The Road to The New Beginning on January 25th began the Japanese leg of The New Beginning tour. A Super No Vacancy Full House crowd of 1,677 filled the Koga City Central Athletic Park Gymnasium to witness a preview of several big upcoming matches on the tour.
Two New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Noge Dojo Young Lions met in the opener. Yota Tsuji defeated Yuya Uemura in a continuation of their Young Lion rivalry. Afterward, NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo Young Lion Gabriel Kidd made his NJPW debut when he teamed with Tiger Mask IV in a losing effort to former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Taji Ishimori and El Phantasmo.
The third match saw Manabu Nakanishi team with fellow 3rd Generation member of the NJPW Noge Dojo, Hiroyoshi Tenzan as he approaches his retirement on February 22nd. They fell to Great Bash Heel (G.B.H.) [Togi Makabe/Tomoaki Honma].
A championship match for The New Beginning in Osaka had a preview in the fourth match as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi 3K (Sho/Yoh) teamed up with Toa Henare against Suzuki-Gun. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado gained a victory over Roppongi 3K at New Year Dash. Minoru Suzuki has an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match against Jon Moxley on February 9th at The New Beginning in Osaka. The Suzuki-Gun team earned a victory after Suzuki used his Gotch Style Piledriver technique on Henare.
NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto and Tomohiro Ishii of CHAOS teamed with Ryusuke Taguchi in the fifth match against the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of Evil, Shingo Takagi, and Bushi. Goto and Takagi compete in the marquee match on February 1st at The New Beginning in Sapporo for the NEVER Openweight Championship. Takagi gained the victory for his team after hitting Taguchi with his Pumping Bomber Lariat technique.
The CHAOS team of Robbie Eagles, Will Ospreay, and Kazuchika Okada teamed against the Suzuki-Gun trio of Douki, Taichi, and Zack Sabre Jr (ZSJ) in the sixth contest. On night two of The New Beginning in Sapporo ZSJ will defend his RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay in the second headline match while Taichi faces off against former 5x IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada in a special singles match in the marquee. On the 26th, Ospreay was able to defeat Douki with the Stormbreaker.
The marquee match saw the LIJ team of Sanada, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, and ‘Double Champion’ IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito defeat the Bullet Club team of Gedo, Jay White, and KENTA. On February 9th at The New Beginning in Osaka, KENTA challenges Naito for the ‘Double Championship’ at an event which is likely to be a Super No Vacancy Full House.
The Japan portion of the tour continues in Yamagata on the 27th.
