New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/23/2025 Road To The New Beginning 2025 Day 2

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/23/2025 Road To The New Beginning 2025 Day 2

Day 1 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2025/01/new-japan-pro-wrestling-1222025-road-to.html

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Katsuya Murashima

Tana trips him and KM hammerlocks him. Tana does a side headlock and KM headscissors him. Tana headlock takeovers him and is put in a headscissors. They trade forearms. Tana dropkicks him in the knee. Tana pulls on the ankle. Tana ties his legs up and they trade shots. KM hits a flying forearm.

KM hits a corner dropkick then belly to belly suplexes him for 2. KM powerslams him for 2. KM crabs him. Tana slaps KM and drops him. Tana then crabs him and KM rope breaks. KM slaps Tana then Tana dragon screws him. Tana does a cloverleaf and KM submits.

Thoughts: I was okay with this one. Tana mostly did submissions here and it worked. It hid some of his weaknesses with moving around. KM got a decent bit of offense in here and even got to slap Tana at one point.  

Master Wato, Oleg Boltin, Shoma Kato & Toru Yano vs. House Of Torture (Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

The heels attack before the bell and 6 of the 8 fight outside. Wato armdrags Sho then dropkicks him out. Wato hits tilt-a-whirl backbreakbers on Kanemaru and Sho. Yano comes in and takes off a buckle. He then hits the heels with it. Everyone fights outside and Ren sends Oleg into the rails.

Kanemaru works on Yano's legs. Yano is sent into the exposed buckle for 2. Ren back elbows Yano over then chinlocks him. Yano thwarts the heels and then gets Oleg in. Oleg pounces Ren. Sho tries to spear Oleg but just bounces off of him. Oleg hits a double shoulderblock then he does karelin's lift to Kanemaru.

Oleg corner splashes Ren then slams him. Oleg hits a splash for 2. Oleg is held for a spear. Yujiro gets in and facekicks Oleg. Yujiro lariats Oleg then Oleg dropkicks him. Kato comes in and hits forearms on Yujiro. Kato slams Yujiro then crabs him. Yujiro ropebreaks.

Yujiro corner facekicks Kato. Kato cradles him for 2. Yujiro hits a reverse ddt for 2. Yujiro then ddt's him for the win.

Thoughts: It was short and wasn't much. Everyone got their section in and the work was average.

The wrestlers fight after and HoT tries to steal the 6-man titles after. Ren low blows Oleg. Ryusuke 

Taguchi, Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii vs. United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young)

Akira hits facekicks to start. Akira spin kicks him and forearms him. Ishii shoulders him over. Ishii chops him down. Khan sends Shota into a rail outside and stands on him. Khan hits double chops on Ishii. Khan shoulder throws Ishii. Taguchi hits hip attacks on people and Khan claws Taguchi in the butt. Khan then hits him in the butt and knocks him over the top.

Shota hits forearms on Khan and dropkicks him in the knee. Shota drops Akira on his chest then shotgun dropkicks him. Shota fisherman suplexes Akira. Khan slams Shota onto the mat face first. Khan goes for a shoulder throw but takes an armdrag. Shota dropkicks Khan.

Jake and Taguchi go at it. Jake dropkicks him. Jake hits a 2nd rope dropkick for 2. Taguchi takes corner attacks and a backdrop from Jake for 2. Ishii chops down Jake. Akira ducks shots from him and flips out of his german. Ishii shoulders Akira over. Akira superkicks Ishii then delay germans him. 

Shota dropkicks Akira then tornado ddt's Khan. Taguchi hip attacks Jake. Jake enzugiri's Taguchi. Taguchi puts him in an ankle lock and taps him out for the win.

Thoughts: There were a lot of different things going on here and they didn't do a great job of transitioning between them. Shota and Khan did little again to make me want to see their match while Akira and Ishii are showing good chemistry against each other. This was just so-so.

Khan attacks Shota from behind after and chokes him with a towel. Khan then cuts up a Shota towel.

El Desperado & Tomoaki Honma vs. TMDK (Hartley Jackson & Kosei Fujita)

Kosei and Despy go at it. Despy side headlock takeovers him and is put in a headscissors. Despy and Kosei trade chops. Despy pulls Kosei's arm down over the top rope.

Despy hits chops on Hart. Honma hits Despy from behind then Hart takes a double shoulderblock. Honma back elbows Kosei over. Despy armlocks Kosei. Kosei tries some chops on him then step up enzugiri's him. Hart splashes Despy for 2.

Hart hits a double lariat. Honma falling headbutts Hart. Hart lariats Honma then corner splashes him. Hart lariats him over and sentons him. Honma hits headbutts on Hart for 2.

Hart hits a double suplex on his opponents and Kosei springboard dropkicks Despy. Hart powerslams Honma for 2. Hart spinning death valley drivers Honm and wins.

Thoughts: It was an interesting mix of styles and worked a little better than I expected. I thought it could have maybe been better but this wasn't bad. Kosei and Despy did a good job building interest to their match.

BULLET CLUB (Clark Connors, Drilla Moloney, Gabe Kidd, Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji)

Shingo and Drilla trade. Drilla pump kicks him then Shingo lariats him on the ropes. Drilla hits a dropkick. Drilla step up enzugiri's him. They trade and Drilla is knocked down with a lariat.

