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Okada and Ospreay say Goodbye; 2/11/24 Results from New Japan's The New Beginning From the Edion Arena, Osaka, Japan:
1 - YOH and Toru Yano vs. Boltin Oleg and Ryusuke Taguchi
YOH pins Taguchi with a cradle.
2 - YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman and Great O-Khan
Bishomon hit a Violent Flash and a Shoto on Newman.
YOSHI-HASHI pins Newman.
3 - Tiger Mask, Tomoaki Honma, El Desperado and Shota Umino vs. Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, SHO and EVIL
SHO pins Tiger Mask after a Shock Arrow.
House of Torture beats down Umino and Desperado. EVIL sprays Umino with black spray paint. Then EVIL escapes with Umino chasing him to the locker. SHO steals Desperado’s IWGP Jr. Heavyweight belt. They exchange words and SHO wants a title shot. SHO exits with the belt.
4 - BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito vs. TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi and SANADA
SANADA forces BUSHI to tap out to Skull End.
5 - Kazuchika Okada vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
They showed an awesome video package of Kazuchika Okada over the years and his rivalry with Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Tanahashi came to the ring first. Okada was next and the Edion Arena explodes. Okada was emotional as expected as he walked to the ring. He was all business when he got in the ring.
The crowd cheered both men. Okada teases that the crowd with some heel tactics which caused the crowd to boo. Okada is great at getting a desired reaction from the fans.
Tanahashi worked over Okada’s leg. Okada hits a shotgun dropkick and tombstone. Okada with a Landslide and a Rainmaker.
Okada pins Tanahashi.
Kazuchika Okada wins his final match in New Japan.
Okada and Tanahashi hug each other and exchange words. Okada is very emotional. He bows to the crowd. He kneels before the New Japan logo in the ring and cries. He waves to the fans as they chant his name.
Okada did not address the crowd. He already did so in Korakuen Hall and this was a nice send off by the Osaka crowd. And Ospreay’s exit is still to come.
6 - IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: El Phantasmo and Hikuleo vs. Chase Owens and KENTA
Owens and KENTA already challenged and lost to El Phantasmo and Hikuleo on January 20 for the New Japan Strong Tag Team Titles.
ELP hit Sudden Death on KENTA and a plancha on Owens to the floor. Hikuleo hits a Godsend on KENTA. ELP hits a Super Thunderkiss 86. Hikuleo goes for the pin but Owens pulls out the referee. Jado goes after Owens but he gets a C-Trigger from Owens.
Taiji Ishimori jumps into the ring and hits ELP with the title belt. Hikuleo goes for a Godsend on Ishimori but KENTA hits a low blow. Ishimori blasts Hikuleo with the belt. KENTA rolls up Hikuleo while Owens throws the referee in the ring.
KENTA pins Hikuleo
KENTA and Chase Owens win the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
7 - Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Bryan Danielson
Kosei Fujita, Shane Haste and Mikey Nichols come to the ring with Zack Sabre Jr.
Lots of YES chants for the American Dragon.
Stalemate after the first 10 minutes. The crowd is totally engaged in every move and reacting to every move and counter move. Very cool.
ZSJ is tossed into ropes and tweaks his leg. Danielson double stomps the knees and uses the rope to attack the leg. Crowd boos because they want a clean match.
Lots of reversals leads to a neck Vice by ZSJ. Danielson is favoring his neck. Tons of strikes and reversals. ZSJ trapped Danielson in a Clarky Cat and transitioned to modified figure four. Danielson got to the ropes but almost in anger and frustration for having to use the rope break. Danielson was hurting from the Clarky Cat. The Japanese crowd was chanting “This is Awesome!” In English. Amazing.
They trade strikes. They exchange reversals. ZSJ hits a Zack Driver. Two count. ZSJ goes for an arm submission. Danielson elbows ZSJ in the face. Danielson gets his own Clarky Cat but ZSJ reverses out. Danielson hits ZSJ with stiff kicks. A bunch of near falls and a punt kicks by ZSJ.
The trade more near falls. ZSJ traps Danielson in a crucifix. ZSJ pins Danielson.
Good match. Go check out this match on New Japan World. Really good wrestling. No acrobatics. Just wrestling. There has to be a rubber match before Danielson retires.
After the match, both men shake hands and Danielson raises Zack’s hand and they pose for the crowd. The crowd cheers both men. Zack calls out Kazuchika Okada.
They announce Resurgence for New Japan Strong in May 2024 in Toronto California.
The Japanese announcers warn the crowd that viewer discretion is advised for the main event.
The cage is similar to Hell in a Cell with no roof. The height of the cage is parallel to the top turnbuckle.
