Road to THE NEW BEGINNING night 8 – Full results: https://www.njpw1972.com/tornament/37901?showResult=1
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On Sunday, February 11th, at the Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium (Edion Arena Osaka) in Osaka, the first big match of the year in the Kansai region was held at “THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA,” with fierce battles raging one after another, highlighted by two big IWGP Title Matches.
In the Main Event (the 8th Match), IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi attempted his first title defense, taking on the challenger, Jay White. During this series, tensions have been high between the two greats in the preliminary matches and the decisive match was now at hand. In his first attempt at the IWGP Heavyweight Title, Jay succeeded in frustrating the champion with a sneaky fight. Tanahashi fought hard, and he unleashed a High Fly Flow that looked like it might be the finishing blow, but out of nowhere Jay stood tall and grabbed him. He answered right back with a Blade Runner of his own, and when the dust settled he had succeeded in dethroning the champion.
The 7th Match was a Special Singles Match featuring Kazuchika Okada and Bad Luck Fale. Fale came out ready to cast Okada into the abyss, and he used his huge body to launch a fierce attack. When Yujiro and Owens jumped into the ring, Okada was in trouble. However, YOSHI-HASHI came to his rescue, and the trespassers were thrown out. With the tables suddenly turned, Okada used his trademark Rainmaker to finish his worthy opponent, Fale.
The 6th Match featured challenger Ryusuke Taguchi against the defending IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, Taiji Ishimori. During the preliminaries, Ishimori’s shameful past came to light when his dancing in “Keep On Journey” was revealed, as Taguchi tried to rattle his resolve. However, in the Title Match, Ishimori himself showed off a “Keep” flourish, shocking both the challenger and the fans. After that, a back and forth battle unfolded, climaxing when Ishimori was able to stave off Taguchi’s Dodon attack and then ended it with a Bloody Cross. After the match, Ishimori called out Jyushin Thunder Liger to be his next challenger.
In the 5th Match, Togi Makabe & Toru Yano made their return to a 4-man tag team after a 10 year absence, locking horns with G.O.D. (Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa). After recently losing to Makabe & Yano at the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship in Sendai on January 30th, G.O.D. attacked the Most Violent Players team right when they entered the ring. After that things got ugly as the fight turned dirty, with both teams preventing the other from seizing the initiative. In the end, Tama used a Gun Stun following an attack with a wooden sword to take down Yano.
In the 4th Match, the team of Tomoaki Honma and YOSHI-HASHI battled in a Tag Match against Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens. The BULLET CLUB thugs used inside work to push the match in their favor, with a concentrated attack on Honma’s neck. In the end, Owens took down Honma with a Package Driver.
The 3rd Match was a 6-Man Tag Match featuring L.I.J. (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) clashing with Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado). Suzuki-gun recently lost in all their Championship Matches in Sapporo on February 3rd, and they came out fighting with underhanded tactics. However, L.I.J. stabilized with some team play, and Naito took down Kanemaru with a Destino. After the match, ROPPONGI 3K (YOH & SHO) declared their intent to challenge the BUSHI & Takagi combo for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
The 2nd Match featured Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino challenging EVIL & SANADA. The challengers were looking to cause havoc for the reigning IWGP Tag Team Champions, as they pressed for the stunning upset. However, their struggles were in vain, as L.I.J. unleashed a Magic Killer to finish Umino and secure the win.
In the Opening Match, the veteran trio of Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Liger took on the team of Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Taka Michinoku. Tenzen took aim at the the soon to retire Iizuka, wearing a Friendship Tag T-shirt and urging him to “Wake up!” Late in the match, Suzuki went for a chair attack on Tenzan, but surprisingly it was Iizuka who stopped it. However, Iizuka took that chair and attacked Tenzan himself, resulting in a forfeit due to foul play. This evening Tenzan’s passionate plea fell on deaf ears.
Also, after the 4th Match, Kota Ibushi, who hadn’t been seen since fighting Will Ospreay in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th, showed up. He forcefully asserted, “I’m still part of Japanese Pro Wrestling!” as he declared his return would take place at the “NEW JAPAN CUP” next month.
