New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/23/2024 Road to The New Beginning Day 2

New Japan Pro Wrestling 1/23/2024 Road to The New Beginning Day 2

Katsuya Murashima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Shoma Kato & YOH

 

RT and Kato do some mat wrestling. RT wristlocks him, Kato rolls through and wristlocks him. RT suplexes him off the hammerlock then goes for an armbar. Kato side headlocks him and thye stand off.

KM And Kato go at it. KM is put in a wristlock, rolls and grabs Kato's leg. KM does a nice escape out of an armbar into a leglock. Sho slams KM then headscissors him. KM's legs are split and Kato stomps on them. Kato leglocks him. Yoh suplexes KM then RT hits some knees on Yoh in the corner.

Yoh avoids a double dropkick then RT takes a double shoulder. RT is slammed by both opponents several times. KM dropkicks Yoh and slams Kato. RT hip attacks Kato for 2. Kato hits forearms on RT then RT ankle locks him. Kato then taps out.

It was a nothing much with the highlight being a hip attack and some slams. 

United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & TJP) & Callum Newman vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, David Finlay, Drilla Moloney & Gabe Kidd) 

They all brawl in the ring to start then everyone but 2 of them brawl outside. Kidd and Henare trade forearms inside then shoulder battle. Kidd slaps Henare then bites his head. Henare shoulders him over hard. Henare hits a corner lariat, a waste land and a senton. Khan sits on Kidd's neck in the corner and does squats on it.

Newman spin kicks Kidd and is tripped and pulled out. Everyone fights outside and DF euros and eye rakes Newman in the ring. Newman's head is banged off the buckles then Alex slams Newman down. Alex does a bow and arrow bridge type of move on Newman then rolls him. Newman's head is banged off of Kidd's boot and Bullet Club do Khan's pose. Kidd then humps Newman's face.

DF throws Newman on a suplex. Newman boots him in the corner then takes a back elbow and senton. Drilla and Newman trade forearms then Newman single leg dropkicks him. TJP springboard crossbodies Drilla then backdrops Clark. TJP facewashes Drilla then double stomps him out of the tree of woe.

Khan ripcord shoulder throws Alex. Kidd hits shots on Khan then brainbusters him. Henare lariats Kidd and beats up on DF. DF uranage backbreakers him. DF drops Newman's neck on the top rope then Newman hits a standing spanish fly. Drilla double stomps Newman then TJP spin kicks Drilla. Drilla superkicks TJP then TJP elbow slices him.

Akira flying forearms Clark then corner lariats him. Clark powerslams Akira then spears him for 2. Clark uppercuts Akira then Akira rolls him into a double stomp. TJP meteora's Clark and Akira rolls up Clark for 2. TJP dives off the top outside. Akira takes a superkick then rolls up Clark to win it.

It was a fast paced tag match. I would have liked to have seen more tags and stuff here as it felt like this was under lucha rules with people coming in and out constantly. 

TMDK (Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii), Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma 

They try to defend Okada leaving on commentary, saying he has done everything. I'm not a fan of saying that stuff as it makes the promotion feel unimportant. Kosei throws a shirt at Okada before this starts. TMDK is all wearing orange here, which Kosei never does.

Tana and Shane go at it. Tana side headlock takeovers him then Shane headscissors him. Tana takes him over and does an air guitar pose and is dropkicked during it. Tana 2nd rope corkscrew crossbodies him. Ishii double axe handles Shane's arm and knocks him down with a forearm. Mikey knees Ishii on the ropes and is forearmed for it. Ishii shoulders over Shane. Ishii is tripped and takes a baseball slide.

Zack cravates Ishii then Ishii takes euros from Kosei and Zack. Ishii takes a senton + fist drop combo for 2. Mikey knee drops Ishii and Zack euros Ishii. Zack facekicks him then Ishii backdrops him. Kosei back elbows Ishii in the corner then Ishii shoulders him over.

Okada gets in and back elbows Kosei. Okada running back elbows him then ddt's Shane, Mikey and Kosei. Kosei hits forearms on Okada then is put in the money clip. Okada rolls him and puts it on down on the mat. Tana and Okada take reverse 3D's by Mikey and Shane. Kosei hits a big chop on Okada then springboard dropkicks him. Okada big boots him then Kosei dropkicks him.

Zack guillotines Okada then kicks him in the arm. Okada dropkicks him. Honma gets in and chops Zack. Honma hits a bulldog then misses a falling headbutt. Honma hits forearms then Zack goes for a cobra twist. Honma reverses it and cobra twists him. Tack hiptosses him and twists his neck with his feet. Zack suplexes him then does a headscissors + leglock. Tana breaks it up.

Tana dragon screws Zack then he and Ishii dropkicks Mikey and Shane in the knees. Kosei hits a flying hurricanrana, spinning heel kick then dropkicks Okada off the apron. Honma blocks Zack's kick and hits headbutts for 2. Honma misses a 2nd rope headbutt and Zack twists his neck. Zack PK's him for 2 then triangles him. Honma then taps out to the armbar.

It was an okay 8-man tag. It needed more time and I would have liked to have seen more between Kosei and Okada. They kept this one moving and we didn't see much at all out of Ishii or Mikey here.

