New Japan Pro Wrestling returns tonight for the New Beginning in Osaka, live on New Japan World. Tonight’s show will feature English commentary, and our live coverage begins at 3:00 a.m. EST.
NJPW New Beginning in Osaka
February 11, 2017
HENARE vs. TAKA MICHINOKU
This was not the original match planned, but apparently the flu is going around and it has upset some of the undercard for tonight’s show. Taka got the win in a short opener where he dominated the vast majority of the action. Henare had some bits of action including a flying shoulder tackle off the top, but Taka ended up transitioning an armbar attempt into a quick pin. Winner: Taka Michinoku
SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN vs. KUSHIDA & YOSHITATSU
This was supposed to be a six-man tag originally with a couple of the Young Lions added in. Tatsu went right after both Tencozy members before the bell and gets booed for it. All that did was fire them up, resulting in Kushida taking twice the beating he normally would. Tatsu eventually tagged in and undid all the work his partner had done, as Kojima lit them both up with machine gun chops in the corner. Kushida saved the match with a handspring kick to Kojima and a dropkick to Tenzan taking them both out of the ring. Tatsu threw a few ineffective kicks at Kojiima before getting wrecked with a lariat, and that’s all she wrote. Winners: Kojima & Tenzan
TIGER MASK, JUSHIN THUNDER LIGER, JUICE ROBINSON & YUJI NAGATA vs. JADO, GEDO, YOSHI-HASHI & HIROOKI GOTO
It was all Team Liger early on, with Nagata running through Tacos, and Tiger Mask taking out Gedo with a flying crossbody before being attacked from behind by Jado. Liger tagged in to a big pop, and got into a slugfest with Goto, which is never a great idea, but caught him with a palm strike. Juice made the hot tag and cleared the apron before going to work on the NEVER champion, hitting a second rope stunner and a cannonball splash in the corner. Chaos uses the numbers game to team up on him in a great flurry with moves hitting him from all sides, until he levels Jado with a brutal right hand. The obligatory 8-man brawl breaks out and everyone goes flying out of the ring. Robinson hits Pulp Friction (the Unprettier) on Jado to secure the win for his team. Winners: Juice Robinson, Jushin Liger, Tiger Mask & Yuji Nagata
KAZUCHIKA OKADA, ROCKY ROMERO & BERETTA vs. MINORU SUZUKI, YOSHINOBU KANEMARU & TAICHI
The entire match was basically a brawl that never stopped. The tag champs did suicide dives onto Suzuki-Gun to get things started. Minoru brutally attacked Okada on the floor, sandwiching him in between two barricades and slapping him in a Camel Clutch. Throughout the match he continued to work over the knee he completely destroyed last week, while Taka Michinoku at ringside added to the noise, making sure the referee was never allowed to break up Suzuki-Gun double and triple-teaming RPG Vice. Okada had some offense, hitting a dropkick on his rival, but went down on his bad knee, before continuing his brawl with Minoru on the floor. The finish saw a double beatdown on Romero, and Kanemaru pinned him off a diving DDT from the top rope. Winners: Suzuki-Gun
Taichi and Kanemaru left RPG Vice laying after the match, declaring their intentions once again for the titles. Okada narrowly escaped Minoru with his title, after the brawl continued post-match.
NEVER OPEN 6-MAN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
RYUSUKE TAGUCHI, MANABU NAKANISHI & HIROSHI TANAHASHI (c) vs. BUSHI, EVIL & SANADA
The champions (who are now going as Taguchi Japan) had some fun early on, but the fun came to a quick halt when Evil put a chair on Tanahashi’s neck, and threw him into the barricade. From there LIJ just picked apart Taguchi, tagging in and out, for several minutes. Eventually Tanahashi recovered and made the hot tag, clearing out everyone with dragon screws, but even he got levelled by a lariat from Evil. Nakanishi came in like a freight train, and the champs were able to secure a brief moment of offense. They did a trio of the Nakanishi-style clotheslines with all the theatrics, then put them in a trio of submissions with Sanada in the Torture Rack, Evil in the Texas Cloverleaf, and Bushi in an ankle lock. Sanada threw the referee out of the ring in mid-submission to break it up, and went for the Skull End on the big man, but Tanahashi made the save with a Slingblade. A six-man brawl breaks out and a camera guy goes down, with bodies flying everywhere. Nakanishi went to the top rope and came down with a massive flying crossbody, to the biggest pop of the night so far, but he took a face full of mist from Bushi and Sanada tapped him out with the Skull End. Winners and New Champions: Los Ingobernables de Japon!
