By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Year Dash”
January 5, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan at Sumida City Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a large gym and it was listed as a sellout in advance, but the crowd is maybe 2,500, as everyone is seated on the floor or short risers on just two sides of the ring. Quite frankly, I’m surprised that they are running in this small of a venue the day after Wrestle Kingdom. Outside of the four-way Rambo, no matches were announced in advance. Chris Charlton, Walker Stewart and Rocky Romero provided commentary. This is apparently a new venue for NJPW.
1. Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Ryusuke Taguchi to retain the IWGP TV Title at 5:38. Taguchi took the mic and challenged Tanahashi to make this a title match, and Tanahashi quickly agreed. Tanahashi got Taguchi to run the ropes at the bell until he was winded, then Hiroshi rolled him up for a nearfall at 2:00. (That would have been hilarious if he got the win there.) Taguchi hit a corner plancha to the floor. In the ring, Taguchi hit some snap suplexes, then a running buttbump for a nearfall at 4:30. The back of Taguchi’s green pants have been pulled down, so his red underwear is visible. They traded rollups. He pulled down Tanahashi’s pants on a sunset flip attempt to expose Hiroshi’s underwear. However, Tanahashi ignored it, got a rollup and the pin. Adequate.
* The arena went dark and a video played on a screen. Very cinematic mini-movie of a car pulling up and we don’t initially see the man’s face. He finally gets out of the car, dressed in a suit-and-tie, and it’s Matt Riddle. He challenged Tanahashi to a match. In the arena, Hiroshi grabbed the mic and accepted. He added “I have no idea who that guy is so I guess I need to go do my homework.”
2. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Kaito Kiyomiya and Ryohei Oiwa at 7:38. These teams didn’t meet in World Tag League as Oiwa/Kaito were 2-5 in the A Block while Bishamon was 4-2-1 in the B Block (and eventual winners.) Yoshi-Hashi and Oiwa opened. Stewart said the No. 1 contenders for the tag titles are up in the air right now. Kaito entered at 4:00 and hit some dropkicks. Goto hit a clothesline and they were both down. Bishamon hit the Shoto team slam to pin Oiwa. Surprisingly short but it was fine.
3. “Guerrillas of Destiny” El Phantasmo and Hikuleo (w/Jado) defeated Oskar Leube and Yuto Nakashima at 8:10. It was announced that this is the “send-off” match for the Young Lions, so they are leaving on excursion, and the crowd gave them a nice applause. The Young Lions attacked at the bell. Yuto put ELP in a Boston Crab. The tall Hikuleo and equally tall Leube entered at 3:00 and traded forearm strikes. Hikuleo hit a suplex for a nearfall. Leube hit an impressive dropkick. Yuto and ELP got back in and traded forearm strikes at 6:00. They traded rollup attempts, as Stewart said this is the first time these two have been in the ring together. ELP hit an airplane spin for a nearfall. Hikuleo nailed a chokeslam on Leube, then one on Yuto. ELP then hit his springboard moonsault across both men for the pin. Fun match.
* As everyone was leaving the ring, Chase Owens jumped in the ring and nailed a package piledriver on El Phantasmo. He got on the mic and challenged them for the tag titles. He said his partner will be Kenta. Hikuleo grabbed the mic and accepted.
4. Shota Umino, El Desperado, Master Wato, Tama Tonga, Togi Makabe, and Tomoaki Honma defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo at 9:14. Romero acknowledged that Tama Tonga indicated a day ago he will be leaving Japan and will be returning to the United States. All 12 brawled at the bell. Wato hit a head-scissors takedown. Desperado fought with long-time teammate Kanemaru. The HoT began working over Honma. Togi made the hot tag at 4:30 and he hit a series of punches in the corner on EVIL.
