NJPW NEW YEAR’S DASH 2025 REPORT (1/6) : Lansdell’s recap and analysis of the annual tradition!

NJPW NEW YEAR’S DASH 2025
JANUARY 6, 2025
OTA CITY GENERAL GYMNASIUM
TOKYO, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD

Walker Stewart was on commentary alone. He would make a comment during the second match that he wasn’t at liberty to discuss Chris Charlton’s absence, which makes me wonder if there has been some backlash from his strong anti-AEW sentiments last night.

For the newer New Japan fans among you, New Year’s Dash is a little different. The card is traditionally unannounced going into the event, and it usually gives us some unusual pairings and surprise matches that lead to new feuds and stories. It would not be a stretch to call it a fun-based, relaxed show.

(A) SATOSHI KOJIMA & HIROYOSHI TENZAN & YUJI NAGATA vs. SHOMA KATO & DAIKI NAGAI & KATSUYA MORISHIMA

A battle of the generations to open the night saw three veterans take on three young lions. The young lions got more offence than you would traditionally see from them, with all three looking better than last time I saw them in action. Naturally, the veterans took home the win after Nagata tapped out Nagai with Nagata Lock Two.

WINNERS: Nagata, Kojima, & Tenzan via submission in 9:00. (*¾)

(Lansdell’s analysis: These matches exist to get the young guys some experience in front of crowds and to show off what they have learned so far, but also to put the older big names on the card. Kato and Nagai in particular showed some real development tonight, and Kojima was especially generous with them. )

The main card started with an announcement of all the matches we would get on this (traditionally mysterious) card. Well, that was disappointing. With every match being a multi-man preview tag, we will go with shorter match summaries today.

(1) BOLTIN OLEG vs. JOSH BARNETT

We started the show with a five-minute exhibition match. Oleg has been training under Barnett occasionally, and both are high-level grapplers. This contest was exactly what Shibata and Tanahashi should have done on Wrestle Dynasty – no strikes, all grappling, and quite possibly a shoot. The match ended as Barnett slipped out of a Kamikaze attempt and clamped on a sleeper.

WINNER: Time limit draw in 5:00 . (**)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: An interesting choice to do this match a night after Tanahashi and Shibata chopped each other for three minutes. Oleg looked comfortable in the ring with a man of Barnett’s experience, and showed more technical prowess than he has shown in his New Japan matches so far.)

(2) SHOTA UMINO & TOMOAKI HONMA & EL PHANTASMO & MASTER WATO & JADO vs UNITED EMPIRE (Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan & Jacob Austin Young & Francesco Akira & TJP)

Some interesting tension and aggressive tags between Cobb and TJP during this match. Cobb has been pretty vocal about United Empire not needing a leader, while TJP has asked “what’s a unit without a leader?” With Cobb’s nickname being The Imperial Unit, that’s a pretty obvious veiled reference. At one point in the match, TJP tagged in Cobb, and Cobb immediately tagged out again. Something to keep an eye on.

Cobb and ELP were both part of the TV title match at Wrestle Kingdom, and of course ELP won that match, so the pairing of those two was a featured part of the mid-match. Cobb did get the lion’s share of the big moments in the match, showing off his ridiculous power. Akira and Wato also had some words, which hopefully signals a future singles run for Akira.

United Empire picked up the win following an Eliminator on Honma. Something of a surprise, I expected Jado to be the one eating the fall.

WINNERS: United Empire in 6:00 . (**)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: Some interesting story developments here, setting up a leadership debate in United Empire and preparing us for Cobb vs ELP and Akira vs Wato.)

After the match ELP repeatedly walked past Cobb, bumping him each time. Cobb just stood there. Meanwhile, O-Khan tore up a bunch of paper championships that fans had given to Umino, so there’s another pairing set up. Cobb grabbed a microphone for the English commentary and asked why Walker Stewart was alone (after Phantasmo had done so earlier), then said United Empire needed to assert its dominance. Foreshadowing!

(3) HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho & Yujiro Takahashi) vs. HIROSHI TANAHASHI & TIGER MASK & TOGI MAKABE & TORU YANO

As you might expect, House of Torture jumped their opponents before the bell. As you might also expect, Toru Yano removed a corner pad. We were reminded during the match that Evil has said he is done with New Japan Pro Wrestling, which I think is unlikely to be true.

Tiger Mask got an unusual amount of shine in this match, including getting Sho to tap out while the referee was distracted. That would however lead to him eating the pin after being clocked with the Never Six-Man title belt by Yujiro.

