10 Reasons To Get Into NJPW In 2019

6. Madison Square Garden

New Japan Pro Wrestling
Kazuchika Okada

New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor will run Madison Square Garden the night before WrestleMania 35 takes place just down the road in New Jersey.

This is not only really f*cking cool for the visual pageantry it promises, but also a strong statement on the current health of WWE's global competitors and the will of an audience to invest in something beyond what has been the accepted industry standard since 2001. Indeed, what started out as a moment of business bravery suddenly looked like the biggest flex in Vince McMahon's direction for a generation, particularly when The Chairman moved to try and intervene. He argued the case for Axxess to go ahead there instead, but MSG stood firm in support of the sold out show, and G1 Supercard may go down as one of the most historic shows in either organisation's history.

If nothing else, the event will offer several high profile members of the roster to wrestle on a stage they perhaps never thought possible thanks to WWE's longstanding agreement with the venue. NJPW and its audience have been telling the wider wrestling populous that this product has been the best for years. For one night only, they'll get to show it in the 'World's Most Famous Arena'.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett