Multiple Title Matches Set Up At NJPW New Year Dash!!

While no bouts have been made official as of yet, several title matches were set up during New Year Dash!! on January 5.

Seven matches took place on the mystery card and several of them were used to set up New Japan Pro-Wrestling's future shows, beginning with the opening contest which saw House of Torture's EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi defeat Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask, and Ren Narita. Following the match, Minoru Suzuki headed to the ring and attacked EVIL, with El Desperado making the save after House of Torture began to gain the upper hand. Suzuki and Desperado then looked to Ren Narita after the match, signalling they will challenge EVIL, SHO, and Yujiro Takahashi for the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Titles at some point.

A future IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match was then set up in the second match of the evening after Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and DOUKI defeated Will Ospreay, Francesco Akira, and TJP. DOUKI earned the win for his team, which opens the door for him and Kanemaru to challenge United Empire for the tag belts. Ospreay, meanwhile, brawled with Taichi following the bout and they will seemingly face off in singles action at an upcoming event.

Next, Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste pinned YOSHI-HASHI of Bishamon to seemingly cement themselves as the top contenders for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. They picked up the win in a match that saw Nicholls and Haste team with TMDK faction-mate Zack Sabre Jr. to defeat YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, and Tomohiro Ishii. YH and Goto are the new IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, following their win over FTR at Wrestle Kingdom on January 4. Tomohiro Ishii and ZSJ, meanwhile, had a post-match staredown, hinting they will clash over the NJPW World TV Title.

YOH pinned IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi in the next multi-man match on the show before he challenged The Time Bomb to a future title match. Tetsuya Naito looks set to face Shota Umino in singles action after their second staredown in two nights as well.

In the main event, Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada defeated United Empire's Jeff Cobb and Aaron Henare. Omega had a staredown with Cobb after the match, hinting they will have a match for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Title. New KOPW 2023 Champion Shingo Takagi then interrupted Okada again, cementing his challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

Elsewhere at New Year Dash!!, it appears Jay White's time in New Japan is coming to an end as he challenged Hikuleo to a Loser Leaves Japan Match during a post-match beatdown. This comes after White appeared to bid farewell to NJPW after he dropped the IWGP World Heavyweight Title to Kazuchika Okada at Wrestle Kingdom.

Check out the full New Year Dash!! results below:

• EVIL, Yujro Takahashi, & Dick Togo def. Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask, & Ren Narita
• Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, & DOUKI def. Will Ospreay, Francesco Akira, & TJP
• Zack Sabre Jr., Mikey Nicholls, & Shane Haste def. YOSHI-HASHI, Hirooki Goto, & Tomohiro Ishii
• Shota Umino, Togi Makabe, Ryusuke Taguchi, & YOH def. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI, & Hiromu Takahashi
• Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato, Tama Tonga, & Hikuleo def. Jay White, KENTA, Taiji Ishimori, & El Phantasmo by DQ
• Shingo Takagi def. Toru Yano, Great-O-Khan, & SHO - KOPW 2023 Championship
• Kazuchika Okada & Kenny Omega def. Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare