While much of the match lineup will remain under wraps until Wrestle Kingdom concludes, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has officially confirmed the talent scheduled to compete at New Year Dash 2026.

The annual post Wrestle Kingdom showcase takes place at Ota City Gymnasium in Tokyo on January 5. It has already been announced that an IWGP Tag Team Championship match will headline the show, with Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa challenging OSKAR and Yuto Ice. As tradition dictates, the remainder of the card will be shaped by the outcomes and fallout from Wrestle Kingdom.

NJPW has confirmed the following wrestlers are slated to appear at New Year Dash 2026.

Aaron Wolf
Oleg Boltin
Shota Umino
Yuya Uemura
Hirooki Goto
YOSHI HASHI
Toru Yano
Tomohiro Ishii
Taichi
Satoshi Kojima
El Desperado
YOH
Master Wato
Zack Sabre Jr.
Ryohei Oiwa
Kosei Fujita
David Finlay
Gabe Kidd
Drilla Moloney
OSKAR
Yuto Ice
Clark Connors
Taiji Ishimori
Yota Tsuji
Hiromu Takahashi
Shingo Takagi
Callum Newman
Great O Khan
Andrade El Idolo
HENARE
EVIL
Ren Narita
SANADA
Yujiro Takahashi
DOUKI
SHO
Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Konosuke Takeshita

This event will mark the first NJPW show following the retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi, who is set to face Kazuchika Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom.

Either Konosuke Takeshita or Yota Tsuji will arrive at New Year Dash as a double champion. The two are scheduled to collide at Wrestle Kingdom with both the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship on the line.

Aaron Wolf could also enter New Year Dash holding gold. The Olympic judo gold medalist makes his professional wrestling debut at Wrestle Kingdom, where he challenges EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship.

Andrade El Idolo has also been announced for both Wrestle Kingdom and New Year Dash following the resolution of his WWE non compete situation. Both events will stream live on NJPW World.