NJPW "The New Beginning" in Sapporo & Osaka 2018

[Ringo]

Just listing the notable matches:

The New Beginning in Sapporo 2018 (Day 1)
January 27 (English Commentary Available) @ Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Sapporo
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 2): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Michael Elgin
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship Match: Bad Luck Fale & Guerrillas of Destiny (c) vs. Togi Makabe, Toa Henare & Ryusuke Taguchi
- Jay White & Roppongi 3K vs. The Elite (Omega & Young Bucks)
- IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

The New Beginning in Sapporo 2018 (Day 2)
January 28 (English Commentary Available) @ Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Sapporo
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 3): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Juice Robinson
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: The Young Bucks (c) vs. Roppongi 3K
- IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Jay White

Road to The New Beginning 2018
February 5 @ Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 4): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Hiroyoshi Tenzan
- David Finlay vs. Jay White
- Ten Man Elimination Tag: CHAOS (Okada/Goto/YOSHI-HASHI/Ospreay/Gedo) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Naito/EVIL/SANADA/BUSHI/Hiromu)

Road to The New Beginning 2018
February 6 @ Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 5): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Satoshi Kojima
- IWGP Tag Team Championship: SANADA & EVIL (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto

The New Beginning in Osaka 2018
February 10 (English Commentary Available) @ EDION Arena, Osaka
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 6): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Yuji Nagata
- Gedo vs. BUSHI
- Tetsuya Naito vs. YOSHI-HASHI
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. EVIL
- IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA

[Tainted Eclipse]

Some great main events and that Kitamura proving series sounds awesome.

[Hero!]

Just listing the notable matches:

The New Beginning in Sapporo 2018 (Day 1)
January 27 (English Commentary Available) @ Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Sapporo
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 2): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Michael Elgin
- Jay White & Roppongi 3K vs. The Elite (Omega & Young Bucks)
- IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

The New Beginning in Sapporo 2018 (Day 2)
January 28 (English Commentary Available) @ Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center, Sapporo
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 3): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Juice Robinson
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: The Young Bucks (c) vs. Roppongi 3K
- IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Kenny Omega (c) vs. Jay White

Road to The New Beginning 2018
February 5 @ Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
- David Finlay vs. Jay White
- Ten Man Elimination Tag: CHAOS (Okada/Goto/YOSHI-HASHI/Ospreay/Gedo) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Naito/EVIL/SANADA/BUSHI/Hiromu)

Road to The New Beginning 2018
February 6 @ Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
- IWGP Tag Team Championship: SANADA & EVIL (c) vs. Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto

The New Beginning in Osaka 2018
February 10 (English Commentary Available) @ EDION Arena, Osaka
- Katsuya Kitamura 7-Match Proving Series (Match 6): Katsuya Kitamura vs. Yuji Nagata
- IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- NEVER Openweight Championship: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. EVIL
- IWGP Heavyweight Championship: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA

Looking forward to all these ones. The other stuff doesn't sound bad, but this listing looks incredible. I see quite a few belts changing hands on these shows.

[Tainted Eclipse]

first show tomorrow morning. suzuki and tanahashi haven't had a match since their 2012 all-time classic. i'd always been looking forward to them wrestling again, but physically this isn't the most promising time with tanahashi's state. curious how good the match will be. has a very high ceiling.

the kitamura series is seriously the thing i'm most excited about on this whole tour.

[Defrost]

The tag titles in Korakuen is what I am most excited for.

Apparently they're having a bunch of visa issues. Kawato's start in CMLL is being pushed back because of it and the Kitamura trial series is happening because he wasn't able to be sent out for excursion yet like they wanted.

[Psycho666Soldier]

Is this really starting at 4am Eastern time tonight? That seems at least an hour later than usual.

[Psycho666Soldier]

I dug the IC Title match. I felt like it was the proper version of what they tried to do with Okada last year. More fire, history, and crowd concern in this match. Only real complaint is it felt like it got a bit dragged out in the last ten minutes, but it was kind of necessary to tell the story of Tanahashi's Ace will breaking through but his body failing to meet that will.


Here's hoping Suzuki gets a breadth of challengers and is feeling fully motivated.

[Jordo]

Show was lovely ...really looking forward to tonight. Gonna be my first time watching NJPW live, and I've got a friend or two who is gonna watch with me.

