By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “Road to The New Beginning”
January 19, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
Chris Charlton provided commentary.
1. Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Masatora Yasuda in a Young Lion Cup tournament match. Charlton said this is the first time this tournament has been held since 2019. Basic reversals early on; they are roughly the same height and overall size. Matsumoto tied up the left leg on the mat. Yasuda hit a shotgun dropkick into the corner at 3:30. Matsumoto hit a bodyslam. Yasuda dropped him with a hard slap to the face at 5:30.
Matsumoto again tied up the leg on the mat, and he hit a basement dropkick on the knee, and he applied a half-crab, but Yasuda reached the ropes. Yasuda hit a standing moonsault for a nearfall. (You rarely see a move like that from a Young Lion!) He applied a Boston Crab at 8:00. Matsumoto fought it for a while but eventually tapped out.
Masatora Yasuda defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto at 8:33 to advance.
2. Daiki Nagai vs. Zane Jay in a Young Lion Cup tournament match. They immediately traded forearm strikes. Zane backed him into a corner and hit some chops. He went for a Fujiwara Armbar, but Nagai quickly got a foot on the ropes at 1:00. Zane twisted the left arm, and he applied a cross-armbreaker on the mat. Jay switched to a hammerlock and kept Daiki grounded. They stood up and traded forearm strikes at 3:30.
Nagai stomped on him in the corner. Jay hit a dropkick, and they were both down at 5:30. They got up and traded more forearm strikes, and Nagai hit a spinebuster and locked in a Boston Crab. Callum Newman suddenly appeared and hopped on the apron! He clocked Nagai, and he slid a chair into the ring for Jay! Zane had a devilish smile cross his face, and he smashed the chair over Nagai’s head! The ref saw all of this and called for the bell! It looks like the United Empire has taken a Young Lion under their wings! The members of the Unbound Company (formerly the Unaffiliated Bullet Club) ran in for the save.
Daiki Nagai defeated Zane Jay via DQ at 7:19 to advance.
3. “House of Torture” EVIL, Douki, Dick Togo, Yujiro Kanemaru, and Ren Narita vs. Yoh, Desperado, Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, and Master Wato. Desperado and Douki opened. Yoh entered; Yano also got in the ring, and he briefly argued with Yoh. It was a setup for some comedy stuff, though. Togo and EVIL hit a team shoulder tackle on Yoh at 3:00, and Togo hit a senton for a nearfall. The HoT worked over Yoh in their corner. Wolf entered at 5:00 and hit a clothesline on Narita, then a snap suplex and an elbow drop for a nearfall.
Narita tied up Wolf’s leg on the mat. Wolf did his Judo Throw on Narita. Wato got a hot tag to enter for the first time at 7:00, and he dropped Narita with a roundhouse kick to the chest. Togo, from the floor, tripped Wato, allowing the HoT to begin working over Wato. The ref shoved Togo. Togo got some rollups on Wato. Wato applied the Vendeval (submission hold around the neck), and Togo tapped out. Acceptable.
Yoh, Desperado, Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, and Master Wato defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Douki, Dick Togo, Yujiro Kanemaru, and Ren Narita at 8:13.
4. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young, Jake Lee, and Callum Newman vs. “The Unbound Company” Gedo, Hiromu Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji. This is a rematch from Sunday’s show. All ten brawled at the bell. Shingo and O-Khan fought in the ring while the others peeled off into the crowd. O-Khan hit his Mongolian Chops. Lee and Tsuji got in the ring and traded forearm strikes at 4:00. Yota dove through the ropes and crashed onto Jake.
In the ring, Yota hit a Stinger Splash, but he missed the Marlowe Crash. Lee immediately hit a DDT at 6:00, and they were both down. Akira and Hiromu entered and immediately traded chops. Ishimori and Hiromu hit stereo kicks on Akira. Ishimori hit a jumping knee to the jaw. Hiromu hit a sit-out powerbomb on Akira at 8:30, and they were both down. Gedo tagged in for the first time and hit some jab punches on Akira. Callum struck Gedo with a running knee to the sternum. Callum hit an Overkill pop-up knee strike to the sternum (David Finlay’s move!) on Gedo. Akira hit a swinging sidewalk slam for the pin on Gedo. Okay.
“United Empire” Great-O-Khan, Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young, Jake Lee, and Callum Newman defeated “The Unbound Company” Gedo, Hiromu Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, Shingo Takagi, and Yota Tsuji at 9:49.
