New Japan Pro Wrestling 2/11/2025 The New Beginning in Osaka 2025

New Japan Pro Wrestling 2/11/2025 The New Beginning in Osaka 2025

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe

Tana armdrags him to start. Tana trips him then is put in a hammerlock. Togi headscissors him and they stand off. They trade chops and Tana is sent into the rails. Togi lariats him. Togi snapmares him into a chinlock. Togi sleepers him. They trade forearms. Tana flying forearms him.

Tana standing swantons him for 2. Togi powerslams Tana. Togi hits corner punches and a northern lights suplex for 2. Togi germans him for 2. Togi running lariats him. Togi misses a top rope knee drop.

They trade shots. Togi drops him with a lariat then Tana sling blades him for 2. Tana tries to jump over the top but fails. Tana then misses a high fly flow off the top. Tana backrolls him with a bridge and wins.

Thoughts: Tana's spot where he couldn't get over the top was bad but it was fine otherwise. The two know how to work with each other and Tana hid a lot of his weaknesses. It's a shame  they couldn't go all out like they used to because I'm sure it would have been good.

Shingo Takagi vs. Drilla Moloney

Shingo clubs him. They shoulderblock battle then trade forearms. Drila hits a nice dropkick, Shingo no sells it and shoulders him over. Shingo suplexes him for 2. Drilla leg lariats him from behind.

Shingo corner lariats him. Shingo germans him then Drilla backdrops him. Drilla spinning chops him then spinebusters him. Shingo is sent into the rails. Shingo back body drops him in the ring. Shingo lariats him down. Shingo superplexes him. Drilla rolling spears him for 2.

Shingo gori bombs him. Drilla hits some kicks and hits his own made in japan for 2. Shingo running lariats Drilla then hits a made in japan for 2. Shingo sliding lariats him and Drilla pops back up. Shingo running lariats him. Drilla hits an over the shoulder piledriver and wins.

Thoughts: They got about 11 minutes here and it was a good match. The two matched up well and basically had an action packed sprint with hoss wrestling. Drilla might be a heavyweight in weight technically, but he's not exactly Big Van Vader.

Great-O-Khan vs. Shota Umino

Shota dropkicks him as he enters to boos then slingshot ddt's him over the middle rope onto the apron. Shota is thrown into the rails and shotgun dropkicks Khan. They fight on the ramp and Shota is suplexed into the rails. Khan hits Shota with a rail then hits mongolian chops.

Khan fireman's carry takeovers him in the ring and monkey flips him. Khan then shoulders throws him. Khan hits karelin's lift. Shota hits boots out of the corner and Shota exploders him. Shota hits ignition for 2.

Shota hits an enzugiri then Khan lariats him. Khan lifts him and gets ddt'd out of it. Shota euros him and hits a death rider for 2. Khan hits mounted forearms to the back of the neck and pushes the ref away. 

Shota tornado ddt's him. Khan northern lights suplexes him. Shota spinning forearms him. Khan hits a straight punch. Khan flatliners Shota then Khan chokeslams him for the win.

Thoughts: It wasn't anything too special as expected. These two didn't show great chemistry leading up to it. The crowd didn't like Shota either which hurt this one. 

Khan tries to cut Shota's hair after. Shota stops him and shaves his own head in a bizarre twist. Khan loves it. 

Taichi vs. SANADA

Sanada has speakers on his jacket and a guitar for his entrance. Sanada plancha's him as he enters. Sanada misses a guitar shot then Tai facekicks him. They go out and Tai facekicks him after being thrown in the rails. Sanada is thrown in the rails. Tai chairs Sanada in the gut then the back as the bell officially rings.

Taiji Ishimori grabs Tai's legs as he tries to get in and Sanada kicks the rope into Tai's crotch. Sanada then magic screws him. Sanada hits punches and dropkicks him in the knee. Tai russian legsweeps him. Tai corner facekicks Sanada then side kicks him. 

Tai hits kicks on a kneeling Sanada. Sanada dropkicks him. Tai enzugiri's him in the corner. Sanada springboard dropkicks Tai. Tai high kicks him. Sanada blocks a backdrop with a low blow. Sanada shining wizards Tai then top rope moonsaults him for 2.

Tai gamengiri's him. Sanada fakes that Tai kicked him low. The ref sees it and their seconds try to make their case for their guy. Tai kicks Sanada in the nuts for 2. Tai running lariats him. Tai backdrops him for 2. Sanada grabs the ref to avoid a move then low blows Tai. Sanada hits deadfall on Tai and wins.

Thoughts: It was bogus with them cheating in front of the ref and the ref not caring. It was mostly all Sanada going for low blows, totally ruining what would have been a solid straight match.

