In the wake of the departures of AJ Styles an Shinsuke Nakamura, the first major show post Wrestle Kingdom is the dawn of a New Beginning. The New Beginning in Osaka features IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada making his first title defence as the ace of NJPW against a reinvigorated Hirooki Goto in the main event, a NEVER Open Weight Championship rematch between Katsuyori Shibata, new champion, and Tomohiro Ishii as well as the Junior Tag Titles being defended in a multiman match. On paper, the Osaka show appears weaker and more predictable than the Nigiita show but should provide several interesting developments that will provide an indication of future programmes.

Here is @specficluchador (El Specifico) and @EvilJason27 to run through the card.

David Findlay vs Jay White

Elspecifico: Although it is unlikely that this match will be given much time, this has potential to be a good match. Jay White has improved considerably as his time as a young lion and David Findlay hasn’t been far behind him. The winner of this match is a toss up although Jay White has arguably been positioned as the superior young lion, featuring in a singles match with YOSHI-HASHI at the 01/30 show.

Prediction: Jay White

EvilJason27: With Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka earning their stripes in CMLL, it is David Finlay and Jay White who are the senior Young Lions on the New Japan scene. Jay White looked bright in his showing against Yoshi-Hashi on the Korakuen show on January 30th, with the commentary team keen to emphasise that he may be someone who could step up to fill the absences higher up the card. Expect a well worked match that showcases two very talented young guys.

Prediction: Jay White

CHAOS (Gedo, Sakuraba, Yoshi Hashi) vs Jushin Thunder Liger, Rysuke Taguchi & Tiger Mask

Elspecifico: Not much of note here. This will be a mix of comedy, mat work and grappling with very little significance attached to it. The main question heading into this match is will Taguchi continue his Nakamura tribute act. This will sure to be wacky due to Taguchi’s antics.

Prediction: CHAOS

EvilJason27: We’re in random 6 man tag territory here. What’s at stake? Not a lot, given that Liger and Tiger Mask’s feud has already come to an end and Sakuraba probably isn’t going to start a programme with Rysuke Taguchi. I am interested though in whether Taguchi will continue the Nakamura parody act now that Nakamura has left the company, I will admit that I am pulling for an Okada parody where he wears bronze chains and cries a lot.

Prediction: CHAOS

Manabu Nakanishi & Yuji Nagata vs TenCozy

Elspecifico: Ahh, the traditional grumpy old man match. The work here will be solid if slow. There isn’t really a great deal more to say about this undercard multiman match that has no story and is merely there to pad out the card.

Prediction: TenCozy

EvilJason27: These four guys can’t help but be paired with each other. Be it regular tag, 6 man tag, 8 man tag, or 10 man tag matches, if one is in it they are all in it. I’m not even complaining, this is how the New Japan undercard is, it’s inoffensive, it wont last very long, we will forget it ever happened almost immediately after it ends.

Prediction: TenCozy

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & EVIL) vs KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson, Michael Elgin

Elspecifico: Los Ingobernables are in for a huge 2016. With the dearth of main eventers, Tetsuya Naito, surely, will find himself challenging Okada at some point during the year. Since returning from Mexico ungovernable, Naito has been a star, receiving a reaction that more than justifies inserting him into a feud with Okada. But that is for later. This match is not about Naito. This is about building BUSHI vs KUSHIDA on 02/14. BUSHI pinned KUSHIDA in a tag match at New Year’s Day before challenging the incumbent IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship to a match. From their previous interactions, KUSHIDA and BUSHI have proven they have great chemistry that will translate into a fun singles match. On another note, the interactions between EVIL and Elgin are guaranteed to be wince inducing. I think either one of those could easily fit into a NEVER programme with Shibata.