5. Kosei Fujita vs. Sho. Sho came out first and slid a chair into the ring. Sho attacked from behind; Fujita still had his thick jacket on. Fujita kicked the chair into Sho’s head. We finally got a bell at 00:49 to officially begin. They immediately brawled to the floor and whipped each other into the guardrails. In the ring, Fujita hit a running Penalty Kick for a nearfall. They again fought to the floor, where Sho struck Fujita repeatedly with a chair at 3:00; he got a nearfall in the ring. Fujita hit a leg lariat to the chest, and they were both down. He tied up Sho on the mat.
Sho hit a spear, and they were both down at 6:00. He grabbed his wrench, but the ref confiscated it. Sho pushed Fujita into the ref, then he hit a low-blow uppercut on Kosei. Sho grabbed his flat metal sheet, swung, and missed. Kosei grabbed it and repeatedly struck Sho with it. The ref saw it and called for the bell. Two DQs in one show?
Sho defeated Kosei Fujita via DQ at 7:13/official time of 6:24.
* Robbie Eagles dragged Yoshinobu Kanemaru to the ring, and our next match was immediately underway!
6. Robbie Eagles vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Eagles was in charge early on. Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick to the knee and immediately targeted the left leg. Kanemaru hit an inverted DDT at 2:30. He sprayed alcohol in Eagles’ eyes, rolled him up, and got the pin! Yeah, it really was that short!
Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Robbie Eagles at 3:22.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa vs. Boltin Oleg and “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles. I believe this is the first title defense for TMDK, who won these belts at Wrestle Kingdom. Goto and Sabre opened; these two have danced a lot in the past year. Bishamon hit a shoulder tackle on Sabre. Zack hit a Pele Kick on Yoshi-Hashi’s left shoulder at 2:30. Oiwa tagged in and targeted Y-H’s left arm.
TMDK began working over Yoshi-Hashi in their corner. Hartley hit an elbow drop. Sabre went for a Rings of Saturn-style double armbar, and he switched to a cross-armbreaker, but Yoshi-Hashi got to the ropes at 5:00. Oiwa hit a splash to the mat and also tied up the left arm. Oleg got a hot tag and hit a splash in the corner on Hartley at 7:00. Hartley hit a clothesline on Boltin, but he missed a massive senton. Boltin got Hartley up in his arms, flipped him around, and hit the gutwrench suplex! That is a BIG man to do that to!
Boltin and Hartley hit stereo clotheslines with neither going down, so they switched to trading chops. Hartley finally hit the senton at 8:30. Sabre tagged back in and got a nearfall on Oleg. He hit some Penalty Kicks to Boltin’s chest but only got a one-count. Oleg dropped him with one hard chop. Sabre fired back with a series of European Uppercuts. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex! He went for a Vader Bomb, but Sabre got his knees up to block it. Sabre rolled him up for a nearfall.
Oleg dropped Oiwa with a shoulder tackle. Sabre applied a front guillotine choke at 11:00, but Oleg escaped and turned it into a suplex. He set up for the Kamikaze, but Sabre escaped and rolled him up for a believable nearfall. Zack hit a basement dropkick to the head. Sabre again applied a cross-armbreaker, but Oleg hit a powerbomb to escape at 12:30. Oiwa and Goto got back in, and Hirooki hit a hard clothesline. Bishamon set up for a Magic Killer, but Sabre made the save. Sabre hit an enzuigiri on Goto.
Oiwa hit a frog splash on Goto for a nearfall at 14:00, but Oleg made the save. Oiwa hit a back suplex on Goto for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi hit a superkick on Oiwa, and Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee on Oiwa. Bishamon set up for the Shoto team slam, but it was broken up. Oleg hit an F5 on Sabre! He hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Hartley! This crowd was going nuts. Oleg set up for Kamikaze, but Oiwa escaped, and Oiwa hit a German Suplex on Hartley!
Oiwa dropped Goto with a clothesline, then he nailed a Doctor Bomb for a believable nearfall at 16:30. This has been insanely good. Oiwa hit a discus clothesline on Goto for a nearfall. Goto hit a clothesline to the back of Oiwa’s head. Goto’s team each hit Oiwa in the corner. Oleg hit his splash to Oiwa’s chest. Goto hit the neckbreaker over his knee to pin Oiwa! New champions! That was really, really good.
Boltin Oleg, Hirooki Goto, and Yoshi-Hashi defeated “TMDK” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, and Ryohei Oiwa to win the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Titles at 18:08.
* Yuto-Ice and Oskar were shown seated in the front row, interested in seeing who they will be facing next!
