By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “51st Anniversary”
March 6, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan at Ota City General Gymnasium
Streamed on New Japan World
This also is the second of NJPW’s 11-show, 17-day New Japan Cup tournament. The building is packed. While the lights are low, there appeared to be 2,000 or so fans based on the few times we could see the crowd. Kevin Kelly and Chris Charlton provided live commentary.
The New Japan Cup is a 24-man tournament, so we have 8 first-round matches with 8 byes. So, no show has more than two tournament matches. On Monday, Tetsuya Naito and Sanada advanced to the second round.
1. “The Bullet Club” El Phantasmo and Kenta defeated Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita at 9:18. Kelly praised ELP’s effort in his loss a day ago. Sabre and Phantasmo traded reverals to open. The BC worked over Fujita. Sabre made the hot tag and traded reverals with ELP. Kenta tied Fujita up in a Boston Crab, but Sabre made the save. Kenta applied a crossface, and Fujita tapped out. Good action.
2. Will Ospreay and “Aussie Open” Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis defeated Satoshi Kojima, Toru Yano, and Tama Tanga (w/Jado) at 8:30. Ospreay hit a backbreaker over his knee on Yano, and he punted a corner pad to anger Yano. Tonga hit a Stinger Splash on Ospreay at 4:30. Ospreay fired back with a spin kick on Tama, and they were both down. Kojima entered and hit his never-ending chops in the corner on Fletcher. AO worked over Kojima, with Fletcher hitting a stunner move for a nearfall at 8:00. AO hit front-and-back clotheslines, then the Koryalis spinning slam on Kojima for the pin. Really good action.
3. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and Ren Narita defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Sho, and Dick Togo at 8:22. Minoru’s team had their six-man title belts, but they are NOT on the line here. The HoT attacked at the bell, and EVIL slammed Narita into the guardrail. In the ring, the HoT worked over Ren. Suzuki finally made the hot tag at 5:00 and he dropped Sho with one hard forearm shot. Desperado hit a spinebuster on Togo. Desperado nailed his Angel’s Wings faceplant to pin Togo. What you’d expect here.
4. “United Empire” Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb defeated Sanada, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito at 10:12. All six brawled at the bell, with Shingo and Henare squaring off on the floor. Cobb tied up Naito on the thin mat on the floor; he dragged him in the ring and put his foot on Naito’s chest for a cocky nearfall at 1:00. Cobb hit a series of gut-wrench suplexes for a nearfall, showing his impressive strength. The UE took turns working over Naito. Sanada made the hot tag at 4:30 and hit a series of dropkicks, then he tied O-Khan in the Paradise Lock. Kevin Kelly is really selling a “redemption story” for Sanada after his first-round win last night, making me wonder if Sanada is now a New Japan Cup favorite.
Henare hit a running stunner on Shingo at 7:30. He went for the Rampage football tackle, but Shingo blocked it. Sanada hit a plancha to the floor. Shingo nailed a Pumping Bomber clothesline on Henare, but Aaron refused to go down! Shingo unloaded a series of forearms. Henare fired back with a punch to the gut and a headbutt. Cobb ran in and hit a Tour of the Islands spinning powerslam on Shingo, then the Spin Cycle back suplex on Naito. Henare then hit a fisherman’s brainbuster to pin Shingo! Kelly and Charlton (rightfully) made a big deal of this pin, leading into a Henare-Shingo first-round match.
* Great-O-Khan shouted (no mic needed) for “us peasants” to shut up and listen to him. He vowed that the United Empire would dominate the New Japan Cup.
5. Yoh and Lio Rush defeated Hiromu Takahashi and Bushi at 12:54. No. 1 contender Lio opened against champion Hiromu. Lio hit a diving forearm to the back for a nearfall on Hiromu. Bushi entered and applied a Fujiwar Armbar, with Lio reached the ropes at 4:30. Yoh entered and hit a plancha on both opponents. Lio dove through the ropes and barreled onto Hiromu at 7:30.
In the ring, Hiromu hit a sit-out powerbomb, and they were both down. Bushi hit a missile dropkick on Lio at 10:00. Bushi hit a dive to the floor. Hiromu hit a German Suplex on Lio. This has been a non-stop pace. Yoh and Lio hit their modified FTR Big Rig for a believable nearfall on Bushi; I thought that was it. Lio hit the Rush Hour stunner out of the ropes on Hiromu, then the Final Hour frogsplash on Bushi for the pin. Really good tag match.
6. Shota Umino defeated Yujiro Takahashi (w/Pieter) in a first-round New Japan Cup tournament match at 9:48. Charlton talked about how Yujiro was a ‘big brother figure’ in Shota’s life. Kelly said Yujiro is 3-12 all time in New Japan Cup action, worst of any wrestler in 10+ tournaments. Shota came out through the upper bleachers, and before I could even type it, Kelly compared it to an entrance from his mentor Jon Moxley. Shota jumped him before the bell. They immediately traded forearm shots. Yujiro hit a bodyslam at 3:00 and a Mafia Kick.
