Csonka’s NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2020 Review

Csonka’s NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2020 Review

OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, & Yuji Nagata defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 7:20 via pin [**½]
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match: Champions Sho & Yoh defeated El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru @ 16:25 via pin [***¾]
– Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens @ 11:00 via pin [***]
– Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay defeated Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. @ 11:55 via pin [***½]
– Jay White defeated SANADA @ 21:55 via pin [***½]
– IWGP Junior Heavyweight Match: Champion Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ryu Lee @ 24:00 via pin [****¾]
– IWGP US Title Match: Champion Jon Moxley defeated Minoru Suzuki @ 18:05 via pin [****½]
– IWGP Heavyweight & IC Title Match: Champion Tetsuya Naito defeated KENTA @ 34:45 via pin [****]

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– Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, & Gino Gambino are on commentary.

Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, & Yuji Nagata vs. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare, & Ryusuke Taguchi: Dads and friends tag time to kick off the show; seize the tactics for the final time in Osaka-Jo Hall. Taguchi and Nakanishi begin, locking up and Nakanishi overpowering and delivering chops. He tags in Tenzan and Mongolian chops follow and they then mow down Taguchi. Nagata & Henare tag in, they trade right away and Henare hits a shoulder tackle. Nagata counters into Nagata lock II until Honma makes the save. They isolate Nagata, Honma follows with chops and follows with a back elbow for 2. Makabe tags in, containing to work over Nagata. Nagata cuts him off with the XPLODER, Nakanishi tags in and strolls mildly, delivers strikes and works over GBH. The clothesline and dance follow, and Nakanishi hits more clotheslines and covers for 2. The rack follows, Taguchi makes the save as it breaks down. The dads run wild, lock on submissions and Nakanishi and Makabe trade center ring and work into a double down. Kojima delivers machinegun chops on Honma, but Honma cuts him off and hits a kokeshi but the dads rush the ring, Makabe cuts them off and Nakanishi then takes out Taguchi, Nakanishi up top and the big chop follows. Lariat by Kojima and Honma is done. Manabu Nakanishi, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, & Yuji Nagata defeated Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare, & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 7:20 via pin [**½] This was a solid match, although I feel they missed the chance to give Henare a big win here.

– Post match, Nakanishi thanks the fans for their support over the years.

– Rocky Romero is back with 3K.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Sho & Yoh vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru: Sho is coming in injured due to the Suzuki-gun attacks on the tour. 3K attack at the bell and tale early control. They isolate Despy, work double teams and dump Kanemaru. Sho lays the boots to Despy, follows with mid kicks and keeps Despy down.. Despy fires back, Sho levels him with one strike until Kanemaru runs in and attacks the knee. He works over Yoh on the floor as Despy slams Sho to the floor. He attacks the knee with chair shots. Despy works over Yoh, Sho makes it back in and Kanemaru goes right after the knee. Yoh makes the save, gets dumped and the challengers continue to focus on the knee. Despy in and covers for 2. The half crab follows, but Sho makes the ropes. Despy follows with strikes, Sho hits a backdrop and follows with a suplex on Kanemaru. Yoh tags in and runs wild with dropkicks on both. The flying forearm follows, he trades with Despy and Yoh fucks him up with slaps. The superkick connects, but Despy hits the spear. Kanemaru in and follows with the tornado DDT for 2. Deep impact is countered, DDT by Yoh and Sho tags in, He follows with clotheslines, strikes, Kanemaru rakes the eyes but Sho hits a spear. His knee gives out, Despy trips him up and double teams follow as Kanemaru locks on the figure four. Despy holds off Yoh, Sho fights and tries to roll the hold, and makes the ropes. Double teams follow and Kanemaru hits deep impact for 2. Kanemaru misses the moonsault, dropkick by Yoh and it breaks down as everyone is down. Sho fires back with kicks, strikes and a big lariat. Yoh in, Despy attacks, and Yoh superkicks him. They double team Kanemaru and 3K is stopped by Despy,, taking out Sho. Sho blocks the whiskey mist and Yoh flies to the floor onto Despy. Sho lariats Kanemaru, and shock arrow follows for 2! Yoh up top and strong X finishes it. Champions Sho & Yoh vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru @ 16:25 via pin [***¾] With only one successful defenses in four runs, and overcame the odds to do it again here. They had a very good match, with a good story coming in that they played off of very well.

