A dream match-up three years in the making will finally take place at NJPW 46th Anniversary.
Today (March 6), IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada will meet fellow CHAOS member and IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Will Ospreay. The two met back in 2015. Okada defeated an inexperienced, but flashy “Aerial Assassin.”
The card will also feature two title matches. Minoru Suzuki puts his IWGP Intercontinental title on the line against Togi Makabe. Also, in a three-way tag team match Sho and Yoh defend their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Hiromu Takahashi and Bushi, as well as El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
Be sure to keep refreshing this page for live results of the event, which will begin at 5 a.m. ET:
10-Man Tag Team Match: Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Tiger Mask, & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Ren Narita, Tetsuhiro Yagi, Shota Umino, Tomoyuki Oka, & Yuji Nagata
The Young Lions and Nagata immediately attacked their opponents. Taguchi and Yagi got things started. Taguchi finally got the upper hand and tagged in Tiger Mask. Narita tried to save Yagi from punishment, but was easily shoved down.
Liger locked in a surfboard stretch before tagging in Tenzan. There was a funny spot where Yagi landed a chop, but Tenzan no sold it and hit his mongolian chop. Nagata was in and he kicked Tenzan multiple times. He did his fake high kick and went low.
Umino and Kushida went back-and-forth with forearms. Umino countered the springboard elbow with his own elbow. The Young Lions all teamed on Kushida. They held Kushida and Umino landed a missile dropkick for a two-count.
Kushida eventually locked in the Hoverboard Lock and transitioned into an armbar. Umino tried hard to fight it off, but finally tapped.
Winners: Ryusuke Taguchi, Kushida, Tiger Mask, & Jushin Thunder Liger
*Singles Match: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Katsuya Kitamura*
*This match has been canceled due to Kitamura’s injury*
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Toa Henare, David Finlay, & Juice Robinson vs. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hiroki Goto
Henare and Ishii got the match started. They traded forearms. The two then went for shoulder blocks. Finally, Ishii ended up hitting the mat.
Yano was the legal man and he squared off with Finlay. Of course Yano went for the corner padding. Finlay ducked the shot and hit a leaping uppercut. The action spilled to the outside. Finlay and Juice were thrown into the guardrail, while Henare went over it.
Goto was the legal man and locked in a single leg Boston Crab. Finlay reached the ropes and hit a dropkick. Yano tried to prevent the tag, but got sent into the exposed turnbuckle.
Juice was now in and he went to town on Yano and Ishii on opposite corners. Juice hit Goto with a spinebuster and senton. He hit his signature punches on all three men. With Goto left in the ring, Juice hit him with a clothesline.
Henare, Finlay, and Juice triple teamed Goto. It ended with a spear from Henare. It didn’t take long for Goto to hit GTR for the win.
Winners: Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Hiroki Goto
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match: Sho & Yoh (C) vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Bushi vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Yoh and Hiromu got things started. Naturally, they got into a chest slap battle right away. Yoh’s chest quickly turned red. Yoh trapped Hiromu in a head scissors and took him down.
Sho and Yoh went for a dive, but Desperado and Kanemaru pulled them out of the ring. Hiromu and Bushi landed baseball slides on Desperado and Kanemaru. Bushi choked Sho with his shirt before he and Hiromu hit a double team move. Kanemaru then tagged himself in to take on Sho.
Kanemaru and Desperado worked the back of Sho. Hiromu tagged himself in and raked the eyes of Kanemaru. Soon, Kanemaru found his way back in the ring and he landed a superplex. He then locked in a Boston Crab as Desperado fought off all opposition. Sho managed to reach the bottom rope.
Finally, Sho was able to tag in Yoh after hitting a suplex. Yoh connected a series of dropkicks on Desperado and Kanemaru. Bushi tagged Kanemaru and he and Hiromu took him out. Yoh hit an enzuigiri on Bushi and tagged in Sho. Sho hit a double spear on Desperado and Kanemaru.
Hiromu hit his apron bomb on Desperado. Bushi landed a suicide dive on Kanemaru. Yoh than leaped over the top rope to take out Hiromu. Sho and Yoh hit stereo jumping knees on Bushi. They went for 3K, but Hiromu hit a German Suplex on Yoh.
