mobanmarketAfter Kazuchika Okada made the challenge and Will Ospreay accepted last weekend, the main event for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s 46th anniversary show is now official.
It will be Okada (the IWGP Heavyweight Champion) vs. Ospreay (the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion) in a non-title match. Okada mentioned there being a history of the Heavyweight Champion facing the Junior Heavyweight Champion when he made the challenge for the anniversary show.
Okada and Ospreay are stablemates in NJPW as part of Chaos. This will be their second singles match against each other. Okada defeated Ospreay for Revolution Pro Wrestling in 2015, which led to Ospreay being brought into NJPW.
There will be two title matches on the anniversary show card, with Minoru Suzuki defending his IWGP Intercontinental Championship against Togi Makabe in the semi-main event and Sho & Yoh putting their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles on the line against Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI and Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado.
Tetsuya Naito takes on Taichi after Taichi attacked him at the New Beginning in Osaka. And the seventh match in Katsuya Kitamura’s trial series takes place as Kitamura faces Manabu Nakanishi.
The Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo hosts the anniversary show on March 6th and it will air live on New Japan World with English commentary available. Here’s the full card:
IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada vs. IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay in a non-title match
IWGP Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki defending against Togi Makabe
Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
IWGP Tag Team Champions SANADA & EVIL vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI in a non-title match
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Sho & Yoh defending against Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI and Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado in a three-way match
Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano vs. Juice Robinson & David Finlay
Katsuya Kitamura vs. Manabu Nakanishi (final match in Kitamura’s seven-match trial series)
Jushin Thunder Liger, Tiger Mask IV, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yuji Nagata, Toa Henare, Tomoyuki Oka, Shota Umino & Tetsuhiro Yagi