Will there be a Mighty new champion?

Though already IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, Kosei Fujita wants to be THE Junior Heavyweight Champion! Can he do it? Or will El Desperado still be the Best of the Super Juniors?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima VS Togi Makabe & Daiki Nagai; Makabe & Nagai win.
• 8 Man Tag: El Phantasmo, Jado, Shota Umino & Master Wato VS The United Empire; The United Empire wins.
• Boltin Oleg & Tomoaki Honma VS Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi; Naito & Hiromu win.
• Taichi & Taka Michinoku VS SANADA & Taiji Ishimori; Sanada & Taiji win, by disqualification.
• Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club War Dogs; Double Count Out Draw.
• 8 Man Tag: Chaos VS TMDK; Chaos wins.
• IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado VS Kosei Fujita; Desperado wins and retains the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

After the 8 Man Tag: Team Phantasmo VS The United Empire…

While victory was good enough for Jeff Cobb and the others, The Great-O-Khan attacks Shota Umino! The fans are torn as Khan CLOBBERS Shota, then sends him back into the ring. Khan stomps away, then he hits a SAYANAGI! Khan then goes out to fetch a pair of scissors! Khan goes back to Shota, sits him up, and starts cutting away Shota’s air! Khan revels in the trophy he just took from The Roughneck, and the fans continue to be torn. Khan stomps Shota, then leaves him behind, but the message seems rather clear. Will Khan look to humiliate Shota in a Hair VS Hair grudge match?

Taichi & Taka Michinoku VS SANADA & Taiji Ishimori!

Every time The Holy Emperor has gone after Cold Blooded Sanada in these tag matches, Sanada has found a way to frame Taichi and get him disqualified! Surely Sanada can’t keep this up forever, will this be the moment of his comeuppance? Or will he still get the better of his furious former friend?

Well, to start, Taichi & Taka attack Sanada & Taiji during their entrance! The fans fire up as Taichi goes right after Sanada with kicks, then he POSTS Sanada! Taichi CHOKES Sanada, Taka keeps Taiji away, and then Taichi shoves Sanada into railing. The ref reprimands but he can’t do much else, this isn’t a match yet! The brawls spill out into the crowd, and Taichi whips, only for Sanada to reverse! Taichi clips a chair, then Sanada goes after him! Taiji CLAWS Taka’s eyes, and Sanada SMACKS Taichi off the “West” sign! Taiji takes a water bottle, takes a swig, then MISTS Taka in the face! Fans rally for Taichi as Sanada brings Taichi back to ringside.

Sanada whips, but Taichi reverses, and Sanada hits railing hard! The fans cheer, but Taiji still CHOKES Taka! Taichi storms up on Sanada, brings him around and puts him in the ring. The fans cheer again, but then Taiji anchors Taichi’s foot. The bell rings, and Sanada KICKS ropes to jam Taichi up! Sanada then suplexes Taichi onto ropes for MAGIC SCREW! Sanada goes up the corner, ROUNDING BODY PRESS! The fans are torn but Sanada just soaks it all up. Sanada brings Taichi up, but Taka BOOTS him! Taiji kicks and whips Taka, but Taka reverses, only for Taiji to handspring and NEURALIZER KICK!

Taiji says BANG, and BLOODY- NO, Taka fights out, UPPERCUTS, and MICHINOKU DRIVERS! Taka scoops Sanada, Sanada slips free, but Taka fights the dragon sleeper! SUPER K! AX BOMBER from Taichi! The fans fire up and Taichi TAKES OFF HIS PANTS! The fans fire up more as Taichi takes aim. TENSHO- NO, the ref is sent at Taichi! Taichi pushes the ref aside, Sanada blocks the kick, then fakes the low blow! But the ref saw it this time, Sanada’s trick won’t work! Sanada gets mad at the ref, then he kicks at Taichi. Taichi blocks the kick and he wants the ref to see this! LOW BLOW!!

Winners: Sanada & Taiji Ishimori, by disqualification

If Sanada wants it that bad, Taichi will give it to him! Taka can’t understand, but consider it a moral victory for Taichi. But he isn’t done, TENSHO JUJIHO for Sanada! Taichi RIPS the “F Just5Guys” shirt off Sanada, then tells him this is what he gets! Taichi storms out of the ring, to grab a chair! Taichi then goes back for Sanada, but Taka and Young Lions tell him not to! Taichi shoves them all aside, storms into the ring, but again he has to push Young Lions and even Taka out of the way! Taichi aims as Sanada sits up, but Taka stops Taichi. Taka says Taichi only has to wait a week, then he can get Sanada in Osaka.

Sanada slips away, and Taichi scares Taiji off. Will the Holy Emperor’s wrath be satisfied when he ends this at The New Beginning?

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: El Desperado VS Kosei Fujita!

The Rogue Luchador’s been on quite the roller coaster ride the past 13 months. He wins this title at WrestleKingdom 18 off his long time rival, Hiromu Takahashi. He loses this title to that cheating Murder Machine, Sho, in Sapporo. He wins Best of the Super Juniors 2024 to then win this title back in a Steel Cage Match, also in Sapporo, only to lose it to his old friend, Douki, only a few weeks later. And then, Desperado wins this title back from Douki, only because Douki crashed and burned at WrestleKingdom 19. Will Despy find himself back on the rise? Or will the Japanese Young Punk send him plummeting back down?

