NJPW: SANADA Teases NJPW Departure & Says He’s “Going on a Journey”, Knockout Brothers Deny Rumors of Them Leaving NJPW, Konosuke Takeshita NJPW Contract Update & Plans To Work More NJPW Shows in 2026

SANADA Teases NJPW Departure & Says He’s “Going on a Journey”

This past Sunday’s Wrestle Kingdom 20 event at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan was notable for SANADA teasing his departure from NJPW, SANADA came out to the ring wearing entrance gear that displayed a farewell message for his Tornado Ranbo match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. Following the show, SANADA had announced on Instagram that he had one more match left, which quickly led to more online speculation of him leaving NJPW soon.

Monday’s NJPW New Year Dash 2025 event in Tokyo featured SANADA teaming up with Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a Six-Man Tag Team match against Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Boltin Oleg. This match was notable for SANADA coming out to the ring holding a guitar that displayed another farewell message that stated “Goodbye New Japan.”

SANADA…

From the profile URL#NJPW #njpwworld #njdash pic.twitter.com/oVwlEoqqyX

— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) January 5, 2026

During a post-match backstage press conference, SANADA announced that he is stepping away from the ring and “going on a journey.”

SANADA「俺は今日をもってこのリングを去るよ。……旅に出るよ（※画面に『Good Bye』と表示されたギターを示して）」

1.5大田区大会のBSコメントを掲載中！https://t.co/uFo9GpwqKJ#njdash pic.twitter.com/Qqj8mbA4gt

— 新日本プロレスリング株式会社 (@njpw1972) January 5, 2026

It is currently not known if SANADA is actually leaving NJPW or if this is just a storyline departure for him.

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Knockout Brothers Deny Rumors of Them Leaving NJPW

Monday’s NJPW New Year Dash 2026 event in Tokyo, Japan featured the Knockout Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) defeating TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.) to retain the IWGP Tag Team Championship.

Following the match, Knockouts Brothers’ Yuto-Ice stated in a post-match press conference that the recent online rumors of them leaving NJPW are not true.

“Whatever rumors you might hear, we are never going anywhere.”

Rumors of OSKAR and Yuto-Ice leaving NJPW originated from a recent report from Self Made Report that claimed that WWE is currently interested in signing the duo and had recently offered them contracts to join their company.

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Konosuke Takeshita NJPW Contract Update & Plans To Work More NJPW Shows in 2026

Monday’s NJPW New Year Dash 2026 event in Tokyo, Japan featured the Don Callis Family (Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero) defeating El Phantasmo & Shoma Kato in a tag team match.

Following the match, Takeshita provided an update on his current contract status with NJPW during a post-match backstage press conference. Takeshita stated that he is still under contract with NJPW and has plans to work more events for NJPW in 2026.

TAKESHITA「嘉藤くんに申し訳ないけど、逆エビの恨みは逆エビで晴らさせてもらった（中略）去年は『G1』獲って、IWGP獲って、今俺の手元には何もない。つまりなんでもかんでも自由に動けるって事や。今年は新日本所属として、もっと面白い事やっていきたいなと思ってる」https://t.co/uFo9GpwqKJ pic.twitter.com/j68meCarQo

— 新日本プロレスリング株式会社 (@njpw1972) January 5, 2026