13 Ups & 1 Down From NJPW's 47th Anniversary Show

7. Ishii & Nagata Light It Up

This was a night of New Japan Cup previews, and first-round opponents Yuji Nagata and Tomohiro Ishii found themselves on opposite sides of a tag bout early on. Theirs is the most hotly anticipated bout on the entire bracket at the moment, and with this bout (plus their previous encounters) as evidence, it's going to rule.

Their interactions were the highlight. It was two grouchy old veterans beating the utter piss out of each other, and while partners Toa Henare and YOSHI-HASHI held their own as well, most eyes were on the old guys. This is the kind of stuff that separates seemingly innocuous tags like this one from the tepid opener, and the bout also gave Ishii a chance to renew last year's rivalry with Henare, and YOSHI got in on the action too, slapping the tar out of the New Zealander in the corner.

The best moment saw YOSHI trying to break-up a Nagata/Ishii scrap, drawing big heat from the crowd, before Yuji no-sold his offence, slapped him up, then chucked him away like a piece of trash. Seminal, seminal patter, though the CHAOS water-carrier got the pinfall in the end, nailing Henare with a new finisher for the 1-2-3.

Unexpected greatness from an unfancied undercard bout. The Ishii/Nagata work was among the best on the show. Seek it out.