Title Changes, Faction Shake-Ups and More at NJPW New Year Dash

By Noah Leatherland

In its usual spot on the day after Wrestle Kingdom, NJPW New Year Dash bucked some tradition by announcing the card ahead of time. However, there was no shortage of surprises and shocking developments for NJPW fans.

The first headline grabbing action came from a simple message from SANADA. SANADA’s entrances as of late have seen him with all sorts of outfits and props. This time, he entered Ota City General Gymnasium with a guitar that displayed a message for the fans. It read:

Goodbye NJPW

SEE YOU NEXT F***IN TIME

SANADA elaborated on his message in his post-match comments. With the guitar in hand, he said:

I’m leaving this ring today. I’m setting off on a journey.

(Quote translated via DeepL)

The United Empire did battle with the BULLET CLUB War Dogs in trios action, with hostilities between Andrade El Idolo and Gabe Kidd continuing after the conclusion of the match. Once the two men were separated, Kidd grabbed a microphone and laid out a challenge. He demanded to face Andrade one-on-one on February 11th at The New Beginning in Osaka, with the winner earning a shot at Yota Tsuji’s IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.

Tsuji also made headlines of his own at NJPW New Year Dash. The new world champion kept a promise he had made in the run up to Wrestle Kingdom. Once Tsuji arrived in the ring, he took off his coat to reveal the V4 version of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Following his match, Tsuji also revealed some shake-ups to NJPW’s faction landscape. The alliance between the WAR DOGS and the unaffiliated wrestlers has now been made official, sporting a new name.

Until now, WAR DOGS and the unaffiliated wrestlers have maintained a cooperative relationship. But that ends today. Our alliance is finished. From here on, we will fight as a single unit. Our name is ‘Unbound Co.’ A group that cannot be bound by anyone.

(Quote translation via meraWRESTLING on X)

This development means that for the first time in over a decade, there is no form of BULLET CLUB presence in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

There was also big news regarding the United Empire. Following their match against the group now known as Unbound Co., the faction was met in the ring by their former leader, Will Ospreay. He addressed Callum Newman, saying:

I can’t come back right now. I still need to recover. It’s gonna take me a long time, but I’m getting closer and closer. I’m getting better and better, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. But when I’m good to go, I’m gonna handle some business in AEW, I’m gonna come back to New Japan Pro Wrestling. And I’m coming back to support you. You’re my little brother. I’ve known you since you were 15 years old. I’ve looked after you, and I’m proud to see what you’ve become. You’re a grown-ass man now.

Both sets of tag belts were defended at NJPW New Year Dash. A four-way for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Titles saw DOUKI and SHO defend against the Ichiban Sweet Boys, Robbie X and Taiji Ishimori, and El Desperado and KUUKAI. It was a mad sprint for the belts, with TMDK’s Ichiban Sweet Boys emerging as the victors, and new champions.

Then, their stablemates and NJPW World Tag League winners Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa challenged the Knockout Brothers for the IWGP Tag Team Titles. In a heated battle that raged for just over 26 minutes, Yuto-Ice and OSKAR retained their titles. They were confronted after the match by both Yuya Uemura and Shota Umino, as well as Tomohiro Ishii and Taichi, both proclaiming their desire to be the next challengers.

Here are the full results for NJPW New Year Dash, courtesy of purolove.com:

• Satoshi Kojima, Taichi & Tomohiro Ishii def. Katsuya Murashima, Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura (10:23)
• Konosuke Takeshita & Rocky Romero def. El Phantasmo & Shoma Kato (8:43)
• Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin def. SANADA, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi (9:23)
• Andrade El Idolo, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young def. Clark Connors, Gabe Kidd & Hiromu Takahashi (10:31)
• Aaron Wolf, Master Wato, Toru Yano & YOH def. Dick Togo, Don Fale, EVIL & Ren Narita (5:37)
• Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan, HENARE & Jake Lee def. David Finlay, Drilla Moloney, Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji (8:56)
• IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Titles: Kosei Fujita & Robbie Eagles def. Robbie X & Taiji Ishimori and DOUKI & SHO (c) and El Desperado & Kuukai (7:20)
• IWGP Tag Team Title Match: OSKAR & Yuto-Ice (c) def. Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr. (26:22)