WINNER: House of Torture via pinfall in 9:00. (*¾)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: Not much to this, honestly. Just a continuation of the Tanahashi – House of Torture feud, which really needs to end.)

House of Torture continued their assault after the bell, bringing out Boltin Oleg for the save. House of Torture escaped with two of the three Never Six-Man belts and issued a challenge to Tanahashi, Yano, and Oleg. Oh, great. Just what I wanted.

TJP joined Walker Stewart on commentary.

(4) JUST FOUR GUYS (Taichi & Taka Michinoku) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Sanada & Clark Connors)

Sanada turned on Taichi to cost him a Global championship match against David Finlay, which is how we got here. Just Four Guys as a stable is really floundering right now, with both Douki and Yuya Uemura on the shelf with injury. Not that they weren’t floundering when Sanada was still with them.

Connors was wearing that gorgeous coat again. He squared off with Taka in the ring, while Taichi and Sanada brawled on the outside. Sanada seemed much more natural in this heel role, especially as he has returned to his bleached-blonde hair and the beard. The cold expression also fits beautifully. Taichi and Sanada had a brief exchange, but not enough to satisfy the feud. Naturally Taka took the loss, succumbing to Skull End.

WINNERS: Sanada and Connors via submission in 10:00. (*¾)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: Taichi will eventually get his hands on Sanada one-on-one, but until that happens these preview tags will amplify the issue.)

Sanada poured a beer on Taka after the match before Taichi could chase him off. The reference to Stone Cold was pretty clear. TJP was enraged at the waste of alcohol, and justifiably so.

(5) KENTA & TAIJI ISHIMORI vs. EL DESPERADO & KUSHIDA

An interesting partner for El Desperado, with Master Wato being in an earlier match. I wonder where Kevin Knight is? I think this was the first we saw of Kenta all weekend, too. Ishimori won the Lucha Gauntlet yesterday, which likely puts him in contention for Desperado’s title.

Unlike a lot of preview tags, there was a lot of interaction between Ishimori and Desperado here. There’s no way that match could be bad given how good they both are, but their sections of this match were solid. Kushida might be on the downside of his career but he certainly seems to have more left in his tank than many of his contemporaries. He is only 41, of course…which is the same age as Ishimori. Both men look so much younger, and it is extremely unfair.

Somewhat surprisingly, Kushida tapped out Kenta with the Hoverboard Lock for the win. Given that Kenta is a heavyweight, the result is even more interesting. Apparently Konosuke Takeshita thinks Kushida should be his first challenger for the Never Openweight title, which I imagine will happen on Jan. 11 in San José.

WINNERS: Kushida and El Desperado via submission in 11:00. (**)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: Everyone in this match can still go, although Kenta seems to only turn it on occasionally. Not only did this set up Ishimori’s challenge of Desperado, it also gave Kushida a win before his likely title match with Takeshita. Fun little match for what it was.)

Kushida got on the mic to address Takeshita’s challenge, before Ishimori snatched the mic and challenged Desperado.

(6) BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Gabe Kidd & David Finlay & Gedo & Drilla Moloney) vs. LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Bushi & Titan & Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji)

I know I said I liked Tsuji’s all-red fit, but now I am starting to think he looks like Carmen Sandiego. And no sooner did I type that than TJP said it on commentary. Carmen Tsuji-ego, if you will.

I fully expected this match to be the final straw that led to either Kidd or Finlay being evicted from Bullet Club. The confrontation in this match that seemed to draw the most attention was between Kidd and Tsuji, which makes a lot of sense. I have been saying for a while that Kidd deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Reiwa Three, and he is proving it more and more. Tsuji started out on fire, but has not really progressed much since then. They had a solid encounter, with everyone else in the match leaving the apron while it was happening. They traded blistering chops, clotheslined each other, and traded knee strikes and headbutts and suplexes and lariats. Tsuji had not previously shown an ability to compete in this style of match, so it was a pleasant surprise to see him hold his own with Kidd.

Shingo and Moloney also had an intriguing segment, with Moloney still technically a junior heavyweight but clearly being bigger than that. He matched Shingo strike for strike for the most part, giving me hope that we might actually see him and Connors move up in divisions. The match ended soon after when Gedo tagged in and was promptly tapped out by Titan.

WINNER: Los Ingobernables de Japón via pinfall in 12:00. (**¼)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: Cards are supposed to build in intensity, relevance, and quality. As such, it is right and proper that this match was the best of the night. It also set up Kidd and Tsuji, which is an enticing prospect, and confirmed in the aftermath that Moloney is now a heavyweight who wants a piece of Shingo. Also interesting was how little focus Finlay got in the match, but I am trying not to read too much into that in case he actually does resign with NJPW. The match was pretty good, but there’s only so much you can do with so many people needing their time to shine.)