Sanada refused to break the hold after the match, as Evil laid out Tanahashi with an STO in the middle of the ring. Sanada attacked Taguchi on the floor, and got into it with commentator and former wrestler Milano Collection AT. Interesting…
RPW BRITISH HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
KATSUYORI SHIBATA (c) vs. WILL OSPREAY
Ospreay wanted to start things slow with a bit of a feeling out process, but Shibata wanted nothing to do with that and lit him up with a flurry of kicks immediately. The bulk of the match was surprisingly in favor of Ospreay. Shibata took him to the mat with a few submissions, but the high-flyer kept coming back after him. At one point Ospreay went on a huge offensive streak, with a missile dropkick, a shooting star off the apron, tope suicida, the handspring backflip over the ropes, and about a dozen forearm shots – Shibata just got right up and stared him down, then peppered him with kicks and elbows. Ospreay kicked his head into the ring post on the outside, then had to figure out a way to lift him back into the ring before the 20 count. He hit him with the imploding 450 splash, but only got two. He hit the Cheeky Nandos Kick and the jumping corkscrew roundhouse kick, but only got two. Again Shibata got up and put him in a sleeper; Ospreay tried to float over but the champion hung on. The challenger faded, and Shibata hit him with the PK for the win. Winner and Still Champion: Katsuyori Shibata
IWGP TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
TOMOHIRO ISHII & TORU YANO (c) vs. TOMOAKI HONMA & TOGI MAKABE vs. TAKASHI IIZUKA & DAVEY BOY SMITH JR.
A brawl broke out between all six before the match started. A little bit of Yano comedy early on with Iizuka, but it didn’t last long before he tagged out to Honma. The makeshift Killer Elite Squad (Archer is injured) spent the better part of the middle of the match picking apart Honma. Ishii tagged in and added to the beatdown. He came back and hit the flying headbutt on Ishii, but Yano had made the blind tag to save the match. Makabe tagged in and cleaned house on everyone. GBH teamed up to beat the hell out of Yano, until Ishii came back and hit a huge stalling suplex on the big man. The two brutes went back and forth with headbutts and lariats, until Davey Boy tagged in and hit running knees on both. Iizuka choked out Yano with a rope, and Davey hit a butterfly suplex for two-and-a-half. Honma out of nowhere with a flying headbutt, but he can’t make the tag to his partner as the match has devolved into pure chaos. The referee went down, and Iizuka hit Makabe with his weird iron glove. Ishii came back and took out Davey Boy, but turned around into the iron glove as well. They tried it on Yano, but he dodged it and Davey Boy went down instead. Yano hit a low blow on Iizuka and rolled him up for the win. Winners and Still Champions: Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
HIROMU TAKAHASHI (c) vs. DRAGON LEE
They went right after each other with slaps and chops. Takahashi tried for a headscissors but Lee flipped out of it; Lee went for the headscissors and the champion did the same thing. Lee finally hit the headscissors takedown and followed up with a tope suicida to the floor, taking control. He slowed things down, kicking away on the champ in the corner. Takahashi hit him with a superkick off a springboard, then flew over the ropes with a sunset flip powerbomb off the apron! He then ran the length of the entrance ramp and sent the challenger flying with a dropkick. Dragon Lee came out of nowhere with a hurricanrana over the top rope, off the apron to send Takahashi crashing to the floor, following up with a beautiful tope con hillo. They rolled back into the ring and he connected with a modified three amigos, then set in with chops and slaps. He went up top for the double stomp, but Takahashi went for his mask to stop it. He went for it again, but this time Lee got suplexed off the top rope all the way to the floor. The champion flew off the apron but got caught with a powerbomb on the floor! Both guys are down, and the referee makes it to a count of 19 before they roll back into the ring. Lee is the first to his feet, hitting a quick release German suplex and a standing Spanish Fly for two-and-a-half. Slowly back to their feet, they go back to the chops and slaps yet again, until Takahashi suplexes the challenger into the bottom of the turnbuckle. Lee tries to fly again, but Takahashi catches him with a brutal powerbomb on the edge of the apron, then comes off the top rope sending them both crashing into the barricade. The champion is now in total control, mocking his opponent and picking him apart, until Lee comes out of nowhere with an armbar, transitioning right into a crossface! Takahashi got to the ropes, and pulled the referee into the path of Dragon Lee. He ripped his mask off and hit a sunset flip powerbomb off the ropes, but Lee kicked out at two and bailed from the rip to put his mask back on. Tiger Bomb from Lee, and he tries to put it away with another, but Takahashi counters into essentially a reverse Destroyer. Another exchange of chops. Another exchange of kicks. Takahashi with a superkick out of the corner, hit the Canadian Destroyer – 1…2…Lee kicks out at two-and-three-quarters. The champion immediately picks him up, drives him into the corner, and hits the Time Bomb for three. Winner and Still Champion: Hiromu Takahashi
After the match, Ryusuke Taguchi hits the ring and lays out a challenge for the title. He wants Takahashi to give him his answer in haiku form. The champion tries to hit him with the belt from behind, but Taguchi dodges and puts him in the ankle lock until referees pull them apart.
IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL CHAMPIONSHIP
TETSUYA NAITO (c) vs. MICHAEL ELGIN
A massive Naito chant breaks out as soon as the bell rings. He is making Elgin play his game, taking forever to take off his suit, then rolling to the floor to avoid starting the match. Eventually Elgin has enough and launches himself over the ropes to take him down. The challenger lights him up with stiff elbows and a springboard splash, followed by a big press slam. Elgin elbowed him off the apron into the barricade, and followed up with a cannonball off the apron to the floor. The champ gets a brief glimmer of momentum, going after his knee, but Elgin catches him out of the tope and walks him to the ramp hitting a hard vertical suplex. He tries for the deadlift superplex, but Naito claws at the previously broken orbital bone, then locks a kneebar between the ropes. He slows things down, locking in a heel hook and continuing to work over the now weakened knee, for several minutes. He spits on the challenger, and Elgin crushes him with stiff elbow shots, but once again Naito goes back to the knee with a dropkick to keep control. He goes back to the kneebar, mocking Elgin and telling him to hit him, while spitting in his face. Elgin comes back with chops and a huge enzuigiri, then hits an inverted Falcon Arrow to finally give himself some space. Huge lariat connects in the corner, followed by an even bigger second one. Naito attacks the eye again, but this time Elgin just suplexes him hard into the barricade, then deadlift German suplexes him on his head. He sets in with big lariats to the front and back, but Naito hits an atomic drop and a running dropkick to the knee. He tries for a sunset flip, but Elgin hits him with two German suplexes. Naito counters a third into a Sliced Bread attempt, Elgin hangs on to him, but Naito counters again with a snap DDT. He slowly starts kicking away at the knee, and Elgin is hammering away with elbows and forearms, back and forth. Another dropkick to the knee, but Elgin turns him upside down with a dropkick. The crowd has completely turned in favor of the challenger at this point. For the third time tonight he tries for the deadlift superplex, and a third time Naito goes to the eyes and connects with a sunset flip powerbomb to the big man. The champion comes off the top rope, but Elgin catches him with the sit-down powerbomb for a nearfall. Big Mike slowly climbs the ropes, and comes down hard with a massive frog splash, but may have done just as much damage to his own knee. He throws a few forearm shots, but again Naito hits a running dropkick to the knee, but gets turned inside-out with a lariat. Elgin signals for the end, and connects with a devastating lariat for two-and-three-quarters! Frustrated, he tries for the Buckle Bomb, but his knee gives out, and settles for a forearm strike. He uses the ropes to try for a powerbomb, but Naito wriggles free and runs into a superkick from Big Mike! They fight their way up to the top rope, the champion goes to the eyes, and flips him with a hurricanrana from the top rope, followed by a reverse-rana for a nearfall! The crowd is going absolutely insane! Elgin counters Destino with an elbow, but is rolled up into a kneebar; Naito cranks down on the hold as hard as he can, but the challenger pulls himself across the ring and makes it to the bottom rope. Both guys are down, both are completely exhausted. Naito is the first to his feet, and kicks away at the injured knee. The fight out to the apron, the kicks continuing, but Elgin catches him with a Death Valley Driver on the edge! Eventually they roll back into the ring, and the challenger finally, on his fourth attempt, gets the deadlift superplex into a Falcon Arrow! 1…2…Naito kicks out! The roof about explodes off Osaka with that spot, and Elgin delivers a deadly forearm shot to the back of the head. Another spinning forearm connects. Big Mike mocks the Naito taunt, hits the Buckle Bomb, but Naito counters the Elgin Bomb with a Tornado DDT off the ropes! Destino connects! 1…2….ELGIN KICKS OUT! Completely pissed off now, Naito tries for Destino again, but Elgin counters with a Death Valley Driver into the corner turnbuckle. The fight goes to the floor again, and Naito yet again claws away at the eye, but Elgin doesn’t even care anymore and hits a powerbomb on the apron. He lifts him right back up, and hits a running powerbomb hard into the barricade! He rolls him back into the ring…ELGIN BOMB CONNECTS! 1….2….NAITO KICKS OUT!? Both guys are dead, slowly crawling to the ropes for support. Elgin sets up for a Burning Hammer, but the champion counters into a modified Destino; both guys are down again, and the referee begins to count. They make it to their feet, and Elgin again goes for the Burning Hammer, but again Naito gets out of it and hits an enzuigiri to the eye; Elgin destroys him with a rolling uppercut, Naito destroys him right back with a spinning wheel kick. Naito climbs the ropes, and with what little energy he has left he hits another Destino. He gets back up, and hits yet another Destino. 1…2….3. It’s finally over. Winner and Still Champion: Tetsuya Naito
Los Ingobernables de Japon closes out the night as Naito addresses the Osaka crowd, and says that they have big plans for 2017. The lay the Intercontinental Championship, the Junior Heavyweight Championship and the NEVER 6-Man Championships in the ring and pose together as a group over them.
