New Japan Pro Wrestling held day four of its Road To New Beginning tour on February 1, 2017.
Held at the Aomori-Ken Budokan arena, the show drew an announced crowd of 1,331 and featured the continuation of the ongoing feud between IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Minoru Suzuki.
Their respective factions CHAOS and Suzuki-Gun also met in tag team action.
Los Ingobernables de Japon also united to take on a team led by the top contender to the IWGP Intercontinental Championship Michael Elgin.
1st Match: El Desperado pinned Hirai Kawato in 7:43
Good opener and showing from Kawato.
They traded head scissors at the start, Desperado gaining the advantage with a boot to the midsection followed by a snapmare/dropkick to the back combination.
Kawato fought out of a chinlock and surprised Desperado with a flying crossbody block for a nearfall. He threw Desperado over the top rope but Desperado hung on and landed a head kick from the apron.
Desperado back dropped Kawato to the floor and came off the apron with a senton splash. He rolled Kawato back in and hit a lionsault for a nearfall.
Kawato got several nearfalls with a neckbreaker, a backslide, and inside cradle.
In the end Desperado caught him with Guitara de Angel for the pinfall.
2nd Match: Yuji Nagara pinned Henare in 6:43
After dispatching of Tomoyuki Oka on 1/31, Nagata looked to continue his education of the new class of Young Lions.
Henare is another prospect with a bright future. Already showing improvement from his World Tag League run with Manabu Nakanishi, he brought the fire in this bout.
The story was Henare fired up but his lack of experience didn’t match the veteran expertise of Nagata.
Nagata won a test of strength and spent most of the match working on the arm and back of Henare. He took him to the mat and twisted his left arm into a pretzel before Henare got the bottom rope, forcing the break.
Nagata sent Henare into the corner and followed in with a running boot followed by a suplex. He made the cover but Henare was out by one.
After taking several chops to the chest, Henare finally fired back and caught Nagata on the side of the jaw with a backfist. He stunned him with several dropkicks then a single leg takedown.
Nagata avoided the Young Lion Crab and hit an uppercut to the back of the neck. He followed up with a backdrop driver for the pinfall.
3rd Match: Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) & Tiger Mask IV defeated TenCozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) & Yoshitatsu in 9:44
Standard action but some good exchanges between GBH and TenCozy.
Makabe and Tenzan had a standoff where each threw lariats but neither would leave their feet. Makabe chopped Tenzan who stumbled but came back with the Mongolian Chops.
Makabe found himself in enemy territory when he was sent into the corner where Kojima got the tag. Kojima laid into him with his rapid fire chop sequence and a top rope elbow for a nearfall.
Tiger hit a springboard dropkick to Kojima and kept him grounded with a neck vice. Kojima rallied but fell victim to a Tiger Suplex that Tenzan had to break up.
Tatsu eventually got the tag in and worked over Makabe until Makabe floored him with another lariat. Honma came in and delivered a Kokeshi coming off the ropes for a nearfall.
Honma went for a back suplex but Tatsu flipped out onto his feet and landed a boot to the chest. He went for the Pedigree but Honma backdropped out of it. Honma threw forearms and hit a DDT for a nearfall.
After being worked over Tatsu tagged in Kojima who ran wild. He chopped down anyone in sight. Tenzan came in and they hit 3D on Makabe.
Kojima missed a Cozy Lariat intended for Honma that connected with Tatsu. As Tiger and Makabe took care of TenCozy, Honma went up and hit another Kokeshi for the pinfall.
4th Match: Suzuki-Gun (Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith Jr & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo) in 11:21
SZG jumped CHAOS before the bell rang and threw all three members to the floor.
Smith and Archer grabbed chairs and went to town on Yano and Ishii. Kanemaru suplexed Gedo onto the floor.
Once the action got into the ring Archer toyed around with Yano and kept him in a military press slam for what felt like 4 minutes before tossing him into his team’s corner. Ishii immediately tagged in and had a staredown with Archer.
Each threw clotheslines and big boots but neither went off their feet. Finally Archer came off the ropes only to be surprised by a shoulder tackle and knocked from the ring.
Yano went around the ring and pulled off the padding to one of the corners, then spewed his water at Smith. Smith gave chance but Gedo tripped him up. Yano smacked him in the head with the DVD he had brought with him.
Smith impressively lifted up Ishii for a delayed vertical suplex but before he could fully execute it Ishii threw knees, then a lariat.
Yano tagged in and chopped away at Smith’s chest. Smith reversed a whip into the exposed corner and hit a running powerslam as a pained Yano came out getting him a nearfall.
Late in the match all six fought, Yano nearly won it with his low blow/roll up combination on Kanemaru. Ishii and Archer brawled around ringside.
It came down to Gedo and Kanemaru.
Gedo tried the Gedo Clutch, Kanemaru blocking. Kanemaru dropped Gedo face first onto the exposed steel then hit Deep Impact for the pinfall.
5th Match: Rev Pro Champion Katsuyori Shibata & Juice Robinson & Jushin Liger defeated CHAOS (Never Openweight Champion Hirooki Goto & Will Ospreay & Jado) in 9:54
Very good but a bit short considering the talent involved.
