NJPW The New Beginning in Sapporo 2020 Results – Feb. 1, 2020 – Hirooki Goto vs. Shingo Takagi

Feb 1, 2020

Results via Ethan Renner of F4WOnline.com

February 1, 2020
Hokkaido, Japan – Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center Hokkai Kitayell
English commentary: Kevin Kelly, Chris Charlton, and Gino Gambino

Quick Match Results

El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori defeated Yuya Uemura & Tiger Mask via Yes Lock (submission 8:13)
Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe defeated Yota Tsuji, Manabu Nakanishi, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan via TOA Bottom (pinfall 9:41)
Ryusuke Taguchi, Roppongi 3K, & Will Ospreay defeated DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, & Zack Sabre Jr. via Dodon (pinfall 11:45)
Robbie Eagles & Ryu Lee defeated BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi via Ron Miller Special (submission 11:47)
Jay White & KENTA defeated SANADA & Tetsuya Naito via Schoolboy (pinfall 18:24)
Minoru Suzuki & Taichi defeated Jon Moxley & Kazuchika Okada via Gotch Style Piledriver (pinfall 17:48)
Tomohiro Ishii defeated EVIL via Vertical Drop Brainbuster (pinfall 21:14)
NEVER Openweight Championship – Shingo Takagi defeated Hirooki Goto (c) via Last of the Dragon (pinfall 20:10)

Yuya Uemura & Tiger Mask vs. El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori

Uemura and ELP began. Uemura got some brief shine before ELP cut him off. ELP and Ishimori went to work with their comedy back rakes and crotch stomps. ELP worked a chinlock. Uemura hit a dropkick and tagged out.

Tiger hit a crossbody off the top to ELP, a dropkick to the apron on Ishimori, then grabbed a kneebar on ELP. Tiger used a crucifix for a near fall on ELP with Ishimori saving for his partner.

Tiger hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Uemura entered for a double team. Tiger hit a Tiger Driver, then Uemura locked on a crab. ELP reached the bottom rope for a break.

Uemura hit a release belly-to-belly for a near fall. Ishimori jumped in, allowing ELP to hit a superkick. Ishimori tagged in and ELP and Ishimori hit stereo superkicks for a near fall.

Ishimori went for the Bloody Cross. Uemura blocked and used a small package for a two count. Uemura used a cradle for another near fall. Ishimori hit a jumping knee strike, then used the Yes Lock for the submission win over Uemura.

Winner: El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori via Submission.

This was a solid opener.

Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji, Manabu Nakanishi, & Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Henare and Nakanishi started off, trading strikes. Henare bounced around for Nakanishi, jumping into a shoulder tackle. Nakanishi missed a splash and sold his knees. Honma tagged in and worked on Nakanishi’s left leg. Makabe got a tag and continued to attack the left leg.

Honma ducked under a lariat, then ran into a Nakanishi spear. Nakanishi tagged Tenzan, who hit Honma with chops and a brainbuster. Tenzan hit a wheel kick for a two count. Honma hit a diving kokeshi into a double down.

Makabe got a tag and hit ten punches in the corner on Tenzan. Tenzan came back with a mountain bomb. Henare and Tsuji tagged in. Tsuji locked on a full Boston crab.

The match broke down and all six men jumped in. Nakanishi used the Argentinian rack on Makabe. Tenzan used the Anaconda Vice on Honma. Henare fought to the ropes, forcing Tsuji to break the crab.

Tsuji peppered Henare with forearm strikes. Henare came back with an elbow strike and a tackle for a two count. The other four brawled to the floor. Tsuji blocked a Toa Bottom. Henare hit a lariat, then hit the Toa Bottom for the pin.

Winner: Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe via Pinfall.

This wasn’t about match quality, it was about letting Nakanishi have some ring time as the final month of his career kicks off. Take it for what it is and on to the next.

Ryusuke Taguchi, Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH), & Will Ospreay vs. DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, & Zack Sabre Jr.

This was pure chaos from before the opening bell. A fine match, all action.

Suzuki-gun tried an attack before the bell. A brawl broke out around ringside. Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio off the barricade to Sabre. SHO, YOH and Taguchi went after Kanemaru in the ring. Kanemaru made a comeback and another brawl broke out. Sabre went after Ospreay on the ramp. Kanemaru hit a leg slice over the barricade.

When order was restored, Suzuki-gun established control of the match in the ring, working over SHO. DOUKI used a slam. SHO fired back with forearm shots. DOUKI raked the eyes and forced SHO into the blue corner, where Suzuki-gun continued to pummel SHO.

