00:005 down 2 to go this your semi-main event of the evening a six-man tag-team preview of not just
00:18the token on new year dash here you see the oil here holding his very first career in new japan pro
00:27wrestling trophy alongside zack saber jr
00:30so this j ended 2024 as the iwgp world heavyweight champion and ends 2025 as the world tag league
00:39winners and the mission for zack saber jr twofold number one for saber and oiwa
00:48it's a main event the first night in the post-tanahashi era and number two the words of zack saber jr
00:55to make sure the oiwa is a world champion by the time he's 30 and the current pace could well be
01:03a reality and i know how you feel about it chris but i absolutely love the idea of stacking up new
01:12years dash as well you can't have everything on the tokyo though let's stack them both up you know
01:19plenty of room plenty of room but let's give these guys 30 minutes and let's let them go out there
01:28and beat the hell out of each other i think they could go to full 60 and certainly they wouldn't
01:34even get 12 in the tokyo dome you know let's let's let these boys wrestle well i mean it could be a
01:40knockout inside of five minutes especially when you're dealing with the knockout brothers and that
01:44could happen in the main event january the fifth i think for all we talk about oiwa and zack saber jr
01:52wanting to main event to stack up that car january the fifth in oto and that is definitely an exciting
01:59main event for new year dash but yuto ice and oscar have quite the opposite ideas
02:04ice and oscar said well that's certainly something that's befitting of minor league players so that
02:13mbc mentality on the part of yohei oiwa oscar going as far as well i mean if you want to perform
02:21in front of a smaller crowd go back to noah and wrestle in front of 200 those are the words of oscar
02:25by the way don't mind but i guess he's just a little bitter about his excursion in europe
02:32it'll be in front of a big old crowd a sold out crowd the yoga suji will put that iwgp global
02:40heavyweight championship on the line and in so doing challenge the iwgp world heavyweight champion
02:48karasuke tikeshita tikeshita and suji double gold jr the fourth in the tokyo dog and an awful lot more
02:57in state than just those titles the future the very future the new japan pro wrestling is on the line
03:04iwgp world heavyweight champion iwgp world champion iwgp world champion iwgp world champion
03:21so that he's going to be the first champion of the mywgp world champion of the history of the ultimate champion
03:386'7 of stature and 6'7 of swagger that has made them the iwgp tag team champions that has made them the
03:47and suddenly has put them on the worldwide map, and for very, very good reason.
03:54IWGP Global Heavy-Q Champion, Team Blast, Tsujuyo.
04:01Tsujuyo's got his nice coat on tonight.
04:04Nice coat, nice belt, nice gear.
04:07And Nancy wants to double it up in his second champion.
04:10I'm just thinking of the pressure that's gotta be on Tsujuyo to defend New Japan.
04:16And bring the IWGP Heavyweight Championship back to the shows.
04:24I think Tsujuyo would want us to talk about that fact.
04:27I mean, it is something that pressure that Tsujuyo has been talking about because-
04:30Can you think about if he doesn't win?
04:32Well, I mean-
04:33And Takeshi takes both the titles back to AEW.
04:36And we have no two top titles on these shows.
04:40That is the very point and the very heart of this main event.
04:43I am the semi-main event, rather.
04:45I am sure that Tsujuyo would like to be in preview tag team action against Konosuke Tsukeska.
04:49Konosuke Tsukeska is not here.
04:51Tsukeska is competing in the AEW Continental Classic.
04:55And Tsukeska would say, well, in so doing, I am putting the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the minds of the fans in America.
05:03And that is a respectful, respectable gambit in its own right.
05:09But Yodosuke says that it isn't strength that's at stake.
05:15It's the pride of the entire company.
05:17Yeah. We're all here doing these shows.
05:19What is it? 18 shows in four weeks in the two weeks, three weeks of tag league.
05:25Working her asses off in front of lights on gymnasiums and Takeshi's wrestling once a week in the States.
05:33Not being here representing the company.
05:35He's not doing anything to help New Japan.
05:37Whom wearing the titles on shows in America does not help us.
05:43Tsukeska wants those titles around his waist in the shows here.
05:47I think it's, I mean, you make a very powerful case.
05:51I mean, I would say that as we have had the chance and we have like many, many more foreign visitors right here to venues like Corcoran Hall,
06:00it's great to see people getting their tickets at ngpw1972.com for more and more of these events.
06:05And when we speak to these fans, a lot of them are saying, well, yeah, I'm from America.
06:10I'm a big wrestling fan.
06:11I watch AEW every week and that's how I heard about New Japan Pro Wrestling.
06:14That is the target of Konosuke Takeshiya.
06:17That is how Takeshiya is in his own way advancing New Japan Pro Wrestling overseas.
06:22But, you know, I mean, the fact is he is not here.
06:25And that is certainly a big point when it comes to Yodosuji domestically.
06:31Meanwhile, Oiwa has his deep set personal issues with the IWGP Tag Team Champions.
06:38And we're going to click the knee here and set to work on the Big Band Oscar.
06:42I mean, what's your thoughts on, as well, I mean, you've been in a very similar kind of tag team.
06:48You yourself and Hikaleo, a smaller athlete and a giant.
06:52You know what I mean?
06:53What's your take on the Knockout Brothers and what they've done since September?
06:56Well, they're a lot more successful than we ever were.
06:59You know, we got to the finals that we could not win.
07:03Wait a second.
07:05Or win the tag team titles, you know?
07:08Knockout Brothers didn't make the finals either, but they've won the tag titles and
07:11they've held on to them ever since.
07:13They came back from excursion with a chip on their shoulders.
07:20And I think that's where me and Hikaleo always lacked that extra chip on our shoulders.
07:25We were kind of thrown together, we didn't have anything.
07:28Jeez.
07:29Jeez, Harley might have bent that entire guard rail.
07:34Well, I mean, remember when he broke the ring, I mean, like, he broke the guard rail as well.
07:46And certainly, I think that one of the game plan for Onyo Tsuji's part is going to leave Knockout Brothers
07:51and Hoyer and Zack Sabre Jr. to each other.
07:54And in the meantime, he's going to toy with his food and big Jag Harley Jackson here.
08:00I can't really tell who doesn't fit in, but Tsuji and the Knockout Brothers, you know,
08:08it's either one or the other doesn't really fit into this unaffiliated War Dogs combination.
08:13I don't know who it is.
08:17Well, suddenly it seemed like on the cover there as Hoyer kicks out.
08:21Tsuji and Gabe Kidd had their issues all the way up and down through World Tag League.
08:25Even though they made the finals, they were able to put their differences aside at the end.
08:29But, I mean, Tsuji would admit, I mean, he's not a team player.
08:32He's just not.
08:33I mean, he wants to be the guy.
08:35He wants to be right at the pinnacle of it.
08:37And he's looking to be just that.
08:40Yeah, it also feels like the Knockout Brothers aren't team players.
08:44And they're just very concerned about how they're doing.
08:48I mean, it's certainly absolutely devoted to one another.
08:53And that's just about it, I think.
08:56But if you told me they're in the War Dogs, I would not believe you.
08:59But they are.
09:00They've been in the War Dogs since G1 finals.
09:03I mean, it goes back to what we were saying with Callum Newman.
09:06It kind of feels that a lot of the War Dogs have gone soft.
09:09I think the people that still have that hard edge are certainly Ice and Oscar.
09:15And, well, Ice's issues with Yohei Oiwa go a long, long way further back than World Tag League.
09:23They go all the way back to when they were living with each other in the dojo.
09:27Ice has been fighting for money.
09:29He's been fighting for food since he was 15 years old.
09:32And Ice has been, well, a street thug.
09:36And that's been his life since he was a teenager.
09:41And so Ice absolutely hated Oiwa's guts in the dojo.
09:45Oiwa has certainly been blessed with all the DNA that perhaps...
09:50Blessed with the good looks that Ice doesn't have.
09:53Blessed with the genes that Ice doesn't have.
09:56I think you hit the nail on the head right there.
09:59You see that?
10:00Ice was pain...
10:02No, hey, Oiwa rather.
10:03Came from a well-off family.
10:05Privately educated.
10:06Shh.
10:07And Ice...
10:08He's clobbered Zack.
10:09Zack just took a back bump off the apron.
10:12And Ice has had to struggle and fight for absolutely everything that he's had.
10:20I mean, Ice is not a looker.
10:22I know.
10:23No.
10:24But he has that...
