NJPW New Beginning in Osaka live results: Okada vs. SANADA
YUJI NAGATA defeated KATSUYA KITAMURA
Kitamura took the early advantage with a shoulder block and a scoop slam. Nagata went to work on the left arm, but a rope break forced the action back to the middle of the ring. They exchanged strikes, with Nagata getting the better of the exchange. Kitamura came back with a gutwrench suplex for a nearfall, and racked Nagata for a near submission.
They had a slap fight in the center of the ring, which ended with Kitamura selling exhaustion. Kitamura hulked up and hit a spear for another nearfall. Kitamura went for the jackhammer, but Nagata locked on an armbar. Kitamura reached the ropes, forcing a break. Nagata hit a kick for a nearfall.
Nagata took a series of chops, which was the last gasp of offense from Kitamura. Nagata hit a high-angle suplex and bridged into a pinfall. A very basic opener, furthering the story of Kitamura’s test.
SUZUKI-GUN (EL DESPERADO & YOSHINOBU KANEMARU) defeated ROPPONGI 3K (SHO & YOH)
Suzuki-gun worked over SHO’s injured back, which was all taped up. The action spilled outside and SHO and YOH were both repeatedly whipped into the barricade. Back inside, Desperado used a reverse Gory Special to continue working on SHO’s back.
YOH tagged in and ran wild with a dragon screw, a flying forearm, and a slingshot double footstomp. Desperado swung the advantage back to his team with a spinebuster, forcing a tag to SHO.
SHO got a nearfall with a suplex, but his back gave out when Roppongi went for their finish, giving Kanemaru an opening. Kanemaru hit a superplex and applied a Boston crab. Rocky Romero took the referee to complain about Desperado’s interference, allowing Desperado to interfere, and blast SHO with a chair. Oh, sweet irony. SHO tapped out to the crab, and Suzuki-gun continued to beat down Roppongi after the bout.
Suzuki-gun grabbed the IWGP Junior Tag belts and taunted Roppongi with them after the bout, establishing themselves as future challengers for the championships. This told a good story and set up a match for down the road.
TOGI MAKABE, MICHAEL ELGIN, KUSHIDA, RYUSUKE TAGUCHI defeated SUZUKI-GUN (MINORU SUZUKI, TAKA MICHINOKU, TAICHI, TAKASHI IIZUKA)
Makabe, Elgin, KUSHIDA and Taguchi got the jump on Suzuki-gun at the bell, but Suzuki-gun quickly turned it into a brawl. Taichi went after Taguchi with the ring bell hammer, exacting revenge for his actions against his wife in Sapporo.
Elgin tagged in and did some power stuff, but Iizuka used an inverted atomic drop, forcing a double down. Makabe and Suzuki tagged in, and business picked up. They did a long forearm strike exchange. Suzuki threatened to strike with a closed fist, which forced the ref to intervene, allowing Suzuki’s teammates to go to work on Makabe.
Iizuka tried to use the iron glove, but Makabe survived the attempt. TAKA tagged in, and Makabe hit him with the King Kong kneedrop for the victory, while Makabe’s team held Suzuki at bay.
Makabe cut a promo after the match, challenging Suzuki for his IWGP Intercontinental title. After refusing Makabe’s challenge for weeks, Suzuki accepted, and got a parting shot in on Makabe. On his way out, Suzuki attacked a young boy at ringside. This was all about establishing Makabe vs. Suzuki down the line, and there wasn’t much to the match. KUSHIDA is one of the best guys in the world and he barely tagged in here.
CHAOS (IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPION JAY WHITE, TOMOHIRO ISHII, TORU YANO) defeated JUICE ROBINSON, DAVID FINLAY, TOA HENARE
Yano immediately untied the turnbuckle pad and tried to hit Juice with it, but Juice ducked and used an airplane spin. White tossed Juice into the exposed buckle, and Chaos took over. Ishii and White worked over Juice, forcing a tag to Finlay.
Finlay and White had a hot exchange. Finlay tagged in Henare, who scored a nearfall on White,, while the other competitors brawled outside. White recovered and hit the Blade Runner on Henare. Just as he did at Korakuen earlier this week, rather than going for a pin, White locked Henare in a crucifix and rained down elbows, forcing a stoppage finish.
White continued punishing Henare after the bell, and also attacked the referee. The White/Finlay sequence was nice, but this was all about furthering White’s Switchblade persona.