SHO hit a spear to Sabre, then tagged Ospreay. Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio, fought off DOUKI, then hit a handspring kick to Sabre for a near fall. Sabre blocked a cheeky Nando’s kick. Ospreay blocked an octopus. Sabre tied Ospreay up on the mat, but YOH saved.

Ospreay hit a tiger wall flip kick. Taguchi and DOUKI tagged in. Taguchi got cut off after missing a springboard hip attack into the ring. DOUKI hit a springboard double stomp for a two count, with SHO and YOH saving.

DOUKI hit his Daybreak springboard DDT for a near fall. He teased Suplex de la Luna, but Taguchi dropped into a cradle for a two count.

Everyone jumped in as the match broke down. SHO hit a baseball slide. YOH hit a plancha. Taguchi ducked a steel pipe shot from DOUKI, then hit a Bomaye for a two count. The finish saw Taguchi hit Dodon on DOUKI for the pin.

Winner: Ryusuke Taguchi, Roppongi 3K, & Will Ospreay via Pinfall.

Ospreay posed with Sabre’s RPW British Heavyweight title after the match. SHO and YOH faced off with Desperado and Kanemaru as well.

Robbie Eagles & Ryu Lee vs. BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi

This was crazy good.

Lee and Hiromu began with a palm strike battle. Lee teased a tope con giro. Hiromu backed away, so Lee hit a handstand on the apron, bounced to the floor, then sent Hiromu into the barricade. An unreal opening sequence.

Eagles tagged in and hit a dropkick. BUSHI jumped in to save Hiromu. The match broke down into a brawl, which saw BUSHI and Hiromu establish the advantage. Back inside, BUSHI used a neckbreaker on Eagles for a two count.

Hiromu hit a series of corner clotheslines, then used a basement dropkick on Eagles for a two count. BUSHI and Hiromu doubled up on Eagles. Hiromu hit a shotgun dropkick. Lee tried to interfere and was quickly dispensed with.

BUSHI used an STF on Eagles. Eagles forced a rope break. Eagles hit a leg lariat and tagged Lee, who mocked LIJ by hitting Naito’s combinacion cabron and spitting on Hiromu. Lee hit a Shibata dropkick for a two count.

Hiromu hit a wheelbarrow German. Lee hit a German, but Hiromu landed on his feet, then hit a German on Lee into the corner pad.

Eagles and BUSHI tagged in. Eagles attacked BUSHI’s left leg with kicks. Eagles missed a meteora in the corner. BUSHI hit a missile dropkick. BUSHI hit a tope suicida to Lee for good measure.

BUSHI and Hiromu used a tandem wheelbarrow for a two count as Lee saved. Lee and Hiromu brawled to the floor. BUSHI tried a codebreaker. Eagles blocked and hit Turbo Backpack for a near fall.

Eagles used the Miller Special on BUSHI. Lee hit a tope con giro to Hiromu. BUSHI verbally submitted to Eagles.

Winner: Robbie Eagles & Ryu Lee via Submission.

Jay White & KENTA vs. SANADA & Tetsuya Naito

Naito began for his team. KENTA and White did a bunch of stalling. Naito knocked White off the apron, tossed KENTA outside, then hit his pose. Then it was Naito’s turn to stall. White and SANADA tagged in. Gedo twice tried interfering from the floor. SANADA avoided his trips, but KENTA used the distraction to jump in.

KENTA and White turned it into a brawl around the arena. KENTA hit a DDT in the aisle on Naito. White sent SANADA into the barricade. Back inside, KENTA used a back elbow on SANADA for a one count.

White got a tag and used a chinlock. SANADA missed a standing moonsault. White hit a legdrop for a two count. KENTA worked on SANADA in as dull a manner as possible. SANADA came back with a dropkick off the second rope, then tagged Naito.

Naito showed good fire as he hit a headscissors takeover and a dropkick to KENTA. Naito used a neckbreaker, then a crucifix hold with his legs. KENTA reached the ropes for a break. KENTA hit a powerslam.

KENTA hit a clothesline off the top rope for a two count. He teased a G2S, but Naito slid out. KENTA hit a draping DDT for a near fall. KENTA missed a pump kick. Naito escaped another G2S attempt. KENTA hit a German. Naito answered with a spinebuster.

SANADA and White got tags. SANADA hit a dropkick to the knee, sending White rolling to the floor. SANADA hit a plancha. Back inside, SANADA tried a paradise lock. White fought it off. White escaped a TKO attempt, then dragged SANADA down by the hair.

