{"id":11612,"date":"2019-03-09T02:16:17","date_gmt":"2019-03-09T07:16:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/?p=11612"},"modified":"2019-03-09T02:16:25","modified_gmt":"2019-03-09T07:16:25","slug":"njpw-47th-anniversary-show-6-3-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/2019\/03\/09\/njpw-47th-anniversary-show-6-3-19\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW 47th Anniversary Show 6\/3\/19"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first New Japan Pro Wrestling show took place on March 6<sup>th\n<\/sup>1972, headlined by Antoni Inoki against Karl Gotch.&nbsp; The Anniversary Show that took place on March\n6<sup>th<\/sup> commemorated that date, and the past forty seven years of the\npromotion.&nbsp; Last year the show was headlined\nby a match between the IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the Jr. Heavyweight\nChampion, this year the IWGP Champion took on the NEVER Openweight Champion.&nbsp; Other matches included the Jr. Heavyweight and\nJr. Heavyweight Tag Team Titles being put on the line, as well as a fun six-man\ntag team match between Los Ingobernables de Japon and the powerhouse team of\nHiroshi Tanahashi, Kazuchika Okada, and Hirooki Goto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u3010\u5927\u7530\u533a\u5927\u4f1a\u7d42\u4e86\u3011\u672c\u65e5\u306e\u300c\u65d7\u63da\u3052\u8a18\u5ff5\u65e5\u300d\u5927\u7530\u533a\u7dcf\u5408\u4f53\u80b2\u9928\u5927\u4f1a\u306b\u3082\u6ca2\u5c71\u306e\u304a\u5ba2\u69d8\u306b\u304a\u8d8a\u3057\u3044\u305f\u3060\u304d\u8aa0\u306b\u3042\u308a\u304c\u3068\u3046\u3054\u3056\u3044\u307e\u3057\u305f\uff01<br>\u660e\u5f8c\u65e53\u67088\u65e5\uff08\u91d1\uff09\u306f\u300cNEW JAPAN CUP 2019\u300d\u958b\u5e55\u6226\uff01\u5f8c\u697d\u5712\u30db\u30fc\u30eb\u306b\u306618\uff1a30\u8a66\u5408\u958b\u59cb\u3067\u3059\u3002\u7686\u69d8\u306e\u3054\u6765\u5834\u3092\u304a\u5f85\u3061\u3057\u3066\u304a\u308a\u307e\u3059\uff01 <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njpw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njcup?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njcup<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DH54OHHPmJ\">pic.twitter.com\/DH54OHHPmJ<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u65b0\u65e5\u672c\u30d7\u30ed\u30ec\u30b9\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e\u55b6\u696d\u90e8 (@njpw_nyao) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/njpw_nyao\/status\/1103290467611893760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 6, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The headline match of this show was a solid contest between\nJay White and Will Ospreay, which ended with a Jay White victory via Blade\nRunner, although Ospreay was able to get in some credible offence.&nbsp; There was very little chance of an upset win\nhere, since White has been booked very strongly, and they surely wanted him to stay\nstrong in the leadup to the Madison Square Garden show in April.&nbsp; Ospreay pulled off some of his crazy dives,\nincluding a Sasuke Special, and came close to hitting a Storm Breaker, but he\ncouldn\u2019t quite get the job done.&nbsp;\nPost-match White attacked Ospreay until Kota Ibushi ran in from\ncommentary to make the save.&nbsp; The rest of\nBullet Club joined in the attack briefly, but they were scared off by Tanahashi,\nOkada, and Goto.&nbsp; The end of the show\nfeatured a pose-off between five of the main competitors in the upcoming New\nJapan Cup, who were all very keen to suggest that they would be winning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u300e\u65d7\u63da\u3052\u8a18\u5ff5\u65e5\u300f\u30e1\u30a4\u30f3\u306f\u58ee\u7d76\u30de\u30c3\u30c1\u306e\u672b\u3001\u30b8\u30a7\u30a4\u304c\u30aa\u30b9\u30d7\u30ec\u30a4\u3092\u6483\u7834\uff01<br>\u8a66\u5408\u5f8c\u3001IWGP\u738b\u8005\u3068\u30aa\u30ab\u30c0\u3001\u68da\u6a4b\u3001\u5f8c\u85e4\u3001\u98ef\u4f0f\u304c\u5bfe\u5cd9!!\u30103.6\u5927\u7530\u533a\u7d50\u679c\u3011 <br>\u65b0\u65e5\u672c\u30d7\u30ed\u30ec\u30b9\u30fb\u30b9\u30de\u30db\u30b5\u30a4\u30c8\u3067\u72ec\u5360\u8a73\u5831\u4e2d\uff01<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/06WumOGQ5F\">https:\/\/t.co\/06WumOGQ5F<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njpw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njpw47th?