KOPW rules, Strong Tag title match confirmed for NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya

  • Ian Carey
  • By 

NJPW has issued an update on the lineup for New Beginning in Nagoya. 

On Sunday, the promotion announced the Hikuleo & El Phantasmo vs. KENTA & Chase match scheduled for the show will now be for the Strong Tag Team titles. The announcement follows ELP & Hikuleo successfully defending the titles against Alex Coughlin & Clark Connors on Saturday at Battle in the Valley. The IWGP Tag Team Championships, also held by TJP & Hikuleo, will not be on the line.  

NJPW has also announced the rules for the KOPW match at New Beginning in Nagoya. The voting saw Taiji Ishimori’s proposed Ring Fit match beat out Great-O-Khan’s Bullrope Deathmatch rules with 77% of the votes. The match stipulation requires both wrestlers to do 30 seconds of high-intensity circuit training every 3 minutes. 

NJPW1972.com described the Ring FIT rules:

Ishimori will defend his KOPW 2024 belt against Tanahashi in a 10 minute Ishimori Ring Fit Match. Ten minutes will be on the clock, with the last title holder at the end of the time limit the victor. Additionally, at three minute intervals, the two must stop for 30 seconds of high intensity circuit training. Who will have the wind to prevail in this demanding match type? 

The event takes place at Dolphin’s Arena in Nagoya on Saturday, January 20. 

Here is the full card for NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya:

  • NEVER Openweight Title: Tama Tonga defends against EVIL
  • KOPW 2024: Taiji Ishimori defends against Great-O-Khan in a Ring Fit match
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI) vs. Just Five Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Taka Michinoku, DOUKI, and Yuya Uemura)
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Togi Makabe vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste, and Kosei Fujita
  • NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions Guerillas of Destiny (Hikuleo and El Phantasmo) defend against Chase Owens & KENTA
  • El Desperado & Master Wato vs. SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, TJP, Henare, & Jeff Cobb) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd, and Alex Coughlin)
  • Tomoaki Honma & Shota Umino vs. House of Torture (Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi)
  • Kickoff match: Shoma Kato vs. Katsuya Murashima