New Japan Pro Wrestling New Beginning Tour Roundup

The New Beginning in Sapporo Night One

February 1^st 2020

Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center

Tomohiro Ishii pins EVIL in 21 minutes and 14 seconds

The backstory about EVIL being 0-8 against Ishii going into this match helped it be more than just a generic series of forearms and lariats. That said, it never really felt like EVIL was going all out here the way that he should have to sell that narrative. It was a shame to see him reverting back to the gimmicky chair spots that he really should have left behind him in 2016, especially coming off of a 2019 where he subtly added a lot more urgency and crispness to his arsenal. It also didn’t help that the Hokkaido crowd, who were pretty silent throughout most of this show, didn’t seem to be particularly into this contest. It was still a very well-worked hoss battle, but one that felt like a step down from the very strong match that they had together during last year’s Dontaku tour. *** ½

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi pins Hirooki Goto to gain the title in 20 minutes and 10 seconds

Shingo and Goto once again prove to have excellent chemistry, in this rubber match following last year’s spectacular G1 and Destruction bouts. Shingo can go to-to-toe with Goto on vicious, hard-hitting offense, but he also pushes the pace far beyond what’s expected of the typical NEVER Title slugfest. With these two you get the brutal no-nonsense action that has been the title’s hallmark but delivered with the speed of a high-end Junior division match. This match was also noticeably tight by New Japan main event standards, clocking in at just over 20 minutes even as it delivered every spot that a fan could want to see from a Shingo or a Goto match.

It remains to be seen how long New Japan will stick with this direction for what has traditionally been somewhat of a hot potato title, but at this point Shingo taking the reins feels momentous. He proved over the past year that he can have an exciting match with any wrestler on the roster, regardless of weight division, and on this weekend he had a diverse set of potential challengers set up in the form of Tomohiro Ishii, Toa Henare, and SHO. With the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Titles being merged, at least for the time being, the NEVER Title may need to fill that B-show main event void, and Shingo certainly has the charisma and talent to potentially elevate this title in the same way that Shinsuke Nakamura once did with the Intercontinental belt. Just look at the way that in this match Shingo yelled things at the crowd mid-bout and managed to be one of the only performers on the entire show to elicit a big reaction from them. The guy is a star. **** ½

The New Beginning in Sapporo Night Two

February 2^nd 2020

Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center

British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr defeats Will Ospreay via referee stoppage to retain the title in 27 minutes and 4 seconds

An exciting duel emphasizing the distinct fighting styles of technical wizard ZSJ and aerial assassin Will Ospreay. Ospreay was occasionally able to fend Sabre off with his unpredictable acrobatics, but the long-reigning British Heavyweight Champion generally had an answer for everything, and as usual was able to apply a complex submission maneuver from basically any position in the ring. The match was full of neat little details like Sabre wisely rolling out of the ring when he knew he was in danger of being pinned following an Oscutter. These two kept up an impressive pace for the entire match, and while it does feel like they could have accomplished just as much in a bout that was 10 minutes shorter (especially as we would learn later on this tour that the two will rematch at an upcoming Rev Pro show) I can’t say that I was ever bored. ****

Kazuchika Okada pins Taichi in 30 minutes and 53 seconds

Taichi has really come a long way in the last year or so, to the point that he now looks right at home challenging the company ace in the main event of a relatively big show. (Although it should be noted that his tremendous entrance video did a lot of heavy lifting in making him come off as a big star here). Still, I’m not sure that it should have taken Okada over 30 minutes to defeat Taichi, especially since the extended match length forced the Suzukigun member to resort to some of the played-out gimmickry (the iron fingers, using Miho Abe as a shield, etc.) that it seems like he should have evolved past by now. Despite the unnecessary excesses, this was still for the most part an entertaining contest with a fully engaged crowd, some convincing nearfalls, and a great closing stretch of counters and reversals. Shave 10 minutes off and you might be looking at Taichi’s best performance ever. *** ½