Rey Mysterio cut a video promo, announcing that he will wrestle for the first time in New Japan, and challenged Jushin Liger for the Strong Style Evolved show in Long Beach on March 25. Liger was at ringside doing commentary, and accepted the challenge.
BUSHI defeated GEDO
BUSHI came out with Brutus Beefcake shears, threatening Gedo’s beard. Gedo came out with two of BUSHI’s masks tied around his neck, threatening BUSHI’s mask.
Gedo went for the mask right away, but BUSHI fought him off. BUSHI ripped at Gedo’s beard, and locked in an STF. Gedo forced a rope break. Gedo tied BUSHI to the top rope with the laces from his mask.
BUSHI had a young boy cut him free with his shears, and sent Gedo outside. BUSHI hit a dive and sent Gedo back inside, in full control. Gedo grabbed the mask again and cradled BUSHI for a nearfall. The ref got bumped. BUSHI went for the mist, but Gedo avoided getting it in his eyes and hit a low blow for a nearfall. BUSHI hit a codebreaker for a nearfall. BUSHI went to the middle rope and hit the MX for the pin.
BUSHI reclaimed his masks after the match, but was stopped before he could go after Gedo’s beard with the shears. This was not worth going out of your way to see, putting it mildly.
TETSUYA NAITO defeated YOSHI-HASHI
YOSHI-HASHI jumped Naito on the aisle as he made his entrance, and hit Naito’s Tranquilo pose in the middle of the ring, to a chorus of boos. Naito recovered and took control of the bout from the opening bell, to a mixed reaction from the Osaka crowd. Naito repeatedly spit on YOSHI-HASHI, selling his disrespect of his opponent.
YOSHI-HASHI fought back with a basement dropkick and a DDT. He hit a tope con hilo and a neckbreaker on the ramp. YOSHI-HASHI used a butterfly lock and hit an elevated DDT. Naito fired back with a slingshot dropkick in the corner, after a weird transition.
Naito hit a flying forearm, but YOSHI-HASHI countered Destino. They exchanged forearms and had a slap fight, which YOSHI-HASHI got the better of. Naito took a flip bump off a clothesline, and ate a powerbomb for a nearfall. YOSHI-HASHI quickly transitioned back to the butterfly lock. Naito reached the ropes after a long tease of tapping out.
YOSHI-HASHI went for Karma, but Naito countered with a release german suplex. Naito hit an enziguri and a top rope rana. He followed with a dragon suplex, and hit Destino twice, scoring the pinfall.
The story they were going for here was that Naito underestimated YOSHI-HASHI, and every time he let up in the match, YOSHI-HASHI showed heart in fighting back, and more than held his own. I think they largely succeeded in telling that story.
Taichi jumped Naito on the ramp after the match, and dragged him backstage. That was strange, and unexpected.
IWGP JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION WILL OSPREAY defeated HIROMU TAKAHASHI to retain the championship
They started at a million miles an hour, doing a cutting edge opening sequence, highlighted by Ospreay going for the Sasuke special, only to eat a german on the floor. Takahashi tossed Ospreay into the barricade, and Ospreay sold his neck.
Back inside, Takahashi used the ropes and kicks to continue working over Ospreay’s head and neck. Takahashi used a headscissors lock, but Ospreay got a hope spot in with a handspring into an enziguri. They worked outside, and Ospreay gained control of the bout with a sprongboard forearm off the barricade.
Back inside, Ospreay scored a pair of nearfalls with unique covers, as Takahashi started to sell his legs. Takahashi hit a pop-up powerbomb, and Ospreay nailed a cutter, before handspringing into a german from Takahashi. Red Shoes took a bump, and Takahashi hit a sunset bomb to the outside as he recovered.
Takahashi hit a senton onto a standing Ospreay from the top rope to the floor, and tossed him inside for a nearfall. Takahashi went for Time Bomb, but Ospreay fought out. Takahashi hit a lariat and Ospreay took a crazy flip bump. They went tot he top, and Ospreay dropped Takahashi into the ring on a deadlift.
Ospreay hit a front flip DDT, and went for the Oscutter, but Takahashi countered. After a double down, they exchanged forearm strikes, selling exhaustion. Ospreay hit the Cheeky Nandos and a reverse rana, dropping Takahashi right on his head, in a terrifying spot.
