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Revision as of 19:18, 10 January 2018
The New Beginning in Osaka (2018) is an upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event will take place on February 10, 2018, in Osaka, Osaka, at Edion Arena Osaka. The event will feature nine matches, three of which will be contested for championships. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada will defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against SANADA. This was the fourteenth event under the New Beginning name and the fifth under the New Beginning in Osaka name.
Production
Background
The event will air worldwide on NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World, with English commentary provided by Kevin Kelly and Don Callis, the latter of whom replaces Kelly's previous broadcast partner Steve Corino.
Storylines
The New Beginning in Osaka will feature nine professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Kazuchika Okada, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion who will defend his title against SANADA in the main event
The New Beginning in Sapporo will be main evented by Kazuchika Okada making his tenth defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against SANADA. On January 5, 2018 at New Years Dash, Okada and his CHAOS stablemates Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Will Ospreay and Gedo faced SANADA and his Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemates Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, BUSHI and Hiromu Takahashi. After the match, L.I.J. attacked CHAOS and SANADA would lay out Okada with the Skull End. Afterwards, SANADA challenged Okada for his title. In the weeks leading to the event, Okada accepted SANADA's challenge for his title on the condition that he would have put first his IWGP Tag Team Championship against him and Goto. SANADA made his debut in New Japan Pro Wrestling on April 10, 2016 at Invasion Attack 2016 by interfering in the main event and helping Naito defeating Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, joining Naito's Los Ingobernables de Japón (L.I.J.) stable in the process. The two would face each other on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2016, where he Okada was victorious.
SANADA, who will receive his shot for IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the main event.
Okada has held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship ever since defeating Naito at Dominion 6.19 in Osaka-jo Hall, and became the longest reigning champion after defeating EVIL on October 9, 2017 at King of Pro-Wrestling. After Wrestle Kingdom 12 Okada stated that he would beat Hiroshi Tanahashi's record of eleven successful title defenses. This will be SANADA first opportunity for a singles championship in NJPW, this marks the rematch between the two since the 2016 Wrestling Dontaku. The match was officially announced on January 9.
Hirooki Goto, the NEVER Openweight Champion who will defend his title against EVIL.
The CHAOS and Los Ingobernables de Japon angle resulted in The New Beginning in Osaka also featuring other prominent matches featuring the stable. On January 5, 2018 at New Years Dash, after CHAOS faced L.I.J. both EVIL challenged Hirooki Goto for the NEVER Openweight Championship. On October 12, 2015 EVIL was revealed as Tetsuya Naito's associate during his match against Hiroshi Tanahashi. EVIL's outside interference in the match was stopped by Hirooki Goto and Katsuyori Shibata, leading to Naito suffering a loss. EVIL then Watanabe attacked Goto, laying him out. EVIL faced Goto at Power Struggle in November, but the match ended in a disqualification, when Tetsuya Naito made a surprise appearance and attacked Goto. This will mark EVIL and Goto's one-on-one rematch after two years. Since Power Struggle EVIL and Goto would win the NEVER Openweight Championship, EVIL and Goto twice. In the weeks leading to The New Beginning, EVIL and his partner SANADA will put the IWGP Tag Team Championship on the line against Goto and his CHAOS stablemate Kazuchika Okada. The match was officially announced on January 9.
Will Ospreay, the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion who will defend his title against Hiromu Takahashi.
Another match that features the CHAOS and L.I.J. angle his the match between Will Ospreay and Hiromu Takahashi for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. During the 2017 Best of the Super Juniors Ospreay defeated Takahashi in their head-to-head match, ending Takahashi's chance to make in the finals, and Osprea advanced to the finals losing to KUSHIDA. Prior to the BOSJ final, Takahashi stated that he had chosen Ospreay, who had eliminated him from the tournament, as his challenger to his IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Dominion 6.11 in Osaka-jo Hall. Despite this, NJPW elected to make KUSHIDA the number one contender, officially announcing the match between him and Takahashi for Dominion 6.11. Ospreay went on defeating KUSHIDA to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. Both Ospreay and Takahashi took part in a four-way match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 12, where Ospreay won the title for the second time. After Ospreay won the title, Hiromu is aiming for revenge in single match. The match was officially announced on January 9.
The event will also include Gedo facing BUSHI and Tetsuya Naito facing Yoshi-Hashi and also the last match of Katsuya Kitamura's seven-match trial. Kitamura won the 2017 Young Lion Cup on December 21 winning all five of his matches. Afterwards, he was given a seven-match trial, with the first match losing to Jay White at New Years Dash.
Results
| # | Results | Stipulations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Katsuya Kitamura vs. Michael Elgin | Singles match | |
| 2 | Roppongi 3K (Sho and Yoh) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) | Tag Team match | |
| 3 | David Finlay, Juice Robinson and Michael Elgin vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano and Jay White) | Six-man tag team match | |
| 4 | Taguchi Japan (KUSHIDA, Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe) vs. Suzuki-gun (Taka Michinoku, Taichi, Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Iizuka) | Eight-man tag team match | |
| 5 | BUSHI vs. Gedo | Singles match | |
| 6 | Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tetsuya Naito | Singles match | |
| 7 | Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi | Singles match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship | |
| 8 | Hirooki Goto (c) vs. EVIL | SSingles match for the NEVER Openweight Championship | |
| 9 | Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. SANADA | Singles match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship | |
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