Road to the New Beginning

Thursday February 6^th 2020

Korakuen Hall in Tokyo

NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship: Shingo Takagi, EVIL, and BUSHI defeat Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Robbie Eagles to retain the titles in 21 minutes and 44 seconds when BUSHI pins Eagles

This had to have been the best match to date in these titles’ four-year existence. It really delivered on the openweight trio match format’s potential for dynamic action, as all six men worked at a blistering pace whether delivering beefy strike exchanges, high flying Junior spots, or a combination of the two. The interactions between Shingo and Ishii had me salivating for a likely upcoming NEVER Title singles match between the two, especially during a wild moment where Shingo ran full force and collided with Ishii as the latter was entering the ring, causing Ishii to awkwardly crumple on his injured leg. Robbie Eagles and BUSHI delivered a really thrilling closing stretch as well, where there was serious doubt as to who would come out on top. I found myself much more invested in these often throwaway titles than I currently am in the Heavyweight Tag Title scene, where I’m not sure that I’ll even be able to bring myself to watch the New Beginning in USA match where the ultra-boring G.O.D. won the titles back from Finjuice.  ****

New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night Two

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night Two

January 5^th 2020

Tokyo Dome

Hiromu Takahashi & Ryu Lee defeat Jyushin Thunder Liger & Naoki Sano in 12 minutes and 16 seconds when Hiromu pins Liger

This was simultaneously a great way to open this show and a great way to end the career of all time wrestling legend Jyushin Thunder Liger. Unlike the previous night’s opener, this felt like a genuinely competitive match and not just a fun nostalgia trip. Liger did his best to hold his own against the younger stars, and was able to temporarily fend them off at times with his arsenal of Romero Specials, tilt-a-whirl backbreakers, and palm strikes, but ultimately he could not match the speed or intensity of the current generation. For their part the younger wrestlers didn’t take it easy on their seniors, but showed them the respect of bringing a true sense of competition to the match. The ending stretch had a bit of a tragic air to it, and you could hear the crowd gasp in sadness as Hiromu finished off the legend with his Time Bomb. *** ½

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) defeat El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori to gain the titles in 14 minutes and 8 seconds when SHO pins Phantasmo

Over the past six months the Bullet Club junior team has largely felt like a vehicle for El Phantasmo, with the more talented Ishimori relegated to sideman duties. Here’s hoping that Ishimori gets to focus on something other than stomping on balls and raking backs in 2020.

That said, Phantasmo was on his A-game here, and really impressed with his some of his high flying maneuvers. This match brought a satisfying resolution to the Phantasmo story, as his attempt at one of his trademark dick punches was thwarted by SHO and YOH’s decision to wear metal, color coordinated cups under their gear. A goofy ending to be sure, but one that felt appropriate for the story being told, and the comedic change of tone was welcome coming on the heels of the Liger retirement match. *** ½

British Heavyweight Championship: Zack Sabre Jr pins SANADA to retain the title in 12 minutes and 32 seconds

There was an excellent sense of urgency to this match, as each man seemed to be trying to end the match with practically every movement that they made. The grappling was so blisteringly fast that referee Tiger Hattori didn’t even have a chance to count to one on many of the pinfall attempts. The breathless series of counters and reversals made mat wrestling seem as exciting as any high flying spotfest. ****

United States Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley pins Juice Robinson to retain the title in 12 minutes and 48 seconds

An oddly uninspired ending to a feud that was so hot last summer. The typhoon that caused Jon Moxley to miss King of Pro Wrestling prevented he and Juice from giving a proper ending to their angle, so it was understandable on paper that New Japan would have these two face off again in the Tokyo Dome. But the match ultimately felt far less heated than their previous encounters, as if these two just wanted to quickly tie up a loose end. The big post-match angle, with Minoru Suzuki arriving to challenge Moxley, was far more memorable and exciting than the actual match was. ** ½

NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto pins KENTA to gain the title in 16 minutes and 12 seconds

In a way this match was hurt by the shadow of Katsuyori Shibata, who played a significant role in the build but then didn’t appear in this match even as a cornerman for his friend Goto. I spent much of the match waiting for an interference spot that would cause Shibata to come in and clean house. Ultimately I think it’s good that they didn’t go that route, as it would have taken something away from Goto’s win and the following match certainly more than filled the interference quota for the weekend. But Shibata’s absence here felt glaring.