Yujiro hit a Helluva Kick on Togi. Ren and Shota got in and fought each other, with Shota hitting a basement dropkick for a nearfall at 6:30. Shota hit his Moxley-style elbow strikes to the side of Ren’s head. Everyone started fighting in the ring again. Togo got his wire and he choked Shota. Tama nailed the Tongan Twist on EVIL. Sho hit a spear on Desperado. Wato hit a top-rope diving forearm on Sho. Shota hit a pop-up European Uppercut on Togo, then a Death Rider double-arm DDT on Togo for the pin.
* Immediately after the bell, Narita hit Shota with the push-up bar again, and the entire HoT beat up the babyfaces. EVIL hit a low blow uppercut on Tama, then the Everything is Evil uranage on Tama. EVIL handcuffed Tama, pulled out scissors, and cut off a big chunk of Tama’s hair! The crowd gasped at this assault. EVIL held the NEVER Openweight Title and stood with one foot on Tama’s chest. So, it’s clear who is Tama’s next opponent. “We just can’t have nice things when the House of Torture is around,” Romero said.
5. “United Empire” Henare, Jeff Cobb, TJP, Francesco Akira, and Will Ospreay defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd, Drilla Moloney, and David Finlay (w/Gedo) via disqualification at 7:39. TJP is dressed normal tonight, unlike a day ago when he wore a monster mask; he still isn’t smiling and looks a bit sinister, and he has red eyes. The UE came out first, and they attacked the BCWD as they walked to the ring. They brawled up the entrance ramp and toward the walls far from ringside. Akira climbed the wall and dove maybe 15 feet onto everyone below at 1:00.
In the ring, Ospreay hit a springboard forearm on Finlay. Henare hit a double clothesline. Coughlin hit an impressive belly-to-belly suplex on Henare. Coughlin hit a gut-wrench suplex on TJP at 3:30. The ref got bumped. Henare hit a spinning back fist that dropped Coughlin. Connors shoved the ref, so the ref shoved him back! Connors got livid and speared the referee at 5:23. “The first big fine of 2024!” Romero said. Kidd hit a suplex on Cobb. Walker said a new referee was coming out. (Spearing a ref isn’t a DQ?) Kidd bit Akira on the head and the new ref admonished him. Akira hit a huracanrana on Finlay. Gabe was heavily bleeding; I don’t think that was intentional. The War Dogs began throwing chairs into the ring and ripping apart the guardrail, and finally this new referee called for the bell.
* Everyone kept brawling after the bell. Ospreay hit an Oscutter on Finlay. Gedo hit a low blow on Ospreay. TJP sprayed red mist into Finlay’s eyes. Ospreay tossed Gedo through a table set up in the corner. Ospreay got on the mic and said the UE is still standing. Ospreay said his last match for NJPW is on Feb. 11, and he will stand side-by-side with his brothers in a five-on-five match against the BCWD, and he is letting Finlay pick the rules. Finlay got on the mic and said Ospreay must be really stupid for letting him pick the rules. Finlay said it would be fought in a STEEL CAGE. This is apparently the first cage match in New Japan in 20 years, which I find mind-blowing.
* A commercial aired saying that NJPW will hold the “Windy City Riot” at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago on Friday, April 12. I might have to burn a vacation day and go! The commentators were thrilled, saying they knew they needed to run in a bigger building after selling out their last time in Chicago.
6. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Taka Michinoku, Yuya Uemura, Douki, and Taichi defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Bushi, Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu Takahashi at 8:48. Uemura and Tsuji opened, and Yota hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. Yuya hit an enzuigiri. Douki and Hiromu entered and traded fast reversals. Sanada entered at 3:30 and hit a dropkick on Naito. He tied Yota in the Paradise Lock, then he hit a swinging neckbreaker on Nato. Taichi hit a Helluva Kick on Shingo at 5:30; Shingo dropped Taichi with a shoulder tackle. Shingo’s left arm is heavily taped and I don’t thnk that was the case at Wrestle Kingdom. LIJ got Taka in the ring and hit stereo basement dropkicks. Taka nailed the Michinoku Driver to pin Bushi! Charlton went nuts that Taka actually got a pin! Disappointingly short.
* Sanada got on the mic and said Just 5 Guys won the match and he asked LIJ to leave; he’s done that before.
