The Great-O-Khan announced his decision to retire the NJPW King of Pro Wrestling Championship.

Great-O-Khan faced Taichi in the final KOPW match of 2024 where the winner would be the official KOPW Champion for the year. The two-out-of-three-falls match ended in a double KO after neither man could answer the referee's ten count on the third fall.

After the match, Great-O-Khan stated that he wanted to retire the KOPW Championship. He said that the NJPW Ranbo at Wrestle Kingdom, which has helped decide the first KOPW Champion of the year in previous years, should be for a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Title.

Great-O-Khan and Taichi battled to a draw in a two-out-of-three falls match that saw Taichi win the first fall in a No-Rope Sumo Rules Match and Great-O-Khan win the second fall where Yoshinobu Kanemaru was the special guest referee.

The KOPW Championship was created in 2020. Fans voted on the stipulation between the champion and the challenger in each title bout. Only the person who held the title at the end of the year was declared the KOPW Champion.