The New Beginning USA (2020) was a professional wrestling tour promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling's American sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA). The tour's five events took place on January 24 at the St. Petersburg Coliseum in Tampa, Florida, January 26 at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee, January 27 at the Durham Armory in Durham, North Carolina, January 30 at the Charles F. Dodge City Center in Miami, Florida and on February 1 at the Coca-Cola Roxy in Atlanta, Georgia. This was the first event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America, the ninth event under the New Beginning name and the second to be promoted in the United States.
Production[]
Background[]
On December 9, 2019, NJPW announced the tour, with an expansion of two nights, being in total five nights compared to the previous year, which was held in three nights.[1][3] The tour would take place between January 24, 2020 and February 1, in Tampa, Florida; Nashville, Tennessee; Durham, North Carolina; Miami, Florida and Atlanta, Georgia.[1][3]
NJPW began promoting the New Beginning pay-per-view in Japan since February 2011, initially for only one night, but was changed for two nights in 2014, and three nights since 2018, two nights in Sapporo and one night in Osaka. Afterwards, NJPW began promoting the New Beginning in the United States since 2019.[5][6]
The shows would mark the first event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America and would be part of NJPW's plan for their American and international expansion, which would begin with developing talent through the LA Dojo, and running extended tours in the United States with California as the base.[7]
Tickets for the show were put on sale on December 18, except for the last night of the tour, which was delayed until January 10.[8][9] Afterwards, NJPW began having issues with the tickets website, in which sections appeared to rotated or flipped, leading NJPW to resolve those issues.[10]
Also on January 10, it was announced that Tiger Hattori would make a special appearance for the first night of the event.[11] Two days earlier, NJPW announced the full match card for the tour.[12][13] It was also announced that legendary tag team Rock ‘n’ Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) would make their return to the promotion during the tour.[13] On January 14, NJPW announced the meet-and-greets for the tour.[14] On January 23, NJPW announced that Kota Ibushi would be forced to miss the tour, due to contracting a Type-A Influenza, leading the promotion to change the match cards and refund the meet-and-greets that Ibushi was scheduled to appear.[15][16] On January 27, it was announced that Karl Fredericks was pulled out of the tour due to getting injured, leading the promotion to change the match cards.[17]
Storylines[]
The New Beginning in USA (2020) featured six to seven professional wrestling matches in five nights 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.[18]
David Finlay and Juice Robinson, the IWGP Tag Team Champions who defend their titles against the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) at the event
On December 8, David Finlay and Juice Robinson defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL and SANADA) to win the 2019 World Tag League.[19] Traditionally, the winners of the tournament have earned a shot at the IWGP Tag Team Championship at the January 4 Tokyo Dome Show and following the win, Robinson and Finlay called out reigning champions, Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa), and challenged them to a title match.[19][20] On January 5, 2020, on the second night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 in Tokyo Dome, Finlay and Robinson defeated the Guerrillas of Destiny to win the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[21] The following day, at New Years Dash, Finlay and Robinson teamed with Kota Ibushi and Hiroshi Tanahashi against the Guerrillas of Destiny and their Bullet Club stablemates Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens in a winning effort.[22] Afterwards the Guerrillas of Destiny indicated their intentions for a rematch for the IWGP Tag Team Championship.[22] The title match was announced on January 8.[13]
Matches[]
Night 1[]
| # | Results[23] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Misterioso defeated Clark Connors | Singles match | 7:46 |
| 2 | Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated Ren Narita and Alex Coughlin | Tag team match | 11:26 |
| 3 | Toru Yano and Colt Cabana defeated TJP and Karl Fredericks | Tag team match | 10:48 |
| 4 | Jeff Cobb defeated Alex Zayne | Singles match | 11:05 |
| 5 | Lance Archer defeated Yoshi-Hashi | Singles match | 12:09 |
| 6 | Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Rocky Romero defeated Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens (with Jado) | Eight-man elimination tag team match | 25:22 |
| |||
Night 2[]
| # | Results[24] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Misterioso and Alex Zayne defeated Ren Narita and Alex Coughlin | Tag team match | 9:46 |
| 2 | Yoshi-Hashi defeated Karl Fredericks | Singles match | 8:48 |
| 3 | Toru Yano and Colt Cabana defeated TJP and Clark Connors | Tag team match | 13:22 |
| 4 | Jeff Cobb defeated Satoshi Kojima | Singles match | 10:02 |
| 5 | Lance Archer defeated Yuji Nagata | Singles match | 11:16 |
| 6 | Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Yujiro Takahashi | Singles match | 10:38 |
| 7 | Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Rocky Romero defeated Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Chase Owens) (with Jado) | Six-man tag team match | 13:52 |
| |||
Night 3[]
| # | Results[25] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yujiro Takahashi defeated Misterioso | Singles match | 9:27 |
| 2 | Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated TJP and Alex Coughlin | Tag team match | 12:08 |
