wrestling / TV Reports
Kevin’s NJPW Road To The New Beginning 2.2.21 Review
Loading...NJPW Road to the New Beginning
February 2nd, 2021 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: N/A
Okay, so I know I don’t typically review these “Road to” shows but I have some free time. Plus, it’s a short show and my main reason for watching NJPW, Jay White, is back.
Gabriel Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji
Anyone who watches these shows consistently knows that the Young Lions are gonna bring it. They just always have energy and manage to outshine the regular roster at times despite having limited movesets. Of course, it’s not like I’m saying this was some sort of classic or anything like that. There was just a lot of quality back and forth action with an extra level of intensity. Kidd kept attempting the butterfly suplex but Tsuji had it scouted. That often happens when you only have a few moves to work with and your opponent has seen you a ton. Tsuji did bust out a spear, which I appreciated. Kidd slipped out of a slam and finally hit the butterfly suplex for the 1-2-3 in 7:21. Just good old fashioned wrestling. Also, Kidd talked smack to Shingo on commentary the match, so he might die soon. [***]
El Phantasmo and Taiji Ishimori vs. Ryusuke Taguchi and Yuya Uemura
For those unaware because the division doesn’t really matter, ELP and Ishimori are the Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Considering Uemura’s status, this was obviously non-title. The idea for the non-champion team is that Taguchi continues to play the role of a coach often and Uemura can learn from him. The champions were there to strut their stuff, pick up another win, and be dicks while getting there. Funny enough, Taguchi was also a jerk at times, mocking Ishimori’s past with some early taunting. It quickly got them into trouble as Uemura, despite his fire, wasn’t on the level of his opposition. But dammit if that boy didn’t try. Uemura came close a few times, even applying the Boston Crab in the end. However, ELP got free of Taguchi and broke it up with a superkick for the finish in 10:45. More competitive than expected and quite fun. [**¾]
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi, Master Wato, SHO and Tomoaki Honma
NJPW loves running this match. I feel like it happened on at least every other show on the tour. Some of them have been quite disappointing given the talent involved. I still wish they’d split the titles again. Honma surprisingly wanted to start this with an attack as he seems to be in a mini-feud with Naito. As expected, this was mainly here to continue the existing programs of Wato/BUSHI, SHO/Hiromu, and SANADA/Ibushi, with those singles matches coming up soon. This was a bit more spirited than some of their prior matches and made me more excited for some of those bouts. There’s not much to say in terms of in-ring stuff as it followed the stuff you’d expect as previews. The finish came when Ibushi hit BUSHI with Kamigoye after 15:15. A really fun tag that did basically everything I wanted it to. [***¼]
Elimination Match: EVIL, The Guerrillas of Destiny, Jay White & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI
Although most of these elimination matches are kind of similar, I dug the way this started. Tomohiro Ishii rushed past his CHAOS buddies to attack Jay White, adding a level of intensity to this thing. Following that, the teams had more of a traditional tag with the eliminations coming after the 10 minute mark. Okada got rid of EVIL in a surprising first elimination. That was followed by Okada getting rid of himself to go after EVIL, Yujiro and Yano going out, Ishii and then Goto. I was very surprised at that. A lot of these matches typically see it come down to a one-on-one situation. Instead, this left it up to YOSHI-HASHI to face the Guerrillas and Jay White. He showed fire but they picked him apart. After Jay hit him with Blade Runner, Goto threw in the towel for his buddy, ending this after 27:10. Good main event but nothing to write home about. Important to get Jay a win in his return. [***¼]
Post-match, Jay declared himself and the Guerrillas as the “real” Bullet Club and issued a NEVER Trios Title challenge.
