great rivals.
Jay White (Wrestle Kingdom 15, Night 2)
Jay White’s performance in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 15 is, to me, one of the all-time great ones in professional wrestling history.
He faced Kota Ibushi in the Tokyo Dome, although you’d never know it by the crowd. They sat in silence, although that was a reflection of the rules surround COVID rather than any individual performance in the ring.
In fact, nobody got the crowd louder than night than Jay White, much to the chagrin of the local government. He trash talked the fans all throughout the 40-minute epic, goading them into jumping out of their seat to boo him out of the Tokyo Dome.
Kota Ibushi was at his peak here and simply had to walk out as the champion, although I still think based on this performance, Jay White should’ve been the first foreigner to win in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom.
Will Ospreay (Wrestle Kingdom 16, Night 2)
The main event of Wrestle Kingdom 16 (were not counting night 3) was amazing. This 5.75 star match broke the scale and proved (for the millionth time) just how impressive Kazuchika Okada and Will Ospreay are in the ring.
As with most Wrestle Kingdom main events, this one went over 30 minutes. However, it flew by with the pace these two worked at.
They ran around the ring like maniacs, having counters to each other’s counters to counters. It was arguably the best match of their 11 encounters (so far), although any one could earn that title.
Despite being the first Briton to main event the Tokyo Dome, Will Ospreay was put down with a Rainmaker and left his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship with Okada.
Jay White (Wrestle Kingdom 17)
For the second time in his career, Jay White went on last at the Tokyo Dome in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 17.
This match was less impressive than the previous encounters. However, this was mainly due to the incredible six-star match between Will Ospreay and Kenny Omega that went on in the semi-main event.
This bout was slightly a let-down. Neither man put on the show-stopping performance we knew they could. It was still a good match but not one to go back and watch on a regular basis like the other’s mentioned.
Okada won via Rainmaker, obviously. However, one man managed to beat the odds and go down in legend at the Tokyo Dome.
Zack Sabre Jr (Wrestle Kingdom 19)
Nearly two decades of disaster for foreign wrestlers at Wrestle Kingdom evaporated on January 4th 2025 as Zack Sabre Jr was victorious in the main event at the Tokyo Dome.
The Englishman walked into the event as the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. He won the G1 Climax in 2023 but cashed in his shot early, as Naito was in no condition to go on last.
He faced off with Shota Umino. The young star was not as beloved by the fans as the company would have liked. They were behind Zack Sabre Jr for the bulk of the match and wanted the Englishman to take home the win.
Luckily he did. Zack Sabre Jr defeated Shota Umino after three piledrivers to become the first foreigner to win in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom.
Why Do Foreigners Always Lose At The Tokyo Dome?
To understand why New Japan Pro Wrestling always ends Wrestle Kingdom with a Japanese star, you have to go all the way to the very origins of professional wrestling in Japan.
When Rikidozan ostensibly created the sport in the 1960s, there was a clear objective in mind. He wanted to revitalise the country following the devastation of World War II and bring national pride back to a nation that suffered badly.
After leaving the sumo wrestling world (for reasons that vary wildly) Rikidozan brought back national pride through pro wrestling.
His idea was to bring foreign stars, mainly from the US, to Japan to get a hiding from himself. After the devastation caused by the bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, seeing an American beaten soundly by the Japanese star (whose Korean heritage was a big issue in the sumo world) helped the country recover from their losses.
Having a local hero beat the evil foreign invader is a classic trope that has permeated even modern puroresu. It seems a lock to bet on the Japanese talent, to send the crowd home happy and reiterate what Rikidozan saw the sport to be.
Based on this, it’s easy to see why foreign wrestlers never win the main event of the Tokyo Dome. It’s similar in WWE, where no non-American or Canadian has ever walked out of Wrestling with the victory.
And before you mention it, no, Yokozuna does not count. He is from California.
Local fans want local heroes, and there’s no issue with that.
However, if we go to the pre-Wrestle Kingdom era, there has been one foreign wrestler who has won in the main event of the January 4th show at the Tokyo Dome.
At the Toukon Shidou Chapter 1 on January 4th 2006, Brock Lesnar defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.
He would later go on to leave the company, taking the IWGP Third Belt to the Inoki Genome Federation before dropping it to Kurt Angle.
Brock Lesnar seems as good as anyone to be the sole man to beat the streak of Japanese stars winning in the biggest show of the year. Anybody matching him will be immediately placed at the top of NJPW and will be given a spot in the company for life.
