By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to The New Beginning”
February 2, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
As usual, Korakuen Hall seemed full. Chris Charlton provided English commentary. Everyone seems to step up for shows here. Drilla Moloney joined him on commentary for the final matches.
1. “The Unbound Co.” Daiki Nagai and Yuto-Ice and Oskar vs. Masatora Yasuda and Shoma Kato and Yuya Uemura. TUC attacked, and we’re underway! The Young Lions opened, with Daiki hitting a hip-toss on Yasuda for a nearfall. He slammed Yasuda’s knee into the mat. Oskar entered and stomped on Yasuda at 3:00. Umino entered and hit a basement dropkick on Yuto-Ice, then a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Oskar. Oskar hit a double clothesline at 5:00.
Yuto-Ice got back in and hit his roundhouse kicks in the corner on Yuya. Yuya hit a back suplex on Yuto-Ice. Daiki got back in and hit a basement dropkick on Uemura and put Yuya in a Boston Crab at 7:00, but Uemura quickly got to the ropes. Oskar grabbed Yasuda and violently shook him in a sleeper. Shota hit a clothesline as Yuya was hitting a Dragon Suplex, and Yuya pinned Nagai. Good action. They all continued to brawl after the bell.
Yuya Uemura, Shota Umino, and Masatora Yasuda defeated Daiki Nagai, Oskar, and Yuto-Ice at 8:41.
2. “House of Torture” Douki, Dick Togo, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yoh, Toru Yano, Aaron Wolf, and Master Wato. The HoT came out first; they attacked the babyfaces in the aisle, and everyone brawled on the floor. (I always start the stopwatch at first contact or the bell, whichever is first.) Kanemaru and Yoh got in the ring, and we got a bell at 00:41 to officially begin. The HoT worked over Yano in their corner. Aaron entered and hit a suplex at 5:00.
Narita grapevined Wolf’s leg and applied a heel hook on the mat. Wolf hit a DVD, but he sold the pain in his knee. Wato entered at 6:30 and hit a bulldog on Douki, then a Crucifix Driver for a nearfall. The heels took turns hitting moves in the corner on Wato. Wato tied Togo in the Vendeval (Naomi’s “Starstruck”) submission hold, and Togo tapped out. Wato and Douki argued some more after the bell.
Yoh, Toru Yano, Aaron Wolf, and Master Wato defeated Douki, Dick Togo, Ren Narita, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 8:48/official time of 8:07.
3. “United Empire” Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira, and Callum Newman vs. “The Unbound Co.” Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, and Gedo. TUC attacked, and we’re underway! They all brawled to the floor. Hiromu fought with Akira. Newman and Finlay fought up one of the short bleachers. They got in the ring and we had the bell to officially begin at 1:36. Young hit some jab punches on Gedo as they fought in the ring. Jakob hit some European Uppercuts, and the UE worked Gedo over. Akira hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall at 4:00.
Finlay finally tagged in at 6:00 and hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Callum, then he repeatedly punched Newman in the corner. Hiromu and Akira traded chops. The UE worked over Hiromu. Finlay clotheslined Newman over the top rope to the floor at 10:30. Hiromu hit a clothesline on Akira, then a Time Bomb (DVD) for a nearfall. Akira hit an enzuigiri on Hiromu; Hiromu fired back with a pop-up powerbomb for a nearfall at 12:00. Akira hit a German Suplex on Hiromu for a nearfall, then the Fireball (running knees to the back of the head), then the swinging sideslam to pin Hiromu! Young put on Hiromu’s jacket, and they continued to beat him up.
Jakob Austin Young, Francesco Akira, and Callum Newman defeated Hiromu Takahashi, David Finlay, and Gedo at 13:04/official time of 11:28.
4. “United Empire” Henare, Great-O-Khan, Zane Jay, and Jake Lee vs. “The Unbound Co.” Yota Tsuji, Robbie X, Drilla Moloney, and Taiji Ishimori. Zane and Ishimori opened. I’ll reiterate that Zane now is wearing green-and-black trunks that seem to indicate he’s no longer a Young Lion. Zane hit a Thesz Press and some punches. O-Khan entered and put a Claw on Ishimori’s forehead. Lee put a thin plastic dentist’s glove on and tried to shove his hand in Ishimori’s mouth! Ishimori hit a dropkick to escape that.
Yota entered and hit an enzuigiri at 4:00. He battled Henare, hitting a Flatliner. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee on Zane and a Stomp on Lee’s head. Lee hit a back suplex on Yota at 5:30. Robbie X entered for the first time and battled Henare, and Robbie hit a second-rope missile dropkick. Drilla hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor. Robbie hit a top-rope corkscrew splash to the floor. Ishimori stood on Drilla’s shoulders and hit a frog splash on Henare.
