New Japan New Beginning in Sapporo Results

New Japan Pro Wrestling started its first tour of 2020 which is getting capped off by their biggest shows since Wrestle Kingdom. New Beginning takes place over several days in Japan, though it is unclear why the shows from the United States are not on their website yet.

El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori of Bullet Club b. Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura when Ishimori submitted Uemura with a Yeslock – The straightforward opening match that put the heels back on the winning path after dropping the tag titles last month.

Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, & Toa Henare b. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, & Yota Tsuji when Henare pinned Tsuji with a Uranage – Nakanishi is on his retirement tour, so he is having matches with a lot of guys from his generation. Nakanishi got cut off and worked over until he was able to tag out to Tenzan. Makabe and Tenzan went at it before a double tag to Henare and Tsuji respectively. Tsuji caught Honma in a Boston Crab but Henare made the rope break. Shortly after that, Henare hit the Uranage to get the pin on Tsuji

As expected, Nakanishi took several bows to the crowd.

Ryusuki Taguchi, Will Ospreay, & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions Roppongi 3K (Sho & Yoh) b. Suzuki-Gun (Rev Pro Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr., Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, & Douki) when Taguchi pinned Douki with a Dodon – The heels attacked before the bell but the babyfaces rallied under Coach Taguchi’s leadership. However, that was short-lived by the heels taking the fight to the floor. By the time the match got back in the ring, Sho was getting worked over by the heels. Ospreay got the hot tag and ran wild for a bit. Taguchi got cut off and teamed upon. Ospreay made the save and a multi-man brawl broke out. During the brawl, Taguchi hit a Dodon to get the pin on Douki.

Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles b. BUSHI & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables De Japon when Eagles submitted BUSHI with the Ron Miller Special – Lee and Takahashi immediately started off with a battle of dueling strikes. That battle escalated to a few dives to the floor. LIJ got the upper hand when they cut off Eagles. Lee got the hot tag and got some near falls on Takahashi. In a bit of a surprise finish, Eagles got the tag and managed to get a submission on Bushi with the Ron Miller Special.

Jay White & KENTA w/Gedo of Bullet Club b. IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito & SANADA of Los Ingobernables De Japon when White pinned Sanada with a Roll-Up – White tried his usual delay tactics, which failed to get under Naito’s skin. Naito turned the tables with the same tactics, which of course enraged White. Eventually, the heels took the match to the floor and got the upper hand. They got the heat on Sanada until Naito got the hot tag. Kenta cut off Naito with an elevated DDT which lead to another tag in for Sanada. White evaded a Paradise Lock attempt by using the referee as leverage. Gedo managed to hit Sanada with a chair, which allowed White to roll up Sanada and use the tights to steal the pin.

Minoru Suzuki & Taichi w/Miho Abe of Suzuki-Gun b. Kazuchika Okada & IWGP United States Champion Jon Moxley when Suzuki pinned Moxley with a Gotch Piledriver – For some reason, Okada was introduced before Moxley. Maybe because Moxley is a champion. Moxley still wore the eyepatch, selling the injury from the recent attack in AEW. A brawl erupted quickly with Moxley and Suzuki battling in a duel of strikes. Moxley flipped Suzuki the bird, which caused Suzuki to try to break his fingers. The match eventually spilled to the floor where the heels took control. Back in the ring, Moxley made a comeback and grounded Suzuki with holds. Moxley signaled for the Death Rider but Taichi ran in to stop him. Okada and Taicho brawled to the floor, leaving Suzuki and Moxley alone in the ring. After trading several strikes, Suzuki managed to finish off Moxley with the Rear Naked Choke and the Gotch Piledriver.

After the match, Taichi continued to attack Okada. He produced the Iron Claw and tried to clobber Okada with it. Okada dodged, but before he could retaliate, Zack Sabre Jr. hit the ring and locked Okada in a sleeper. This allowed Taichi to use the glove to knock out Okada. Ospreay ran in to make the save only to be met with a Zack Driver. Taichi hit his Black Mephisto finisher to Okada on the ramp. He then cut a promo about beating him at the next show.

Tomohiro Ishii p. EVIL with a Brainbuster – As expected, this was a brawl from the getgo. Evil got the upper hand when the fight went to the floor. Ishii made his comeback when the match got back in the ring. At the 15-minute mark, Evil hit a Superplex for a near-fall. Ishii kicked out of Darkness Falls and reversed Everything Is Evil into a DDT. Evil kicked out of the Sliding Lariat. Ishii blocked a Brainbuster and responded with two German Suplexes. The two exchanged more strikes and lariats. Finally, Ishii was able to hit the Brainbuster and got the pin.

Shing Takagi p. NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto with Last Of The Dragon to win the title – This is a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom where Goto retained the title. Both men are known for great strikes so this was a perfect example of Strong Style. Both men had flurries of offense until Takagi clotheslined Goto to the floor. Once the match got back in the ring, Shingo was in control. Goto made his comeback with several strikes until Takagi landed a Pumping Bomber. Goto kicked out of a superplex, so Takagi went for a second. Goto blocked it and hit a sunset flip off the ropes. He then hit an elevated GTR and followed up with more kicks. Takagi countered with his own elevated GTR for a near fall. The two blocked and reversed each other’s moves until Goto hit a Shoten-Kai. Takagi still kicked out. In desperation, Goto landed several scary looking headbutts to the back of Shingo’s skull. He hit a Reverse GTR but before he could hit the standard GTR, Shingo reversed into Made In Japan. Goto kicked out, but couldn’t stop Goto from hitting Last Of The Dragon for the hard-fought win.

After the match, Shingo cut the obligatory show-closing promo, stating that in his book the Openweight Title is as important as the IWGP Heavyweight Title

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