The New Beginning in Osaka (2024) was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on February 11, 2024, in Osaka at Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium. The event featured eight matches, two of which were contested for championships. In the main event, United Empire (Francesco Akira, Jeff Cobb, HENARE, Will Ospreay and TJP) faced Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney) in a Dog Pound Cage match. This was the thirty-seventh event under the New Beginning name and the nineth under the New Beginning in Osaka name.
Storylines[]
The New Beginning in Osaka featured professional wrestling matches that involves different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
Will Ospreay, who wrestled his last match in NJPW at the event
On January 4, 2023 at Wrestle Kingdom 18 in Tokyo Dome, both David Finlay and Will Ospreay took part in the match to crown the inaugural IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion, which Finlay won by pinning Ospreay. The following day, at New Year Dash, Bullet Club War Dogs faced United Empire in a no contest. Afterwards, Ospreay announced that his last match in NJPW would be at the event, before challenging Bullet Club War Dogs to a match, with David Finlay choosing the stipulation. Finlay accepted the challenge and decided the match would be contested steel cage match, setting up the match for the event. This was NJPW's first Steel Cage match since 2004. On February 4, United Empire faced Bullet War Dogs in a series of matches, culminating on Clark Connors and Drilla Moloney defeating TJP and Francesco Akira to regain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.
Bryan Danielson, who faced Zack Sabre Jr.
At New Year Dash, TMDK faced Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii in a winning effort. Afterwards, Zack Sabre Jr. challenged Danielson to a rematch, after Danielson had previously defeated him at AEW's WrestleDream on October 1, 2023, by knockout blow, leading Sabre to maintain that Danielson was unable to tap him out and he was the best technical wrestler in the world. Also in that altercation, TMDK's young lion Kosei Fujita challenged Okada, Ishii and Hiroshi Tanahashi to a title match for the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. However, Okada proclaimed that Fujita wasn't ready. Despite this, Fujita asked NJPW President Tanahashi to make the match happen, leading NJPW to announce the match for the event. On January 19, NJPW announced that Okada would not be renewing his contract at the end of that month, and would cease being a full-time performer for the company after fulfilling his dates at The New Beginning series of events a month later. This led to NJPW changing the match card for the event, with Okada facing Tanahashi in one of his last match for the promotion. The New Beginning 2012, was the start of Okada's and Tanahashi's long standing rivalry.
At New Year Dash, Chase Owens came forward to challenge recently crowned IWGP Tag Team Champions and Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions to a match the Guerrillas of Destiny (El Phantasmo and Hikuleo) to a match with his partner being KENTA, which they accepted. Both KENTA and Owens were key figures in Phantasmo being kicked out of Bullet Club, and ruining his planned coup d’état. After successfully defending the Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship against Owens and KENTA on February 4 at The New Beginning in Nagoya, Guerrillas of Destiny decided to defend the IWGP Tag Team Championship against them at The New Beginning in Osaka.
