NJPW – Road to THE NEW BEGINNING
Event Date: February 6, 2020 (18:30 JST)
aired live on NJPW World & Samurai TV
#njnbg #samuraitv
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Attendance: 1,408
Tour: THE NEW BEGINNING
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Gino Gambino, Chris Charlton
Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Haruo Murata, Manabu Nakanishi (6 – 7)
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki (1 – 4), Makoto Abe (5 – 7)
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
Yuya Uemura vs Yota Tsuji
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Yuya Uemura wins via pinfall with a bridging overhead belly to belly suplex
Time: 9:26
Match Thoughts
Good match. Each man stuck with what they do best here, and that made for a fun match. Tsuji used his power and tried to beat Uemura down with numerous strikes, while Uemura focused on various holds. Uemura specifically focused on Tsuji’s injured shoulder, but Tsuji’s power kept being a problem for Uemura. This was a good, even fight. As the commentators said, this match brought their career records against each other to an even 50%.
Match 2
Gabriel Kidd vs El Phantasmo (RPW British Cruiserweight Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: El Phantasmo wins via pinfall after CRII
Time: 8:04
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. Kidd surprised El Phantasmo a few times while he was showing off, but ELP didn’t have too much trouble tonight. This was a fine showing for Kidd and an easy exhibition for ELP.
Match 3
Toa Henare & Tomoaki Honma vs Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Manabu Nakanishi
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Hiroyoshi Tenzan pins Tomoaki Honma after a diving moonsault
Time: 7:56
Match Thoughts
This was fun. Nakanishi’s retirement tour continues with another entertaining match. Nakanishi and Tenzan even took to the top rope to finish this one.
Match 4
Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado & Zack Sabre Jr. (RPW British Heavyweight Champ) vs Roppongi 3K (IWGP Jr. Tag Champs) & Will Ospreay
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: the Chaos team wins via DQ when El Desperado hits Yoh with a chair
Time: 13:23
Match Thoughts
Good match. El Desperado and Kanemaru tried to focus on continuing their destruction of Sho’s leg that they started last night, and it worked for a while. That was the main focus of the match, though Ospreay and Sabre both tried to build some momentum heading into their title clash as well. The finish of the match wasn’t decisive, but the effects of the match will definitely be felt by Roppongi 3K. This was a good way to build up future matches, even if was a little bit at the expense of this match.
Match 5
Douki & Taichi & Minoru Suzuki vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Togi Makabe & Kazuchika Okada
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi pins Douki after Dodon
Time: 11:22
Match Thoughts
Good match. There wasn’t really much of anything to build up in this match, so it was just a fun fight. Suzuki Gun started as usual with a big brawl, then everyone started taking turns in the ring. Taichi and Okada still having something going on between them, but they didn’t interact a whole lot tonight. The match ended with a fun segment involving Douki and Taguchi.
Match 6
Taiji Ishimori & Jay White w/ Gedo & KENTA vs Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ) & SANADA & Tetsuya Naito (IWGP IC & Heavyweight Champ)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Tetsuya Naito pins Taiji Ishimori after Destino
Time: 16:15
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Naito took quite a beating from KENTA tonight. KENTA dropped Naito on his head multiple time in the ring and on the floor, but Naito was able to absorb the punishment (even though he did struggle at times). KENTA looked strong, but the teamwork of LIJ looked stronger as the match went on. This was a nice preview for the upcoming double title match between KENTA and Naito.
Match 7
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title Match
Robbie Eagles & Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto vs BUSHI & EVIL & Shingo Takagi (NEVER Openweight Champ) (NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champs)
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: BUSHI pins Robbie Eagles after MX (and the black mist)
Time: 21:44
Match Thoughts
Great match. LIJ had superior teamwork, but Chaos still looked really good tonight. There was a scary moment when it looked like Ishii hurt his knee pretty badly, but he managed to get back up and finish the match without showing too much of an effect. Ishii and Takagi had a great exchange after that, then Eagles and BUSHI had a great exchange to finish the match. The final few minutes were quite tense and exciting.
Ring Area
Immediately after the match, while everyone is still getting back to their feet, Toru Yano runs out and steals the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Title belts. He smiles as he leaves with all three belts.
After that, Ishii gets in Takagi’s face and says he wants the NEVER Openweight Title.
Show Impressions
This was a good show. I think the title match definitely delivered.
Match of the Night
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Title Match
There was some really good stuff here. Plus, it made me want to see Ishii versus Takagi and Eagles versus BUSHI in singles matches.
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/222321?showResult=1