Shota Umino, Tama Tonga & Togi Makabe vs. House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi)

The faces are attacked before the bell as usual. Shota is sent into the rail. Togi forearms Yujiro then takes a face kick. Togi shoulders him over then Tama gets in. Tama and Togi hit stereo corner punches then Yujiro takes a back elbow from Tama. Yujiro bites Tama's hand then Tama takes a stun gun.

Everyone fights outside and Evil chokes Togi with a microphone. Ren throws Shota into the metal rails. Yujiro hits shots on Tama then Ren slams Tama. Ren chinlocks Tama then Evil tries pins on Tama. We hit 5 minutes and Evil eye rakes Tama. Tama comes out of the corner and lariats him then Ren/Shota get in.

Shota running forearms Ren, drops Yujiro on his chest then shotgun dropkicks him. Shota running euros Ren then fisherman suplexes him for 2. Shota forearms Ren and misses a dropkick. Ren catapults Shota's neck into the bottom rope then catapults him. Shota throws Ren off then exploders him.

Togi corne rlariats Ren then Tama corner splashes him. Ren then runs into Togi's clothesline for 2. Ren grabs the ref. Togi takes corner attacks then a 2nd rope chop to the nuts. Togi running lariats Ren for 2. Evil brings a chair in and the ref stops him. Ren then hits Togi with a push-up bar and wins it.

It was a pretty lame match with them not doing much but the basics here.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) vs. Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura)

HT = Hiromu Takahashi

Bushi wore a Buffaloman style headpiece and had a face mask with horns on it. Yota and Yuta stare down. LIJ attack before the bell. Yota throws Yuya into the rails then Yuya forearms him and pounds on him. Yota send shim into the rails again. Taichi snapmares shingo and kicks him in the back. Taichi trades leg kicks for forearms against Shingo. They shoulder battle and Taichi enzugiri's him.

Shingo back elbows then lariats Taichi. Shingo talks to the camera and Taichi boots him in the back. Shingo shoulders him over then Taichi side kicks Naito. Sanada leapfrogs Naito then dropkicks him.

Sanada shoulders over Douki then Naito step up enzugiri's Sanada. Naito hiptoss neckbreakers Douki over his knee. HT flying headscissors Douki then shotgun dropkicks Taka into Douki. HT basement dropkicks Douki. HT blocks Douki's slingshot ddt. HT hits an armdrag then Douki step up enzugiri's him. Douki springboard back elbows HT.

Yota and Yuya get in. Yota boots, back elbows and shoulders him over. Yota wheelbarrow drops Yuya then splashes him. Yuya armdrags Yota then backdrops him. Taka pump kicks Yota then Yota pushes Taka's head into the mat. Bushi top rope dropkicks Taka then Taka blocks his tope attempt. Bushi ddt's Taka then hits a rewind kick. Taka jumping back kicks him. LIJ are knocked off the apron and Bushi rolls up Taichi. Taichi buzzsaw kicks him then stretch plums him. Taichi lariats Shingo then Sanada dropkicks Naito.

Bushi takes some moves then Just 5 Guys does a 5 person boot to Bushi. We get a 4 person stereo plancha while Taichi takes his pants off. Taichi superkicks Bushi and wins it.

It wasn't anyone's best work but the two multi-man spots at the end were fun here. I don't even think we got any topes here. I thought it was somewhat fun though and it was okay for a house show match.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Match - El Desperado (c) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru

 

YK = Yoshinobu Kanemaru

They lock up twice and Despy is pushed back. they then fly at each other and evade attacks. Despy shoulders him over and misses an elbow. YK shoulders him over then stomps his head. YK armdrags Despy then side headlocks him. They criss cross on the ropes and YK knee dropkicks him. They go outsdie and Despy is thrown into the post.

Despy is dropped on the rail then YK legdrops him while on it. Yk back body drops Despy and throws him out. Despy is thrown into the rails and slammed on the floor mats. Despy hits a big slap in the ring and is eye raked. YK makes Despy do a split then pulls his neck forward. YK camel clutches him. Despy boots YK then backdrops him twice. Despy dropkicks YK in the knee then dragon screws him. Despy stretch mufflers YK. YK sells his knee hard, faking an injury. YK rolls him up then satelitte ddt's him. YK comes off the 2nd rope and takes a spinebuster for 2. Despy then streth mufflers him again.

Sho gets on the apron then House of Torture come down. Despy gets knocked into the ropes then Tanahashi and Shota comes down. Shota dropkicks Ren then House of Torture run. Tana tries to run but can't. Despy is sent into the exposed buckle then YK ddt's him. YK top rope moonsaults Despy then crabs him.

YK sends Despy's shoulder into the post then 2nd rope diving ddt's him. Despy suplexes YK then spinebusters him. Despy hits another suplex then abdominal stretch bombs him. Despy dragon screws YK's knee and YK rolls him up for 2. Despy puts him in a stretch muffler then Dick Togo pulls the ref out. Despy is stomped by Togo and Evil. Tama Tonga throws out Togo and Evil takes a magic killer.

Despy shotei's YK and YK jack knife pins him for 2. Despy's head goes into the exposed buckle then Despy stretch mufflers him. YK then taps out.

It was long and had the usual HoT shenanigans. Just one round of it wasn't enough either as HoT came out twice here. Despy mostly focused on the stretch muffler here and Kanemaru worked the knee for a bit. I didn't think this was that great and while it only went 23:55, it felt a lot longer.

Overall thoughts: I don't recommend this one. It wasn't NJPW's best effort and nothing was must see here.