Bryan Danielson has challenged Kazuchika Okada for NJPW’s Wrestle Kingdom 18 event, and the challenge has been accepted.
Danielson, who is currently on the shelf with a broken orbital bone, is featured in a new promo from NJPW, seen below. He challenged Okada for Wrestle Kingdom 18 and promised to break his arm so that Okada can never perform his Rainmaker finisher again. Danielson is looking for payback after suffering a broken arm following Okada’s flying elbow drop in the main event of AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door back in June, which Danielson won by submission.
The promo aired during today’s NJPW Power Struggle event, after Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii retained the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championships over The Mighty Don’t Kneel. Okada then accepted the challenge, noting that he is the one who wants revenge against Danielson for the Forbidden Door loss. Okada also dared Danielson to try and break his arm. After the show, Okada addressed Danielson in a backstage interview and said, “Make sure you’re rested and you’re fully healed. Are you going to make it time? … If you’re too scared, just say how much it hurts, I won’t mind. I’ll pay you back [for] Forbidden Door.”
Wrestle Kingdom 18 will mark the third match with Okada and Danielson going at it. Besides the Forbidden Door main event, Danielson teamed with Claudio Castagnoli to defeat Okada and Orange Cassidy on the October 25th Dynamite. Danielson sold the broken orbital during the tag match but actually suffered the injury while wrestling Andrade El Idolo on the October 21st Collision.
NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 18 is scheduled for Thursday, January 4th at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. Below is the updated card:
*Kazuchika Okada vs. Bryan Danielson
*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. El Desperado
*IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Bullet Club War Dogs (Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) (c) vs. Catch 2/2 (TJP and Francesco Akira)
*IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship Three-Way: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Jon Moxley vs. David Finlay
*IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match: Sanada (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito
An eye for an eye, an arm for an arm on the mind of the American Dragon!@bryandanielson has challenged Kazuchika Okada for Wrestle Kingdom 18!
International tickets: https://t.co/eRt6rYrRMe#njpw #njwk18 pic.twitter.com/UXhe2RlCvu
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) November 4, 2023
Challenge made- challenge accepted!
Danielson vs Okada II is set for Wrestle Kingdom 18!#njpst report, backstage comment:https://t.co/2s3EliwN4g
Watch the Power Struggle replay!https://t.co/JZO8L0XLTJ#njpw #njwk18 pic.twitter.com/LiDtBMnA2y
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) November 4, 2023