They are calling this the Final Chapter between United Empire and Bullet Club War Dogs.
8 - Steel Cage Match: Francesco Akira, TJP, HENARE, Jeff Cobb and Will Ospreay vs. Drilla Moloney, Clark Conners, Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin and David Finlay
Finlay is out first. Ospreay is out next to his original entrance music with the crowd singing along. Ospreay kisses his fiancee Alex Windsor at ringside.
Originally it was two minutes to start. Ospreay wants 10 minutes with Finlay. Finlay says 5.
They battle on the floor and Finlay brings out weapons. This is a fight.
Drilla Moloney is out next. He drags Callum Newman and handcuffs him to the cage. They double team Ospreay.
HENARE is out next.
Clark Conners is next. He brings barbed wire and cuts Ospreay.
TJP out his own barbed wire. He face washes Conners with wire around his boot.
Alex Coughlin is next carrying a bunch of chairs.
Francesco Akira is out next. He comes through the crowd to a massive pop. He comes off the top of the cage and attacks Finlay with a kendo stick.
Gabe Kidd is last for War Dogs and brings a whole cart of weapons.
Jeff Cobb is out last.
HENARE was cut severely and doctors came to check on him.
Moloney and Conners double team Akira. TJP comes out from under the ring dressed as his demon persona and makes the save.
Everyone hits their finishers. All 10 men in the ring. It breaks down to a battle of weapons.
Conners brings out thumb tacks. Conners tries to put TJP into the tacks but TJP reverses and sends Conners face first into the tacks. TJP drop kicks him and Conners back bumps on the tacks. Cobb hits a Tour of the Islands on Conners. Finlay hits Cobb with a kendo stick.
Finlay hits Cobb with his shillelagh. Ospreay and Finlay pair up. They exchange finishers. Finlay hits two Into Oblivions. Two count.
Gedo bring a barbed wire table to the ring.
O-Khan come to the ring. He gets the handcuff key from Gedo and unlocks United Empire.
Finlay set up the table in the ring. He tries to put Ospreay into the table but blocks it. Kidd tries to push Ospreay’s face into the table but Ospreay drags Kidd’s face down the barbed wire. Finlay and Gedo attacks Ospreay. TJP sprays Finlay with the red mist. Newman and Ospreay hit stereo Oscutters on Gedo and Finlay.
Ospreay powerbombs Finlay into the barbed wire table. Finlay kicks out at two.
Ospreay sets up for a Hidden Blade. Moloney stabs Ospreay in the head with a fork. Kidd hits a Piledriver on Ospreay through a ladder.
Moloney stabs Akira in the head with a fork. Akira is bleeding and he attacks Moloney stabbing him in the head. Conners attacks with a dog collar but Akira stabs him in the head and puts the collar on Conners and hangs him over the top rope.
Akira hits a Fireball on Moloney. Kidd breaks up the count. TJP tries to save Akira but Finlay and Kidd hit a Spiked Piledriver on TJP onto some chairs.
War Dogs rip off the ring padding and exposing the wood boards. They fight on wooden boards. They are falling through the ring. Kidd and Coughlin hit a spiked tombstone on Akira on the wood.
This is stupid.
All five War Dogs are in the ring with Ospreay. Conners and Moloney with Hit and Run.
Finlay wraps wire around his knee and drop Ospreay with Overkill.
Finlay pins Ospreay.
Finlay says War Dogs run New Japan. War Dogs leave ringside.
This match was stupid and ridiculous. It was not safe and some guys could have gotten hurt. The breaking of the ring was completely stupid and someone could have been hurt severely. United Empire is completely buried. War Dogs dominated which is fine. But everyone knows Ospreay is leaving. Why destroy the entire United Empire? Ospreay does the job on his exit. Good on him. Why kill everyone else? They hid the New Japan logo to make it sound like an unsanctioned match, but the fans are not stupid. They know War Dogs have the Global and Jr Tag Belts, while United Empire has nothing. This was not good and United Empire will need a reboot or be dismantled.
After the match, HENARE is taken back to the locker. Ospreay thanks Osaka and promises to come back. He asks them to not forget him because he will not forget them. He says he will show the world what New Japan is all about. He thanks everyone and hugs his teammates in the ring. Alex Windsor comes in the ring and hugs him. Ospreay cries as he leaves the ring. He shakes fans hands as they leave ringside. United Empire poses one last time on the ramp way as a team.
Ospreay and possibly Okada are heading to AEW. This main event was the type of match that would fit AEW. Hopefully, both men will be happy there and that they will remain healthy and safe, with that style of wrestling.
The New Beginning Tour finishes in Sapporo in two weeks.
Thanks for reading.
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