PWInsider - WWE News, Wrestling News, WWE

NEMETH VS. FINLAY, RIDDLE VS. TANAHASHI AND MORE: NJPW ROAD TO NEW BEGINNING IN SAPPORO REPORT

New Champions, 2/23/24 Results from New Japan's The New Beginning in Sapporo - from Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan:

1 - Yuji Nagata vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

ZSJ forces Nagata to tap out to a cross arm breaker.

2 - Boltin Oleg, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi and Ren Narita

Narita hits Makabe with his push up bar, then hits a Double Cross (X-Factor).

Narita pins Makabe.

3 - YOH, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb, Francesco Akira, Great O-Khan and Callum Newman

Okada continues his farewell tour and comes to the ring with a robe that changed from white to multi colors with a blue light.    Hirooki Goto and Toru Yano from CHAOS come to the ring with Okada.   Massive pop for Okada.

Great O-Khan taunted Okada with the KOPW Championship.

Newman gets a double superkick from YOH and YOSHI-HASHI.   Ishii stuns Newman with a headbutt.   Okada hits a dropkick and finishes Newman with a Rainmaker.

Okada pins Newman.

After the match, all of CHAOS celebrate in the ring with Okada.  O-Khan posed at ringside with the KOPW Title.   Okada no-sells O-Khan and completely ignores him.   

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

Takagi pins TAKA after a Pumping Bomber.

Uemura and Tsuji continue to fight on the floor.  They will face each other tomorrow in a hair vs. hair match.

5 - IWGP Women's Championship:  Mayu Iwatani vs. Mina Shirakawa

Both Mina and Mayu looked like stars.

The match began quickly and fast.  Mina attacked Mayu's left knee.  Mayu countered with two dropkicks and a suplex with a bridge.  Mina locked in a figure four leglock.   Mayu with a rope break.  Mina hits a Magic Killer with the Mayu's legs on the ropes.   Mayu hits a poisonrana.  They exchange strikes.  

Mayu with a snapmare and a stiff kick to the spine.  Mayu with a release Dragon Suplex then a superkick.  Mayu hits a splash off the top rope.  Two count.  Mina avoids Mayu's moonsault.  Mina with an ezuigiri.   Mina lifted Mayu into an electric chair then dropped her on her knee.  Mina applies the figure four again.  Mayu tries for the ropes, but Mina rolls her back to the middle of the ring.   Mayu finally gets the ropes.  

Mina hits a rolling elbow and a backfist.  Mina hits a DDT.  Two count.  Mina goes for her finisher but Mayu counters into a Tombstone.  Mayu hits a double stomp from the top rope and follows with a moonsault.  Two count.

Mayu goes for a Dragon Suplex, but Mina reverses into a cradle.   Two count.  Mayu hits a Dragon Suplex.  Two count.  Mayu lifts Mina into a German Suplex Position then transitions to a Dragon Suplex.

Mayu pins Mina.

Mayu Iwatani retains the IWGP Women's Championship.

Mina, in tears, bowed to Mayu, both showing respect to each other.

Solid match.   Both women looked good in the ring.   This title deserves to be highlighted on major New Japan cards.  More women as potential challengers also need to have matches on New Japan undercards.  Stardom cannot just be the staging area and have them appear cold on New Japan World.   The audience needs to know who they are.

6 - IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship:  El Desperado vs. SHO

SHO's music plays and Desperado comes out with SHO in a headlock.  Desperado throws him down and drags SHO to the ring.  Desperado hits a back suplex and goes for Numero Dos.   SHO quickly grabs the ropes.   Desperado stomps on his left leg.  SHO goes out of the ring and tries to escape under the ring.   Desperado grabs him out and punches him in the face.   SHO falls into the official's desk, grabs the belt and hits Desperado in the face.   Desperado is almost counted out.  SHO hits a lariat and locks in the Snake Bite.  Desperado gets to the ropes.

SHO hits a Power Breaker.  Two count.  SHO tries for a Shock Arrow but his leg gives out.   Desperado drop kicks him in the leg.  SHO blocks Desperado's back suplex with a knee strike to the face.   Desperado avoids a Shock Arrow and hits a Spinebuster.   SHO goes after Desperado's mask.   Desperado hits a knee breaker and a dragon screw on the left leg.  Desperado goes for a Stretch Muffler and grabs SHO's arms in a Numero Dos.

Lights go out.   Lights back on and Yoshinobu Kanemaru is stomping on Desperado.   Kanemaru holds Desperado while SHO grabs his wrench.  Ryusuke Taguchi makes the save.   Taguchi grabs Kanemaru and drags him back to the locker room.  Desperado throws SHO into the metal ring post.  Then throws him knee first into the post.  Desperado applies Numero Dos.   SHO powers out.  Desperado drops SHO on his head in a reverse tombstone.  Desperado goes for Pinche Loco.  SHO pushes him into the referee, then hits a low blow.  

SHO grabs the belt but Desperado hits him with a right punch.  SHO rolls to the floor.   Desperado goes for a tope suicida but SHO holds up a chair, with Desperado hitting the chair so hard it breaks.  SHO breaks another chair over Desperado's head.  SHO was about to hit Desperado in his spine when the referee grabbed the chair away.   Desperado kicks SHO in the crotch.  Desperado smashes SHO in the head with a chair.  

Both men are out on the floor.

Desperado crawls back into the ring.  SHO struggles to make it back.   Ren Narita appears from under the ring and grabs Desperado in a rear naked choke.

SHO makes it back to the ring.   Desperado is counted out.

SHO wins and becomes the new IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion.  

The announcers said that the terms of the match was that the title could change by countout.

SHO is finally getting a chance with a major title, despite the shenanigans.   That is to be expected from a House of Torture match.  It should be interesting to see if SHO will become the face of the Jr. Division as Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado were. 

7 - NEVER Openweight Championship Match:  Shota Umino vs. EVIL

Umino attacks EVIL at the bell.   Togo interferes immediately. They fight on the floor and Umino is bounced off the guardrail.  EVIL used his normal tricks with Togo to get the advantage on Umino.   Umino hits a DDT on the ring apron.   Umino hits a top rope  dropkick and an Ignition neckbreaker.  Umino applies an STF.   Yujiro Takahashi rings the bell which distracts Umino.   EVIL throws Umino into the referee.  Togo and Yujiro double team Umino.  Yujiro hits Pimp Juice.  EVIL goes for the pin.  Two count.  EVIL goes for his finisher but Umino turns it into a reverse twist and shout.  EVIL throws Umino into the referee.  Umino fights all three House of Torture members.  Umino exchange reversals with EVIL.   Umino hits a Gun Stun.  Two count.  Umino hits a Blaze Blade.  Two count.  EVIL with Darkness Falls.  Two count.   EVIL hits Everything is Evil.

EVIL pins Umino.

EVIL retains the NEVER Openweight Championship.

EVIL sprays the NEVER belt with black spray paint, then sprays an X on Umino's chest.

This was Umino's first match against EVIL.   I would expect this feud to continue into the New Japan Cup next month.  Umino should get another shot with all the interference.

8 - NJPW World TV Championship:  Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Matt Riddle

They traded lock up.  Riddle went for a cross arm breaker and Tanahashi escaped to the floor.  Riddle follows.   Tanahashi hits a plancha.  Riddle hits a senton.  Quick pace by both men.  Tanahashi with a Dragon Screw on Riddle.  Tanahashi gets the knees up and Riddle lands hard.  They exchange strikes.  Riddle hits a BroStone.

Riddle pins Tanahashi.

Matt Riddle wins the NJPW World TV Championship.

Wow.   I did not expect this.  Tanahashi dropping the title makes sense so he can focus on his Presidential duties.  Riddle wins a major title in his first match in New Japan.   Hopefully, Riddle will behave himself and not do anything to embarrass the company.    

9 - IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship:  Nic Nemeth vs. David Finlay

Finlay attacks Nemeth from behind and stomps him on the floor.   Finlay throws him in the ring and the bell rings.   Nemeth hits a superkick.  Two count.  They brawl out to the floor again.   Finlay uses eye rakes and stomps.   They are wrestling an American style of match.   Finlay locks in a headlock forcing Nemeth to fight out and hit a back suplex.   Nemeth with a neck breaker and drops a series of elbow drops on Finlay.  They fall to the floor.  Finlay ducks a superkick which catches Gedo in the face.  Nemeth gets back in the ring and superkicks Finlay who falls onto Gedo's crotch.  Gedo gives Finlay his shillelagh and blasts Nemeth in the knee.

They trade reversals.  Finlay throws Nemeth into the open turnbuckle.   Finlay with an Irish Curse.  Nemeth tried a DDT but Finlay launched him over the top rope and landed on his knees.  Nemeth is almost counted out.   Finlay hits a spear and locks on a figure four.   Nemeth was excellent in selling the pain of the figure four.  Nemeth gets to the ropes.  Finlay hits an elbow and goes for another figure four.   Nemeth reverses into cradle.   Two count.

Nemeth blocks a Power Bomb.  Nemeth's leg gives out.   Finlay hits a Power Bomb.   Nemeth kicks out.  Finlay hammers Nemeth in the face with forearm shots.   Nemeth hulks up.  He smashes Finlay's head into the exposed buckle.  He nails a Famouser.  Two count.  

They exchange reversals.  Nemeth hits a superkick and a Danger Zone (aka Zig Zag).

Nemeth pins Finlay.

Nic Nemeth wins the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.

After the match, Nemeth told Sapporo that they may not know him but they will get to know who he is.  He promised to defend the title anywhere and against everyone.   

He also wants to tag with Tanahashi tomorrow night.   

Wow.  Totally unexpected.   Finlay won the Global Title over Jon Moxley and Will Ospreay, two top wrestlers in the world.   Nemeth wins the Title in his first match in New Japan in less than two months later.   There was a lot of WWE references in this broadcast.   Now, Riddle and Nemeth are no longer with the WWE.   However, with Elimination Chamber and Wrestlemania 40 on the horizon, it is interesting that New Japan would put belts on former WWE wrestlers in their first matches.    This is a New Beginning for New Japan.  Nic Nemeth was excellent in the match against Finlay.   He looked in great shape and was a bumping machine.  He will have to work even harder to get the Japanese fans behind him.

This retrospect, the War Dogs vs. United Empire war, seem even more silly now, especially since Finlay as the leader lost the Global Title.   It was a violent match with legit injuries which, ultimately both teams lost.  United Empire has no leader and War Dogs do not have the Global Title.   We will see how the booking goes.      

Thanks for reading.

James Kurokawa

If you enjoy PWInsider.com you can check out the AD-FREE PWInsider Elite section, which features exclusive audio updates, news, our critically acclaimed podcasts, interviews and more by clicking here!

• Tweet