With The Elite, Kenny Omega possibly included, now departed from New Japan, the theme of a new beginning is fitting, however some of the traditional ideals of the company have remained courtesy of Hiroshi Tanahashi regaining the IWGP Heavyweight Championship from Omega in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 13. While Tanahashi may be in his eighth reign, he might have more to prove than ever before as he now must prove he’s worthy of being champion and that he still has what it takes, despite the disparaging comments about his age that have been made by Omega and now ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White, who he defends his title against in Osaka on February 11th.

Before we get to Osaka however, there’s the matter of two shows in Sapporo to take place early in the month (February 2nd and February 3rd). The first night in Sapporo is mainly a teaser show that will lead into the next night’s LIJ vs Suzuki-gun theme and Osaka’s Heavyweight Championship match.

Hiroshi Tanahashi + Kazuchika Okada vs ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White + Bad Luck Fale

It might be nothing more than a taster show, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to get some good matches, and the main event might just be the highlight of a card filled with interesting matchups. Tanahashi and Okada are unquestionably the greatest rivals in New Japan. However their disliking for each other has been put to the side since King of Pro-Wrestling in October as the rise of Jay White and the new Bullet Club have become a massive issue in recent months, as they attempt to change the foundations of New Japan as a whole, and in a completely different way to what Kenny Omega was trying to do. I’m not expecting this match to be anything close to some of the tag team matches we’ve seen in New Japan over the last year, but I think it’ll still be worth watching as a preview to the singles matches between these four in Osaka.

Prediction: Switchblade and Bad Luck Fale win.

Zack Sabre Jr. vs. EVIL

It may be a new beginning, but the Suzuki-gun and LIJ rivalry continues into the new year. That being said, if you were looking forward to seeing ZSJ and EVIL face off at King of Pro-Wrestling before Chris Jericho put a stop to it, you’re going to be happy to see this one. Taking place the day before EVIL + SANADA defend their titles against Zack and Minoru Suzuki, this match is will be important in seeing who has the upper hand going into the next night. There’s nothing to say that the winner won’t get a future singles championship match, and with Zack being the reigning Rev Pro British Heavyweight Champion there’s always the possibility that an EVIL win could lead to a championship match in the future. In the meantime however, this match is about mentality going into before the tag titles are on the line.

Prediction: Zack Sabre Jr. wins this one.

Minoru Suzuki vs. SANADA

As mentioned above, this match is also important in regards to who gets the advantage going into Night 2, however with this one I’m a lot more interested in the in-ring aspect as Suzuki and SANADA are two of my absolute favourite stars to watch in New Japan. Their last singles meeting came in the G1 Climax 27 back in 2017 and it was a fine match, only overshadowed that night by the excellent bout between Okada and Elgin. So I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do here given Suzuki’s viciousness and SANADA’s athleticism, which should lead to a really good balance of styles. If given enough time, I think there’s a good chance it can be match of the night.

Prediction: SANADA picks up the win.

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi + BUSHI vs. Taichi, El Desperado + Yoshinobu Kanemaru

The third LIJ vs Suzuki-gun match of the card is the one that previews the main event of Night 2, as well as the Junior Tag Championships match. Tetsuya Naito will defend his IWGP Heavyweight Championship against the despicable Taichi and Shingo Takagi and BUSHI will defend their IWGP Junior Tag Team Championships against former champions El Desperado and Kanemaru. I don’t expect much from this one and of the three aforementioned preview matches it’s the one I’m least interested in watching. Though I am looking forward to seeing more of Naito and Shingo teaming together, and I’m also intrigued to see whether Taichi will be given anymore credibility as a challenger to Naito after his surprising beatdown of the champion at New Year Dash!

Prediction: Suzuki-gun win with Taichi pinning Naito.

Ryusuke Taguchi, YOSHI-HASHI, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe + Toru Yano vs. Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga + Tanga Loa

The most surprising aspect of New Year Dash! in regards to the new Bullet Club, was that there wasn’t a major surprise. In contrast to what I expected, Toru Yano didn’t turn on CHAOS and join Jay White, Tama Tonga and company as “The Mole”, but instead he found himself, along with Taguchi and Makabe, nefariously defeated in their NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship match thanks to the interference of Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi, who joined the OGs after not really having a place in either Bullet Club or The Elite during their feud. This is Owens’ and Yujiro’s first major match as part of the new Bullet Club and I’m very interested in seeing whether this gives them a much needed boost as potential future stars. This match also serves as a teaser for Taiji Ishimori’s first defence of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taguchi. Taguchi tends to offer a lot more comic relief in multi-man tag matches than usual, so while he may not come across as a major threat to Taiji in this one, don’t be dissuaded.

The Bullet Club OGs are getting stronger as a faction with every show that passes, so you might want to watch this one, as you never know who may join them or what they might do.

Prediction: Bullet Club win.

Also on the card:

There’s not much going on with these matches listed below and their main purpose will be to entertain the live audience before the important matches of the show above take place. With that said, if this is your first time watching New Japan Pro Wrestling you might be interested in checking out these matches to see the stars of the company’s future in the Young Lions: Yoshida, Umino, Narita and Uemura. Additionally you might want to watch the tag match featuring Takashi Iizuka, as while he isn’t the best or most entertaining wrestler to watch, he is retiring on February 21st, so you’re not going to have many more opportunities to watch him live (if you’re not a fan of Iizuka, you might as well watch that tag for the sneakiness of TAKA alone).

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Tiger Mask IV vs. Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku

Manabu Nakanishi & Toa Henare vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino

Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura

Night 2 on February 3rd is going to focus primarily on Los Ingobernables De Japon battling Suzuki-gun, with three championship matches set to take place.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match:

Tetsuya Naito vs Taichi

If the purpose of Tetsuya Naito defeating Chris Jericho at Wrestle Kingdom 13 to regain the IWGP Intercontinental Championship was to further build him as a star, this match against Taichi is more so an example of New Japan not knowing where to go with Naito after that star-making performance. For the second year running Naito’s post-Wrestle Kingdom feud is with Taichi and Suzuki-gun and this isn’t one I’m looking forward to. Taichi came across well in his assault of the Intercontinental Champion at New Year Dash! and, as mentioned above, he may even appear to be more a threat depending on what happens on Night 1, but I still can’t see this being anything more than a filler feud for Naito – and I expect a few of them leading up to Dominion in June. Naito’s great to watch in the ring and Taichi is someone I really enjoy hating, but he’s not the most compelling talent in-ring wise, so my interest in this match is minimal. Of course, New Japan could always surprise us with a Taichi win that would open Naito up to winning the New Japan Cup, so this is definitely worth watching for the curiosity factor, but I imagine the chances of that are very, very slim.

Prediction: Naito retains.

IWGP Tag Team Championships Match:

EVIL + SANADA vs Minoru Suzuki & Zack Sabre Jr.

Naito vs Taichi wasn’t the only championship match made courtesy of assault at New Year Dash! as EVIL and SANADA will defend the titles they won from Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa against the ruthless duo of Suzuki and Sabre Jr. I’ve really enjoyed watching the Suzuki-gun duo team up in their previous tag matches together against what can be deemed worse teams than EVIL and SANADA, so my expectations are high here. Similarly to the Naito vs Taichi match there’s every chance in the world there could be a title change here, and given how much more credible Suzuki and Sabre Jr. are as a team in comparison to Taichi as a singles star, I wouldn’t be surprised if EVIL and SANADA lost in their first defence. That being said, I can’t see the LIJ pairing losing the titles so quickly, especially after their title reign last year was so forgettable. To be Suzuki and ZSJ would be a big win for the new IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, and I think it’ll be a good start to, hopefully, a good run with the titles.

Prediction: EVIL + SANADA retain.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Match:

Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru

Automatic rematches for the championships aren’t a guarantee in New Japan. If a champion loses his title they go to the back of the line and work their way up, and that’s why the likes of Jay White and Taichi are receiving Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championship matches over Kenny Omega and Chris Jericho. So this match is something of an exception, as El Desperado and Kanemaru will get an instant chance to regain the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships after their three hundred+ day reign was ended by Shingo and BUSHI in the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. I suppose what makes this unconventional is that Despy and Kanemaru didn’t earn their rematch and it was essentially forced courtesy of the Suzuki-gun assault on LIJ on January 5th. This will be the rubber match between these two teams coming out of the Super Junior Tag Tournament last October/November and Wrestle Kingdom earlier this month. Despy and Kanemaru won the block match, but took the pin in the Dome, so this match, with the titles on the line, will be important in regards to definitively finding out who is the better team. Likewise with EVIL + SANADA, I can’t see Shingo and BUSHI losing in their first defence, especially when Despy and Kanemaru’s last reign lasted close to a year. The Junior Tag division is in needed of a some fresh matches, so it’ll be better to see the new champions hold onto the belts for a while.

Prediction: Shingo Takagi + BUSHI retain.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada + YOSHI-HASHI vs. ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens

While it’s quite similar to both the main event of Night 1 in Sapporo and the main event of New Year Dash! (the only change being Owens replacing Gedo), there’s some interesting aspects to this match. It goes without saying that this will be the final build to Tanahashi vs White, and it’s hopefully going to add a bit more to the Okada vs Fale match as well. It’s also another opportunity for Chase Owens to show what he’s capable of after joining the new Bullet Club, and it’s another chance for YOSHI-HASHI to do something of value to further increase the interest in the CHAOS vs Bullet Club rivalry. I expect this match, like the main event on Night 1, to be fine, but nothing extraordinary and though I do doubt there’ll be any drastic future storyline implications made in it, there’s always that aforementioned curiosity factor in New Japan.

