NJPW announces matches for The New Beginning tour; Kota Ibushi to defend IWGP Titles, Bullet Club to feature in championship matches

In the aftermath of Wrestle Kingdom 15, NJPW has officially announced the match card for The New Beginning tour. In a press conference held earlier in the day, New Japan Pro Wrestling officials revealed multiple title matches that will take place during the New Beginning 2020 events.

At the top of the card, newly-crowned double champion Kota Ibushi will make his second defense of both the IWPG Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships. The Golden Star is set for another showdown against SANADA, the man who challenged Ibushi after Night 2 of Wrestle Kingdom 15.

What does NJPW have in store for The New Beginning tour?

The NJPW New Beginning in Hiroshima card is going to be the main attraction event. On Night 1, the card will be headlined by Kota Ibushi defending his titles against SANADA in the main event. On Night 2, Hiromu Takahashi will mark his first defense of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against SHO.

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Seven-time IWGP Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny will put the IWGP Tag Team Championships on the line against Dangerous Tekkers. The Bullet Club duo of Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa are set for a Wrestle Kingdom 15 rematch against Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi.

Night 1 of New Beginning in Hiroshima:

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. SHO
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (c) vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.
Kota Ibushi & Tomoaki Honma vs. SANADA & Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Dick Togo, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
BUSHI vs. Master Wato
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura & Gabriel Kidd

Night 2 of New Beginning in Hiroshima:

IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental double title match: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. SANADA
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. EVIL & Dick Togo
Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Tomoaki Honma, SHO & Master Wato
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yota Tsuji, Yuya Uemura & Gabriel Kidd

The NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya will feature Shingo Takagi defending the NEVER Openweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi. EMPIRE leader Will Ospreay will face Satoshi Kojima, whereas his stablemate Great-O-Khan will take on Hiroyoshi Tenzan.

New Beginning in Nagoya:

NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Satoshi Kojima vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Great-O-Khan
Kota Ibushi, Tomoaki Honma, SHO & Master Wato vs. SANADA, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano vs. EVIL & Yujiro Takahashi

Upon NJPW's return to Ota, the Bullet Club Jr. Heavyweight duo of El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori will challenge for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.

The NJPW Road To New Beginning starts off this Sunday at the Korakuen Hall. The return to Ota is scheduled for January 23rd, while the Nagoya show will take place on the 30th.

On February 10th, NJPW New Beginning will kick off in Hiroshima, and Night 2 is scheduled for the 11th.

About the author

Soumik Datta is a professional wrestling journalist who has been following the business for more than a decade.

In 2017, Soumik joined the Sportskeeda Wrestling team and is best known for his work with the WWE team. He has previously contributed to the Sportskeeda AEW, MMA, and the football team where he specifically covered the Major League Soccer.

In 2024, Soumik crossed 50 million reads for Sportskeeda WWE. While working under Sportskeeda MMA, he interviewed prominent UFC fighters, including Justin Gaethje, Sean O'Malley, and Cory Sandhagen, among others. He is also being followed by John Cena on X (formerly Twitter).

Apart from his love for professional wrestling, Soumik also watches Football and has been a lifelong follower of Liverpool FC and Mohun Bagan. He has also been following the Indian Super League and remains the only content creator to have traveled across India to watch 7 ISL Matches in 7 Days, a video which currently sits at 26K views on his YouTube channel. His channel currently amasses over 120K views.

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Edited by Amar Anand