This article was originally posted at VoicesOfWrestling.com on February 8th, 2020.
New Japan Pro Wrestling enters a sold out Osaka Jo Hall this weekend with The New Beginning In Osaka events. Here are all of my statistics and research for the card, stacked with four singles matches and five championships on the line!
The primary singles matches include head to head statistics, venue statistics and notes. The undercard has many miscellaneous notes and recent trends.
For more in-depth and up to date statistics on NJPW throughout 2020, follow me on twitter, @TheChrisSamsa, visit my complete and re-organized NJPW 2020 statistics on SportofProWrestling.com, buy the Voices of Wrestling NJPW 2019 Year In Review eBook, and check out the Voices of Wrestling New Beginning in Osaka preview and predictions article here.
IWGP HEAVYWEIGHT & IWGP INTERCONTINENTAL DOUBLE CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Tetsuya Naito (c) v. KENTA
- Tetsuya Naito has competed in three IWGP Intercontinental Championship matches at Osaka Jo Hall. In 2017, he dropped the championship to Hiroshi Tanahashi in 25:56. In 2018,he dropped the championship to Chris Jericho in 17:16. In 2019, he defeated Kota Ibushi for the championship in 22:06.
- Naito’s other singles match at Osaka Jo Hall was his IWGP Heavyweight Championship defense against Kazuchika Okada in 2016. This was Naito’s second defense of his first reign and Okada defeated Naito in 28:58 to regain the title.
- KENTA has competed once at Osaka Jo Hall, teaming with CIMA and Heat to defeat Jinsei Shinzaka, Super Delfin, and Jyushin Thunder Liger in 2004 during the Osaka Pro Super J Cup.
- This will be Tetsuya Naito’s 16th IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match. He is 11-4 in the previous 15.
- This will be Tetsuya Naito’s 9th IWGP World Heavyweight Championship Match. He is 3-5 in the previous 8.
IWGP US HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Jon Moxley (c) v. Minoru Suzuki
- Minoru Suzuki is 3-1 overall at Osaka Jo Hall with a 2-0 singles record, including a successful NEVER Openweight Championship defense against Hirooki Goto in 2017 and a victory with UWF in 1990.
- Jon Moxley is 1-0 at Osaka Jo Hall. He defeated Shota Umino in 3:52 at last year’s Dominion.
- This will be Minoru Suzuki’s first IWGP United States Championship match.
IWGP JR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
Hiromu Takahashi(c) v. Ryu Lee
- Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee have wrestled in 18 singles matches dating back to 2014 in CMLL. Lee leads the all time series 10-8.
- When wrestling in an NJPW ring, Hiromu Takahashi leads the all time series with Ryu Lee 3-2. Both of Ryu Lee’s NJPW victories over Hiromu occurred during the 2017 and 2018 Best of The Super Juniors tournaments.
- Two of Hiromu Takahashi’s three NJPW victories over Lee have been IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship matches.
- Lee and Takahashi met at New Beginning in Osaka, 2017 in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. Takahashi was victorious in 18:23.
- Hiromu Takahashi’s +9 2020 fall differential (winning falls – losing falls) is the best in NJPW. His 13 victories so far on the year are also the best in NJPW, tied with his LIJ unit-mates, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, and BUSHI.
- This will be Takahashi’s 13th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. He is 9-3 in the previous 12.
- This will be Ryu Lee’s 6th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. He is 2-3 in the previous 5.
SANADA v. Jay White
- SANADA’s last singles victory in NJPW was on August 7th, 2019 against Lance Archer in the G1 Climax Tournament.
- White and SANADA have both struggled at Osaka Jo Hall. SANADA is 1-3, with his lone victory coming at Dominion 2017 in the NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Gauntlet Match. White is 0-3.
- This will be both competitors first singles match in Osaka Jo Hall and their first singles match against each other.
IWGP JR. HEAVYWEIGHT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH
SHO, YOH v. Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado
- In 2018, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado defended the Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championships against SHO and YOH in Osaka Jo Hall at Dominion. This was SHO & YOH’s only match at Osaka Jo Hall
- The IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships have been defended four times at Osaka Jo Hall, they have changed hands twice.
- Kanemaru and El Despearado lead the all time series with SHO and YOH 7-4.
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi v. Ryusuke Taguchi, Toa Henare, Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe
- Yuji Nagata’s only loss at Osaka Jo Hall was at Dominion 2016 when he lost his NEVER Openweight Championship to Katsuyori Shibata.
- Satoshi Kojima’s only win at Osaka Jo Hall was at Dominion 2016 when he, Tenzan, and Nakanishi defeated David Finlay, Jay White, and Juice Robinson
- Kojima’s most recent match at Osaka Jo Hall was at Dominion 2019 when Shingo Takagi defeated him in a singles match.
- On 7/5/2015, Togi Makabe defeated Tomohiro Ishii for the NEVER Openweight Championship in Osaka Jo Hall.
- This will be Toa Henare’s Osaka Jo Hall debut.
Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada v. Zack Sabre Jr, Taichi
Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay, Juice Robinson v. Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga
- Over the past six months, Hiroshi Tanahashi’s +18 Fall Differential is the second best in NJPW behind only Shingo Takagi.
- Tanahashi has scored the winning fall in over 85 % of his winning matches thus far in 2020.
- Guerrillas of Destiny’s only victory so far in 2020 was their Tag Team Championship victory against Finlay and Robinson in Atlanta.
- The Bullet Club side of this match are a combined 4-28 year to date in 2020.
- The Finlay, Robinson, Tanahashi, Ibushi side of this match are a combined 22-13 year to date in 2020.