5 Ups & 2 Downs From NJPW New Year Dash 2019

by Michael Hamflett

1. Jay White, Gedo & Bad Luck Fale Vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI

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Much was made of YOSHI-HASHI's return from one of 2018's embarrassing injuries, but typical of New Japan (and in direct contrast to how WWE used Titus O'Neil's own stumble), his blushes were protected and preserved in order for this comeback to actually mean something.

The stench of a major angle initially hung in the air as he made his entrance following Jay White's over-confident arrival alongside Gedo and Bad Luck Fale, but he showed no signs of an implied relationship with 'Switchblade' having absorbed much of the abuse during the match itself.

Dream team Tanahashi and Okada were smartly confined to the apron for much of the encounter, engineering an epic pop when 'The Rainmaker' - shorts and all, again - broke into the battle to batter Gedo for his betrayal.

Despite to the sheer scale of heroics in the red corner, a babyface victory wasn't ever likely once White trapped the returnee away from the saving clutches of Tanahashi and Okada, but the match was less about what took place within it and more how the contest (and entire card) concluded. White baited Tanahashi into a beatdown, and promised to take his IWGP Heavyweight Title whilst parading it around the ring.

Based on form, who are we to doubt him?

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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