The New Beginning in Sapporo (2024)

Promotional match card for the event, featuring Tetsuya Naito and SANADA

**The New Beginning in Sapporo** **2024** is an upcoming professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on two nights on February 23 and 24, 2024, in Sapporo, Hokkaido, at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center. Both nights featured eight matches, two of which was contested for a championship, while the second night featured one championship matches out of also eight matches overall. The first night was main evented by David Finlay defending the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against Nic Nemeth. The second night was main evented by Tetsuya Naito defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against SANADA in a rematch from Wrestle Kingdom 18. This was the thirty-sixth event under the New Beginning name and the sixth to take place in Sapporo.

## Storylines

The New Beginning in Sapporo 2024 featured eight professional wrestling matches in two nights that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The first night of the event by David Finlay defending the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship against Nic Nemeth. On January 4, 2024 at Wrestle Kingdom 18, Nemeth made his debut for NJPW, appearing ringside as a spectator along with his brother Ryan. After David Finlay won the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship, Nemeth confronted Finlay, leading to a brawl between the two men, which carried overt into the backstage area, with Nemeth challenging Finlay to a title match. On January 9, it was announced that Nemeth would make his NJPW in-ring debut by challenging Finlay for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship at the first night of the event.

On January 5, 2024 at *New Year Dash*, Matt Riddle made his NJPW debut in a pre-taped vignette, challenging NJPW World Television Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi to a title match, which he accepted. The title match was announced four days later.

At Wrestle Kingdom 18, Tetsuya Naito defeated SANADA in the main event to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. After a brief interruption by House of Torture, who were fought off by SANADA, Naito managed to fulfill his childhood dream and closed the show with his signature roll-call, after being cut off by KENTA four years prior, with SANADA requesting a rematch between the two. The following day, at *New Year Dash!*, after Just 5 Guys defeated *Los Ingobernables de Japón*, SANADA issued a challenge for a rematch, which Naito accepted, setting up the match for the event. The angle resulted in a various matches between both stables.

On December 6, in the final round robin match of the 2023 World Tag League, Ren Narita turned on Shota Umino to join the House of Torture. This led to a feud, which culminated in a match on January 24, where Umino defeated Narita, despite the interference from House of Torture. Afterwards, Umino was asked by Tama Tonga, who helped him fend off the House of Torture, to challenge for the NEVER Openweight Championship, before Umino declared himself as the "new ace" of the new generation. The following day, NJPW announced the title match.

Also on January 23, El Desperado successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, his House of Torture stablemate Sho, attacked Desperado, before stealing his title belt and challenging him to a title match. The following day, during a eight-man tag team match, Sho stole Desperado's mask. Later that night, following the match between Narita and Umino, Desperado refused Sho's challenge claiming that a lot of champions were soft on challengers demanding a shot, and instead he would give Sho a singles match to get his stolen mask back. The following day, NJPW announced the match.

## Matches

### Night 1

 2
 4
 5
* (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
* – refers to the video of that match

### Night 2

 2
 3
 4
 5
 6
 7
* (c) – refers to the champion(s) heading into the match
* – refers to the video of that match
* **P** – indicates the match took place on the pre-show