The card for the first night of the NJPW Cup has been released.
March 4 at Korakuen Hall will see Yuya Uemura face Great-O-Khan in the main event, while Aaron Wolf will face Don Fale in the co-main. Wolf will be looking to get a measure of revenge after members of the House of Torture, including Fale, attacked him prior to his match against Ren Narita at New Beginning in Osaka. He ultimately lost the NEVER Openweight title to Narita in under three minutes.
The undercard features matches pitting Unbound Company against the likes of TMDK and the House of Torture in multi-man bouts. El Phantasmo and Jado will also team together to face Botin Oleg and Toru Yano. The opener will have Shota Umino team with Masatora Yasuda to face House of Torture’s Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi.
A new Young Lion will also start on March 4. Taisei Nakahara, 25, will be making his debut against Tatsuya Matsumoto on the show’s kickoff match. NJPW’s website writes: “From Tsukushino city in Fukuoka, 25 year old Taisei Nakahara joined NJPW out of college, and after an extended period training in the Dojo now makes his debut. With a high school wrestling backbone, 175cm, 83kg Nakahara will have his skills put to the test by Tatsuya Matsumoto in a ten minute bout.”
Here is the full lineup:
New Japan Cup night one (March 4)
New Japan Cup opening round: Yuya Uemura vs. Great-O-Khan
New Japan Cup opening round: Aaron Wolf vs. Don Fale
Unbound Company (Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, and Gedo) vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Robbie Eagles, Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson)
Taichi, Master Wato, and Tomoaki Honma vs. House of Torture (Ren Narita, DOUKI, and Dick Togo)
Unbound Company (OSKAR, Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, and Daiki Nagai) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Jake Lee, Henare, and Zane Jay)
El Phantasmo and Jado vs. Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano
Shota Umino and Masatora Yasuda vs. House of Torture (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi)
Kickoff match: Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Taisei Nakahara
WrestleMania updates, including status of different matches that have been planned and not announced
Ticket sales notes and demand for tickets, plus notes on NXT Stand & Deliver
A study of the buying patterns of PPVs for AEW, including comparisons with one year ago, how many shows the average AEW PPV buyer purchases each year, the difference between satellite owners and others in the viewing patterns, update on Revolution numbers and how many different people bought an AEW PPV this past year
Letters from WWE to the Alamodome in San Antonio show how WWE counted Royal Rumble attendance, along with the actual numbers from the show
Richard Schaefer, the famed boxing promoter, heading Anthem’s wrestling, MMA and new boxing divisions and what are future plans for the divisions
New Japan Cup coverage with all the matches from the past week
Notes on AEW’s Canada tour
Mexican star taken to prison on domestic violence charges against another Mexican wrestling star
Full coverage of this past week’s major pro wrestling events and the UFC show
Update on the WWE Hall of Fame including stories on the careers of the inductees
Coverage of the WWE’s return to its most famous arena, Madison Square Garden
The life of former wrestler Jeff Gaylord and his very checkered life after wrestling and during wrestling
The most detailed look at the weekly television ratings, competition, how segments did, where shows are strong and weak.
Promotion adding a ton of new talent after young wrestlers impress in a special format
Mainstream angle being done in Mexico
Joint show announced in Japan for the Himeka retirement
A look at the Guerrero wrestling family
Legendary athlete passes away that a wrestling move done all over the world was named after including the person who actually named the move
New promotion starting taking the name of a legendary regional company
International Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame 2023 inductions and ceremony
Ric Flair Twitter war of words
Lots of indie notes including some big crowds this week
16 Carat Gold tournament in Germany news
Notes on recent Will Ospreay matches
Notes on major AEW negotiations
AEW cancels TV tapings and why
Update on social media abuse of Riho
Chris Jericho honored
Ticket sales for upcoming WWE & AEW shows
Streaming numbers for WWE & AEW this past week
International TV ratings updates including a company sets its all-time viewing record in Canada
Notes on AEW signees
UFC TV renewal talk even though it’s years away
Former UFC champion Benson Henderson retires
Update on WWE’s attempt to get legalized betting on its matches
Update on Jay White
Interest level mainstream of UFC, WWE and AEW big shows including geographical popularity split between AEW Revolution and WWE Elimination Chamber
Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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Tuesday Update
WWE
Nathan Frazer and Charlie Dempsey from NXT worked last night’s Main Event tapings, facing Bronson Reed and Shelton Benjamin respectively.
Austin Theory and Carmelo Hayes are guests on tomorrow’s edition of The Bump.
Bianca Belair and Logan Paul are upcoming guests on Kevin Hart’s Cold as Balls talk show.
Kayla Braxton was a guest on the Horror at The Store podcast.
The code for tomorrow’s Forbidden Door presale is CHLS3X.
Other Wrestling
Mike Modest has been announced as an inductee into this year’s Indie Wrestling Hall of Fame class.
During this morning’s New Japan Cup, a mysterious vignette aired, concluding with the words “coming soon”.
This morning’s show also saw Robbie Eagles challenge Hiromu Takahashi next for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight title. He announced that he has left CHAOS and has now joined TMDK.
KONGO’s Manabu Soya and Kenoh won the AJPW World Tag Team titles on today’s AJPW show, defeating Yuma Aoyagi and Naoya Nomura.
Dragongate announced that Eita has re-signed with the company. “He has expressed a desire to expand his activities. After negotiation, it was decided to update his contract to one that will give him the flexibility to do so while continuing to compete in #dragongate,” they wrote on Twitter.
Satoshi Kojima will be a part of this year’s AJPW Champion Carnival tournament.
Zack Sabre Jr. is the winner of this year’s New Japan Cup.
Sabre defeated Tetsuya Naito in the finals of the tournament that was held tonight at Osaka-jo Hall. The finish of the match had Naito kick out of a penalty kick by Sabre. However, Sabre fired back with the second Zack Driver of the match to pick up the win.
After the match, Sabre thanked Naito. He said he was not just the technical wrestler in the world, but he would soon be the best wrestler in the whole world. He mentioned the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship before finishing his promo.
Sabre defeated Ryohei Oiwa, Douki, Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay, and Shingo Takagi to make it to tonight’s finals. This is the second time Sabre has won the New Japan Cup, previously winning in 2018 after defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals.
NJPW resumes touring on April 3 with their Hyper Battle tour, running through April 9 at Sumo Hall.
The finals for the New Japan Cup USA tournament have been set.
David Finlay and KENTA will face off on next week’s episode of NJPW Strong. The winner of the match will be eligible for a IWGP United States title match. That title is currently held by AEW’s Jon Moxley.
KENTA defeated Jeff Cobb to advance to the finals after KENTA slipped out of the Tour of the Islands, low blowed Cobb, and rolled him up for the win. Finlay won his match clean, defeating Tama Tonga with his acid drop finish.
In other matches that took place on tonight’s show, Barrett Brown & Logan Riegel defeated Clark Connors & Jordan Clearwater. ACH also returned to the promotion, teaming with Alex Zayne and TJP in a losing effort against PJ Black, Misterioso, and Blake Christian.
NJPW of America have started to air shows on NJPW World since July, focusing on talent currently in the United States.
The remainder of the New Japan Cup tour has been cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak in Japan.
NJPW announced this morning that following a meeting by a specialist government taskforce, they have decided to cancel the rest of the New Japan Cup tour that was originally scheduled to resume on March 16 in Toyama. They will make announcements about cards after March 22 “upon careful monitoring of this developing situation.”
The company stated that they will announce refund procedures for the events “soon”. They will also continue to run programs on New Japan World featuring talent. NJPW last ran a show on February 26, a New Japan Road event.
The coronavirus outbreak has resulted in a number of promotions cancelling events or running shows without an audience. Earlier today, All Japan Pro Wrestling cancelled shows that were scheduled to take place starting on March 13 through March 22.
The winner of the New Japan Cup tournament was scheduled to challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental championships at Sakura Genesis on March 31.
The second round of the New Japan Cup began this morning at Okayama at the ZIP Arena. By the end of the night, we had our first quarterfinal match set. Here are quick results for the undercard:
– Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori and Hikuleo defeated Juice Robinson, Tomoaki Honma and Yuya Uemura
Ishimori submitted Uemura with the bloody cross.
– Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima defeated Manabu Nakanishi, Toa Henare and Yuji Nagata
Makabe pinned Nakanishi after the king kong knee drop.
– Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi defeated Michael Elgin, Shota Umino and Ren Narita
Takagi pinned Narita with the noshigami.
– SANADA and EVIL defeated Minoru Suzuki and Davey Boy Smith Jr.
SANADA pinned Davey Boy Smith with a O’Connor roll.
– Hirooki Goto, Will Ospreay and Kota Ibushi defeated Taka Michinoku, Lance Archer and Zack Sabre Jr.
Goto defeated Michinoku with the GTR.
– Mikey Nicholls, Ryusuke Taguchi and Colt Cabana defeated Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Toru Yano
Nicholls pinned Yano with the Mikey bomb.
New Japan Cup results:
YOSHI-HASHI defeated Chase Owens
This was fine. It built slow, but by the end it got to be a pretty good bout. Not anything special by New Japan standards, though.
Things start out evenly until Jado distracted YOSHI-HASHI, allowing Chase to get the heat. YH cut him off and took him to the top rope, but Owens shoves him down in a tree of woe position and hits a double foot stomp.
Owens wears down YH with a sharpshooter, using the ropes for leverage. YH manages to grab the rope as Owens dragged him to the apron. Owens went for the package piledriver, but instead YH countered with a back body drop.
YH went for karma but grabbed the referee. This let Jado come in and strike YH down with the kendo stick. Owens hit a bicycle knee and went for the Jewel Heist but YH countered with a lariat. Owens ended up taking a kendo stick shot by Jado by accident which gives YH the opportunity to hit the butterfly lock.
Owens manages to escape, but YH cut him off before he could do anything and pinned him with karma for the win.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Taichi
This was a good match, picked up majorly by the last few minutes. I’m not going to say I’m the biggest fan of Taichi but he knows his spots, and knows how to execute them at the right moments to get heat or for a great near fall.
Taichi, naturally, took his time getting rid of his gear and stalled. After entering the ring to a 17 count, Ishii had enough and took him to the floor. Taichi found his opening by throwing a chair at Ishii as he was arguing with the referee.
Taichi continued to dominate, striking him with kicks and remained on the offensive until Ishii laid him out with a brainbuster. Taichi cuts him off with an enziguri and a big boot, but Ishii no sold his offense and started to chop Taichi. Taichi landed a giant Saito suplex, sending Ishii to the ground hard.
Ishii kicked out of a buzzsaw kick Taichi went right back at it with a piledriver attempt. Ishii have him a back body drop. He followed that with a big last ride powerbomb, but somehow Taichi kicked out. Taichi blocked a sliding D as he shoved Ishii into the referee.
Taichi grabbed the microphone stand as Ishii gets up, daring him to attack him with it. Taichi opts to brawl with Ishii, attacking him with kicks and lays out Ishii with an enziguri. He hits his own last ride, but Ishii kicked out. Taichi went for black mephisto, but Ishii countered with a piledriver…only for Taichi to immediately get back up and strike Ishii down with a knee before collapsing.
Ishii hit two lariats and went for a brainbuster, but Taichi escaped, distracted the ref for a low blow and used the Gedo clutch, but somehow Ishii kicked out. Ishii hit an enziguri of his own and hit a sliding D, then finished off Ishii with a brainbuster.
That makes the first quarterfinal match YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tomohiro Ishii, which will take place on 3/20.
We’re looking for your thoughts on last night’s Fastlane from Cleveland so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected]” target=”_blank”>[email protected]
We’re also looking for reports tonight from Raw in Pittsburgh with anything that happened off Raw as well as reports from the Smackdown house show in Youngstown, OH to [email protected]
Raw is Monday night from Pittsburgh. Ronda Rousey, Dave Bautista, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are all scheduled.
Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday night in Dayton. 205 Live has the semifinals of the tournament for a WrestleMania shot at Buddy Murphy’s cruiserweight title with Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak and Oney Lorcan vs. Cedric Alexander.
NEW JAPAN CUP ON WEDNESDAY MORNING AT 6 A.M. EASTERN FROM OKAYAMA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD
“When I made my announcement, I said that I was going to swing for the fences. We did better than that, y’all. We didn’t just swing for the fences, we hit a home run.”
The entire professional wrestling world breathed the sigh of relief they’ve been waiting four months for as Roman Reigns announced last Monday that his leukemia is in remission.
Reigns shared the positive update while appearing on WWE television for the first time since revealing his battle with leukemia, which had returned 11 years after he was first diagnosed with the disease.
