Tag: njnbg

New Japan wraps up THE NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO 2024 today with the second half of the annual weekend doubleheader in Hokkaido. It’s a rare midday/afternoon matinee which makes for very convenient watching for us fans in the US. After a full slate of title matches yesterday the focus today will be on LIJ vs. Just 5 Guys with a series of 5 single matches between the factions. The focus will be on two in particular-Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match that, unless it’s a draw, will leave a lot of (female) fans very unhappy….and then the main event, which is a rematch from Tokyo Dome between Tetsuya Naito & SANADA for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. But this time it’s Naito defending. Also earlier on the card is Kazuchika Okada’s final New Japan match before he leaves the promotion as well as the farewell match for Tama Tonga, who is also leaving.

There is a change to the card from what New Japan’s English website currently lists-HENARE is off Match 2 due to injury (head). Callum Newman is the replacement.

Today’s event will be held at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido and can be watched LIVE on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY in Japanese and English. It can only be watched live in Japan on TV Asahi (it will be available on demand on New Japan World in Japan at a later date). There will be a pre-show match 30 minutes before the event. Excluding the pre-show the longest the event can possibly go is 4 1/2 hours, but I’m thinking it will be closer to around 3 1/4 hours.

Today’s lineup:
Pre-show:
Tomoya & Toru Yano vs. Katsuya Murashima & Tomoaki Honma

Main Show:
Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Togi Makabe, El Desperado & Shota Umino vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL.
YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Francisco Akira, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle
Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
Ryusuke Taguchi & Nic Nemeth vs. Gedo & David Finlay
BUSHI vs. TAKA Michinoku
Hiromu Takahashi vs. DOUKI
Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. SANADA for the title

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 8:30 PM PT/11:30 PM ET. The main card begins at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.

8:25 PM PT UPDATE: There have been last-second changes to the card: Hiroshi Tanahashi is now off. Right ankle injury suffered yesterday. Toru Yano is the replacement. No word on what this means for the pre-show match that Yano was to be in. We’ll find out in a few minutes..(Pre-Show Match Update: Double duty. He’s gonna work 2 matches).

8:30 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now…

We are LIVE from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido, Japan. Your Japanese hosts are someone whose name I didn’t catch & Milano Collection A.T.. Your English hosts are Walker Stephens & Chris Charlton.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. The crowd is still going to be filing in over the next 30 minutes and yesterday did roughly 3200, and it’s already looking like it’s going to be at least around that. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 5355)

Pre-show Match: Katsuya Murashima & Tomoaki Honma vs. Toru Yano & Tomoya. Frontier Zone match. 20 minute time limit
Result: Toru Yano & Tomoya beat Katsuya Murashima & Toru Yano. Tomoya pinned Murashima.

The Hiroshi Tanahashi absence due to injury is announced to the live crowd before the feed cuts away for now to conclude the pre-show.

Updates will resume at 9 PM PT/midnight ET.

9 PM PT UPDATE: The main show has begun, so updates resume now.

We are LIVE (again) from Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido, Japan. This event is airing in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 on TV Asahi. No guest on Japanese commentary yet.

Match 1: Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Togi Makabe, El Desperado & Shota Umino vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL. 20 minute time limit
Result: Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Yogi Makabe, El Desperado & Shota Umino beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL. Umino pinned Kanemaru after Death Rider. After the match, Yoh sat at the top of the entrance ramp with the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship belt, possibly making a challenge to Sho, his former partner-turned-rival. Then the arena went dark and a video played on the monitors above the ring in Japanese, apparently a message from David Finlay to Umino ending with the word “SCAPEGOAT” in Japanese & English.

Hiroshi Tanahashi is now the guest on Japanese commentary.

Match 2: YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Francisco Akira, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle. 20 minute time limit (VERY LOUD pop and chants from the crowd during Okada’s intro for his final NJPW match)
Result: YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada beat Francisco Akira, Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Matt Riddle. Okada pinned Newman after Rainmaker. Rainmaker leaves New Japan with a victory. He may be back someday though, he potentially still has a decade or more left in him. Afterwards, Okada with microphone. He thanked the crowd one more time and took a bow before leaving.

