NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2025 Results – Feb. 11, 2025 – Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

February 11, 2025
Osaka, Japan – EDION Arena Osaka
English Commentary: Walker Stewart and Clark Connors
Results via Corey Michaels of F4WOnline.com


Quick Match Results

  1. Pre-show: United Empire defeated El Desperado & Katsuya Murashima via Roll-up (pinfall 8:20)
  2. Hiroshi Tanahashi Final Road ~Kinship~ match – Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Togi Makabe via Bringing Pin (pinfall 9:24)
  3. Drilla Moloney defeated Shingo Takagi via Drilla Killa (pinfall 10:40)
  4. Great-O-Khan defeated Shota Umino via Eliminator (pinfall 9:38)
  5. SANADA defeated Taichi via Deadfall (pinfall 8:35)
  6. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Ichiban Sweet Boys (c) defeated Roppongi ReVICE via Abandon Hope (pinfall 11:43)
  7. NEVER Openweight Championship – Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Boltin Oleg via Raging Fire (pinfall)
  8. IWGP Tag Team Championship – Los Ingobernables De Japon defeated The Young Bucks (c) via Destino (pinfall 9:48)
  9. IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship – Gabe Kidd vs. Yota Tusji (c) went to Double Knockout (21:24)
  10. IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – Hirooki Goto defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (c) via GTR (pinfall 20:07)

Pre-show
El Desperado & Katsuya Murashima vs. United Empire (Francesco Akira & Jeff Cobb)

Osaka rose to life as Akira and Desperado started the evening’s proceedings. Murashima took it from there, but couldn’t handle the speed of Akira, nor the strength of Cobb. Murashima employed a desperate dropkick to buy enough time to tag Desperado. Overwhelming the mighty Cobb, Desperado suffered a plancha and a flying top rope crossbody from Akira. On the precipice of a Tiger Driver on Cobb, Desperado’s last effort was thwarted by a leaping Akira’s roll-up pin for the victory.

Winner: United Empire via Pinfall.

Post-match: Akira and Desperado had a staredown as they cemented a match for Desperado’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship on March 3, at the NJPW 53rd Anniversary Event.


Hiroshi Tanahashi Final Road ~Kinship~ Match
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Togi Makabe

Makabe instantly got the advantage over the Ace, but Tanahashi powered through after a forearm exchange and a senton. Makabe nearly won after a scoop slam and a German Suplex, but missed on King Kong Kneedrop. Both competitors weakened, Tanahashi opted for a Slingblade and a High Fly Flow, the latter of which failed to put Makabe away. Tanahashi reversed Makabe’s King Kong Lariat into a bridged pin for the 3-count.

Winner: Hiroshi Tanahashi via Pinfall.


Shingo Takagi vs. Drilla Moloney

What started off as a standard feeling-out process quickly trancended into acrobatic and stiff territory as though both men had to win the match immediately and with hate. Takagi’s normally brutal chops were no-sold by Moloney, and his German Suplexes were no match for the Young War Dog’s. Reeling from a gnarly Spinebuster, Takagi rolled meekly to the outside, clutching his head. Moloney dragged his corpse to the outside, tossing him carelessly into some chairs; a fan in attendance left his seat amid the carnage looking mildly inconvenienced.

Back in the ring, Takagi evaded a Drilla Killa, instead striking with an elbow, chop, and lariat. A Vertical Suplex from the top rope crushed Moloney but couldn’t help land a Made in Japan. Moloney earned a reprieve with a gore that stopped the Last Dragon but could not slay him. Moloney used his own Made in England, but it wasn’t enough. Osaka roared after Takagi did a Sliding Lariat and a Pumping Bomber, but were left aghast as Moloney attempted a successful Drilla Killa for the win.

Winner: Drilla Moloney via Pinfall.


