Bryan Danielson will once again face off against a name from NJPW that he is very familiar with.
At AEW WrestleDream in October 2023, The American Dragon faced off against Zack Sabre Jr. for the first time since 2009. The match itself is remembered for each wrestler’s display of technical abilities, some colourful commentary calls from Jon Moxley and the finish. Despite each man wanting to prove that they are the better technical wrestler, Danielson won the match with the Busaiku Knee strike.
Not happy with the result, Sabre Jr. expressed his anger at losing to a strike, declaring himself to still be the best technician. With Bryan Danielson also questioning his own abilities after the match, the rematch was inevitable.
As announced by New Japan on January 9th, Danielson and Sabre Jr. will face off one more time at the New Beginning in Osaka event on February 11th. Both Danielson and Sabre Jr. will be hoping that they can pick up the victory after each of their respective losses at Wrestle Kingdom 18. Sabre Jr’s reign as NJPW World Television Champion came to an end as he lost to Hiroshi Tanahashi in the second match of the main card. Later in the night, Danielson lost to Kazuchika Okada in a rematch from Forbidden Door 2023.
Although it feels like Danielson may just be getting started in New Japan, another top star will be finishing up on the same day.
Bryan Danielson Revisits A Rivalry & Will Ospreay Says Goodbye
While the New Beginning in Osaka show is a star-studded show already, many will be tuning in to witness Will Ospreay leave the promotion in style. At New Year Dash, The Ariel Assassin announced that February 11th would be his final match as a full-time NJPW wrestler before departing for AEW. Looking to leave the promotion in a big way, Will Ospreay announced an epic final match for the promotion.
The announced line-up for the upcoming New Japan show is as follows:
- Ten-man steel cage match: United Empire [Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Henare, TJP, and Francesco Akira] vs. Bullet Club War Dogs [David Finlay, Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors, and Drilla Moloney]
- Bryan Danielson vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- Hikuleo and TJP defend against KENTA and Chase Owens – Tag team match for the IWGP Tag Team titles
- Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii defend against Shane Haste, Mikey Nicholls, and Kosei Fujita – Trios match for the NEVER Six-Man Tag Team titles