NJPW: Highlights from The New Beginning in Osaka

The Return of Ibushi and Tanahashi

It certainly isn’t all about those two, but this match was mostly a nice way of bringing back Ibushi from what was actually a pretty wicked flu and showing everyone he’s Still Got It and also setting up his and Tanahashi’s challenge against GoD’s tag titles, which was also interrupted by the flu, go figure.

Surprisingly not a lot of heat from Juice and Finlay, who lost the tag belts barely a month after they won them at Wrestle Kingdom, but perhaps they’ve moved on in light of the aforementioned new challengers. Maybe they have to go brainstorm what new aesthetic fever dream to unleash on everyone at the next big show.

New York, New York

It seems like we’re getting something called Wrestle Dynasty in Madison Square Garden, which sounds big and I’m definitely going. Though I’m curious as to what the cards could possibly look like.

They mentioned it in the same breath as Wrestle Kingdom, so it seems like a much bigger deal than their other U.S. shows. If you haven’t seen the announcement video, find it below and decide for yourself:

Friends, Countrymen (Saints, British Wrestlers)

It’s cool that New Japan has its own Dark Souls boss. Maybe it’s the new entrance video that finally made me realize that there’s a key change every time Taichi rips his pants off, but I’ve been endlessly wondering where that second health bar comes from.

This match had a lot of great moments that progress the respective rivalries. Ospreay and Zack are both quick and crazy and wiggly with some history between them, Okada and Taichi are good friends who hate each other and try to throw each other around as much as possible, while being as loud as possible.

It’s hard to articulate because it went exactly how you expect. Zack, who never leaves the mat, versus Ospreay – who may actually believe the floor is lava – means there’s a lot of frustration and a lot of yelling. Every time I watch Okada wrestle I’m more convinced he doesn’t feel pain, which is a good foil to Taichi’s hard kicks and general disregard for the integrity of his opponents’ lower bodies.

This match is fun if you like the wrestlers in it, but it only mildly aggravates the tension between Taichi and Okada more than the Road shows have, and we already knew where and when Zack and Ospreay are fighting for the RevPro title.

I Don’t Remember Where the SANADA and Jay White Rivalry Started, But I Like It

Every time Jay White’s theme hits I desperately hope his beard is gone when he turns around, and I always taste disappointment. I just want to throw that out there.

I actually really like SANADA versus White because they’re both fairly good at setting a match at their own pace, but SANADA is skilled at matching anyone else’s pace and keeping calm under pressure – something that has been a make it or break it characteristic for him in the past.

This match was filled with small but explosive moments punctuated by SANADA finally getting White into a paradise lock, much to Milano’s delight at the commentary table. The spot with the ref distraction and Gedo groin destruction was honestly hilarious and gave us a moment of SANADA’s occasional stoic cheating.

They match each other well, the fight goes on much longer than I expected. It’s a bit jarring and steady rather than consistently exciting, but worthwhile.