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MAR.6.2020

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The Week that Was in NJPW History (March 1-6)

Sadly cancelled events have meant a lack of live in-ring action this week on NJPW World, but with the NJPW Together project in full swing, we’re seeing some great original programming, and new matches being added into the archives! This makes the NJPW World archives even more valuable; if you want  a jumping off point for your exploration, why not dive into these?

 

March 1, 2017: Seeing W

Early March has become the time to celebrate NJPW’s prestigious history. The anniversary of the company’s first event on March 6 1972 is usually commemorated with a card full of unique, intriguing matchups. 

2017’s main event had been set a year in advance. At 2016’s 42nd anniversary, NJPW owner Takaaki Kidani announced the development of the ‘Tiger Mask W’ animated series, a show that put a modern twist on the classic Naoki Tsuji 1968 manga and subsequent anime adaptation. The anime was a big hit by the end of the year, and just as audiences in the early 1980s were curious to see the original Tiger Mask emerge from printed page and TV screen to a real life ring, so Tiger Mask W’s in-ring debut at King of Pro-Wrestling 2016 parked a lot of curiosity, speculation and excitement. 

 Tiger Mask W would continue to wrestle sporadically at NJPW events, including at Wrestle Kingdom 11, where he competed against his animated rival Tiger the Dark. There were a lot of people curious to test their mettle against this mysterious, dynamic star; chief among them was the then IWGP Heavyweight Champion. 

After Kazuchika Okada defeated Minoru Suzuki to retain his title at New Beginning in Sapporo, he decided to call out his opponent for Anniversary. That opponent would be Tiger Mask W. Interests were piqued, and to give a taste of what to expect, a unique tag team preview was made for Korakuen Hall. Okada and then manager Gedo would take on a team of tigers- Tiger Mask and Tiger Mask W- in a fascinating main event.

Relive the match here!

March 2, 1990: A Tough Team to Undertake

Shinya Hashimoto had ridden a hot year back from excursion in 1989, to crest a wave of momentum in the early part of 1990. Entered into the tournament to crown a new IWGP Heavyweight Champion at NJPW’s first Tokyo Dome event in April 1989, Hashimoto made the finals before falling to Big Van Vader. The King of Destruction certainly impressed the veteran rough houser Masa Saito, even in defeat; Saito would take Hashimoto under his wing, and the two would  beat another senpai kohai pairing of Riki Choshu and Takayuki Iizuka on September 20 to take the IWGP tag Team Championships. 

Saito and Hashimoto were fighting champions open to many a challenge, especially against other hard hitting heavyweights. Crusher Bam Bam Bigelow fit that bill, and in early March, he would bring a new partner to the table, making his Korakuen hall debut. Punisher Dice Morgan would go onto more fame in WWE years later, but made an impact in his NJPW debut, pinning Saito with a flying elbow, and setting himself up for a title challenge alongside Scott Hall later in his one and only New Japan tour.

Relive the match here!

March 3, 2013: Rock ‘n’ Roll Anniversary

Unique, intriguing matchups have indeed become the norm from Anniversary cards in recent years, indeed. Along those lines, a common trend has been for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champions to meet in the main event. Our 2020 main of Tetsuya Naito and Hiromu Takahashi was sadly called off, but other inter division clashes have included Kazuchika Okada meeting Will Ospreay and Kota Ibushi while both were junior heavyweights, and infamously in Korakuen Hall in 2013, Prince Devitt taking on Hiroshi Tanahashi. 

Devitt was assuredly not just the ace of the junior heavyweight division at the time, but of all the international competitors in NJPW. Emerging from the original LA Dojo and then the Japanese Dojo system itself, Devitt had been part of factions like CTU and RISE, but once settled in hontai had immense success as a junior heavyweight. With Ryusuke Taguchi, he secured the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships twice, and the singles Junior Heavyweight Championship three times, coming into the 41st Anniversary in the midst of a 419 day spell as champion. 

Hiroshi Tanahashi was more than happy to take on Devitt, and see what the best of the junior division had to offer. For Devitt though, there was much more to prove. Whether it was imposed by his weight class or his nationality, Devitt felt that he was labouring under a glass ceiling despite his popularity with the crowd. He sought to break through that ceiling with his opportunity against the Ace, and would use any means necessary to do so. It wouldn’t be long before he found a club’s worth of like minded individuals…

Relive the match here!

March 4, 2012: The Reign in Korakuen Falls Mainly on Naito

2012’s Anniversary Event was headlined by a title match that nobody would have seen coming a year earlier. Tetsuya Naito’s status as IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenger seemed natural enough; with phenomenal matches against Hiroshi Tanahashi and Shinsuke Nakamura in 2010 and 2011, Naito had almost broken through to the greatest of heights in NJPW, and had reached the G1 Climax final the prior summer. The 29-year-old Naito was driven to achieve a goal he’d held since his debut; to win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship while still in his 20s.

To do so however, he had to get past a man who had achieved said goal with plenty of time to spare, and who was out of the country for the bulk of the time while Naito was stringing together his top contender level resume. Kazuchika Okada had returned from American excursion on January 4 2012, and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at New Beginning in Osaka, aged 24. 

While Okada had been wrestling since the age of 16, he came into the NJPW Dojo as Naito’s distinct junior. The two shared the same dorm room while Okada prepared for his New Japan debut; Naito would defeat Okada in his pre-debut exhibition match before he officially debuted in 2008 opposite Taichi. When Okada came back from excursion to leap right to the head of the IWGP title line, and win, Naito had even more motivation to put his junior in his place. Meanwhile, a crowd who had booed Okada out of the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 6 were still uncertain what to make of this brash, talented Rainmaker. The last IWGP Heavyweight Championship match in Korakuen Hall to date had a unique atmosphere around it to say the least.

Relive the match here!

March 6, 2009: Generations Clash

Recent years have seen openweight singles main events, but in 2009, it was the IWGP Junior Heavyweight and Heavyweight Champions teaming up in the Korakuen Hall headliner. After beating Keiji Muto at Wrestle Kingdom 3, Hiroshi Tanahashi was in the early stages of his third IWGP Heavyweight Championship reign, and crowds around the world were beginning to truly recognise him as the Ace of New Japan. A February victory over contemporary and classic rival Shinsuke Nakamura in Ryogoku cemented that status.

‘The main event scene in NJPW is safe with them’ commented his opposite number in this tag, one Masahiro Chono seeking to make a mark and put himself into championship contention as the leader of the appropriately named LEGEND stable. His partner was Jyushin Thunder Liger, who had just come short of a 12th IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship reign against Tiger Mask one month prior. Chono and Liger’s resumes were undisputed, but a victory in the 37th Anniversary main event would have set themselves up strongly for the future. 

Relive the match here! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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