A match between Bryan Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr. is set for next month.
Danielson will return to Japan on February 11 in Osaka when he takes on Zack Sabre Jr. in a rematch from their WrestleDream match back in October. After Danielson won with a running knee, Sabre has since insisted that Danielson can’t submit him.
The Osaka show will be headlined by a ten-man steel cage match pitting members of United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Henare, TJP, and Francesco Akira) against Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney). Ospreay confirmed earlier this month that this will be his final match as a full-time NJPW wrestler.
Three title matches were also announced for NJPW’s upcoming cards in Sapporo on February 23 and 24. Night one will see David Finlay defend the IWGP Global Championship against Nic Nemeth, while Hiroshi Tanahashi will defend the New Japan World Television title against Matt Riddle. Both Nemeth and Riddle are making their NJPW debuts.
Night two will see Tetsuya Naito defend the IWGP World Heavyweight title against SANADA, the man he defeated in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom 18 on January 4. The second night in Sapporo will also see members of LIJ take on Just Five Guys in singles action.
Here are the lineups so far for The New Beginning in Osaka and The New Beginning cards in Sapporo.
February 11 in Osaka
- Ten-man steel cage match: United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Henare, TJP, and Francesco Akira) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney)
- Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- IWGP Tag Team titles: Hikuleo and TJP defend against KENTA and Chase Owens
- NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles: Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii defend against Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Kosei Fujita
February 23 in Sapporo
- IWGP Global Championship: David Finlay defends against Nic Nemeth
- New Japan World Television title: Hiroshi Tanahashi defends against Matt Riddle
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, and BUSHI) vs. SANADA, Taichi, Yuya Uemura, DOUKI, and Taka Michinoku)
- Toru Yano & Tomoya vs. ???
February 24 in Sapporo
- IWGP World Heavyweight title: Tetsuya Naito defends against SANADA
- Shingo Takagi vs. Taichi
- Taka Michinoku vs. BUSHI
- DOUKI vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- Yuya Uemura vs. Yota Tsuji
- Toru Yano & Tomoya vs. ???
