NJPW New Beginning 2024 tour - January 20 - February 24, 2024

[Canadian Dragon]

New Beginning in Nagoya (January 20) Full card, preview​

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NEVER title to headline in Dolphin’s Arena

The New Beginning series kicks off on January 20, as Dolphin’s Arena in Nagoya will see two championships on the line, and plenty of ground covered on the road to big events later in the series.
Watch LIVE IN ENGLISH on NJPW World!
Main event: NEVER Openweight Championship- Tama Tonga vs EVIL
Singles record: 4-1 EVIL

Wrestle Kingdom 18 saw Tama Tonga lift the NEVER Openweight Championship for the fourth time after a thrilling match that underscored the title’s ‘BMF’ identity and wowed the Tokyo Dome crowd. By rights, Tonga should have been on top of the world, but his victory was bitter sweet, and the night after decidedly sour.
Tonga admitted in post match comments that he had had a lot on his mind heading into January 4, and had reached the decision to leave NJPW after some 14 years at the end of the month. As he sought to spend more time with his young family, Tama may well have had designs on leaving on top, retiring with the NEVER Openweight title and perhaps vacating it to allow the best of a young up and coming crop to compete. EVIL had other designs.
A post match beat down at New Year Dash not only saw the King of Darkness stake his claim to the NEVER belt, but also humiliate the newly crowned champion as he hacked off Tama’s hair. It was the resurfacing of a lot of triumph and trauma for Tama and EVIL; back in 2022, it was against EVIL during the New Japan Cup that Tama would be stabbed in the back by his BULLET CLUB brethren and brutally atttacked. Yet that May would see Tama’s first ever singles crowning at EVIL’s expense in Fukuoka, his first NEVER reign affirming him as a star of his own making. Now, will that star go out on his own terms, or be extinguished into blackness?
7th Match: KOPW 2024- Taiji Ishimori vs Great-O-Khan

The most unique championship in NJPW, KOPW’s 2024 got off to a characteristically unpredictable start at New Year Dash after Taiji Ishimori captured the belt for the first time this year in a four way ten minute scramble match. After securing the last pinfall of the bout, Ishimori played keep away from an increasingly incensed Great O-Khan, who did all he could to get another opponent into the ring in time, to no avail. That led to a backstage shouting match, with some far from charitable words exchanged. Now, the first defence is set up, but rules remain to be determined. Last year in Nagoya, O-Khan faced Shingo Takagi in an MMA match that looked to be right up the Dominator’s street, but ended in a crushing defeat and led into a difficult year for O-Khan. Will 2024 prove different?
6th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Testuya Naito) vs Just Five Guys (TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA)

As SANADA gets set for a rematch against Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in Sapporo February 24, and other LIJ members prepare for their own singles matches against Just Five Guys opposite numbers, the two teams will be doing battle in ten man action. Who will be victorious in this key preview?
5th Match: Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr.)

After a shock victory for TMDK over an all star team of Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada, Bryan Danielson and Jon Moxley in Sumida at New Year Dash, Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls are gunning for Okada, Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi’s NEVER Openweight 6 Man Championships in Osaka February 11. Could more eight man success be the prelude to six man glory three weeks later?
4th Match: Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo & El Phantasmo) vs BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA)

Osaka on February 11 will see Chase Owens and KENTA challenge El Phantasmo and Hikuleo for the IWGP Tag Team Championships. In the meantime, non title action sees the two teams face off in Nagoya. Who can set the pace for their championship collision three weeks later?
3rd match: El DespeWato (Master Wato & El Desperado) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Tag record: 1-0 H.O.T

With El Desperado set to defend the IWGP junior Heavyweight Championship against former partner Yoshinobu Kanemaru in Korakuen on the Road to New Beginning and SHO and Master Wato colliding, tag team action will see a double singles preview in Nagoya. El DespeWato will reluctantly reunite against a common foe in Dolphin’s Arena.
2nd Match: United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Jeff Cobb) vs BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay)

After a wild brawl at New Year Dash set up a five on five steel cage showdown in Osaka February 11, United Empire and BULLET CLUB War Dogs continue their vicious feud in Nagoya where one team seeks to take an early advantage.
1st Match: Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi)

Shota Umino’s vendetta against Ren Narita and HOUSE OF TORTURE will kick off the main card action in Nagoya. After efforts to get his hands on his former friend Narita have been consistently frustrated, Umino is days away from a long requested singles encounter in Korakuen Hall. Before that, tag team action will see the forces of good look to trump the allies of EVIL.
Kickoff Match: Shoma Kato vs Katsuya Murashima

Young Lions Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima will face off in a special kickoff bout at 4:30 PM local time. As Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima move on to excursion, pressure will build on these two men to carry the Noge Dojo’s proud standard, and for one to lead over the other.​

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Korakuen sees title bouts, big singles matches to end January​

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IWGP Junior Championship on the line and grudge matches between Hontai and HOUSE OF TORTURE


After Nagoya sees the Road to New Beginning series kick off, we’ll be in Korakuen Hall on January 23 and 24. As factional warfare continues to brew between HOUSE OF TORTURE and Hontai, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship is on the line and there’s much more to look forward to.
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January 23: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship! SHO vs Wato!

