NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 Notes: Drilla Moloney Re-Signs with NJPW, Andrade El Idolo Wins IWGP Global Title Shot, David Finlay & Hiromu Takahashi Give Farewells, Ren Narita Wins NEVER Openweight Title, Ricochet Challenges Taiji Ishimori & GOA Challenges Knockout Bros for AEW National & IWGP Tag Titles

Indie / Misc
Feb 11, 2026

Drilla Moloney Re-Signs with NJPW

Wednesday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 event at the Edion Arena Osaka in Osaka, Japan featured Drilla Moloney announcing that he has signed a new contract with NJPW to remain in the company for the foreseeable future.

Following the War Dragons (Drilla Moloney & Shingo Takagi) tag team victory over United Empire (Great-O-Khan & HENARE), Moloney grabbed a microphone and thanked everyone for the support they have shown to him over the past three years in New Japan. Moloney then announced that he had recently signed a new contract to remain in the company.

Andrade El Idolo Wins Shot at IWGP Global Title

Wednesday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 event also featured Andrade El Idolo defeating Gabe Kidd to become the #1 Contender for the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship.

As a result of his victory, Andrade will be facing off against Yota Tsuji for the IWGP Global Heavyweight title at NJPW The New Beginning USA 2026 event, which takes place on February 27th at the CURE Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.

David Finlay Gives His Apparent NJPW Farewell

Wednesday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 event also featured David Finlay giving his apparent farewell to NJPW.

Following Callum Newman’s victory over Finlay in a singles match, a teary eyed Finlay bowed to the crowd and hugged his manager Gedo before leaving the ring. Finlay then walked up to where Hiromu Takahashi was seated at ringside and gave a bow in front of him and hugged Takahashi before leaving to the back.

While Finlay gave his apparent farewell to NJPW, he is still scheduled to compete at their upcoming The New Begining in USA 2026 event later this month in Trenton, New Jersey. Finlay’s contract is currently expected to be expiring soon and is also expected to explore his options for the future of his wrestling career.

Ren Narita Wins NEVER Openweight Title

Wednesday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 event also featured Ren Narita defeating Aaron Wolf to become the new NEVER Openweight Champion.

This was Narita’s first ever NEVER Openweight Championship victory in his NJPW career.

Ricochet Challenges Taiji Ishimori for AEW National Title & GOA Challenges Knockout Bros for IWGP Tag Titles

Wednesday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 event also featured AEW’s The Demand (Ricochet & GOA (Toa Liona & Bishop Kaun)) making a surprise appearance.

Following Knockout Brothers (Yuto-Ice & OSKAR) victory over Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura, the lights went out and a video aired on the big screen featuring The Demand. Ricochet issued a challenge to Taiji Ishimori and would put his AEW National Championship on the line and GOA issued a challenge to the Knockout Brothers for their IWGP Tag Team Championship. Both matches challenges were issued for NJPW’s upcoming The New Beginning USA 2026 event.

Hiromu Takahashi Give His NJPW Farewell

Wednesday’s NJPW The New Beginning in Osaka 2026 event also featured Hiromu Takahashi giving his farewell to NJPW.

Following Yota Tsuji’s victory over Jake Lee to retain the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Tsuji gave a speech to the crowd thanking Lee for their match and then asked for his fellow Unbound Co. members to join him in the ring, which they all did. This led to everyone giving their farewell to Takasahi. A tearful Takashi responded giving his farewell speech to the crowd and NJPW.

Takahashi and Unbound Co. continued with their farewells to each other before leaving the ring.

Wednesday’s show was Takaahshi’s final match and show with NJPW for his career with the company. Takahashi is currently expected to explore his options for the future of his wrestling career.

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