– Taguchi arrives and talks with Rocky, he wants a shot at the titles. He says Rocky isn’t a manager, he’s a great wrestler and they should challenge for the championships. 3K begs Rocky not to but he wants the shot. Yoh feels betrayed, but they need to surpass Rocky and they will accept.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens: Jado & Pieter are at ringside; Tanahashi’s hair game is A+ tonight. Tanahashi and Tama begin, locking up and working to the ropes. Loa attacks, and Bullet Club takes control as everyone brawls and bodies spill to the floor. Back in, Tanahashi follows with a high cross, strikes and Finlay follows with a running uppercut. Chase cuts him off as Tama takes control. Loa tags in, follows with strikes and Yujiro joins in. He grounds Finlay, and the leg drop follows for 2. Chase tags in, grounding the action and attacking the neck of Finlay, covering for 2. He follows with strike, but Finlay cuts him off with the flying uppercut. Finlay suplexes Tama, and tags in Ibushi. Ibushi runs wild on Chase, PELES to Loa & Yujiro, and a flurry of strikes and kicks on Chase as the standing moonsault gets 2. Chase cuts him off and the cradle gets 2. They trade, back elbows by Chase and the lariat follows. Loa & Juice tag in, Juice lays in jabs and the full nelson slam. Clotheslines follow and the cannonball connects. Tama makes the save, hits a German and GOD follow with double teams. Finlay in and the former champions attack and we get a four-way down spot. Tanahashi tags in and takes control, working over Loa. Tam cuts him off, Bullet Club runs wild and Loa covers for 2. Ibushi cuts off Loa, it completely breaks down and the big move buffet follows. Ibushi breaks up the magic killer, kendo shot by Jado and Tanahashi makes the comeback on GOD, hits sling blade and Jado nails him with the kendo and counters ape shit into a cradle on Loa for the win. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Juice Robinson, & David Finlay defeated Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, & Chase Owens @ 11:00 via pin [***] This was good as the Golden Aces look to be up next for a tag title shot, although they teased a three-way tag.

– Bullet Club attacks Tanahashi post match but Ibushi makes the save and runs them off.

– The G1 Climax 30 starts in September in Osaka, they announce several dates and also announce an MSG return (Wrestle Dynasty) on August 22nd. Also, World Pro Wrestling returns to Japanese BS TV Asahi Fridays at 8pm from April (a big deal).

Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay vs. Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.: Miho Abe is at ringside. Taichi and Okada begin, as Taichi stalls.. suckering in Okada and kicks him in the head, They all spill to the floor as the Tekkers take control. Taichi follows with chair shots, and then chokes him out with a cable. They roll in and Taichi follows with kicks. He chokes out Okada and Sabre tags in. He keeps Okada grounded, follows with uppercuts and Taichi tags back in. He grounds Okada, working the neck. Sabre in, working a cobra twist until Okada counters out into a flapjack. Ospreay flies in, hits a RANA on Taichi, back handspring kick on Sabre and covers for 2. Sabre counters the dropkick and works into submissions until Ospreay makes the ropes. Sabre follows with kicks, Ospreay fires up and counters ad they trade pin attempts. Sabre pulls a guillotine until Ospreay powerbombs his way out. Okada tags in, working over Taichi until Taichi hits clotheslines and kicks. Okada fires back, hits the dropkick and the tombstone follows. Sabre cuts him off, it breaks down and Taichi hits the axe bomber on Okada. THE PANTS ARE OFF and the buzzsaw kick follows. The backdrop driver follows for 2. The last ride is countered as Ospreay hits a hook kick. The oscutter and Sasuke special connects and the rainmaker finishes it. Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay defeated Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. @ 11:55 via pin [***½] This was a really good tag, with the four continuing their established rivalries ahead of Sabre vs. Ospreay on the 14th. The Will vs. Zack feud has been great so far. I still think Taichi finally beats Okada in the New Japan Cup.

