By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to The New Beginning”
January 20, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is the consecutive night in this venue. Monday’s show had two stellar matches to conclude the event.
1. Shoma Kato vs. Masatora Yasuda in a Young Lions Cup tournament match. Shoma had a yellow towel tucked into his black trunks; that’s new. He removed it before they started brawling. He tied up Yasuda’s leg on the mat and stomped on him. He hit a suplex for a nearfall at 1:30, and he put Yasuda in a Boston Crab, but Yasuda reached the ropes. Yasuda hit a snap suplex, then another at 4:00. He now applied a Boston Crab, but Kato reached the ropes. Yasuda applied a Lion Tamer (vertical Boston Crab), but Shoma again got to the ropes. Kato locked in a Fujiwara Armbar, and Yasuda tapped out.
Shoma Kato defeated Masatora Yasuda at 6:55 to advance.
2. Katsuya Murashima vs. Daiki Nagai in a Young Lions Cup Tournament match. An intense lockup and feeling-out process to open. The bigger Murashima knocked him down with a shoulder tackle at 2:30. He applied a leg lock around Nagai’s neck. Nagai hit a dropkick at 5:00 but sold the pain in his neck. He hit a monkey-flip that sent Murahsima across the mat. Murashima knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Nagai hit a spinebuster for a nearfall, and he applied a Boston Crab at 7:00. Murashima hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a nearfall. He hit a Bulldog Powerslam and was fired up. Murashima put Nagai in a Boston Crab, and Nagai tapped out.
Katsuya Murashima defeated Daiki Nagai at 9:21 to advance.
3. “Knockout Brothers” Yuto-Ice and Oskar vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and Shota Umino. On Monday, Umino and Yuya Uemura won the main event to become No. 1 contenders to the tag titles. The KO Brothers attacked at the bell, and all four brawled. Oskar beat up Shota on the floor, then got back into the ring. Matsumoto hit a dropkick on Oskar that didn’t knock him down. Oskar hit a backbreaker over his knee. Umino got up onto the apron but was immediately knocked back down to the floor. The champs hit their spin kick-and-piledriver combo and pinned Matsumoto! Yeah, it really was that short.
Yuto-Ice and Oskar defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto and Shota Umino at 1:30.
4. “House of Torture” EVIL, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo vs. Yoh, Toru Yano, Master Wato, and Aaron Wolf. The HoT attacked at the bell, and we’re underway! EVIL and Togo beat up Yano in the ring. Wato hit a backbreaker over his knee on Togo. On the floor, EVIL got a chair and jabbed it into Wato’s stomach at 2:00. He rolled Wato back into the ring and got a nearfall. The HoT worked over Wato on the mat. Narita hit a hard back elbow and got a nearfall at 4:00.
Yoh got a hot tag, and he started hitting Dragonscrew Legwhips. (He is morphing into Tanahashi before our eyes!) He hit a basement dropkick on Gedo’s knee. Yoh hit a flying forearm on Narita. Wolf tagged in for the first time at 6:30 and chopped Narita, then hit a flying elbow drop for a nearfall, then a Judo Throw for a nearfall. The HoT took turns hitting Wolf in a corner, and Togo hit his knife-edge chop to the groin, with Yujiro getting a nearfall at 8:30. Yujiro hit a fisherman’s suplex on Wolf. Aaron grabbed Yujiro’s arm, applied a cross-armbreaker, and Takahashi immediately tapped out.
Yoh, Toru Yano, Master Wato, and Aaron Wolf defeated EVIL, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo at 9:13.
5. “United Empire” Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, and Jakob Austin Young vs. “Unbound Company” Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, Gedo, and Taiji Ishimori. The same match for the third straight day. Once again, Lee and Tsuji opened, and they immediately brawled. Lee stomped on Yota’s head. Gedo entered and choked Callum on the mat at 2:00, and the ref had to peel Gedo off of him. Shingo and O-Khan were brawling at ringside. The UE worked over Gedo in their corner.
Ishimori got a hot tag at 6:30 and battled Akira. Hiromu jumped in and hit a superkick on Akira. Hiromu hit an Ishimori-assisted huracanrana on Jakob. Akira hit a powerbomb on Ishimori. O-Khan tagged in, but Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick on O-Khan. Shingo tagged in at 8:30 and battled O-Khan, but he was selling a rib injury (he does have tape on the left side of his stomach). O-Khan applied a Bear Hug, but Shingo eventually fought free. Those two went to the floor, where O-Khan cracked a chair over Shingo’s ribs! In the ring, Jake Lee hit a Helluva Kick on Shingo and got the pin!
Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, and Jakob Austin Young defeated Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, Gedo, and Taiji Ishimori at 11:46.
6. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles vs. “House of Torture” Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. The HoT came out first, and they started brawling as TMDK approached the ring. I started my stopwatch at first contact, as they looped the ring and kept brawling. Sho and Fujita got in the ring and we had a bell at 1:31 to officially begin. Sho was in charge and stomped on Kosei. Kosei hit a running neckbreaker. Robbie and Kanemaru were still brawling on the floor. Kanemaru tagged in and he bodyslammed Fujita onto the thin mat at ringside at 3:00, then he hit another one.
Sho hit a snap suplex onto the thin mat at ringside, and the ref checked on Fujita. They rolled Kosei back into the ring and kept working him over. Sho wrapped Kosei’s back around the ring post. Kanemaru whipped Fujita into a corner at 7:30 and kept stomping on him. Robbie finally got a hot tag at 9:00 and hit some quick kicks. He hit a 619-style leg sweep on Sho, then running knees in the corner to Sho’s face for a nearfall. Sho hit a spear at 10:30.
Kanemaru tagged back in and hit a tornado DDT on Robbie for a nearfall. Robbie got some rollups for nearfalls, then a back suplex. Fujita tagged back in and hit a dropkick and a bodyslam on Kanemaru, then a springboard dropkick for a nearfall at 12:00. From the floor, Sho struck Fujita in the back with a chair, allowing Kanemaru to get a rollup for a nearfall. Kanemaru put Fujita in a Boston Crab and sat down on his lower back, but Kosei eventually reached the ropes at 14:30. Kanemaru hit a moonsault for a nearfall, then a brainbuster for a nearfall!
Eagles hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread on Kanemaru. Sho went for his Shock Arrow piledriver, but Robbie escaped, and suddenly all four were down at 16:30. Fujita hit a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall on Kanemaru. Kanemaru grabbed the ref to escape a hold. Kanemaru took a swig of whiskey, but Fujita punched him, and the fluid went everywhere. TMDK went for a pin on Kanemaru, but Sho pulled the ref to the floor. Eagles hit a flip dive to the floor on Sho. Meanwhile, Fujita put Kanemaru across his shoulders and slammed him stomach-first to the mat for the pin. Decent action.
Kosei Fujita and Robbie Eagles defeated Sho and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to retain the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles at 18:33.
7. Douki (w/House of Torture) vs. El Desperado for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. Standing switches to open. Desperado rolled to the floor, where the HoT beat him up. One of them whipped Desperado into rows of chairs at 3:00. Douki and Despe fought up the staircase and to the landing area halfway up the seating area. They returned to the ring, but EVIL got in a few quick punches; Douki immediately went for a cover and got a nearfall at 6:00. Douki hit a doublestomp to the gut for another nearfall.
Douki applied the Darkness Stretch (Douki chokey/triangle choke), but Desperado got a foot on the ropes at 7:30. Douki hit a basement dropkick on the knee, then he hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip. The ref got bumped; several HoT guys jumped in the ring and beat down Despe. Aaron Wolf ran in and began tossing around the HoT heels. Master Wato hit a flip dive to the floor onto several heels, and he dragged them to the back. In the ring, Despe hit a brainbuster and a modified Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall at 11:30.
Douki reapplied the Darkness Stretch in the center of the ring. Despe got to the ropes, but Sho was distracting the ref. Desperado applied a Stretch Muffler, but Douki reached the ropes at 14:00. Despe grabbed the flat metal sheet from Sho. Douki grabbed it and hit Despe over the head with it, then he hit his slingshot DDT onto the metal sheet for a nearfall at 15:30. The ref got bumped again! Douki hit an enzuigiri, then a low-blow punt kick! He hit a Dragon Suplex with a high bridge for the tainted pin. Even with all the HoT shenanigans, it was a good match.
Douki defeated El Desperado to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title at 16:30.
* Douki and five members of the House of Torture posed in the ring.
Final Thoughts: Nowhere as good of a show as Monday. The main event was fine. Desperado is clearly a much better worker, but I’m fine with the heel Douki retaining the belt. The junior tag title match was merely okay — the two-on-one beatdown on Fujita went on and on before they finally picked it up in the second half.
NJPW has an Aaron Wolf problem. They put him in a top-tier position literally on day one, and he’s just not anywhere near that level. I had just started watching WCW circa 1993 when the crowds turned on the over-pushed Erik Watts… this is so much worse. The crowds desperately want him to be good… and he’s just not there.
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