Read the update on the situation with Roman Reigns as the lead story in the new issue of the Observer, talking about his leukemia diagnosis with more details as to the strain, his health situation and what he did in his four months away as well as other athletes with similar strains.
This issue has a major story on the career of Chris “King Kong Bundy” Pallies. Look at how he broke into wrestling, the irony of his very first match, his first role, his first push, where the King Kong Bundy name came from, where the five count came from, what pop culture characters he inspired, the story behind his famous WrestleMania matches including one that has rarely been talked about.
Also look at Jushin Liger’s retirement announcement. Read about his background, how he got started in pro wrestling, his New Japan Dojo legendary class, who he idolized and copied, his first match with the gimmick and what the plans are for his retirement.
This issue has an update on Tommaso Ciampa regarding the nature of his surgery, and what decisions NXT has to make.
Look at the career of Harley Race, how he broke into wrestling, the run that made him a national star and how he got the NWA world title, and how close he came to being champion a second time before it happened more than a year later.
Read full coverage of UFC 235, with all the highlights, business notes, and match-by-match coverage and poll results. Also look at contracted base pay for the show.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.
In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.
For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.
If you order by mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA 95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.
MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and the rest of the wrestling news with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send question to the show to [email protected]
Also want to mention the show Garrett and I did with Mike Tenay yesterday, that so many have enjoyed. Like I mentioned yesterday, this is a very different show than we’ve done before and it was only due to the closeness of Tenay with The Destroyer that the show happened.
Regarding Dean Ambrose, I think anyone who watched that PPV and heard that commentary would think Ambrose is staying. I was told last night it wasn’t the case, or at least that he hasn’t signed (and granted those are two different things). They are doing a Shield tribute tonight so I think that will all be answered in a few hours based on however the angle goes down. Roman Reigns had a WrestleMania match (obviously) that is being kept secret and given we’ve only got a few shows left, hints could be coming tonight.
Tickets for New Japan in London and Dallas go on sale Wednesday. Based on advance codes, London is expected to sell out. Dallas is something that right now there is no indication about, but will be very interesting, since it is a G-1 show and people won’t know the lineup this week. It’s the first attempt at a major NBA arena in the U.S., and without Kenny Omega, Cody and The Young Bucks.
The funeral for Dick Beyer will be Saturday at 10 a.m. at One Church, 6 Scotland Road, Akron, NY 14001. Contributions can be made to either Hospice Buffalo or the Ilio DiPaolo Scholarship Fund. For those wanting to send message you can to www.mcandrewfuneralhomes.net
Regarding interest in the weekend shows. Fastlane had 200,000 searches yesterday, putting it in 10th place among every term in the U.S. on Google. Saturday’s UFC show on ESPN+ had 100,000 searches, putting it in 11th place for the day.
WWE sent out a release today pushing that they now have 1 billion social media followers. That’s a number adding up every account combined, meaning there are likely fans counted 30 or 40 or even 100 times if they follow everyone through all the different platforms. They count this as 501 million on Facebook, 226 million on Instagram, 221 million on Twitter, and 46 million on YouTube.
WWE
The movie Changeland, “which Randy Orton is a co-star in, is scheduled for a theatrical release on 6/7.
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Jessica Eye for the flyweight title looks to be happening on the 6/8 UFC PPV show in Chicago. Also announced for that show is Nina Ansaroff vs. Tatiana Suarez in a match which could determine a contender for the strawweight title.
MISCELLANEOUS
Limitless Wrestling in front of 500 fans Saturday in Westbrook, ME: MJF became the company’s first champion in a fatal four-way over Ace Romero, Anthony Greene, and JT Dunn; Chris Dickinson defeated Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore match; Teddy Hart defeated Darby Allin; Jay Freddie and Put defeated The Butcher & The Blade; Ashley Vox defeated Brandon Kirk; Kris Statlander defeated Christian Casanova; Maine State Posse defeated The Shook Crew; The Platinum Hunnies defeated Brett Domino in a handicap match; Brad Hollister won a six-way over Josh Briggs, Pat Buck, Antoine Nicolas, Jake Something, and Donovan Danhausen. Next show on May 10 with Ethan Page.
Demand Lucha on 4/18 in Toronto with Joey Ryan, Rory Gulak, Phil Atlas and others.
Psicosis, Mentallo and Austrian MMA fighter Marin Pain headline for CWE on 3/26 in Rosau River First Nation, MB and the Ginew School Gym.
Tickets are on sale now for MLW on 6/1 in Waukesha, WI at the Expo Center. Announced on the show are Tom Lawlor, L.A. Park The Hart Foundation, Pentagon Jr., Rey Fenix, Low Ki, Salina de la Renta, El Hijo de L.A. Park, Simon Gotch, Jacob Fatu, Josef Samael, Ace Romero, Mance Warner and more.
The final night of the WSW tour of Australia from today in Sydney: Marty Scurll b Mick Moretti, Joey Ryan & Concrete Davidson b Matty Wahlberg & Carter Deams, Jack Bonza b Matt Diamond, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky b Mikey Broderick & Slex, Bandido b Flamita, Brian Cage b Christopher Daniels, Jordynne Grace b Shazza McKenzie in a women’s title match, Robbie Eagles b Austin Aries to keep the WSW title. The whole locker room paid tribute to Abyss, in his final appearance with the promotion since he’s now a producer with WWE.
Woman wrestler Leon apparently had her purse stolen in the U.K. Promoter Dan Read was super upset about it and feels that the U.K. will look bad to those in Japan because of it. A Go Fund Me for her regarding the losses which was close to being met at last word. It’s at https://www.gofundme.com/pro-wrestling-eve-fund-for-leon
All Star Wrestling on 3/22 in Chilliwack, BC at the Tzeachten Hall.
Matt Morgan will return to the ring on Saturday teaming with Deon James vs. Chico Adams & Braydon Knight at Team Vision Dojo in Orlando.
USA Championship Wrestlnig’s Tribute to Eddie Gilbert from Saturday in Jackson, TN: Chris Styles & Brandon White b Big Gravy & Alex May, Kevin Zion b Colorado Kid, Jimmy & Gary Valiant b Tony & LT Falk, Tom Prichard b Christian James, Jake Law & Matt Boyce b Starr Twins to win the tag titles, Jerry Lawler & Doug Gilbert b Tommy Rich &Matt Riviera. Bill Dundee was in the corner of Colorado Kid. Phil Hickerson was also there. Kevin Lawler was there as Freddie Gilbert. Riviera broke a beer bottle over Jerry Lawler’s head and Lawler came back to throw fire at Riviera.
