Over the last couple of years, the week surrounding WRESTLEMANIA has evolved into a huge celebration of all things wrestling with smaller independent shows and fan events like the annual WRESTLECON taking place in the days leading up to professional wrestling’s biggest night of the year. Of the non WWE events to happen that week, the one that has become the most successful is the annual SuperCard Of Honor show. It is an event that stands as a prime example of the importance of strong working relationships between wrestling promotions. With outstanding matches and incredible talent and passion, this show has emerged as a highly anticipated and critically acclaimed event born from the hugely successful working relationship between New Japan Pro Wrestling and Ring Of Honor. In 2019, that partnership took a bold new step in its evolution when the event sold out the world’s most famous arena, Madison Square Garden under a new name, the G1 SuperCard. That night two wrestling promotions came together to make history.
The 2019 G1 SuperCard delivered in huge ways with matches that had fans on the edge of their seats at every turn. Both rosters brought their absolute best to the garden with much of the talent competing there for the very first time. From the Honor Rumble which took place during the pre show to the main event which saw one of the international wrestling scene’s biggest icons reclaim his place at the top, the entire show was entertaining and filled with outstanding performances. Things kicked off on the main show with NEVER Openweight Champion, Will Ospreay taking on Ring Of Honor World Television Champion, Jeff Cobb. In this match, it was champion verses champion and title for title. Both men gave strong performances with the Hawaiian Juggernaut getting the win and both titles. Jeff Cobb is arguably one the best big men in the industry today, and Will Ospreay is continuing to wow audiences with his innovative style. Both men never cease to impress.
The following match saw one of Mexico’s finest dominate one of the absolute best Ring Of Honor has to offer. The buzz surrounding CMLL’s Rush has been massive lately, and he showed why in a brief but emphatic encounter with former Ring Of Honor World Champion Dalton Castle. The story telling here was great in that the audience got to see the continuation of Dalton Castle’s struggle to get back to the forefront of the main event picture in ROH.
The Women Of Honor brought their best as well when Kelly Klein defeated Women Of Honor World Champion, Mayu Iwatani in a fast paced and rock solid match. Fans also got a big surprise when Mandy Leon joined forces with the Beautiful People to attack Klein after the match, forming a new faction called “Allure”. The rest of the show had other great moments like ROH rising star, Flip Gordon fighting side by side with LifeBlood to defeat Bully Ray and his crew. The triple threat match for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship blew fans away as CMLL’s Dragon Lee beat Bandido, and defending champion, Taiji Ishimori.
Another set of double champions were crowned that night when Bullet Club’s Guerillas Of Destiny won the big tag team fatal four way. All four teams looked fantastic in this match. The night also saw Zack Sabre Jr. successfully defend REVPRO’s British Heavyweight Championship against the Ace Of The Universe, Hiroshi Tanahashi, further proving himself as one of the best submission wrestlers of his generation.
In one of the most talked about matches of the night the Golden Star, Kota Ibushi got a huge win over Tetsuya Naito to become the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion. Ibushi and Naito never disappoint. Both men threw everything they had at each other in what was truly a barn burner of a match, and it was a much deserved win for the Golden Star. Ring Of Honor crowned another new champion of their own when the Kingdom’s Matt Taven won a hard hitting triple threat ladder match against reigning champion, Jay Lethal and the Villain, Marty Scurll.
The night would end with the Rainmaker, Kazuchika Okada finding redemption when he recaptured the most prestigious title in all of professional wrestling. It was all out war as Okada defeated Switchblade Jay White to begin his fifth reign as IWGP Heavyweight Champion. This marked the end of a long road back to the top for the Rainmaker that began when his historic fourth reign ended at the hands of Kenny Omega last June at DOMINION 6.9. When it was over, Okada got to address the fans and send them home happy. It was the conclusion to another great showing for both Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Sometimes there are partnerships that just work and are meant to happen. The working relationship between NJPW and ROH is one of them. Both promotions have rosters filled with some of the industry’s best performers. As long as they work together and continue to listen to each other, there’s no telling how far things can go for both companies. This could also serve as a great example for others like All ELITE Wrestling. Playing their cards just right together, the future will be unlimited for both Ring Of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling.
