NJPW 45th Anniversary Show
March 6th 2017
Ota City General Gymnasium
Don Callis and Kevin Kelly on commentary
Highlight from main match! Live Now only on https://t.co/cEFFsYKcrQ pic.twitter.com/eGRtua9aC3
— njpw_global (@njpwglobal) March 6, 2017
Manabu  Nakanishi vs. Tomoyuki Oka
The big veteran Nakanishi takes on the young lion Oka in the opener. Oka submits to Nakanishi’s torture rack.
Winner: Nakanishi via submission
Hirooki Goto, Yoshi Hashi, Jado and Gedo (CHAOS) vs. Minoru Suzuki, Taka Michinoku, El Desperado and Davey Boy Smith Jr. (Suzuki-Gun)
Multi-person tag match with CHAOS taking on Suzuki-Gun. Since returning from NOAH, Suzuki-Gun has done a lot of losing. That trend continues here as Yoshi-Hashi forces Taka to submit to a butterfly lock.
Winners: CHAOS (Yoshi-Hashi forced Taka to submit)
Kenny Omega, Yujiro Takahashi, Tonga Loa, Tama Tonga and Bad Luck Fale (Bullet Club) vs. Togi Makabe, David Finlay, Tiger Mask, Yuji Nagata and Jushin Liger
Kenny Omega has made it clear that he does not take his shirt of for big matches. He actually said this to the camera. This was evidently not a big match.
They gave an update on Honma’s injury. He’s still in the hospital, but regaining the use of his extremities and promises to be back.
This was the only match for Bullet Club tonight, but 5 of them will take part in the New Japan Cup which starts this weekend.
At one point Kenny Omega was choking Tiger Mask with a large stick and saying “I’m cheating” to the camera.
Finish of the match came when Bad Luck Fale hit Finlay with the Tongan death spike. They played up Fale’s opening round match with Michael Elgin on March 11th a bit.
Winners: Bullet Club (Fale pinned Finlay)
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Roppongi Vice (c) (CHAOS) vs. Taichi and Kanemaru (Suzuki-Gun)
Suzuki-Gun attacked Roppongi Vice during their entrance. Kelly and Romero played up how successful Kanemaru and Taichi were in NOAH. There was a lot of interference from El Desperado on the outside for Suzuki-Gun.
Finish of the match came when Kanemaru hit a diving DDT from the top on Romero for the pin.
Winners: Taichi and Kanemaru (new champions)
After the match Gedo and Jado came to the ring. Suzuki-Gun taunted the titles at them a bit, indicating there will be a future matchup between the two teams in the near future.
British Heavyweight Championship
Katsuyori Shibata (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.Â
Not surprisingly there was a lot of technical wrestling to start this match off. Shibata defeated Sabre Jr. for the title, this is his rematch tonight. Minoru Suzuki, who will meet Shibata in the first round of the New Japan Cup, hits the ring and Suzuki-Gun takes out Shibata. Zack Sabre Jr then hits the PK on Shibata for the win. Zack Sabre Jr has aligned with Suzuki-Gun.
Winner: Zack Sabre Jr. (new champion)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships
Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano (c)(CHAOS) vs. Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan
Yano tried to go for his normal low blow and roll-up for the win but Tenzan broke it up. Kojima then hit Yano with a big lariat for the win. Nagata and Nakanishi came out to celebrate the win with them.
Winners: Tenzan and Kojima (new champions) (6th time as champions)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kushida, Juice Robinson, and Michael Elgin vs. Sanada, Evil, Tetsuya Naito, and Bushi (Los Ingobernables)
Surprising finish here as Naito pinned Juice Robinson after hitting Destino. There has been a rivalry brewing here, which would be quite an opportunity for Robinson. After the match Evil attacked Tanahashi, which is a preview of their first round match this weekend. Naito also continued to beat up Robinson after the bell.
Winners: Los Ingobernables (Naito pinned Robinson)
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship
Hiromu Takahashi (c)(Los Ingobernables) vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
Clean victory for Takahashi. Taguchi had him in the ankle lock on 3 occassions, but Takahashi didn’t tap and got out each time. So they are probably trying to build him up as tough. After the match Takahashi cut a screaming promo that was directed at Kushida. Somewhat predictably this brought out Kushida. Looks like it will be former 4x champion Kushida who is next to get a title shot.
Winner: Takahashi (2nd title defence)
Tiger Mask W vs. Kazuchika Okada (non-title)
This match has to do with the Tiger Mask anime series that is currently airing. Kota Ibushi is this new version of Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask hit several big moves, including a super tiger bomb, but Okada kept kicking out. Okada eventually hit a string of rainmaker clotheslines in a row for the pin.
Winner: Okada