[Tainted Eclipse]

suzuki/tanahashi was great, probably match of the year so far. suzuki looked like the best in the world.

kitamura/elgin is also very much worth watching.

[Tainted Eclipse]

i'd like to see tanahashi take off until a big return for the g1.

[Defrost]

Naito & Hiromu vs Ospreay and Yoshi-Hashi was fun


That angle with Okada and Sanada was something. Like it actually has me thinking of what may happen.

[Defrost]

That High Fly Flow spot was brilliant

[Defrost]

Well that match was awesome.

Tanahashi is officially off of today's show

[Psycho666Soldier]

I think the crowd needs some serious waking up after the emotional rollercoaster they went on last night.

They ended up waking up for Kitamura/Juice by the end of the match. Another great showing for Kitamura, and I always love me some JUICE.

I'll be popping in and out of the show while I catch up on Takeover until the matches I care about come on.

ADDENDUM: Caught the post-match of Elgin/Henare vs. Suzuki/Iizuka. Togi Makabe, while not who I'd immediately book on paper, makes for a potential sleeper first opponent. Makabe is hit or miss with these pushes, but when he hits, its fantastic. Sticking around for the Ibushi & Co vs. Cody Club.

[Jordo]

What a fucking moment to end the show.

Beautiful

I haven't been watching WWE lately, hoped raw 25 would get me back into.it but that failed pretty bad. I signed up for new Japan world to watch wrestle kingdom. After tonight I've decided I'm cancelling my WWE Network subscription after the rumble,I have all the wrestling I need with new Japan

[Defrost]

It's like Savage and Liz for the 21st Century

[Tainted Eclipse]

It's like Savage and Liz for the 21st Century

this is a much purer and more beautiful love.

haven't watched any of the matches from today's show but did watch the big angle, one of the best done angles i've seen in a while.

[Defrost]

Not really feeling the Omega/White match

[Ringo]

Finished Night 1 (or rather, the first and last matches). Excellent main event. Everything from the high fly flow spot onwards was brilliant, just sadistic stuff from Suzuki. Refusing to go for the pinfall, brutally wrenching at Tanahashi's leg in 100 different ways in an attempt to force him to give up. Looks like MiSu is back on track in 2018 after disappointing in his first year back in New Japan and I'm looking forward to this title reign.

[Psycho666Soldier]

So, I actually really liked Omega/White by the end of it. I think if you took out some of the fluff in the middle and made a tighter match, this would be much higher. As it was, I think it was much better than the match with Tanahashi, at least as far as Jay White looking great on his own merits. But hot damn, what an angle to end the show. Cody looked great, Kenny looked broken(and great), and Ibushi got the reaction of a mega-star when he came running out. Also, Bucks/RPG3K II was even better than the WK showing, I thought. Excellent stuff. My match of the show.

Nothing spectacular going on in the next show other than the CHAOS/LIJ war and Kitamura's series, of course.

[Defrost]

Hiromu is so different than anyone else


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7119xDeVAM

[Hero!]

"oh my god


oh my god

oh my god"

ahaha a whole match built around chicken basically.

[Hero!]

Hiromu and Ospreay are the best couple in new japan

[Defrost]

Okada challenged Ospreay to a champion vs champion match at the Anniversary show

[Tainted Eclipse]

ospreay/hiromu had lots of cool spots but man, come on. just too ridiculous and never felt like a real competitive match. did enjoy it for what it was though. ospreays elbow to the back of the head at the end of the match was actually the best spot even though it got no reaction.

[Kotre]

So... apparently Taichi jumped Naito. Guess Taichi's moving up to Heavies and NJPW is running back their match from Takataichimania.

I am not upset with this. I love Taichi for entirely the wrong reasons. He's a ridiculous pirate motherfucker and I am entertained by someone THAT ridiculous.

[Defrost]

Plus that match was awesome

[OD50]

ospreay/hiromu had lots of cool spots but man, come on. just too ridiculous and never felt like a real competitive match. did enjoy it for what it was though. ospreays elbow to the back of the head at the end of the match was actually the best spot even though it got no reaction.
I was thinking this when I watched the match last night.. Amazing spots and athleticism but about as far away from a choreographed "fight" as you could possibly get. The peeps in these type of matches come across as dance partners much more than two guys trying to beat each other up.

Not my cup of tea for sure.