New Year Dash!! is a
professional wrestling
Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...
event held annually by
New Japan Pro-Wrestling
(NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...
(NJPW). It is held every year the day after
Wrestle Kingdom, the biggest show of the year for New Japan, starting at
Wrestle Kingdom 8 in 2014. There have been eight events under the name held so far, with the traditional January 5 date. In 2020 and 2021, with
Wrestle Kingdom a two-night event, New Year Dash!! was held on January 6. The event was not held in 2022. After it was confirmed that
Wrestle Kingdom would return to a one-day event for 2023, the event returned to its original January 5 date.
Production
Background
New Year Dash!! is traditionally held at
Korakuen Hall
is a sports arena in Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan, which has hosted boxing, professional wrestling, kickboxing, mixed martial arts and Lethwei matches.
History
On April 16, 1962, the Korakuen Hall was officially opened with a capacity of approximat ...
, a prestigious venue right next to the
Tokyo Dome
is an indoor stadium in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. It was designed as a baseball stadium following its predecessor, Korakuen Stadium (whose former site is now occupied by the Tokyo Dome Hotel and a plaza for this stadium). In Japan, it is often us ...
, where Wrestle Kingdom is held. The 2020 edition, however, was held at
Ota City General Gymnasium due to the event being the official retirement ceremony for
Jyushin Thunder Liger
, better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a trainer. He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having worked for the company since ...
. The 2021 edition was held at
Tokyo Dome City Hall
The Tokyo Dome City Hall (TDC Hall) is a facility for sports, fashion shows, circuses, and live music, located inside Tokyo Dome City in Tokyo, Japan. It is on the opposite corner of the Tokyo Dome, and hosts a variety of events at any given t ...
, another venue right next to the Dome.
Storylines
New Year Dash!! features
professional wrestling matches
Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Gimmick, gimmick matches" in the Glossary of professional wrestling terms, jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick m ...
that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and
storylines. Wrestlers portray
villains
A villain (also known as a " black hat", "bad guy" or "baddy"; The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.126 "baddy (also baddie) noun (pl. -ies) ''informal'' a villain or criminal in a book, film, etc.". the feminine form is villai ...
,
heroes, or
less distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches. New Year Dash!! is the night were New Japan Pro-Wrestling starts many new storylines and feuds after most have ended the night before at Wrestle Kingdom. Dash!! is an exciting show, where fans tune in to see how the promotion will start the year in terms of stories leading into the
New Beginning shows. Because of its "reset"-like nature after the company's biggest show of the year, many fans see Dash!! as NJPW's equivalent to the first ''
Raw'' after
WrestleMania in
WWE
World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
.
Date and venues
Results
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2023
2024
2025
References
External links
New Japan Pro-Wrestling Official website
{{New Japan Pro Wrestling events
Professional wrestling in Tokyo
New Japan Pro-Wrestling shows
Holidays themed professional wrestling shows
Professional wrestling shows in Tokyo