NJPW 50th Anniversary Show

The NJPW 50th Anniversary Show was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on March 1, 2022, in Tokyo, Japan at the Nippon Budokan. The event was to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the promotion, which was founded in 1972 by Antonio Inoki.

NJPW 50th Anniversary Show
Promotion	New Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date	March 1, 2022
City	Tokyo, Japan
Venue	Nippon Budokan
Attendance	3,182
Event chronology
← Previous New Years Golden Series Next → New Japan Cup
NJPW Anniversary Show chronology
← Previous 49th Next → 51st

Production

Other on-screen personnel

Role:	Name:
English Commentators	Kevin Kelly
	Chris Charlton
Japanese Commentators	Shinpei Nogami
	Milano Collection A.T.
	Katsuhiko Kanazawa
	Kazuyoshi Sakai
	Masahiro Chono
	Riki Choshu
Ring announcers	Makoto Abe
	Taisei Watanabe
	Kero Tanaka (main event)
Referees	Kenta Sato
	Marty Asami
	Norio Honaga (match 5)
	Red Shoes Unno

Background

On November 15, 2021, NJPW announced that the promotion would hold its fiftieth anniversary show at Nippon Budokan on March 1 of the following year.^[1] Kota Ibushi and Hiroyoshi Tenzan were originally scheduled to take part in the event, but both pulled out due to injuries.^[2]

NJPW legends Minoru Tanaka, Shiro Koshinaka, Norio Honaga, Tatsumi Fujinami, and Yoshiaki Fujiwara took part in several matches at the event. Along with the aforementioned legends; Wataru Inoue, Jushin Liger, Kuniaki Kobayashi, Seiji Sakaguchi, Tiger Hattori, Motoyuki Kitazawa, Milano Collection A.T., Masahito Kakihara, Kazuo Yamazaki, Akira Maeda, Kengo Kimura, Masahiro Chono, Keiji Mutoh, and Riki Choshu took part of the pre-show with Chono and Choshu also providing Japanese commentary for the event. Former ring announcer Kero Tanaka, was the special guest announcer for the main event.

Storylines

The NJPW 50th Anniversary Show features professional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.^[3]

Results

No.	Results^[4]	Stipulations	Times
1	House of Torture (Evil, Yujiro Takahashi, and Sho) defeated Tiger Mask, Yoh, and Ryohei Oiwa by pinfall	Six-man tag team match	6:35
2	Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori, and El Phantasmo) defeated Suzuki-gun (Taichi and Taka Michinoku) and Minoru Tanaka by pinfall	Six-man tag team match	9:50
3	#StrongHearts (Cima, T-Hawk, and El Lindaman) defeated Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Douki) by pinfall	Six-man tag team match	9:22
4	United Empire (Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, and Aaron Henare) defeated Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, Kosei Fujita, and Yuto Nakashima by pinfall	Eight-man tag team match	9:20
5	Los Ingobernables de Japon (Sanada, Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi) defeated Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma), Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano), and Shiro Koshinaka by pinfall	Ten-man tag team match with Norio Honaga as special guest referee	12:38
6	Bishamon (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi) (IWGP Tag Team) defeated Six or Nine (Ryusuke Taguchi and Master Wato) (IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team) by pinfall	Champion vs. Champion tag team match	15:04
7	Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Tatsumi Fujinami defeated Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. and Minoru Suzuki), and Yoshiaki Fujiwara by pinfall	Six-man tag team match	18:12

See also

• 2022 in professional wrestling
• List of major NJPW events

References

1. "NJPW announces 50th anniversary tour and museum exhibit". Wrestling Observer Online. November 15, 2021. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
2. "Kota Ibushi and Hiroyoshi Tenzan off NJPW Cup tournament due to injury". Wrestling Observer Online. February 27, 2022. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
3. Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Retrieved September 13, 2014.
4. NJPW. "2022.03.01 Anniversary Event | NEW JAPAN PRO-WRESTLING". NJPW. Retrieved 2022-03-01.

External links

• Official New Japan Pro-Wrestling's website