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njpw47th<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/sXTi1lwnDR\">pic.twitter.com\/sXTi1lwnDR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u65b0\u65e5\u672c\u30d7\u30ed\u30ec\u30b9\u30ea\u30f3\u30b0\u682a\u5f0f\u4f1a\u793e (@njpw1972) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/njpw1972\/status\/1103287908113367040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 6, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For me, the best match on this card was the Jr. Heavyweight\nTitle match between Taiji Ishimori and Jyushin Thunder Liger.&nbsp; Ishimori challenged Liger after his victory over\nRyusuke Taguchi in Osaka last month, and spent the build-up to the matchup mocking\nLiger on social media.&nbsp; Liger is in his\nfifties now, but he can still go at a very high level, and he brought his\nworking boots to this match.&nbsp; Liger got\nsome near falls in the match, and hit a great looking powerbomb, but Ishimori\nwas able to weather the offense and forced Liger to tap out after an excellent\nfifteen minute bout.&nbsp; The day after the\nAnniversary Show Liger announced that he will be retiring at Wrestle Kingdom in\n2020, after an amazing thirty year career as the character of Jyushin Thunder\nLiger (he debuted in 1984 under his real name of Keiichi Yamada).&nbsp; Liger showed in this match that he can still\ngo in the ring at a high level, and I\u2019m excited to see his final match at the\nTokyo Dome next January. &nbsp;Post-match Dragon\nLee came to the ring to face down Ishimori, and it has now been confirmed that\nIshimori will take on Dragon Lee and Bandido at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Ishimori and Dragon Lee it\u2019s happening! Last night our Junior Heavyweight Champion challenged Dragon Lee for the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/G1Supercard?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#G1Supercard<\/a> in Madison Square Garden.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MSG?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MSG<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ROH?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#ROH<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/njpw?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#njpw<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/r5IzpJWk3C\">pic.twitter.com\/r5IzpJWk3C<\/a><\/p>&mdash; NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/njpwglobal\/status\/1103467938345111555?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">March 7, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The other title match on the show saw Roppongi 3K take on\nthe Los Ingobernables de Japon team of Shingo Takagi and BUSHI.&nbsp; Shingo and BUSHI won the titles at Wrestle\nKingdom, and defended them in Sapporo against Yoshinobu Kanemaru and El Desperado.&nbsp; The junior tag division\u2019s glaring weakness\nright now is the lack of teams given that Roppongi 3K, LIJ, and Suzuki-gun\nbasically end up facing each other in a series of never-ending matches.&nbsp; This match wasn\u2019t bad though, and had a very\nhot ending sequence that saw Roppongi 3K avoid LIJ\u2019s finisher, and finally hit\nthe 3K on BUSHI to reclaim the tag titles.&nbsp;\nThis result made sense \u2013 Best of the Super Juniors is on the horizon and\nShingo will undoubtedly have a big singles run in that, so getting the tag titles\noff LIJ is sensible.&nbsp; I really hope that SHO\nand YOH won\u2019t immediately go back to feuding with Suzuki-gun, but that NJPW\nwill put together some new teams to challenge for the belts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The rest of the focus of this show was on the lead-up to the\nNew Japan Cup, with prospective opponents facing off against each other in tag\nmatches.&nbsp; Tomohiro Ishii\u2019s team defeated\nYuji Nagata\u2019s, in a preview of a first round match on night one, while Tomoaki\nHonma\u2019s team defeated Taichi and Suzuki-gun, in another first night\npreview.&nbsp; Ibushi watched on from\ncommentary in the six-man tag match that featured his first round opponent in Tetsuya\nNaito.