On January 23, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship will be on the line as El Desperado defends against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. After Desperado captured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on January 4 in the Tokyo Dome, he was setting out a road map for defences when he was approached first by Master Wato, and then by SHO and Kanemaru. A purported friendly ‘toast’ was anything but as SHO and Kanemaru beat down Wato and Despe, and Kanemaru made it clear he was gunning for his former partner’s championship.
Desperado has long credited Kanemaru and his tag team partnership with the Heel Master in the old days of Suzuki Gun as a key factor in giving him direction in his career and making him the wrestler that he is today. Desperado has spoken of wanting an honorable fight, and that the two in a one on one match could easily be one of the best bouts of the year, ‘but if his HOUSE OF TORTURE self shows up, well it’s not like I don’t know how to cheat’. All very well, but does he know how to cheat better than the matser, or will there be a new champion crowned?

Also as a result of the post match enounter at the Tokyo Dome, and a New Year Dash attack from HOUSE OF TORTURE, SHO will take on Master Wato. In his older, more sane guise before H.O.T, SHO was a guiding figure in the early days of Wato’s career. The would be Grand Master has never forgiven SHO for his betrayal, and tonight could teach SHO a valuable lesson as well as shoot himself up in the title ranks; meanwhile with the main event to follow, Desperado will hope Wato can cut off any potential interference before it happens.
January 24: Umino vs Narita! LIJ vs J5G!

Over a month removed from Ren Narita’s betrayal of Shota Umino, and after constant frustration on the part of the Roughneck as he’s tried to finally get redemption on his former friend, Narita and Umino finally go one on one in the main event on January 24. The presence of HOUSE OF TORTURE has to be lingering on the mind of Umino, but after yet another attack from Narita and his steel plate enforced pushup bar started his 2024, the Shooter had a different look on his usually positive face. Promising that he’ll show Narita ‘what hell really looks like’, a rage filled switch seems to have finally flipped for Umino, but can he find success in Korakuen?

As tensions between Just Five Guys and Los Ingobernables De Japon continue to build, tag team action will pit Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi against SANADA and DOUKI. Two sets of familiar and exciting foes will be meeting in singles action at the end of the New Beginning series in Sapporo, but this tag team mix of the best heavyweights and juniors in both their respective factions and indeed the world should make for a thrilling semi main.
There’s plenty of drama to come from both cards in Korakuen as the Road to New Beginning heats up- don’t miss a moment of the action live in English!​

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Factional warfare to kick off February in Korakuen​

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An intense month of February starts with UE vs War Dogs, LIJ vs J5G


The month of February will see intense battles building toward New Beginnings in Osaka and Sapporo. The road will start the month in Korakuen, where faction warfare escalates in intensity.
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February 4: Catch 2/2 vs Moloney & Connors! United Empire vs War Dogs singles!

The first Korakuen Hall card of the month will see TJP and Francesco Akira collide with Drilla Moloney and Clark Connors once more. Wrestle Kingdom saw Akira and TJP take the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships after a wild battle with the War Dogs, TJP’s violent and demonic side of the Aswang being the difference maker as Catch 2/2 finally got their first win over their tag team nemeses. With a massive steel cage collision looming in Osaka, whoever has the gold will have a measure of power going into EDION Arena- which team will it be?

Also on February 4, a series of singles matches will pit United Empire against BULLET CLUB War Dogs before the two factions meet in a steel cage in Osaka one week later. Brutal brawlers HENARE and Gabe Kidd and powerhouses Jeff Cobb and Alex Coughlin will collide, while David Finlay will look to make an example of Will Ospreay as he faces Ospreay’s protege in Callum Newman. Which side will make the loudest statement before their Osaka showdown?
February 5: Faction Warfare Gauntlet match!

The main event on February 5 will see a unique Faction Warfare Gauntlet Match between just Five Guys and Los Ingobernables De Japon. This five on five match consists of singles bouts with a ten minute time limit; the winners will stay on, while a time limit draw results in an elimination on both sides. Victory is determined when all members on one team are out of the running; who will have their hands raised in this big preview of Sapporo?
With plenty more thrilling action to look forward to in Korakuen, it’ll be a hot start to the cold month of February on NJPW World!​

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Steel cage, Danielson Sabre official for Osaka!​

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Dream matches and nightmare fights in EDION


February 11 will see New Beginning in Osaka. The New Beginning event could, potentially see the end for one of two teams in the main event in the first cage match in NJPW proper for two decades, while Zack Sabre Jr and Bryan Danielson will collide on Japanese soil for the first time.
Watch LIVE IN ENGLISH on NJPW World!

Main eventing in Osaka will be the first steel cage match on a main NJPW card for 20 years, and the first ever five on five steel cage match for New Japan. After a bloody brawl exploded at New Year Dash in Sumida January 5, Will Ospreay declared that New Beginning in Osaka would be his last match as a full time NJPW wrestler, and that he wanted to settle things between United Empire and BULLET CLUB War Dogs. Ospreay allowed FInlay to determine the rules for this bout, and the IWGP Global Champion came up with ‘no rules, no DQ, no way out, no escape’- a steel cage match. Quite how this match will play out is unknown, but violence and bloodshed is a guarantee, as is an unforgettable end to a violent feud.

A technical wrestling dream match taking place in Japan for the first time ever will pit Bryan Danielson against Zack Sabre Jr. After ZSJ seemed to take Danielson’s mantle as the best technical wrestler in the world, a long overdue singles reunion between the two took place last September at AEW’s Wrestle Dream card. Yet although the American Dragon was successful that night, he picked up victory with a knockout blow in the form of the Busaiku Knee. Sabre has maintained that Danielson is unable to tap him out, and has insisted he will be the one to do so in Osaka. Just who can finally lay sole claim to the world’s best technician?

The IWGP Tag team Championships will be on the line when Hikuleo and El Phantasmo defend against BULLET CLUB’s Chase Owens and KENTA. ELP and Hikuleo already had a tough schedule set for them as champions, with unfinished business from Texas last November- a backstage attack from Alex Coughlin and Clark Connors- to deal with in San Jose. Then on January 5, Chase Owens made a daring attack on both men to issue a challenge on behalf of he and KENTA. KENTA and Owens were key figures in El Phantasmo’s downfall in BULLET CLUB, his planned coup d’état of the faction collapsing at their collusions. Will there be closure for GoD here, or could both sets of tag gold be back in BULLET CLUB hands by the end of the New Beginning series?

Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii will defend the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Championships against TMDK’s Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls and Kosei Fujita. After a Tankbuster to Ishii brought TMDK a huge win at New Year Dash, Fujita threw the gauntlet down to Kazucghika Okada in particular. The Rainmaker did not take kindly to being challenged by the youngest of the Young Punks, but the title match is set to go ahead. Last time NJPW hit the EDION Arena in November, Haste, Nicholls and Zack Sabre Jr were turned away by the champions, but could this be the night a stunning title reign ends for the champs?​

All this and more is set to hit Osaka on February 11, LIVE IN ENGLISH on NJPW World!

 

[Canadian Dragon]

WGP World, Global titles both set for Sapporo​

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Big weekend in snowy Sapporo

The New Beginning series will culminate in Sapporo this year as two nights in Hokkai Kita Yell February 23 and 24 round out the tour. Three championship matches are official for the weekend, with a lot more besides to come.
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Night 1: Global, TV titles on the line!

Two championship matches are official for February 23, chief among them the IWGP Global Championship in its first ever defence. David Finlay emerged from a wild three way on January 4 as the very first IWGP Global Champion having pinned Will Ospreay to lift the gold. A victory of that calibur would have anyone ready to fight the world, and Finlay spied a target in ringside guest Nic Nemeth, but after trash talk between the two saw Finlay spit at Nemeth, the result was a fist fight that carried overt into the backstage area. Nemeth would state after the incident that he couldn’t forgive Finlay for his disrespect to the fans; counting himself as one of their number, he was apologetic. Now though he steps into Sapporo not as a fan but a competitor in the cerulean blue for the first time. Willthis global superstar become the second Global Champion, or will the Rebel’s reign claim a significant defence?

Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend the NJPW World TV Championship for the second time as he takes on Matt Riddle. Riddle issued a challenge to the Ace at New Year Dash as he sets out on a very different chapter in his career. Will he be able to put Tanahashi away under 15 minutes, or will the Ace put his superstar ego in check?

Five on five action will pit Los Ingobernables De Japon against Just Five Guys. One day before a series of singles matchups between the two groups is headlined by the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship between Tetsuya Naito and SANADA, who will have the upper hand?
Night 2: IWGP World Heavyweight Championship! LIJ vs J5G!

The IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when Tetsuya Naito defends against SANADA. Naito was victorious over SANADA at Wrestle Kingdom, but when EVIL tried to crash Naito’s victory party it was the outgoing champion that ensured Naito had his moment in the spotlight and a four year overdue rollcall. After Just Five Guys scored victory at new Year Dash, SANADA issued a challenge, showing perhaps more fire in chasing the gold than when he held it. Naito accepted and the match is on. In the town where SANADA won his first singles championship in NJPW in 2022, could he shock Naito to regain the world belt?

All members of Los Ingobernables De Japon and Just Five Guys will be facing off in singles matches in Sapporo, with TAKA Michinoku taking BUSHI on, DOUKI battling Hiromu Takahashi, Yuya Uemura facing Yota Tsuji, and perhaps the highlight of a glittering card, Shingo Takagi taking on Taichi. Every clash between these two has been a hard hitting stunner, and Taichi will be extra motivated to show out in his home town.

Both nights in Sapporo will see Hokkaido promotion EMMA part of the Frontier Zone. The Noboribetsu based wrestler and local politician Tomoya will be teaming with the town’s sightseeing ambassador Toru Yano as they face a pair of partners TBD!​

 

[Chris]

Insane tour, it's usually one of their better ones but God damn

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Insane tour, it's usually one of their better ones but God damn

yeah I am kind of speechless tbh, every show looks so good. so many stars and meaningful matches

plus the thought of Ziggler winning the title in Japan is pretty nuts lol

 

[Vegeta]

LETS GOOOOO

 

[Kenoh]

It is a good looking tour. Only one match I am not too keen on, but it is what it is as everything else looks good.

 

[Apoho Creed]

Do I put myself through another Tour of bland Matches that end the same way or do I just wait till New Beginnings. Decisions...decisions.

 

[Kenoh]

Do I put myself through another Tour of bland Matches that end the same way or do I just wait till New Beginnings. Decisions...decisions.

Do what I do. Watch the matches that interest you, and that is it. If none of them interest you than I would skip it.

 

[Apoho Creed]

Do what I do. Watch the matches that interest you, and that is it. If none of them interest you than I would skip it.

I could do that but I just might love to make myself suffer though considering I don't have their Streaming Service so I have to download their Shows so that might not work out. Who knows maybe i see a Gem or two during the Tour.

 

[Kenoh]

I could do that but I just might love to make myself suffer though considering I don't have their Streaming Service so I have to download their Shows so that might not work out. Who knows maybe i see a Gem or two during the Tour.

Hey that is all fair as well.

 

[Chris]

KOPW rules set, and STRONG Tag titles on the line in Nagoya!​

Alterations made to Nagoya Saturday night

Saturday January 20, the New Beginning series gets underway in Nagoya. As fans get set for a big night in Dolphin’s Arena, rules have been confirmed for KOPW 2024, and a change has been made for one of our tag team bouts!
Watch LIVE in English on NJPW World!

After Chase Owens issued a challenge on behalf of he and KENTA at new Year Dash, the BULLET CLUB duo will be facing El Phantasmo and Hikuleo for the IWGP Tag Team Championships in Osaka on February 11. In the meantime, GoD had a date with Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin to fulfil for the NJPW STRONG belts in San Jose. That defence proving successful, the confident fighting champions have agreed for Nagoya’s non title preview tag bout to instead be for the STRONG belts. Both Aussie Open and Bishamon’s time as double champions proved brief; can Hikuleo and Phantasmo withstand the considerable pressure in Nagoya?

Also, votes have come in for the KOPW 2024 bout between Great-O-Khan and Taiji Ishimori. After 27,653 votes were cast worldwide, the results were as follows:

Taiji Ishimori- 10 minute Ishimori Ring Fit Match: 21407 votes (77.4%)
Great-O-Khan- Bullrope Deathmatch: 6246 votes (22.6%)

Ishimori will defend his KOPW 2024 belt against Tanahashi in a 10 minute Ishimori Ring Fit Match. Ten minutes will be on the clock, with the last title holder at the end of the time limit the victor.
Additionally, at three minute intervals, the two must stop for 30 seconds of high intensity circuit training. Who will have the wind to prevail in this demanding match type?​

 

[Canadian Dragon]

Card changes made for New Beginning series | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING

Card changes set for New BeginningIn the wake of the announcement earlier today that Kazuchika Okada will be leaving NJPW at the conclusion of his contract on January 31, with his final appearances scheduled for February 11 in Osaka and 23 and 2...

www.njpw1972.com

looks like tana okada gonna likely be his last singles match under the njpw banner for a while