wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW New Year Dash Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW New Year Dash
January 5th, 2023 | Ota City Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan
I was going to cover Dynamite today but with two reviews of that already up, I opted for New Year Dash. Sadly, this building doesn’t allow for cheering so we’re back to clap crowds. On a positive note, I always like the mystery card aspect of this event.
Dick Togo, EVIL and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Ren Narita, Tiger Mask IV and Tomoaki Honma
The House of Torture attacked before the bell because of course they did. Since it’s the House of Torture, this had a lot of mindless brawling, underhanded tactics, and the usual. I’m not going to recap that garbage. What worked here was Narita. You know Tiger Mask tries but is old and Honma’s best days are behind him but Narita brought a ton of energy and looks like a guy who is poised to have some big performances in 2023. Honma fell to Magic Killer at the 8:29 mark. It was mostly inoffensive. [**]
As the House of Torture beat up Narita after the bell, Minoru Suzuki surprisingly made the save in a suave hat. He also got jumped and El Desperado made the save. WHO SAID SUZUKI-GUN IS DEAD? Desperado, Suzuki, and Narita sent the stable nobody likes packing and this is a trio I can get behind. They didn’t fist bump Narita but that has to be what we’re getting.
DOUKI, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Francesco Akira, TJP and Will Ospreay
It’s kind of odd that Suzuki-Gun is gone but the dudes are still teaming up. I get that they’re friends but it kind of defeats the purpose at times. Taka Michinoku was with them as well in a smooth suit. He introduced them as “Just Four Guys” so I guess that’s their uncreative name. The crowd audibly gasped at the appearance of Will Ospreay given his condition after yesterday. He looked down throughout, sulking on the apron and seemingly out of it physically and emotionally. When he did get tagged in, he laid into Kanemaru with relentless forearms and slapped Taichi. The match itself had solid action with neither side really gaining an advantage outside of Ospreay’s viciousness. The finish saw DOUKI score a pin over Akira in 9:17, setting himself and Kanemaru up for a Jr. Tag Title shot. [***]
TJP immediately attacked after the bell before Ospreay kicked Taka low. Ospreay got in Taichi’s face and the two traded barbs before Taichi tried to choke him. This was a heated exchange that should set up Willy/Taichi. I’m down to see Taichi get under his aggressive skin.
Bishamon and Tomohiro Ishii vs. TMDK and Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre, our inaugural TV Champion, was introduced as the “Front Man.” Goto came into this with a bad arm and Sabre was like a shark smelling blood. TMDK targeted it too but you know how ZSJ handles that stuff. He kicked at it aggressively on the outside. Plus, ZSJ and Goto have a history of bangers so I like watching them go at it. The same goes for Ishii and ZSJ but on another level. Goto took the heat and made the hot tag to YOSHI-HASHI. I appreciate that HASHI has grown enough to be the hot tag guy. He set up for Shoto but things got broken up and HASHI fell to the Tagbuster at the 8:02 mark. A good match that sets up Bishamon vs. TMDK. [***]
Post-match, ZSJ cut a promo about wanting to bring in a new member to TMDK. He then grabbed Young Lion Kosei Fujita and got him to join, which commentary noted was unheard of for someone who hasn’t graduated. ZSJ said Fujita is his Young Boy, like how Moxley handpicked Umino.
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA and Tetsuya Naito vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Shota Umino, Togi Makabe and YOH
Speaking of Shooter, he came out through the crowd and even did Moxley’s pose. LIJ kind of toyed with Taguchi to start, teasing him an invitation to the stable only to kick his ass. Taguchi took a beating for a while until Makabe got the tag. He took multiple bumps in the Dome so there was no way he was putting on his working boots today. Umino got the main tag and continued to impress, going at it with SANADA. His Fisherman Suplex is gorgeous. The big attraction was Umino vs. Naito which lived up to the hype. It came down to YOH against Hiromu and they’ve had some special matches in the past. YOH weathered a storm and fought back to beat Hiromu with Direct Drive in 13:33. That likely sets up YOH/Hiromu at the next set of major shows. [***¼]
El Phantasmo, Jay White, KENTA and Taiji Ishimori vs. HIKUELO, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato and Tama Tonga
Jay threatened Chris on commentary as he believed he was laughing at him not being champion anymore. This was just the kind of match you’d expect. KENTA and Tanahashi went at it, reigniting their feud while we got more from Wato and Ishimori. Wato looked like the breakout star they want at Wrestle Kingdom and I’d be down for a grudge match against Ishimori. HIKUELO was booked as the dominant monster who everyone wanted to avoid. The main focal point here though was ELP and Tama Tonga going at it. That is probably your next NEVER Title match and I don’t hate it. Tanahashi made the hot tag to HIKUELO before we got the meat of the ELP/Tama exchanges that included ELP nearly beating him with a rollup. Gedo took a cutter when he tried to interfere and then ELP blatantly used the NEVER Title to hit Tama and get DQed in 11:37. This did what it had to by setting up several future matches. [**¾]
Jay White broke a chair over HIKUELO’s back and it looks like that is tragically his next program. Talk about a DIP after being the top champion. Interestingly though, Jay challenged him to a Loser Leaves Japan match. Well, I’m intrigued.
Provisional KOPW 2023 Championship: The Great-O-Khan vs. Shingo Takagi vs. SHO vs. Toru Yano
This title gimmick is so dumb. They’ve made it an actual title now instead of the goofy trophy. We got the fun chaos that guys like Yano are known for combined with hard hitting stuff from Shingo and O-Khan, and some House of Torture shenanigans. Commentary flat out pointing out that SHO was a potential Jr. Heavyweight and NEVER Champion and has thrown it away for this gimmick is telling. Gedo knows he ruined SHO’s career and let’s hope he fixes it. Like, the SHO/Shingo exchanges here weren’t anything like what we got during their old battles. House of Torture helped SHO gain control at points but Shingo stopped him with a simple DDT. Down the stretch, O-Khan really got going and had Yano beat but Shingo returned and took him out. He then planted Yano with Last of the Dragon to win the new title in 12:50. A good little match that was quite fun. [***]
I’m guessing this will now give us a unification thing between Shingo and Okada, though O-Khan had a face-off with Shingo after the match.
Aaron Henare and Jeff Cobb vs. Kazuchika Okada and Kenny Omega
Commentary’s anticipation for the main event was intriguing to see and the shock at Omega being one half was cool since they hinted that he had gone back to the States already. That Okada was his partner was wild. Kenny was sporting a major black eye. The back and forth between Omega and Cobb has me really hoping for Omega/Cobb for the US Title at some point in the States. I also liked Okada against Henare. I know Henare isn’t going to get a title shot but he’s one of only like four people who Okada hasn’t already beaten a bunch so it would be fresh. Okada took the heat as Omega hyped him up, which was weird to see. Cobb looked dominant throughout and even mocked Kenny’s gun taunt. Omega got the hot tag and did his thing before we got what everyone wanted which was the two working as a unit. That included a Rainmaker/V-Trigger combo (that should’ve been the finish) before Okada added a solo Rainmaker to beat Henare in 13:36. That was a lot of fun and you just have to see these two as a dream team. [***½]
Post-match, we got the Omega/Cobb faceoff. After they left, Okada’s show-closing promo was interrupted by Shingo Takagi who challenged him again. Okada noted that he started the whole KOPW thing and it looks like we’ve got a title match lined up.