Match 3: Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs. El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. 20 minute time limit. In a possible unannounced last-second change for this match, Jado is special guest referee
Result: El Phantasmo & Hikuleo beat Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa. Hikuleo pinned Tonga after a chokeslam. This was Tonga’s final match in New Japan and he stayed around after the match to pay his respects to the ring and the fans and share one last group hug with his brothers & factionmates. Tonga is leaving mainly for personal/family reasons, he is not necessarily retiring but he wants to be closer to his family for work, I believe they are located in Hawaii (where Loa is originally from).

Match 4: Ryusuke Taguchi & Nic Nemeth vs. Gedo & David Finlay. 30 minute time limit
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi & Nic Nemeth beat Gedo & David Finlay. Nemeth pinned Gedo after Danger Zone (Zig Zag). Afterwards, Nemeth with microphone. He addressed the crowd in English, talking about how he wanted to team with Tanahashi in New Japan, but now he had another request-he now wants to defend the IWGP Global Championship against Tanahashi. Tanahashi stood up from commentary and said “I Agree With You!” We’ll see when it happens as it’ll partly depend on Tanahashi’s injury, but after today the promotion is off for about 2 weeks so that’s the earliest it could happen.

Match 5: BUSHI vs. TAKA Michinoku. 30 minute time limit
Result: BUSHI beat TAKA Michinoku by submission

Match 6: Hiromu Takahashi vs. DOUKI. 30 minute time limit
Result: DOUKI beat Hiromu Takahashi

Kazuchika Okada is now the guest on Japanese commentary.

Match 7: Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi. 30 minute time limit
Result: Taichi beat Shingo Takagi

Match 8: Yota Tsuji vs. Yuya Uemura in a Hair vs. Hair match. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yota Tsuji beat Yuya Uemura. As a result, Uemura loses his hair. They cane about 90 seconds from going the full 30 minutes.

Main Event: IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito beat SANADA to retain the title. V1 for Naito. Next up: The New Japan Cup winner, probably at SAKURA GENESIS in April.

The next event is the annual Anniversary Event, this year the 52nd Anniversary, on 3/6 (the date of the promotion’s first event in 1972) at Ota City General Gum in Tokyo. The only match set so far is a traditional NON-TITLE match between the IWGP World Heavyweight and Jr. Heavyweight Champions, meaning Naito vs. Sho. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

Nee Japan ran the first half of THE NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO earlier today.

Today’s event was held at Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kita Yell in Hokkaido and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This event aired in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING LIVE 2024 on TV Asahi.

The announced paid attendance was 3231.

Pre-show Match: Tomoya & Toru Yano beat Shoma Kato & Tomoaki Honma. Tomoya pinned Kato after La Adachita 2005.

Match 1: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yuji Nagata by submission.

Match 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita beat Boltin Oleg, Ryusuke Taguchi & Togi Makabe. Narita pinned Makabe after Double Cross.

Match 3: Yoh, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Conb. Okada pinned Newman after Rainmaker. This was to have been a 10-man tag but HENARE was removed due to injuries suffered at the Osaka event earlier this month, and Hirooki Goto was also removed as a result.

Match 4: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Yakagi & Tetsuya Naito beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA. Takagi pinned TAKA after Pumping Bomber.

Match 5: IWGP Women’s Champion Mayu Iwatani beat Mina Shirakawa to retain the title. V4 for Iwatani.

Match 6: Sho beat IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado by countout to win the title. Sho becomes the 95th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Ren Narita interference helped.

Match 7: NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL beat Shota Umino to retain the title. V1 for EVIL.

Match 8: Matt Riddle beat NJPW WORLD TV Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the title. Riddle becomes the 3rd NJPW WORLD TV Champion. WHAT THE PRESIDENT ACE F**K?!? Definitely will not be popular. Next up: Riddle wanted Sabre but he declined and said Bad Dude Tito gets the shot instead. That match will happen Thursday in Major League Wrestling (MLW).

Main Event: Noc Nemeth beat IWGP Global Champion David Finlay to win the title. Nemeth becomes the second IWGP Global Champion. SHOW OFF!! Post-match, Nemeth talked about wanting to team with Tanahashi tomorrow, which would require a card change because Nemeth is supposed to be teaming with Ryusuke Taguchi to face Gedo & Finlay.

The second event is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY will begin TONIGHT at 9 PM PT:midnight ET with live results scheduled. This will be a TV Asahi broadcast in Japan.

THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA, New Japan’s first major event of February, is now in the books. And it was a new beginning indeed as the promotion said farewell to Will Ospreay (now headed full-time to All Elite Wrestling) and witnessed what likely is Ace vs. Rainmaker-The Final Chapter.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This event aired live in Japan as part of WORLD PRO WRESTLING 2024 LIVE on TV Asahi.

The announced paid attendance was 5327, a legit advance sellout. Had they not blocked off about 1/4 of the seating for the stage & entrance area, it could have been even higher. (Also worth nothing that’s higher than the venue’s normal full capacity, which is 5000 for sumo)

Match 1L Yoh & Toru Yano beat Boltin Oleg & Ryusuke Taguchi. Yoh pinned Taguchi with Kid Clutch.

Match 2: YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto beat Callum Newman & Great-O-Khan. YOSHI-HASHI pinned Newman after Shoto.

Match 3: Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL beat Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, El Desperado & Shota Umino. Sho pinned TM 4 after Shock Arrow. Afterwards, Sho stole the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship belt from Desoerado and demanded a title match on 2/23. Desperado agreed…but with a potential stip: If Sho loses, he would leave House Of Torture (and thus Bullet Club) and join STRONG STYLE.

Match 4: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. SANADA beat BUSHI with Skull End.

Match 5: The Final Chapter-Kazuchika Okada beat Hiroshi Tanahashi. Afterwards, the two embraced in the ring to end their iconic 12 year rivalry between perhaps the two greatest ever in New Japan, or at least in our generation. Okada will appear at the doubleheader later this month in Hokkaido then he is headed elsewhere to continue his career-the rumor mills strongly suggest he is headed to All Elite Wrestling but that is not definite.

Match 6: Chase Owens & KENTA beat IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions El Phantasmo & Hikuleo to win the titles. Owens & KENTA become the 101st IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. KENTA pinned Hikuleo after Taiji Ishimori interference and a belt shot.

Match 7: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Bryan Danielson (All Elite Wrestling). They went nearly 33 minutes.

Main Event: In a Dog Pound Cage Match with staggered alternating entries every 2 minutes, Drilla Moloney, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors & David Finlay beat Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay. Finlay pinned Ospreay after Overkill. 64 minutes of perhaps the most violence ever seen in New Japan. Afterwards, United Empire stayed behind for a final curtain call for Ospreay as this was his last match in New Japan as a full-time member before he heads to AEW full-time. But with the two promotions having a working agreement, the door will undoubtedly be open for The Aerial Assassin to come back now & then. And he promised the fans they would see him again.

The next event is NJPW PRESENTS CMLL FANTASTICAMANIA 2024, the (usually) annual crossover series with the CMLL promotion in Mexico, beginning tomorrow at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET. The series will run every day over the next 8 days except Wednesday.

New Japan wrapped up the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING 2024 Tour today with a house show in Ibaraki.

Today’s event was held at Koga City Yes Central Athletic Park Hanamomo Gymnasium in Ibaraki. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 657.

Match 1: Shoma Kato & Boltin Oleg beat Katsuya Murashima & Yuji Nagata. Oleg pinned Murashima after Kamikaze.

Match 2: Toru Yano, Yoh & El Desperado beat Yujiro Yakahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho. Yano pinned Takahashi.

Match 3: Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma & Shota Unino beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 4: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. Ishimori pinned Jado.

Match 5: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat TM 4.

Match 6: Dtilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, HENARE, TJP & Great-O-Khan. Finlay pinned Newman after Overkill.

Main Event: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Ueamra, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. SANADA beat BUSHI with Skull End.

The next event is THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA Sunday at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka. The event is a legit advance sellout. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET. The live broadcast is available OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY. This will be a live TV Asahi broadcast in Japan.

New Japan ran the penultimate event of the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING tour today.

Today’s event was held at Iwaki City Gym in Fukushima. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 889.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima & Boltin Oleg beat Shoma Kato & Toru Yano. Oleg pinned Kato after Kamikaze.

Match 2: Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata & El Desperado. Sho pinned Taguchi.

Match 3: Yoh, Tiger Mask & Shota Umino beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 4: Taiji Ishinori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. Ishimori pinned Jado.

Match 5: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI & Hiroshi Tamahashi. Sabre beat Honma with Clarky Cat.