Prediction: Tanahashi, Okada + YOSHI-HASHI win, with Tana pinning Chase Owens

Also on the card:

Similarly to Night 1, these matches, perhaps with the exception of the Bullet Club tag, aren’t of major importance. They’re worth watching if you’re new to New Japan and would like to get introduced to the roster, but if you’re familiar with them already or can’t watch the event live and only want to watch the main matches, you can really give these ones a miss.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe + Toru Yano vs. Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ren Narita vs. Takashi Iizuka & TAKA Michinoku

Manabu Nakanishi & Tiger Mask IV vs. Ayato Yoshida & Shota Umino

Toa Henare vs. Yota Tsuji

The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11th is the major show of this tour and while the matches aren’t quite must-see, I feel that this will be an entertaining event with the three main matches being worth a watch.

IWGP Heavyweight Championship Match:

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs ‘Switchblade‘ Jay White

This match might bring the New Japan career of Jay White since his return in late 2017 full circle. It was at Power Struggle on November 5th of that year where he came back to the company as the mysterious Switchblade and professed that he’d kill the legend of Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom 12. Tanahashi would retain his Intercontinental Championship, in a match that didn’t set the world alight, but it wouldn’t be their last meeting of the year. They met again during the G1 Climax 28 where, very much like in his match against Okada, Jay White used questionable tactics to earn two points against The Ace. That win over the eventual tournament winner guaranteed him a singles match at King of Pro Wrestling and another chance to get into the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Despite more sneaky tactics from White and his new corner-man, Gedo, Tanahashi found a way to win, much like he did despite the Kenny Omega onslaught in the Tokyo Dome to become an eight-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. It’s important here to remember what I mentioned in reference to the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag match, and how championship matches in NJPW are earned. Even though he has the backing of Gedo, Jado and the new Bullet Club, it was Jay White’s win over Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom that got him here. With Kenny Omega seemingly gone from the company, White is for the foreseeable future the top foreign star, and it’s only a matter of time before he’s IWGP Heavyweight Champion. There’s been a lot made of Tanahashi’s age recently and evident in-ring decline, so it’s going to be interesting here to see if Tana can keep up with a young talent who is getting better and better with each match. Their chemistry in 2017 did improve with the more matches they had together, as expected, and I’ve no doubt this will be entertaining, I just hope it isn’t thirty minutes of Jay beating Tana up only for him to retain with a five-minute flurry of Slingblades and High Fly Flows.

Prediction: Hiroshi Tanahashi retains his title.

Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale

With Kazuchika Okada now out of the title picture indefinitely, it’s going to be interesting seeing what he does in the upper mid-card for the time-being. It’s been three years since he was last in this position and I’m intrigued to see who he’ll be facing and how he’s going to get back into the title picture (my bet is on a G1 victory). It’s not surprising to see he’s facing Fale here given the CHAOS vs Bullet Club feud and the fact they’ll be on opposing sides in the Sapporo tags. Their most recent high stakes match two years ago at Wrestling Dontaku was fine, but even with Fale’s impressive weight loss since I don’t expect this match to be much different. I think it’ll be a classic case of with Fale dominating and building up to an Okada comeback. Nothing special, but impressive enough to get Okada’s momentum going again now he’s properly back as The Rainmaker, shorts and all.

Prediction: Kazuchika Okada wins.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match:

Taiji Ishimori vs Ryusuke Taguchi

I mentioned in my preview for Night 1 in Sapporo not to be dissuaded by the comedy of Taguchi. It can be difficult to take him seriously as a challenger given his whacky and crude move-set, but big time matches can sometimes see a different Taguchi in-ring performance. These tend to occur usually during the Best of the Super Juniors, with some exceptions, however I really wouldn’t be surprised to see a motivated and serious Taguchi in this one. I’ve mentioned in previous New Japan blogs how I’ve expected big things of Taiji Ishimori since he came to the company last May, and a compelling match against someone like Taguchi would be the perfect, and honestly much-needed, start for his title reign after defeating KUSHIDA at Wrestle Kingdom in an underwhelming bout due to time restrictions. I’d really advise you to keep your eyes on this one, as it has to the potential to be one of the best matches of the entire tour.

Prediction: Taiji Ishimori retains against a spirited Taguchi.

What else is on the card?

While these matches are worth watching more so than those on the Sapporo cards, there’s still not overly much to them. That being said, it might be worth checking out EVIL + SANADA vs Umino and Yoshida to see how the Young Lions fare against either the current or former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, and with Iizuka’s retirement approaching, this might be the last chance you get to see him teaming with Minoru Suzuki, so that may be worth a watch if you’ve either never seen Iizuka wrestler or weren’t turned off from watching him on the Sapporo shows.

Togi Makabe & Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa

Tomoaki Honma & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens

Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI vs. Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado

EVIL + SANADA vs. Shota Umino & Ayato Yoshida

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka & Taka Michinoku

There’s a lot of good and interesting matches set to take place in Sapporo and Osaka that you don’t want to miss in early February. And who knows, these events might be pivotal in setting up the rest of New Japan’s year, so they’re definitely worth checking out.

The shows in Sapporo take place on February 2nd and 3rd, with The New Beginning in Osaka taking place on February 11th. You can watch them on http://www.njpwworld.com.