Windy City Riot 2025 Card Finalized for NJPW’s Return to the U.S.

NJPW has officially confirmed the complete nine-match lineup for its return to the United States this weekend with Windy City Riot 2025, set to air live on pay-per-view via NJPW World.

The event will take place this Friday night at Wintrust Arena in Chicago and will be headlined by an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match, where reigning champion Hirooki Goto will defend his title against Shota Umino.

The championship bout was confirmed following events at Sakura Genesis. After successfully defending his title against David Finlay, Goto called out Umino as his next challenger, expressing a desire to showcase “true Japanese strong style” to American audiences.

Despite NJPW teasing a potential heel turn for Umino in recent weeks, he continued to play the role of a babyface following his win over Hiroshi Tanahashi at Sakura Genesis.

Goto enters this title defense following a strong run as champion, having already turned back challenges from Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, and Finlay. The match against Umino will mark the fourth defense of his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship reign.

In the semi-main event, fans will witness a historic moment as Hiroshi Tanahashi competes in his final match on American soil. He will take on Konosuke Takeshita before officially retiring from in-ring competition in January 2026.

Other additions to the card include a singles match between Tom Lawlor and TJP, as well as a kickoff match featuring NJPW U.S. Academy graduates Zane Jay and CJ Tino.

The full card for Windy City Riot 2025 is as follows:

• IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Shota Umino

• Hiroshi Tanahashi’s final U.S. match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Konosuke Takeshita

• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. David Finlay

• Tetsuya Naito & Titan vs. Rocky Romero & El Phantasmo

• 30-Minute Iron Man Match for the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii

• NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship: Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson (c) vs. KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight

• Strong Women’s Title Number One Contender’s Match: Mina Shirakawa vs. AZM (winner faces Mercedes Moné at Resurgence on May 9)

• Tom Lawlor vs. TJP

• Kickoff Match: Zane Jay vs. CJ Tino