New Japan Pro Wrestling has been on hiatus for over a month now. It all started when the Puroresu company decided to cancel its New Japan Cup due to rising concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. First the dates scheduled for March 1 to March 15 were cancelled, then the rest of the tournament followed. Soon Sakura Genesis was cancelled, and as of now, all shows until April 15 have been shut down. It seems likely that more cancellation announcements may follow on or after April 15.
With nobody knowing when this string of cancellations will finally come to end, New Japan fans find themselves now in a state of Puroresu withdrawal. But, that also makes this the perfect time to head onto NJPW World to catch up on some old NJPW matches or discover new alternatives to satisfy that craving for Puroresu. Here are a few of the best places to start:
Wrestle Kingdom 11
The 2017 Tokyo Dome show was arguably one of the greatest Wrestle Kingdoms of all time. A stacked card featured Kyle O'Reilly defending the ROH title from Adam Cole, The Young Bucks and Roppongi Vice going at it for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, Kushida and Hiromu battling for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, and Goto challenging Shibata for the NEVER Openweight Championship.
But, the last two matches of the night were also the most notable: Tetsuya Naito vs Hiroshi Tanahashi for the Intercontinental title, and the famous Kenny Omega vs Kazuchika Okada match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. The main event was the first of Okada and Omega's legendary 5 star feud, and after watching Wrestle Kingdom 11 you may also want to watch the rest of the Okada-Omega four match series.
New Japan Cup 2019
What better time could there be to watch past New Japan Cup matches then right after the cancellation of New Japan Cup 2020? Last year's New Japan Cup saw a title-less Okada make his way through a challenging bracket to finally face the young and brash SANADA of Los Ingobernables de Japon in the finals. The winner was set to be awarded the New Japan Cup and an opportunity to face the champion, Jay White.
But the finals weren't the only match that stunned audience. The entire tournament is sprinkled with spectacular matches, most notably SANADA vs Tanahashi and Okada vs Ishii. Already watched NJC 2019? Then if you're a fan of strong style wrestling, it'd be worth considering the 2018 and 2017 tournaments, especially the 2017 tournament and it's follow-up, Shibata vs Okada at Sakura Genesis.
Classic New Japan Matches
Now is a great time to go through some of the classic NJPW matches of the 90s. There are countless matches worth checking out, but Hashimoto vs Mutoh in 1995 could be a good place to start. Alternatively, some other great matches to begin with might include Big Van Vader vs Mutoh in 1991, Liger vs El Samurai in 1992 or Wild Pegasus (Chris Benoit) vs Great Sasuke in 1994.
These matches may not have the same work rate as some of the more modern NJPW matches, but they still put on amazing displays of pro wrestling that still hold up to this day. Especially with the announcement of Jushin "Thunder" Liger's induction into the illustrious WWE Hall of Fame this year, it may be the most ideal time to catch up on some Liger's best career-defining matches.
My Dad is a Heel Wrestler
My Dad is a Heel Wrestler is a Japanese movie starring Hiroshi Tanahashi about how he reclaimed his bond with the public and his son. It was released in Japan's theaters in 2018, and NJPW has decided to stream the movie on NJPW World on April 4. This will be the first time the movie will be made available outside of Japan and it will play with English subtitles added.
As New Japan awaits for the coronavirus situation to improve enough so it can finally make its return to the squared circle, these matches will hopefully be enough to quench the thirst of impatient Puroresu fans. But for now, New Japan World's vault remains the best source of New Japan matches until things get better.