Tetsuya Naito Beats Chris Jericho to Win IWGP Intercontinental Title at WK 13 | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors
David Schmidt
Published Mar 23, 2026
Tetsuya Naito beat Chris Jericho at New Japan Pro-Wrestling's Wrestle Kingdom 13 at the Tokyo Dome on Friday to become IWGP intercontinental champion for the third time.
With the win, Naito has the second-most IWGP Intercontinental title reigns in New Japan history behind only Shinsuke Nakamura's five.
Friday's match between Naito and Jericho was a rematch of their bout at Dominion in June, which saw Jericho beat Naito for the title.
The feud between Naito and Jericho dates back to New Year Dash!! in January 2018, when Jericho attacked the Los Ingobernables de Japon member. Naito went on to beat Minoru Suzuki for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, which led to the highly anticipated title match against Jericho.
Y2J jumped Naito and got the early advantage in that match, leading to his shocking win and first reign as IWGP intercontinental champion.
Jericho's first title defense came against another Los Ingobernables de Japon member in Evil at Power Struggle in November. Jericho won the match and then attacked Evil afterward, which led to Naito making the save and challenging his rival for the title at Wrestle Kingdom.
Although Jericho tried to avoid the match, it was eventually booked and hyped as one of the top bouts on the Wrestle Kingdom card.
Jericho had a memorable match against Kenny Omega at Wrestle Kingdom last year, and he attempted to equal or exceed the performance he put on in that one.
Jericho and Naito put on another entertaining match that built on the story they told in their first encounter and throughout the rivalry they have had since then.
Naito's win means Jericho could be done with New Japan given his status as a free agent. If that is the case, there will be tons of options at Jericho's disposal from WWE to Impact Wrestling, and perhaps even the rumored All Elite Wrestling promotion.
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