Jay White vs. SANADA: Gedo is at ringside. Jay talks shit to SANADA, Gedo distracts SANADA and Jay attacks. He follows with strikes, working into counters and SANADA dumps him. Gedo trips up SANADA and Jay attacks and dumps SANADA. Gedo chokes him out, and back in, Jay works the half crab. SANADA makes the ropes, follows with strikes but misses the standing moonsault. Jay dumps him, slams him to the barricades and apron several times and rolls him back in, covering for 2. Jay grounds things, SANADA fights to his feet and gets slammed right back down. SANADA fires up again, hits the dropkick and follows with rights and takes out Jay’s knee. Jay fights to the ropes, SANADA keeps attacking the knee and then gets cut off with a DDT. He follows with uppercuts and the DVD for 2. SANADA fights off blade buster, Jay follows with chops, SANADA fights off Gedo and kicks Jay’s face off. The paradise lock is countered, RANA by SANADA and finally gets the paradise lock after weeks of teases. SANADA frees him with the dropkick and covers for 2. Jay fires back, dropkick by SANADA and the plancha follows. Back in and SANADA follows with the missile dropkick for 2. Jay counters the TKO, SANADA gets skull end, Jay rakes the eyes and delivers uppercuts. He grounds SANADA, but SANADA fires back and drops Jay. He delivers more strikes, complete shot by Jay and the dead lift German follows. The kiwi crusher is countered until Jay hits blade buster and rolls into kiwi crusher for 2. SANADA fights off the sleeper suplex, hits the anarchist suplex and a Saito suplex for 2. Skull end follows, Gedo distracts SANADA and Jay cradles SANADA for 2. SANADA follows with TKO for 2. He follows with the slam, heads up top and Gedo distracts him, Jay takes the ref and SANADA kicks the ropes into Gedo’s balls. The swinging skull end follows, and he drops down and Jay starts to fade. He fights, SANADA lets him go, heads up top and the moonsault misses. They work into counters, skull end by SANADA, Jay counters and SANADA cradles him for 2. Skull end again, but Jay counters and SANADA gets the Japanese leg roll for 2. SANADA hits a rough sliced bread, sleeper suplex by Jay and follows with the Regal-plex for 2. The suplex follows, and blade runner connects and SANADA is done. Jay White defeated SANADA @ 21:55 via pin [***½] I wasn’t feeling this match going in, but felt they delivered a very good match here. I really enjoyed this and love the story of SANADA being the lone LIJ member that has found zero success while everyone else thrives. This had a good layout and execution throughout. This was a very strong and decisive victory for White, although once again, the Gedo stuff felt like way too much.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi vs. Ryu Lee: They come out trading Germans and then work into a double down. Back up and Lee gives Hiromu free shots. They trade chops and light each other up big time just keep throwing until Hiromu lands repeated shots and Lee dares him to throw more. Hiromu keeps throwing, they trade big time chops, just fucking each other up until Hiromu finally drops. He fires back, they keep trading as their chests redden up. Lee fires up and wants more so they keep throwing, my chest hurts just watching this. Hiromu smiles as they keep trading and Lee finally drops him. Lee follows with the corner dropkick, backbreaker and dumps him to the floor. Lee follows with the over the ropes RANA, and sits Hiromu on the barricade and then follows with an INSANE suicide dive to takeout Hiromu! Both men are down, they work back in and Hiromu fires up and hits the sunset bomb to the floor. Back in and dynamite plunger gets 2. Hiromu hits the Blu-ray, but Lee teases the dragon driver (the move that injured Hiromu) but Hiromu counters into the triangle. until Lee makes the ropes. Hiromu takes him up top and follows with chops, Hiromu counters the double stomp but Lee pops back up and they trade and brawl until Lee hits the double stomp to the apron and Hiromu spills to the floor. To the apron and Hiromu superkicks Lee, they trade and Hiromu suplexes him to the floor. Hiromu heads up top and the Hiromu bomb connects. Back in and they trade Germans, Lee hits the knee strike, German, but Hiromu counters back into another German. Lee cuts him off with another German, but Hiromu counters desnucaora into the triangle until Lee buckle bombs him, but Hiromu rebounds and suplexes him to the buckles. Lee counters, and the sunset driver follows for a great near fall. Lee drapes him over the ropes, follows with kicks, heads to the ropes and follows with the dropkick, Incinerator knee strike by Lee and Hiromu makes the ropes. Hiromu counters the dragon driver back into a destroyer for 2. The Blu-ray connects and time bomb is countered an Lee cradles him for 2. The running knee strike follows and Lee gets 2. Another knee strike follows, but Hiromu hits a destroyer and time bomb ONLYGETS 2! Huge lariat by Hiromu and the time bomb finally finishes it. Champion Hiromu Takahashi defeated Ryu Lee @ 24:00 via pin [****¾] This was a very different, very intense Hiromu vs. Lee match. It was wild, played off of their history well, and it felt as if these two didn’t miss a beat, clicking right back into the amazing chemistry that they share, the intensity and drama were great, I loved the teases of the dragon driver and at the end of the day, this was another amazing installment in their storied feud; this was an absolutely tremendous piece of business and an absolutely must-see match.