The actual match that we got was a strong meat and potatoes match in the typically hard hitting style of many NEVER Title matches, which is an aesthetic that plays to both men’s strengths. The lariat and open hand slap exchanges were great, and Goto’s GTR finisher continues to look like a truly devastating execution blow. KENTA’s cockiness played well off of Goto’s no-nonsense demeanor and made for a solid if somewhat generic old school match. *** ½

Jay White pins Kota Ibushi in 24 minutes and 58 seconds

This loser’s bracket match had a lot working against it, in that it didn’t feel like there were any real stakes (beyond the loser suffering two defeats in as many days) and that it was plagued by featuring way too many Gedo interference spots. The brass knuckle and chair shots and ref bumps can all be effective tools when used sparingly, but they increasingly feel like crutches in White’s matches, and there was just way too much of it here. That said, these two do have really good in-ring chemistry, as they showed again here particularly during a sequence where they were fighting each other on the top rope. Ultimately this was an entertaining match whose flow was constantly interrupted by shenanigans. ***

Chris Jericho forces Hiroshi Tanahashi to submit in 22 minutes and 24 seconds

These two veterans wisely chose to focus on making this a dream match rather than trying to attempt the type of mat classic that is probably simply beyond Jericho’s capabilities at his advanced age. While that meant that this match didn’t have the gravity of past Wrestle Kingdom semi-main events (including the ones involving Jericho) it did also allow this to be one of the more purely fun matches of the weekend. They stole each other’s signature spots and taunts, including a great moment where Jericho missed hitting his own High Fly Flow and Tanahashi gave a great shit eating grin toward the camera. On top of all the funny enjoyable moments the two also worked a smart match layout, with Tanahashi consistently working over Jericho’s knees and Jericho working on Tanahashi’s back, leading logically to the brutal looking Lion Tamer finish. *** ½

IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Double Championship: Tetsuya Naito pins Kazuchika Okada to become the first double champion in 35 minutes and 37 seconds

This was the culmination of not just the past year’s Double Gold Dash storyline, not just the two years of Naito’s struggle since losing to Okada at Wrestle Kingdom 12, and not just the six years since Naito’s push failed and he got bumped from the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 8. It really was the culmination of the entirety of the Bushiroad era of New Japan, with the two men identified by the company as top prospects back in 2012 finally entering as the undisputed top stars of the promotion and colliding in a true blowoff to their highly layered, nearly decade long rivalry.

I’m not as emotionally invested in Tetsuya Naito’s journey as his many diehard fans are, but he and Okada had me gripped here from bell to bell with all of the callbacks to past matches and moments. Unlike the previous night’s main event with its overly deliberate start, this was immediately engaging, and these two made every moment count. Naito finally hitting the Stardust Press that cost him the match two years ago, and it still not being enough to topple Okada, was a particularly genius moment that displayed New Japan’s incredible facility for calling back to memorable past moments at just the right time. Naito’s final victory felt fully earned, as he had to empty absolutely everything in his past and present arsenal to finally take down the company ace on the biggest stage. Truly one of the best matches I’ve ever seen. *****

The post-match angle with KENTA interrupting Naito’s LIJ roll call was exceptionally well executed (at least if you can look past the logic gap of the guy who lost the NEVER Title earlier in the night instantly becoming a contender for the top titles) and drew massive heat as well as pointing at a much fresher direction for New Beginning than the expected Naito/White rematch would have been. 2020 already looks like another great year for New Japan.