The introductions are made, Desperado’s belt is raised, and we see who is truly the mightiest Junior Heavyweight!

The bell rings and the fans rally and duel. The “FU-JI-TA!” is fairly loud compared to the “DE-SU-PEY!” Despy and Fujita circle, tie up, and feel it out. They clinch, Fujita waistlocks, Despy facelocks, they move around, and Despy tries again. Fujita slips free to float for a later press but Despy’s right up. Despy facelocks yet again, Fujita slips to a waistlock, but Despy arm-drags for a wristlock. Fujita headscissors, Despy moves around, turns Fujita over, and then has the legs. Despy floats back to the facelock, but Fujita fights up to wrench and wristlock. Despy grabs the ROPEBREAK, and the fans applaud. Fujita lets off with pats on the shoulders, and fans cheer again.

Despy stays cool as he and Fujtia reset. They tie up again, and Despy hammerlocks. Fujita switches that onto Despy, Despy switches it back onto Fujita, and they go again and again and again! Despy spins Fujita to then wrangle him, but Fujita rolls to his feet. Despy wrenches, Fujita rolls through and CHOPS! Despy grins and CHOPS in return! The fans rally as Fujita comes back to CHOP! Despy grins again, and then CHOPS! Fujita fires up and CHOPS! The CHOPS keep going back and forth, faster and faster, and the fans rally up! Neither man is backing down, and the CHOPS just keep going faster and faster!

The fans fire up, and finally Despy feels it! Fujita CHOPS again, eggs Despy on, so Despy gets the fans fired up. Despy CHOPS and Fujita feels that one! Fujita grins and shakes out his arm to CHOP again! Despy almost laughs, then he comes back to CHOP! Fujita CHOPS, Despy CHOPS, and they’re back at it again! Despy CHOPS and Fujita feels that one! The fans fire up again, and Fujita comes back with another CHOP! And another CHOP! But then Despy ducks one to trip Fujita, STRETCH MUFFLER! Fujita scrambles to the ROPEBREAK! Despy drags Fujita back to SPLASH the leg! The fans rally while Despy feels that stinging in his chest.

Despy steps over Fujita’s leg to drop a knee on the knee! Despy whips, Fujita reverses, wrenches, and drop toeholds! Fujita ties the legs up fast, and he has the arms! Fujita pulls back for the modified surfboard! Then Fujita manages the NEMESIS SPECIAL! Despy flails, but then he pries the chinlock apart! Fujita shoves him down, shifts to get the arm, and he uses CLARKY CAT! Despy flails and has the ROPEBREAK! Fujita lets go in frustration, and the fans rally as Despy goes to the apron. Fujita brings Despy up, bumps him off buckles, then takes a swing. But Despy blocks and HOTSHOTS that arm!

Fujita falls back and the fans rally up again. Fujita PENALTY KICKS from the apron! Then he ASAI MOON- NO, Despy catches Fujita! And he LAWN DARTS Fujita into the POST! Fujita falls and the fans fire up! Despy catches his breath and shakes out his arm while Red Shoes checks Fujita. Fujita is still in this, so Despy refreshes the ring count. Despy drags Fujita up, whips him and Fujita hits railing! Fujita falls over, Despy storms over, and Despy drags Fujita up to pull him against a post. Despy SLINGS the arm into the post! Fujita falls, Despy goes to the ring, and the fans duel again. Fujita rises, hobbles, and the ring count starts again.

Despy paces while Fujita rises. Fujita rolls in at 9 of 20 and the fans cheer. Despy drags Fujita up to YANK the bad arm, and Fujita drops to his knees. Despy stomps Fujita, then puts him in a corner. Fujita CHOPS, but Despy scuffs Fujita. Despy whips corner to corner, runs up, and he blocks a boot to KICK the other leg! Despy then DRAGON SCREWS Fujita down! Despy steps through to drop a leg on the knee, then he ties Fujita up in a DEATHLOCK! The fans rally while Fujita endures, and Fujita CHOPS! Despy puts pressure on the knees but Fujita still CHOPS! Despy grabs Fujita’s arm, KIMURA, and even a headscissor!

Fujita endures, Despy shifts to have both arms! Fujita endures this Zack Sabre Jr. level combination of submissions while the fans rally up! Despy shifts to have a cover, TWO! Fujita is still in this and the fans cheer, but Despy looms over him. Despy drags Fujita up, but Fujita pushes his hand away. Fujita CHOPS, but there wasn’t much behind it. Despy eggs him on, so Fujita CHOPS again. Despy CHOPS and Fujita staggers to a corner. Despy whips corner to corner, Fujita reverses, then runs up. Despy puts Fujita on the apron, then kicks the bad leg! Fujita falls to the floor, and Despy builds speed! But Fujita GAMANGIRIS the dive!

