What time does NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 start in the United States?

NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 12 will go live on Thursday morning. How early should everyone in the United States wake up for it?

The first major wrestling show of 2018 doesn’t belong to WWE’s Royal Rumble. Instead, it’s the wrestlers of New Japan Pro Wrestling that take over with the arrival of Wrestle Kingdom 12. It’s NJPW’s annual Jan. 4 show which gets held at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan, featuring the biggest matches of the Far East.

Kazuchika Okada will return to the main event. He won’t face Hiroshi Tanahashi or have a historic rematch with Kenny Omega. This will be against Tetsuya Naito. They will battle for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

It’s Naito’s first try at the Wrestle Kingdom main event. With mainstay Tanahashi older and further down the card, it allows the Los Ingobernables de Japon leader to step forward and showcase his skill set. Will he and Okada put on the night’s best match?

For the United States fans, perhaps the most intriguing match will see Chris Jericho debut against Kenny Omega. Yes, the same Chris Jericho that dominated a WWE ring for nearly two decades. He surprisingly challenged Omega to a Wrestle Kingdom 12 match — a No DQ bout for the IWGP United States Championship — and will look to claim this fairly new NJPW belt at the show.

Will this be the start of Y2J’s NJPW career? It depends, especially with New Year’s Dash just 24 hours afterward. Either way, this match should be an interesting follow.

Fans in the United States will take an interest in Jericho’s night. However, it’s at an early start time since the show airs in Japan at 2:00 a.m. ET/11:00 p.m. PT. So whichever time zone you’re in, expect to stay up late for this four-to-five hour show.

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Will you stay awake to watch Wrestle Kingdom 12? Which match will dominate the night?