8. Yuya Uemura and Shota Umino vs. Taichi and Tomohiro Ishii to become No. 1 contenders for the IWGP Tag Team Titles. Yuya and Ishii opened in an intense lockup; Ishii still has tape on his (previously separated) right shoulder. Yuya hit an armdrag and a dropkick. Shota and Taichi entered and traded kicks. Taichi hit a series of Mafia Kicks; Shota dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Shota backed Taichi into a corner and hit a series of strikes and chops. Ishii and Shota traded chops, with Ishii no-selling them. Ishii dropped him in the corner with a chop to the throat as the 5:00 call was spot-on.
They went to the floor, where Ishii whipped Yuya into the guardrail. Taichi and Shota also fought on the floor. Taichi and Ishii began working over Shota in their corner. Shota hit a dropkick on Taichi, and they were both down at 8:30. Yuya made the hot tag, and he bodyslammed Taichi. On the floor, Yuya whipped Ishii into the guardrail. Charlton reiterated that Ishii was recommended to have surgery on that shoulder, but Ishii has decided to gut it out.
In the ring, Taichi hit a spin kick to Yuya’s ear in the corner at 11:30. Yuya tied up Taichi’s left arm on the mat. Shota and Yuya took turns working over Taichi in the ring. Ishii finally got back in at 14:30. Shota accidentally hit an enzuigiri on Yuya. Taichi accidentally kicked Ishii! Suddenly, all four were down. Shota hit a top-rope superplex on Taichi, and Yuya immediately hit a frog splash at 16:00. Shota and Yuya hit a back suplex on Ishii. Yuya hit a German Suplex with a high bridge on Taichi for a nearfall. Taichi sat down for a folding press and a believable nearfall. He hit a Saito Suplex on Yuya for a nearfall at 18:00.
Yuya hit an enzuigiri on Taichi. Shota and Ishii tagged back in, and they traded forearm strikes, with Ishii dropping him with a stiff blow. Ishii hit a second-rope superplex at 20:00. Shota hit a shotgun dropkick; Ishii popped up and hit a shoulder tackle and a release German Suplex, and they were both down. Ishii had a trickle of blood on his chest. Yuya and Shota hit stereo dropkicks on Ishii. Ishii hit a brainbuster on Shota. Yuya hit a butterfly brainbuster on Ishii! Shota hit a clothesline on Taichi, and suddenly all four were down again at 23:00.
Ishii dropped Shota with a clothesline for a nearfall. Shota planted Ishii with a DDT! Ishii hit a hard clothesline on Shota at 25:00. Ishii hit a thudding headbutt on Yuya; Yuya returned a headbutt that dropped Ishii. Shota hit a running knee on Ishii, then a standing powerbomb on Ishii for a nearfall, as Taichi made the save. Ishii had a busted nose now. Shota dropped Ishii with a hard clothesline for a nearfall. Shota hit another running knee on Ishii. This crowd was LOUD. Shota hit an enzuigiri on Taichi. Ishii hit a sliding clothesline on Shota for a nearfall at 27:30.
Taichi flipped Yuya to the floor. Ishii hit a piledrive ron Shota for a believable nearfall! Yuya hit a huracanrana on Ishii. Yuya set up for the Deadbolt on Taichi, but Taichi blocked it. Yuya flipped Taichi, then he hit a dropkick on Ishii. Ishii hit an enzuigiri on Yuya. Shota hit a decapitating clothesline on Ishii, then the Second Chapter (Snow Plow driver) to pin Ishii! What a match! Taichi got up, shook hands with both of his opponents, and hugged them.
Yuya Uemura and Shota Umino defeated Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi at 30:38 to become No. 1 contenders.
* Shota got on the mic and glared at Oskar and Yuto-Ice while saying they are now the next challengers. The champs got into the ring, and Yuto-Ice jawed at them. No punches were thrown. That match will take place Feb. 11.
Final Thoughts: What an outstanding pair of matches to end the show. Just two completely stellar matches. I love Ishii, and that main event was so back-and-forth. I assumed Yuya and Shota were winning, but it didn’t feel like a foregone conclusion either. The six-man tag match was absolutely great, too. I’m disappointed that TMDK lost the belts so quickly, but that was really good action, too. (Can you imagine if those two matches had been on Wrestle Kingdom instead of the forgettable undercard that was actually there?)
I was glad Eagles-Kanemaru was that short. There is no scenario where I want to watch Kanemaru wrestle a 12-minute (or longer!) singles match. He’s just not that interesting to watch. The rest of the undercard was fine. No rest for the wicked! They are back in Korakuen Hall on Tuesday with El Desperado vs. Douki, and Fujita/Eagles vs. Kanemaru/Sho.
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