The fans fire up as Fujita rises. Fujita slingshots up and over, comes back, and CROSSBODIES! Despy falls while Fujita tumbles out. Fujita then resets, and he ASAI MOONSAULTS! The fans fire up again as Fujita stands tall! Fujita brings Despy up, puts him in the ring, then stalks behind him. Despy stands, Fujita facelocks, but Despy fights the suplex! Despy fires body shots, then knees low. Despy whips Fujita to a corner, but Fujita reverses! Fujita runs up, Despy puts him on the apron again, but Despy ROCKS Fujita first! Fujita springboards to MISSILE DROPKICK! Cover, TWO! The fans fire up and Fujita roars!

Fujita stalks Despy, deadlifts him, but Despy throws Fujita down for a DOUBLE WRISTLOCK! Then he shifts to a KIMURA! Fujita fights, Despy pulls on the arm, but Fujita scoops to SLAM Despy down! The fans fire up and Fujita KICKS Despy in the back! Fujita PENALTY KICKS, but Despy grits his teeth! Despy eggs Fujita on, so Fujita KICKS again! Fujita runs, but Despy blocks the kick to GROUND DRAGON SCREW! STRETCH MUFFLER! Fujita throws Despy away, dodges him, and GAMANGIRIS! Both men are down and the fans are thunderous! Fujita crawls to ropes, drags himself up, and the fans rally again.

Fujita brings Despy up, but it’s Despy who suplexes high and hard! Despy then SPEARS Fujita, hauls him up, and hits a BIG back suplex! Despy keeps going as he gut wrenches Fujita, GUITARRA DEL ANGEL! Cover, TWO! Fujita survives, the fans rally up, and Despy rises again. Despy drags Fujita up, reels him in, and underhooks, PINCHE- NO, Fujita RANAS Despy down to then get an ARMBAR! Despy fights around but Fujita turns that into CLARKY CAT!! Despy endures, fights as Fujita pulls, but Fujita cording holds the arm! Then he scissors the arm, and grabs a leg! Despy still fights, kicks, and he manages to kick Fujita!

But Fujita grabs that leg to add a HALF CRAB to the mix! Despy endures being twisted around! Despy uses his one free leg to kick around as the fans are thunderous again! Fujita pulls on the leg with all his might but Despy still endures! Despy tries to find a point of leverage, but Fujita uses that to stack him! Cover, TWO!!! Despy escapes, but Fujita PENALTY KICKS! Fujita roars and the fans are with him! Fujita storms back up, waistlocks, and deadlifts! Despy fights the German Suplex, but Fujita still lifts! Despy fights, flails, goes to ropes, but Fujita uses that to O’Conner Roll, CHAOS THEORY!! Bridging cover, TWO!!!

The fans are thunderous again as Despy survives! Fujita roars and slashes his throat, vowing to end this now! Fujita drags Despy up but he’s a ragdoll! Fujita stomps Despy, then drags him up with a facelock. Fujita CRANKS on the hold, it’s almost a Guillotine Facelock! Despy CLAWS at Fujita, but Fujita just CRANKS the facelock! Then he suplexes, ABANDON- STUN DOG MILLIONAIRE?! Despy busts that out in desperation and now both men are down again! The fans rally up, Fujita sputters and crawls, and he rises to his feet. Fujita drags Despy up, Despy fires body shots, then he shoves Fujita away.

Despy sits up and eggs Fujita on, so Fujita CHOPS! The fans rally as Fujita CHOPS again! Despy stands, Fujita CHOPS! Fujita drags Despy up, CHOPS, and CHOPS, but then Despy CHOPS! Despy drops to his knees, but he still CHOPS again! Despy is running on fumes, but he still CHOPS! Fujita storms up to CHOP again! Despy KICKS the bad arm! Fujita tries but his warm won’t let him chop! Despy ROCKS Fujita, but Fujita HEEL KICKS Despy down! The fans fire up again and Fujita brings Despy around, for a CHOP! Despy grabs that arm for a FUJIWARA ARMBAR! Despy uses an S grip, and more like a crossface hold on the arm, but it’s very effective!

Fujita fights around, Despy pulls and even pushes on the arm as he changes angles! The fans rally as hard as they can while Fujita endures, and he powers up with his one good arm! Fujita stands, but Despy fishhook shim! Despy spins him, underhooks him, and TIGER DRIVERS!! Despy keeps the underhooks, rolls Fujita around, and then hauls him up for PINCHE- NO!! Fujita BACKDROPS Despy, with a bridge! TWO as Despy bridges up!! Despy keeps the arms hooked, and he powers up to PINCHE LOCO!!! Cover, DESPY WINS!!

Winner: El Desperado, by pinfall (still IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion)

Fujita put up a fight worthy of being The Mighty! But even though The Mighty Don’t Kneel, Fujita could not stand tall in the end! Despy is given the belt by Red Shoes, and he either taunts or motivates Fujita with it. Fujita stands to SLAP Despy, then he flops back down. He still has spirit, but what will it take for the Japanese Young Punk to become the Best of the Super Juniors?

