Action returns to Korakuen Hall
On Sunday January 24, the Road to The New Beginning returns to Korakuen Hall. 24 hours after the first big stop on the series saw championship action and the return of Hiroyoshi Tenzan, what will the next step be for wrestlers jockeying for position before New Beginning in Nagoya on January 30?
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Main event: Master Wato, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, Shingo Takagi & SANADA)
Time is ticking down toward Nagoya on January 30 and Hiroshima February 10 & 11. Six days before Shingo Takagi and Hiroshi Tanahashi collide for the NEVER Openweight Championship in Dolphins Arena, and less than three weeks away from the tour closer seeing Wato take on BUSHI while Kota Ibushi and SANADA face off for the double IWGP titles, Golden☆Ace and Wato reunite their trio from last autumn. They’ll have their work cut out for them against a formidable LIJ side; BUSHI, Shingo and SANADA have each seen success during the current tour, most recently in Korakuen Hall, where Shingo had harsh comments for his Nagoya opponent Tanahashi.
Declaring that Tanahashi didn’t have the required respect for him or the title he holds, Takagi is furious at The Ace seeing the NEVER Openweight Championship as a means to returning to the main events rather than the main event itself. Now in the headline match tonight at Korakuen, he’ll seek to press that point, while SANADA and Ibushi prepare for a main event of their own February 11. As Ibushi tries to get Cold Skull fired up for their big title match in Hiroshima Sun Plaza Hall, what does SANADA have in store for the double IWGP Champion?
4th Match: SHO & Tomoaki Honma vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito)
Tetsuya Naito has been complaining of being ‘no occupado’ since the start of the New Beginning tour, and ever since, Tomoaki Honma has been doing his best to keep El Ingobernable busy. Naito’s former tag partner had been eating losses for the past week, but Ota saw Kokeshi and Ingobernable the last two left in elimination tag action, and Honma had Naito bowled over the top rope to emerge victorious. He’ll keep bringing the fight to a now chastened Naito, this time alongside SHO.
SHO has been bringing some heavy hits to Hiromu during the tour thus far, and is keeping hopes of an Anniversary match with Kota Ibushi in the Nippon Budokan March 3 as his motivation should he win Takahashi’s title. For his part, Hiromu is angered at the CHAOS member looking past their February 10 title bout to what may lay beyond. The Time Bomb will be eager to remind SHO that as IWGP Jr. heavyweight Champion, he remains a tall mountain to climb, but after SHO eliminated Hiromu from their elimination bout in Ota Sunday, does the number one contender have the champ’s number?
3rd Match: CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto & Kazuchika Okada) vs BULLET CLUB (Dick Togo, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL)
Kazuchika Okada and CHAOS continue their campaign against EVIL and BULLET CLUB tonight. As Okada continues to hunt for a singles match against EVIL, NEVER 6-Man Tag Champions Goto and YOSHI-HASHI, alongside Tomohiro Ishii will be continuing to look for a team to challenge them for their titles. How will this ongoing factional warfare develop?
2nd Match: TenCozy (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) vs UNITED EMPIRE (Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan)
After Hiroyoshi Tenzan makes his return Saturday night in Ota, he and Satoshi Kojima unite again to take on the United Empire. Tenzan’s return to action in Ota Saturday night saw him hungry for revenge, and furious in the ring; he and Kojima losing the but via disqualification after a series of thunderous chair shots. This match comes less than a week away from the legendary tag team taking on Will Ospreay and Great-O-Khan in a pair of singles matches in Nagoya; can they continue to tap into the form that made them forces to be reckoned with in their legendary peaks to take on a duo who may be legends in the making?
1st Match: Yuya Uemura, Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata & Togi Makabe vs Suzuki-Gun (DOUKI, Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
The Korakuen action will start with what should be a wild affair as Suzuki-Gun hit the Hall. Just 24 hours before this opening bout, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defended the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori, while DOUKI and Minoru Suzuki will take on Jado and Gedo. DOUKI scored a satisfying llave pinfall on Gedo in the opener, but after an insane main event that saw three referees, belt shots, low blows, and finally a loaded Superkick shot, El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru were relieved of the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Tonight, deposed champions will want brutal revenge.
Yuya Uemura will be one to watch in particular. The Young Lion has campaigned for a singles match with Minoru Suzuki for a year now, and The King has suggested he’s willing to comply. Uemura will want to aim at the King right from the opening bell; for his own safety, he’d better not miss.
