NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya notes: Shingo Takagi vs. Great-O-Khan

  • Ian Carey
  • By 

NJPW kicked off The New Beginning series Sunday in Nagoya. 

The provisional KOPW Championship was on the line in the main event as Shingo Takagi successfully defended against Great-O-Khan. The match was contested under modified MMA rules, including lumberjacks on the outside. Victory could only come via KO or submission and both competitors wore a martial arts gi. 

Not only was Takagi defending his KOPW Championship against Khan, his title shot against Kazuchika Okada at The New Beginning in Osaka was on the line as well. 

Takagi put Khan to sleep with a katahajime to retain the title. 

Following the match, Okada came to the ring to confront his upcoming challenger. Takagi suggested that their match on February 11 in Osaka be a title vs. title bout contested under KOPW stipulations. Okada responded that IWGP competition is “wrestling as it should be” and declined the offer. Their match will be for just the IWGP World title and will be contested under traditional rules. 

Okada was also asked backstage about a recently announced match between him and GHC Champion Kaito Kiyomiya at Keiji Muto’s retirement show on February 21. Kiyomiya and Okada were disqualified for continued brawling on the outside during Saturday’s show in Yokohama. Okada would later say he won’t take part in the match and that NJPW scheduled it without his consent. 

Full results from NJPW New Beginning in Nagoya on January 22, 2023:

  1. Togi Makabe & Toru Yano defeated Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube
  2. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Tomoaki Honma & Ren Narita defeated House of Torture’s EVIL, Sho, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi
  3. TMDK’s Zack Sabre Jr, Mike Nicholls, Shane Haste, and Kosei Fujita defeated Ryohei Oiwa and CHAOS’ Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI
  4. Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato, & Jado
  5. United Empire’s Will Ospreay, TJP, Francesco Akira, & Aaron Henare defeated Just Four Guys’ Douki, Taka Michinoku, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  6. Ryusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino, CHAOS’ Kazuchika Okada, & YOH defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon’s Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI
  7. KOPW Provisional Championship: Shingo Takagi defeated Great-O-Khan to retain