Shingo to face Great-O-Khan in MMA rules match at NJPW New Beginning

The rule set has been determined for Shingo Takagi and The Great-O-Khan’s KOPW title match at The New Beginning in Nagoya.

Takagi will defend the provisional KOPW title against O-Khan in an MMA rules match at the Sunday, January 22 event. The stipulation was proposed by O-Khan and beat Takagi’s proposed stipulation (cumulative 30-count pinfall match) in a fan vote. The voting was 60.7 percent for O-Khan’s stipulation to 39.3 percent for Takagi’s.

In the MMA rules match, each wrestler may wear a martial arts gi and the bout can only be won by knockout, TKO, or submission. There will also be wrestlers serving as lumberjacks outside of the ring for the match.

O-Khan said about the stipulation:

We shall both wear martial arts gi, which can be used for submissions. The only way to win is via KO, TKO or tapout. And in case you are so scared that you attempt to escape the ring, let’s use lumberjacks as well, shall we? Bring anybody you wish. [My] United Empire teammates will of course be present. So let us have a proper fight, one on one with a clear winner like men.

Because O-Khan’s stipulation won the fan vote, Takagi’s number one contendership status for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship will also be on the line in the match. Takagi is scheduled to challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World title at The New Beginning in Osaka on Saturday, February 11.

Takagi ended 2022 as NJPW’s official KOPW champion. He became the provisional champion for 2023 by defeating Toru Yano, SHO, and O-Khan in a four-way match at New Year Dash earlier this month.

Takagi vs. O-Khan will be the main event of The New Beginning in Nagoya. The show is airing live on NJPW World.

NJPW The New Beginning in Nagoya (Sunday, January 22) —

  • MMA rules match: Provisional KOPW 2023 Champion Shingo Takagi defends against The Great-O-Khan
  • Kazuchika Okada, Shota Umino, Ryusuke Taguchi & YOH vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
  • Will Ospreay, Aaron Henare, TJP & Francesco Akira vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato & Jado vs. KENTA, El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori
  • Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Ryohei Oiwa vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Kosei Fujita
  • Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Ren Narita & Tomoaki Honma vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Dick Togo
  • Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Yuto Nakashima & Oskar Leube