Ospreay went for a Time Bomb of his own, but Takahashi reversed it into a piledriver for a nearfall. Ospreay hit a dragon suplex, but Takahashi landed on his feet. Ospreay went for the Oscutter, but Takahashi countered. Ospreay hit a standing Spanish Fly, and a 450 on Takahashi as he was draped over the ropes for a nearfall. Ospreay hit The Beheading for another nearfall.
Takahashi survived all of that, but had nothing left in the tank. Ospreay hit his first Oscutter of the match, and it was enough to score the victory. This was excellent, well worth going out of your way to see.
NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPION HIROOKI GOTO defeated EVIL to retain the championship
They had a nearly impossible task in trying to follow the last match, but they decided to take the opposite approach, and began at a very slow pace. EVIL took over after hooking Goto’s neck in a chair and slamming him into the ring post.
Goto briefly got some offense and a nearfall, but EVIL regained control with a clothesline in the corner and sent Goto outside. EVIL bumped the ref and tried to hit Darkness Falls onto a stack of chairs, but Goto countered and hit a suplex onto the chairs.
Goto took over, but EVIL regained control as Goto went for a superplex. EVIL bumped Red Shoes again, and used a foreign object on Goto. Goto recovered and hit an ushigoroshi for a nearfall. They exchanged strikes and lariats, and Goto bled from the mouth.
EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a nearfall, and the crowd started to get invested. EVIL hit a suplex and a lariat for another nearfall. EVIL teased a dragon suplex and went for another lariat, but Goto countered and hit a rope-assisted neckbreaker for a nearfall. Goto ducked a lariat and hit GTR for the pin. Nothing wrong with the match, but its placement hurt it.
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION KAZUCHIKA OKADA defeated SANADA to retain the championship
They spent the first seven minutes of the bout trading holds, and this had all the signs of a one hour draw. The first highspot saw SANADA hit a facebuster from the apron to the barricade. He followed up with a piledriver on the ramp. Back inside, SANADA cranked on the neck, hit a back elbow and a standing moonsault. He hit a dropkick and another piledriver for a nearfall. Okada hit a desperation flapjack and they did a double down just past the ten minute mark.
Back up, SANADA took the Flair corner bump onto the apron, and Okada dropkicked him to the floor. Okada took the fight outside, clotheslined SANADA over the barricade, and hit a draping DDT from the barricade to the floor. SANADA beat the count back inside, as Okada took control of the bout.
Okada got the better of a forearm strike exchange, and hit the flying elbow off the top. Okada went for the Rainmaker, but SANADA countered with a desperation suplex. Okada went for the Tombstone, but SANADA countered with a dropkick, and sent Okada outside. He hit a slingshot plancha, and followed up with another plancha, without the assistance of the ropes. This was right about the twenty minute mark, and the crowd really started to get into the match here.
Back inside, SANADA survived a roll-up and teased the Skull End, but Okada slipped out and reached the ropes. SANADA clubbed Okada with forearms and got a nearfall with a TKO. Okada went for the Cobra Clutch, but SANADA slipped out and hit a moonsault onto a standing Okada, and applied Skull End. Okada escaped the body scissors twice, but SANADA reapplied, and they teased a tapout or a stoppage, but Okada finally reached the ropes.
SANADA missed a moonsault and landed onhis feet, selling his knees. SANADA hit a tiger suplex for a close nearfall, and stacked Okada on the top rope. He dropped him off the top and got a nearfall. Okada went for the Rainmaker, but SANADA ducked and hit one of his own for another close nearfall. Okada applied a dragon sleeper and hit two dropkicks.
Okada hit a Tombstone and signalled for the Rainmaker, but SANADA turned it into another Skull End attempt. SANADA gave up the hold and hit a moonsault off the top for another nearfall, but sold his knee on the landing. He went for another moonsault, but Okada got the knees up and hit the Rainmaker. He could not make a cover as the thirty minute mark passed.
Okada was first up, and hit a Rainmaker. He went for another, but SANADA countered. Okada hit a german, but SANADA was back up. Okada hit the jumping Tombstone and another Rainmaker, covered, and got the pin. A truly great match, and an excellent main event.
Chaos won the night against LIJ, 3-2.
With the win, Okada tied Yuji Nagata for the second most successful defenses in a single IWGP title reign, and extended his records for longest continuous reign, and most overall days holding the championship.
After the bout, Okada declared his intention to compete for the New Japan Cup this year, and to face his Chaos stablemate Will Ospreay at the Anniversary Show on March 6.