10 Reasons Why January 2018 Was The Best Month In Wrestling History

4. The New Beginning In Sapporo

Andrade Almas Ronda Rousey Chris Jericho
Tokyo Sport

Surprisingly delivering a payoff long-destined to be one of the best of the year at the end of 2018's first month, New Beginning's magnificent finale again reset the table for New Japan Pro Wrestling's year ahead.

Tensions between Cody Rhodes and Kenny Omega finally boiled over after the Bullet Club boss shockingly lost his United States title to upstart Jay White. White's next opponent Hangman Page joined Marty Scurll and The Young Bucks in trying to keep the two apart before Omega lashed out at Matt Jackson. Shoving his 'Elite' colleague to the ground, Omega felt instant heartache over his rash outburst as Nick carried his brother to the back.

This freed the ring for Cody to brutally swerve-turn on Omega, ostensibly ousting 'The Cleaner'. Before he could hammer Omega with a chair thanks to a reluctant assist from Page, Kenny's 'Golden Lovers' partner Kota Ibushi made the save, running off the heels to set up a tearful reunion between the two. It was a Sports Entertainment spectacle Vince McMahon himself would be proud of.

It being New Japan, it was merely the icing on a too sweet cake. Hiroshi Tanahashi's Intercontinental Title loss to Minoru Suzuki was a masterclass from both, continuing Suzuki's perfect start to 2018. Elsewhere The Young Bucks had an even better match with Roppongi 3k than their Wrestle Kingdom blinder. Matt Jackson's selling of his still-injured back again flew in the face of their remaining critics, and fed into the aforementioned show-closing drama.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett