Can someone elaborate what the opening match is supposed to be about? I’m kinda confused about it. Excuse my ignorance.

8 comments

1. https://www.postwrestling.com/2023/03/26/shinnichi-champion-grand-prix-celebration-match-added-to-njpw-sakura-genesis/

2. Ibushi-gun starts NOW!

3. Good question and even if having read the linked to page I still don’t get what it is really about and who are involved in it.

   It will consist of the usual NJPW talent?

4. It’s considered a special match because for the big shows (And most of the little shows), everyone can look up the participants of each match (hell, even the match order), before the beginning of the show. This is New Japan announcing “hey, we’re gonna try a match with no announcements and the audience won’t know who’s participating until their music plays.”

   It’s probably just an experiment to see if they can get away with less formal announcements before shows going forward. To me, I don’t know if I like it to be a regular thing; I love the fact that the shows are planned out match by match in advance. As a standalone experience it’s fine.

5. The new japan talk show thing that you might see on njpwworld won an award for something, this match is to celebrate that

6. I can’t seem to find the link I had about the show itself, but I believe the show (which airs on TV Asahi) is a called “Shinnichi Champion” and is a sort of variety show (kind of like Americas Got Talent – but not the same format) and participants/hosts from the show could be who is in this match, which from what I can tell sounds like it will be somewhat of a gauntlet match.

   I do know that Sho and Maika (from Stardom) are scheduled to do promotions for it on other radio shows/tv shows in the coming weeks.

   [Sho and Maika](https://twitter.com/njpw1972/status/1643835028579971073?s=46&t=sdUp445123oSwhQBJwDq4A)

7. TV Asahi’s Mitani Tsumugi will produce the match.
   She jokingly wanted Makabe, YOH, and Taichi vs TJP, ZSJ, and KENTA.

   I’m guessing TJP is in the match.

8. The premise behind the match was that it will be wrestlers in different factions who don’t usually team together – this was on a couple of the Shinnichi champion shows, and the presenter (Mitani) spoke to Ohbari, proposed the idea and he accepted it.