New Japan Pro Wrestling Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night One

New Japan Pro Wrestling

Wrestle Kingdom 14 Night One

January 4^th 2020

Tokyo Dome

Naoki Sano, Shinjiro Otani, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeat Jyushin Thunder Liger, Tatsumi Fujinami, The Great Sasuke, and Tiger Mask in 8 minutes and 52 seconds when Taguchi pins Liger

New Japan has such a large core roster that they very rarely have occasion to do this type of nostalgia tag match that is so prevalent on big shows from other puro companies. But this was a very fun way to kick off Jyushin Thunder Liger’s retirement, as he stood next to childhood idols, friends and rivals from throughout his career (plus the somewhat out of place Ryusuke Taguchi). Bringing back old school New Japan ring announcer Kero Tanaka was an awesome touch. Ultimately the match was little more than a nostalgia trip, but it had a lot of charm and felt well-earned given Liger’s legendary career. None of the old legends were in the ring long enough to embarrass themselves, and there were enough bodies to keep this surprisingly high paced for an old guys match. ***

Zack Sabre Jr, Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and El Desperado defeat SANADA, EVIL, Shingo Takagi, and BUSHI in 8 minutes and 39 seconds when Sabre forces BUSHI to submit

A thoroughly average eight man tag. LIJ and Suzukigun tend to have great chemistry in these multiman matches, but there was ultimately very little that stood out in this match, and certainly nothing to make it seem worthy of this huge stage. The Korakuen tag matches from the end of 2019 were actually much more effective in terms of hyping up the following night’s ZSJ/SANADA showdown than this match was, and were better matches to boot. That said, this was short enough to be inoffensive, and there was at least a bit of continuity as Sabre got revenge on BUSHI after the LIJ pineater upset him at the end of the last Road To show. ** ½

Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, and YOSHI-HASHI defeat KENTA, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi in 8 minutes and 17 seconds when Goto pins Yujiro

Another “get everybody on the card” tag match that was ultimately even less noteworthy than the previous eight man. Ishii hitting a brainbuster on the massive Fale was the only real highlight. The match was compact and competently worked but also totally inconsequential. **

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Finjuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) defeat Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa) to gain the titles in 13 minutes and 25 seconds when Finlay pins Tama

One of the problems with the World Tag League tour is that it’s final match tends to suck all of the feel good momentum out of the Tokyo Dome Tag Title bouts, which are inevitably shorter and less dramatic than the tournament finals that come a mere few weeks beforehand. It was great to see the long-neglected David Finlay pick up a big pinfall over EVIL at the end of that tournament, and still kind of cool to see him cleanly defeat Tama Tonga here, but the earlier match felt like the real crowning achievement. Of course it doesn’t help that this time Finjuice were facing the ultra-bland G.O.D. tag team that has done so much to weigh down this division in recent years with their tepid crowd brawling, lame Jado interference spots, and general disregard for match structure, all of which were in evidence here. Hopefully the new charismatic babyface tag team can lead this stale division in a better direction in 2020. **

Texas Death Match for the United States Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley knocks out Lance Archer to gain the title in 14 minutes and 26 seconds

The competitors could only win here via submission or when their opponent was so incapacitated that they could not answer a 10 count. Moxley and Archer thankfully avoided the typical Last Man Standing match pitfall of the referee counting after every clothesline, and smartly paced the counts so that they only happened after big spots that looked like plausible match-enders. They also laid the match out well enough that there was very little downtime spent searching for weapons under the ring or setting up convoluted spots. The weapons used mostly seemed realistic in this context, with Archer’s use of a plastic bag to smother Moxley being particularly vicious. There was a very awkward moment where Moxley threw some terrible looking knee strikes that Archer sold despite Moxley clearly missing his head by at least a foot on all of them, but outside of that this was a pretty terrific match of its type. The ending, with Moxley giving Archer the Death Rider DDT from the apron through two tables was a great and convincing knockout finish, leaving Archer’s arm soaked in blood. *** ½

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi pins Will Ospreay to gain the title in 24 minutes and 33 seconds