Robbie hit the X Express (top-rope Phoenix Splash) on Henare for a nearfall, but the UE made the save. Robbie went for a Lethal Injection, but Henare blocked it. Henare hit a decapitating clothesline. Drilla and Zane entered at 9:00, and Jay hit a fallaway slam with a bridge for a nearfall. Nice! Drilla and Zane traded chops, and Moloney hit a powerbomb, then the Drilla Killa (swinging piledriver) for the pin. I’ll reiterate that no one in NJPW has ever kicked out of a Drilla Killa.
Yota Tsuji, Robbie X, Drilla Moloney, and Taiji Ishimori defeated Henare, Great-O-Khan, Zane Jay, and Jake Lee at 10:26.
* Next up is three consecutive matches of TMDK against the new NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Champions.
5. Boltin Oleg vs. Hartley Jackson. They charged at each other at the bell and hit some shoulder blocks with neither going down. They rolled to the floor and continued to charge at each other, like two massive bulls! They went onto the landing halfway up the seating area at Korakuen Hall and again charged at each other. They switched to trading chops. Oleg hit a shoulder tackle that sent Jackson backwards onto the theater-style chairs at 2:30! Ouch!
They brawled their way back to ringside. Finally back in the ring, Oleg hit a suplex at 5:30, then a splash to the mat for a nearfall. Hartley hit a senton, but Oleg grabbed him, flipped Hartley around in his arms, and hit his gutwrench suplex at 7:00! What power! Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex, and he got Hartley on his shoulders and hit the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for a nearfall at 8:30. Hartley hit a running crossbody block and another senton for a nearfall.
They got up and traded headbutts. Hartley hit the Jagged Edge (DVD) out of nowhere for a nearfall at 10:30. Oleg hit a shotgun dropkick. He set up for another Kamikaze, but Hartley grabbed the ropes to escape. They fought on the ropes in the corner, and Oleg hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. Oleg now hit a second Kamikaze for the clean pin. That was a brawl! “What a fight!” Charlton exclaimed.
Boltin Oleg defeated Hartley Jackson at 12:07.
6. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Yoshi-Hashi. Charlton noted this match will be completely different than the last one. They started trading chops early on. Yoshi-Hashi dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Sabre tied him in a cross-armbreaker in the ropes at 2:30, then he did his signature neck-snap between his ankles on the ring apron. He tied up Yoshi-Hashi on the mat. Yoshi-Hashi hit a running Headhunter (Blockbuster).
They brawled to the floor, where Yoshi-Hashi hit a Rude Awakening standing neckbreaker at 7:30. They got back into the ring, with Yoshi-Hashi in charge. Sabre tied up Yoshi-Hashi’s head and cranked back on the neck. Yoshi-Hashi hit a standing powerbomb at 13:00. He dropped Sabre with a clothesline. Sabre fired back with a Zack Driver, and they were both down. They got up, held each other’s left wrist, and traded forearm strikes.
Yoshi-Hashi hit a pumphandle sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall at 15:30. They got up and traded chops, then traded Mafia Kicks. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Dragon Suplex and a Lungblower to the back and a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall at 18:00. Sabre got a rollup for a nearfall, then a leg lock around the neck. Yoshi-Hashi hit a superkick and a clothesline, and he was fired up. Zack tied him up on the mat with Yoshi-Hashi’s arms behind his back, and Y-H submitted.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Yoshi-Hashi at 20:16.
7. Ryohei Oiwa vs. Hirooki Goto. A feeling-out process to open, and they traded shoulder blocks. Oiwa grounded him in a headlock. Goto clotheslined Oiwa over the top rope to the floor at 3:30. Back in the ring, Goto kept Oiwa grounded in a headlock. He hit a top-rope elbow drop for a nearfall at 6:00 and went back to tying up Ryohei on the mat. They got up and traded blows, and Oiwa hit a senton at 7:30. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee, and they were both down at 9:00. They got up and traded more forearm strikes.
Oiwa dropped him with a clothesline at 10:30, then a back suplex for a nearfall. He hit a frog splash for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall, then a Doctor Bomb for a nearfall at 12:30. Goto avoided a discus clothesline, and he slammed Oiwa, and they were both down. Goto hit the GTW slam for a nearfall. Goto hit the GTR neckbreaker over his knee for the pin. Good match.
Hirooki Goto defeated Ryohei Oiwa at 15:36.
Final Thoughts: A really good show. I truly hadn’t looked at the lineup and wasn’t aware we were getting this trio of singles matches. That said, all three matches went exactly as I expected. I would have given Oiwa a shocking victory in the main event. He’s the future of NJPW. As good a 2025 as Goto had, he’s in his late 40s — this was a huge missed opportunity to put over a younger talent in the main event. A loss wouldn’t have hurt Goto one bit, but it would have been a major boost for the young Oiwa. I’ll go with Sabre vs. Yoshi-Hashi for best and the big bulls, Hartley vs. Oleg, for second, ahead of the main event.
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