Daily DDT
Fansided

NJPW New Beginning 2017: Full Match Cards Set

By Rob Wolkenbrod

facebooktwitterreddit

The match cards for both of the NJPW New Beginning shows would get announced on Tuesday.

NJPW New Beginning looks to be shaping up as an intriguing show following what had been seen on programming last week. This saw the Wrestle Kingdom 11 show go down with title changes and matches that will be looked back on for years to come. New Year Dash would follow that up with the return of the villainous stable, Suzuki-gun. They attacked some of NJPW’s top babyface talents to set up feuds moving forward.

So, with the return of Suzuki-gun, the members of this group will have their presence seen all over the New Beginning match cards. NJPW announced the full slate of matchups on Tuesday for the February 5 show in Sapporo and on the 11th in Osaka:

February 5

  • Hirai Kawato and KUSHIDA vs. El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • David Finlay, Henare, and Yoshitatsu, Satoshi Kojima, and Yuji Nagata
  • Gedo, Jado, and Will Ospreay vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Katsuyori Shibata, and Tiger Mask
  • Takashi Iizuka vs. YOSHI-HASHI
  • Dragon Lee, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi, Michael Elgin, and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. BUSHI, EVIL, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, and Tetsuya Naito
  • IWGP Junior Tag Team Championship Match
    Beretta and Rocky Romero (c) vs. Taichi and Taka Michinoku
  • NEVER Openweight Championship Match
    Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Juice Robinson
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship Match
    Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c) vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Davey Boy Smith and Lance Archer
  • IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match
    Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Minoru Suzuki

More from NJPW

It seems that Robinson is rising into title contention for NJPW, even after losing to Cody at Wrestle Kingdom 11. The former CJ Parker has impressed so far in Japan and will look for his first title run since arriving overseas.

The card is also full of Suzuki-gun members in title matches, so we could see three championships move into the stable’s hands by the end of the first New Beginning show on February 5.

The most important one is the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match between Kazuchika Okada and Minoru Suzuki. After leading the attack on the current champion, Suzuki will look for his first-ever IWGP Heavyweight Title. For Okada, this is his first title defense since his thrilling match with Kenny Omega from Wrestle Kingdom 11. Can he successfully retain the title at New Beginning in Sapporo?

February 11

  • David Finlay and Henare vs. Hirai Kawato and Yoshitatsu
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan, KUSHIDA, and Satoshi Kojima vs. El Desperado, Takashi Iizuka, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
  • Gedo, Hirooki Goto, Jado, and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Juice Robinson, Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask, and Yuji Nagata
  • Beretta, Kazuchika Okada, and Rocky Romero vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, and Taka Michinoku
  • Katsuyori Shibata vs. Will Ospreay
  • NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship Match
    Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi, and Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. BUSHI, EVIL, and SANADA
  • IWGP Tag Team Championship Match
    Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c) vs. Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma vs. Davey Boy Smith and Lance Archer
  • IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
    Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Dragon Lee
  • IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match
    Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Michael Elgin

There is no IWGP Heavyweight Championship match on this card, but four title bouts will still be able to be seen. This includes the first defense for Hiromu Takahashi, who won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship from KUSHIDA at Wrestle Kingdom. Tetsuya Naito will also look to fend off Michael Elgin after putting away Hiroshi Tanahashi earlier this month in another exciting matchup.

Related Story: Wrestle Kingdom 11 Review

Both nights for NJPW New Beginning in Sapporo and Osaka look strong. Every title will be defended at least once with most of the top stars of the company involved. Who will stand tall by the end of the shows?

Home/NJPW