As for Desperado, he gets the mic, and though the fans are cheering him, he says he’s had his fill, give it up for Fujita. The fans chant for Fujita now, proud of his fight. Despy then asks Fujita, “How about it? Frustrating, huh?” If the guy who beat him told the fans to cheer him on, Despy would probably crawl away into a hole somewhere. But does the Young Punk get it now? Yeah? Okay, good. Despy notes how during this Road to series, Fujita came after Despy pretty hard, but Despy knows Fujita has business to handle in Osaka, so good luck. Despy says it’s more fun when someone else is doing this, so he wants to wrap this up already.

The fans chuckle, and Despy dismisses Fujita so he can go home. Despy says when you work hard, sometimes you get hurt, even by your colleagues. But sometimes, they get support like this from the fans, and that makes it fun. It still hurts, but Despy still wants to do this. It’s also fun that fans can shout what they want, even if it’d upset Despy, but it’s fine here in this space. He even dares fans to say what they want, like he’s an idiot or he should just go home, even that he should die! So long as they come here to say it, he’ll welcome it.

Despy continues by saying he has a lot he still wants to do, and he even has an idea of who he wants to face next. The fans like the sound of that! Despy says he’s keeping it secret but the fans want to know! Despy says he’s not telling~! Now, Despy doesn’t have a match for Osaka next week, February 11th, but Hirooki Goto VS Zack Sabre Jr. sounds like a good time to him. He hopes everyone will still watch the rest of Road to New Beginning, thank you very much. Despy drops the mic, gets the official announcement that he is still the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, and then he gets the streamers! Wait, his music cuts off?

And now, Francesco Akira’s music plays! The Nova Fireball makes his way out to the ring, and he grabs the mic now. Akira tells Desperado that he had an amazing match! Bravo, Despy, bravo! Akira says he still remembers tapping out to Despy two years ago, right here in Korakuen Hall. But even back then, Akira knew they were destined to battle for that title. That is why Akira is here today! The fans like the sound of that! Akira shifts to English to say, “Despy, I want this belt. And I want to take it from you in a special place for me.” He wants that match for the NJPW Anniversary Show in March! The fans cheer, and Akira pushes the mic back at Despy.

The fans cheer Akira on, and Despy says he remembers that match, too. Maybe not that it was two years ago or whatever, but it was in Best of the Super Juniors. Despy remembers he was giving Akira the runaround before TJP came to help. But Despy does remember that, and he remembers NJPW saying Akira’s name was one of the best. Despy’s a little surprised it took Akira this long to challenge him, especially when Despy hasn’t had the title that long. That said, Despy will gladly accept Akira’s challenge. The fans like the sound of that! But uh, donde esta tu jefe? Where is your boss? Where’s TJP? Doesn’t he need TJP’s approval?

Akira gets mad and shoves Despy! Despy shoves Akira back, things get heated, and Akira trips Despy! Akira throws hands and Young Lions hurry to stop this! Akira tells Despy not to screw around with him! Akira says he doesn’t need TJP, he doesn’t need anybody! Get back in here, Despy! Despy taunts Akira from afar, but then they both storm up to the center of the ring, even as Young Lions try to hold Akira back. Despy tells Akira to go home and calm down. Despy isn’t into Akira’s flash and fire, he shouldn’t just start a fight for no good reason. Who’s gonna have the title? Just listen to the song and you’ll understand.

Despy drops the mic and his music plays again. The New Beginning hasn’t even begun and things are getting spicy! Will Desperado turn down the heat on the Nova Fireball? Or will Akira finally blaze his own trail in NJPW?

My Thoughts:

A great event for Road to New Beginning, with a lot of great story stuff in post-match moments. Khan going after Shota’s hair as part of their feud is certainly an interesting move, given Khan really only has that ponytail now. At the same time, I don’t see Shota resetting back to a Young Lion buzzcut here. That could be a very interesting one right there. Taichi giving Sanada the win using the low blow was hilarious stuff, great comeuppance for Sanada. Their 1v1 match will be a lot of fun if trying to frame each other becomes their focus. LIJ and War Dogs ending in a count-out and then just brawling after is some good stuff, really adds to Yota VS Gabe for the Global Heavyweight Championship.

Chaos VS TMDK keeps happening to keep building up Goto VS ZSJ, not sure this one really added anything, other than seeing #BigJag Hartley taking a Shoto. Despy VS Fujita was awesome, though, probably Fujita’s best singles match yet. But in the end, great win for Despy, and then a somewhat surprising appearance by Akira. Despy pushing Akira’s buttons about how TJP is in charge was some good stuff. Despy VS Akira is going to be a great match for the Anniversary Show, but hard to say if Akira wins the title. The fans really like Despy, he’s been going strong, I’m not sure Akira has had that real breakthrough yet.

My Score: 8.8/10

Don’t touch that dial and stay on ’em!

