New Japan Pro Wrestling returns to the Prefectural Gym in Osaka, Japan tonight for the New Beginning in Osaka. The show will be broadcast live on New Japan World with English commentary, kicking off at 3:00 a.m. EST / midnight PST. Our live coverage and discussion page will go up one hour prior to the start of the event.
New Beginning in Osaka will be headlined by Los Ingobernables de Japan leader Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP Intercontinental Championship against former champion Michael Elgin, who was sidelined for the later part of 2016 with an injured orbital bone. Fellow LIJ member Hiromu Takahashi (the former Kamaitachi) will also be defending his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship against CMLL star Dragon Lee. Perhaps one of the most highly anticipated bouts of the night, however, will see the strong-style expert Katsuyori Shibata defending the RevPro British Heavyweight Championship against Chaos member and high-flying sensation Will Ospreay.
Here’s the full match card:
IWGP Intercontinental Championship
Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Michael Elgin
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c) vs. Dragon Lee
IWGP Tag Team Championship
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano (c) vs. Great Bash Heel vs. Takashi Iizuka & Davey Boy Smith Jr.
British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Will Ospreay
NEVER Openweight 6-Man Championship
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Manabu Nakanishi & Ryusuke Taguchi (c) vs. Bushi, Seiya Sanada & Evil (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
Kazuchika Okada & Roppongi Vice vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Tiger Mask, Jushin Thunder Liger, Juice Robinson & Yuji Nagata vs. Gedo, Jado, Hirooki Goto & Yoshi-Hashi
Henare, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Tomoyuki Oka, Kushida & Yoshitatsu
Hirai Kawato vs. Taka Michinoku
