Ren Narita and Oleg Boltin have earned their spots in the next round of New Japan Cup 2026.
The second night of the tournament took place at Korakuen Hall on Thursday with Narita defeating Taichi and Oleg defeating El Phantasmo. Their second-round matchups are now set with Narita vs. Satoshi Kojima and Oleg vs. HENARE scheduled for March 12.
Kojima and HENARE are among the wrestlers who randomly received a first-round bye in the tournament. The 55-year-old Kojima was a late replacement to the New Japan Cup field after replacing the injured Tomohiro Ishii.
New Japan Cup 2026 began yesterday with Yuya Uemura and Don Fale advancing to the second round. The tournament runs through March 21, with the winner receiving an IWGP World Championship shot against Yota Tsuji at Sakura Genesis in April.
This Friday, two New Japan Cup first-round matches will be part of the card for NJPW’s 54th Anniversary show. Here is the remaining schedule for the opening round:
Friday, March 6 —
YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jake Lee (winner faces Hirooki Goto next round)
OSKAR vs. Callum Newman (winner faces Hartley Jackson)
Sunday, March 8 —
Shota Umino vs. Chase Owens (winner faces Yujiro Takahashi)
Yuto-Ice vs. Ryohei Oiwa (winner faces Zack Sabre Jr.)
A new champion was crowned at New Beginning in Osaka.
Aaron Wolf lost the NEVER title to Ren Narita in quick fashion on Wednesday. As typical with most House of Torture matches, Wolf was jumped by Yujiro Takahashi, DOUKI, and other HOT members as he made his way to the ring. He was then thrown in and was quickly choked out by Dick Togo. Ren Narita followed that with a knee from the top rope, taking out Wolf and pinning him in under three minutes, stunning the Osaka crowd.
After the match, House of Torture entered the ring and put the boots to Wolf until members of the NJPW roster came out for the save. Wolf had only held the title for over a month, winning it back at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4. He defeated EVIL in what was his first-ever pro wrestling match.
Wolf has been touted as one of more higher profile signees in recent NJPW history, having won a gold medal in judo at the 2020 Olympic games. When he made his debut in January, he revealed that he had shaved his head and wore black trunks, similar to many Young Lions in the company.
All other titles were retained at New Beginning, with Yota Tsuji successfully defending the title against Jake Lee in the main event.
Coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 20, the first two matches are now official for NJPW’s next major event.
The New Beginning in Osaka is set to be held at Edion Arena on February 11. We now have our first two match announcements for the show, with NJPW confirming that the IWGP Tag Team titles and NEVER Openweight Championship will be on the line.
NJPW New Beginning in Osaka 2026 (Wednesday, February 11) —
IWGP Tag Team Champions The Knock Out Brothers (OSKAR & Yuto-Ice) defend against either Shota Umino & Yuya Uemura or Tomohiro Ishii & Taichi
NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf defends against Ren Narita
The challengers for OSKAR & Yuto-Ice will be finalized when Umino & Uemura face off against Ishii & Taichi in a number one contender’s match at a Road to New Beginning event on January 19. Both of those teams confronted OSKAR & Yuto-Ice at New Year Dash looking to get a shot at the titles.
WWE is rumored to have been interested in signing OSKAR & Yuto-Ice when their NJPW contracts are up — but the two declared that they aren’t going anywhere after retaining against Zack Sabre Jr. & Ryohei Oiwa at New Year Dash.
Wolf, an Olympic gold medalist in judo, won the NEVER Openweight Championship in his pro wrestling debut by defeating EVIL at Wrestle Kingdom 20. Narita is now looking to bring the title back to House of Torture,
Before the Osaka event, there will be a few title bouts happening on the Road to New Beginning tour as well:
Monday, January 19:
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa & Hartley Jackson defend against Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Oleg Boltin
Tuesday, January 20:
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion DOUKI defends against El Desperado
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Robbie Eagles & Kosei Fujita defend against SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
With the full roster for this summer’s NJPW G1 Climax 35 tournament set to be announced during this weekend’s Dominion event, an early look at four entrants was revealed in a poster for the event.
First noted on Reddit, an event poster seen in NJPW’s Tokon Shop in Tokyo featured AEW star and NJPW Never Openweight Champion Konosuke Takeshita, NJPW president and soon-to-be retired legend Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shota Umino, and Ren Narita. The person that shared the news noted that it’s being billed as Tanahashi’s final G1 tournament as he will retire in 2026.
While the field will be announced this weekend, the bracket is expected to be announced at a later date.
The annual tournament will run from July 18 through August 17, meaning Takeshita will be gone from AEW action during that time. He will not miss All In Texas (July 12) and will then have a week before Forbidden Door in London on August 24.
