NJPW New Year Dash 2020: Results, Highlights, and Grades

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Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) vs. Bullet Club (KENTA & Jay White)

When Bullet Club came out, Jay White claimed that he knew exactly what KENTA was doing last night, and that Bullet Club is “all for one.” Naito came out as an absolute star, with everything saying that he is the man.

NJPW did such a wonderful job this whole show making sure Naito would stand out the most with his entrance, even though Okada came close. Naito was the real superstar tonight, compared to everyone else.

Naito immediately went after KENTA, taking him to the floor before he even got his gear off. White, meanwhile, attacked SANADA. White got a cheap shot on SANADA, sending him into the guardrail, so Naito went after him, but KENTA cut him off and sent him crashing over the guardrail and into the crowd. KENTA then hit a DDT on the floor.

This vicious, angry KENTA is something else as a heel. One of the best heels in wrestling right now, in my estimation. White hit a neckbreaker on SANADA and got a two count. KENTA mocked the fans as they chanted Naito’s name, which was awesome.

KENTA tagged in and was showered with boos from the audience. The crowd chanted for KENTA to go home, and as he kicked SANADA, he charged Naito again and sent him crashing into the guardrail.

KENTA sent SANADA into the corner and tagged White back in. SANADA ate a back elbow from White for a two count. KENTA tagged in and knocked Naito off the apron again before beating on SANADA more. SANADA managed to make the tag to Naito, and he immediately went after KENTA and hit an inverted DDT into a back breaker before dropkicking White as well.

Naito whipped KENTA to the opposite corner and grabbed KENTA’s feet and hit another inverted DDT into a backbreaker. Naito then hit a neckbreaker on KENTA. KENTA eventually got back into control and hit a DDT on Naito before tagging out to White. White stomped on Naito’s knee, which was known to have troubles with in the past.

Naito ran out of the corner and hit a rana on White but sold his knee afterwards. Naito tagged out to SANADA who dropkicked both KENTA and White in the knees. SANADA than hit a big dive on KENTA and then White on the other side of the ring.

SANADA picked the leg of White and tried to lock on the Paradise Lock, but White fought out and then shoved the ref into SANADA’s path before hitting a Saito suplex.

White knocked Naito off the apron and hit a big uppercut in the corner and then Blade Buster for a two count. Naito went for a dropkick on White, but White dodged. There was a series of moves by all four men. SANADA went for Skull End on White, but Gedo distracted him. SANADA kicked the middle rope into Gedo’s crotch and then went for Skull End again.

SANADA let it go and then went for the moonsault. White moved out of the way and then went for the Blade Runner. SANADA countered it and avoided it, going for Skull End again. Meanwhile, KENTA threw Naito into the guardrail. SANADA countered White again into a pinfall and he scored one on him!

Result: SANADA & Naito

Rating: ***3/4 (3.75 stars)

After the match, White low blowed SANADA while KENTA continued his assault on Naito. Both men grabbed chairs and started beating on both Naito and SANADA. White grabbed a mic and every time he went to talk the crowd booed him. White said that a new opportunity has presented itself to him, and he called out SANADA.

White said that SANADA was believing in himself far too much lately, and that he was not better than him. White gave the mic to KENTA, who was booed even more. KENTA said that Jay White called the fans a bunch of idiots. KENTA mocked Naito and made fun of the fans for enjoying Naito’s win, claiming that he had a lot of fun too, as he attacked Naito.

KENTA said he likes it when the fans are angry at him, and that he isn’t going home. Instead, he was going to take the two belts from Naito. KENTA posed with both titles in his hands, as he continued to stomp on Naito.

Bullet Club is looking to destroy Los Ingobernables de Japon. KENTA berated the production team for playing SANADA’s music, even though he won, so they started playing KENTA’s theme.

Show Rating: ***3/4 (3.75 stars)

This was an excellent show from NJPW, though it had no spectacular angles. However, everything was very logical and made perfect sense coming out of the Tokyo Dome.

KENTA will be feuding with Naito, SANADA with Jay White, as SANADA moves into the main event, Okada with Taichi, Moxley with Suzuki, RPG3k with Despy & Kanemaru, Goto with Shingo, EVIL with Ishii, Ibushi and Tanahashi teaming for a bit to challenge for the tag titles, and several other things.

While nothing seemed like it was a major angle, you can look at all the matches and feuds they setup on the show and see how much of it advanced so many stories. This is quality booking, with a steady hand pushing forward with all the stories coming out of the Tokyo Dome.

KENTA is a great heel, and he’s a perfect foil to Tetsuya Naito. NJPW has gotten a little bit of a negative reaction from western fans to how they had KENTA do what he did, but it’s classic old school wrestling.

NJPW knew what they were doing and created a good heel that will be a huge part of 2020. NJPW is showing that KENTA not only has the ability to be a top guy, but that he can be a great asset to NJPW going forward.

NJPW is so good at planning for the future, with long term stories laid out over at least the next year, so the seeds that were planted here will pay off later. NJPW will cruise into the New Beginning tour with several options going forward. NJPW is consistently great at setting up matches and feuds, and I can’t wait to see what NJPW has in store for us.