White hit a DDT for a two count. SANADA blocked a uranage. White hit a snap Saito suplex, then used a Blade Buster for a two count. Naito and KENTA jumped in. Naito hit a one-legged dropkick to White, then a dropkick to KENTA.

Gedo tried to climb in with a chair, but SANADA crotched him on the middle rope. SANADA and White teased their finishers. White used a cradle for a near fall.

They did another series of finisher teases. SANADA used a roll-up with the tights for a two count. White shoved him off into the ropes, where Gedo hit SANADA with a chair. White then used a schoolboy with a handful of tights for the pin.

Winner: Jay White & KENTA via Pinfall.

Jon Moxley & Kazuchika Okada vs. Minoru Suzuki & Taichi

This was an awesome brawl.

Moxley wore an eye patch, selling his AEW angle.

Okada and Moxley entered the ring at the same time and went after Taichi and Suzuki before the bell. Okada and Taichi rolled outside, leaving Moxley and Suzuki to trade shots in the ring. They had an intense striking exchange. Suzuki then went after Moxley’s fingers.

Taichi tagged in and Moxley sent him back into the corner, then tagged Okada. Okada hit a low dropkick. The pace slowed as Taichi and Okada squared off. They traded strikes. Taichi hit some leg kicks. Taichi hit a backdrop suplex.

On the floor, Suzuki went after Moxley with a chair. Suzuki dragged Moxley into the crowd. Taichi then sent Okada outside. Okada got whipped into a row of seats. Suzuki hit Moxley with chairs and pieces of the security fence. Suzuki and Moxley dueled with pieces of the barricade.

Back inside, Taichi used a couple of holds on Okada, as the focus was on Moxley and Suzuki outside. Suzuki made his way back to the ring and tagged in. Suzuki used a chinlock on Okada. Taichi tagged in and took his pants off.

Okada made a comeback on Taichi, hitting an air raid crash. Moxley and Suzuki tagged in. Moxley hit some knee strikes and a clothesline out of the corner. Moxley used a backbreaker for a two count.

Moxley tried a cloverleaf, then transitioned to an STF. Suzuki bit his way out of the hold. Moxley answered by biting Suzuki, then hitting a Regal knee for a two count.

Moxley set up a table on the floor. He teased a suplex from the apron but Suzuki used an armbar over the ropes. Suzuki locked on a cross armbreaker. Moxley forced a rope break.

Suzuki kicked at Moxley’s eye. Moxley hit a clothesline out of the corner. Moxley went for Death Rider, but Taichi saved. Okada jumped in. Taichi ducked a Rainmaker and avoided a dropkick. Taichi hit a back suplex to Okada. Moxley sent Taichi outside with a dropkick.

Moxley and Suzuki traded strikes. Moxley tried a Death Rider. Suzuki blocked, hit a couple of strikes, then applied a sleeper hold. Suzuki hit a Gotch-style piledriver and pinned Moxley.

Winner: Minoru Suzuki & Taichi via Pinfall.

After the bell, Taichi choked out Okada with a camera cable. He then used his mic stand to attack the referee and the ringside Young Lions.

Taichi choked Okada with the stand, then pulled out the iron fingers. Okada ducked the fingers and hit two dropkicks. Okada went for a Rainmaker, but Zack Sabre Jr. ran in and used a rear naked choke on Okada. Taichi then hit Okada with the fingers.

Ospreay ran in. Sabre hit Ospreay with a Zack Driver. Taichi and Sabre stood over their fallen opponents ahead of their matches tomorrow.

Taichi then hit a Black Mephisto on Okada on the ramp, then locked him in the stretch plum. Taichi marched back to the ring and cut a promo. He said Okada’s beaten up, and he’s going to beat the hell out of him tomorrow, just as he did when Okada was a Young Lion.

Tomohiro Ishii vs. EVIL

The last five minutes were very good, but Ishii is clearly hurting and had to work a slower match than usual. They got the crowd into it at the end, which was no small feat, as either the crowd was poorly mic’ed, or dead for most of the night.

They exchanged shoulder tackle attempts, strikes, then misdirection spots. They brawled outside. Ishii hit EVIL with a chair on the outside. EVIL punched a chair into Ishii’s head. EVIL then wrapped a chair around Ishii’s neck, then sent him into the post.

The action returned to the ring. EVIL hit a neckbreaker for a two count, then used a chinlock. Ishii hit some chops, then EVIL dropped Ishii with a single chop. EVIL tried a vertical suplex, but Ishii reversed into his own suplex.