-This should set up Hiromu vs., Naito at the anniversary show, if Naito retains.

IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jon Moxley vs. Minoru Suzuki: Mox is still wearing his eye patch. Mox heads up the ramp and challenges Suzuki to follow. Suzuki grabs chairs and tosses one to Mox. Chair fight to begin as they transition to brawling and Mox hits him with barricades. Suzuki fires back, they brawl into the crowd and fight onto a table, Mox fights him off and finally roll into the ring. They trade strikes, Suzuki smiles and laughs as he fires back. Suzuki lights him up and hits the running boot, the PK is blocked and Mox bites him. Suzuki follows with knee strikes, head butts and he bites Mox. To the floor and they brawl by commentary, Mox chokes him out and follows with a half crab. Suzuki escapes, but gets whipped to the barricade. Suzuki fires up and laughs, they trade and Suzuki chokes him on the barricade. He slaps Mox around, Mox cuts him off and pulls out a table. Suzuki grabs a chair, Mox has lost they eye patch and bandage, Suzuki choke him out on the table and grabs a chair and traps Mox’s arm in it and Pillmanizes it. He laughs like a mad man, post the arm and the arm bar follows on the apron. Mox powers up and powerbombs Suzuki through the table. Suzuki SMILES and pulls himself to his feet. He laughs and hits himself with part of the table, Mox does the same and back in, Suzuki talks shit as they trade. “Come on boy!” yells Suzuki as he fucks up Mox’s life with strikes. They trade as Suzuki demands more, he laughs, Mox fires back and they go wild throwing bombs. Choke by Suzuki, Mox fights and rolls but Suzuki hangs on. Mox fades, and Suzuki covers for 2. The PK follows and Suzuki coves for 2. He follows with a flurry of strikes, but Mox battles back, knee trembler and Suzuki kicks out at 2. Suzuki counters death rider, dropkick by Suzuki and Mox counters the Gotch into death rider for 2. Mox is pissed, tells Suzuki they’re going to finish this motherfucker, gets chairs and tosses one to Suzuki. Suzuki refuses, chair shot by Mox and Suzuki FIRES THE FUCK UP AND SMILES. DDT to the chair by Mox as the ref got bumped out of the way trying to stop them. They fire up trade and Mox laughs at Suzuki. They go crazy fists and Mox hits a huge lariat. Death rider follows and Suzuki is finally done. Champion Jon Moxley defeated Minoru Suzuki @ 18:05 via pin [****½] This was an excellent, raw, wild and visceral brawl, different than anything else on the show with an unmatched intensity that played very well off of the established feud. Everything mattered, they paid off multiple shows worth of build when it mattered most in the big match and we got what I feel was a surprise winner here as Mox exists in this odd limbo between AEW & NJWP where he’s always awesome and does anything he wants. Suzuki was amazing here, I bought him winning big time and was actually shocked when he lost. This was a beautiful symphony of violence.

– Post match, Zack Sabre Jr. attacks Mox and lays him out with the Rev Pro championship, chokes him out and stands tall.

– Bullet Club arrives with KENTA. They shove down Red Shoes, so Red Shoes tosses them to the back.

IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito vs. KENTA: Naito has never won in an Osaka main event match. KENTA powders to stall at the bell. After nearly 4-minutes of KENTA fucking around, they finally lockup and work to the ropes. KENTA then powders again. Naito tranquilos, and then powder to fuck with KENTA. We’re 5:45 in and they finally start trading, RANA by Naito and they brawl to the floor and around ringside. Back in as Naito chokes him out in the ropes. KENTA fires back, they trade as Naito spits at KENTA. KENTA cuts him off with kicks, hits the draping knee strike off the roes and boots Naito to the floor. KENTA follows, delivers kicks and whips Naito to the barricade. KENTA then assaults a Naito teddy bear (THE FUCKING MONSTER), slams Naito to the barricades and back in, KENTA dumps him again. KENTA follows and whips him to the barricades once again. He follows with a DDT on the floor. KENTA tries to remove a buckle pad, but he’s no Yano speed wise. He then whips Naito to he exposed buckles, lays the boots to him and then delivers knee strikes, kicks and knee drops. He then slows things as he ground the action and covers for 2. KENTA lays in body kicks, Naito fires up and connects with the dropkick. Combination cabrone follows, and Naito hits a neck breaker for 2. Naito grounds the action, working the crucifix hold. KENTA escapes, fires back with kicks and stuns Naito off the ropes and then follows with the top rope clothesline for 2. Game over follows until Naito makes the ropes. He follows with kicks, and then the draping DDT is countered as Naito sweeps the leg and hits an apron neck breaker. They brawl on the floor, draping DDT by KENTA and he rolls back in the ring. Naito rolls back in, follows with kicks the corner dropkick and heads up top as the double stomp misses, he rolls through and Naito hits the spinebuster. They trade strikes, firing up and KENTA is rocked, elbows by Naito, and KENTA is down. More elbows by Naito, KENTA uses the ref to distract Naito and locks on game over. Naito fights, rolls, but KENTA keeps the hold. Naito struggles for the ropes, KENTA cranks back but Naito makes the ropes. KENTA follows with kicks, a running knee and German The busaiku knee follows for 2. The GTS is countered, tornado DDT by Naito and the neck breaker follows. They work up top, avalanche RANA by Naito and Gloria follows for 2. Destino is countered, ref bump, another and Jay White attacks Naito with the sleeper suplex, and BUSHI arrives and gets laid out. Hiromu runs off Jay, enziguri by Naito, flying forearm connects and destino is countered into a lariat by KENTA. Naito then counters the GTS into a revere DDT. KENTA shoots him to the exposed buckles and cradles him with the tights for 2. Naito is busted open now, Busaiku knee by KENTA and that gets 2. KENTA exposes the knee, GTS is countered into the poison RANA and Valencia follows for 2. Destino connects and Naito retains. Champion Tetsuya Naito defeated KENTA @ 34:45 via pin [****] This started slowly, and seemingly simmered forever and was really good. But I felt that the closing stretch was excellent, Naito getting busted open added a lot of drama in that closing stretch and overall I thought that they had a great main event.

– Post match, Naito says he wants the match with Hiromu. Hiromu arrives and accepts. He says Naito took him under his wing and taught him wrestling. You told me we’d have a match one day and there could be no other answer than yes.

The 411 on Wrestling Podcast returns to the 411 Podcasting Network for episode 88. On the show, 411’s Larry Csonka & Steve Cook hit a quick news roundup, break down the latest between NXT & AEW, including Cody getting lashed and Charlotte returning to NXT, while Larry previews NJPW New Beginning in Osaka & ROH Free Enterprise. The show is approximately 130-minutes long.

* Intro
* Quick News Roundup (Goldberg, Kross, Thatcher, Thunder Rosa, Tiered Network Announcement, More): 7:15
* AEW Dynamite (2.05.20) Review: 28:15
* NXT (2.05.20) Review: 1:04:55
* The head to head comparison: 1:29:25
* Larry’s NJPW New Beginning in Osaka & ROH Free Enterprise Previews: 1:35:40

* iTunes
* Spotify
* Stitcher
* Google Play

– Thanks for reading.

– End scene.

8.5

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Today’s NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2020 was a great show that gave us a great main event, two must-see matches in Mox vs. Suzuki and Hiromu vs. Lee, and was a great culmination of the tour that started it’s build at New Year’s Dash. On top of the in-ring delivering, they set up Mega Coaches vs. 3K, The Golden Aces vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (and possibly Fin-Juice), Mox vs. Sabre, & Hiromu vs. Naito for future shows.