(7) LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. FUNKY SAUCE (Alex Zayne & Ryusuke Taguchi)

If Zayne is going to be a regular in New Japan, I am going to be a very happy human indeed. We got t-shirt Naito for this match, which is not unusual for a preview tag. With everyone in the match being very capable of comedy, I expected more than the usual amount of good-natured shenanigans.

There was a little comedy, but not much. Ultimately it was a match to get Naito on the card and to let Zayne show off his innovative offence. I don’t really like the pairing with Taguchi, but there is a place on this roster for someone like Zayne. He would fit well next to ELP, actually.

Naito pinned Taguchi following a Destino.

WINNERS: Naito and Takahashi via pinfall in 9:00. (*¾)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: A bit of a strange match that did not seem to fit on the card, but I understand wanting Naito and Hiromu on the show.)

Naito got on the mic after the match and said they would challenge the Young Bucks for the tag titles eventually. Well, that’s a whole lot of nothing.

(8) CHAOS (Rocky Romero & Yoh & Yoshi-Hashi & Hirooki Goto) vs. TMDK (Ryohei Oiwa & Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles & Zack Sabre Jr)

With Goto holding a contract to challenge ZSJ at some point in the future, this was a natural matchup to main event. Yoh and Rocky are also set to challenge Ichiban Sweet Boys for the junior heavyweight tag titles at New Beginning. This was the first time in a long time that Chaos had competed as a unit.

Fujita and Yoh had a bizarre confrontation to start the match. Playing off the bizarre post-show conference where Fujita kissed Yoh (while Yoh was dressed in drag), and then all four men kissed the contract instead of signing it, there was some innuendo at play. Fujita kissed Yoh on the forehead as they locked up in the ropes. Then Fujita blew Yoh a kiss, and Yoh clutched his heart and sank to the canvas before tagging in Rocky. I have no words.

Rocky and Eagles, who have plenty of history and at one point were stablemates in Chaos, had a quick and entertaining face-off before we got the trademark Chaos beatdown spot. We also got a fun spot where all four TMDK members picked a limb and applied a hold to Yoshi-Hashi, then rotated around him a couple of times. During the match we got confirmation of Desperado vs. Ishimori and Kushida vs. Takeshita for Battle in the Valley.

At the ten-minute mark we got the preview of the upcoming world title match, and brief though it was it gave a good amount of hope for the quality of that match. Everyone got a chance to shine here, with Goto getting the upper hand over ZSJ. The closing sequence was perhaps the most exciting thing on the card, seeing the two junior tag teams squaring off. It was quick, it was longer than expected, and all four men looked comfortable with each other. That also augurs well for San José. Yoh got the pin on Eagles with a rollup.

WINNERS: CHAOS via pinfall in 19:00. (**¾)

(Lansdell’s Analysis: An entertaining end to a somewhat disappointing card. We set up matches for everyone, with Yoshi-Hashi and Oiwa having a heated exchange to add to the known matches coming in to the show.)

After the match the focus was on a vicious and protracted chop battle between Oiwa and Yoshi-Hashi that continued for several minutes after the bell. Young lions tried to break it up, to no avail. The bell kept ringing, because in the history of wrestling that has been the most effective tool to end a brawl. They continued slugging it out up the entrance way and through the curtain. Not the closing brawl anyone would have expected, I imagine.

Chaos closed the show on the microphone. Goto challenged ZSJ for New Beginning in Osaka.

Final thoughts: I will admit to being hugely disappointed with this show. There were no surprise appearances, no real wacky pairings, and announcing the full card at the start of the show damaged one of the most endearing parts of New Year’s Dash. Given their absences on Dynamite, I had hopes for appearances by Will Ospreay (possibly as the partner for O-Khan, even) and Kazuchika Okada tonight, but no such like. We saw no development with David Finlay, which is confusing. We did get a tease of United Kingdom leaning towards a heelish attitude, and the resurrection of Chaos. I still think Chaos needs an injection of a top star to lead them. All told, the entire show felt like it should have opened this three-night stand instead of closing it. When one of the most interesting developments on the show is the absence of (and talking around) a commentator, you might be doing something wrong.

Keep your eyes and ears open for the 7-Star Podcast and Radican Worldwide on PWTorch VIP to hear more of my thoughts on Wrestle Kingdom weekend. Thanks for joining us!