Ishii hit a tackle out of the corner, then used a series of chops to the throat. EVIL suplexed Ishii into the buckle. Ishii landed awkwardly on his head. Ishii rolled outside. EVIL placed a chair around his neck, then hit it with a second chair.

Ishii hit a clunky-looking neckbreaker. EVIL used Red Shoes as a base for a Magic Killer on Ishii. EVIL blocked an enziguri. Ishii ducked a lariat and hit a back suplex. Ishii followed with a superplex for a two count.

EVIL hit a series of strikes to Ishii’s neck, but Ishii no-sold. Ishii dropped EVIL with one shot to the neck, then hit a stacked-up powerbomb for a near fall. EVIL hit a lariat. Ishii hit a leg lariat and a clothesline for a near fall.

Ishii went for the Vertical Drop Brainbuster, but EVIL blocked. They traded knee strikes. EVIL blocked another brainbuster try and hit a lariat for a two count. EVIL hit a top rope superplex for a near fall.

Ishii blocked Everything is EVIL and hit a headbutt. EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a two count. Ishii reversed Everything is EVIL into a DDT, then hit a sliding lariat. Ishii hit a kick, then used another sliding lariat for another two count.

EVIL hit two half-and-half suplexes. Ishii hit a dragon suplex but EVIL no-sold it, then hit a headbutt. EVIL hit a lariat. Ishii kicked out at two.

They did a series of finisher teases and reversals. Ishii hit two lariats and scored a near fall. Ishii hit the Vertical Drop Brainbuster for the pin.

Winner: Tomohiro Ishii via Pinfall.

NEVER Openweight Championship
Shingo Takagi vs. Hirooki Goto (c)

This was a very physical match. Just an absolute strong style war. A very good match.

They began with a series of tackle attempts. Neither man could get a knockdown. Shingo scored with a strike, then missed a sliding lariat. Goto hit a tackle. They traded strikes in the corner, with Goto getting the better of it.

They traded corner clotheslines. Neither man went down on a series of lariat attempts. Shingo hit a straight right hand and dropped Goto with a lariat. Goto got clotheslined over the top rope. Shingo grabbed the title belt and taunted Goto, then posted him.

Shingo sent Goto into the barricade, dropped him face-first on the apron, then hit a DDT on the floor. Back inside, Shingo hit some chops. He used a brainbuster for a near fall. He taunted Goto with some short kicks. Goto answered with a lariat.

Goto hit a wheel kick in the corner. He tried a follow-up suplex, but Shingo blocked. Shino teased noshigami. Goto reversed into a vertical suplex for a two count. Shingo bounced off the ropes into a sleeper hold from Goto. Shingo broke the hold once, but Goto re-applied. Shingo powered out.

Shingo slid out of a sleeper attempt and hit noshigami. Shingo was bleeding near his left eye. Shingo hit a knee drop and a sliding lariat. Goto popped up and hit an ushigoroshi. They hit a series of simultaneous lariats, just pounding the hell out of each other.

They traded Saito suplexes. Shingo blocked a misdirection lariat and hit a jab. Goto answered with a lariat. They hit simultaneous lariats. Shingo stayed up, Goto went down. Goto sold as though he was woozy.

Shingo used an Irish whip, but Goto collapsed before he made it to the corner. Shingo hit a top rope death valley driver for a near fall. Goto was still selling like he was out of it. Shingo teased a superplex. Goto hit a kaiten for a two count.

Goto hit a series of knees and a draping GTR for a near fall. Shingo answered with his own draping GTR, then hit a lariat for a two count.

Goto blocked Last of the Dragon, then hit Shouten Kai for a near fall. Goto hit a PK. They traded headbutts, then a series of neck strikes. Goto hit a series of unanswered headbutts, then hit an inverted GTR. Goto went for another GTR, but Shingo blocked and hit Made in Japan for a near fall.

Shingo then hit a huge Last of the Dragon for the pin.

Winner: Shino Takagi via Pinfall to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion.

Shingo cut a promo after the win. He said this is just the first step in his goals, not the ultimate goal. He put over the NEVER title and said it’s just as good as the IWGP Heavyweight title. I mean, he shouldn’t bury the belt he just won, but, come on.

He said he’s going to tear it up with this title and the people will be with him. Confetti rained down as Shingo posed with the title.

SHO was on Japanese commentary for this match and had a brief staredown with Shingo as the new champ walked to the back to close the show.