Umino hit a DDT, then a Scorpion Deathdrop at 6:30. Sho appeared at ringside, holding his wrench. Yujiro tried to hit a low blow, but Umino blocked it. Yujiro nailed the Pimp Juice jumping DDT for a believable nearfall. He set up for a second Pimp Juice, but Umino hit a pop-up European Uppercut. Sho hopped on the ring apron, allowing Yujiro to hit the low blow. Yujiro got his walking stick, but Umino avoided it. Umino hit a Death Rider double-arm DDT on the interfering Sho, then a Death Rider on Yujiro for the pin. Exactly what you’d expect here, as absolutely no one thought Yujiro was advancing.
* With the win, Umino advances to face Zack Sabre Jr. in the second round.
* Footage aired of David Finlay attacking Jay White after White’s loss at “Battle in the Valley” in San Jose, and Finlay’s heel turn.
7. David Finlay (w/Gedo) defeated Tomohiro Ishii in first-round New Japan Cup tournament match at 18:46. Wow, Finlay is with Gedo! Finlay is wearing a black jacket with spikes reminiscent of the Road Warriors, and he’s shaved the sides of his head, so he looks significantly different from just two weeks ago. His pants read “Rebel Club.” He attacked before Ishii had removed his shirt. They immediately began trading forearm shots, and Finlay repeatedly stomped on him. Finlay hit some European Uppercuts and was in complete control. Ishii fired back with some chops at 4:30, then a powerslam, and they were both down.
They got up and traded more forearm shots. Ishii hit a suplex at 7:00. They fought to the floor, and Finlay dropped him ribs-first on the guardrail. In the ring, Ishii charged into the corner and crashed shoulder-first. Finlay hit a second-rope superplex at 10:30, but Ishii popped up! Finlay hit a spear, and they were both down. Ishii hit a second-rope superplex, but Finlay popped up! Finlay hit another spear. He put Ishii on his shoulders and slammed him stomach-first to the mat for a nearfall at 12:30.
Ishii hit a German Suplex, and they were both down. They got up and traded more forearm shots. Ishii nailed a standing powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 15:00. Finlay hit a stunner move for a nearfall. Finlay yanked down a kneepad. Ishii hit an enzuigiri and a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Ishii hit a Shining Wizard and a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 18:00. Finlay hit a stunner and a clothesline and a headbutt, then a neckbreaker over his knee for the pin.
* David Finlay advances to face Great-O-Khan in the second round. Gedo got on the mic and said Finlay is going to flip the division on its head. “So what if Jay White isn’t here?” Gedo said you cut one head off, another one rises up.
8. “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Kazuchika Okada and HIroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP Tag Team Titles at 20:16. Yoshi-Hashi and Okada opened, as Kelly and Charlton talked about the handful of times the world champion has also been a tag champion. Bishamon worked over Tanahashi. Okada made the hot tag at 5:00 and brawled with Yoshi-Hashi. Okada placed Yoshi-Hashi on the turnbuckle and he dropkicked YH to the floor. Okada hit a double DDT on the floor.
In the ring, Goto hit a running bulldog on Okada at 8:00. Okada hit a dropkick, and he applied a Money Clip sleeperhold in the center of the ring on Goto. Okada set up for the Rainmaker clothesline, but Goto fought it off. Goto hit a hard clothesline, and they were both down at 12:00. Okada hit a flapjack. Tanahashi made the hot tag and hit a flying forearm on Goto. Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee. Yoshi-Hashi entered and hit a Dragon Suplex on Tanahashi.
Tanahashi hit a straitjacket German Suplex and a Sling Blade clothesline on Yoshi-Hashi for a nearfall. He went to the top rope, but Goto jumped up and yanked him off. Tanahashi hit a dragon screw leg whip on Goto; YH hit a dragon screw on Tanahashi. Okada hit a dropkick on Yoshi-Hashi at 15:00. Okada nailed a top-rope elbow drop on Yoshi-Hashi; Tanahashi immediately went for the High Fly Flow frogsplash, but Yoshi-Hashi got his knees up, and he rolled Tanahashi over for a believable nearfall. This crowd was going nuts; the commentators are shouting to hear themselves.
Tanahashi and Yoshi-Hashi traded forearms while on their knees, then while standing. Bishamon set up for Shoto, but Tanahashi briefly escaped. They then hit Shoto team slam for a believable nearfall, but Okada made the save at 17:30. Bishamon again set up for Shoto, but Tanahashi fought free; Tanahashi got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi set up for Karma, but Hiroshi blocked it. Bishamon then hit Shoto to pin Tanahashi. This was absolutely fantastic. There were so many great nearfalls, and the crowd absolutely ate this up.
* Yoshi-Hashi spoke on the mic, saying it was a successful second defense. He said he was finally able to defeat Tanahashi. He asked, “who had Yoshi-Hashi closing out the 51st anniverary show?” He said the more he sharpens his skills and improves, he thinks he could beat them both one-on-one someday.
Final Thoughts: The Ishii-Finlay match was fantastic. I absolutely love watching Ishii fight, but I knew he was losing here after Finlay’s big heel turn weeks ago. Give Finlay a lot of credit for totally changing his whole look and demeanor to match his heel status. Meanwhile, Yujiro has just never interested me. Shota did a fine job there, but there was no way he was losing either.
A fantastic main event. I admittedly am not the biggest fan of Bishamon — I would have rather seen the titles remain on FTR or go to Aussie Open — but this was just a great, great match with great false finishes.
I really liked having Henare beat Shingo. It will create some mystery if he can do it again in the tournament. After a day off, the New Japan Cup continues on Wednesday.
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