Tag: njpw cup 2020

New Japan Cup participants, first round matchups revealed

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The participants for this year’s New Japan Cup tournament have been announced.

There will be 28 participants competing in the first round. The company has announced that NEVER Openweight champion Hiroshi Tanahashi and the winner of last year’s tournament, EVIL, will receive first round byes. The winner of the tournament on March 21 will then challenge Kota Ibushi for the new IWGP World Heavyweight title at Sakura Genesis on April 4 at Sumo Hall.

The first two matches of the tournament will take place at the 49th Anniversary Show on March 4. Satoshi Kojima will face Jeff Cobb, while Tetsuya Naito will face The Great-O-Khan.

The first round matches will take place on the following dates:

March 4th, New Japan 49th Anniversary Show at Budokan Hall:

  • Satoshi Kojima vs. Jeff Cobb
    The winner will face EVIL on March 11
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. The Great-O-Khan

March 5th, Korakuen Hall:

  • Toru Yano vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Taichi vs. Hirooki Goto

March 6th, Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo:

  • Tomoaki Honma vs. Minoru Suzuki
  • Juice Robinson vs. KENTA
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Shingo Takagi

March 7th, Yamanashi:

  • Gabriel Kidd vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Will Ospreay

March 9th, Okayama:

  • Yuji Nagata vs. Yota Tsuji
  • Tomohiro Ishii vs. SANADA

March 10th, Kyoto:

  • David Finlay vs. Chase Owens
  • YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yujiro Takahashi
  • Toa Henare vs. Jay White
    The winner will face Hiroshi Tanahashi on March 15th

Finals set for New Japan Cup 2020

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Kazuchika Okada vs. EVIL will determine this year’s New Japan Cup winner.

EVIL was the first to advance, defeating SANADA following the Everything is EVIL STO. EVIL attacked SANADA’s groin during the match that eventually led to the finish. SANADA had injured his groin in a match that took place the day before.

EVIL left the ring immediately after the match, leaving his LIJ stablemate to recover on his own.

The second semifinal match saw Kazuchika Okada defeat Hiromu Takahashi. Okada submitted Takahashi with the cobra clutch submission that he has been using throughout the tour. Okada had applied it twice, but Takahsahi wouldn’t submit. After multiple rainmakers, Okada applied the submission again and got the victory.

The finals of this year’s tournament will take place in front of a limited number of fans on July 11 at Osaka-jo Hall. The winner of the match will challenge IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Natio for both championships the following day at Dominion.

Hirai Kawato returns to NJPW as Master Wato

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Hirai Kawato has returned to NJPW under a new gimmick.

After weeks of vignettes highlighting a new character called “The Grand Master”, NJPW showed a new vignette this morning revealing that the The Grand Master is none other than Kawato, who will be going under the name Master Wato.

Wato then made his live entrance, eventually posing in the ring. He cut a short promo, then posed again. DOUKI then came out and jumped Wato, beating him down. He eventually had to be carried to the back.

Wato, 23, had not been seen in NJPW since January 2018 when he went on his excursion to CMLL. He spent two years in Mexico under the name Kawato-san, winning the CMLL World Lightweight championship once. He also lost a hair vs. hair match to Dulce Gardenia on January 1 of this year.

The semifinals of the New Japan Cup are being held tonight. The winners of these matches will face each other in the finals on July 11. The winner will face IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Natio the following day at Dominion. Both events will be held in front of a limited amount of fans at Osaka-jo Hall.

New Japan Cup 2020 participants, opening round matches revealed

Posted on by Bryan Rose

The participants for this year’s New Japan Cup have been revealed.

Similar to last year, 32 participants will take part in this year’s tournament. NJPW has confirmed that the winner of the tournament will challenge Tetsuya Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles at Sakura Genesis, which takes place on March 31.

Most of NJPW’s top talent are taking part. New to the tournament this year include Shingo Takagi, Karl Fredericks, KENTA, Jeff Cobb, Alex Coughlin, and David Finlay.

Some of the biggest matches in the first round include Kazuchika Okada taking on Jay White, Yuji Nagata facing Minoru ‘Suzuki, Kota Ibushi facing Zack Sabre Jr. and Will Ospreay squaring off against Shingo Takagi. The latter match will be a rematch from last year’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

The opening round starts on March 4, with the finals taking place on March 21. All cards will air live on New Japan World with English commentary.

 Here are the list of matches taking place in the opening round:

 March 4th:

  • Togi Makabe vs. Jeff Cobb
  • Tomhiro Ishii vs. Toa Henare
  • Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens
  • Colt Cabana vs. Bad Luck Fale

March 7th:

  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White
  • Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
  • Juice Robinson vs. Alex Coughlin
  • David Finlay vs. Tanga Loa

March 8th:

  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi
  • Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Mikey Nicholls vs. SANADA
  • Will Ospreay vs . Shingo Takagi

March 9th:

  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. YOSHI-HASHI
  • KENTA vs. Karl Fredericks
  • Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL
  • Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi