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New Japan Pro Wrestling announced:
First announcements made ahead of February 27
The first announcements have been made for New Beginning USA on February 27, as NJPW makes its debut in Trenton New Jersey's CURE Arena.
The first NJPW title offically set to be defended on US soil in 2026 will be the NJPW World TV Championship as Konosuike Takeshita challenges El Phantasmo. Phantasmo and Takeshita topped and tailed Wrestle Kingdom with ELP picking up a successful defence of his TV gold in the kickoff at the Tokyo Dome, while Takeshita fell in defeat in the semi main event, losing his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship to Yota Tsuji.
The night after WK20 saw ELP and Takeshita locking horns at New Year Dash, where tensions flared anew between the two competitors. This will be the fifth singles meeting between the two, with Takeshita scoring a pair of wins over ELP, including in the US at last year's Resurgence card. Phantasmo, for his part, has recorded a defence of World TV gold over the Alpha, but only via time limit draw last May at Dontaku. it seemed as if victory over Takeshita would remain out of ELP's reach until G1 opening weekend in Sapporo last summer, where Phantasmo finally got the win over Takeshita in 15 minutes and two seconds of match time.
There are 15 minute time limits on every NJPW World TV title match, meaning if their G1 Climax 35 bout had been under TV title rules, it would have ended in another draw. ELP will not be playing for time in Trenton, but rather looking to retain his title with a clean win. For Takeshita meanwhile, capturing the TV title would add new dimension to his international television footprint; who will claim the gold at New Beginning USA?
As for the aforementioned Yota Tsuji, the double IWGP Heavyweight and Global Champion is coming to Trenton! Having dominated the news cycle at the start of the year, Tsuji has stamped his mark on 2026, and on all of NJPW history, establishing Unbound Co. and restoring the classic IWGP Heavyweight title belt. His own New Jersey debut marks his first match on US soil in 14 months; what moves will the Gene Blast make February 27?
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