The New Japan Cup 2026 semifinals take place in Nagaoka on Friday.
The two tournament semifinal matches scheduled for the show are Callum Newman vs. Shota Umino and Oleg Boltin vs. Yuya Uemura. The winners will then meet in the finals on Saturday.
Also set for the show are six multi-person tag team matches:
- Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, and Gedo vs. TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson, and Kosei Fujita)
- Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, and Tomoaki Honma vs. House of Torture (Ren Narita, Done Fale, and Dick Togo)
- Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, and Daiki Nagai vs. United Empire (Jake Lee, HENARE, Francesco Akira, and Jakob Austin Young)
- YOH, El Desperado, and Master Wato vs. House of Torture (DOUKI, SHO, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda
- Taisei Nakahara and Ryusuke Taguchi vs. House of Torture (Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi)
Live coverage begins at 10 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.
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House Of Torture (Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Taisei Nakahara
Owens isolated Nakahara, allowing Takahashi and himself to bully the Young Lion, the latter delivering a Backbreaker. Taguchi gained control of the match, unleashing Funky Weapon on both Owens and Takahashi. Nakahara avenged his earlier assault with a dropkick, almost ending Takahashi with a Boston Crab. Surviving many onslaughts from Nakahara and Taguchi, Takahashi rebounded with a Boston Crab that tapped young Nakahara out.
Good spirit in Nakahara’s performance.
Goto Revolutionary Army (Hirooki Goto, Tatsuya Matsumoto & YOSHI-HASHI) defeated Team 100 (Satoshi Kojima & Taichi) & Masatora Yasuda
Matsumoto locked Yasuda in a headlock, who struck back with a scoop-and-slam. Kojima quickly softened Matsumoto up for a series of kicks via Taichi. Goto charged in, and YOSHI-HASHI coordinated with him to clobber their fists onto Taichi’s back. Taichi endured Goto’s lariat, and he fired back with an Axe Bomber Lariat. Kojima and YOSH-HASHI traded their ruthless and infamous chops until the former rocked the latter with a DDT. Matsumoto equalized Kojima for YOSHI-HASHI so that the veteran could tap out Yasuda with a Butterfly Lock.
Fine six-man match, with the pulse beating its hardest with YOSHI-HASHI and Yasuda.
El Desperado, Master Wato & YOH defeated House Of Torture (DOUKI, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Wato rescued YOH from the House of Torture’s reliable early match ambush. Kanemaru whittled Desperado’s legs with knee slams and a figure-four leglock. Desperado winced at his hurt knee, but saved himself with a spinebuster to SHO. Despite puncturing air out of DOUKI with a series of standing aerial moves, YOH nearly succumbed to his Italian Stretch. Narrowly avoiding a Whiskey Mist, YOH gained the pinfall over Kanemaru thanks to his Direct Drive finisher.
YOH’s main character performance throughout this bout was exceptional. He came through confident, as though he were a main event player in the heavyweight division.
United Empire (Francesco Akira, HENARE, Jake Lee & Jakob Austin Young) defeated Unbound Co. (Daiki Nagai, Drilla Moloney, Shingo Takagi & Taiji Ishimori)
Ishimori gained the advantage coming out of a heated, yet extremely agile lock-up that saw Akira catching his breath outside. The Italian sent the Bone Soldier to the ringside, where United Empire descended upon him like vultures hungry for the pecking. Ishimori eluded Young and Akira with a Superstar Elbow. Moloney and Takagi united for a powerbomb and Pumping Bomber to daze HENARE. Another team-up saw Takagi deliver a Dragonscrew Legwhip to Lee. Young sought to deliver a brainbuster to Nagai, only to fall victim to it himself. Thanks to an assist from Akira, Young finished off Nagai with Bites the Dust.
Post-match: Unbound Co. brawled with United Empire, with Lee sticking to Takagi and Moloney.
Halfway through this match, I had a suspicion that Callum Newman may walk away with the New Japan Cup (despite being firmly behind Oleg Boltin). Sticking to this match, however, I feel Ishimori glued it together nicely, with Young shining exceptionally well, particularly in the closing moments.
House Of Torture (Dick Togo, Don Fale & Ren Narita) defeated Aaron Wolf, Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano
Wolf ruthlessly dominated Togo, which Yano gleefully aided with. House of Torture denied Honma’s Kokeshi to Togo, instead keeping everyone planted outside. They stripped a nearby turnbuckle of its pad before flinging Yano’s panicked body into its bare steel. Wolf manhandled Fale in the corner with the exposed turnbuckle and used the Tongan’s weight and momentum to bowl over Togo. Narita snuck in and quickly fell flat to a Fireman Carry Drop. Honma finally landed a Kokeshi to Narita, unaware that Togo would surprise him with a chain that would choke him. Narita beheaded Honma with the Hell’s Guillotine, earning the pinfall.
Yet another match with Aaron Wolf facing defeat. Yippee. The match, to its credit, was paced nicely.
TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated Unbound Co. (Gedo, OSKAR, Yota Tsuji & Yuto-Ice)
Tsuji conserved energy amid heavy offense from Fujita until devastating him with a snapmare takedown. Gedo brought out a snapmare of his own and ground his boot on the junior heavyweight’s nose. Sabre momentarily entrapped OSKAR with a Cobra Twist and ducked him to annihilate him with a Penalty Kick. The towering German clotheslined Sabre and Oiwa with a double clothesline. Oiwa dodged Ice’s Bomboclat and landed a comeback by way of a senton. Jackson and Gedo became legal, and the girthy Australian taunted the former War Dog as the 20-count reached 19. Tsuji assisted Gedo to briefly dizzy Jackson, but not enough for him to triumph with a Jagged Edge.
Post-match: Fujita and Tsuji conversed outside before the former delivered a chop and asked for one in return; Tsuji walked away. Ice and Oiwa threatened a skirmish, with OSKAR, Sabre, and Jackson breaking it up.
As usual, Jackson has made the most of his matches in NJPW this year. Truthfully, TMDK and Unbound Co., despite being warring babyface factions, have some of my favorite collections of wrestlers.
New Japan Cup Semifinals
Yuya Uemura defeated Oleg Boltin
The Nagaoka crowd clamored for the equally matched competitors before waiting with bated breath until Boltin grappled Uemura to the mat with a headlock. Though Boltin’s taped-up shoulder highlighted a weak point, Uemura had to be careful of his deadly power, so he targeted his stronger arm. Fighting past the agony, the Kazakh wrestler swirled his opponent in his signature Boltin Shake. Uemura regained his bearings with a side suplex. Boltin promptly took it back with a slam once he caught Uemura mid-High Cross. Uemura locked in a hold on Boltin’s arm, which slipped due to struggles to leverage properly. Boltin took this moment to employ a Kamikaze, which landed weakly thanks to the damage sustained to his arms and shoulders.
Desperation perspired amid the beads of sweat in Uemura, with inside cradles and German suplexes all failing him in the dire tempos of the match. Evicting Uemura from the turnbuckle, Boltin crushed him with a powerbomb. At last, Uemura secured a Deadbolt and two High Crosses. This was enough to stop Boltin once and for all.
This is what it’s about. Yes. All of this. Fighting past your limitations, far beyond what you were designed to do, just to achieve glory and stamp a legacy. Biology and psychology worked in tandem to heighten the drama to such palpable levels. Boltin’s weak shoulders were sold efficiently throughout, as was the desire apparent in Uemura to make it to the finals. Both men represented hope in its truest form and the bravery to see it through amid daunting circumstances.
Callum Newman defeated Shota Umino
Ever-so cautiously, Newman and Umino circled each other, clashing intermittently, more frequently. Umino shocked Newman with a shoulder tackle, taking the United Empire leader out of his game. Blood streamed from Umino’s nostrils courtesy of elbow strikes from Newman. Having taken callous bullying from Newman for some time, Umino set forth a flurry of chops and elbows to the Brit in the corner.
Erecting the familiar, dangerous wooden tables outside, Newman’s best laid plans would go awry, as Umino fought back into the ring. Though he suffered from Newman’s control of his arm, Umino usurped the trajectory of the match with a Tornado-DDT. Back outside, Umino dropkicked Newman into and over the barricade, setting him up perfectly for a running knee and a DDT. Drunk with pain on the mat, Newman renewed his energy in the nick of time with a torrent of offense, finally powerbombing Umino through the tables he had set up earlier. Umino returned to the ring at the 19-count.
Unwisely removing his wrist-tape, Newman wasted time. Umino exploited this with a rejuvenated lariat. Newman unsheathed Excalibur to no avail. A one-two combo of a poisonrana and a lariat increased Umino’s chances but bore no fruit. Denying Umino’s Second Chapter, Newman instead printed the final page with a Prince’s Curse.
Post-match: Newman informed Umino he’s not on his level, but the door would always be open for him to join United Empire. The victorious Brit then beckoned to whom would be next to face. Yuya Uemura met him in the ring, setting the stage for the New Japan Cup finals on March 21.
My picks have paid off, it seems. Somehow, I knew it would come down to Boltin, Uemura, Newman, and Umino. The last two, though they didn’t live up to the heights of Uemura and Boltin’s emotional classic, put on a clinic. Newman’s ruthlessness and bitterness have felt earned, and he’s living so deeply in this role. The unlikely savior of the United Empire in its most uncertain era, Newman’s run with the group is a marked and mutual improvement. Umino, contrastingly, has done well for himself in 2026, with a refreshed view going forward. I attribute that to his time with Uemura.
Final Thoughts
The New Japan Cup semifinals are the ones I’d recommend as required viewing. Yes, everything leading up to it is fine. In fact, if you want a vision of what New Japan Pro Wrestling should be, you’ll find it in the vets like Taichi, Kojima, Goto, and the like. You’ll also see it in the youth movement, such as the Knockout Brothers, the Reiwa Three Musketeers, and Aaron Wolf.
For my money, Oleg Boltin put on a performance that should hopefully keep him escalating on the card. He had a phenomenal dance partner in Yuya Uemura, just as Callum Newman did against Shota Umino. Going into the tournament, and at this juncture, I felt this could be any one of these four men’s games to win. I’m thrilled that was the case. No veterans, no AEW influence, no House of Torture. Simply the best of this young crop. The Cup had a rocky start, especially with the elimination of Aaron Wolf early on, but they soundly found their footing with these four prospects.
