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2/4 NJPW ROAD TO THE NEW BEGINNING IN TOKYO, JAPAN REPORT

2/4/24 Results for New Japan's Road to The New Beginning from Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Japan:

Prior to the event, Jeff Cobb was injured and taken off the card.    They did an angle where War Dogs attacked Jeff Cobb.   Great O-Khan will replace Cobb in his match against Alex Coughlin.

1 - Shota Umino, El Desperado, YOSHI-HASHI, Togi Makabe and Boltin Oleg vs. SHO, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi and EVIL

Kanemaru hits Makabe with a Suntory Surprise and EVIL hits  Everything is Evil.

EVIL pins Makabe 

After the match, EVIL badmouths Umino and he spray painted the NEVER Openweight belt with black paint.    Umino gets angry and chases after EVIL.

2 - Chase Owens, KENTA and Taiji Ishimori vs. El Phantasmo, Hikuleo and Tomoaki Honma

Owens hits Honma with the IWGP Tag belt then follows with a Package Piledriver.

Owens pins Honma

3 - Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste, Mikey Nichols and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. YOH, Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomohiro Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi 

Taguchi tries for a Muta Lock on ZSJ but he gets trapped in a rear naked choke.   

ZSJ taps out Taguchi.

4 - TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi and SANADA vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito

Yuya hit a Frankensteiner on Tsuji and quickly grabbed a cross arm breaker.

Tsuji tapped immediately.

Los Ingobernales looked shocked at the result. 

5 - Alex Coughlin vs. Great O-Khan

O-Khan hit an Eliminator and pins Coughlin.

6 - Gabe Kidd vs. HENARE 

Kidd comes out looking serious, no swearing or screaming.

They tear into each other.   HENARE was already bleeding from the mouth.  Kidd hit a lariat and both men fell into the crowd into the lap of the fans.    So dangerous.   

They brawled into the crowd.   They traded kicks and strikes.   HENARE almost caved in Kidd’s chest with thrust kicks.   

Awesome back and forth match.  HENARE hit a flying headbutt.   Both men collapsing to the match.    The referee counts them out.    

Double knockout.  No contest.

Good strong style match.    I wish it would have been for a title.   For both men to beat each other for no reason seems silly.  They are trying to build to the cage match next week which is Will Ospreay’s last match.  But this stiff match seemed unnecessary especially with Cobb getting injured.   

7 - Callum Newman vs. David Finlay

Expected a squash and it was, but Newman got a lot of offense in.

Finlay pins Newman after an Overkill (Suplex into a knee strike)

8 - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship:   Clark Conners and Drilla Moloney vs. Francesco Akira and TJP

Good match.   The announcers kept selling that TJP was angling for leadership of United Empire and ignoring the Jr. Tag Team Titles.   Moloney had his left arm taped up.    

Moloney hit a Drilla Killa on Akira.   They were about to hit Full Clip on TJP.   TJP sprays red mist into Conners eyes.   Conners spears Moloney by mistake.  TJP hits a Final Cut with Akira’s Double Stomp on Moloney.   Two count.    All four men lay out each other in the ring.   War Dogs hit a 2X2 on TJP.  Two count.   A bunch of near falls.   Moloney pulls out a fork which distracts Akira.   Conners hits a spear on Akira.   War Dogs drop Akira with a Hit and Run and a Full Clip.

Conners pins Akira.

Conners and Moloney win the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

The rest of Bullet Club come out to attack.   Cobb and O-Khan make the save but War Dogs beat them all down.

All the guys who are staying in Japan were laid out by War Dogs.   Even if they win the cage match, it will because Ospreay was there.  Ospreay will leave Japan looking strong.   New Japan will need to build United Empire back up again.

After the match, Finlay explained the rules of the cage match, which will be similar to War Games.   Not very creative.   But it will be the first cage match in New Japan in years.

Thank you for reading.

 

 

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