The New Beginning in Osaka (2016)

**The New Beginning in Osaka (2016)** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on February 11, 2016, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Edion Arena Osaka. The event featured nine matches, four of which were contested for championships. In the main event, Kazuchika Okada defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hirooki Goto. In addition to airing worldwide through NJPW's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World, the event also aired in Japan as a PPV through SKY PerfecTV!. The New Beginning in Osaka was the ninth event under the New Beginning name and the third under the New Beginning in Osaka name.

## Production

### Storylines

The New Beginning in Osaka featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The first matches for The New Beginning in Osaka were announced on January 12, 2016. The event would be main evented by Kazuchika Okada making his third defense of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against challenger Hirooki Goto. The match stemmed from the previous August's G1 Climax tournament, where Goto defeated Okada at the same arena in Osaka. Following the win, Goto, then the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, began petitioning for a championship unification match with Okada, but the match never came to fruition. Following Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome on January 4, 2016, where Okada successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hiroshi Tanahashi, Goto challenged him to a title match, which led to Okada ridiculing him for his numerous unsuccessful attempts at winning the title. On January 6, Goto attacked Okada at a press conference, setting up a title match between the two for The New Beginning in Osaka. Goto continued attacking Okada during each day of the tour leading to The New Beginning in Osaka, drawing boos from NJPW crowds. He also stated that upon becoming the IWGP Heavyweight Champion, he would not accept a title challenge from Okada unless he first won the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. Goto entered the match with a seven-match losing streak in IWGP Heavyweight Championship matches, having lost all of his attempts at winning the title ever since his first challenge in November 2007.

The New Beginning in Osaka would also feature two rematches from Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome contested for the NEVER championships. Katsuyori Shibata, who won his first singles title at the event, was set to make his first defense of the NEVER Openweight Championship in a rematch with Tomohiro Ishii. Meanwhile, the inaugural NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Toru Yano and the Ring of Honor (ROH) tag team of Jay Briscoe and Mark Briscoe were scheduled to defend their newly won title in a rematch with the Bullet Club trio of Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi.

The event would also feature new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson) defending their title in a three-way match against Matt Sydal and Ricochet and reDRagon (Bobby Fish and Kyle O'Reilly). The Young Bucks won the title at Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome in a four-way match, which, in addition to these three teams, also included Roppongi Vice (Beretta and Rocky Romero). reDRagon entered the match as the defending champions, but lost the title due to The Young Bucks pinning Romero for the win.

The rest of the matches were announced on February 1. Included were several matches building up to matches taking place three days later at The New Beginning in Niigata. In the semi-main event of the show, Hiroshi Tanahashi was set to team up with IWGP Tag Team Champions G.B.H. (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma) to take on the Bullet Club trio of Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Kenny Omega, which built up an IWGP Intercontinental Championship match between Tanahashi and Omega and an IWGP Tag Team Championship match between G.B.H. and Gallows and Anderson. Another six-man tag team match between *Los Ingobernables de Japón* (BUSHI, EVIL and Tetsuya Naito) and the trio of Juice Robinson, KUSHIDA and Michael Elgin built to an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match between challenger BUSHI and champion KUSHIDA.

## Event

In the first title match of the show, Jay Briscoe, Mark Briscoe and Toru Yano defended the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship against Bullet Club's Bad Luck Fale, Tama Tonga and Yujiro Takahashi. Towards the end of the match, Yano gave Fale and Takahashi the *634*, a double low blow, but then walked into a low blow from Tonga, who then hit him with his finishing move, the *Veleno*, to win the match and make Bullet Club the new champions. After the match, Yano requested a rematch for The New Beginning in Niigata. In the second title match, Matt Sydal and Ricochet defeated The Young Bucks and reDRagon to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. In the next match, Katsuyori Shibata defeated Tomohiro Ishii in a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 10 in Tokyo Dome to retain the NEVER Openweight Championship.

In the semi-main event, Bullet Club's Doc Gallows, Karl Anderson and Kenny Omega defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma with Omega pinning Honma for the win. After the match, Bullet Club continued attacking Tanahashi's right shoulder, which he had legitimately dislocated only weeks earlier, setting up the IWGP Intercontinental Championship match between him and Omega. The main event saw Kazuchika Okada defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Hirooki Goto. Goto entered the match covered in white body paint, but was defeated after being hit with three *Rainmakers* by the defending champion. In a post-match interview, Okada praised Goto and offered him a spot in the CHAOS stable. With the loss, Goto set a new record for failing to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in eight consecutive title shots.

## Reception

Dave Meltzer of the *Wrestling Observer Newsletter* called the show "good", but "far from the caliber of most big shows in recent years", adding that it "felt empty" without A.J. Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura. He called the main event a "disappointment", writing "fans just weren't that into Okada's IWGP title defense against Hirooki Goto, who needed badly to step up and didn't". He gave the match three and a half stars out of five, while awarding the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match four stars and the NEVER Openweight Championship match four and a half stars, the highest rating of the show. Overall, Meltzer stated that the show made NJPW look like a "once super-hot promotion past its peak in the midst of a slow decline".

