12 Ups & 5 Downs From NJPW The New Beginning In Osaka 2019

3. Tanahashi Vs. White II Delivers

Hiroshi Tanahashi and Jay White's first singles match bombed.

Thrust into a spotlight he wasn't at all ready for, 'Switchblade' floundered in his role as a Wrestle Kingdom 12 heater. He hadn't found his feet as a pushed heel commodity, was struggling with the character, and couldn't pull the audience in with his work. The result was a mechanically solid bout with no real technical flaws, but one that created a moon-like atmosphere in a deathly quiet Tokyo Dome.

13 months later, the duo brought the house down in Osaka, yielding not only one of the most shocking results in modern New Japan history, but the best singles match of White's career.

White excelled as a ruthless, knee-destroying heel, and Tana, the master storyteller, was his perfect foil. The Ace sold that joint as if his leg were about to fall off. His comebacks were as well-built and impeccably timed as ever, and he had the crowd enraptured with every knee-snapping Dragon Screw and attempted High Fly Flow, and yet none of it mattered in the end. Tana's superior experience, skill, and popularity were helpless to stop NJPW's new alpha villain claiming his scalp and the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

There's a lot to unpack here, but as a match, this was a textbook New Japan big-theatre main event with all the usual hallmarks, from the gradual build to the big move kickouts. The outcome need not cause concern, either...