Tanahashi did not compete in last year’s G1, but was part of the 2023 tournament. He’s won the tournament three times with the last coming in 2018.
Ren Narita will miss tomorrow’s NJPW show in Sendai.
The House of Torture member sustained an injury to his right arm on yesterday’s show at Korakuen Hall. He had been scheduled to team with Yoshinobu Kanemaru against Jado and Shota Umino.
“Ren Narita, who was scheduled for action on September 11 in Sendai, sustained an injury to his right arm on September 9’s Road to Destruction event in Korakuen Hall, and will not be able to compete,” reads NJPW1972.com.
Narita attacked both Jeff Cobb and Yota Tsuji after their NJPW World TV Title match that went to a time-limit draw on Sunday. He appears to be next in line for a shot at Cobb’s title.
Lineup for tomorrow’s Road to Destruction show in Sendai:
IWGP Junior HeavyweightChampion DOUKI defends against Taiji Ishimori
BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji vs. Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan, Jakob Austin Young & Jeff Cobb
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI vs. David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Jake Lee
Jon Moxley defends the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in the man event of night two of NJPW Wrestling Dontaku.
Moxley will put the title on the line against Ren Narita in the main event of today’s show. Moxley defeated Tetsuya Naito for the belt at last month’s Windy City Riot event. The winner of this match will defend against Shota Umino on next Saturday’s Resurgence pay-per-view in California.
Three more title bouts are also set for today’s show.
Nic Nemeth will make his second IWGP Global title defense in as many days as he faces David Finlay. Nemeth defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in yesterday’s main event.
Shingo Takagi will defend the NEVER Openweight title against Gabe Kidd.
Bishamon’s Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defend the IWGP Tag Team titles against KENTA & Chase Owens.
A series of tag team matches fill out today’s undercard, including two tag bouts on the pre-show beginning at 1:20 a.m. Eastern time.
TMDK spent a lot of time in this match picking apart their opponents. Kato tried challenging the veteran pair but couldn’t keep up for most of the runtime. Towards the end, Kato did gain a bit of footing, but it wasn’t enough. TMDK hit Kato with the power bottom to win the match.
This match opened with an athletic exchange between DOUKI and Akira. Once Uemura tagged in, the pace slowed slightly, leading into a striking segment as O-Khan joined the action.
Akira and DOUKI tagged back in after a long time on the apron. Another athletic exchange followed, ending with a quick pin from Akira.
Kosei Fujita & Zack Sabre Jr. (TMDK) defeated Callum Newman & Jeff Cobb (United Empire)
This was solid. I loved the rib-work here and Fujita also added quite a bit. Good stuff.
The match kicked off with UE gaining a lead over Fujita. Once ZSJ tagged in, the match began to turn around for TMDK. To keep ahead, UE turned their attention to ZSJ’s ribs, which were worked over in yesterday’s TV title match.
With ZSJ on the defensive, Fujita was forced to tag back in. This time, Fujita held his own against UE, gaining enough of an upper hand for ZSJ to recover.
When ZSJ tagged back in, he took the fight to Newman. Newman tried targeting the ribs but wasn’t able to keep ZSJ down. ZSJ hit the Zack Driver and pinned Newman for a TMDK victory.
Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo), El Desperado & Shota Umino defeated House Of Torture (EVIL, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)
Ugh.
HoT kicked off this match with a beatdown in their typical faction. This led into extended periods of babyface isolation.
GoD were able to work together to overcome HoT’s isolation, at least for a while. This ended once HoT cleared the ring of GoD and turned their attention to Shota.
Eventually, the babyfaces managed to clear the ring of HoT. This left Shota free to focus on Yujiro. After a short offensive sequence, Shota hit Yujiro with Death Rider and won the match.
Hiroshi Tanahashi & Oleg Boltin defeated Just 5 Guys (Taichi & TAKA Michinoku)
This was fine. Oleg looked good as always.
Oleg started the match by establishing a strong lead over TAKA. Taichi stepped into the ring to challenge Oleg but also struggled to challenge Oleg. Only after being tossed around, Taichi landed a kick, opening the door for a J5G comeback.
J5G established a strong lead over Oleg that eventually set up the hot tag to Tanahashi. Tanahashi tried for all of his signature offenses but was overwhelmed by the J5G double team. TAKA secured a facelock that forced Oleg to make the save. Once Oleg hit the ring, Tanahashi was able to hit Taka with a sling blade and High Fly Flow to win the match.
After the match, Taichi and Oleg came to blows outside the ring.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji) defeated BULLET CLUB (Clark Connors, Taiji Ishimori, Drilla Moloney & Gedo)
This was one of the most lifeless War Dog matches I’ve seen.
The match opened with a short stint of LIJ control that ended once the War Dogs pulled Tsuji to the floor. From there, they wrestled a HoT-style match using weapons and underhanded tactics to take the lead.
Tsuji eventually secured the tag to the Hiromu, who tried turning the match around. Naito entered the match next and, with help from the rest of LIJ, gained a significant lead. Naito then hit Moloney with Destino, winning the match.
IWGP Tag Team Championship: BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens & KENTA) defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (c)
This was bad.
The BC pair started the match by rushing Goto, establishing a lead that led to an extended isolation period. Once YH tagged in, he reversed momentum momentarily, but a lariat forced a match reset around the five-minute mark.
After the reset, Owens and Goto began trading moves. A short distraction allowed Owens to hit Goto with one of the tag belts, leaving Owens back in the driver’s seat. Owens landed a ton of heavy offense but failed to put Goto away.
YH hit the ring to help Goto, but another distracted referee allowed KENTA to land a chair shot. Goto was able to recover in this time, landing a double lariat to regain the lead. A GTW to Ownes scored a nearfall.
With Owens on the back foot, KENTA distracted the referee again. This allowed Owens to hit Goto with a low blow. KENTA followed up with a running knee. Owens then pinned Goto to win the match and the belts.
Owens and KENTA are once again tag champions.
After KENTA and Owens collected their belts, GoD and TMDK came to the ring to challenge the new champions.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) defeated Gabe Kidd
This match was wild—an absolute brawl for the ages.
Kidd kicked off the match with an intense staredown in the middle of the ring. Once the bell rang, both men ran at each other in an intense opening sequence. Both men traded heavy strikes until Kidd landed a suplex, gaining the first advantage of the match.
On the outside, Kidd connected with chops, whips, and headbutts to further his lead. Kidd whipped Shingo into the barricade so hard that the feed went out. To follow up, Kidd dropped Shingo with a chair shot and a suplex on the floor, nearly ending the match with a countout.
Back in the ring, a brainbuster hit Shingo, causing him to collapse. With a downed Shingo, Kidd turned his attention to Desperado. After spitting on Desperado, Kidd ran around the ring, giving Shingo time to recover. Shingo was able answer Kidd’s control with a barrage of strikes.
Shingo’s lead was cut short after Kidd landed a big suplex for a match reset at the ten-minute mark. Shingo was able to land a suplex of his own to take the lead back.
Shingo placed Kidd on the top rope. On the top, Kidd locked in a choke that forced the referee to break it up. Kidd then hit a brainbuster for a two-count. Kidd followed up with a superplex, but Shingo powered up and hit Made in Japan.
Another strike battle took place after Kidd reversed Shingo’s attempt to finish. After trading lariats, slaps, and headbutts, Shingo took Kidd’s head off with a pumping bomber. The follow-up Made in Japan was reversed into a piledriver. Before Kidd could follow up, Shingo landed a sliding lariat, grounding both men.
Another major strike-off ended with Shingo flooring Kidd. Shingo then tried for Last of the Dragon again, but again, Kidd hit another piledriver. The follow-up headbutt knocked Kidd loopy, making him unable to pin Shingo.
When Kidd tried for another piledriver, Shingo reversed. A quick sequence ended with a pumping bomber and driver of his own for a convincing nearfall. Finally, Shingo landed Last of the Dragon to win the match and retain his belt.
IWGP Global Championship: David Finlay defeated Nic Nemeth (c)
Finlay met Nemeth on the entrance ramp, kicking this match off with a brawl. Both men traded momentum on the outside before working their way to the ring.
In the ring, Finlay utilized basic strikes to take control. He then threw Nemeth back to the floor, where he drove him into the barricade. Once Finlay returned to the ring, he maintained this lead with more simplistic offense. Nemeth eventually fired back with some strikes and typical moves of his own.
After a reset, both men rolled to the floor. Finlay followed up by darting Nemeth into the turnbuckle post. Finlay then ran a lap around the ring for a running strike of sorts, but Nemeth sidestepped him, sending him crashing into the barricades.
Back in the ring, Finlay hit Oblivion for a nearfall. Finlay was able to maintain his momentum until Nemeth landed a Famouser from out of nowhere. Finlay held on, answering with a pair of powerbombs and an overkill. Finlay then pinned Nemeth, winning the match and the Global title.
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Jon Moxley (c) defeated Ren Narita
House of Torture jumped Moxley on his way to the ring. Narita then attacked Moxley with a chair to further his opening lead. To keep Moxley behind, HoT handcuffed Shota Umino and left him on the ramp after dropping him with a chair.
In the ring, HoT beat down Moxley, but Moxley rallied, clearing the ring without help. Moxley then hit Narita with a chair and whipped him in and out of the ring.
Narita answered Moxley with a knee before beating him down with a barricade. Narita continued the assault in the ring, landing whips, knees, and suplexes to establish a lead.
Moxley cut off Narita’s lead with a curb stomp and a tope, completely reversing momentum. Moxley then set up a pair of tables. HoT tried distracting Moxley, but he responded by throwing Narita through the hardware.
Moxley continued to drop, strike, and slam Narita with ease for quite a while. Moxley locked in the sleeper, but a ref bump allowed HoT to rush the ring. El Desperado left the cometary booth to help Moxley.
Narita tried for the double cross, but Moxley avoided the finish; this led to a strike exchange where Narita held his own. Narita hit a suplex before climbing to the top rope, where Moxley met him for a superplex.
After Moxley hammered Narita with elbows and locked in a choke, the lights turned off. Once the lights returned, EVIL and Dick Togo were in the ring beating down Moxley. They hit the Magic Killer, choked him with a wire, and dropped him with the frame of a chair.
Somehow, Umino freed himself from the handcuffs and was able to make the save. After clearing the ring of HoT, Umino threw Narita to Moxley. Moxley landed a pair of Death Ridders and pinned Narita to retain the IWGP title.
Jon Moxley will defend his IWGP World Heavyweight Championship for the first time next month.
Wrestling Dontaku is scheduled for Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4 at the Fukuoka International Center. NJPW recently revealed the lineups for both nights.
The show on May 3 will see the NJPW World TV title and the IWGP Global Championship defended. Nic Nemeth will make his first defense of the Global title against Hiroshi Tanahashi on the show. This match likely would have taken place at Windy City Riot had Tanahashi not suffered an ankle injury.
Fresh off regaining the NJPW TV title from Matt Riddle on Friday, Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his belt against Jeff Cobb on the first night of Wrestling Dontaku as well. Cobb and ZSJ went to a time-limit draw at Wrestling Dontaku last year before ZSJ defeated Cobb the following month at Dominion. Cobb then defeated ZSJ in the G1 last summer to even up their head-to-head series at 1-1-1.
On May 4, the IWGP World Heavyweight, IWGP Tag Team, and NEVER Openweight titles will be defended.
Moxley will defend his IWGP Heavyweight title against Ren Narita on the show. Narita attacked Moxley following the main event of Windy City Riot on Friday as Moxley was attempting to announce he was giving a title shot to Shota Umino.
Shingo Takagi will defend his NEVER Openweight Championship against Gabe Kidd on the show as well. Kidd attacked Takagi at Sakura Genesis after Takagi won the title from EVIL. Kidd then cut a promo that was heavily critical of NJPW before issuing a challenge to Takagi.
An IWGP Tag Team title rematch from Sakura Genesis has also been announced. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI will put their titles on the line against former champions KENTA and Chase Owens.
The next IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match has been announced as well. SHO will defend against DOUKI on April 29th’s Satsuma no Kuni event.
Upcoming NJPW title matches:
Road to Wrestling Dontaku on Tuesday, April 23: NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Champions Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, & Boltin Oleg defend against Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL
Road to Wrestling Dontaku on Saturday, April 27: Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls defend against El Phantasmo & Hikuleo
Road to Wrestling Dontaku on Saturday, April 27: KOPW 2024 Provisional title holder Great-O-Khan defends against Yuya Uemura
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni on Monday, April 29: IWGP Junior Tag Team Champions Drilla Moloney & Clark Connors defend against BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni on Monday, April 29: IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion SHO defends against DOUKI
The full lineup is now set for NJPW Windy City Riot in Chicago.
NJPW comes to Chicago’s Wintrust Arena for Windy City Riot this Friday night. The final addition to the card is a singles match between Minoru Suzuki and Ren Narita. It will be the first time Suzuki has wrestled for NJPW in 2024.
Suzuki was previously a mentor to Narita, but Narita has turned against him and joined House of Torture.
NJPW wrote:
It’s been a chilly mid-spring in Chicago, but main card action will bring the heat from the jump when Minoru Suzuki goes one on one with Ren Narita. At New Year Dash 2023, Suzuki took a then recently returned from excursion Narita under his wing, promising that he could teach him the true essences of Strong Style that he sought to embody. Yet in the wake of a weak G1 Climax debut and a Best of Seven six man series that ended in a tie, Ren Narita secretly conspired to turn his back on Hontai and join with HOUSE OF TORTURE.
Ever since, Narita has proudly proclaimed that HOUSE OF TORTURE is the true embodiment of Strong Style, but has not had to meet directly with the consequences of his betrayal of Suzuki.
Windy City Riot is airing as a live pay-per-view on NJPW World. It’s priced at $19.99 and will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Friday.
NJPW Windy City Riot 2024 (April 12) —
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito defends against Jon Moxley
Nic Nemeth vs. Tomohiro Ishii
NJPW World Television Champion Matt Riddle defends against Zack Sabre Jr.
Riot Rules tornado tag: Eddie Kingston and three partners to be determined vs. Gabe Kidd and three partners to be determined
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mustafa Ali
Jack Perry vs. Shota Umino
Four-way match: NJPW Strong Tag Team Champions Hikuleo & El Phantasmo defend against Shane Haste & Mikey Nicholls, Tom Lawlor & Fred Rosser, and Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
NJPW Strong Women’s Champion Stephanie Vaquer defends against AZM
Minoru Suzuki vs. Ren Narita
Mina Shirakawa & Viva Van vs. Trish Adora & Alex Windsor (pre-show)
The final eight in the 2024 New Japan Cup field will be set following today’s event in Osaka.
Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ren Narita in the main event, plus Yota Tsuji vs. El Phantasmo in the semi-main event are today’s Cup matches, the final second round bouts of the tournament.
The winners of today’s matches will square off in the quarterfinals on March 17.
Today’s undercard will feature four tag team bouts, and the show kicks off with a pair of singles matches.
The featured tag team bout is an eight-man with LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI facing UE’s Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, TJP & Francesco Akira.
Mikey Nicholls of TMDK takes on Callum Newman of United Empire in one singles bout, while Young Lions Shoma Kato & Katsuya Murashima square off in the opener.
Today’s show streams live on NJPW World beginning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Time Limit Draw: Shoma Kato vs. Katsuya Murashima
Oh, how I’ve missed the Young Lion exhibitions.
This was a straightforward, efficient, and fun ground war. The match ended with Kato locking in a Boston Crab, but Murashima held on to earn the time-limit draw.
Mikey Nicholls defeated Callum Newman
This was a decent little singles match.
There were a handful of competitive sequences and interesting offenses ahead of the finish. Ultimately, Nicholls won the match with a Master Blaster.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura) defeated Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma), El Desperado & Oleg Boltin
This was a totally standard preview tag. It was fun; GBH had a lot of ring time. That said, it’s nothing worth going out of your way for.
The match ended with a back-and-forth between Honma and Uemura. Uemura was overwhelmed momentarily but eventually reversed momentum. He hit Honma with his deadbolt suplex and won the match.
BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) defeated CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) & Ryusuke Taguchi
This was almost your typical BULLET CLUB match, but the interactions between Kidd and Ishii elevated it above average. It’s not awful, but it’s not worth seeking out.
The match ended after a full-scale breakdown, which left Owens and Taguchi alone in the ring. Owens hit Taguchi with the package piledriver and won the match.
Guerrillas Of Destiny (Hikuleo, Jado & Tanga Loa), Shota Umino & YOH defeated House Of Torture (Dick Togo, EVIL, Jack Perry, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)
If you’ve seen one HoT match, you’ve seen them all. Shota’s goal was to pin Perry, but he couldn’t get the job done. Instead, after minutes of back and forth, YOH pinned Togo with a bridging pin.
United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & TJP) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
This match was fine, even if it felt like little more than a card filler.
Both teams exchanged control multiple times in this match. Only after multiple match breakdowns Cobb isolated BUSHI from his team. He landed on Tour of the Islands to win the match.
New Japan Cup: Yota Tsuji defeated El Phantasmo
This match kicked off with some common grappling. It turned into a strike-off, which ELP took full advantage of. ELP landed a rana and attempted a dive, but Tsuji cut him off with a kick.
Back in the ring, Tsuji slammed ELP into the corner. He then took ELP to the mat with a body scissor. Once ELP secured a rope break, Tsuji hit a scoop slam and a splash. ELP remained on the back foot until he caught him with a DDT.
Tsuji fled to the outside, but ELP was right behind him with another DDT. ELP then hit a senton and moonsault combination for a nearfall. ELP tried for Sudden Death, but Tsuji avoided the finish. Tsuji followed up with a tilt-a-whirl for a match reset.
Tsuji caught ELP with a boot, sending ELP back to the floor. Tsuji then positioned ELP on the mat, where the pair struggled for control. ELP tried for CR2, but Tsuji avoided it. Tsuji attempted his curb stomp on the apron, but ELP dodged it. ELP attempted a dive to the floor, but again, he missed. Tsuji was quick to respond with a curb stomp on the floor. ELP barely beat the count, only to eat another curb stomp as soon as he entered the ropes.
