By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to the New Beginning”
January 30, 2025 in Miyagi, Japan at Sendai SunplazaHall
Streamed live on New Japan World
The lights were low but the ring was really well-lit. This appears to be a small arena. Walker Stewart was back on solo commentary as the show began; we’ll see if anyone joins him later on. Stewart noted that Shoma Kato has injured an ankle and is out of action.
1. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Katsuya Murashima. Oiwa and Yoshi-Hashi opened. Hartley entered and he bodyslammed Murashima at 2:30. He nailed a senton. Murashima hit a dropkick that knocked Hartley down. Y-H got the hot tag and hit the Headhunter (Ace Austin’s Fold) for a nearfall on Jackson. Murashima got in and hit a hip-toss on Oiwa, then a dropkick and a powerslam for a nearfall at 9:30. Katsuya locked in a Boston Crab bu Oiwa made it to the ropes. Murashima applied a cross-armbreaker. Oiwa hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Oiwa applied a hammerlock behind the head, and Katsuya tapped out. I’ve said this before, bu Murashima has the size and charisma to be a major player.
Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Katsuya Murashima at 11:33.
2. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira, and Jeff Cobb vs. Shota Umino, Togi Makabe, Jado, and El Phantasmo. Good to see ELP and Cobb back in the mix; they weren’t on the shows last week. O-Khan and Umino opened and immediately traded rollups for nearfalls, and Shota hit a dropkick. The UE worked over Jado in their corner. ELP got in at 4:30 and traded forearm strikes with Cobb. Cobb hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Jakob got in and hit a missile dropkick on ELP at 7:30. Togi got in and hit a double clothesline. Shota hit a springboard tornado DDT on O-Khan. ELP hit the CR2 (modified Styles Clash) for the pin on Young. Good action. Togi was barely in this one, which was the right call.
Great-O-Khan, Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira, and Jeff Cobb defeated Shota Umino, Togi Makabe, Jado, and El Phantasmo at 8:08.
* Hartley Jackson joined Walker Stewart on commentary. I’ve said this before, but he sounds just like he looks! A very gruff voice with that Australian accent.
3. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Sanada and Taiji Ishimori vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi and Taka Michinoku. Sanada wore a T-shirt that reads “F— 4 Guys.” BCWD attacked from behind, and they immediately brawled to the floor and past the guardrails and into the crowd, with Sanada pairing off with Taichi. Back in the ring, the heels worked over Taka in their corner. Sanada hit a Magic Screw neckbreaker on Taichi at 7:00. Taichi hit a clothesline. Ishimori and Taka got back in, with Taka hitting a running knee for a nearfall, and he applied a Crossface and cranked back on Ishimori’s head. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick at 9:00. Taka hit a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall, but Sanada made the save. Sanada hit a low blow mule kick on Taichi, then one on Taka. Ishimori immediately rolled up Taka for the cheap pin.
Sanada and Taiji Ishimori defeated Taichi and Taka Michinoku at 9:56.
4. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomohiro Ishii and Tomoaki Honma. LIJ will get their tag title rematch against the Young Bucks on Feb. 11, and they attacked Honma and Ishii to open. Honma hit a DDT on Naito. Ishii backed Naito against the ropes and repeatedly chopped him. Ishii no-sold Hiromu’s chops, and he dropped Takahashi with one chop. They traded chops, and Ishii hit a suplex at 5:00, then a back suplex. Ishii sent him flying with a Pounce; Takahashi hit a shotgun dropkick, and they were both down.
Honma and Naito got back in and traded chops, and Honma missed a Kokeshi. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Ishii hit a German Suplex on Naito, and he held Tetsuya in place so Honma could hit the Kokeshi! Honma hit a flying headbutt on Naito for a nearfall at 8:30. Naito got a Destino out of nowhere, and he applied a leg lock submission hold around Honma’s neck, and Honma eventually tapped out. That topped my mild expectations. Naito and Ishii continued to trade blows afterwards.
Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi defeated Tomohiro Ishii and Tomoaki Honma at 9:37.
5. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Bushi, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney. Yota and Kidd opened in an intense lockup. Drilla tied up Yota, so Walker asked Hartley about going from the junior division to the heavyweight division. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee at 5:00. Shingo got in and bodyslammed Connors. Shingo and Drilla traded blows. Drilla hit a DDT for a nearfall. Shingo hit a Gory Bomb at 7:30 and they were both down. Connors and Bushi tagged in, with Clark hitting a powerslam. Bushi dove through the ropes onto Clark. Moloney hit a Spinebuster on Shingo. Connors and Moloney hit front-and-back spears on Bushi. Connors immediately hit the No Chaser spike DDT on Bushi for the pin. Good action.
Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney defeated Bushi, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji at 10:09.