Prediction: Los Ingobernables de Japon

EvilJason27: This is a more significant 6 man tag match. Los Ingobernables dos Japon entered a strong showing throughout the Fantasticamania, Tetsuya Naito in particular was a riot during that tour. It’s interesting that Naito will be paired with Elgin here, perhaps that’s a direction that Naito could go, it’s a fresh feud and it would be a welcome one. Elsewhere BUSHI will be paired with KUSHIDA in anticipation for their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title match and EVIL with Juice Robinson because they are both expendable. I look forward to more Los Ingobernables dos Japon antics here.

Prediction: Los Ingobernables de Japon

Toru Yano & The Briscoes (C) vs Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Bad Luck Fale, Yurijo Takahashi)

NEVER Openweight 6-man Championship

Elspecfico: Eurgh, I’m not a fan of these titles. It stinks of overkill. Giving titles to everyone makes all titles valueless and that is not a precedent you want to set. What is peculiar about this match is that both teams are scheduled to face again on the 14th, without the titles on the line. This is a 50/50 call: however, it is entirely conceivable that the remaining Bullet Club members could have politiced their way to the titles. Considering the rematch a few days later, it is possible that Bullet Club win here and The Briscoes/Yano receive their rematch on 02/14.

Prediction: Bullet Club

EvilJason27: And finally, the most significant 6 man tag match on the show due entirely to the presence of the NEVER Openweight Trios Championships. This is a rematch of the Wrestle Kingdom 10 undercard bout and is the return to Japan for The Briscoes since their last show with New Japan at New Years Dash. This bout will be given a more prominent position on the card, the participants are more established than in the first bout and it will be in front of a more hardcore NJPW crowd, taking all of these factors into account I’d expect a better showing here than their one at Wrestle Kingdom

Prediction: The Briscoes & Toru Yano

Young Bucks vs reDRagon vs Matt Sydal & Ricochet

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

Elspecfico: When oh when are we going to get Young Bucks vs Ricochet and Sydal in a singles match? I don’t have a problem with the multiman matches, particularly with the level of talent on show, they always deliver fun matches but are inherently constrained by the number of participants. I have no doubt this will be an enjoyable match, although interference from Cody Hall is inevitable. Logic would dictate that Young Bucks retain by pinning reDRagon to set up a two on two match between Sydal and Ricochet down the line.

Prediction: Young Bucks

EvilJason27: It’s another multi person IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles match, they have just removed Roppongi Vice from the match. It really shouldn’t have any great effect on match quality one way or the other. The action at Wrestle Kingdom was well paced and nicely worked, it felt lean. Even though there are less people in this match than the Wrestle Kingdom opener, which in theory should lead to a more streamlined match, that likely wont be the case. The quality here is likely to remain high and it should deliver everything you would expect of a match containing these 3 teams. My hope is that The Young Bucks retain if purely to help me to keep track of remembering who the champions are at any given moment.

Prediction: The Young Bucks

Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii

NEVER Openweight Championship

Elspecfico: Now, I have no idea how these two are going to top their previous matches unless they kill each other. By no means am I condoning such an act- instead it is a comment on how great their previous matches have been. We know what we are going to get with this one: stiff strikes, thunderous kicks and all round brutality. One has to expect that Shibata will retain and move on to other programmes *Elgin cough*. Shibata is being positioned as a potential replacement with Shinsuke Nakamura. This match will present further indication of Shibata’s standing within the company.

Prediction: Katsuyori Shibata

EvilJason27: Another rematch from Wrestle Kingdom but what self-respecting fan of stiff as hell headbutts, forearms and lariats doesn’t want to see this rematch! Their Wrestle Kingdom effort was a war, a monumental effort from both guys to live up to the lofty pre match expectations. Whether they topped their G1 Climax 2013 match is open to debate, but that it is debatable is a testament to the quality of their Wrestle Kingdom bout.

