NJPW New Years Golden Series: Night 1 Results (1/20)

April 2024 · 3 minute read

2022 has officially begun for New Japan Pro Wrestling. NJPW kicked off their 50th Anniversary Year by doing away with the New Beginning branding for their winter tour, and returning to the New Years Golden Series of old. Night 1 brought plenty of action as the road toward Sapporo begins.

In the main event, the plucky team of Shingo Takagi, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito were able to defeat three of the most prominent IWGP Heavyweight Champions of the 21st Century, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata & current IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. Naito got the better of Nagata to win the match and send a message to Okada. The two will face off for Okada’s title in the main event of February 20th’s Golden Series finale.

Naito wasn’t the only title contender in Los Ingobernables de Japon to get the better of their future opponent. SANADA will face Hiroshi Tanahashi on February 19th for Tanahashi’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship.

.@tanahashi1_100 & @seiyasanada "???"

Sign up Now & Stay tuned to https://t.co/CcdQ1XamUA#njpw #njgolden #njpwworld pic.twitter.com/wnC4qmdvV4

— njpwworld (@njpwworld) January 20, 2022

Also sending a message was Master Wato. Wato doesn’t feel that IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado is taking him seriously enough. He tapped out Desperado’s dear friend DOUKI and the two got into a confrontation ahead of their February 11th title match.

Elsewhere on the card, Hiromu Takahashi once-again donned the furry mask he wore in CMLL and was Kamaitachi once again. He challenged Young Lion Ryohei Oiwa to unmask him during their match on Thursday, promising 10,000 Yen if he did. Not only did Oiwa fail to unmask Kamaitachi but he submitted to a rudimentary Boston Crab. Oiwa’s dojo comrade Yuto Nakashima was also tapped out in a brutal and brief match with Great-O-Khan.

Toru Yano got to play mind games against KOPW 2022 Trophy Holder Minoru Suzuki, as Satoshi Kojima picked up the win against Suzuki-gun in 6-man tag action. Plus CHAOS once again came to blows with House of Torture.

Here are the full results:

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uL7ErKulnaqku6Z6wqikaKaVrMBwfZFwbWxpYmK7q7zWZqWer12usqK%2B0maeqKSUmrtuv8SroJ6rXaO2qLTTZmhmqpWowq3A0mZoZmpg