New champions crowned at NJPW The New Beginning in Nagoya

New champions were crowned at Saturday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Nagoya event. 

EVIL defeated Tama Tonga in the main event to win the NEVER Openweight Championship in what might have been Tama’s NJPW swan song. 

The main event originally ended in a double disqualification after Bullet Club, Guerrillas of Destiny, and Hontai members hit the ring as EVIL and Tama brawled. Tama then insisted that the match be restarted as a lumberjack match with the factions ringside. EVIL then pinned Tama in the restart after interference from Dick Togo and Ren Narita to win the title. 

An emotional Tama cut a promo thanking the fans after the match after announcing earlier this month that he would be leaving NJPW at the end of January. 

The provisional KOPW 2024 title was also switched on the show, with Great-O-Khan defeating Taiji Ishimori to claim that championship. 

In the evening’s other title bout, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo retained the NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship by defeating KENTA & Chase Owens. 

Saturday’s tour opener also featured Kazuchika Okada’s final NJPW match in Nagoya, as the star announced Thursday that he is departing NJPW after three dates next month. 

Our full report from Saturday’s show is here.