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Kevin’s NJPW The New Beginning In Nagoya 1.30.21 Review
Loading...NJPW The New Beginning in Nagoya
January 30th, 2021 | Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium in Nagoya, Aichi | Attendance; 2,156
It’s cool to have some NJPW back. I enjoyed the two nights of Wrestle Kingdom and they set up some interesting things. Plus, five match cards are where it’s at. Save the long events for the biggest shows of the year. Give me two hour shows otherwise.
EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano
It’s the KING OF PRO WRESTLING! Also, he’s teaming with Okada. I am here for opening match Okada, baby! The basic idea here is that Okada wants a singles match with EVIL and a win here could get him that. I’ve seen EVIL/Okada before and other than their G1 meeting where EVIL won, I’m good on ever seeing it again. I popped for the Bullet Club busting out old heel tactics when Yujiro pulled on EVIL for added leverage on a hold, topped by Togo pulling Yujiro. This also hilariously built to a Yano hot tag. He won after a low blow on Yujiro in 7:40. That wasn’t good but it gets some points for the heel bit and for having Yano be the star and not Okada. [*¾]
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi, Master Wato, SHO and Tomoaki Honma
Tons of build in this for future shows on the tour including SHO/Hiromu and SANADA/Ibushi. Honestly, I figured I’d enjoy this from the start. I don’t care much for Wato or Honma but SANADA is mostly fine an everyone else ranks among my favorites in NJPW. Alas, Naito didn’t seem like he was bringing the effort today which is understandable, while some of the other guys were kind of just there as well. SANADA and Ibushi had uninspired exchanges but the stuff between SHO and Hiromu was tremendous as expected. SHO beat BUSHI with Shock Arrow after 11:32. It was largely fine and a bit of a disappointment. [**¾]
The Great-O-Khan vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
The loser of this will be banned from using the Mongolian Chops. Considering Tenzan is wrapping up his career, the outcome is obvious. Tenzan got attacked during his entrance, setting the tone for something intense. I didn’t care for ELP on commentary most of the show but he was good here, poking fun at this stupid stipulation and rooting for Tenzan after O-Khan sat on his neck. I cringed watching Tenzan attempt a moonsault. He nearly broke his neck. Tenzan showed fire, kicking out of some of O-Khan’s biggest moves but falling to the Dominator at the 12:45 mark. A pretty good match that was about all you could ask for from Tenzan against someone like O-Khan. [**¾]
No Disqualifications Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Will Ospreay
I live in a world where Satoshi Kojima has to put over the despicable Willy the Ospreay. This is definitely the darkest timeline. Like the last match, this got off to an intense start. I said this before everything about Will’s terrible acts came out and it still rings true but he’s at his best when he gets to be a jerk. It’s a natural fit for him. Honestly, it works well for Okada too. Will was an arrogant prick here against the veteran, being vicious and talking tons of smack. Kojima finally managed to turn the tide with a guitar shot. The big spot of the match was supposed to be Ospreay countering a lariat into a powerbomb through a table. The end of it looked good but Will flubbed the transition into the move. The other big spot was Will taking a bump through a ladder outside. Willy could’ve lost by countout there but Kojima didn’t want it that way. He brought Will back in and got hit with a flurry of offense, including Hidden Blade through a chair. Storm Breaker ended this after 16:57. Will nailed the character stuff and Kojima was tremendous as the hard-hitting dad who led the way. [***¾]
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi [c] vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
Goddamn, I’m pumped for this. Two of the best going and Tanahashi in a place he’s never been in before. The NEVER Title is a rare one that he hasn’t won before. Let me tell you that the first 10 minutes went by incredibly quickly and the same went for the next 10. Like, I couldn’t believe this had already gone on that long. I appreciated the way leg work was a key aspect of this. It’s a Tanahashi staple but Shingo surprisingly had his own stuff for that. He’d do Tanahashi shit but with way more aggression and snap. It was so fitting. I liked him using a half crab because it’s basic and he’s not a submission guy while Tanahashi could apply the Cloverleaf. They even did a close call with that where Shingo looked like he passed out. I liked how Tanahashi made a mistake when he hit High Fly Flow but wanted a second and missed. He knew he had to bring out the big guns against Shingo. Made in Japan looked like it MURDERED Tanahashi. From that point on, this was absolutely nuts. After a war of 35:40, Tanahashi won the title with High Fly Flow. That man is an ageless wonder, still able to have better matches than 99% of the world. Shingo had a good game plan but never really got in the driver’s seat, while was as resilient as ever. He used his wits and his skills to outlast the hard-hitting athlete across from him. A dream match that lived up to the hype. [****½]
Post-match, Tanahashi’s air guitaring was cut off by the arrival of The Great-O-Khan for an attack to set up a future match. Yawn.