El Phantasmo defeated cancer, and he won the NJPW World Television Championship! But will this feel good story take a Tour of the Island?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Kickoff – Katsuya Murashima VS Masatora Yasuda; Murashima wins.
• Hiroshi Tanahashi VS Daiki Nagai; Tanahashi wins.
• Six Man Tag: Shota Umino, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato VS The United Empire; Shota, Taguchi & Wato win.
• Tetsuya Naito & Hiromu Takahashi VS Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma; Naito & Hiromu win.
• Taichi & Taka Michinoku VS SANADA & Clark Connors; Sanada & Connors win, by disqualification.
• Six Man Tag: Los Ingobernables de Japon VS Bullet Club War Dogs; Bullet Club wins.
• 10 Man Tag: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH, Tomohiro Ishii & El Desperado VS TMDK; Goto, Hashi, Yoh, Ishii & Desperado win.
• NJPW World Television Championship: El Phantasmo VS Jeff Cobb; ELP wins and retains the title.

PLAY BY PLAY

10 Man Tag: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, YOH, Tomohiro Ishii & El Desperado VS TMDK!

We saw The Fierce Warrior and Front Man lead teams before in a Six Man Tag, but now we raise the bar! Will Chaos plus Despy defeat The Mighty? Or will Zack Sabre Jr, Ryohei Oiwa, Robbie Eagles, Kosei Fujita & Hartley Jackson prove The Mighty Don’t Kneel?

The teams sort out, and we get tense stare downs. ZSJ and Goto, Oiwa and Hashi, Fujita and Despy, Eagles and Yoh, Hartley and Ishii. The ref tells everyone to settle down, and eventually it’s Despy and Fujita starting off. The bell rings and the fans rally. Chants “FU-JI-TA!” and “DE-SU-PEY!” are fairly even, and the two circle. They feel things out, Fujita goes for a leg but Despy facelocks to counter. Fujita spins to use his leg guard but Despy gets around to go for the headlock again. Fujita waistlocks, Despy wrenches an arm, but Fujita slips away. The fans cheer as the two reset. They circle, tie up, and Despy wrenches an arm.

Fujita fires elbows, wrenches back, but Despy slips around to wrench and hammerlock. Fujita wrenches out to hammerlock in return, and they switch the hammerlock onto each other again and again. Despy wrangles Fujita with a top wristlock and grinds him down. Fujita fights up, Despy cording holds, but Fujita whips him, to then wrench and wrangle in return! Fujita STOMPS Despy’s arm and the fans cheer. Despy storms up on Fujita, then CHOPS! Fujita CHOPS, but Despy doesn’t flinch! The CHOPS go back and forth, faster and faster, and the fans fire up as they just keep going! Despy starts to feel that stinging, but then he YANKS Fujita’s arm!

Despy drags Fujita up, CHOPS him again, then brings him over to the corner. Tag to Yoh, but Fujita fires forearms on Despy! Yoh CLUBS Fujita, Despy stomps Fujita down, then Yoh stomps Fujita. Yoh drags Fujita up, kicks him low, then fires a forearm. Eagles sneaks a tag and Fujita whips Yoh away! Trip, KICK, SENTON, and basement DROPKICK! Fujita then BLASTS the Chaos corner! Eagles drags Yoh by a leg, steps through, but Yoh fights his way to a ROPEBREAK! Eagles drags Yoh back, Yoh scrambles to another ROPEBREAK! Eagles drags Yoh back again, but Yoh scrambles to yet another ROPEBREAK!

The ref counts, Eagles finally lets go, and he follows Yoh to the center. Eagles CHOPS Yoh to a corner, then runs in, only for Yoh to put him on the apron! Eagles ROCKS Yoh first, then springboards, but Yoh dodges! Yoh then drop toeholds Eagles, and basement DROPKICKS him! The fans cheer while Eagles scrambles away. Eagles tags Oiwa, so Yoh tags Hashi. Mighty Mullet and Headhunter RAM, and RAM, and then Oiwa runs, but Hashi dodges to BLOCKBUSTER! Goto & Ishii BLAST ZSJ & Hartley! Then Bishamon whips Oiwa to a corner! Goto LARIATS, then feeds Oiwa to DOUBLE SHOULDERS from Hashi & Ishii!

Goto sits Oiwa up for a CHAOS TRIPLE KICK! Cover, TWO! Hashi brings Oiwa up, but Oiwa CHOPS! Oiwa fires a forearm, Hashi CHOPS, and the fans fire up! Hashi brings Oiwa up but Oiwa CHOPS! Hashi CHOPS, Oiwa CHOPS, repeat! The fans fire up as the CHOPS go back and forth! Oiwa runs, but into a CHOP! And then DOUBLE CHOP! Hashi runs, but Oiwa RUNS Hashi over! The fans fire up and Oiwa tags in #BigJag! Hartley CHOPS Hashi! And then he suplexes Hashi high and hard! Then BIG ELBOW DROP! Cover, TWO! Hashi survives but Hartley BLASTS the Chaos corner! Then Hartley plays defense while TMDK swarms Hashi!