Instead of going for the finish, Tusji hoisted ELP to a standing position. He then slapped ELP, landed a corner splash, and lifted him to the top rope. From the top, Tsuji hit a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Tsuji set up for a Gene Blast, but ELP lept the attack and hit a Sudden Death superkick for a nearfall of his own.
A sequence of quick pins nearly ended the match. Tsuji took advantage of a momentary pause after the back-and-forth to kick ELP to the mat. Tsuji attempted another Gene Blast, but ELP intercepted Tsuji. ELP transitioned into CR2 for a convincing false finish.
Another strike exchange escalated into a sequence of heavy moves. Tsuji landed a knee strike and a curb stomp. With ELP laying in the corner, Tsuji lept to the top rope and delivered another curb stomp, resulting in a win.
Yota Tsuji is set for quarter final action.
New Japan Cup: Ren Narita defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
I would have been pumped if you told me this match was happening one year ago. This was far better than that match would have been. This was great. Both men looked focused and intense. Even the HoT interference wasn’t nearly as infuriating as it should be. Color me impressed.
Narita came to the ring holding his pushup bar, accompanied by Jack Perry, Dick Togo, EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Mikey Nicholls made sure they were expelled to the back before the match began.
The match opened with a scramble for control. No one won out, but Narita was outclassed, so he fled to the floor. Once he returned, he tried catching ZSJ with strikes, but ZSJ fought back with some of his own. Narita held on long enough to throw ZSJ to the floor.
On the outside, Narita carried ZSJ into the floor seats. He tried throwing ZSJ into the wall, but ZSJ blocked him before locking in the cobra twist. Once the referee forced ZSJ to break his hold, ZSJ struck Narita, forcefully sending him back toward the ring.
Once the pair was ringside, Narita whipped ZSJ into the barricade, sending him crashing into English coms. Narita followed up with a sick sling blade-esq lariat into the fencing. Narita dropped ZSJ with a chair before punting him on the apron.
Back in the ring, Narita established control of the mat. He utilized holds, whips, and kicks, really putting ZSJ on the back foot. ZSJ eventually fired back, knocking Narita to the mat. ZSJ then employed his own holds, whips, and kicks to reset the match in his favor.
It took a quick slap and a clothesline from Narita to retake control. ZSJ answered by initiating a passionate strike battle, ending with a pair of big boots; during this exchange, Narita’s nose busted, resulting in a lot of blood. Narita won out, hitting a Narita special and a guillotine for nearfall.
ZSJ tried to regain his lead with two quick pin attempts. A stunning suplex followed, resulting in another nearfall. Once both men returned to their feet, ZSJ attempted the Zack Driver, but Narita slipped free, catching ZSJ in the octopus hold. ZSJ escaped; Narita followed up with a guillotine knee for another nearfall.
Narita tried for Double Cross, but ZSJ transitioned into a cross-arm breaker. A quick exchange of holds followed, but ZSJ maintained control. This signaled HoT to hit the ring. Nicholls was as fast to the ring as possible, but he couldn’t hold off HoT alone. The distraction left Narita free to drop ZSJ with the pushup bar and a double cross to win the match.
Jack Perry has been announced for NJPW’s upcoming show in Chicago.
The promotion revealed on Tuesday that Perry, Tomohiro Ishii, ELP & Hikuleo, and Ren Narita will all be in action at NJPW Windy City Riot on Friday, April 12 in Chicago’s Wintrust Arena.
NEW TICKET RELEASE!! 💨 Windy City Riot 💨 Chicago- Wintrust Arena 💨 Friday, April 12
New Talent Announcement! 🌬️GOD 🌬️Ishii 🌬️Narita 🌬️Jack Perry
Over 4500 tickets to the show have been distributed as of last week. Additional tickets went on sale today. Our own Dave Meltzer addressed ticket sales to the show in last week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
Meltzer wrote:
They opened up more seats for the 4/12 show in Chicago, headlined by Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley, Mustafa Ali vs. Hiromu Takahashi and likely Jack Perry vs. Shota Umino. They sold the new seats out immediately and are now at 4,559 seats out in a place that legit would sell out at 7,000. Why they haven’t opened it up for 7,000 when they’ve turned away people on both sale openings is beyond me
Perry made his NJPW debut at Battle in the Valley last month. He attacked Shota Umino before putting on an armband that read, “Scapegoat” and appearing to tear up his AEW contract. Perry hasn’t wrestled since being involved in a backstage altercation with CM Punk at AEW All In at Wembley Stadium last summer.
NJPW Windy City Riot lineup for Friday, April 12 —
Tetsuya Naito vs. Jon Moxley
Hiromu Takahashi vs. Mustafa Ali
Scheduled for the show: Jack Perry, ELP & Hikuleo, Tomohiro Ishii, Ren Narita
NJPW has announced its newest version of the Three Musketeers.