Shota Umino vs. Great-O-Khan

Osaka’s dislike for Umino continues from 2024 as he made his way to the ring. Umino wasted little time, interrupting his own entrance by assaulting Khan. As Umino was wresting Khan to the barricades, the former KOPW champ thrust his colorful opponent into said barricades. Khan continued his comeback, crumpling his opponent with a Gut-wrench Suplex into the corner of the ring. Umino fought back with an enzuigiri and a DDT, and Osaka maintained their disdain for him.

Umino nearly secured the win with underhook Death Rider. Just as his opponent invoked Jon Moxley, Khan called upon the style of former United Empire leader Will Ospreay with elbows to the back of Umino’s skull. Khan quelled Umino’s uprising with an STO and stamped it with an Elminator for the pinfall.

Winner: Great-O-Khan via Pinfall.

Post-match: Khan grabbed out shaving equipment, ready to shear Umino’s head; Umino instead grabbed it and did it himself before collapsing onto the mat.


SANADA vs. Taichi

Sanada wore a jacket to the ring, with shoulders padded with something reminiscent to Y2K-era stereos. He cut Taichi’s music short. Taichi, his entrance gear still on, toppled his former ally with a Big Boot. He teased using Sanada’s acoustic guitar against him, but thought better of it, perhaps because music and its instruments are sacred to him. Taichi battered Sanada on the outside, tossing him to the barricade and cracking him with whatever weapon he could find. Taka Michinoku appealed to his better senses; Taichi began to play fair. Bullet Club intercepted Michinoku as Sanada dropped Taichi with a Magic Screw.

Taichi kept his stiff offense, despite a glimpse of comeback potential. Sanada avoided Taichi’s best-laid plans by grabbing the referee to distract Taichi and capitalizing with a Shining Wizard. Taichi dropped Sanada with an enzuigiri. Sanada opted for another referee distraction, and resorted to feigning a suffered low-blow. Taichi’s anger grew, leading him to lose focus with repeated referee spots, a low-blow, and a Dead Fall for the win.

Winner: SANADA via Pinfall.

Post-match: Bullet Club War Dogs ganged up on the prone Taichi, saved at the last moment by a returning Yuya Uemura.


IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi ReVICE (YOH & Rocky Romero) vs. Ichiban Sweet Boys (Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita) (c)

Eagles & Fujita isolated YOH in the early goings, but Romero helped turn the tide. Romero neutralized Eagles with a Suicida, leaving Fujita to take to the skies; Chaos caught him and double-suplexed him on the outside. Fujita leveraged Romero’s presence in the ring to send him into YOH’s superkick but failed; they succeeded on Eagles. YOH set a top rope-perched Romero up for a finisher on Fujita, but Eagles interjected with a Hurricanrana.

Romero avoided Chaos’s combined effort on him with a Double-Hurricanrana but suffered a Sweet Buster for his troubles. Eagles assisted Fujita with a flying enzuigiri and German suplex combination, followed by an Abandon Hope to at last retain the titles.

Winner: Ichiban Sweet Boys via Pinfall to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship.

Post-match: Taiji Ishimori challlenged for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship with the aid of Robbie X in the future.


NEVER Openweight Championship
Boltin Oleg vs. Konosuke Takeshita (c)

A standoff begat this championship bout. Takeshita’s merciless approach whittled at the normally indomitable Oleg. Takeshita plummeted Oleg with a top-rope suplex that shook the whole ring; the challenger could only scream in agony. Miraculously, Oleg made a spirited comeback, going so far as to throw Takeshita across the ring as though he were a plush teddy bear. A Fireman’s Carry earned Oleg a breather, leading to another standoff, this time with exchanged lariats. Takeshita reeled from a Boltin Shake, nearly falling to a Boltin Bomb.

Takeshita’s trusty Blue Thunderbomb couldn’t put the Kazakh wrestler away. Trading elbows, Oleg quickly gained the upper-hand, folding Takeshita like a bad hand at poker whilst maintaining wrist control. Desperately, Takeshita threw all the deadliest strikes and finishers he could muster. Even a sleeper couldn’t extinguish his flame. A Raging Fire made that flame mere embers, as Takeshita got the pinfall victory.