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Boltin Oleg, and Toru Yano vs. “House of Torture” Sho, Ren Narita, and Yujiro Takahashi for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles. The HoT came out first (still no sign of EVIL!) and were attacked by the champs, and I started my stopwatch at first contact. They fought on the floor. In the ring, the HoT stomped on Tanahashi and the bell rang to officially begin. Yano dragged Yujiro to the floor and whipped him into chairs. Ren and Oleg also fought on the floor, with Ren jabbing a chair into Oleg’s gut. Yano got back into the ring at the 19-count at 4:30, but Yujiro worked him over. Yano hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Ren. Walker Stewart talked here about EVIL quitting NJPW.
Sho tried a spear on Oleg, but Oleg didn’t budge. Oleg hit a double shoulder tackle, and he hit a bodyslam on Ren for a nearfall at 7:30. Oleg nailed a Vader Bom on Ren, and Tanahashi followed with his second-rope somersault senton for a nearfall on Ren. Yujiro hit a low blow falling headbutt on Tanahashi’s groin at 10:00. Tanahashi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on one heel, then a Twist and Shout neckbreaker on another. Oleg hit another belly-to-belly suplex. Yano hit double low blows! Tanahashi hit a Sling Blade clothesline. Yoshinobu Kanemaru appeared at ringside. Yano hit a powerbomb on Sho for a nearfall, but Kanemaru tossed a Young Lion onto the ref! Kanemaru sprayed alcohol in Yano’s eyes! Sho hit a low blow uppercut on Yano, rolled him up, and scored the pin! New champions!
Sho, Ren Narita, and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Toru Yano, Boltin Oleg, and Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles at 12:36 (official time of about 11:55).
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” and Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles, and Kosei Fujita vs. Hirooki Goto, El Desperado, and Yoh. Hartley was amazed that Goto has never held the world title. Despe and Fujita opened. Yoh and Robbie got in and traded offense, with Robbie getting the crowd to chant for him. In a fun spot, Eagles chopped Yoh in cadence with the crowd’s responses to his “Robbie Robbie Robbie!” shout. Sabre and Goto fought on the floor at 5:30 and traded forearm strikes and European Uppercuts. In the ring, Sabre tied a leg lock around the neck. Yoh got in and tied up Goto’s left arm and stomped on Goto’s shoulder, and TMKD kept Hirooki in their corner. Goto finally hit a double clothesline on Eagles and Fujita at 10:00. Desperado hit a suplex on Fujita for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes while holding onto each other’s left wrist.
Yoh hit a Falcon Arrow on Eagles at 13:00. Fujita hit a dropkick. Despe hit a spinebuster on Fujita and they were both down. Goto and Sabre got back in and traded more forearm strikes, and Goto hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Sabre applied a Fujiwara Armbar and cranked back on the limb, but Yoh made the save. Fujita hit a springboard dropkick on Desperado. This has been really good. Goto hit a decapitating clothesline on Fujita, then his neckbreaker over his knee on Sabre at 15:30. Goto got a Russian Leg Sweep for a nearfall. Sabre hit a Pele Kick to the left shoulder. Goto got some believable nearfalls, but Sabre rolled him over, leaned back for added pressure, and scored the pin.
Zack Sabre Jr, Robbie Eagles, and Kosei Fujita defeated Hirooki Goto, El Desperado, and Yoh at 16:56.
* Sabre got on the mic and said they are “Going to paint the whole world orange.” He said a few lines in Japanese, too.
Final Thoughts: A really good show. That was a sharp main event. Goto scored a pin on Sabre last week, so it was stressed that Sabre wanted that win back. Just a lot to like here. Both LIJ matches worked for me. Kidd has just moved to another level, and that was the case even before his eye-popping match against Kenny Omega. The return of ELP and Cobb helped make that match better than it should have been, too.
The title change was unexpected, but the match wasn’t really good; I would actually say it was on the low end of expectations. That said, Oleg has been carrying Yano and Hiroshi for months. Hopefully he can move on to an actual singles feud now. So, I think the title change is a good thing. The Sanada-Taichi feud feels ice cold because this fight should have happened in November and December. It’s just hard to get excited about “Just 4 Guys” when only two are left standing.
In the movie “Major League,” Bob Uecker turned to his commentary partner for some insight, but he basically added nothing. Uecker quipped that he was the best color man in all of baseball. With Uecker’s recent passing, I was reminded of that moment in that movie while watching this show. Several times, Walker Stewart cued up Hartley to add commentary, but Hartley just didn’t say much. Many times, it felt like we still had solo commentary. I’ll still gladly take a second guy in the booth, but Hartley really kept his remarks to a minimum. Luckily, Walker is so good at such a young age, he was able to keep it going.
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