The promotion revealed on Thursday that Shota Umino, Ren Narita and Yota Tsuji will now be known as the Reiwa Three Musketeers, the third iteration of the group.
In recognition of their quick ascension in the ranks of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and clear desire to lead a new generation within NJPW, Shota Umino, Ren Narita and Yota Tsuji will together be officially named the Reiwa Three Musketeers.
Masahiro Chono, Shinya Hashimoto and Keiji Muto were the first to be given the label. All three were part of the NJPW Dojo Class of 1984. They first adopted the name Three Muskeeters of the Fighting Spirit while on excursion together in Puerto Rico.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Shinsuke Nakamura and Katsuyori Shibata were named The New Musketeers in 2004 as they also reflected the future of the promotion at the time.
However, it appears as though some members of The Reiwa Three Musketeers are unhappy with being given the name.
Shota Umino wrote on Twitter that he did not consent to being part of a new Three Musketeers group. A translation of his Tweet reads:
What exactly is this title of “Reiwa Fighting Spirit Three Musketeers”? I’m so sorry. Frankly, I don’t care and I’m not interested.
I have nothing but respect for the “Three Musketeers”… Such a sudden announcement by a company is disrespectful to the “Three Musketeers” and, to be honest, it’s irritating. It was announced, but I have not consented to it in a small way, and is it named?
I don’t want us to be grouped by such words. However, it is certain that we have to make New Japan Pro-Wrestling a big explosion in the pro-wrestling world with this young generation, and I still have the awareness that I will break through more than anyone in this and create a paradigm shift in the ring of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. I’ll be here forever, so that’s all.
Yota Tsuji also responded to the news on Twitter, seemingly upset at being paired with Umino and Narita.
President Obari, how long will New Japan Pro-Wrestling cling to the past? Why do you want to line me up with “John’s shin biting” and “Shibata’s imitation bastard”? Aren’t they telling a youth story with two people in the same generation? Kitani, have you been watching New Japan Pro-Wrestling World recently?
The semifinals of the NJPW World TV title tournament are set.
The tournament continued Sunday from the Makuhari Messe International Conference Hall 1 in Chiba, Japan. Ren Narita defeated Toru Yano and SANADA defeated KENTA in the final two quarterfinal matches.
SANADA and Narita will face each other in the semifinals on November 5 from Osaka. The winner of that match will move on to face the winner of Zack Sabre. Jr. vs. EVIL in the finals.
NJPW TV Championship tournament results:
David Finlay defeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (October 14)
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Alex Zayne (October 14)
Yoshi-HASHI defeated Jeff Cobb (October 15)
EVIL defeated Aaron Henare (October 15)
SANADA defeated Taichi (October 16)
KENTA defeated Hirooki Goto (October 16)
Toru Yano defeated Great-O-Khan (October 26)
Ren Narita defeated Tomohiro Ishii (October 26)
Zack Sabre Jr defeated David Finlay (October 27) (quarterfinal)
NJPW Strong’s High Alert tapings from Charlotte, North Carolina continued tonight with KUSHIDA making his debut for the show in the main event.
LA Dojo (The DKC & Kevin Knight) defeated The Heatseekers (Matt Sigmon & Elliot Russell)
The Heatseekers are four-time NWA Tag Team champions and have wrestled on Japanese indies like Jimmy Suzuki’s Tokyo Championship Wrestling, but not on a New Japan card until tonight.
Sigmon and Knight started things off for their teams. This was one of Knight’s first non-West Coast appearances with NJPW Strong. Ian Riccaboni did a good job putting over Knight’s vertical leap on commentary. If you weren’t already aware: Kevin Knight can jump. He connected with a standing frog splash on Sigmon for two.
Knight launched himself over the ropes onto the Heatseakers with a pescado before throwing Russell back into the ring. Russell would take control shortly after, knocking Knight off his feet with a big shoulderblock.
The Heatseekers maintained control of Knight as the five-minute call sounded. They generally kept Knight in the red corner, too far away from the DKC for Knight to make a tag. Russell knocked Knight over with a big boot before throwing a flurry of forearms to Knight while he was on the ground. Sigmon tagged in and earned a two-count on Knight with a German suplex.
Knight was able to evade Sigmon in the corner, then connected with a high dropkick on Russell, which gave Knight enough time to roll to the blue corner and finally tag out to a fresh DKC.
The DKC did a cool flying Liu Kang kick from the top rope, then went into his series of knife-edged chops called DK FIRE. Heatseekers came back, with Russell laying the DKC out with an Oklahoma Stampede. When Sigmon pinned DKC, Knight took the DKC’s foot and placed it on the bottom rope so that the ref would break the count.