ZSJ and Oiwa have Hashi’s arms, Fujita & Eagles have Hashi’s legs! Then they rotate! And rotate! And rotate again! The ref reprimands and counts them all, and all five TMDK members put their hands up, even though Hartley wasn’t doing anything. But then Hartley SENTONS onto Hashi! The fans cheer, Hartley covers, but Yoh & Despy break it! TMDK throws Yoh & Despy back out, then Hartley tags ZSJ. The fans cheer as ZSJ brings Hashi up in a cravat. Hashi endures the neck wrench, throws body shots, then a CHOP! ZSJ eggs Hashi on, then blocks a chop to JAB low! ZSJ facelocks Hashi, but Hashi powers out with a suplex!

The fans fire up while both men are down! Hashi and ZSJ crawl, hot tag to Goto! The Fierce Warrior runs ZSJ over, intercepts Goto, and snap suplexes him onto ZSJ! Goto then BLASTS Hartley & Fujita! Goto brings ZSJ up, fires forearms, then whips him to a corner. ZSJ reverses, runs up, and UPPERCUTS! ZSJ keeps moving but Goto LARIATS ZSJ in the corner! The fans fire up with Goto, but ZSJ stops the hip toss to THROW Goto down! And NECK TWIST! ZSJ then runs to PENALTY- NO, Goto blocks the kick! Goto ROCKS ZSJ, but ZSJ fires up! ZSJ UPPERCUTS, but Goto fires up!

Goto fires a forearm, ZSJ UPPERCUTS, repeat! The forearms fly, Goto ROCKS ZSJ again and again! But ZSJ UPPERCUTS right back! ZSJ runs, but Goto follows, only for ZSJ to wrangle him! FUJIWARA ARMBAR! TMDK BLASTS the Chaos corner! Goto endures, ZSJ shifts, DISARMER! Goto still endures, so ZSJ shifts to trap that arm and grab the other! CLARKY CAT! Goto endures, reaches out, but ZSJ pulls that arm way back! Goto still kicks his way to the ROPEBREAK! The fans cheer and ZSJ lets go in frustration. ZSJ drags Goto up, reels him in, ZACK- NO, Goto slips out, but ZSJ elbows him away.

ZSJ runs up but Goto dodges to schoolboy with some stank on it! Cover, TWO! ZSJ escapes, but Goto fireman’s carries! Goto feints Ushigoroshi to have the dragon sleeper! G T- NO, ZSJ drops down to victory roll and EURO CLUTCH!! TWO!! Goto escapes but ZSJ PENALTY KICKS! Goto rises to LARIAT!! Both men are down and the fans are thunderous! ZSj and Goto crawl, hot tags to Hartley and Ishii! The big meaty men DOUBLE LARIAT! And DOUBLE LARIAT! Ishii ducks a lariat to LARIAT back! Hartley DROPKICKS Ishii!! Hartley SPLASHES in the corner, then short arm LARIATS! Cover, TWO!

Hartley reels Ishii in but Despy LOCO MONOS! Fujita runs up, Despy dodges, but then Fujita dodges Despy! Despy blocks a kick, knees low, then sends Fujita at the corner. Eagles puts Fujita on the apron, BOOTS Despy, then Fujita MISSILE DORPKICKS Despy! Fujita runs, into Yoh’s SUPERKICK! Eagles SOBATS and ASAI- NO, Yoh slips free! But Eagles avoids the elbow to ROUNDHOUSE, SUPERKICK and PELE! But Yoh says I’LL BE BACK, SUPERKICK!! Yoh aims, but Hartley stops the plancha! Yoh elbows free, but Hartley CROSSBODIES! The fans fire up as Hartley now has Ishii! Fireman’s carry, but Ishii fights free!

Ishii waistlocks, but Hartley is too big to German Suplex! Hartley elbows free, then sends Ishii to Oiwa. Ishii ROCKS Oiwa first! Then Ishii dodges to send Hartley into Oiwa! The fans fire up as Ishii feeds Hartley to Hashi’s SUPERKICK! Then Ishii GERMAN SUPLEXES Hartley!! The fans are thunderous, and Hashi dodges Oiwa to feed him to Ishii’s forearm! Hashi mule kicks, then he and Ishii whip Oiwa, but Oiwa DOUBLE LARIATS! The fans are thunderous as now Oiwa hauls Ishii up, THE- NO, Ishii swats the Grip, dodges again, but Oiwa DROPKICKS Ishii down! Oiwa hauls Ishii up, for the DAIGO SHIKI SAIDO!

Oiwa sets Ishii up for Hartley, BIG JAG DEATH VALLEY!! Cover, TWO!! Ishii survives and the fans are thunderous again! Hartley hauls Ishii up, reels him in, BIG JAG BOMB!! Cover, GOTO BREAKS IT! ZSJ UPPERCUTS Goto, UPPERCUTS again, and again! ZSJ whips, Goto reverses, USHIGOROSHI! Hartley is up, he DOUBLE LARIATS with Goto! Goto HEADBUTTS Hartley, Ishii HEADBUTTS Hartley, then Ishii LARIATS Hartley down! High stack, TWO!! Hartley survives but Ishii hauls him up. No way! Ishii suplexes Hartley!? BRAINBUSTER!!! Cover, CHAOS WINS!