Naito and HT do some double team shots on their opponents. HT corner lariats then basement dropkicks Clark. Clark pounces HT. Drilla throws Shingo into the rails. Yota and Gabe fight outside.  

HT gets sent into the exposed buckle. Gedo gets a 2 count on HT then rakes his face. Gedo chokes him more. HT and Gabe trade chops. Gabe is knocked over by HT and Naito. Yota flying headscissors Gabe then slams him.

Yota misses a corner splash. Gabe hits chops and punches Yota. Gabe uppercuts Yota. Yota pumping knees him. Yota flatliners Gabe into a curbstomp. They lariat each other at the same time and both go down.

Bushi flying headscissors Gedo. Bushi kicks him from the ropes. Drilla tries a made in Japan on Shingo then Shingo hits a twist and shout. TI handspring corkscrew kicks Shingo. TI is then sunset flipped into a baseball slide. Gedo's knees are banged off the mat and Bushi dropkicks him from the buckles. Bushi ties up Gedo's legs and taps him out.

Thoughts: Gedo took the fall as usual here. It was a bit rushed with too many people and not enough time.

CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOH) vs. TMDK (Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Rob does his taunt to start and Yoh tries a pin on him. Yoh slaps him then Rob uses the ropes to armdrag him. Rob flying headscissors him then spinning heel kicks him. Rob takes a double shoulder. Zack is then double suplexed onto Rob. Rob is double clubbed on the back.

Rob chops and slaps Yoh. Zack trips Yoh and Rob baseball slides Yoh off of it. Yoh is double tripped and then his opponents roate submissions on his limbs. Zack splits Yoh's legs. Rob ties up Yoh's legs.

Yoh takes corner attacks. Rob kicks Yoh in the leg hard and he goes out to sell it. Yoh sends his opponents into each other and hits a double dropkick. Goto spinning heel kicks both opponents then hits a double bulldog for 2.

Goto lariats Zack off the ropes. Goto goes for an elbow drop and Zack goes for an armbar off of it. Zack and Goto trade. Zack rolls up Goto with a bridge for 2. Zack PK's Goto then Goto lariats him over.

Yoh dragon screws Rob then plancha's him outside. Yoh underhook suplexes Rob for 2. Rob blocks a dragon screw and puts Yoh's legs in a submission. Zack cobra twists Goto at the same time. Rob misses a 450 off the top. Rob does a sliced bread on Yoh.

Rob takes a falcon arrow. Goto and Zack lariat each other. Yoh superkicks Zack then Goto ushigoroshi's Zack. Rob superkicks Yoh then gets a 2 count on him. Rob then pins him.

Thoughts: Goto and Zack continue to show good chemistry together and seem like they may be able to put a good one on. Yoh's leg was worked some here but it wasn't really focused. It was about average as they needed more time for Goto and Zack.

Goto and Zack stare down after. 

YOSHI-HASHI vs. Ryohei Oiwa

Oiwa hits forearms on Yoshi and knocks him over twice. Oiwa dropkicks him and Yoshi goes out. Oiwa armlocks Yoshi and works on the arm. Oiwa is pulled out into the rails. Yoshi throws Oiwa into the rails. Yoshi slams Oiwa on the floor.

Oiwa hits chops on Yoshi then Yoshi chops back. Oiwa is laid on the top rope and Yoshi dropkicks him. Yoshi chops him up. Oiwa hits forearms then gutwrench suplexes Yoshi. Yoshi's head is banged off the buckles and Oiwa flying euros him.

Oiwa suplexes him for 2. Oiwa armlocks him then sends his shoulder into the ropes. Oiwa stomps Yoshi's arm into the mat. Oiwa bangs Yoshi's arm off his shoulder. Oiwa sleepers Yoshi. Yoshi mule kicks Oiwa. Oiwa back body drops Yoshi then Yoshi headhunters him.

Oiwa and Yoshi trade chops. Yoshi hits chops on Oiwa. Yoshi lariats and suplexes him. Oiwa then lariats him. Oiwa backdrops Yoshi. Yoshi backcrackers Oiwa then sitout powerbombs him for 2. Oiwa sleepers him.

Yoshi lariats Oiwa. Oiwa spinning forearms him. Yoshi superkicks him and running lariats him. Yoshi hits a fisherman buster for 2. Thye hold each others wrist and lariat each other. Oiwa lariats him over. Oiwa hits a doctor bomb for 2. Oiwa falling splashes Yoshi from the buckles for 2. Oiwa sits on Yoshi's back with an armlock. Yoshi rolls him up for 2.

Oiwa sleepers Yoshi then spinning lariats him for the win.

Thoughts: I didn't like this that much. It just never got to the next level. Oiwa worked the arm for a bit but it didn't lead to anything and the finish was weak.

Oiwa talks on the mic after.

Overall thoughts: It was your usual average NJPW Korakuen show. The main didn't really deliver like it should have. This was a more compact show with different people being teamed together in the matches which lead to some good results like Akira/Ishii and Goto/Zack but some stuff like Shota/Khan just isn't clicking. I'd give this a 4 out of 10 and wouldn't recommend it.