In this post- Shinsuke Nakamura world in which NJPW inhabits, Katsuyori Shibata is a name that many have been quick to suggest be the man who fills the void left behind by the “King of Strong Style.” Shibata capturing the NEVER Openweight Championship is seen by some as an indication that in the eyes of New Japan management, Shibata can be trusted once again, that he has finally earned redemption in their eyes. Shibata’s skill in the ring and his popularity with the fanbase make him a strong contender to move up the card this year and an impressive run with the NEVER Openweight Championship is the beginning of that process. On the other hand, Tomohiro Ishii has little to gain with victory here, his name is already synonymous with this belt, he would do well to lose this match and move on to better things, such as the Intercontinental strap.

Prediction: Katsuyori Shibata

Bullet Club (Kenny Omega, Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson) vs Hiroshi Tanahashi & GBH

EvilJason27: A simple precursor to two of the featured matches at the other New Beginning show. I’m sure this will act as a nice buffer between what should be an incredible NEVER Openweight Title match and the IWGP Heavyweight championship main event match between Okada and Goto. That’s not to say that this won’t be enjoyable in its own right, given the performers involved this should be well worked, and should make us want to see the respective title matchups involved in this match all the more. Basically this serves a dual purpose as both a kind of divas buffer match you’d typically find on a WWE ppv 3 years ago and also to whet the appetite of the fans to see more of the combinations of the combatants involved in this match.

Prediction: Bullet Club

Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Hirooki Goto

IWGP Heavyweight Championship

Elspecfico: In Shinsuke Nakamura’s departing comments, the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion stated that he felt confident in leaving NJPW because the company will be safe in the hands of Okada. At New Beginning, Kazuchika Okada makes his first defence as the new ace of Japanese wrestling against Hirooki Goto. Heading off from the artwork that was Okada/Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom, many felt underwhelmed with Hirooki Goto as Okada’s first opponent as the ace of NJPW. Sure, the work is guaranteed to be solid but the insertion of Goto, who owns a pinfall victory over the champion from last year’s G1, into the main event scene felt disappointing. However, in the following press conferences and shows, the rivalry has really heated up. At Korakuen on 01/30, Goto received vociferous boos throughout the match. Perhaps some of that was due to Goto preventing Tanahashi/Nakamura interactions early on. Regardless, he still received a better reaction than he has been hitherto.

Due to the departures of Nakamura and AJ, NJPW must focus on making new main event calibre talents. I don’t think Goto will be one of those. Evidently, Goto is a placeholder feud that will lead to bigger things for Okada.

Prediction: Kazuchika Okada

EvilJason27: It’s not that Hirooki Goto is a bad wrestler, he isn’t. It’s that Goto has been vanilla for years; Dull, dutiful samurai Goto. Whether he has the upper hand in a long feud with Nakamura, whether he is drifting into obscurity, whether he is being made fun of by basically every top guy on the roster, Goto does not change. So at Wrestle Kingdom it was interesting just how strongly he was made to look against Naito. We would learn the next night at New Years Dash that this was because he was being primed for as the next challenger to Kazuchika Okada’s title.

Then something happened, Goto changed.

Not only did Goto’s actions change, his demeanour changed, his language changed and the crowd reactions to Goto changed along with these. He calls it the “Goto Revolution” and, while I’m not sure it is a revolution, this new persona has been something of a revelation for a performer who is perceived as being a trusted hand but not a star that moves the needle. We have already seen how a drastic change of character can resuscitate a flailing career in Tetsuya Naito, Hirooki Goto hopes that showing by showing this darker side to his personality his career can receive a similar jump-start. This plan has gotten off to a good start, the reactions to Goto in the main event of the January 30th main event of the Korakuen Hall show will have been considered promising by the NJPW top brass, he was the only participant in the 6 man tag match to be on the end of the crowd’s ire and he played up to that accordingly. Goto’s slow burning transformation, which includes numerous run in attacks at the expense of Okada, has raised interest in a match that, when originally announced, appeared to be nothing more than a placeholder title defence for Okada to cement his position as ace. While I still expect Okada to leave Osaka as IWGP heavyweight Champion, this match has taken on a lot more interest since the beginning of the “Goto Revolution.”

Prediction: Kazuchika Okada