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Csonka’s NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 (Night One) Review
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Csonka’s NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 (Night One) Review
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated Yuya Uemura & Tiger Mask @ 8:15 via submission [***]
– Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, & Toa Henare defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, & Yota Tsuji @ 9:45 via pin [**]
– Will Ospreay, Sho, Yoh, & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI @ 12:00 via pin [***½]
– Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles defeated Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI @ 11:55 via submission [***¾]
– KENTA & Jay White defeated Tetsuya Naito & SANADA @ 18:50 via pin [**¾]
– Taichi & Minoru Suzuki defeated Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley @ 17:55 via pin [***½]
– Big Tom Ishii defeated EVIL @ 21:15 via pin [****½]
– NEVER Openweight Title Match: Shingo defeated Champion Hirooki Goto @ 20:15 via pin [****½]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
– Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, & Gino Gambino are on commentary.
Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo vs. Yuya Uemura & Tiger Mask: Yuya & Phantasmo start up of, locking up and working to the ropes. They trade shoulder tackles, eye rake by Phantasmo and Yuya takes him down with the shoulder tackle. Phantasmo cuts him off, dumps Tiger and Ishimori joins in for back rakes. Ishimori follows with chops, Phantasmo tags in and more back rakes follow. He delivers chops and isolates Yuya. Into the tree of WHOA and they dump Tiger as the nut stomps follow on Yuya. Phantasmo grounds the action, Yuya fights and hits a desperation dropkick. Tiger tags in and the high cross follows, dumps Ishimori and follows with a knee bar until Ishimori makes the save. The crucifix follows for 2. Phantasmo attacks with kicks, an enziguri and runs into a backbreaker. Yuya dumps Ishimori and double teams follow on Phantasmo. The Tiger driver follows and Yuya gets the crab. Phantasmo makes the ropes, but Yuya hits a suplex for 2. Ishimori takes out Tiger, superkick by Phantasmo and double teams follow but Yuya kicks out. Bloody cross is countered into a cradle for 2. Knee strike by Ishimori and the YES lock follows, Yuya fights but has to tap. Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo defeated Yuya Uemura & Tiger Mask @ 8:15 via submission [***] This was a good opener with the right winners as Yuya continues to improve and look good.
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, & Toa Henare vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, & Yota Tsuji: Henare and Nakanishi begin, locking up and working to the ropes. Henare follows with strikes, Nakanishi cuts him off and follows with a shoulder tackle. Nakanishi hits the slam, misses a knee drop and Honma tags in. he attacks the knee, grounding Nakanishi until Nakanishi makes the ropes. Makabe joins in for double teams, he grounds things and Nakanishi makes the ropes again. Henare tags in, follows with chops and Nakanishi is down. Honma back in and he keeps attacking the knee. Nakanishi fires back with chops, Honma attacks the knee and Nakanishi hits a desperation spear. Tenzan tags in, follows with Mongolian chops and a clothesline and suplex for 2. They trade strikes, spin kick by Tenzan, and that get 2. More chops follow, kokeshi by Honma as Makabe tags in. he follows with clotheslines, mounted strikes, but Tenzan counters into a mountain bomb. Yota & Henare tag in, they trade and Yota takes over and transitions into the crab. Honma breaks it up until Tenzan attacks It breaks down, backbreaker by Nakanishi and it breaks down. Henare cuts off Yota, rampage follows and Makabe takes out Nakanishi. Toa bottom countered, but Henare hits the lariat, and Toa bottom for the win. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, & Toa Henare defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi, & Yota Tsuji @ 9:45 via pin [**] This was slow, but ok as Henare picks up a good win.
Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI vs. Will Ospreay, Sho, Yoh, & Ryusuke Taguchi: Suzuki-gun gonna Suzuki-gun as they attack before the bell and they all brawl on the floor. Back in and Kanemaru isolates Yoh, until Yoh cuts him of with a backbreaker. Sho joins in and double teams follow and then dump Despy. Taguchi calls the plays, triple teams follow until they run Sho into Taguchi’s ass. Suzuki-gun takes control, Will & Sabre brawl until Sabre pulls an arm bar on the floor. Back in and Despy works over Sho. The suplex follows for 2. Sho fires back, gets cut off with strikes as Kanemaru follows with a dropkick for 2. DOUKI tags in and follows with slams. Sho fires back, DOUKI rakes the eyes as Sabre tags in. he works a neck crank, transitions to a head scissors and Sho makes the ropes. Sabre follows with a hanging guillotine, PELE, but Sho hits a desperation spear. Will tags in, runs wild and hits the back handspring kick for 2. Sabre counters Cheeky nandos into an octopus hold, Will escapes but Sabre counters into an arm bar until Sho makes the save. It breaks down, Sabre follows with strikes and Will counters with an enziguri. Taguchi & DOUKI tag in, but Taguchi is triple teamed by Kanemaru, Despy, & DOUKI. Springboard double stomp by DOUKI and that gets 2. DOUKI hits day break and that gets 2. Taguchi counters into a cradle for 2. Superkick by Will, Sabre cuts him off and it completely breaks down. Despy is dumped as Yoh follows with a plancha. Taguchi fights off DOUKI and BUM A YE connects for 2. The dodon finishes it. Will Ospreay, Sho, Yoh, & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI @ 12:00 via pin [***½] This was really good and a nice preview for the two upcoming title matches.
Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI: Lee and Hiromu begin, trading chops and lighting each other up until Lee counters a RANA. He follows with a dropkick and to the floor, whips Hiromu to the barricades. Robbie tags in as double teams on Hiromu follow for 2. Robbie grounds things, follows with chops until BUSHI joins in and they cut him off. To the floor as Lee & Hiromu battle into the entranceway. BUSHI Robbie back in and Hiromu joins in for double teams as they lay the boots to Robbie. BUSHI follows with a neck breaker for 2. He follows with chops, Hiromu tags in and delivers chops. He dumps Lee and lays in more chops on Robbie. The basement dropkick follows for 2. BUSHI tags in, Robbie fires back and gets cut off by double teams. They double team Lee, ground Robbie and the STF by BUSHI follows. Hiromu tags in, slaps him around and Robbie fires back, they trade as Hiromu takes him down. Robbie counters back with a leg lariat, Lee tags in and follows with combination cabrone. He follows with strikes in the corner, pummels Hiromu and the Shibata dropkick connects for 2. Hiromu counters desnucadora, hits a German and Lee counters back with one, they trade superkicks, overhead suplex by Hiromu to the buckles and BUSHI and Robbie tag in, Robbie attacks the knee, hits the sliding clothesline but BUSHI counters back with kicks, the missile dropkick and follows with a suicide dive. They double team Robbie, but Lee makes the save. He and Hiromu to the floor, Robbie hits turbo backpack and that gets 2. The Ron Miller special follows, Lee makes the save, tope to Hiromu and BUSHI has to tap. This was very good, as they continued building to Lee vs. Hiromu and continued to solidify Robbie as a viable future challenger.
KENTA & Jay White vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA: Gedo is at ringside. Naito & Jay begin, until Jay tags out to KENTA. He powders and stalls as Naito waits on him. Naito invites him in and Jay tries to sneak in so Naito runs them together and dumps KENTA; tranquillo. Naito powders now, fucking with KENTA. Jay tags in as SANADA joins him. Jay attacks after Gedo distracts SANADA, they work into counters, dropkick by SANADA and Gedo trips him up. SANADA dumps Jay and KENTA attacks, dumps Naito and whips him to the barricades. Jay does the same to SANADA, DDT by KENTA on Naito on the floor. He stomps all over him as Jay works over SANADA. Back in and Jay grounds SANADA, tags in KENTA and he maintains control. The back elbow follows for 2. He mocks SANADA, talks shit and dumps Naito. He follows with strikes on SANADA, Jay tags in and grounds things. KENTA tags in, double teams follow and KENTA delivers kicks. The knee drop and LIJ mock pose follows, he lays in body shots and SANADA counters back, hits a missile dropkick and tags in Naito. He works over KENTA, hits a RANA and basement dropkick. The neck breaker follows and hr grounds things with the crucifix leg lock. KENTA makes the ropes, Naito breaks and lays the boots to him. He follows with elbow strikes, KENTA counters Gloria, and the powerslam follows. KENTA up top and the flying clothesline follows for 2. The GTS is countered, Naito lays in strikes until KENTA hits a draping DDT for 2. The knee strike follows, Naito fires back and hits an enziguri. German by KENTA, spinebuster by Naito and Jay & SANADA tag in. SANADA takes out the knee, follows with a plancha and back in, SANADA follows with the paradise lock until Jay kicks him away. Jay uses the ref as a shield, attacks and follows with uppercuts and a DDT for 2. Saito by Jay, blade buster follows and that gets 2. SANADA counters as Naito makes the save, it breaks down, skull end by SANADA Gedo distracts him, gets taken out as SANADA get it back until Jay cradles him for 2. TKO is countered by Jay, skull end follows but Jay counters until Gedo hits SANADA and Jay cradles him for the win. KENTA & Jay White defeated Tetsuya Naito & SANADA @ 18:50 via pin [**¾] It started slowly, went a bit too long, but was pretty good overall, hyping the upcoming singles clashes on the tour. Jay & KENTA did some really good heel work though, but action wise I found it a bit flat.
Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley vs. Taichi & Minoru Suzuki: Mox is still sporting his eye patch. Okada and Mox rush the ring and they brawl to begin. This leads to Okada & Taichi battling to the floor as Suzuki and Mox trade and talk shit. Suzuki laughs at him, lights him up, they keep trading and head butts follow. Mox turns his back to Suzuki and calls him a mother fucker so they fuck each other up with strikes. Mox slaps him, shoots him middle fingers so Suzuki tries to break his fingers and Taichi tags in. Mox cuts him off, Okada tags in and they double team Taichi. Okada follows with a neck breaker and covers for 2. He grounds things, but Taichi makes the ropes. Okada follows with the slam, misses the senton atomico and Taichi follows with leg kicks. The backdrop driver follows as Suzuki attack Mox with chair shots. Taichi dumps Okada, Mox & Suzuki brawl into the crowd and Taichi whips Okada into the barricades. They also brawl into the crowd, Suzuki-gun controls as Suzuki brutalizes Mox with chair attacks. They continue to brawl, Taichi drags Okada back to the ring and grounds things. Suzuki and Mox brawl by the area with barricades, Suzuki goes low as Taichi controls over Okada. Suzuki is back and tags in, follows with elbow strikes on Okada and drops him. He grounds the action, continuing to work the neck that Taichi softened up. Taichi back in and he keeps things grounded, Okada fires back, but Taichi hits an enziguri as Suzuki dumps Mox. THE PANTS ARE OFF as Okada counters into a RANA. The corner elbow and air raid neck breaker connects. Tag to Mox and he brawls with Suzuki, follows with a clothesline and the backbreaker gets 2. Mox follows with the cloverleaf, transitions to a modified figure four and then an STF. Suzuki bites his way out, Mox bites him back and the knee trembler follows for 2. He dumps Taichi, gets a table and sets it up on the floor. He grabs Suzuki, but Suzuki counters into the hanging arm bar. He pulls him in and locks on another, Mox fights as Taichi takes out Okada. Mox makes the ropes and Suzuki chokes him out in the corner. Mox fights back, hits a lariat and death rider is countered as it breaks down. Taichi follows with the backdrop driver on Okada, John Woooooooooooo by Mox and he and Suzuki trade big time strikes. They light each other up, Suzuki counters death rider and the sleeper follows, The Gotch connects and Suzuki pins Mox. Taichi & Minoru Suzuki defeated Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley @ 17:55 via pin [***½] This was really good, with the Suzuki vs. Mox brawling really shining while also feeling red hot. They also did good work to hype tomorrow’s Okada vs. Taichi main event.
– Post match, Taichi chokes out Okada but Okada counters the iron fingers with dropkicks. Sabre then attacks and choke out Okada until Naito lays out Okada with the iron fingers. Will tries to make the save but eats Zack driver, setting up the tag match on the 9th. Taichi also hit black mephisto and the stretch plum on Okada on the ramp. Taichi then proclaimed he’d beat Okada tomorrow like when Okada was a young lion.
EVIL vs. Big Tom Ishii: EVIL is 0-8 vs. Ishii all time in singles matches. They lockup and trade shoulder tackles, colliding repeatedly as they fire up and start trading strikes. They light each other up, EVIL is rocked but takes him down as they brawl to the floor. Ishii follows with chair shots until EVIL punches it into his face. He wraps it around his head and posts Ishii. Back in and EVIL follows with a neck breaker for 2. He grounds things, targeting the neck. EVIL follows with kicks, Ishii fires back and EVIL chops him down. Ishii counters the fisherman’s suplex and they fight until Ishii hits the suplex. He follows with a shoulder tackle, follows with kicks and chokes out EVIL. EVIL fires back, Ishii no sells him and follows with throat chops. He beats him down in the corner, EVIL fires back and suplexes him to the buckles. To the floor, EVIL gets two chairs and the baseball swing spot follows as EVIL continues to focus his offense on the neck of Ishii. Back in and EVIL hits the broncobuster for 2. Ishii fights off darkness falls, Saito by Ishii and both men are down. EVIL tries to counter the powerbomb, and uses the ref to hit a magic killer. He follows with clotheslines and the draping stomp. Ishii counters darkness falls, hits a German and follows with clotheslines, takes him up top and the superplex follows for 2. EVIL fires back, they trade and Ishii drops him with a huge bomb. The powerbomb follows for 2. EVIL cuts off the sliding clothesline with a lariat, but Ishii rebounds with a spin kick, lariat, and covers for 2. EVIL counters the brainbuster but Ishii follows with strikes until EVIL hits a big lariat for 2. Both men are down, they fight to their feet and EVIL hits clotheslines and takes him up top. The superplex follows and EVIL covers for 2. EVIL fires up and everything is EVIL is countered, but EVIL hits darkness falls for 2! Everything is EVIL is countered, DDT and sliding lariat by Ishii follows and the enziguri and sliding lariat gets 2. EVIL counters the brainbuster into a German, hits a half and half suplex and Ishii counters into a dragon suplex, EVIL pops up, hits a head butt and a lariat for 2! Everything is EVIL is countered, they trade lariats, head butts and Ishii hits a huge lariat for 2. The brainbuster follows and EVIL is done. Big Tom Ishii defeated EVIL @ 21:15 via pin [****½] EVIL continues to fall at the hands of Big Tom, going 0-9 all time against him in what was an overall excellent hoss fight. Big bombs, drama, amazing selling and fire up spots from Ishii combined with some really tremendous counter wrestling down the home stretch as they slowly pulled the crowd into the match with tremendous pacing and near falls. It was everything I wanted from this match, hard-hitting, raw at times in a real fight feel kind of way and while Ishii was far from 100%, the man continues to deliver when given the chance.