MCW on 3/31 in Joppa, MD at the MCW Arena has Corey Graves and Renee Young appearing. The show will be at 2:30 p.m. that Sunday.
IWA East Coast on 3/16 in Nitro, WV at the King’s Way Outreach Center.
Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):
Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!
Night 3 of the 2019 New Japan Cup took place today in front of a full house in Hyogo, headlined by Kota Ibushi vs. Tetsuya Naito.
The New Japan Cup tournament matches mostly delivered, while the undercard served its purpose, providing previews of upcoming Cup matchups with tag team contests.
The top three Cup matches are worth going out of your way to check out. Each was different, and excellent in its own way.
Full results and recaps are below.
MINORU SUZUKI & TAKA MICHINOKU DEFEATED YOTA TSUJI & SATOSHI KOJIMA
The story of the match was that Tsuji wanted to make a name for himself by going after Suzuki. Suzuki made him pay with chair shots and a series of strikes. Tsuji finally hit a dropkick and tagged Kojima.
Kojima and Suzuki went toe to toe. They made tags, but continued brawling outside. TAKA tapped Tsuji out with the Just Facelock. Good little opener. Suzuki and Kojima face off in a tournament match tomorrow.
JUICE ROBINSON, YUJI NAGATA, MANABU NAKANISHI & YOSHI-HASHI DEFEATED BAD LUCK FALE, TAIJI ISHIMORI, HIKULEO & CHASE OWENS
YOSHI-HASHI ran wild at the outset and looked good. Jado hit him with a kendo stick shot, and Bullet Club took over. The best action took place once Juice tagged in. He hit his trademark spots, and dropped HIKULEO with Pulp Friction for the pin. Juice and Nagata danced after the match, which was the real highlight here.
SANADA and Goto started off with a nice sequence of holds and reversals. LIJ took control of the match once Honma missed a kokeshi, the template for all Honma matches.
Honma connected on his second kokeshi attempt, and Goto and SANADA had another nice sequence. Shingo and Narita tagged in, and Shingo gave Narita a lot of offense. Shingo eventually got the pin after a Pumping Bomber.
TAICHI, DAVEY BOY SMITH JR. & LANCE ARCHER DEFEATED TOMOHIRO ISHII, TORU YANO & WILL OSPREAY
Lots of stalling early on. Yano wanted no parts of Smith. Taichi wanted nothing to do with Ishii. Suzuki-gun used underhanded tactics, and gained the edge. They worked over Ishii.
The crowd really wasn’t into it until Ishii hit Archer with a brainbuster. Ospreay got a tag and hit Pip Pip Cheerio, but Archer countered with a Pounce. Smith and Archer hit Yano with a Hart Attack. Taichi removed his trousers. Smith and Archer hit Yano with the Killer Bomb, and Smith got the pin.
Smith grabbed a mic after the match and told Yano that he will pay the ultimate price in their tournament match tomorrow.
MIKEY NICHOLLS, COLT CABANA & MICHAEL ELGIN DEFEATED KAZUCHIKA OKADA, TOGI MAKABE & TOA HENARE
They’re trying to establish Nicholls, but there’s going to be a tough adjustment period, as the audience doesn’t know him. They were quiet here any time he tagged in. His work was good, but this is just going to take time.
Okada’s chest was severely bruised and welted up, showing the damage from his first round match with Elgin. Okada and Nicholls began, with Nicholls holding his own. Elgin and Henare were in next, with Elgin taking control of the bout with his power moves.
Henare reversed a brainbuster from Cabana. Makabe tagged in, but was cut off. He finally made a tag to Okada, who went to work on Nicholls. Okada hit a DDT. Nicholls came back with a spinebuster. Nicholls ducked a Rainmaker, but Okada nailed him with a dropkick.
Henare got a tag from Okada, and hit a Samoan Drop on Nicholls. The match broke down, with everyone jumping in. Cabana and Makabe, Okada and Elgin brawled to the floor. Nicholls hit a DVD, a sliding lariat, and used a Mikey Bomb (Blue Thunder Bomb) for the pin.
They played an El Phantasmo hype video.
NEW JAPAN CUP 1ST ROUND MATCH: RYUSUKE TAGUCHI DEFEATED HIROYOSHI TENZAN (12:08)
Tenzan in a singles match is tough sledding. Taguchi’s offense looks good when he has his working boots on, but he had to give Tenzan the bulk of the match since he was doing the honors here.
Taguchi asked for a fist bump, but Tenzan declined at first. He finally relented, only for Taguchi to snap his wrists. They traded headlocks. Tenzan did a hip swivel and a crotch chop, then hit a hip attack.
Taguchi went for a hip attack, but Tenzan stepped out of the way, then hit a series of headbutts to Taguchi’s glutes. Taguchi made a comeback, hitting four hip attacks. Taguchi used a springboard dropkick for a nearfall.
Taguchi used an ankle lock, but Tenzan reached the ropes. Taguchi hit two of the three amigos, but Tenzan reversed the third into a vertical suplex. They exchanged strikes. Tenzan raked the eyes and used a Mountain Bomb for a nearfall.
Tenzan used an Anaconda Vice, but Taguchi reached the ropes. Tenzan hit a uranage, then went back to the Vice. Taguchi turned it into a rollup for a nearfall. Taguchi hit an enziguri, then hit a Bomaye for a nearfall.
Taguchi went back to the ankle lock, but Tenzan kicked his way out of it. Tenzan hit a wheel kick for a two count, then hit a top rope headbutt for another nearfall. Taguchi used a quick cradle for the pinfall.
NEW JAPAN CUP 1ST ROUND MATCH: HIROSHI TANAHASHI DEFEATED SHOTA UMINO (14:49)
This was everything you wanted it to be, and more. Just a tremendous rookie vs. legend match. Both guys were excellent in their roles. The crowd loved Umino. Watch this match.
Umino refused to break cleanly on the first two lockups of the match. Umino used a headlock, Tana reversed it, and Umino used a headscissors to escape. Tana used a chinlock, but Umino again used a headscissors escape.
Tana used a standing side headlock. Tana hit a backdrop, a scoop slam, and a leaping elbow, earning a nearfall. Tana used a kneebar, then a modified figure four. Umino forced a break by reaching the bottom rope.
Back on their feet, they traded strikes. Tana repeatedly dropped Umino, but Umino fought back to his feet each time. Umino hit a dropkick, then connected with a series of forearms. Umino scored a knockdown with a forearm strike.