| 3 | Toru Yano, Colt Cabana and Rocky Romero defeated Rock N' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) and Alex Zayne | Six-man tag team match | 10:41 |
| 4 | Jeff Cobb defeated Clark Connors | Singles match | 6:28 |
| 5 | Lance Archer defeated Ren Narita | Singles match | 7:39 |
| 6 | Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens) (with Jado) by submission | Eight-man tag team match | 16:49 |
| |||
Night 4[]
| # | Results[26] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TJP and Yuji Nagata defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Misterioso | Tag team match | 10:55 |
| 2 | Satoshi Kojima defeated Alex Coughlin | Singles match | 7:56 |
| 3 | Toru Yano and Colt Cabana defeated Rock N' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) | Tag team match | 7:17 |
| 4 | Jeff Cobb defeated Ren Narita | Singles match | 7:56 |
| 5 | Lance Archer defeated Alex Zayne | Singles match | 13:17 |
| 6 | FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) defeated Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens) by disqualification | Tag team match | 8:34 |
| 7 | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Rocky Romero, Juice Robinson and David Finlay defeated Bullet Club (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens) (with Jado) | Eight-man tag team match | 12:14 |
| |||
Night 5[]
| # | Results[27] | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata defeated Alex Coughlin and Ren Narita | Tag team match | 10:57 |
| 2 | Yoshi-Hashi defeated Misterioso | Singles match | 10:57 |
| 3 | Toru Yano and Colt Cabana defeated Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi and Jado) | Tag team match | 9:40 |
| 4 | Chase Owens defeated Rocky Romero | Singles match | 17:37 |
| 5 | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Rock N' Roll Express (Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson) defeated TJP, Alex Zayne and Clark Connors | Six-man tag team match | 13:19 |
| 6 | Jeff Cobb defeated Lance Archer | Singles match | 17:55 |
| 7 | Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (with Jado) defeated FinJuice (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) (c) | Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team Championship | 18:44 |
| |||
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 Tour announcement . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019-12-09). Retrieved on 2019-12-09.
- ↑ New Beginning USA coming Jan.24-Feb.1! 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019-12-10). Retrieved on 2019-12-10.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 【来年1月30日～2月2日、札幌大会と“同日程”でアメリカ2大会が開催！】『THE NEW BEGINNING USA』ロサンゼルス大会、ノースカロライナ大会！ . New Japan Pro Wrestling. New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2018-12-10.
- ↑ LEC inc. has been chosen as the sponsor for THE NEW BEGINNING USA . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019-01-17). Retrieved on 2019-01-17.
- ↑ New Beginning events 1 . WrestlingData. Retrieved on 2019-01-14.
- ↑ New Beginning &suche=0&seite=2 New Beginning events 2 . WrestlingData. Retrieved on 2019-01-14.
- ↑ NJPW of America launched: Press conference report . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2019-10-21). Retrieved on 2019-10-21.
- ↑ New Beginning USA tickets . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-12-18.
- ↑ Detailed ticket infomation for THE NEW BEGINNING USA in Atlanta announced!! 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-01-10.
- ↑ Notice regarding tickets for New Beginning in Atlanta 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-01-17.
- ↑ Tiger Hattori to make an appearance at New Beginning in Tampa! 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-01-10.
- ↑ New Beginning in Tampa: Three Single Matches and a huge elimination main official!【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-01-08.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 New Beginning in Atlanta: IWGP Tag Team Championship Main Event!【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-01-08.
- ↑ Meet & Greets set for New Beginning USA! 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro Wrestling. Retrieved on 2020-01-14.
- ↑ Kota Ibushi struck with influenza; to miss New Beginning USA tour【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-23). Retrieved on 2020-01-25.
- ↑ Kota Ibushi to miss scheduled Meet & Greet in Miami, refunds offered 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-23). Retrieved on 2020-01-25.
- ↑ Karl Fredericks suffers injury; to miss remainder of New Beginning USA 【NJoA】 . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-27). Retrieved on 2020-01-27.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . HowStuffWorks, Inc.. Discovery Communications. Retrieved on 2017-01-10.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Renner, Ethan 2019-12-07. NJPW World Tag League finals live results: Winners are crowned . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2019-12-09.
- ↑ New Japan Pro-Wrestling 2019-12-08. Cheers to the World Tag league winners, FinJuice! .
- ↑ 2020.01.04 WRESTLE KINGDOM in TOKYO DOME . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-04). Retrieved on 2020-01-04.
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 Renner, Ethan 2020-01-06. NJPW New Year Dash live results: Jushin Liger retirement ceremony . Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved on 2020-01-06.
- ↑ THE NEW BEGINNING USA . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-24). Retrieved on 2020-01-25.
- ↑ THE NEW BEGINNING USA . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-26). Retrieved on 2020-01-27.
- ↑ THE NEW BEGINNING USA . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-27). Retrieved on 2020-01-28.
- ↑ THE NEW BEGINNING USA . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-01-30). Retrieved on 2020-02-01.
- ↑ THE NEW BEGINNING USA . New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020-02-01). Retrieved on 2020-02-02.