7. Taiji Ishimori defeated Toru Yano, Yoh, and Great-O-Khan in a four-way to win the King of Pro Wrestling 2024 Title at 10:00. This is a pinfalls-only scramble match. Whoever scores the last pinfall before the 10-minute mark will be the champion. We have a countdown clock in the lower right corner of the screen. Yoh and Ishimori traded rollup attempts. Ishimori hit a Frankensteiner for a nearfall. Yoh pinned Yano at 3:20 (so, he must hold on for another six minutes to retain.) GOK hit a Tombstone Piledriver on Yano for a nearfall at 6:00. O-Khan hit an Eliminator/modified chokeslam for a nearfall but Yoh made the save.
O-Khan nailed an Eliminator to pin Yoh at 8:05. He pinned Yoh again for no apparent reason; the commentators were perplexed why he did it. (It’s not most pinfalls, it’s who has the last pinfall!) Ishimori hit a low blow, rolled up O-Khan, and pinned him at 9:02! O-Khan chased Ishimori. He finally grabbed Yano, rolled him in the ring and tried to pin him, but Ishimori broke up the pinfall. O-Khan again chased Ishimori, but the time limit expired at 10:00 sharp.
8. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, and Mikey Nicholls defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Jon Moxley, Kazuchika Okada, and Bryan Danielson at 13:46. I have written the babyface team down here in the order they came out. The crowd popped for Moxley’s guitar solo music; with the lineup not announced in advance, he easily could have left already. Moxley has a large bandage on his forehead. The crowd again popped for Danielson, and the commentators said they heard he was already on a flight back to the U.S. to make it to Collision. The four of them posed for a photo together. Now I’m glad they didn’t spoil this surprise with an advanced lineup.
Danielson and Sabre opened and traded quick mat reversals and had a standoff. They traded offense while tied in a knucklelock, including trading kicks to the thighs. Okada and Nicholls entered at 2:30. The babyfaces took turns kicking Mikey in the corner. Haste entered and hit some kicks on Okada. Sabre re-entered and he snapped Okada’s left arm, dragged Okada to the TMDK corner, and the heels took turns working over Okada. Fujita entered and hit a series of forearm strikes. Okada hit a flapjack on Nicholls, and he tagged in Moxley at 6:30 to a huge pop. Moxley rolled to the floor and whipped Fujita into the guardrail. In the ring, Okada backed Mikey into a corner, punched him repeatedly, and bit his forehead, then hit a second-rope superplex.
Haste and Nicholls hit a team neckbreaker on Moxley. Moxley hit a double DDT on them at 8:30, and he tagged in Ishii. Ishii hit a Saito Suplex on Haste for a nearfall. They did a multi-man sleeper spot. Danielson hit a flying knee off the apron to the floor on Sabre. Haste hit a back suplex on Ishii in the ring. Okada hit a dropkick on Fujita, then a neckbreaker over his knee on Haste at 11:00. Haste hit a series of kicks on Ishii, then a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. Moxley and Ishii hit stereo German Suplexes. Okada hit a DDT on Sabre. Ishii hit a hard clothesline on Haste for a nearfall. Fujita hit a flip dive to the floor on Okada. Haste and Nicholls hit their team neckbreaker on Ishii for the pin out of nowhere!! I didn’t see that coming. Walker Stewart immediately said TMDK has to be in line for a shot at the Never Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles.
* Sabre got on the mic and he said he wants another match with Bryan Danielson. Fujita spoke on the mic, and he made the challenge for the six-man tag titles. Okada shouted at him, “You are in no position to challenge me, kid,” and he turned and left…
Final Thoughts: A fun main event and quite a spectacle to see those four team up; I assumed Fujita was there to eat the pin so I was surprised with the sudden conclusion to that match. The biggest takeaways, of course, is that Matt Riddle is coming to NJPW, EVIL has emerged as the next challenger for Tama Tonga, and we’re having a rare cage match in New Japan. No sign of Nic Nemeth here, though.
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