Umino fought for a bodyslam, and finally got it. Umino fought for a full crab, finally got it, but Tana powered out immediately. Tana hit a dragon screw, then used a crab of his own. Umino made the ropes.
Tana hit a slam, followed by a somersault senton off the second rope for a two count. They exchanged strikes. Umino cut off the Slingblade, attacking Tana against the ropes. Umino dropped Tana with a slap, then hit a vertical suplex.
Umino went up top, and hit a missile dropkick for a two count. Umino used a full crab, but Tana quickly reached the ropes. Umino used Tana’s own hold, the cloverleaf, against him. Tana reached the ropes, forcing a break.
Umino hit Tana with dozens of strikes in the center of the ring, dropping him. Umino went for the fisherman suplex, but Tana reversed it into Twist and Shout. He went for the cloverleaf, but Umino turned it into a cradle for a great nearfall.
Tana hit an inverted dragon screw, then applied the cloverleaf, and Umino tapped out.
NEW JAPAN CUP 1ST ROUND MATCH: ZACK SABRE JR. DEFEATED EVIL (15:33)
They had a tough time getting the crowd, but they finally got them into it. These guys work really well together. They played off a lot of their previous matches, using a number of clever counters, reversals, and misdirection spots. A very good match.
Sabre wanted to lock up, but EVIL kicked him in the gut, and immediately went to a side headlock. Sabre arm dragged out of it, but EVIL used a headscissors. Sabre escaped, bounced to his feet, but ran into a shoulder block.
They locked knuckles. EVIL used his power to maintain the advantage. EVIL slipped out and went for a senton, but Sabre rolled out of the way, then locked on an armbar. EVIL kept his hands together, then reached the ropes.
Sabre used a surfbaord, then wrenched on EVIL’s fingers, slipped to a hammerlock, then to a lateral press, picking up a two count. For the second time, EVIL avoided a PK, then hit a mid kick. EVIL hit a sidewalk slam, and a vertical suplex. He picked up a nearfall.
EVIL went for Darkness Falls, but Sabre slipped to a full nelson. EVIL escaped and hit a big knee strike. They did a cool corner strike, opposite corner strike, misdirection, lariat spot. EVIL hit the lariat, then used Darkness Falls for a two count.
They traded rollups. EVIL used a backslide for a nearfall, but Sabre popped out of it and finally connected with a PK. Sabre stomped on EVIL’s left arm. EVIL hit a chop with the right arm. They did another misdirection spot, but Sabre came out on top this time, and tied EVIL up with a wacky submission. It was a body scissors, but he also trapped the left arm.
Sabre went after the right arm, torquing it with his legs, then hit another PK. EVIL used the referee as a human shield, then lifted Sabre onto the ref’s shoulders. EVIL hit a ref-assisted Magic Killer. That was innovative.
EVIL connected on a superplex, and picked up a two count. They did a crazy series of counters, ending with EVIL connecting with a spinning lariat. Sabre escaped Everything is EVIL a number of times, and was able to apply Napalm Death. EVIL tapped.
NEW JAPAN CUP 1ST ROUND MATCH: KOTA IBUSHI DEFEATED TETSUYA NAITO (20:39)
Great match. The last third especially was insane.
They locked up, then went into a crazy series of holds, counters, and flips, ending with both men posing. Naito rolled to the floor, stalling. Ibushi chased him, but Naito caught him coming back inside. Ibushi went to the apron. Naito hit a sweep, then connected with the combinacion de cabron on the apron.
Naito sent Ibushi into the barricade three times. Ibushi sold his neck. Naito took Ibushi into the press area, and sent him into a table. Ibushi beat the count back inside. Naito hit a back elbow, then a dropkick to the neck. Naito used a neckbreaker.
Ibushi hit a couple of forearms to the chest, but Naito followed up, hitting three elbows to the neck. Ibushi sent Naito into the ropes, then hit a dropkick, his most notable offense to this point. Ibushi hit a series of mid kicks, then used a standing moonsault for a two count.
Ibushi connected with a snap rana, sending Naito to the outside. Ibushi went for the Golden Triangle, but Naito cut him off, then hit a neckbreaker on the apron, sending Ibushi to the floor. Naito hit a one-legged dropkick, then a hangman’s neckbreaker for a nearfall.
Ibushi landed on his feet out of a suplex attempt. Naito hit an enziguri, but Ibushi countered with a suplex. They traded strikes from their knees. Back on their feet, they continued trading. Naito hit a spinebuster.
Naito teased a reverse rana off the top. Ibushi fought him off. Naito rolled to the apron. Ibushi teased a german, but Naito pulled Ibushi to the outside, and hit a tombstone on the apron. Back inside, Naito hit Gloria for a nearfall.
Naito went for Destino, but Ibushi turned it into a package piledriver. Ibushi got a two count. Ibushi hit a spinning roundhouse. He went for a last ride, but Naito turned it into a swinging DDT. Naito went for Destino, but Ibushi hit a lariat. Ibushi hit a last ride, but Naito kicked out at two.
Ibushi missed with a Kamigoye. Naito hit Destino, but Ibushi kicked out. Naito went for another Destino, but Ibushi slipped out and hit a high kick. Ibushi hit a Bomaye for a great nearfall.
Ibushi hit a Jay Driller, spiking Naito right on his head, then hit the Kamigoye for the pin.
Hiroshi Tanahashi took another step towards claiming his first New Japan Cup in a decade with a win over Juice Robinson Friday in Tokyo. Tana’s win keeps the possibility of another chapter being written in the epic Okada vs. Tanahashi rivalry, with the winner of the tournament likely to challenge IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada at the Sakura Genesis event on April 1.
Below are the results from the seventh night of the current tour.
Prelim bouts:
Yujiro Takahashi & Tanga Loa defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Tetsuhiro Yagi
Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Taichi defeated Shota Umino, David Finlay & Michael Elgin
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Yujiro Takahashi & BUSHI defeated Zack Sabre Jr., TAKA Michinoku, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado
New Japan Cup Semifinal bout:
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Juice Robinson
Tana refused a handshake before the bout. They started at a deliberate pace, doing knuckle locks and tests of strength. Tana took it to the mat with a side headlock. Juice escaped, Tana missed a bodypress off the middle rope, and Juice rolled him up for a nearfall.
Tana slid outside and posted Juice’s left leg. He continued stomping on the leg on the floor, exhibiting a mean streak. Back inside, he employed a deathlock and a modified figure four, continuing to attack the lower extremities.
