Pantoja’s NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka Review 2.11.24

NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka

February 11^th, 2024 | EDION Arena in Osaka, Japan | Attendance: 5,327

Due to the Super Bowl, this review will be a bit late. That said, there are notable things to get excited about on this card including what’s likely the final Tanahashi/Okada clash, a rematch from a legitimate ***** match, and Will Ospreay’s last New Japan match.

Boltin Oleg and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Toru Yano and YOH

If you scripted what a Taguchi vs. Yano match would be like, this was it. Yano toyed with Oleg and even slapped him on the head while Taguchi had his underwear shown and used ass-based offense. Thankfully, it was all kept super short as YOH rolled up Taguchi to win in 3:46. Let’s move on. [*]

Bishamon vs. Callum Newman and The Great-O-Khan

Kind of weird to see O-Khan and even Newman here on the card rather than in the big United Empire main event. Anyway, they’re up against the company’s most established tag team. I was a fan of the runtime here as they packed a fair bit of action into a short timeframe. Newman has been throwing himself into spots and bumps, clearly eager at this opportunity in New Japan. O-Khan is also the kind of guy who has no problem throwing hands with the likes of Goto, making for some solid back and forth when he was in there too. The standout here was Newman though. His kip-up into an enziguri is a pretty cool spot. He missed a spin kick late and took a barrage of offense capped by Bishamon’s finisher to lose in 7:37. A good tag that didn’t overstay its welcome. [***]

El Desperado, Tiger Mask IV, Tomoaki Honma and Shota Umino vs. EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO and Yujiro Takahashi

Whatever you feel about his in-ring work, Shota Umino feels pretty damn cool when he makes his entrance. Unfortunately, he and El Desperado were working against the House of Torture, which is a recipe for disaster. As a positive, I will say that this didn’t end up being a disaster. It also wasn’t really all that good either but it was inoffensive and kept short. Honma was there to do his Kokeshi stuff and Tiger Mask IV kind of just existed. The main focus was on EVIL fighting with Shota and SHO looking to set himself up for a Jr. Title shot. He got the win with Shock Arrow on TMIV in 8:43. Ho-hum. [*¾]

Post-match, SHO demanded a shot at Desperado and held the title hostage. Desperado threatened to take it by force but SHO declined because “possession is 9/10ths of the law.” I beg bookers to stop with the stolen title gimmick. It never works and everyone just looks like a bunch of goofs.

BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji vs. DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura

New Japan has basically run this tag into the ground recently. That means you’ll typically get a solid enough match but that also means there isn’t much left to do. The idea was to further the main programs which are Naito/SANADA, Shingo/Taichi, and Yota/Yuya. It did that well enough but it’s hard to write about this because nothing really stood out or was memorable. It lacked the energy that the early LIJ/CHAOS multi-man tags had back in 2016 or even that this match had a few weeks ago. Naito spat on SANADA late which angered the former champion, who then beat BUSHI with Skull End in 11:05. Like I said, largely fine. [**½]

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada

A pretty sweet video package aired to chronicle their historic rivalry. In honor of this likely being their final confrontation, let me run down the history of the ratings I’ve given their matches.

• New Beginning 2012 – ****
• Dominion 2012 – ****½
• Wrestle Kingdom 7 – ****¼
• Invasion Attack 2013 – ****¾
• G1 23- ****½
• King of Pro Wrestling 2013 – *****
• Wrestle Kingdom 9 – ****½
• Wrestle Kingdom 10 – ***¼
• G1 26 – ****¼
• Wrestling Dontaku 2018 – ****½
• G1 28 – ***½
• Destruction in Kobe 2018 – ***¾
• G1 29 – ***¾
• G1 31 – ****
• Battle in the Valley 2023 – ***½

Clearly, it’s a feud that lives up to the hype. We’ve seen diminishing returns in recent years (outside of that lackluster WK10 match) but it’s never bad. Like most of those bouts from the past few years, this was a case of two legends playing the hits. That’s especially wise in a time where Tanahashi can’t go the way he used to. They worked this at a methodical pace, likely to suit Tanahashi, yet it wasn’t something I’d call boring. You could tell they were working toward something and ensuring that the early action felt like they were trying to gain an advantage. Their knowledge of each other was evident. Tanahashi saved his energy for one huge spot, busting out High Fly Flow to the floor. That’s a wild choice for a man with his knees but he does love him some Okada. Of course, Okada won with the Rainmaker in 16:50. Like I said, they played the hits and that’s fine. They always entertain and it had the emotional boost of being the end of this journey. [***½]

IWGP Tag Team Championship: El Phantasmo and Hikuleo [c] vs. Chase Owens and KENTA

The absolute state of this tag division. It blows my mind that people legitimately said Gedo was a “genius booker” when this is how he’s handled tag teams for more than a decade. Still, this might be a low point. This match was really dull. It didn’t have the energy of the random Bishamon tag earlier and just felt like four guys going through the motions. Even when I don’t like his matches, ELP usually brings some fun to stuff but even he seemed like he wasn’t into it. He and Hikuleo had a few decent tag moments but nothing more. Owens and KENTA looked like they didn’t even want to team up. The champs were on the verge of retaining until Owens pulled the referee out of the ring. That set up Taiji Ishimori interference and a belt shot that allowed KENTA to roll up Hikuleo for the titles in 13:11. Wow. The division dips even further. [½*]

Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Their match at WrestleDream received the rare full ***** rating from me. The opening minutes of this featured the expected great technical wrestling these guys are known for. It was a true struggle that felt like two all-time greats who were out to prove they were indeed the greatest to ever do it. The transition and counter wrestling was brilliant but I really liked the twists. ZSJ made the first mistake in a rare unforced error, rolling into the ropes and messing up his leg because of it. Like a shark smelling blood, Bryan pounced and destroyed it. ZSJ sold the shit out of it, struggling to walk and looking like he was being tortured. Even when he got something going, like a neck snap using his leg, he’d drop to the mat in a heap. I loved the way ZSJ would be in trouble only to snap off something like trapping Bryan in an abdominal stretch. It made sense and didn’t see him use his damaged leg while also being perfectly in line with the kind of offense he’d use anyway. Then came the spot that has kind of gone viral. While sitting in a submission, Bryan and Zack started trading VICIOUS slaps and kicks that looked capable of knocking the other man out. That kicked up the intensity here with them trading strikes and even headbutts in the next section. Since he’s been using Cattle Mutilation in the build, it makes that ZSJ would have it scouted when it got applied. He countered and delivered the Zack Driver for a stellar near fall. The shots Bryan rained on Sabre in retaliation were some of the best he’s ever thrown. The final few minutes here were outstanding. They did some of their best counter wrestling from Bryan using a ZSJ submission that ZSJ knew how to reverse to Bryan having ZSJ’s European Clutch scouted. And right at the end, ZSJ looked like he’d pull Bryan into a submission only to tweak it to a crucifix pin, getting the three in 32:46. A masterful ending that sets up a rubber match, especially since ZSJ didn’t tap Bryan like he wanted. The first outing was a perfect dream match and this was on par or better because it evolved to two stubborn bastards wanting to one up and hurt the other. [*****]

Sabre offered a handshake after the bell which got declined like ZSJ did to him in AEW. However, Bryan turned around and shook his hand to a pop. They also bowed to each other.

Steel Cage Match: Bullet Club vs. The United Empire

The setup for this was kind of like Cage of Death. It was about an 8-foot high cage that was constructed on the floor rather than the ring, giving them room to fight at ringside. There was also no roof. War Games rules here with two guys starting and then others coming in at timed intervals. Ospreay’s gear was Misawa themed. He and Finlay had an intense opening battle which felt like a clash between two guys who have disdain for one another. That’s the feel this match needed because it has to be totally different from what we just saw. Drilla Moloney was next in but he dragged a battered Callum Newman out with him, distracting Will as Finlay clocked him from behind. They cuffed Newman to the cage and proceeded to beat on Will until HENARE entered the fray. He’s fresh off a FANTASTIC match against Gabe Kidd. They continued the typical War Games trend of this being a series of hot tags and heat segments. It’s a tried and true formula that works really well, so no need to change it. What they did well was incorporate the hardcore spots like using tables and barbed wire. That really helped this stand out because things like that aren’t common in New Japan. Will got busted open and was bleeding heavily for most of this contest. TJP’s facewash spot with barbed wire around his boot was a pretty sick moment, I popped for Coughlin showing up carrying like 20 chairs draped on his arms, Akira hitting an immediate dive as he entered was cool, and I loved Kidd just launching chairs at people. The Bullet Club had their biggest advantage when Cobb entered as the final participant. He did the big man thing of tossing people all over the place and turning the tide. TJP did the thing where he busted out his spooky gimmick or whatever. That has yet to really work for me. We got the expected spot of everyone facing off across the ring and then brawling. The lads upped the ante in the final 15-20 minutes, going for bigger and bigger spots, with the HENARE/Kidd battle being the high point for me. Connors taking a face first tacks bump after pouring whiskey onto an open wound was WILD. I feel like that was the point where this should’ve ended. Maybe a move or two after. Instead, they kept this going and dragged it on to involve run-ins from Gedo and The Great-O-Khan and the subsequent close calls and near falls had diminishing returns. Ripping the ring up for some spots late helped as that’s not something you see every day. I did really like how in the end, after a sick spike piledriver on Akira, Ospreay pulled his boy to safety and took on the Bullet Club by himself. He had no shot but he went out on his shield which is fitting. Finlay got the win in 64:05. This is a divisive main event from what I’ve seen. I’ll say that I don’t think it’s an all-timer but I appreciated how it was different in a company where everything feels too familiar and same-y. I think a lot of this was great though it should’ve capped around 45-50 minutes. Do the ring ripping and Ospreay going out on his shield much sooner after the tacks spot rather than include so much of the middle. Still, great, epic war. [****¼]

7.0

The final score: review Good

The 411

I feel like a broken record with New Japan at this point. They continue to pump out shows like this which feature a really lackluster undercard and then some standout matches late. We’ve got some REALLY bad stuff here (Tag Titles for sure). That said, Tanahashi/Okada is worth watching, that main event is great, and Bryan/ZSJ is a strong MOTYC.