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What’s the story?
Much like every time, New Japan Pro-Wrestling once again managed to put up a great show last night in Osaka, as the promotion lined-up a solid match card for this year’s NJPW: New Beginning in Osaka pay-per-view.
The event was mostly based on the Los Ingobernables vs Chaos theme, as members from two factions collided with each other throughout the course of the entire event. The event also featured three title matches as Hirooki Goto defended his NEVER Openweight Title against Evil, Will Ospreay defending the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title against Hiromu Takahashi, and lastly in the main event, Kazuchika Okada put the prestigious IWGP Heavyweight Title on the line against LIJ up-comer, Sanada.
In case you didn’t know…
Chaos and Los Ingobernables have been feuding with each other for a while, the respective leaders of both the factions, Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito also crossed paths with each other earlier in the year, when they squared off in the main event of this year’s Tokyo Dome show, that is, Wrestle Kingdom 12.
The heart of the matter
NJPW definitely did put up a great show last night at the Edion Arena in Osaka and here are the final results from last night’s show:
#1. Katsuya Kitamura vs Yuji Nagata
This was the sixth match of Katsuya Kitamura’s challenge series, as he faced off against NJPW veteran and current All Asia Tag Team Champion Yuji Nagata. Throughout the entire match, Kitamura showed a brilliant display of heart, however, Nagata won the match following a high angle suplex.
Result: Yuji Nagata def. Katsuya Kitamura
#2. Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh/ with Rocky Romero) vs Suzuki Gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (Non-title match)
Sho and Yoh were definitely not at their best coming into this match, following their two gruesome matches against The Young Bucks earlier in the year and the two Suzuki Gun members took full advantage of that as they used all kinds of heel antics to win the match. It was eventually, El Desperado who cracked Sho in the back with a steel chair and forced the one half of the IWGP Junior Tag Team Champion to tap out.
Following the match, all three members of Chaos (Sho, Yoh, & Rocky Romero) received a brutal beating at the hands of Suzuki Gun, as El Desperado held up the IWGP Jr. Tag Titles.
Result: Suzuki Gun def. Roppongi 3K
#3. Taguchi Japan (Ryusuke Taguchi, KUSHIDA, Michael Elgin, & Togi Makabe) vs Suzuki Gun (Taka Michinoku, Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, & Minoru Suzuki)
This was a solid eight-man tag team match and was mostly used to build the feud between Minoru Suzuki and Togi Makabe. Makabe also got the win for Taguchi Japan when he landed the King Kong Knee Drop from the top rope and got the three count on Taka Michinoku.
Result: Taguchi Japan def. Suzuki Gun
#4. Toa Henare, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Jay White)
Another fun tag team match, during which Henare put up a solid performance, however, the youngster eventually suffered the brutal wrath of the current IWGP US Champion as “Switchblade” Jay White got the win via Knockout, for Chaos.
Result: Chaos def. Henare, Finlay, and Robinson
#5. Gedo vs Bushi
Next up we had the first of our five singles matches of the evening, as LIJ member Bushi finally got revenge on Gedo and also retrieved all of his stolen masks after he defeated Gedo via the MX.
Result: Bushi def. Gedo
#6. Yoshi-Hashi vs Tetsuya Naito
A solid singles match between Naito, who was heavily booed by the Osaka crowd, and Yoshi Hashi, who lost the match despite getting the early advantage in the contest. Naito eventually won the match after hitting a half and a full Destino.
However, after the match, Suzuki Gun’s Taichi attacked Naito on the entrance ramp and indicated towards a possible move up to the Heavyweight Division.
Result: Yoshi-Hashi def. Tetsuya Naito
#7. Will Ospreay vs Hiromu Takahashi- (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship)
This was by far the best match of the evening, between two of the most exciting junior heavyweights in NJPW today. The two men hit each other with some of the most jaw-dropping moves, as Ospreay retained the gold after connecting with the Oscutter.
Result: Will Ospreay def. Hiromu Takahashi to retain the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
#8. Hiroki Goto vs Evil- (Never Openweight Championship)
The co-main event of the evening was a rather a very sloppy and moderate match, between two of NJPW’s most talented superstars. Hirooki Goto retained the Never Title after he pinned Evil, following the GTR.
Result: Hirooki Goto def. Evil to retain the Never Openweight Title
#9. Kazuchika Okada vs Sanada- (IWGP Heavyweight Championship)
Both Sanada and Okada kicked off this match in a slow manner, however, both men picked up the pace as the match gradually progressed. At one stage, it seemed like Sanada would eventually pull off the unthinkable and dethrone Okada when the IWGP Tag Team Champion locked in the Skull End. The LIJ member would also counter The Rainmaker and hit Okada with his own version, however, the champ was able to kick out of it and Okada ultimately hit the Jumping Tombstone and caught Sanada with the Rainmaker to get the win and retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Okada has now held the belt for over 600 days.
Result: Kazuchika Okada def. Sanada to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship
What’s next?
After retaining the IWGP Heavyweight Title, Okada announced his entry into this year’s New Japan Cup despite being the champion and additionally, “The Rainmaker” also said that at the next NJPW event, that is, NJPW’s Anniversary show, Okada will face-off against fellow Chaos member and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in a one-on-one match.
Author’s Take
This was another top-notch pay-per-view delivered by NJPW, during which we also saw the NJPW debut of Rey Mysterio.
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