Winner: Konosuke Takeshita via Pinfall to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship.

Post-match: Ryohei Oiwa greeted Takeshita after the latter shook hands with Oleg. A NEVER Openweight Championship match is set for the future.


IWGP Tag Team Championship
Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. The Young Bucks (Matthew & Nicholas Jackson) (c)

Following an uneasy handshake, Takahashi used a suprise attack on the Young Bucks and Naito followed his lead. Slowing down the otherwise high-speed action, Nicholas almost had control had Naito not moved out of the way to hurt Matthew. Takahashi, filled with gremlin energy, ran like a locomotive train and toppling both of the Jackson brothers. After a Superkick Party, Nicholas nearly pinned Naito. An EVP Trigger failed to connect to the LIJ leader a first time, but a second one hit.

Thwarting a Meltzer Driver, Naito and Takahashi went full throttle, with the former nailing a series of Destinos on the brothers. One final Destino in particular put away Nicholas for the victory.

Winner: Los Ingobernables De Japon via Pinfall to become the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.


IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship
Gabe Kidd vs. Yota Tsuji (c)

Tsuji, sporting shorts this time, locked up with Kidd, but the challenger was several steps ahead. Brawling on the outside, Kidd once again remained in control against the barricade and onto the padding outside. The pair took turns echoing chops throughout the arena and again with thudding elbows. One chop from Tsuji was so loud, so unpleasant, that it caused a veign to be visible in Kidd’s head.

The wear-and-tear of this exchange saw Tsuji collapse after superkicking Kidd to the ground. A Boston Crab hold tortured Kidd, but did not deter him from crawling for a rope break. Fighting his way from the top rope, Kidd dropped Tsuji and struck him with a hard lariat. Tsuji quelled this momentum by flipping Kidd through the air before falling himself. A frenetic exchange saw Tsuji lariat Kidd to the mat, succeeded by a powerbomb. Kidd aimed for an exposed running knee, but Tsuji met it with a Gene Blaster. Kidd could not stand back up in time, Tsuji couldn’t stay on his.

Winner: None.

Post-match: Kidd and Tsuji checked on one another before headbutting each other. Kidd slapped Tsuji to the mat. House of Torture emerged, attacking Tsuji and then Kidd. EVIL and Dick Togo made a surprise appearance, seemingly to defend Tsuji and Kidd before striking both. EVIL then declared that the House of Torture would no longer be affiliated with War Dogs moving forward. As EVIL saw it, House of Torture kicked the War Dogs out of the Bullet Club. Clark Connors, who was on commentary, met the same fate as Kidd and Tsuji.


IWGP World Heavyweight Championship
Hirooki Goto vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (c)

Sabre and Goto locked up, with the latter switching to his power-based style. Though his arm had been targeted by the champion, Goto found the strength to down him with an Ushigoroshi. Throwing Sabre about the ring, Goto maintained a pace built on hope and determination. Twisting and contorting Goto’s arm, the Brit sought a Sabre Driver which bore no fruit until later when the challenger couldn’t drop him.

Osaka, having given Goto a warm reception upon his entrance, made their voices heard in favor of the hopeful challenger. A Reverse-GTR failed and gave way to another Sabre Driver and an arm hold. Hope turned to dreadful agony for Goto as Sabre wrenched his arms back further and further until a rope break saved him. In Sabre’s clutches, Goto nearly succumbed to a sleeper hold and a Penalty Kick before rising with a lariat and a GTW which couldn’t stop the champion.

Rageful, Sabre sent a flurry of slaps across Goto’s face, but he would not falter. A series of headbutts and a lariat led a chorus of inspired Osaka cheers. They would be further elated with each subsequent GTR. One final GTR gave Goto the three seconds needed for the pinfall victory.

Winner: Hirooki Goto via Pinfall to become the new IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.