The New Beginning (2011)
The New Beginning (2011) was a series of two professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) events promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The events took place on February 15 and 20, 2011. The first was held in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall and the second in Sendai, Miyagi, at the Sendai Sun Plaza Hall.[1][2][3] They were the first events held under the New Beginning name.
Storylines
Both of the New Beginning events featured nine professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[4]
February 15
| The New Beginning (2011) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | February 15, 2011[1] | ||
| City | Tokyo, Japan[1] | ||
| Venue | Korakuen Hall[1] | ||
| Attendance | 1,500[1] | ||
| The New Beginning chronology | |||
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The first event, which mainly built to matches on the second event, featured nine matches. During the event, the IWGP Tag Team Champions Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson defeated their upcoming challengers Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man in singles matches. In the main event, IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Prince Devitt defeated their upcoming challengers, Kojima-gun representatives Satoshi Kojima and Taka Michinoku.[1]
Results
| No. | Results[1] | Stipulations | Times[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chaos (Tetsuya Naito, Tomohiro Ishii and Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Hirooki Goto, Jyushin Thunder Liger and Tiger Mask | Six-man tag team match | 08:49 |
| 2 | Kota Ibushi and Kushida defeated Gedo and Jado | Tag team match | 12:24 |
| 3 | Karl Anderson defeated Manabu Nakanishi | Singles match | 10:27 |
| 4 | Giant Bernard defeated Strong Man | Singles match | 06:06 |
| 5 | Ryusuke Taguchi and Togi Makabe defeated Kojima-gun (Nosawa Rongai and Taichi) | Tag team match | 07:09 |
| 6 | Wataru Inoue defeated Toru Yano | Singles match | 09:37 |
| 7 | Yuji Nagata defeated Takashi Iizuka by disqualification | Singles match | 13:24 |
| 8 | Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan | Singles match | 08:24 |
| 9 | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Prince Devitt defeated Kojima-gun (Satoshi Kojima and Taka Michinoku) | Tag team match | 15:47 |
February 20
| The New Beginning (2011) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
.jpg.webp) Promotional poster for the event | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | February 20, 2011[2] | ||
| City | Sendai, Japan[2] | ||
| Venue | Sendai Sun Plaza Hall[2] | ||
| Attendance | 3,200[2] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| The New Beginning chronology | |||
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The third match of the event saw Tiger Mask and Tomohiro Ishii conclude their storyline rivalry in a Mask vs. Mask match; for the match, Ishii donned a Black Tiger mask.[2] All three champions retained their titles during the event; Bad Intentions (Giant Bernard and Karl Anderson) successfully defended the IWGP Tag Team Championship against Muscle Orchestra (Manabu Nakanishi and Strong Man), Prince Devitt successfully defended the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship against Taka Michinoku and Hiroshi Tanahashi successfully defended the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against previous champion Satoshi Kojima.[2] The event saw the NJPW debut of former WWE wrestler MVP. He was originally scheduled to team with Nosawa Rongai, however, just prior to the event, Nosawa was arrested for stealing a taxi and later announced he was taking a break from professional wrestling.[5][6]
Results
References
- "The New Beginning". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013.
- "The New Beginning". New Japan Pro-Wrestling (in Japanese). Retrieved October 18, 2013.
- "The New Beginning 2011". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
- Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
- Caldwell, James (February 20, 2011). "Japan News: MVP's Japanese wrestling debut hits speed bump - tag partner arrested, replacement match announced". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
- 論外タクシー盗む前に酒10杯 謝罪会見 記事を印刷する. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). February 22, 2011. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
- Meltzer, Dave (February 28, 2011). "Feb 28 Observer Newsletter: Elimination Chamber, Mania build, Fedor future, Tough Enough, tons more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. pp. 19–22. ISSN 1083-9593.