NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 results, latest winners and video highlights

Kazuchika Okada(c) vs Tetsuya Naito - IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito stole the show to no surprise

Naito started the match off with the mental edge, taunting the champion. He drove the direction of the match in the early going, showing just how much of a different level he is on.

A dropkick by the champion sent the challenger Naito outside the ring from the top post. Naito slammed Okada with a brutal neckbreaker on the apron. The Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada shifted the momentum with a flurry of offence on Naito.

A shift in momentum between the two back and forth culminated in an elbow strike change between the two, where Naito got the better of him. As both stars were on the top rope and Naito tried a top rope suplex, but Okada elbowed him down.

Okada used the balance of just the ropes to hit a missile dropkick but Naito dogged, leading Okada to take quite the bump. Okada still outpowered Okada for a rough suplex almost on his neck.

The intense battle between @rainmakerXokada and @s_d_naito sets the #NJWK12 into a frenzy! With New Japan Pro-Wrestling's highest prize on the line, it's all or nothing! pic.twitter.com/8UXQESpT0v

— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) January 4, 2018

Okada missed one rainmaker but landed the next one. Naito kicked out in the nick of time. A later exchange saw Naito hit a Destino, but he didn't go for the pin.

Naito and Okada went for a slap exchange and the champion got tired out. When he did, Naito spat on his face and slapped him hard.

Okada managed to hit a rainmaker and clutched on to Naito's wrist, reminiscent of his match against Tanahashi exactly two years prior. His second attempt at the rainmaker missed and Naito landed the Destino, only getting a two count.

Naito went for Destino #3 but Okada elbowed him away. Okada would go on to land his picture-perfect dropkick, a routine Okada thing.

The Rainmaker hits a picture perfect dropkick! One of the Wonders of the Pro-Wrestling World! pic.twitter.com/CYo2x8AK3T

— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) January 4, 2018

Okada would then hit the Tombstone but get hit by a Destino. Naito's second destino attempt missed and Okada hit another tombstone followed by a rainmaker. Okada retained for the third year in a row.

Kazuchika Okada defeated Tetsuya Naito to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship

After the match, Gedo told Naito that he's superhuman. Okada said that he would do it with Naito again at the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. He noticed a few empty seats but vowed to fill them. He wished to make it rain on the crowd, not just with money, but with joy, pride and happiness.

The Rainmaker stood tall for the third year in a row to wrap up a fantastic Wrestle Kingdom event.

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