The next contenders for the IWGP tag titles are confirmed, and a new set of NEVER champions was crowned on Monday.
New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Road to New Beginning card drew an attendance of 1,009 for the first Korakuen Hall show of the year.
Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura defeated Tomohiro Ishii & Taichi in a No. 1 contenders’ bout to set up a tag title match with the Knockout Brothers next month in Osaka.
RESULTS:
- Young Lion Cup: Masatora Yasuda over Tatsuya Matsumoto in 8:33 (Recommended)
- Young Lion Cup: Daiki Nagai over Zane Jay by DQ in 7:20
- Aaron Wolf, El Desperado, Toru Yano, YOH & Master Wato over EVIL, DOUKI, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo in 8:13
- Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Great O-Khan, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young over Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Gedo in 9:43
- SHO over Kosei Fujita by DQ in 6:22
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru over Robbie Eagles in 3:18
- NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin over Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson © in 18:07 (Recommended)
- No. 1 Contender’s Match: Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura over Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii in 30:38 (Recommended)
The thirty-plus-minute match included a scary spot where Umino countered Ishii’s vertical drop brainbuster and spiked Ishii, who instantly returned fire but had a bloody nose for the closing minutes. Taichi was removed with Uemura’s Deadbolt as they double-teamed Ishii with the pair’s lariat and dragon suplex combo, followed by Umino’s Second Chapter to pin Ishii.
A face-off with the IWGP tag champions ended the show, along with a spirited address by Umino in advance of their title match on February 11 at New Beginning.
The start of the Road to series included one title change as TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson dropped the NEVER Openweight Six-Man tag titles to Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin in a terrific match.
The champions failed to make a defense of their titles, which they captured at Wrestle Kingdom 20, falling to the challengers after Oiwa was struck by a Violent Flash and triple team GTR maneuver.
Oiwa stood out in a big way, having great chemistry with Goto, and the crowd was highly engaged throughout the match. There were indications after the match that a rematch would occur.
The inevitable IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Yota Tsuji and Jake Lee continues to be teased. Following their ten-man tag, Tsuji pointed out it was Lee’s birthday and asked him to say something. Instead, Lee choked out the champion with a guillotine and laid him to rest on the canvas.
Masatora Yasuda and Daiki Nagai advanced in the Young Lion Cup as the opening round kicked off the show.
Yasuda prevailed against Tatsuya Matsumoto, with the former overcoming an attack on his knee. Yasuda attempted a standing moonsault, which was rough, but followed with the Boston Crab and eventually, Matsumoto tapped.
Nagai beat Zane Jay by disqualification after Callum Newman arrived at ringside to distract Nagai while he had Jay in a Boston Crab. Newman slid a chair toward Jay, who proceeded to blast Nagai over the head and was disqualified. While losing the match, Jay has aligned with United Empire, and therefore, this match was more about Jay than Nagai with his new association.
Yasuda will face Shoma Kato, and Nagai takes on Katsuya Murashima on Tuesday’s show at Korakuen Hall. The final is set for February 1.
NJPW returns to Korakuen Hall on Tuesday:
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: DOUKI © vs. El Desperado
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles © vs. SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Young Lion Cup – Semi-Final: Katsuya Murashima vs. Daiki Nagai
- Young Lion Cup – Semi-Final: Shoma Kato vs. Masatora Yasuda