Winners: Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Yoh & El Desperado, by pinfall

That was definitely a mighty battle, and while The Mighty Don’t Kneel, Hartley sure fell hard! Eagles still goes after Yoh on the outside, their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship battle still to come. The Young Lions separate them, but will Yoh & Rocky Romero revise who is on top? And what about Fujita and El Desperado? They battle tomorrow for THE IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, will the Rogue Luchador still be the Best of the Super Juniors?

NJPW World Television Championship: El Phantasmo VS Jeff Cobb!

The Headbanga fought cancer, and won. He fought three opponents in one match, and won! But now, he and the Imperial Unit are going to go 1v1, can ELP still win? Or will his “season” be over already?

The introductions are made, the belt is raised, and we see who’s the real main character of NJPW World!

The bell rings and we’re on the clock. The fans rally up as Cobb and ELP step up. ELP and Cobb shake hands and the fans cheer. The two tie up, Cobb headlocks, but ELP powers up and out, only for Cobb to run him over! Cobb runs but ELP stays low, then ELP DROPKICKS Cobb! Cobb staggers to a corner while ELP kips up. The fans cheer and ELP goes to Cobb, but Cobb POUNCES him away! Cobb throws hands to put ELP in a corner, then he RAMS into him! Cobb then TOSSES ELP across the ring! Jado coaches ELP up and ELP stands. Cobb runs in, ELP goes up and over, then dodges to springboard, but Cobb catches him!

Cobb pops ELP up into a suplex, then THROWS him away! Cobb flexes and the fans cheer, but Jado still coaches ELP. Cobb drags ELP up, HEADBUTTS him to the corner, then whips corner to corner. ELP goes up and over, then spins to CHOP! ELP knuckle locks Cobb, CHOPS again, then goes up, up, jumps around, and FLYING- NO! Cobb stops the rana to then bring ELP up. ELP fires hands, and he manages to RANA Cobb out of the ring! ELP skins the cat, the fans cheer, and ELP builds speed. ELP DIVES, and he sends Cobb into railing! The fans cheer and ELP DUMPS Cobb into the front row! The fans step aside while ELP brings Cobb back up.

ELP ROCKS Cobb, Cobb ends up taking a seat, so ELP goes up the corner! The fans fire up already as ELP spells it out! “E! L! P!” SUPER ARIHARA MOONSAULT but no Cobb!? Cobb let the Young Lions take that hit for him! ELP crawls and Cobb drags him up from the chairs. Cobb brings ELP around to and tosses him to the orange seats! Cobb stalks ELP up the bleachers, brings him up, and he suplexes!? The fans freak out, but then Cobb carries ELP as he marches up the steps! The fans cheer, but ELP manages to slip free! ELP shoves Cobb into the side of the stairwell! ELP then uses Cobb as a step to get onto the ledge!

The fans freak out already as ELP takes aim, “E! L! P!” SUPER CROSSBODY! Direct hit and the fans fire up! Both men are down and Red Shoes wants them to get to the ring. However, the time hits five minutes, this is already working in ELP’s favor. ELP and Cobb stand, and ELP fires a forearm! Cobb staggers away, ELP follows, and ELP CHOPS! Cobb staggers away again, and ELP struts over to CHOP again! Cobb stumbles down the stairs, ELP pursues, and we return to the ground floor. ELP uses a fan’s ELP towel to blind Cobb, and ELP CHOPS him! ELP gives the towel a kiss before giving it back to the fan.

But Cobb fires body shots! Cobb POSTS ELP, then brings him around to APRON BACK SUPLEX! ELP writhes but Cobb slips into the ring. Cobb storms over, drags ELP up from the apron, and Jado already doesn’t like where this is going. Cobb deadlifts ELP for the stalling- NO, ELP slips free again! And he gets under, to carry Cobb out for a POWERBOMB! The fans fire up and ELP high stacks, TWO! Cobb survives that but the fans rally for ELP. Time is still ticking away, but ELP tunes up the band! ELP aims as Cobb rises up, SUDDEN- NO, Cobb blocks the kick and reels ELP in! FALL AWAY SLAM!

ELP flounders to a corner and Cobb flounders to the other. Both men drag themselves up, and Cobb runs in, LEAPING BACK ELBOW! Cobb huffs ‘n’ puffs but he clearly has a bloody nose. Cobb wipes the blood away, but ELP kicks from below! Cobb grabs the legs and he YANKS ELP right up into an ATHLETIC PLEX! Cover, TWO! ELP stays in this and the fans cheer. Cobb hauls ELP back up, whips him to ropes, but ELP grabs ropes to stop! ELP BOOTS back, runs up, but Cobb catches him! ELP BELL CLAPS free, then ROCKS Cobb! Cobb DOUBLE CHOPS, ELP mule kicks, front KICKS, then ENZIGIRIS!

The fans fire up and ELP throws off the elbow pads! ELP winds up and LARIATS! LARIAT! And LARIAT! ELP runs, but Cobb dodges to come back and LARIAT! Cobb hits so hard, he tumbles to the apron! ELP sputters while Cobb rises up. The fans rally for ELP, but Cobb climbs the ropes!? “JEFF! COB-BU!” THUNDER FLOP!! ELP rolls Cobb up, TWO! Cobb is still in this but ELP steps over, LA MAGIST- NO, Cobb smothers it to a cover, TWO!! ELP escapes, then hooks Cobb, but Cobb fights the backslide! Cobb switches the hooks to FLIP ELP! Cobb HEADBUTTS ELP, ELP staggers and rebounds, and Cobb SUPERKICKS!

