NJPW Road to The New Beginning results: Junior tag title match

By Ethan Renner
Published: 23 Jan 2021, 03:39

Recommended matches —

Elimination match: Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, SHO & Master Wato vs. SANADA, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI

Report —

Minoru Suzuki & DOUKI defeated Gedo & Jado (9:27)

I love Suzuki and I love heel vs. heel brawls, but this was rough. There’s no good reason for Jado to be wrestling every night on this tour.

Suzuki and DOUKI attacked before the opening bell. DOUKI got cut off by a Jado trip from the floor as he ran the ropes. Gedo and Jado worked on DOUKI. Jado also teased going after Taichi who was on commentary.

Jado did some entertaining crowd work from the apron. He got a tag and knocked Suzuki off the apron as Bullet Club continued to dominate DOUKI. Gedo tagged in and tried to take a swing at Suzuki. Instead, Suzuki put him in an armbar over the ropes.

Suzuki didn’t get a tag but jumped in and did a hot tag anyway, and it was awesome. Suzuki shoved the referee down before hitting a big boot in the corner and a PK on Gedo. Suzuki and Jado brawled to the floor.

DOUKI used a double stomp for a near fall on Gedo. Jado hit DOUKI with a kendo stick to stop him from hitting Daybreak.

DOUKI used a Jorge Rivera special to get the pin on Gedo.

Suzuki put the ringside attendants in armbars after the match, while Jado continued jawing with Taichi.

Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI defeated EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & Dick Togo (9:58)

This was the same basic match that this Bullet Club trio has worked every night of the tour to this point.

Ishii and Togo began. EVIL and Yujiro jumped in to try for an illegal triple team, but Okada and YH saved for Ishii and tripled up on Togo.

YH got a tag and worked on Togo’s left arm. Togo used an eye rake. Yujiro exposed a turnbuckle and all three CHAOS teammates got whipped into it. YH got worked over by Bullet Club.

EVIL missed a charge into the corner and ran chest-first into the exposed turnbuckle. Okada got a tag and hit EVIL with a DDT for a near fall. EVIL blocked a second DDT attempt and hit a ref-assisted mid kick.

EVIL tried a fisherman buster, but Okada blocked. EVIL got a Darkness Scorpion applied. Okada forced an immediate rope break. Yujiro got a tag and faced off with Okada. The match broke down and everyone jumped in.

Yujiro hit a lariat for a near fall. Okada blocked a Miami Shine attempt and used the Money Clip on Yujiro, who tapped out.

Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan (w/Bea Priestley) defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima by DQ (11:52)

Kojima and Ospreay were good in this match. The finish was bad, but they so rarely do DQs that you can forgive that, particularly since this was a way to get Tenzan and Kojima some of their heat back without pinning O-Khan or Ospreay.

This was billed as Tenzan’s comeback match after he was kayfabe injured in a match against the United Empire at New Year Dash less than three weeks ago.

Tenzan and Kojima used a jumpstart attack. Tenzan and O-Khan began as the legal men and had a sloppy brawl. O-Khan used a nerve hold and stomped Tenzan down. Priestley interfered and choked Tenzan.

Ospreay tagged in and mocked Tenzan with Mongolian chops. Tenzan hit a wheel kick and tagged Kojima. Kojima hit Ospreay with machine gun chops and landed a top rope elbow for a near fall.

Ospreay missed with pip pip cheerio. Ospreay blocked a cutter. Kojima hit a DDT. Ospreay blocked a lariat and hit a rolling elbow and a vertical suplex. O-Khan got a tag and got hit with a Kojima cutter.

Tenzan tagged in and hit O-Khan with Mongolian chops and a headbutt. Tenzan hit a brainbuster for a near fall. O-Khan went for a Dominator, but Tenzan blocked. They traded Mongolian chops.

Ospreay and Kojima entered and traded strikes. Kojima blocked a hook kick and hit a cutter. Kojima and Tenzan doubled up on O-Khan. They hit the TenKoji cutter. Tenzan got the Anaconda Vice applied to O-Khan, then transitioned to a pinfall attempt, but O-Khan kicked out.

Tenzan hit a slam and teased a moonsault. Priestley hit Tenzan with a chair as he climbed to the top. Ospreay tried to use the chair. Tenzan shoved him away and began pounding on O-Khan with the chair for the DQ.

Kojima hit Ospreay with a lariat after the match. Tenzan again used the chair on O-Khan.

Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tomoaki Honma, SHO & Master Wato defeated SANADA, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI in an elimination match (24:22)

This was fun, especially after the Honma-Naito interactions in tag matches on this tour.

This was held under NJPW elimination match rules where you tag in and out and eliminations can come by pinfall, submission, DQ or being thrown over the top rope.

Tanahashi and Shingo began. They did a couple of elimination teases right away with LIJ trying to team up to dump Tana over the top rope, then Tana’s team doing the same to Shingo.

SHO and Hiromu tagged in. SHO landed a series of strikes in the corner and they teased that he would be DQed before his team calmed him down. Honma tagged in and missed a kokeshi. LIJ used quick tags in working Honma over.

Tanahashi got a hot tag and ran wild with dragon screws. Ibushi tagged in and hit SANADA with a series of kicks and a standing moonsault. Ibushi and SANADA did a series of elimination teases.

BUSHI and Wato fought in the ring, then knocked Ibushi and SANADA off the apron for a double elimination. *Ibushi & SANADA eliminated*

Wato and BUSHI fought to the apron. Wato eliminated BUSHI with a spinning backfist. *BUSHI eliminated*

Hiromu hit a sunset bomb through the middle rope to eliminate Wato. *Wato eliminated*

Hiromu and SHO had a nice exchange. Hiromu applied D. They fought to the apron. SHO eliminated Hiromu with a dropkick. *Hiromu eliminated*

Shingo and SHO squared off. SHO got hit with a pumping bomber on the apron and was eliminated. *SHO eliminated*

Tanahashi entered the match and hit a somersault senton off the second rope on Shingo. Tana blocked a lariat and hit twist and shout. Shingo hit his own twist and shout. They fought to the apron. Tana hit a dragon screw in the ropes and eliminated Shingo. *Shingo eliminated*

It was down to Honma and Tanahashi vs. Naito. Tanahashi hit a slingblade. Tana went for High Fly Flow but got crotched on the top rope and fell to the apron. Naito eliminated him with a baseball slide. *Tanahashi eliminated*

Honma hit a kokeshi on Naito. He tried a top rope kokeshi but got slammed off the top. Naito went to the top rope. Honma cut him off and hit a superplex. Honma covered for a near fall.

Honma avoided a flying forearm, hit a headbutt, then eliminated Naito with a clothesline over the top. *Naito eliminated*

IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru to win the titles (23:07)

There were three ref bumps and three different referees in this match. If Bullet Club shenanigans aren’t your thing, you can skip this.

Kanemaru and ELP began the match. Kanemaru kept trying to rip apart ELP’s loaded boot, but failed. Desperado and Ishimori tagged in. Ishimori worked on Desperado’s arms. Ishimori and ELP traded tags and used their comedy back rakes as Desperado was cut off.

Kanemaru tagged in and hit a double back rake. He was quickly cut off and ELP attacked his neck. Ishimori got a tag and continued working on Kanemaru’s neck. Kanemaru was tied to the tree of woe. Ishimori hit him with a baseball slide. ELP and Ishimori stomped on Kanemaru’s crotch. Desperado saved and threw them to the floor.

Desperado tagged in and went after Ishimori’s left leg. He tried for Numero Dos but ELP saved. Desperado got Numero Dos applied, but Ishimori reversed into the Yes Lock. Desperado reversed back into Numero Dos. Ishimori rolled through for a cradle and a near fall.

Ishimori hit a handspring kick. Kanemaru and ELP got tags. Kanemaru hit a satellite DDT for a near fall. Kanemaru got a figure four applied and tried to take off ELP’s boot, but Ishimori saved.

ELP and Ishimori hit an electric chair codebreaker/moonsault combination for a near fall. ELP hit the ref with a superkick and the ref took a bump to the floor. Kanemaru covered ELP but there was no ref. They carried the ref to the back as Desperado hit ELP with a title belt.

Another ref ran out and Ishimori pulled him out of the ring for another ref bump. Ishimori used the titles as weapons. Kanemaru tried a whiskey bottle shot. ELP hit a low blow and hit him with a belt for a near fall. Kanemaru used an inside cradle for two.

ELP tried a superkick. Kanemaru threw the boot into the ref for another ref bump. Kanemaru hit ELP with a low blow.

A third ref came out and cleared the ring of the various weapons. Kanemaru tried the Eddie Guerrero spot with the title belt on ELP, but the ref didn’t call for a DQ. Kanemaru hit a moonsault for a near fall. Kanemaru hit a brainbuster for another two count.

Kanemaru tried Deep Impact but jumped into a low blow. The ref missed the low blow somehow. ELP then hit a superkick with the loaded boot for the pin.

Taichi jumped in the ring after the match and kept ELP and Ishimori at bay while he got Desperado and Kanemaru out of the ring.

ELP cut a promo, then Ishimori and ELP celebrated in the ring to close the show.