{"id":85927,"date":"2021-03-03T11:00:12","date_gmt":"2021-03-03T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=85927"},"modified":"2021-03-02T19:19:51","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T00:19:51","slug":"preview-njpw-49th-anniversary-show-3-4-21","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2021\/03\/03\/preview-njpw-49th-anniversary-show-3-4-21\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: NJPW 49th Anniversary Show (3\/4\/21)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>New Japan Pro Wrestling<\/strong> has been around for almost 50 years, with the annual anniversary event taking place leading up to a NJPW staple tournament, the <strong><em>New Japan Cup<\/em><\/strong>. This year&#8217;s anniversary show is a little different, with history being made in the main event. Today, we take a look at the action to come at the NJPW 49th Anniversary Show.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>NJPW 49th Anniversary Show Full Card<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Douki, Zack Sabre Jr, Minoru Suzuki and Taichi vs. Master Wato, Gabriel Kidd, Tomoaki Honma and Hirooki Goto<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Taiji Ishimori, Jay White, EVIL, KENTA and Chase Owens vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi, Toa Henare, David Finlay and Juice Robinson<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sho, Tomohiro Ishii and Kazuchika Okada vs. BUSHI, SANADA and Shingo Takagi<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Round New Japan Cup Match: Satoshi Kojima vs. Jeff Cobb<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Round New Japan Cup Match: Tetsuya Naito vs. Great-O-Khan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Kota Ibushi (c) vs. El Desperado<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/4A6vELR.jpg\" alt=\"Satoshi Kojima Jeff Cobb\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>The New Japan Cup Begins at the NJPW 49th Anniversary Show<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><b>Satoshi Kojima<\/b> vs. <b>Jeff Cobb<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is the start of NJPW&#8217;s annual <\/span><em>New Japan Cup<\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This tournament will crown the first contender for the <\/span>IWGP World Heavyweight Championship<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The winner will challenge the champion at this year&#8217;s <\/span><b><em>Sakura Genesis<\/em><\/b> show on April 4th<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Barring the history of the <em>New Japan Cup<\/em>, these two have been feuding for weeks in the background of the<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">feud between Kojima and <strong>Will Ospreay<\/strong>. Consider that Cobb recently returned to NJPW during <em><strong>Castle Attack<\/strong><\/em>. This seems like a win for Jeff Cobb, but I wouldn&#8217;t count Satoshi Kojima out. The winner will face <\/span><b>EVIL<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0on March 11th.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/yJ117Xc.jpg\" alt=\"Tetsuya Naito Great O-Khan\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>Tetsuya Naito vs. Great O-Khan<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tetsuya Naito was unsuccessful in the <em>Castle Attack<\/em> Tour, losing his <\/span>IWGP Intercontinental Championship<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> match against <\/span><b>Kota Ibushi<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Now, Naito looks to face off against someone who was also unsuccessful at <em>Castle Attack<\/em> with <\/span><b>Great O-Khan<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Keep in mind that Great O-Khan recently lost against NEVER Openweight Champion <\/span><b>Hiroshi Tanahashi<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Naito has a history in the tournament, winning it in 2016.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Great-O-Khan doesn&#8217;t have such a history. Naito is a heavy favorite for any tournament he&#8217;s in, but this tournament might be an exception. Great-O-Khan might pull off a major upset here; it has been a theme for Naito to lose this tournament in recent years, especially in the first round. The winner will take on <strong>Toru Yano<\/strong> or <strong>Bad Luck Fale<\/strong> on March 11th.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" class=\"size-full wp-image-85959 alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/03\/njpw-49th-anniversary-show.jpg\" alt=\"NJPW 49th Anniversary Show Kota Ibushi El Desperado\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/03\/njpw-49th-anniversary-show.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/03\/njpw-49th-anniversary-show-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><b>Crowning the First-Ever IWGP World Heavyweight Champion<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As soon as <\/span><b>Kota Ibushi<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would win the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Double Championships, he aimed to make history himself with the unification of said titles.<\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tetsuya Naito tried to stop him, but failed. Recently, NJPW officially <\/span>unified<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the titles<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the new name for the belt being the <\/span>IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the <em>NJPW 49th Anniversary Show<\/em>, Kota Ibushi will face off against the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, <\/span><b>El Desperado.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">El Desperado recently became the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion by defeating <\/span><b>El Phantasmo <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><b> BUSHI<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This match took place due to the title being vacated by Hiromu Takahashi. The winner would face the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion at the anniversary event in a non-title match. However, this year is different, as the match is for the title. This match has an interesting history; at <\/span><b>Wrestle Kingdom 8<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, El Desperado came back from an excursion to face off against the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion who was, at the time, with Kota Ibushi. The latter would successfully defend his title.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This upcoming match is also special in that it will crown the first-ever <\/span>IWGP World Heavyweight Champion<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in a junior vs. heavyweight bout. Kota Ibushi seems to be a heavy favorite for this match, as many would doubt &#8220;Despy 4 Belts.&#8221; However, El Desperado may pull off a monumental upset in the main event of the NJPW 49th Anniversary Show. While it&#8217;s unlikely he will win, this is one of the most interesting bouts for El Desperado, who has hit a career renaissance in the past year. Whoever emerges victorious will face the <\/span>winner of the <em>New Japan Cup<\/em> at <em>Sakura Genesis<\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. History will be made on <\/span>March 4th.<\/p>\n<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stay tuned to <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_self\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Make sure to watch New Japan Pro Wrestling on <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/njpwworld.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NJPW WORLD.<\/span><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/boards\/index.php\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LWOS Boards<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to engage in conversation with fellow fans!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Japan Pro Wrestling has been around for almost 50 years, with the annual anniversary event taking place leading up to a NJPW staple tournament, the New Japan Cup. This year&#8217;s anniversary show is a little different, with history being made in the main event. Today, we take a look at the action to come [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3258,"featured_media":85959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,13,14,2192],"tags":[7538,7537,7129,694,170,1034,781],"class_list":["post-85927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-international","category-njpw","category-wrestling","tag-49th-anniversary-show","tag-el-despeado","tag-great-o-khan","tag-jeff-cobb","tag-kota-ibushi","tag-satoshi-kojima","tag-tetsuya-naito"],"modified_by":"Robbie Sutter","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3258"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85927"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85927\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}