ELP leans against ropes, Cobb reels him in, TOUR OF THE- CRUCIFIX TAKEDOWN! TWO!! Cobb escapes again! SUDDEN DEATH!! ELP covers, ONE?!? Cobb survives so ELP tunes up again! Cobb staggers up, into SUDDEN DEATH!! Cover, TWO?!?! Cobb survives again and ELP is stunned! Jado and the fans continue to rally for ELP and ELP vows to finish this! Three minute warning as ELP hooks Cobb up, but Cobb wrenches free! TOUR OF- DDT!! ELP hits a shocking counter, then goes to the apron! ELP climbs up, Cobb rises, CROSSBODY! Then he goes up the ropes again, THUNDERKISS 86!! Cover, ELP WINS!!

Winner: Jeff Cobb, by pinfall (still NJPW World Television Champion)

Cobb put a powerful fight worthy of a former champion like him. But in the end, he couldn’t “cancel” the Headbanga Show. ELP shows Cobb respect by helping him stand, but Cobb doesn’t want it! Cobb snatches the title, so that he can give it to ELP himself. Cobb shows ELP respect in return, but will Cobb be moving on to another title scene?

As for ELP, after catching his breath a bit, he grabs the mic to tell Korakuen Hall, “Daisuki desu! <I really like you~!>” The fans cheer that! ELP grabs a second mic so “Papa Jado” can also speak. Is he feeling good? Jado says yeah, he’s feeling good! ELP asks Korakuen if they feel good, and the fans cheer that they do. “Sugoi. <Amazing.>” ELP apologizes, he knows little Japanese. But ELP knows Jado knows a lot of Japanese! Maybe Jado can translate? Jado says yeah, it’s all good! The fans applaud, and ELP says it has been a long time since he was in the main event of NJPW! And yes, Jado translates.

The fans cheer, and ELP says he won’t use this time to put himself over. Jado hesitates, he isn’t sure how “put myself over” would translate… Jado just goes with, “Good luck with that.” ELP says he doesn’t want fans to cheer him, he wants fans to cheer for all the guys in the back who drove the bus for 9.5 HOURS to get here from Morioka. Jado translates that, and the fans do cheer. ELP wants fans to cheer for the cameramen who film this all day, while ELP only has to wrestle 15 minutes. The fans cheer already, and Jado still isn’t sure how to translate. ELP simplifies it to: I love the cameramen who work so hard. Jado can do that.

ELP wants cheers for Milano Collection AT and Hiroshi Tanahashi on commentary. They do way more work than him, so cheer them. The fans do cheer, but Jado’s translation is more about teasing Milano & Tanahashi than praising. ELP also points to the timekeeper, and English commentary’s Walker Stewart, who is doing this for like, the 12 English speaking fans who watch this live! The fans do cheer, and ELP says F Clark Connors, the guest commentator. ELP thanks the referees and office staff who help set up the ring and tear it down every show, and Jado translates. ELP says there are a lot of people who deserve more love than him.

So for everyone who isn’t a wrestler, but who makes NJPW run on a daily basis, make some noise! The fans cheer, and ELP says hold on, this is for the Osaka fans. ELP isn’t on the New Beginning show, but he will do an autograph signing there because of all the love they showed when he had his little cancer thing back then. “Osaka, see you soon.” The fans cheer, and ELP tells Korakuen, “I am the Headbanga! I am the NJPW World TV Champion! And I am… E! L! P!” The fans join in on that! Will The Headbanga Show continue to be the people’s show?

My Thoughts:

A great continuation of Road to New Beginning, though about as much filler as before, too. I do appreciate that Tanahashi is doing this series of “Final Road Connection” matches. With these Young Lions still in that phase of their career, Tanahashi will never get to wrestle them when they’re established stars, so this is nice of him as a veteran, an icon, a legend, to be giving back and paying it forward. Good stuff in the other matches, too, and Sanada finding another way to get Taichi disqualified is actually hilarious. Sanada is really leaning into being a sneaky, underhanded Heel, I feel like his blowoff with Taichi should be No Disqualifications just so he can’t frame Taichi.

The 10 Man Tag was good stuff, and with TMDK having won last time in the main event, it made sense for Goto’s team to win this time. It was also mostly to build momentum for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match tomorrow, and the tag title match for New Beginning in Osaka. Desperado VS Fujita is going to be great, but I don’t know if Fujita & Eagles really become a Junior Heavyweight Two Man Power Trip. The NJPW World TV Championship was a great main event, and that was a great win for ELP. ELP also gave a great promo where he showed love and appreciation for all the NJPW non-wrestler and production staff. Naturally he has a new lease on life, he’s learning to be grateful for everything, so this was a great way to show that.

My Score: 8.7/10