10:28He's got that ugly swag to him.
10:33Where he could just hit you as hard as he can and knock you out.
10:38And I think...
10:39And he can also get knocked out or break his elbow.
10:41You know, it goes both ways.
10:43Look at Oiwa's chest.
10:45Chest absolutely torn to shreds.
10:47And Ice has said, and some other people have said it as well, that Oiwa hasn't...
10:54We haven't seen that fury out of Oiwa.
10:57Maybe there was a little flash of it there.
10:59Certainly we saw flashes of it in the World Tag League final.
11:02Knocked a tooth out of Gay Kid's skull.
11:06Unbelievable performance by Oiwa in those finals.
11:10Exactly.
11:11That entire last stretch of that match was all the Oiwa.
11:14And it was a glimpse of exactly where Oiwa needs to be.
11:19A little bit of the old enemies.
11:24England versus Germany.
11:25Up we go.
11:27One!
11:28One!
11:29One!
11:30One!
11:31One!
11:32One!
11:33Uh-oh.
11:34He's long arms.
11:35So those long arms are long targets.
11:37That's Axe Ava Jr.
11:42Axe Ava Jr.
11:43Oiwa and Hartley Jackson, they're previewed.
11:45Oh!
11:46Oh my goodness.
11:47The hate on that lay job.
11:48Yeah.
11:49Incredible.
11:50And that is not solid.
11:51Set himself up for an HPK.
11:53Just one.
11:54Oscar kicks out but feeling a lot of pain here.
11:57Certainly that is not a miss you want to be making every single night.
12:02It'll shorten your career as well as your spine by a few inches.
12:06You gotta love the extra oomph these boys are throwing at each other.
12:11The PK, the kick, the drop kick to the back of the head, the upper kicks.
12:15Even the choke that Oscar did to Zack had that extra oomph to it.
12:20You know, Zack has always been about oomph and Ice and Oscar have been about nothing but oomph since they returned from Excursion in September.
12:31Playing Manji here has Oscar tied up but not for long at all.
12:38Nice power by the big man.
12:41I think I can see Oscar's chest is slightly opened up as well.
12:54And Zack is one of the toughest people I've ever been in the ring with.
12:58The reason why he's a two-time former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion.
13:04A big slam there.
13:06You know, you look at him and you wouldn't think he's one of the toughest men on the roster.
13:09Just like you would look at Yuko and not think he's one of the toughest men on the roster.
13:13But these guys got that dog in them.
13:17Cigi certainly does.
13:19Hartley Jackson wants to.
13:20Hartley Jackson had his first championship match in New Japan Pro Wrestling at the age of 45.
13:26Opposite Yu in Kumamoto in World Tag League Finals.
13:30Clobbered the hell out of me.
13:34Now Hartley wants to be part of that number six man Rambo.
13:37My goodness.
13:40You set yourself up for even more than that.
13:43You can hear in the field of love and respect that Corkin has for Hartley.
13:48Hartley certainly took a very interesting journey to get here.
13:53Wait a second.
13:55Oh, no.
13:56Oh, no.
13:57Oh, no.
13:58I don't know who got the worst of that one.
14:02Look at Suji.
14:03It's got to be close to 300 pounds across the knees, Yoda Suji.
14:15Harley Jackson had a tryout match when he was part of the LA Dojo back in the original LA Dojo days.
14:21Oh, wow.
14:24Suji floats over into the cover and gets two Harley Jackson kicks out.
14:28Had a little tryout in Japan in 2006 alongside Mikey Nichols.
14:31They said, well, you did great.
14:33We'll call you.
14:34And they called him in 2023.
14:40Didn't lie about it, but very, uh...
14:43Well, in between, Harley Jackson wrestled absolutely everywhere in Japan and earned his stripes.
14:52He was a coach at the PC for a while.
14:54Well, there you go.
14:55And, well, trained pretty much every athlete that's come out of Australia.
14:59Harley Jackson has had a hand in at some point.
15:01Roddy Eagles and on and on and on.
15:04I mean, it was...
15:06Now that he's finally gotten that shot here in New Japan,
15:09Poli Wrestling making every minute count.
15:11Hoist him up on that shoulder, wants that Death Valley bomb,
15:13and Oscar wants to make sure that doesn't happen.
