NJPW 46th Anniversary Show Results, Grades, and Analysis

Taichi (Suzuki-gun) vs. Tetsuya Naito (Los Ingobernables de Japon)

Taichi immediately jumped on Naito and took him back to the entrance ramp. Naito got powerbombed by Taichi on the ramp and almost secured a count-out victory, but Naito made it back to the ring. Taichi then proceeded to get the heat on Naito for several minutes with high impact offence. He worked over Naito’s back with powerbombs and kicks and hit a very hard clothesline. Naito, not to be defeated by anyone, hit a reverse rana on Taichi. Taichi hit the mat hard, and Naito looked to get some momentum going.

Taichi, however, got to his feet first and hit Naito with a series of kicks. Naito responded by hitting Gloria, but Taichi kicked out. Naito went for Destino but Taichi escaped. Taichi shoved the referee aside and low blowed Naito, almost getting the pinfall, but Naito kicked out. Naito eventually knocked the ref over and hit his own low blow.

While the referee was down, Naito took Taichi’s microphone that he lip synced into, and absolutely killed Taichi with it. Naito picked up the broken Taichi and hit Destino, pinning him.

Result: Tetsuya Naito (4/5 in my predictions)

Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5.

This wasn’t bad, but not up to Naito’s usual standards.

Minoru Suzuki (Suzuki-gun) (c) vs. Togi Makabe – IWGP Intercontinental Championship

This match was a very hard hitting affair, with Suzuki and Makabe using many hard strikes. Makabe and Suzuki are both faster than you would expect, as both ran around the ring in the early portions of this match. Suzuki, at 49 years old, did not move as one. The action spilled to the outside of the ring, and Makabe sent Suzuki flying into the guardrail twice.

Suzuki returned the favour a few minutes later. He worked over Makabe’s knees by smashing them against the ring post. Minoru grabbed a chair and smashed Makabe’s leg with it, despite Red Shoes (the ref) trying to stop him. Suzuki went for the chair again, but Red Shoes grabbed it again. Suzuki continued to tear apart the knee of Makabe, giving flashbacks to how he tore Tanahashi’s knee apart a month ago.

Makabe managed to make a comeback with a powerslam and a series of lariats. Both men exchanged hard forearm strikes until Suzuki killed Makabe with one big shot. Makabe hit the mat, but shook his head, and got back up. He hit Suzuki hard, and Suzuki laughed. Suzuki hit an ever harder shot. This went on a few more times, and Suzuki continued to hit monster forearms until Makabe hit a Death Valley Driver, sending Suzuki to the mat.

Makabe managed to hit a Spider Suplex, but he missed the King Kong Knee Drop, further hurting his knee. Suzuki locked in a kneebar, leaving Makabe writhing in pain for a few minutes. Makabe made it to the ropes, but the damage to his knee has been done. The two exchanged strikes again, but this time it ended with Makabe hitting a German suplex. Makabe connected with a lariat and almost got a pinfall. Suzuki appeared to be out, but as Makabe hit the ropes, Suzuki popped up and hit an incredible dropkick on Makabe.

Suzuki locked in a rear naked choke, then as Makabe fell unconscious, he went for the Gotch Style Piledriver. Makabe fought the piledriver off and hit a series of chops to the face of Suzuki. Suzuki and Makabe continue to exchange strikes, but Suzuki gets the better off it and locked in the rear naked choke again. He turned Makabe around and hit the Gotch Style Piledriver and got the pinfall.

Result: Minoru Suzuki (5/6 in my predictions)

Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5.

This was a very fun match. Suzuki is excellent. Since Wrestle Kingdom, where Suzuki was forced to shave his head, he has been on an absolute tear in NJPW. NJPW is doing a great job establishing that Suzuki is going to end anyone that stands in his way. The inevitable rematch with Tanahashi down the line provides lots of interesting stories for NJPW going forward.