There was a great story leading into this match, with Hiromu struggling with ring rust during the last set of Road To shows and Ospreay continuing his post-Best of the Super Juniors run as the dominant world beater of the Junior division. This story of Hiromu struggling to return to his pre-neck injury glory days made the match much more interesting and meaningful than it would’ve been had it simply been a collection of high octane and incredibly athletic spots. Those amazing spots were still there throughout the match, with one sequence involving Ospreay missing a Sasuke Special, flipping out of a Hiromu German Suplex attempt, and then diving back into the ring to successfully hit a Sasuke Special being a particular mind-blowing highlight. But neither performer ever lost sight of the narrative of the match, which found Ospreay ruthlessly targeting Hiromu’s previously injured neck, which made sense both as a way to get crowd heat and to set up Ospreay’s Hidden Blade-into-Stormbreaker finishing sequence. However in the end it was Hiromu who dropped Ospreay on his head, with a brutal new Emerald Frosion-style finisher called the Time Bomb II. **** ½

IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito pins Jay White to gain the title in 33 minutes and 54 seconds

The highly methodical pace, extreme length and predictability of this match made it rather difficult to get into, especially after the excitement of the previous match. This felt more like a post-G1 briefcase defense than it did the semi-main event of Wrestle Kingdom. It did its job of putting the pieces in place for Naito to finally triumph over the dastardly man who had previously cost him a spot in the G1 finals and the IC Title, but that story could have been more effectively told in half the time.

The structure of this match, which found White (sometimes with help from a tediously interfering Gedo) slowly grinding down Naito until the LIJ leader managed to find an opening for a comeback, was simply not interesting, and only added to the feeling of inevitability that the hero would come back and triumph in the end. White often gets slagged for having somewhat dull offense, but he’s certainly proven in the past that he can effectively and creatively target a body part. (See last year’s Anniversary Show match against Ospreay, the Best of the Super Juniors Finals show match with Tanahashi, and the G1 Finals bout with Ibushi for examples of great ruthless beatdowns from White). However his attack on Naito’s knee here really was quite pedestrian. It was helped by some great selling from Naito, particularly during a moment where he failed to springboard on his trademark DDT spot. But it was never enough to make me not just want to get on to the next phase of this Double Gold Dash story. ** ½

IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada pins Kota Ibushi to retain the title in 39 minutes and 16 seconds

Okada’s glow in the dark robe entrance was truly epic, and a great visual cue for fans new and old that this guy is the number one star in the company. That said, his long match formula has been wearing a bit thin for me over the past year, and this match was partially a victim of that. This match started out so slowly that really nothing of note happened for basically its first half. Prior to Ibushi’s brutal Bastard Driver (which occurs nearly 20 minutes after the bell rings) there is really no sense of either man attempting to actually win the match or even set up a strategy for winning the match down the line. There’s no sense of urgency or of a story being told, and nothing that happens in this early portion the match has any real bearing on how the match ends. It’s just two guys slowly grappling and feeling each other out as a way to pad time and bring this match to the requisite epic length.

That said, the second half of this match contains some of the very best wrestling that you will ever see anywhere, with each man throwing bombs at the other and executing some dazzling counters to signature offense. Ibushi’s closed-fist strikes after going into dead eyed murder mode felt real, and while the match overall would have been more effective if it felt like Okada had really done something in the first half to push Ibushi to this point (say by dominating him rather than going 50/50 in the early grappling portion) there’s a certain visceral thrill to seeing the dominant champ getting rocked by real-looking punches that works regardless of context. Okada’s beautiful dropkick escape from Ibushi’s Kamigoye and Ibushi’s ecstatic clothesline reversal of Okada’s Rainmaker also stand out as amazingly crisp counters. The whole lengthy closing stretch was really so incredible that it brought the whole thing to borderline greatness, but the totally uneventful first half of this match can’t be entirely ignored, and for me disqualifies this match from Match of the Year consideration. ****