&nbsp; Goto picked up a win against\nSANADA, who he will face in round one, and then his team argued amongst\nthemselves about who will win the cup outright.&nbsp;\nWith the field expanded to thirty two entrants this year, and an IWGP\nHeavyweight title shot guaranteed at MSG, the NJC this year promises to have\neven more drama than usual.&nbsp; My belief is that Okada will win the tournament\nand go on to face White at MSG, but lose there to solidify White\u2019s title reign.&nbsp; Firstly, White has beaten Okada several times\nalready so it\u2019s clearly been established that White has the upper hand on the Rainmaker.&nbsp; Secondly, it seems like White has clearly\nbeen chosen as the face of the Western expansion, so having him lose his first\ntitle defence would undermine the attempts to position him as a top tier\nperformer.&nbsp; The other option would be\nKota Ibushi, if they decide that they don\u2019t want to have Okada lose to White\nagain.&nbsp; However, I expect that Ibushi\nwill beat Naito in the first round to transition into a feud for the Intercontinental\nTitle, which would most likely begin at the Garden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Overall, the Anniversary Show was fun and an easy watch, with some decent title challenges for the Jr. Heavyweight titles.\u00a0 Nothing was particularly must-see, although Liger vs. Ishimori was very good, but it was nice to watch a show that felt fun and wasn\u2019t dragged down by running the same undercard several times (looking at the New Beginning shows here).\u00a0 Most of the matches set up the upcoming matches in the New Japan Cup, which promises to be intriguing with the expanded format.\u00a0 With a Madison Square Garden main event in the balance, the month of March and the NJC have become exponentially more interesting in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Bad Luck Fale,\u00a0Chase Owens,\u00a0HIKULEO,\u00a0Tama Tonga\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Tanga Loa def.\u00a0Ayato Yoshida,\u00a0Ren Narita,\u00a0Shota Umino,\u00a0Togi Makabe\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Toru Yano, 9:12<\/li><li>Tomohiro Ishii\u00a0&amp;\u00a0YOSHI-HASHI\u00a0def.\u00a0Toa Henare\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Yuji Nagata, 12:09<\/li><li>Dragon Lee,\u00a0Ryusuke Taguchi,\u00a0Satoshi Kojima,\u00a0Tiger Mask\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Tomoaki Honma\u00a0def.\u00a0El Desperado,\u00a0Minoru Suzuki,\u00a0Taichi,\u00a0TAKA Michinoku\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Yoshinobu Kanemaru, 11:05<\/li><li><strong>IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Title\u00a0Match:\u00a0<\/strong>Roppongi 3K\u00a0(SHO\u00a0&amp;\u00a0YOH) def.\u00a0Los Ingobernables de Japon\u00a0(BUSHI\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Shingo Takagi) (c), 16:51<\/li><li><strong>IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title\u00a0Match:\u00a0<\/strong>Taiji Ishimori\u00a0(c) def.\u00a0Jyushin Thunder Liger, 15:51<\/li><li>Hirooki Goto,\u00a0Hiroshi Tanahashi\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Kazuchika Okada\u00a0def. EVIL,\u00a0SANADA\u00a0&amp;\u00a0Tetsuya Naito, 12:58<\/li><li>Jay White def.\u00a0Will Ospreay, 29:07<\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The first New Japan Pro Wrestling show took place on March 6th 1972, headlined by Antoni Inoki against Karl Gotch.&nbsp; The Anniversary Show that took place on March 6th commemorated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":11614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,204,37,22],"tags":[371],"class_list":["post-11612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-njpw","category-njpw-reviews","category-reviews","tag-new-japan-pro-wrestling"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9jnWd-31i","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/njpw-47thanni-logo.jpg?fit=1192%2C635&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11612"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11616,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11612\/revisions\/11616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prowrestlingjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}