– I want Shingo to win next and Ishii come out to challenge him.
NEVER Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo: They lockup and shove each other away. Lockup again, they trade shoulder tackles they trade strikes. Goto takes him down and the back elbow follows for 1. He grounds Shingo, follows with kicks and strikes in the corner until Shingo fires back and they trade. Goto takes him down, Shingo fires back and they trade clotheslines. Back elbow, jab and lariat by Shingo follow and he dumps Goto. To the floor and Shingo follows with kicks. He posts Goto, whips him to the barricade and then off the apron, The DDT follows as back in, Shingo follows with the slingshot stomp. They trade chops, Shingo takes him down and follows with a suplex for 2. He follows with kicks, Goto cuts him off and hits a spin kick. Shingo fights off the Saito, but Goto hits a suplex for 2. Shingo counters ushigoroshi, Goto gets the sleeper until Shingo slams his way out. Goto gets the sleeper back, but Shingo counters into noshigami. He follows with grounded elbow strikes and the sliding lariat. Goto counters into ushigoroshi, they trade clotheslines, Shingo is rocked but counters into a snap Saito, Goto pops up and follows with one of his own, they trade clotheslines until takes him down and covers for 2. Shingo fires up, takes his head off and Goto is down. Shingo follows with corner clotheslines, takes him up top but Goto fires back until Shingo hits an avalanche DVD for 2. Back up top and they trade, head butts and the avalanche code red by Goto follows for 2. The GTR is countered and Goto follows with knee strikes, the draping GTR and covers for 2. Goto follows with mid kicks, Shingo catches one and hits the GTR. THE PUMPING BOMBER GETS 2! Shingo fires up, last of the dragon is countered as Goto hits shouten kai for 2. Goto is first to his feet, follows with kicks and Shingo head butts him and they trade head butts and then strikes. Shingo fires up, they trade Shingo lights him up with repeated strikes and Goto fires up and walks through the strikes. Jabs by Shingo, head buts by Goto and the reverse GTR connects and the GTR proper is countered as MADE.. IN … JAPAN follows and Goto somehow kicks out! Last of the dragon follows and Goto is DONE! Shingo defeated Champion Hirooki Goto @ 20:15 via pin [****½] In true Goto form, he succeeds and wins the NEVER title only to lose it right away once again. I love the idea of Shingo as the champion as it opens us up to a TON of matches with juniors & heavyweights alike. This was a beautiful war of hosses, similar in style to the EVIL vs. Big Tom match, and the exact kind of match you want from this championship. Goto delivered here, but Shingo is on an entirely different level in terms of kill and execution, and he’s the perfect kind of guy to elevate the championship plus it ensures us more Shingo singles matches. I love absolutely everything about this and along with EVIL vs. Big tom, they gave us a hell of a one-two punch to close out the show.
– Shingo celebrates post match, and the lad is happy to have double gold. He is an open weight champion and will be a fighting champion. This is his start, and he will elevate the championship. Naito’s championship is supposedly the top title, but he feels his new championship is. He will tear things up as champion and will roar as the dragon.
The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 86. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Steve Cook breakdown and review the latest between NXT & AEW, and then discuss the latest news on Edge’s return, Andrade’s suspension, Lance Archer possibly heading to AEW, while Larry previews NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo. The show is approximately 106-minutes long.
* Intro
* News Roundup (Andrade, Archer, Cage, Rumble, Scurll, More): 2:00
* AEW Dynamite (1.29.20) Review: 41:25
* NXT (1.29.20) Review: 1:01:45
* The Head to Head Comparison: 1:18:25
* Larry’s NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo Previews: 1:22:25
* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play
– Thanks for reading.
– End scene.