## Aftermath

Throughout the tour following The New Beginning in Osaka, Okada kept making invitations for Goto to join CHAOS, but was repeatedly turned down. However, when Okada saved Goto from Tetsuya Naito on March 12, he finally accepted the invitation, becoming the newest member of CHAOS.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `TheNewBeginninginOsaka`
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 ja:【2月11日（木・祝）大阪大会、主要カード決定！】オカダvs後藤！ 柴田vs石井！ IWGPジュニアタッグ戦、NEVER6人タッグ戦も実現！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-01-12). Archived from the original on 2016-01-12. Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
3. ↑ ja:2月11日(木・祝)『The New Beginning in Osaka』大阪大会を「スカパー！PPV」で生中継！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-02-01). Archived from the original on 2016-02-11. Retrieved on 2016-02-11.
4. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . *HowStuffWorks, Inc.*. Discovery Communications. Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
5. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-01-12. Nakamura stripped of IWGP Intercontinental Championship . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
6. ↑ Caldwell, James 2016-01-12. Tons of NJPW News – Nakamura’s final match & title status, big title matches, more . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
7. ↑ Radican, Sean 2015-08-02. Radican's NJPW "G1 Climax Night 8" PPV Blog 8/1: Elgin continues to impress, Okada-Goto main event, full results & analysis of G1 matches . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 *ja:洋央紀 ２・１１大阪でＩＷＧＰ挑戦正式表明* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-06). Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
9. ↑ *ja:洋央紀の襲撃受けたオカダ激怒* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-07). Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
10. ↑ *ja:新日本オカダが会見中に後藤から襲撃* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2016-01-07). Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
11. ↑ *ja:洋央紀が報復宣言　オカダをＩＷＧＰ戦線から追放* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-05). Retrieved on 2016-02-05.
12. ↑ *ja:【新日・東京ドーム】石井とノーガードの打ち合い！柴田がシングル初戴冠* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-01-05). Retrieved on 2016-01-05.
13. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-03. Wrestle Kingdom 10 live results: Kazuchika Okada vs Hiroshi Tanahashi . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-01-12.
14. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-02-01. Bullet Club, Young Lions, Will Ospreay & more: New Japan Pro Wrestling news & notes . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-02-01.
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 ja:【2.11大阪・全カード決定！】メインはオカダvs後藤！ 注目の“4大選手権”開催！ 棚橋とケニーが前哨タッグで激突！ 桜庭vsライガーが6人タッグで激突！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2016-02-01). Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved on 2016-02-01.
16. ↑ New Japan’s Big Feb. shows – Full Line-ups for "New Beginning" PPVs, plus ROH in Tokyo roster . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-01). Archived from the original on 2016-02-01. Retrieved on 2016-02-01.
17. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-02-09. New Japan Pro Wrestling 'New Beginning' in Osaka preview . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-02-10.
18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 Meltzer, Dave 2016-02-11. NJPW Beginnings live results: IWGP Heavyweight championship Kazuchika Okada vs Hirooki Goto . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-11.
19. ↑ *ja:＜新日＞ファレ組がＮＥＶＥＲ6人タッグ新王者に* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-12). Retrieved on 2016-02-12.
20. ↑ *ja:＜新日＞ＩＷＧＰジュニアタッグ王座はリコシェ組が奪取* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-12). Retrieved on 2016-02-12.
21. ↑ *ja:【新日】V１柴田　ＮＥＶＥＲ王座防衛ロードに第3世代視野* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-12). Retrieved on 2016-02-12.
22. ↑ Meltzer, Dave 2016-01-25. Hiroshi Tanahashi dislocates shoulder at Fantastica Mania event . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-11.
23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 2/11 New Japan "New Beginning in Osaka" Results – Okada defends IWGP World Title, two big title changes . *Pro Wrestling Torch* (2016-02-11). Retrieved on 2016-02-11.
24. ↑ *ja:オカダ完勝Ｖ３！後藤を返り討ち* (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2016-02-12). Retrieved on 2016-02-12.
25. ↑ *ja:ＩＷＧＰ戦８連敗ショック…後藤洋央紀まさかの引退危機* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-02-22). Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
26. ↑ Meltzer, Dave (February 22, 2016). "Feb 22, 2016 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: WWE 2015 Financial Report, Kevin Randleman passes". *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Campbell, California: 15–18. ISSN 1083-9593.
27. ↑ *ja:洋央紀 オカダからの「Chaos」勧誘を一刀両断New Japan Cup 2016* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-10). Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
28. ↑ *ja:【新日ＮＪＣ】２年連続準Ｖの後藤　失意の中「Chaos」入り決断* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2016-03-13). Retrieved on 2016-03-16.
29. ↑ Macklin, Matthew 2016-02-11. Full New Japan New Beginning in Osaka report . *Pro Wrestling Insider*. Retrieved on 2016-02-11.