Match 6: Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Finlay pinned Newman after Overkill.

Main Event: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. SANADA beat BUSHI with Skull End.

The tour-ender is tomorrow at Koga City Yes Central Athletic Park Hanamomo Gym in Ibaraki. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

New Japan continued the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the first of a few untelevised house shows this week.

Today’s event was held at Wing Hat Kusakabe in Saitama. There is/was no live or on demand broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 493.

There were last-minute changes to the card again due to the continued absences of Jeff Cobb, HENARE & Gabriel Kidd. All were to have been in Match 6, a 10-man tag match. Great-O-Khan was a replacement for Cobb & HENARE and it became an 8-man tag.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima & Boltin Oleg beat Shoma Kato & Tomoaki Honma. Oleg pinned Kato after Kamikaze.

Match 2: Toru Yano, Yoh & El Desperado beat Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho. Yano pinned Takahashi.

Match 3: Ryusuke Taguchi, Yuji Nagata & Shota Umino beat Dick Togo, Ren Narita & EVIL. Umino pinned Togo after Death Rider.

Match 4: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. Ishimori pinned Jado.

Match 5: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tiger Mask, Togi Makabe, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat TM 4 with Cattle Mutilation.

Match 6: Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP & Great-O-Khan. Finlay pinned Newman after Overkill.

Main Event: BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, SHingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito beat TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA. Naito pinned ? after Destino. (New Japan’s Japanese website currently doesn’t say who pinned who but from the finisher I know it was Naito. If I had to guess who took the fall it would be either TAKA or DOUKI. When/if I find out this will be updated)

The next event is Thursday at Iwaki City Gym in Fukushima. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

New Japan continued the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the second half of a Tokyo doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World FOR FREE! (Mobile/tablet users will likely need to download and use the NJPW WORLD app to watch, same for smart TVs) This was an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1015.

There were last-minute changes to the event following yesterday-HENARE & Gabriel Kidd were not medically cleared after their Double KO and Jeff Cobb remained out after a Bullet Club beatdown pre-event. He was off yesterday due to injury but appeared for a pre-event autograph session.

Pre-show Match: Katsuya Murashima vs. Shoma Kato went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 1: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. KENTA pinned Jado.

Match 2: Boltin Oleg, Yoh, Tomoaki Honma, El Desperado & Shota Umino beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL. Umino pinned Takahashi after Death Rider.

Match 3: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Togi Makabe & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat Makabe with an armbar.

Match 4: Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP & Great-O-Khan beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay by DQ. Finlay DQ’d. Chair use.

Main Event: In an elimination match series with 10 minute time limits (more like a gauntlet match), Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & Yota Tsuji beat SANADA, DOUKI, TAKA Michinoku, Taichi & Yuya Uemura. In the final deciding match, Tsuji beat Uemura. Afterwards, Tsuji requested his 2/24 match against Uemura be changed to a Hair vs. Hair Deathmatch, and then set his sights on Naito and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship after that. But first Naito has to defend against SANADA and Tsuji presumably would have to win the New Japan Cup…

The next event is tomorrow at Wing Hat Kusakabe in Saitama. There will be no live or on demand broadcasts. In fact, there are no more broadcasts for the tour. The next live broadcast is THE NEW BEGINNING in OSAKA on Sunday at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Tokyo beginning at midnight PT/3 AM ET. The New Japan World broadcast will be available OUTSIDE JAPAN ONLY. This will be a TV Asahi live broadcast in Japan.

UPDATE: Cobb, Kidd & HENARE are all off tomorrow now. They were to have been in a 10-man tag match. Great-O-Khan is a replacement for Cobb/HENARE and it’s now an 8-man tag. Also, for 2/24 the Tsuji-Uemura Hair vs. Hair Match is now official. The loser loses his hair.

New Japan continued the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING tour today with the first half of a Tokyo doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.

The announced paid attendance was 1433, a legit sellout.

There was a last-minute change to the card today because Jeff Cobb was removed a few hours before due to injury. Left thigh. He was to have faced Alex Coughlin. Great-O-Khan was the replacement. Cobb still was at a pre-event autograph session…and reportedly got a Bullet Club beatdown there.

Match 1: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Sho & EVIL beat Boltin Oleg, Togi Makabe, YOSHI-HASHI, El Desperado & Shota Umino. EVIL pinned Makabe after EVIL. After the match, EVIL went nWo on the NEVER Openweight Championship, spraying the belt with black spray paint.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Tomoaki Honma, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. Owens pinned Honma after a package piledriver.

Match 3: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Yoh, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii & Hiroshi Tanahashi. Sabre beat Taguchi with a sleeper hold.

Match 4: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Uemura beat Tsuji with an armbar.

Match 5: Great-O-Khan beat Alex Coughlin.

Match 6: HENARE vs. Gabriel Kidd went to a Double KO.

Match 7: David Finlay beat Callum Newman.

Main Event: Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors beat IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Francesco Akira & TJP to win the titles. Moloney & Connors become the 75th IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Connors pinned Akira after Full Clip. Bullet CLub stands tall again and of course sends the crowd home very unhappy.

The next event is tomorrow. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET, and you can watch live and on demand FOR FREE! This will be an ABEMA simulcast in Japan.

New Japan ran the second half of the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tokyo doubleheader today, the final appearance for Kazuchika Okada in the capital.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World. This was a Samurai! YV broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 1506, a legit sellout.

Pre-Show Match: Shoma Kato & Boltin Oleg beat Katsuya Murashima & Toru Yano. Oleg pinned Murashima after Kamikaze.

Match 1: Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tiger Mask by submission.

Match 2: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Ryusuke Taguchi, Jado & Hikuleo. Ishimori pinned Jado.

Match 3: Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL beat Tomoaki Honma, Yoh, El Desperado & Master Wato. EVIL pinned Honma after EVIL. Afterwards, Sho attacked and unmasked Desperado.

Match 4: Drilla Moloney, Gabriel Kidd, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay beat Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Great-O-Khan. Connors pinned Akira after No Chaser. (New Japan’s Japanese website incorrectly says Connors pinned Newman)

Match 5: BUSHI, Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi beat TAKA Michinoku, Yuya Uemura & Taichi. Takagi pinned TAKA after Dragon Soul Powerbomb.

Match 6: DOUKI & SANADA beat Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito. DOUKI pinned Takahashi with Jorge Rivera Special.

Match 7: NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Champions Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada beat Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls to retain the titles. Okada pinned Fujita after Rainmaker. V8 for the champs. And Final. Afterwards, because Okada is leaving New Japan and has only 3 dates left as a freelancer, he announced the titles are now VACANT. More as it becomes available.

Main Event: Shota Umino beat Ren Narita. They went almost 34 minutes. Afterwards, Umino with microphone to proclaim his time is now and he is the new ace of New Japan. Time will tell.

The next event is 2/1 at Nagano Prefectural Budokan in Nagano. There will be no live or on demand broadcast.

UPDATE: After today’s event, NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL vs. Shota Umino for the title was announced for 2/23 in Hokkaido.

New Japan continues the Road To THE NEW BEGINNING Tour today with the first half of a Tokyo doubleheader.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on New Japan World FOR FREE! (Non-PC users will have to download the NJPW WORLD app to watch, a paid subscription is not required)

The announced paid attendance was 1510, a legit sellout.

Before the event began, Master Wato came out on crutches and announced he would be out of action due to a torn left ACL. He was then attacked from behind by Sho with a wrench until El Desperado made the save. Wato was to have faced Sho today.

Match 1: Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Shoma Kato & Yoh. Taguchi beat Kato with Oh My & Gar Ankle.

Match 2: Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE & Great-O-Khan beat Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabriel Kidd, Alex Coughlin & David Finlay. Akira pinned Connors.

Match 3: Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo. KENTA pinned Jado.

Match 4: Match 4: Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr. beat Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroshi Tamahashi & Kazuchika Okada. Sabre beat Honma with an armbar.

Match 5: Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita & EVIL beat Togi Makabe, Shota Umino & Tama Tonga. Narita pinned Makabe.

Match 6: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Taichi pinned BUSHI.

Main Event: IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado beat Yoshinobu Kanemaru to retain the title. V1 for Desperado. Next up: Possibly Sho, although Desperado rejected his challenge.

The next event is tomorrow with a NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship match. Live streaming on New Japan World is scheduled to begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET, but may begin 30 minutes earlier for a scheduled pre-show match.

UPDATE: For tomorrow, with Wato now out indefinitely, Yoh is the replacement in an 8-man tag match