With the referee distracted, Bushi sprayed mist in Sho’s eyes. Kanemaru then spat whiskey in Bushi’s face. This allowed Kanemaru to pin Sho for the stunning title win!
Winners and NEW IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Singles Match: Sanada vs. Yoshi-Hashi
Sanada went for a headlock, but settled for a shoulder block. Yoshi-Hashi hit a hurricanrana followed by a dive to the outside. They exchanged chops on the outside and Yoshi-Hashi was throw into the guardrail. He locked in a reverse sleeper all the way in the crowd.
Sanada locked in a sleeper hold in the ring, but he was countered with a DDT. Yoshi-Hashi was on a roll with shoulder blocks. He then chopped his opponent in the corner. He placed Sanada over the top rope and hit his signature dropkick.
Sanada hit a springboard dropkick. Yoshi-Hashi went for the butterfly lock, but Sanada quickly reached the bottom rope. He went for a German suplex, but Sanada landed on his feet. He then landed the Saito suplex. Yoshi-Hashi ran right into the TKO.
Yoshi-Hashi locked in his own reverse sleeper, but Sanada countered with a Skull End attempt. Yoshi-Hashi then nailed him with the Lung Blower. He then hit the Bunker Buster. Yoshi-Hashi went for the swanton, but Sanada got his knees up. Sanada then went for the moonsault, but his opponent got out of the way.
Yoshi-Hashi reversed Skull End into the inside cradle. Sanada ran into the western lariat. Yoshi-Hashi hit the sitout powerbomb for a two-count. He then locked in the butterfly lock again. After much suspense, Sanada finally reached the ropes.
Sanada reversed Karma into Skull End. Yoshi-Hashi was fading and Sanada let go of the hold to hit the moonsault for the victory.
Winner: Sanada
Singles Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Taichi
Before the bell rang, Taichi hit Naito with his microphone stand. He took his opponent into the crowd and looked to powerbomb him on the floor. He nailed it. The referee checked on Naito before starting the count. He was able to get back inside the ring at the count of 19.
Taichi pinned his opponent for a two-count. He took off Naito’s jacket and hit him with it. Naito landed some weak chops, still feeling the effects of that powerbomb. Naito fought Taichi off in the corner. He hit the neckbreaker into his dropkick.
Naito proceeded to keep throwing Taichi into the guardrail. With Taichi perched on the middle rope, Naito hit another neckbreaker. Naito went for his signature trip on the apron, but he was countered with a kick.
Even with the move to heavyweight, Taichi felt the need to take his pants off. It didn’t pay off as his kick was reversed. Naito connected with an avalanche hurricanrana. Taichi took back some momentum with a Last Ride for the near fall. Naito then hit a reverse hurricanrana.
Taichi was hit with Gloria and kicked out at two. Naito signaled for Destino, but was shoved off. Taichi shoved the ref and kicked Naito low. Naito barely kicked out. He ducked a clothesline and hit a wheel kick.
Taka distracted the ref. Naito ducked a mic stand shot from Taichi. Naito shoved the referee into Taka. He then kicked Taichi low and whacked him over the head with the mic stand. He followed that up with Destino for the win.
Winner: Tetsuya Naito
Taka then grabbed a mic and warned Naito about his match against Zack Sabre Jr. in the New Japan Cup. Taka said Zack will make Naito tap out.
Another video package for Rey Mysterio aired. He talked about his match-up against Jushin Thunder Liger at Strong Style Evolved on March 25.
IWGP Intercontinental Title Match: Minoru Suzuki (C) vs. Togi Makabe
Suzuki landed a big boot to start. They traded forearms and Suzuki’s advantage there was clear. Makabe connected with a clothesline. He then landed a series of forearms as Suzuki urged him to keep hitting him. The two kept battering each other and Suzuki crashed down to the canvas. Makabe threw his opponent into the guardrail.
Makabe fell for Suzuki’s armbar on the ring apron, but Suzuki was punched out of it. Makabe was caught again, but Suzuki slipped and fell to the outside. He then slammed Makabe’s leg to the ring post. He took a chair, but Red Shoes stopped him. Suzuki shoved Red Shoes down and bent another chair on Makabe’s knee.