The pace picked up near the fifteen minute mark, as Juice fired up and nailed a lariat. Juice missed a cannonball, which looked painful. They went outside and Juice whipped Tana into the barricade. Back inside, Juice went to the top, but got crotched.
Tana looked for High Fly Flow, but Juice pushed Red Shoes into the ropes, crotching Tana, leading to a double down. Back on their feet, they traded chops and uppercuts. Juice went for a gutbuster, but Tana countered, hitting a dragon screw. He slapped on the cloverleaf, continuing to attack the legs, but Juice made the ropes.
Juice countered a Sling Blade attempt with a full nelson slam, into a nearfall. Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Tana turned it into a Sling Blade. Tana went up top, but Juice nailed him with a jab. He went for a superplex, but Tana shoved him off and hit High Fly Flow. Juice rolled through for a nearfall.
Juice popped up and hit a flying crossbody, followed by a High Fly Flow of his own for a great nearfall. Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Tana slipped out. They traded strikes, selling exhaustion, with Tana getting the best of the exchange. He hit two High Fly Flows on an exhausted Juice to earn the win.
This was an absolute clinic and one of the best matches of the tournament so far. Check it out.
The New Japan Cup tour continued Wednesday in Shizuoka, with both Juice Robinson and Hiroshi Tanahashi earning spots in the tournament’s final four.
Juice pinned Michael Elgin in a solid, but not spectacular outing, and Tanahashi did his best to have a good match with Bad Luck Fale, which is no easy feat. Working with Fale is like trying to wrestle a refrigerator, or a large recliner.
On the undercard, Kazuchika Okada’s quest to get his Cobra Clutch over as a finisher continued. After nailing Takashi Iizuka with two dropkicks, both of which got big reactions, Okada applied the hold to a muted reaction, at best.
Thursday’s show in Korakuen Hall will feature SANADA vs. Toru Yano in a quarterfinal bout in the semi-main, and Zack Sabre, Jr. will main event with the man who has to be considered the favorite to win the tournament, Kota Ibushi, in the last quarterfinal match.
Prelim bouts:
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi & Ryusuke Taguchi
Toa Henare, David Finlay, & Ren NNarita defeated Shota Umino, Yuji Nagata, & Tomoyuki Oka
Lance Archer & Davey Boy Smith, Jr. defeated Yujiro Takahashi & Tanga Loa
Chase Owens & Kota Ibushi defeated TAKA Michinoku & Zack Sabre, Jr.
Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, & Chuckie T defeated BUSHI, SANADA, & Tetsuya Naito
Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Takashi Iizuka, Minoru Suzuki, & Taichi
New Japan Cup quarterfinal results:
Juice Robinson defeated Michael Elgin
The opening sequence featured some mat wrestling, which ended in a stalemate. Juice attempted to match Elgin’s power moves with shoulder blocks, to no avail, but did take Elgin off his feet with a suplex. Elgin sold that well, but quickly asserted control of the bout with slams and suplexes.
Juice tossed Elgin to the floor and hit a plancha, then a flapjack for a nearfall. Elgin tried to land forearm strikes, but Juice countered them, and hit a gutbuster. Elgin came back with forearm strikes, and followed with a double underhook powerbomb, scoring a nearfall of his own.
Elgin went to the top for a moonsault, but missed. They traded lariats before Juice hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. They were selling exhaustion as they neared the fifteen minute mark, which felt a bit forced. Juice went for Pulp Friction, but Elgin turned it into a backslide, and a tilt-a-whirl slam for a nearfall. Elgin turned another Pulp Friction attempt into a german suplex.
Elgin hit two lariats, then a buckle bomb. He picked Juice up for the Elgin Bomb, but Juice small packaged him for the pinfall victory.
There are few New Japan matches that I feel should have gone longer, but for the story they were trying to tell, this could have used five more minutes. This was good, but not a blow away match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Bad Luck Fale
Tanahashi tried to take Fale down with a drop toehold, but failed. HE finally got the big man off his feet, and sent him outside, before hitting a baseball slide. They brawled on the outside, and Fale tried to whip Tanahashi into the barricade, but Tanahashi jumped the railing, and ran back into the ring.
Tanahashi went back outside, and this time Fale succeeded in throwing him into the crowd. Fale dropped a stack of barricades on Tanahashi, who beat the twenty count back in. Fale hit a splash on the apron, and they teased another countout.
Fale used a nerve hold, and a host of forearm strikes, but missed a charge into the corner, giving Tanahashi his opportunity to land some blows. Tanahashi hit three dropkicks then caught Fale on the rebound for a slam. Fale caught him coming in and hit a Samoan drop and a splash for two nearfalls.
Tanahashi turned a Razor’s Edge attempt into a roll-up, and Fale mildly botched the kickout. Tanahashi hit a suplex, which really got the crowd into the match, and hit a sling blade. He followed up with a clothesline, sending Fale to the floor, and hit a High Fly Flow off the top to the outside.
Fale rebounded with a clothesline on the apron, and teased powerbombing Tanahashi into the crowd, but Tanahashi pushed off the post, freeing himself, and sending Fale over the barricade. Tanahashi beat the twenty count back inside, scoring the countout win. This is worth checking out, if only for that spot.
Fale tried to attack after the match, but Tanahashi hit a dragon screw before going into his post-match promo and air guitar routine to send the fans home happy.
Night three of the New Japan Cup is now in the books! Here are results from today’s show in Amagasaki:
Prelim results:
Yuji Nagata and Tomoyuki Oka defeated Ren Narita and Tetsuhiro Yagi when Oka submitted Narita with a Boston crab.
El Desperado defeated Shota Umino by submission with a stretch muffler.
Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, Bad Luck Fale and Tanga Loa defeated Michael Elgin, Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Toa Henare when Loa defeated Henare with a sitout piledriver.
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano defeated Killer Elite Squad and Yoshinobu Kanemaru when Yano defeated Kanemaru following a low blow and a roll up.
Taichi and Takashi Iizuka defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Ryusuke Taguchi when Taichi defeated Taguchi with a superkick.
Kazuchika Okada and Chuckie T defeated SANADA and BUSHI when Okada submitted BUSHI with the cobra clutch.
New Japan Cup matches:
Kota Ibushi defeated YOSHI-HASHI
They started off with some good chain wrestling, with Ibushi dominating. YOSHI-HASHI hit a DDT and gained control. Ibushi fought back and brought YOSHI-HASHI to the apron. YH countered and suplexed him, but Ibushi’s landing was softened by hitting the ropes more than the apron.
