By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “53rd Anniversary Event”
March 6, 2025 in Tokyo, Japan at Ota-City General Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
This event was held in a large auditorium/small arena. The crowd is maybe 1,500 or so; it was certainly much bigger than many of the gyms they run.
It’s notable that Chris Charlton was back on commentary for the first time since he blasted Tony Khan on the Wrestle Dynasty show on Jan. 5 and got a two-month suspension. Walker Stewart joined Charlton in calling the action.
* The show opened with a memorial for two recently deceased wrestlers, and pictures of both men were displayed in the ring, and several of the roster members were at ringside for the ceremony.
* We are starting with El Phantasmo making an open challenge for his NJPW TV Title! Who will respond? Out of the back came… Master Wato! Charlton pointed out that Wato won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament in this building.
1. El Phantasmo (w/Jado) vs. Master Wato for the NJPW TV Title. A reminder these matches have a 15-minute time limit. ELP is larger and he easily backed Wato into the ropes. Wato hit a huracanrana on the floor, then a flip dive over the ropes onto ELP on the floor at 3:30. In the ring, Wato hit a springboard back elbow for a nearfall. Wato naled a bulldog for a nearfall at 5:00. ELP finally hit a dropkick and they were both down. Phantasmo hit a springboard crossbody block, and he clotheslined Wato to the floor, then he hit a plancha onto him at 7:30; right on cue, Charlton reiterated the 15-minute time limit (I don’t know if he knew we just reached the midpoint.) Phantasmo hit an impressive top-rope moonsault press to the floor on Wato.
In the ring, ELP hit a springboard Swanton Bomb and a Lionsault for a nearfall. Wato hooked both arms and got a mousetrap cover for a believable nearfall. ELP hit a German Suplex and a superkick for a nearfall at 10:30. Wato got some rollups for nearfalls. The 12-minute call was a few seconds late, and they traded forearm strikes. ELP hit a handspring-back-clothesline, then a Burning Hammer for a believable nearfall at 13:00 and that time-check was spot-on. Wato hit his high-bridge German Suplex for a believable nearfall! Phantasmo hit a Frankensteiner and a Thunderkiss 86 (frogsplash) for the pin. A really good opener; we need more random singles matches like this.
El Phantasmo defeated Master Wato to retain the IWGP TV Title at 14:11.
2. “Bullet Club Rogue Army” Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson. I’ve noted that Fale has let his beard turn white. Oiwa and Owens opened; they are first-round opponents in the New Japan Cup. Oiwa hit a dropkick and grounded Chase. Fale got in and stood on Oiwa’s back at 3:00, and he hit a chop that knocked Oiwa down. Hartley got in and hit some clotheslines on Fale and got a nearfall. Hartley tried to pick up Fale, but Owens ran in and kicked Hartley. TMDK hit a team shoulder tackle to knock down Fale, and Jackson hit a senton for a nearfall at 6:30. Owens and Oiwa traded forearm strikes, and Ryohei hit a gut-wrench suplex. Fale hit a clothesline on Hartley and a massive elbow drop to the sternum for the pin. Decent.
Bad Luck Fale and Chase Owens defeated Ryohei Oiwa and Hartley Jackson at 7:05.
* Owens stopped at the announce booth and told Chris that it was good to see him back. It’s really the first time it was addressed; Charlton hadn’t said anything about his absence so far.
3. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Sanada, Taiji Ishimori, and Gedo vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taka Michinoku, Yuya Uemura, and Taichi. BCWD attacked and all six brawled and it immediately spilled to the floor. In the ring, Gedo choked Taka on the mat, and the heels kept Michinoku in their corner. Taichi finally got a hot tag at 4:30 and he brawled with Ishimori. Walker Stewart said Taichi hasn’t been on the winning end of a single match this year, whether it was a singles or multi-man match (well… Taka ate most of those pins). Ishimori hit a handspring-back-enzuigiri on Taichi.
Uemura got a hot tag at 6:00 and he unloaded some chops on Sanada, then a deep armdrag; his hair is a mix of brown, blond and red, and it’s a mess. He hit a back suplex on Sanada for a nearfall. Sanada applied the Skull End, but Yuya quickly escaped. Gedo tripped Yuya at 8:00 and the crowd loudly booed. Sanada picked up a guitar, struck it, tossed it to Yuya, and collapsed to the mat in the ‘Eddie spot.’ The ref turned around, saw Yuya holding the guitar and Sanada on the mat, and he called for the bell. Lame finish and I think Sanada did this another time recently. Charlton was livid, saying a ref is supposed to “call what you see, and he didn’t see a damn thing.”
Sanada, Taiji Ishimori, and Gedo defeated Taka Michinoku, Yuya Uemura, and Taichi via DQ at 8:17.
* Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru came to the ring, but two men dressed in all black attacked them. It was Gabe Kidd and Drilla Moloney!
4. “House of Torture” Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd and Drilla Moloney. They brawled to the floor; I started my stop watch but we haven’t had a bell to officially begin. Kidd dragged Narita up the stairs and into the crowd. Moloney also beat up Kanemaru in the bleachers area. At 3:30, Stewart said the ref was calling off the match, but they kept brawling. Drilla dragged Ren back to ringside and whipped him headfirst into the ring post. Drilla also returned to ringside and dropped Kanemaru on the ring apron. Gabe and Drilla got in the ring and we had a bell at 6:07!!!! We are officially underway! Worth noting the HoT did not get in the ring, so Kidd and Moloney went right back to the floor and brawled with them some more, and the ref counted both teams out.
Ren Narita and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Gabe Kidd and Drilla Moloney went to a double count-out at 7:55/official time of 1:48.
