The Road to the New Beginning in Osaka event on February 6th saw an increased house of 1,408 over the past two nights in Korakuen Hall. New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Noge Dojo Young Lion Yuya Uemura defeated fellow NJPW Noge Dojo Young Lion Yota Tsuji in a competitive bout to even their record against one another to a 6-6-21 mark. Both Young Lions show a great deal of potential as Tsuji is set to graduate into the heavyweight division, while Uemura is likely to begin his career in the junior heavyweight ranks.
The second match saw current RevPro British Cruiserweight Champion El Phantasmo defeat NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo Young Lion Gabriel Kidd in what was a spirited effort from Kidd. The Young Lion shows a quiet intensity when he’s in the ring, which could help his development as he progresses through the NJPW Dojo system.
The third match saw the team of Manabu Nakanishi and Hiroyoshi Tenzan defeat Toa Henare and Tomoaki Honma. Nakanishi, who is retiring on February 22nd of this month, came off the top rope with an overhand chop to Honma, which Tenzan followed up with a Moonsault from the top rope to put away one-half of Great Bash Heel.
The fourth match saw the CHAOS team of IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi 3K (Sho/Yoh) and Will Ospreay defeat the Suzuki-Gun team of Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, and RevPro Undisputed British Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr (ZSJ). The match ended after Desperado hit Yoh with a chair, further beating up the junior tag team champions before their title challenge on February 9th at The New Beginning in Osaka. Ospreay will challenge ZSJ for the Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship on February 14th at Revolution Pro Wrestling’s High Stakes event at York Hall in London.
The fifth match saw Kazuchika Okada, Togi Makabe, and Ryusuke Taguchi defeat the Suzuki-Gun trio of Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and Douki. Taichi and Okada continued to square off with one another — setting up another singles match between the two sometime in the near future. Minoru Suzuki looked in fine form going into his IWGP United States Championship match against Jon Moxley on February 9th at The New Beginning in Osaka.
The headline match of the evening saw the Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) team of IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental ‘Double Champion’ Tetsuya Naito, IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi, and Sanada take on the Bullet Club team of KENTA, Jay White, and Taiji Ishimori in what was a competitive match showcasing how much talent NJPW has up and down the roster. Naito pinned Ishimori with his Destino technique at 16 minutes and 15 seconds to gain some momentum going into his title defense on February 9th.
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