Taka fights with Sanada and Taiji after. Taka gets kicked in the nuts by Taiji. Sanada goes to hit Tai with a guitar. Yuya Uemura comes out and make the save. Yuya talks on the mic after. He says he's ready for Sanada.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - Ichiban Sweet Boys (Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles) (c) vs. Roppongi ReVice (Rocky Romero & YOH)

Rob trips RR and rolls over him. They trade armdrags. RR takes a double back elbow and a double kick. Kosei chops RR in the corner and on the ropes. RR and Rob trade chops. Kosei chops RR over. Kosei is tripped into a basement dropkick. Rob takes a double dropkick.

Yoh slams RR then knee drops him. Kosei trips Yoh and puts him in a surfboard that is broken up. RR ducks a chop and topes Rob off of it. Kosei is caught off an apron moonsault and is double suplexed on the floor. RR double stomps Rob off the apron.

Kosei is popped up and hits a hurricanrana off of it. Yoh superkicks RR on accident. Yoh backrolls and bridges Yoh for 2. Kosei takes a big rig for 2. Kosei takes a double team falcon arrow for 2. Rob top rope hurricanrana's RR off the top.

Yoh takes a double kick. RR hits a double hurricanrana. RR hits corner lariats on both opponents. RR takes a t-gimmick for 2. RR is lifted into a ddt for 2. Rob high kicks Yoh. Robe tope con hilos oh through the ropes and hits his leg hard on the rails. Kosei top rope dropkicks RR.

RR cradles Kosei for 2. RR hits a b-driver on Kosei. RR takes a kick from the ropes into a german for 2. Kosei lifts RR into a cutter and wins.

Thoughts: It was alright. It was a fast paced juniors match as expected and they didn't overdo it here. That's all you can ask for. 

NEVER Openweight Title Match - Konosuke Takeshita (c) vs. Oleg Boltin

They shoulderblock battle. KT facekicks him and Oleg shoulders him over. They lock up outside and KT is pushed into the post. Oleg charges at him near the post and goes into the post hard.

Oleg's shoulder is rammed into the post. KT hits forearms to the shoulder and Oleg fires back. KT flying clotheslines him. They go up top and KT superplexes him. Oleg dropkicks him. Oleg runs into a facekick. Oleg throws him on a slam. Oleg splashes KT for 2. Oleg AA's KT. They lariat battle. Oleg karelin's lifts him. Oleg corner splashes him then hits a slam. Oleg vader bombs him for 2. KT blue thunders Oleg for 2. They trade forearm and KT goes down twice. They both end up going down. Oleg hits a finlay roll on him for 2.

KT running lariats him and Oleg lands on his forehead. KT pumping knees him for 2. Oleg hits a big slam. KT hits a raging fire and wins.

Thoughts: I liked this one and it was probably Oleg's best singles match so har. It was all hoss style wrestling here with shoulderblock battles, slams and various drops. They didn't overdo it too much and they timed this one right. This was good. 

Oiwa comes out and challenges KT after.

IWGP Tag Team Title Match - The Young Bucks (Matthew Jackson & Nicholas Jackson) (c) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito)

HT = Hiromu Takahashi

The Bucks take double clotheslines to shot then a double basement dropkick. HT and Naito doesy do and Naito is lifted into a headscissors on a Buck. HT then hits crossbodies. HT running crossbodies a Buck outside. A Buck hits a tornillo plancha outside.

Naito takes a bridging neckbreaker into a slingshot swanton. Naito takes a lariat + enzugiri in the corner then a cannonball + enzugiri in the corner. Naito rakes a Buck's back and spits on him. Naito is pulled out and one of the Buck's PK's the other from the apron. A Buck springboards into an atomic drop.

HT flying headscissors a Buck then makes one Buck headscissors the other. HT hits a basement dropkick then a crossbody outside on both Bucks. HT takes locomoton northern lights suplexes. HT is on a Buck's knees and is double stomped off the top.

A Buck takes a double shot from his opponents. Naito then hits a diamond dust. HT and Naito take double superkicks. Naito is bridged on the ropes and takes a top rope swanton. Naito rolls up a buck for 2. The Bucks miss an EVP trigger. Naito hits a bad destino that doesn't even hit. Naito then takes an EVP trigger for 2.

HT takes a double superkick. HT is caught on a double crossbody. Naito blocks a meltzer driver and The Bucks kind of do one on themselves but it isn't hit clean. Naito is lifted for a ddt on a Buck then hits destino to win.

Thoughts: The Bucks weren't that bad here but Naito couldn't really hit his destino either time he tried it and most of the stuff he did looked bad. HT and Naito's double elbow/lariat move was done multiple times and didn't look that good any of those times. This wasn't that good.

IWGP Global Heavyweight Title Match - Yota Tsuji (c) vs. Gabe Kidd

They slap each other to start and trade forearms. Yota has short trunks on here which is a new look. Gabe hits forearms and shoulders Yota over. Yota flying headscissors him but Gabe cartwheels out. Yota armdrags him and Gabe slams him.

Gabe uppercuts him down. Yota is sent into the rails outside. Gabe exploders Yota on the floor. Gabe chops him outside and Yota fires back. Gabe superkicks him. Gabe hits boots to the back of Yota's head in the ring. Gabe hits him in the head of the head and Yota forearms him. They trade forearms.

They trade chops. Yota hits forearms and then hits a hard chop. Gabe hits a bunch of chops and Yota knocks him down with superkicks for 2. Yota crabs him and Gabe ropebreaks. Yota running knees him in the corner. They collide with lariats. Yota then flips him with one.

Gabe does an abdominal stretch to Yota. Gabe corner lariats Yota. Yota takes a dangerous top rope lariat. Gabe running lariats Yota for 2. Yota does an orange crush then knees him. Yota slaps him. They trade slaps. 

Yota headbutts him then pumping knees him. Gabe hits a big lariat and Yota spears him.

Gabe is flipped with a lariat then powerbombed. Yota curbstomps him. Yota runs at him with a spear and gets piledriven. Neither man can make the 10 count and we go to a double knockout.

Thoughts: It was a disappointing ending to a hard hitting match. The selling wasn't that good here and the top rope lariat and various flips should have put both guys out long before it ended. This was all strikes and lariats here in this one. I liked it but we know what we were getting here. It probably would have came across even better if two other matches weren't similar on the card. 

They grab each other on their hands and knees after and fight more.

House of Torture attacks Yota after. The lights go out. Evil and Dick Togo come out. Evil hits everything is evil on Yota after. Gabe then gets attacked by Ren and HoT. Evil says House of Torture is no longer affiliated with War Dogs or Bullet Club anymore. Gabe is then group stomped on after, likely turning him face. Clark Connors tries to help and gets nailed.

IWGP World Heavyweight Title Match - Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Hirooki Goto

They trade basic holds to start. Goto shoulders him over twice. Goto hits a corner lariat. Zack throws him down off a hiptoss attempt and twists his neck with his feet. Zack shoulders over Goto and twists his neck with his feet. Zack headscissors him and Goto ropebreaks. Zack boots him out of the corner.

Goto hits an ushigoroshi. Goto corner lariats him then spinning heel kicks him in the corner. Goto backdrops him for 2. Zack triangles him on the ropes. Zack stomps Goto's arm into the ropes. Goto russian legsweeps him into a pin attempt for 2. Zack bridge pins him for 2. Goto elbow slices Zack while he's on the buckles. Zack michinoku drivers him.

They trade shots Goto does a reverse GTR then Zack michinoku drivers him for 2. Zack goes for the armbar. Zack pulls back on both of Goto's arms then grabs a leg with it. Zack hits kicks to the body and Goto drops him with a forearm. Zack sleepers him.

Zack hits a PK, Goto no sells it then lariats him. Goto kicks him in the chest and hits a GTW for 2. Zack slaps him around and is headbutted. Goto hits more headbutts then running lariats him. Goto hits a nightmare pendulum and Zack gets 2 on a bridge pin on him. Zack pele kicks the arm and is lariated. Goto slices him over the knee then hits another and wins.

Thoughts: They got this one right and it was a good match. They didn't go too long in this and timed it just right. Zack worked the arm a little and Goto sold it some. Goto then put together some of his trademark moves near the end and won. Goto kept Zack from doing his submission exhibition offense which helped this out. The crowd was super hot here, probably the hottest it has been all year and Goto was mega over. It was nice to see Goto finally get the big win but it really is about 17 years too late. There's just no excuse for Goto not to have been given a reign at some point and been made one of the top guys. The work has always been there and he's been super reliable. I really do have to question what the point of the Zack reign was if this was the final result since they basically told the same story twice. The build to this one was not good either as even a month ago, there was nothing to suggest Goto would win here. Something like this could have been built up to for months.

Goto says he did it for his dad and brought his kids in after. Goto talks to his kids and has them say something. Goto gets streamers after.

Yuji Nagata challenges Goto in the press conference after.

Overall thoughts: It was a good show and one of NJPW's best shows in a long time. The main delivered and we got a big moment out of it with Goto winning the title. The semi-main was good, Takeshita/Oleg was good, the junior tag title match was tolerable and I liked Shingo/Drilla. Shota cutting his own hair was memorable as well. Sanada/Tai wasn't good and neither was the tag title match. I liked what we got of Tana vs Togi as well. I'd give it a 7 out of 10 and would recommend it.