YOSHI-HASHI took it to the crowd, where they brawled. Ibushi hit a snap hurricanrana out of nowhere and went into the crowd, jumped on a rafter and hit a giant moonsault to the floor. Back in the ring, the two slapped each other silly. YOSHI-HASHI hit a Canadian destroyer and followed with a German suplex.
Ibushi blocked karma from YOSHI-HASHI but walked right into a lariat. YOSHI-HASHI followed with a running powerbomb then sunk in the butterfly lock. Ibushi gets to the ropes, but YOSHI-HASHI tried to follow with karma…but can’t get it. Ibushi fired back and tried for the kamigoye, but YOSHI-HASHI escapes. Ibushi tries a second time and connects for the win.
A fantastic match, probably the best of the tournament so far. When YOSHI-HASHI is with a great opponent, he’s great too and Ibushi is one of the best in the world. Loved the story of YOSHI-HASHI using everything in the book to finish off Ibushi, yet couldn’t get it done. It’s one of those matches that was extremely well done from start to finish.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Tetsuya Naito
They grappled to start things off. Sabre took it to the outside where he started working on Naito’s arms, pulling and stretching them. He used his leg and forced him into a roll up for a two count. Sabre continued to work on the arms until Naito made it to the ropes with his foot.
Undaunted, Sabre followed up with the octopus stretch. Naito came alive after hitting the satellite DDT, but Sabre trapped him with his legs. Sabre shifted his focus to the legs, torquing one of them. Naito hit a German suplex, but Sabre followed with a penalty kick. Naito tried for the koppo kick to thwart him, but Sabre grabbed the leg and sunk in a leg lock in a cool spot.
Naito hit Gloria and trief for the Destino but Sabre escaped. He went for it a second time, but Sabre transitioned beautifully into another leg hold. Sabre wrapped the other knee across the back of his neck. Naito tried to find a way to escape, but could not and submitted in shocking fashion. Another fantastic match. — it was all Sabre looking dominant, derailing Naito every chance he got and looked super strong in submitting him. This was about getting Sabre over as a threat in this tournament and all parties involved did a fantastic job.
Taka Michinoku, who seems to be serving as a mouthpiece for Sabre on this tour, cut a promo hyping up Sabre, giving him a new catchphrase: just tap out. A great show, with the two tournament matches being good enough that you have to go out of your way to see, especially the co-main event.
The decision to have Michael Elgin defeat Tomohiro Ishii in the main event of the first show of the 2018 New Japan Cup tour likely surprised some. Still, that was the result as the first round of the tournament kicked off on Friday in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall.
Ishii seemed a logical possibility to win the tournament and go on to face his stablemate, IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada. Given that the last high-profile clash between the two in the 2016 G1 Tournament earned nearly universal praise, and since there are few chances to pit the CHAOS allies against each other, a tournament win seemed like an organic way to get back to that match. New Japan officials clearly have other plans.
It is also somewhat jarring to see Elgin pick up a significant singles win given the current pall that he has in North America. Evidently, Elgin’s nuclear-level heat has not followed him across the Pacific.
The tournament continues Saturday with a show in Aichi, which features a Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi main event, and a Bad Luck Fale vs. Lance Archer semi-main.
Here are the non-tournament match results from Korakuen:
Kazuchika Okada & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Kota Ibushi & Chase Owens
Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, & Taichi defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay, & Toa Henare
Davey Boy Smith, Jr. & Lance Archer defeated Bad Luck Fale & Tanga Loa
Chuckie T (Chuck Taylor), Toru Yano & Hirooki Goto defeated David Finlay, Tomoyuki Oka, & Shota Umino
New Japan Cup opening round results:
Juice Robinson defeated Yujiro Takahashi
Robinson missed a cannonball into the corner, and Takahashi followed with a yakuza kick. Takahashi used his pimp cane as a weapon right in front of referee Red Shoes, but there was no DQ called for. Robinson hit a spinebuster and followed with a plancha, but could not get any momentum going, and saw himself backdropped over the barricade, into the crowd, slicing up is back in the process.
Robinson continued to take a beating, but refused to quit, He fired up and nailed Takahashi with a lariat, but Takahashi regained control. Takahashi nearly killed Robinson by spiking him on his head, seconds after botching another powerbomb attempt.
Robinson kicked out of a nearfall, and hit a powerbomb of his own, and followed up with Pulp Friction for the victory. Takahashi isn’t suited for a longer singles match like this. Not bad, but not must-see.
Michael Elgin defeated Tomohiro Ishii
They started with a long strike and shoulder block exchange, with neither man budging, until Ishii finally got Elgin off his feet. Elgin responded with a quick slam, as neither man could grab the early advantage. Elgin missed with one enziguri, but hit a follow-up, and scored the first nearfall of the bout with a Falcon Arrow.
They had a chop battle in the corner, which Ishii got the better of, and he followed up with a belly-to-back. He went for the brainbuster, but Elgin blocked the attempt and deadlifted Ishii into a vertical suplex, firmly establishing control of the match.
After another prolonged exchange of strikes, Elgin slammed Ishii and went to the top for a moonsault, but Ishii popped right up and powerbombed him for a nearfall. Elgin recovered and threw Ishii into the turnbuckle pad, and hit a Falcon Arrow off the top for a nearfall.
Ishii was able to counter a top rope powerbomb attempt, and turned it into a big superplex for a nearfall. He followed with multiple lariats for multiple nearfalls. Ishii attacked with a headbutt, which is always noteworthy after the Shibata incident, but it appeared as though these were safely worked. Elgin hit an enziguri, which led to a double down. Elgin was up first and took control, scoring three nearfalls, each closer than the one before.
Elgin went for a top rope Razor’s Edge, and came dangerously close to spiking Ishii on his head on the landing. Elgin, Red Shoes, and Ishii appeared to huddle for a quick discussion, and I guess Ishii was okay, as he took a buckle bomb immediately after. I know that Ishii’s selling is top shelf, but that was scary. Elgin went for another, but Ishii rolled out and hit a dropkick.
After another double down and strike exchange, Ishii hit a headbutt, and a sliding lariat for a nearfall. Ishii fired up and went for the brainbuster, but Elgin turned it into one of his own. He followed with a dragon suplex, a spinning backfist, and another buckle bomb, but Ishii popped out of the corner and hit a lariat.
