13 Ups & 1 Down From NJPW's 47th Anniversary Show
5. Old Vs. New
So Jushin 'Thunder' Liger vs. Taiji Ishimori, then. Good? Nah. Incredible? Yes.
We've already celebrated Liger's showing, but the champion was instrumental in the bout's success as well. His selling was off the charts, and he helped make his celebrated foe look like a million dollars as he took his cannonball to the outsider and Liger Bomb, building the crowd's hopes that he'd be upset, and that the icon would capture his first IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in 19 years.
The fans were firmly behind Liger from the first bell, and shook the building to its core as Ishimori trapped the challenger in a submission late on. A stunning tap-out tease followed. Reminiscent of Liger's underrated BOSJ clash with TAKA Michinoku in 2017, it was impossible not to be pulled into the legend's struggle, and the relief was palpable when he eventually made it to the ropes.
Liger managed just one flurry after that tease. Finally, depressingly, Liger was forced to tap, completing the most dramatic title fight this division has seen in a long time.