February 11 is a national holiday in Japan, and New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH will each present shows to mark the occasion.
It’s National Foundation Day on Wednesday, a public holiday in the country, and we will see NOAH run its Legacy Rise event in the morning in Japan, followed by New Beginning in Osaka on Wednesday evening.
NOAH has added an appearance by Shinjiro Otani to the schedule as the former wrestler will address the audience and media with a new relationship with the promotion. Otani was paralyzed from the neck down in an April 2022 match with Takashi Sugiura.
Yoshiki Inamura will attempt his fourth defense of the GHC heavyweight title against Sugiura in the main event, with Kaito Kiyomiya awaiting a future title shot. Inamura returned froman excursion to NXT and won the belt from KENTA last November.
Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI defend the GHC tag titles against KENTA & HAYATA in the pair’s first title defense. It is Naito’s third match with NOAH since leaving New Japan last year, with a limited schedule over the past year.
New Japan’s New Beginning in Osaka card at Edion Arena is its first major show since Wrestle Kingdom at the Tokyo Dome.
Yota Tsuji defends the IWGP heavyweight championship against Jake Lee in the main event and truly kicks off the post-Tanahashi era. Lee missed sixteen months after destroying his knee and joined the United Empire when he returned in January. It’s a big test for Lee to step up in a main event position and has the handicap of being Tsuji’s first opponent in the new reign, so all eyes are on Lee to deliver.
Aaron Wolf will have his second singles match, facing Ren Narita for the NEVER Openweight Championship. Wolf got strong marks at Wrestle Kingdom 20, but praise was, rightly so, distributed toward EVIL, who did a masterful job. Narita is not over at EVIL’s level and been hampered for years under the House of Torture association and presentation. The formula can work and did for Wolf’s introduction, but there needs to be progression. There is ample pressure on Wolf this year, with a balance of keeping him unique and special, but needing as many matches as possible for experience.
Andrade El Idolo has his first of two international matches this week, facing Gabe Kidd before heading to Sydney, Australia, for Grand Slam. The winner of this match will challenge Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Global Heavyweight at New Beginning USA on February 27 in Trenton, New Jersey.
The show is punctuated by the departure of junior heavyweight ace Hiromu Takahashi, who has been in New Japan’s system since 2010 and is a five-time junior heavyweight champion.
Pro Wrestling NOAH – Legacy Rise (Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. ET on Wrestle Universe)
- GHC Heavyweight Championship: Yoshiki Inamura © vs. Takashi Sugiura
- GHC Tag Team Titles: Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI © vs. KENTA & HAYATA
- Dragon Bane & Alejandro vs. Alpha Wolf & Kai Fujimura
- Daga & Daiki Odashima vs. Eita & Katsumi Inahata
- Tadasuke & Jun Masaoka vs. Atsushi Kotoge & Hi69
- AMAKUSA & Black Menso-re vs. Mark Trew & Kieron Lacey
- Kaito Kiyomiya, Galeno, Harutoki & Aoi Takahashi vs. Manabu Soya, Hajime Ohara, Hayato Koyanagi & Hiroto Tsuruya
NJPW New Beginning in Osaka (Wednesday at 1 a.m. on New Japan World)
- IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Yota Tsuji © vs. Jake Lee
- IWGP Tag Team Titles: The Knockout Bros. © vs. Yuya Uemura & Shota Umino
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Aaron Wolf © vs. Ren Narita
- David Finlay vs. Callum Newman
- No. 1 Contender’s Match: Gabe Kidd vs. Andrade El Idolo
- NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin © vs. Zack Sabre Jr, Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson
- Shingo Takagi & Drilla Moloney vs. Great O-Khan & HENARE
- Hiromu Takahashi’s Farewell Match: Hiromu Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori vs. Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young
- Katsuya Murashima’s Sendoff Match: Katsuya Murashima & Shoma Kato vs. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