* Walker Stewart said that Chris Charlton has tried to go the whole evening “without talking about the elephant in the room” … Walker was of course talking about how EVIL attacked the Bullet Club War Dogs! (Of course, the real elephant in the room that Charlton has ignored was anything said about returning from his suspension.)
5. “House of Torture” EVIL, Sho, Yujiro Kanemaru, and Dick Togo vs. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito. Stewart and Charlton said this was unofficially Shingo’s 3,000th career match! LIJ attacked to open, and all eight brawled to the floor. Yota knocked EVIL down with a shoulder tackle, then he hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee on Gedo. Charlton joked about Tsuji and Hiromu’s participation in the CMLL events last week. EVIL and Tsuji brawled deep into the crowd, far from the ring. The HoT worked over Naito, with Sho getting a nearfall at 4:30. Shingo tagged in and cleared the ring.
Shingo backed Sho into a corner and hit a series of punches and chops, then he hit a suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Sho went for a spear but Shingo blocked it. Hiromu got in and hit a basement dropkick on Sho for a nearfall. Togo got in and hit his knife-edge chop to Hiromu’s groin at 8:30, and he choked Hiromu with his wire. Shingo decapitated Togo with a clothesline. Yota and EVIL traded kicks; they will face each other in the NJ Cup. Hiromu applied a standing Figure Four on Togo, then dropped to the mat in a regular Figure Four, and Togo tapped out. Decent match. Yota set up for a post-match Gene Blaster on EVIL, but EVIL saw it and rolled to the floor to escape.
Hiromu Takahashi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, and Tetsuya Naito defeated EVIL, Sho, Yujiro Kanemaru, and Dick Togo at 10:20.
6. El Desperado vs. Francesco Akira for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title. An intense lockup to open, and Desperado knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. They traded overhand chops to the chest. Akira hit a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Akira hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 4:00, and he applied a Camel Clutch and cranked back on Despe’s head, but Desperado got a foot on the ropes. Akira hit a shotgun dropkick. Desperado hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 6:30, placed the leg on the ropes, and dropped his weight on it, and focused on the damaged limb. Akira hit a dropkick that sent Despe from the apron to the floor. Akira hit a moonsault to the floor at 8:30 and they were both down. Akira nailed a flip dive, crashing onto Desperado on the floor.
In the ring, Akira hit a springboard moonsault for a nearfall at 10:30. Desperado locked in a Stretch Muffler, but Akira somehow hit a Canadian Destroyer to escape; nice move. Desperado hit a doublestomp. Akira hit a swinging neckbreaker move for a nearfall at 14:30. Desperado hit a spinebuster and a back suplex and his modified Blue Thunder Bomb for a nearfall. Desperado set up for an Angel’s Wings, but he dropped Akira hard on his knees, and he re-applied the Stretch Muffler, but Akira reached the ropes at 17:30. Akira hit a Fireball (running knees) to Desperado’s jaw for a believable nearfall. He hit a second Fireball to the back of the head for a nearfall, but Desperado grabbed the ropes at 21:00.
Desperado went for the Stretch Muffler again, but Akira got a rollup for a believable nearfall. Akira set up for another Fireball, but his leg buckled and he fell to the mat. Desperado finally hit the Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings) for a believable nearfall at 23:30. Charlton said very few people have kicked out of that move. Despe hit another Dragonscrew Legwhip and he re-applied the Stretch Muffler; Akira writhed on the mat but eventually tapped out. That was really good, although I never really thought Akira was winning here.
El Desperado defeated Francesco Akira to retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title at 24:37.
7. Hirooki Goto vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP World Title. The crowd was hot and split at the bell as they opened with standing switches and basic reversals on the mat. Hiroshi hit a dropkick on the knee and a twisting second-rope crossbody block at 5:30. Tanahashi twisted the left leg in the ropes and dropkicked it at 7:30. Goto hit a clothesline and they were both down. Their combined age is around 90 and this has been “methodical” so far. Goto hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Tanahashi hit a neckbreaker over his knee (Goto’s move!) and that popped the commentators and crowd. He hit a Sling Blade and they were both down at 10:30; the 10:00 time-check was quite late. Hiroshi hit another basement dropkick on the knee. Goto now hit his neckbreaker over his knee.
Hiroshi hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip, then two more, and he applied a Texas Cloverleaf at 13:00. He missed a High Fly Flow (frogsplash) at 15:30. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Goto hit the GTR slam for a nearfall at 18:00. Tanahashi hit some twisting neckbreakers. Goto finally hit his inverted DDT move for the pin. Good match. They filled the time well and it didn’t overstay its welcome. Stewart said that was likely Hiroshi’s final-ever world title match.
Hirooki Goto defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi to retain the IWGP World Title at 20:16.
* Goto got on the mic and put over Tanahashi, saying that if Hiroshi wasn’t here, he also wouldn’t be here. Tanahashi got on the mic and said it was time to unify Chaos and Hontai into one faction. They all came to the ring. (Even after having watched NJPW for the past seven or so years, I never really paid attention to who was in which faction, as they are all babyfaces and generally fight fair against each other.) Goto then called Yuji Nagata to the ring and offered him a title shot. (Maybe Goto’s plan to keep the belt a few months is to never face anyone under the age of 40?)
Final Thoughts: Desperado-Akira was really good and stole the show,, and the crowd was totally into it. The main event was good and built nicely. It wasn’t overly ambitious but it worked. Keep in mind, everyone else is a bigger fan of Goto in the ring (and the decision to put the belt on him) than I am. The New Japan Cup was supposed to kick off today, but the show was cancelled due to a broken ring post.
They canceled due to a broken ring post? Aren’t there like a thousand wrestling groups in Japan? Just borrow a ring
It’s bizarre. It’s not like they were in some remote area. The show was in Tokyo and it’s hard to believe they don’t have another ring of their own somewhere in the city.