In the ring, Suzuki locked in the heel hook. Makabe was able to reach the bottom rope. The champion ran into a powerslam. Makabe hit his signature punches in the corner followed by a northern lights suplex for a two-count.
Suzuki hit a thudding forearm that dropped Makabe. A second one once again sent the challenger crashing to the canvas. Suzuki dropped Makabe for a third time. He then ran into a death valley driver.
Makabe landed a German suplex from the top rope. He then went for the King Kong knee drop, but Suzuki rolled out of the way. The champion sprung up and locked in the heel hook. He dragged the challenger further away from the ropes. For a second time, Makabe reached the bottom rope.
A slap battle ensued. Suzuki ended it with a punch. He went for another heel hook, but Makabe reversed with the German suplex. He then went for a dragon suplex, but Makabe kicked him in the knee. The challenger hit a lariat for a near fall. Suzuki ran and landed his signature dropkick read to the forehead.
Suzuki went for the Gotch Piledriver, but Makabe out muscled him. Suzuki dropkick his opponent right on the knee. He ducked a clothesline and locked in the sleeper. He hit the Gotch Piledriver this time for a three-count.
Winner and STILL IWGP Intercontinental Champion: Minoru Suzuki
Anniversary Day Special Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
The two got into a grappling exchange to start the match. Okada went for a leg lock, but Ospreay reversed into an arm bar attempt. Some great mat wrestling was on display from Okada. They traded pins in various ways to the delight of the crowd.
Okada maintained control of Ospreay’s hands and tried pinning him down. Ospreay used a monkey flip to reverse. Okada went for a northern lights suplex, but Ospreay landed on his feet. Ospreay ducked under the Rain Maker, while Okada avoided the Oscutter.
Okada went for his signature clean break, but Ospreay slapped him. He hit a head scissors and did his fake out springboard. He ate a dropkick for it. Okada sprinted to the outside and landed a big boot. He hit a DDT inside the ring for a two-count.
Ospreay hit his springboard enzuigiri. He followed that up with a kick to the chest. With Okada seated in the corner, Ospreay landed a dropkick.He went for a reverse DDT, but ate a knee. Ospreay was able to get Okada down and he hit a standing shooting star press for a near fall.
Okada stopped the momentum with a flapjack. With Ospreay perched on the top rope, Okada went for his dropkick but was kicked. It didn’t take long for Okada to perch Ospreay back up on the top rope to hit the dropkick. With Ospreay over the guardrail, Okada went for his signature crossbody but Ospreay leaped off the rail for a forearm.
Inside the ring, Ospreay hit the Robinson Special. He then went for the Oscutter, but Okada caught him and locked in the cobra clutch. Ospreay reversed, but was caught reverse neckbreaker. Ospreay hit a side kick to the jaw, but ran into the dropkick. Okada hit the elbow drop and signaled for the Rain Maker. Ospreay fought him off, but crumbled after three stiff forearms.
Okada mocked Ospreay with slap kicks to the back of the head. Ospreay was fired up and traded forearms. Okada gained the advantage, but ran into a step up enziugiri. Ospreay hit the C-4 followed by his half Rain Maker. He then landed the implosion 450 splash for a near fall. Okada countered the Oscutter with a Tombstone. He went for the Rain Maker, but Ospreay countered into the sitout powerbomb for a very close two-count.
A third Oscutter attempt was countered by a dropkick. Okada then hit a German suplex for a two-count. Okada hit his half Rain Maker twice. He attempted the full one again, but Ospreay did a springboard which was countered into the spinning Tombstone. Okada then hit the Rain Maker for the win.
Winner: Kazuchika Okada
After the match, Okada and Ospreay hugged. Okada grabbed the mic and said he had three things to say. He first praised Ospreay for his effort. Okada then mentioned how special it is for NJPW to reach its 46th anniversary. He then said he’s better than the competition he has faced such as Tetsuya Naito and Kenny Omega. Lastly, he poked fun at Gedo to close out the show.
