NJPW – The NEW BEGINNING in SAPPORO
Event Date: February 2, 2020 (15:00 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Toyohira, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan
Venue: Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center (Hokkai Kitayell)
Attendance: 5,690
Tour: The NEW BEGINNING
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Gino Gambino, Chris Charlton
Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Katsuhiko Kanazawa, Koki Yamazaki (1, 3, 6), Yohei Onishi (2, 4, 7), Yuichi Tabata (5, 8), Yoshinobu Kanemaru (7 – 8)
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 4), Makoto Abe (5 – 8)
Video
The opening video tells us about the NEW BEGINNING tour and some of the big matches we’ll see along the way.
Match 1
Yota Tsuji vs Toa Henare
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Toa Henare wins via pinfall after the Toa Bottom
Time: 8:16
Match Thoughts
Good match. Tsuji had the majority of the offense in this match, and it really felt like he might actually get the win. Henare only needed a few moves to make a comeback though. This was a nice opener.
Match 2
Tiger Mask & Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi vs Yuya Uemura & Tomoaki Honma & Togi Makabe
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Tiger Mask pins Yuya Uemura with the Tiger Suplex
Time: 9:48
Match Thoughts
Good match. Tiger Mask had some harsh words for Uemura after their match as a team last night, so this match built up to Tiger Mask versus Uemura. That was fun. Before that though, Nakanisha had some good battles with everyone, especially with Makabe.
Ring Area
After the match, Manabu Nakamishi addresses the crowd, saying this is his final match in Hokkaido before his retirement. He thanks the fans before bowing.
Match 3
Gabriel Kidd vs El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: El Phantasmo wins via pinfall after a diving splash
Time: 8:50
Match Thoughts
Good match. Kidd is a young lion from the LA Dojo, and he had a lot of adrenaline going into this match. ELP slowed the pace down and played with Kidd a bit, but Kidd looked good.
Match 4
Robbi Eagles & Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto vs BUSHI (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champ) & EVIL (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champ) & Shingo Takagi (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champ, NEVER Openweight Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Robbie Eagles submits BUSHI with the Ron Miller Special
Time: 9:42
Match Thoughts
Good match. All of the men on these two teams faced each other last night (in separate matches), so the aggression was there right from the beginning. LIJ seemed to be getting the upper-hand for most of the match, but BUSHI got isolated and destroyed by Chaos as the match went on. These two teams will battle for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Titles soon, and this was a great preview for that match.
Match 5
Douki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado & Minoru Suzuki vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Roppongi 3K (IWGP Jr. Tag Champs) & Jon Moxley (IWGP US Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi submits Douki with Oh My & Garankle
Time: 12:58
Match Thoughts
Good match. It was quite chaotic, as most of Suzuki Gun’s matches are. Moxley was last to head to the ring, and Minoru Suzuki went out to the crowd to meet him. This was essentially a three on three match, because Moxley and Suzuki brawled pretty much the entire time with no regard for the match that was happening. The other six men had a nice, fast-paced match, but the focus was never far away from Suzuki and Moxley trying to kill each other.
Video
A look at the dates for the next NJPW tour in Hokkaido later this year.
Match 6
Taiji Ishimori & Jay White w/ Gedo & KENTA vs Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jr. Champ) & SANADA & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC & IWGP Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: SANADA submits Taiji Ishimori with Skull End
Time: 15:34
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Bullet Club started the aggression with a pre-match attack, but LIJ was up to the challenge. This was an even fight that had just as much brawling as it did wrestling. The main focus was on Naito and KENTA, but all three pairs (White versus SANADA and Takahashi versus Ishimori) were entertaining.
Video
A look at the buildup to Ospreay versus ZSJ.
Match 7
RPW British Heavyweight Title Match
Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr. (RPW British Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Sack Sabre Jr. wins via Referee Stoppage with a modified cobra twist
Time: 27:04
Match Thoughts
Great match! Ospreay had a great combination of power, speed, and technique, but ZSJ was ready for him. The battle went back and forth and built up and up until it all broke upen in the final few minutes. This was incredibly fun to watch!
Video
A look at the long history between Taichi and Kazucika Okada.
Match 8
Taichi w/ Miho Abe vs Kazuchika Okada
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Kazichika Okada wins via pinfall after the Rainmaker
Time: 30:53
Match Thoughts
Great match! it started with a lot of outside-the-ring brawling from Taichi which wasn’t super entertaining, but that established a clear advantage for Taichi. Okada had to fight back for pretty much the entire rest of the match. Whenever Okada would get close to taking over, Taichi would cheat to retain his advantge. Tichi had trouble putting Okada away though, and that struggle led to a very fun and entertaining final few minutes of the match. This was very good, and the addition of the grudge and history between the two men made it even better.
Show Impressions
This was a fun show. I really enjoyed the main events. I knew I would like Ospreay versus ZSJ, but I was a little surprised by how much I enjoyed Taichi versus Okada. I like both guys, but I thought the match tonight might be a letdown after seeing the RPW Title match right before it. It definitely wasn’t a letdown.
Match of the Night
Will Ospreay vs Zack Sabre Jr.
I liked Okada versus Taichi a lot, but I would still watch Ospreay versus ZSJ again before anything else on this show.
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/222318?showResult=1