15:21Oh!
15:22Oh!
15:23Oh, no!
15:24It's like body art.
15:26It's disgusting.
15:27It's still right there.
15:32And down goal, the Law Tag League winners.
15:39Oh, wait a second, wait a second, wait a second!
15:42Tobey Sujicida!
15:44It looks like Jackson's gasping for air.
15:55Suji might wanna take this home.
15:57I think it might drive that last-
15:59Go for the finish.
16:00That last breath is gonna be driven out of Hartley.
16:03Team Blaster, no!
16:05Death Valley, Death Valley, the global champion, shoulders are down.
16:09And Suji kicks up.
16:10We might have to tear up the Wrestle Kingdom card and rewrite it with Harley's name.
16:18Maybe in a three-way with Takeshi.
16:20Could you imagine that?
16:22Oh, that's Suji's score.
16:24Deep and over, goes Big Jack.
16:27What power, Suji's got it.
16:29Suji's been hitting that gym.
16:32Bang, right on the button.
16:35And here we go, look out, Harley.
16:39Harley, Jin, no guzo.
16:44Jin!
16:48Jin Blaster!
16:52That is it.
16:53And Yoda, Suji, with a big win heading into Wrestle Kingdom.
16:58I mean, Suji's the best he's ever looked.
17:17He looks a little trimmer.
17:19His cardio seems a little better.
17:21He's got his moves down.
17:25But is he ready to be the top guy?
17:27Well, that's the question.
17:28And it all comes in.
17:29We can talk and we can argue about philosophy and the reasons why.
17:33But you have to be the best wrestler in the world on January the 4th.
17:37Right now, the best wrestler in the world is Konosuke Tikeshda.
17:40Right now, the best tag team in the world are Ice and Oscar.
17:44And the Knockout Brothers, and Ice particularly.
17:47Ice now has his sights set on Oira.
17:50And Oira might say, do you notice me now?
17:55And yeah, they do.
18:08Ice is furious.
18:10Furious.
18:12And Oira wanted to do this at Das and under the Tokuro.
18:16And the knockouts suck.
18:19You can just feel the emotions are boiling over for everybody.
18:24In their locker room, building up to one of the biggest Tokyo Domes of all time.
18:29They're building up, no doubt, to the absolute biggest New Year Dash of all time,
18:33January the 5th.
18:35If you haven't got your tickets yet, njpw1972.com.
18:39Get the banner at the top of the screen.
18:41Be there in Ota.
18:42Because this is gonna be an unreal end to Wrestle Kingdom win.
18:47Ice and Zack Sabre Jr.
18:51Cool.
18:57And watch Oscar.
18:58Wait a second.
19:01No.
19:02Ice!
19:03And Oscar calling for ice.
19:07Watch the fist.
19:09Ambition to the jaw.
19:11Here it is, KOB.
19:21And Tag League trophies on all.
19:28If they hit it, it is over January 5th and it'll be V2 for the IWGP Tag Team Champions.
19:37All right, guys.
19:46You made your point.
19:48Do your pose and get out of there.
19:50We don't need any extra money business.
19:52This is Christmas.
19:54This is the holidays.
19:57This is the happy holidays.
19:58We don't want no injuries before the biggest show of the year.
20:03Oh, geez.
20:16That's broken.
20:17Yeah.
20:18Well, he is for sure suspended.
20:23Broke the camera yesterday.
20:25Broke the titles today.
20:26Oh, my God.
20:36Oh.
20:41The IWGP Tag Team Champions to their minds and their mouths.
20:45They can do whatever the hell they please.
20:48Certainly, they're gonna get a fine, at the very least, if not a suspension.
20:54If they weren't on the Wrestle Kingdom card, they certainly won't be now.
21:03If it ends.
21:11Well, there is pieces of metal and gold and silver all around my socks right now, Chris.
21:18That trophy got...
21:20Well, frankly, you're lucky the trophy didn't hit you in the skull.
21:33Oiwa needs two young boys to help drag him out of here.
21:37He is not looking good right now.
21:40Well, and how many times has Zack Sabre Jr. needed A to get out?
21:43Zack needs two young boys, too.
21:45I don't want to say they got their asses handed to them, but...
21:52The NACO brothers definitely got the last laugh.
22:02Nenebitt next.
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