In the main event of Monday’s New Beginning in Osaka card, Jay White won the IWGP heavyweight title from Hiroshi Tanahashi after a spectacular main event at the Edion Arena.
The finish saw Tanahashi, selling the effects of his injured right knee, ascend to the top turnbuckle for the High Fly Flow while White was staggered standing up. Tanahashi leaped off the top and the maneuver was blocked as White caught Tanahashi and landed the Blade Runner for the victory after 30 minutes and 29 seconds.
White said after the match that it was in Osaka that he had his final match as a Young Lion. He said that night that this was his home and they were his family, but he was wrong. They didn’t think he could beat Kenny Omega, Hiroshi Tanahashi, or Kazuchika Okada, and he beat them all.
Wai Ting and I will have a complete review of the show on Rewind-A-Raw tonight.
I’m sorry, but it takes a lot for me to get into a Tanahashi match, with only a few coming to mind I truly got into, and this was not one of them. Much less, the finish and Jay White’s moment of becoming champion. Something felt off. Rushed? Awkward? Untimely?
Tracing back the storyline, it all makes sense. Came back to face Tanahashi at WK12. Lost. Beat Kenny. Wins over Tanahashi and Okada by nefarious means in the G1. Beat Okada clean at WK13. Now beat Tanahashi clean at New Beginning for the championship. It’s all right there. A nice year long run to the title. Except it feels like it was a quick title change from Kenny-to-Tanahashi-to-Jay White. I think I would have rather Jay White gone over in the G1 becoming the 2nd Gaijin to win the tournament, and then beat the guy who did it 1st at WK and who he outsted as Bullet Club leader.
Moving things form Kenny to Tanahashi in the storyline they did was fine for me, even as a huge Kenny fan, because it felt monumental. Tanahashi reclaims the throne after years of trying to prove he still has it. But really this was a move from Kenny to Jay White without the exact interaction needed and their match was for the 3rd (not even?) most important title months ago. So yeah, this felt incomplete as a story.
Alas, In Gedo We Trust. I have zero idea who makes the next most logical opponent for Jay @ MSG. I went from being hopeful we’d get Omega-Ibushi for the title at The World’s Most Famous Arena, to expecting Tanahashi vs Okada on US soil, with the outside possibility of Tanahashi vs. Jericho as a dream match, or the story of Ibushi coming back to avenge Kenny’s loss and beat his God-Tanahashi.
NOW we have Jay White as champion fresh off clean wins vs. Okada and Tanahashi, with no Omega or Jericho in the picture…If this wasn’t New Japan I would throw out the ideal of Marty Scurrl challenging because he’s going to be the biggest North American star on the card that night, but he’s a Jr. in New Japan (is he even still in New Japan?). Sure they have the New Japan cup, but does ZSJ vs. White do it for anyone (ZSJ also won last year so can’t see him winning again). Maybe Osprey wins to inject some adrenaline into the match but he’s hurt and I can’t see him as a viable challenger to win. Anyone looking for a Juice Robinson rematch vs. Jay White…that isn’t exactly MSG worthy if I’m booking New Japan’s first show there. Okada rematch is questionable when the much bigger match would have been with the opposite outcome this morning and Tanahashi retaining and Jay having a great claim to be Okada’s first challenger even after losing today.
I’m confused, torn, disappointed for the first time in New Japan booking.
Reminds me of the Roode/Nakamura matches in how they use a knee to set up a pinfall finish. It really came off as a match form the 1980s NWA era… just incredible selling, laser focus on body parts. I loved that Jay White worked on both Tana’s knees and his neck/head region in order to soften him up for the Blade Runner.
I’m way higher on this match than most it seem but I just loved it. Even knowing the result going in I still got into the near falls and the finish
If Okada gets the match, do you beat him a 3rd time in 6 months with White?
If Okada is going over at MSG, why wouldn’t you do Tanahashi vs. Okada in MSG for the historic value in it, and then White is in line for the first title shot vs Okada since he won at WK13 clean and his loss to Tanahashi isn’t as important now that there is a new champion.
This was always going to be the problem with setting up White as the first challenger out of WK13. And I agree with @themib that this very much feels like Omega was suppose to headline MSG, isn’t, and now New Japan is trying to force their next Gaijin into the headline MSG slot…not a fan.
I think you go with Ibushi, because no heavyweight can go more balls to the walls to get the match and Jay over. He’s also someone who can eat falls more often than Okada or Naito. It also lets you save the Okada match for Dominion.
I’d go with white vs ibushi at msg and i would book Okada vs tanahashi in a no. 1 contenders match. I was really hoping for okada vs tana for the title but oh well.
Poor Naito. At this rate, hes not getting the title for a little longer.