Ishii hit the ropes, but Elgin turned it into a pop-up powerbomb for a nearfall. That was Ishii’s last gasp, as Elgin followed with a Burning Hammer and got the pinfall victory. This was a really good big man match.
Tomohiro Ishii defeated Seiya Sanada earlier today in Tokorozawa to advance into the semifinals of this year’s New Japan Cup.
Ishii won with a brainbuster in 14:02. Ishii had previously beaten Kenny Omega with a brainbuster in one of this year’s best matches in the first round of the tournament on Sunday.
The semifinals will take place tomorrow night (Sunday in Japan) at 2 a.m. Eastern and 11 p.m Pacific from Hamamatsu, Japan with EVIL vs. Bad Luck Fale and Ishii vs. Katsuyori Shibata. Ishii and Shibata are known for having incredible matches with each other. EVIL and Fale are not known for that.
The tournament final is late Sunday night in the U.S., from Nagaoka, Japan also at 2 a.m Eastern and 11 p.m. Pacific time.
The winner of the tournament has the right to challenge either Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight title, Tetsuya Naito for the IC title or Hirooki Goto for the NEVER title on the April 9th show at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.
None of the four semifinalists have ever won the tournament previously. The only non-Japanese winner was Giant Bernard (Matt Bloom) in 2006.
Ishii and EVIL met last year in the first round with Ishii winning. Fale was eliminated last year by Michael Elgin in the second round. Shibata wasn’t in last year’s tournament, but lost to Goto in the 2015 tournament.
Fale was in the finals of the 2014 tournament losing to Shinsuke Nakamura.
EVIL, Yuji Nagata, Bad Luck Fale and Toru Yano all advanced to the next round of the New Japan Cup.
Non-Tourney Results —
– Desperado & Taka Michinoku defeated Hirwai Kawato and Ryusuke Taguchi when Desperado pinned Kawato with the guitarra de angel.
– Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated Tiger Mask, Tamayuki Oka and Manabu Nakanishi when Kojima pinned Oka with a lariat.
– Kenny Omega and Yujiro Takahashi defeated YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii after Omega pinned YOSHI-HASHI with the One Winged Angel.
This was better than the other two matches and more lengthy. YOSHI-HASHI and Omega worked each other and have good chemistry with one another.
– SANADA, Tetsuya Naito and BUSHI defeated David Finlay, KUSHIDA and Katsuyori Shibata when SANADA submitted David Finlay with the Skull End.
This was a good match and had some nice heat while it lasted.
– IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada, Gedo, Jado and Hirooki Goto defeated Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru when Okada pinned Taichi with the rainmaker in a solid bout.
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New Japan Cup Opening Round results —
– Yuji Nagata defeated Tanga Roa
This didn’t have that much heat, and came off more like something on WWE Main Event than on a big New Japan show. There was no intensity. Roa missed a big splash. Nagata came back and they traded offense but the crowd still wasn’t getting into it. Nagata worked on Roa’s arm and eventually pinned him with the exploder after a few near fall attempts. To say this was plodding would be an understatement.
– Toru Yano defeated Tama Tonga
Yano stalled at the beginning, posing on the ropes and exiting the ring. Tonga stomped on him upon re-entry and worked on him. Tonga went for the gun stun after a few minutes, but Yano pushed him into the ref. He tried to follow that with a low blow but Tonga blocked it. He followed that with a headbutt, then Yano grabbed the ref. He pushed him into Tonga then low blowed him for the flash pin. It was your typical Yano match.
– Bad Luck Fale defeated Michael Elgin
Fale dominated early, working on Elgin’s back. Elgin tried to lift Fale for a powerbomb, but it didn’t work and neither did a German suplex attempt. Elgin finally landed one but Fale responded with a spear then the Grenade for the pinfall. This wasn’t bad, but nothing to write home. Fale usually is booked strong in tournaments so this was no big surprise.
– EVIL defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi
There was a lot of early back and forth work. Tanahashi dragon screwed EVIL’s leg and sent him to the outside. Tanahashi followed with the High Fly Flow, taking them both to the floor. EVIL shoved the referee to the ropes, crotching Tanahashi.
EVIL grabbed a chair and smashed the back of Tanahashi. He blocked another attempt and hit EVIL with a steel chair shot of his own. Tanahashi smashed EVIL in the corner with forearms and when the referee tried to stop it, he got shoved down for his troubles. Tanahashi hit the Sling Blade and a High Fly Flow. From here, EVIL came back and did several great nearf alls that really got the crowd into the match.
EVIL locked in a sleeper until Tanahashi seemingly was asleep, but he still kicked out of a pinfall attempt. He tried the STO but Tanahashi fought him off and hit the slingblade. Tanahashi tried for the German suplex, but EVIL got a hold of the ref and shoved him to the corner. In the confusion, EVIL unleashed his new misting abilities, blinding Tanahashi as he fell to the STO was was pinned in a big upset.
Ths was very slow at first, but picked up and got very hot towards the end. EVIL cut a promo at the end, talking about Tanahashi and said everything was evil.
– Round 2 matches: EVIL vs. Yuji Nagata; Bad Luck Fale vs. Toru Yano
Final Thoughts —
I wouldn’t call this a good show. The preliminary bouts were solid, but nothing outstanding. Most of the New Japan Cup matches just didn’t deliver, save for the main event which ended up being very good. I guess it’s the luck of the draw as the next day’s tournament matches look way better on paper.
New Japan Pro Wrestling revealed the brackets for the promotion’s upcoming New Japan Cup tournament on Monday night. The tournament will take place later this March.
The opening rounds are scheduled for March 11th and 12th and will air live on New Japan World. The first round matchups are as follows:
The left side of the bracket (March 11th) —
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. EVIL
Tomoaki Honma vs. Tanga Roa
Michael Elgin vs. Bad Luck Fale
Toru Yano vs. Tama Tonga
The right side of the bracket (March 12th) —
Katsuyori Shibata vs. Minoru Suzuki
Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega
YOSHI-HASHI vs. SANADA
The winners of these matches will advance to quarterfinal bouts, which will be held on March 13th-17th. Semifinal matches will be held on March 19th, with the final match taking place on the 20th. The last two dates will air live on NJPW World.
At the conclusion of the tournament, the winner will earn a future title shot. The winner chooses which championship they want to challenge for out of that year’s given options, and the match usually takes place at NJPW’s April pay-per-view. That show will be Sakura Genesis this year in place of Invasion Attack.