Funny moment where Ospreay looked as if he were going to start with Shibata but he slapped him, tagged in a surprised Jado, and flipped Shibata off.
Shibata used Jado as a kicking pad leading to his delayed Flair face flop. As he turned to the crowd, Jado rolled to the floor and Ospreay nailed him with an enzugiri to the back of the head.
Ospreay peppered Shibata with forearms and went for a german suplex but Shibata blocked and spun around for a kick to the chest.
Cool sequence where Liger caught Jado with a rolling Liger kick and Robinson turned him inside out with the palm strike.
Goto and Robinson exchanged chops. Goto caught a crossbody attempt and delivered a backbreaker. He hit the Ushigorosh but Robinson kicked out to his dismay. Robinson escaped an STF and created enough space to bring in Shibata.
Shibata wound up delivering the Penalty Kick to Goto who rolled to the floor. Ospreay went for another slap but ate one instead and a head kick.
Liger did a rolling senton off the apron to take down Goto and Ospreay. Inside the ring Shibata sent Jado into Robinson who hit Pulp Friction for the pinfall.
6th Match: Los Ingobernables de Japon (IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI & SANADA & EVIL) defeated Michael Elgin & Kushida & Never Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi & Rysuke Taguchi & Manabu Nakanishi in 12:28
This was pretty much a repeat of the previous show’s match with a little variation thrown in at the end.
Taguchi was flying around the ring with his ass attack on BUSHI and EVIL but SANADA side stepped and applied a claw and threw him into LIJ territory. He hit a running lariat while BUSHI hit a jumping kick to the back of the head at the same time.
Elgin went after Naito but Takahashi cut him off with a flying knee strike to the jaw. They played up LIJ trying to re-injure the jaw as Naito casually strolled in and stomped on it as Takahashi held him.
SANADA and EVIL tried to suplex Nakanishi who countered with a suplex of his own in his standard moment. He then came off the middle rope with a missile dropkick onto BUSHI for a nearfall.
The action spilled to the floor where Nakanishi was thrown shoulder first into the ringpost then the guard rail. Elgin caught BUSHI going for the MX and tossed him onto the other members of LIJ.
Elgin hit a Doctor Bomb on SANADA for a nearfall. SANADA avoided a lariat and hit a dropkick to his right knee. LIJ worked over the knee for a few minutes before he tagged in Tanahashi.
As with the prior match, Tanahashi was only in for but a few minutes. He hit the Slingblade on SANADA and an incoming Takahashi. He dropkicked Naito off the apron and wiped him out with a High Fly Crossbody from the top rope.
A hurting Nakanishi tagged in and tried to put SANADA in the Torture Rack but couldn’t. Sanada raked his eyes, then locked in Skull End. Nakanishi fought it but eventually submitted.
Main Event: Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku & Taichi & Takashi Iizuka) defeated CHAOS (IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi & IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Roppongi Vice) in 15:41
Match of the night thanks in large point to Iizuka being almost a non-factor and the great exchanges between RPG Vice and TAKA & Taichi and Okada and Suzuki.
Iizuka wandered around ringside and went after the announcers but RPG Vice dove onto him before he could cause the harm.
Okada began with TAKA and got the better of a lock up. He forced TAKA into the corner and chopped him across the chest. He hip tossed TAKA across the ring, beckoning Suzuki to come in. He didn’t oblige so Taichi came off the top rope into dropkick.
SZG knocked CHAOS off the apron. Taichi choked Romero with his mic stand as Iizuka wildly swung a chair across the backs of Baretta and Yoshi. Suzuki caught Okada with running boot then threw him into the rail.
Taichi covered Romero and TAKA counted their own pinfall. Romero made the save and laid into them with Forever Clotheslines.
Okada got a nearfall on Suzuki with a cradle DDT. Suzuki fought off an attempt of Red Ink and kicked Okada in the face. Suzuki went for the rear naked choke but Okada escaped and hit a dropkick to the back of the head. Okada went to come off the ropes but TAKA and Taichi pulled them down and he went to the floor.
Iizuka trapped Romero in a nerve hold and raked his nails across the back for added measure. Romero struggled to his feet and stunned him with a Jawbreaker. He leaped into a tag from Yoshi who hit a leaping DDT for a nearfall.
Action broke down as usual in these multi-tags.
RPG Vice hit Strong Zero on TAKA. Taichi hit a missile dropick from the top rope to take them out. Yoshi took out Taichi with the Head Crusher.
Suzuki came in from behind and locked in a choke on Romero. Okada went to make a save but Iizuka pulled him to the floor and nailed him in the ribs with a chair.
Suzuki spun Romero around and hit the Gotch Piledriver for the pinfall.
To close the show, SZG beat up Kawato who was kneeling at ringside and drug him up the aisle as they celebrated.
Final Thoughts:
A good enough show to give a thumbs up to.
The first half was standard but good action with some key exchanges done to build to the big New Beginning matches.
Strapped for time? I recommend watching the last two matches.
