Hiroshi Tanahashi Wins IWGP United States Heavyweight Title At NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 16

In a stipulation match wholly unfamiliar to The Ace, Hiroshi Tanahashi overcame KENTA in a No DQ Match on day two of Wrestle Kingdom to regain the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

Both men battered each other with chairs, kendo sticks, a guitar and even KENTA's old IWGP United States Heavyweight Title Right to Challenge Briefcase, but none of the punishment was enough to put either the champion or the challenger away.

KENTA hoped a Falcon Arrow from the top rope through a table would win him the match but the Bullet Club man decided to continue the punishment and he collected a giant ladder from under the ring and lay The Ace across another another table.

Tanahashi recovered just in time, though, and he pushed KENTA from the ladder, sending him crashing face-first onto a trash can below, leaving the 40-year-old a bloody mess. The Ace then followed up with a High Fly Flow from the top of the ladder through a table for the victory.

With today's win, Hiroshi Tananashi beomes a two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion. He previously held the gold for 84 days in 2021 after defeating Lance Archer for the title in Los Angeles in August. He would then drop it to KENTA at Power Struggle in November before winning it back today.