NJPW New Year Dash 2024 Results

Following Wrestle Kingdom 18, New Japan Pro-Wrestling held New Year Dash at Sumida City Gymnasium on January 5.

The main event saw a shocking result as the dream team of Kazuchika Okada, Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, and Tomohiro Ishii proved to be a nightmare as TMDK scored the win with a Shane Haste small package on Ishii. Danielson and Zack Sabre Jr interacted throughout the match and ZSJ challenged the American Dragon to a rematch from WrestleDream post-match. Kosei Fujita, Mikey Nicholls, and Shane Haste, meanwhile, challenged Okada to put the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Titles on the line with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ishii but Okada was having none of it, calling Fujita a "boy" and walking off without accepting the challenge. 

Taiji Ishimori became the KOPW 2024 Champion in the semi-main event, defeating Great-O-Khan, Toru Yano, and YOH in a 10-Minute Scramble Match. Ishimori scored the decisive pin on Great-O-Khan with 90 seconds to go and the Bullet Club member ran around ringside until time ran out. 

In the IWGP World Heavyweight Title picture, Just Five Guys defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon after TAKA Michinoku pinned BUSHI. The two factions then stared each other down after the match and SANADA challenged Tetsuya Naito to a rematch for NJPW's top title. Naito did not accept the challenge, however. 

Will Ospreay will also have his final match for New Japan at The New Beginning in Osaka on February 11 and it will be United Empire vs. Bullet Club War Dogs in a 10-Man Steel Cage Match. The two factions faced off at New Year Dash but the match was thrown out after Francesco Akira busted open Gabe Kidd which prompted Bullet Club to throw fans' chairs into the ring, with the match being waved off after Clark Connors tried to throw one of the barricades into the squared circle. A mass brawl broke out post-match which ended with Ospreay issuing and David Finlay accepting the challenge, announcing the February 11 match would be inside a steel cage. 

Matt Riddle will soon make his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut too as he appeared on the titantron and challenged Hiroshi Tanahashi to a match following the NJPW President's successful NJPW World Television Title defence against Ryusuke Taguchi in the opening contest. Tanahashi accepted the challenge before admitting he doesn't know who Matt Riddle is. 

Other future title matches set up at New Year Dash include Tama Tonga vs. EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Title after EVIL cut out a chunk of Tama's hair, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo vs. Chase Owens & KENTA for the IWGP Tag Team Titles after Owens laid out ELP, and El Desperado vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title after Kanemaru hit his former tag team partner with the title belt. 

Full results from NJPW New Year Dash 2024:

• Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Ryusuke Taguchi - NJPW World Television Championship
• Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) def. Kaito Kiyomiya & Ryohei Oiwa
• El Phantasmo & Hikuleo def. Oskar Leube & Yuto Nakashima 
• Shota Umino, Master Wato, El Desperado, Tama Tonga, Tomoaki Honma, & Togi Makabe def. House of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, & Dick Togo) 
• United Empire (Will Ospreay, Francesco Akira, TJP, Jeff Cobb, & HENARE) vs. Bullet Club War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Alex Coughlin, Clark Connors, & Drilla Moloney) ended in a no contest. 
• Just Five Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Yuya Uemura, DOUKI, & Taka Michinoku) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI)
• Taiji Ishimori def. Great-O-Khan, YOH, & Toru Yano - 10-Minute Scramble Match for the KOPW Championship 
• TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, & Kosei Fujita) def. Bryan Danielson, Jon Moxley, Kazuchika Okada, & Tomohiro Ishii