Massive changeups in Ota
The deck in New Japan Pro-Wrestling saw a significant reshuffle on January 5 as the one of the most eventful New Year Dash events in history saw some major shifts not just in the matches with mystery lineups, but after them and outside the ring.
The night got started with Ren Narita reluctantly kicking off the evening along with Tiger Mask and Tomoaki Honma opposite HOUSE OF TORTURE. After Honma was pinned by EVIL, H.O.T weren’t finished and kept up an assault on Ren Narita. Yet the crowd was stunned when Minoru Suzuki made the most unlikely of saves for Narita; when the King too was at risk of succumbing to the numbers game El Desperado evened the odds.
Former Suzuki-Gun compatriots bumped fists and cleared the ring afterward, leaving a bemused Narita with more questions than answers, that weren’t cleared up in backstage comments even after El Desperado offered a combined front against a common enemy.
The second match of the night saw United Empire’s Francesco Akira and TJP along with Will Ospreay take on more former Suzuki Gun members in Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and DOUKI. The group was fronted by a very dapper TAKA Michinoku, who declared that this group was one without leader or representation, and were Just Four Guys.
The group got off to a strong post Suzuki start, DOUKI getting the W over Akira, and giving he and Kanemaru their second straight win over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. A challenge was a formality at that point, but there was nothing formal or cordial about Will Ospreay’s attitude to Taichi. Still mentally reeling from his defeat to Kenny Omega, Ospreay picked a violent fight with Taichi during and after the match, and his violent actions are sure to have repercussions.
More actions and consequences came from a wild affair that out new IWGP Tag Team Champions Bishamon along with Tomohiro Ishii against TMDK’s Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls and new ‘Frontman’ Zack Sabre Jr.
The champions obviously had targets on their backs in this match, and as Haste and Nicholls sought World Tag League retribution on Bishamon, ZSJ and Ishii resumed a long running feud with high speed barrages. Ultimately, it would be the Tankbuster that put TMDK up and Bishamon down, but while Haste and Nicholls staked their claim to the tag belts, Ishii would step right to Sabre.
Yet that wasn’t all from TMDK, as ZSJ promised an extra surprise. Grabbing Young Lion Kosei Fujita, Sabre inducted the young man into TMDK, before stating that now he had his ‘very own Young Lion’, and a rapid ascent into turbulent territory for Fujita.
Eight man action saw Los Ingobernables De Japon’s Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi shrug off a bold challenge from Pro-Wrestling NOAH’s KONGO faction to face Shota Umino, YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togo Makabe. As Umino has been fighting for Naito’s attention, a wild brawl between the two broke out on the floor in the closing moments of the match, a match that ended with a Direct Drive from YOH to Hiromu that set the CHAOS member up to challenge the new champ.
A challenge of a different kind was issued when a clearly unstable Switchblade Jay White Took Hikuleo to task. After backstage comments at the Tokyo Dome had seen him blame the turn of Hikuleo to Hontai for being the card that toppled the house and stole his Wrestle Kingdom moment, White was determined to take on Haku’s biggest son.
The match itself would end with a DQ, El Phantasmo finding the NEVER Openweight Championship in his hands as he cracked new champion Tama Tonga over the head in full view of the referee. As KENTA followed up with a belt shot to Tanahashi, Jay White set to Hikuleo with a Bladerunner and a volley of chair shots. Even his own partners had to calm Jay down enough for him to issue a deadly ultimatum; vowing to take ‘every moment from you just like you took my moment from me’ Jay White challenged Hikuleo to a Loser Leaves Japan match.
