Background NJPW was founded by
Antonio Inoki on January 13, 1972 after his departure from the
Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance promotion. The first NJPW event, titled
Opening Series, took place on March 6, 1972, in the Ota Ward Gymnasium in Tokyo, to a crowd of 5,000. The
NJPW Anniversary Show has since been held annually in the first week of March to celebrate the anniversary of the company, starting with the 40th Anniversary Show in 2012. Since 2020, NJPW has been unable to run events with a full arena capacity due to
COVID-19 restrictions. The 49th Anniversary Show continued this policy.
Storylines The NJPW 49th Anniversary Show featured
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. After
Kota Ibushi defeated
Tetsuya Naito at
Castle Attack, he was confronted by the
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion El Desperado. A match between the two wrestlers was later signed for the Anniversary Show. While the Anniversary Show traditionally features a non-title match between the
IWGP Heavyweight Champion and the current IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, it was announced that Kota Ibushi vs. El Desperado will be a title match for Ibushi's IWGP Heavyweight and
IWGP Intercontinental Championships while also crowning the first
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion. == Results ==