The finish saw Sigmon roll the DKC up with a cradle, but while the ref was distracted arguing with Eliot Russell, Knight jumped into the ring and rolled Sigmon’s cradle hold over. When the ref made it back for the count, the DKC was able to hold Sigmon down for three. The LA Dojo team are your winners. Russell complained to NJPW’s ringside commentary team afterwards.
QT Marshall defeated Parker Li
QT Marshall came out next. Fans gave him the “What?!” treatment. Marshall said he was the person responsible for “opening the Forbidden Door” between AEW and NJPW. I think he expected more heat from that, but people were more excited to just drown him out and not listen. He’d then challenge a new wrestler named Parker Li, a smiley guy with a headband and the state of Oregon tattooed on his chest.
The crowd broke out into a “Let’s go Parker!/Q-T sucks!” chant. Li connected with a nice dropkick, but missed on the second when Marshall parried. Marshall then turned Li inside out with a lariat before dropping a few elbows onto him. The crowd bit more and more on Marshall’s baiting, and it did help get the crowd behind Li, especially on the nearfalls.
Li caught Marshall with a pop-up missile dropkick. When he went for a springboard attack, Marshall caught him mid-air with a right hand, then pinned Li after spiking him with a Diamond Cutter for the win. Parker Li was impressive here.
Marshall got on the mic again and said Li sucked. He said he was warmed up now. I think Marshall now holds the record for most speaking time ever on NJPW Strong next to the announcers.
So, who answered QT Marshall’s challenge? It was Shota Umino, who was not scheduled for the show. Marshall taunted Umino, then called for a referee and said he’d wrestle him now. A referee arrived, and Umino took off his jacket and told Marshall he was ready to go. Marshall called him a bitch and teased a match happening right then and there, but as soon as Umino stepped into the ring, Marshall stepped out of it and exited to the back. It’s safe to say we can expect some sort of showdown between Marshall and Umino by the end of the year.
TJP defeated Mascara Dorada
This was good. The two got into it early with fast back-and-forth action from the beginning. This angle has been going on for a while now, between TJP and Dorada, and on commentary they mentioned how TJP had stolen Dorada’s mask at a NJPW Strong taping and brought it to Japan with him for the recent Best of the Super Juniors tournament.
TJP started face-washing Dorada in the corner. The crowd booed TJP when he’d try ripping Dorada’s mask off. He’d later catch Dorada springboarding off the ropes and put him in a cross-armbreaker. Dorada got his foot on the ropes for a break.
Dorada later spiked TJP with a bulldog before a suicide dive through the ropes to the floor. Back in the ring, he did a rope-walk swanton, crashing onto TJP but only earning a two-count.
When TJP caught Dorada with a DDT, both were out for about a minute or so. The crowd heated up a little. They traded superkicks. Dorada lifted TJP into a fireman’s carry but TJP wisely grabbed the ropes to block any attempt at offense. TJP would then take Dorada and suplex him gut-first onto the ropes as TJP dropped to the floor. TJP would then go to the top and take the draped Dorada out with a Mamba Splash near the side of the ring.
Back in the ring, TJP missed on another Mamba Splash, but he landed on his feet. Dorada then hoisted TJP back into a fireman’s carry and drilled for two. Dorada then went to the top rope for a moonsault, and he missed, but also landed on his feet. TJP blocked and onto Dorada’s foot, but Dorada reversed that and locked TJP into a cool looking single-leg figure-four submission.
The crowd started chanting “Tap!” at TJP, who’d writhe in pain for a bit before snatching Dorada’s mask off. This forced referee Jeremy Marcus to help protect Dorada’s face and break the submission hold, by default. The crowd erupted in boos. TJP pretended like it was an accident, then smirked, climbed to the top rope and came back down onto Dorada with a Mamba Splash to pick up the win.
KUSHIDA & Ren Narita defeated The Workhorsemen (JD Drake & Anthony Henry)
This was a solid main event. Henry looked good in the ring early on with both Narita & KUSHIDA. Drake tagged in next and he KUSHIDA had a good exchange, with Drake getting the better of it in the end, taking KUSHIDA down to the mat with a hard lariat.
Narita tagged in and later earned a two-count on Henry after a bridging single-arm suplex. The Workhorsemen later took the lead and spent a good amount of time isolating Narita and working him over near their corner. They each blasted him with PKs to the back.
Narita was able to power up and put Henry down with a brainbuster before tagging out to KUSHIDA. He and Narita would work together, with KUSHIDA setting up Narita for an overhead front suplex to Henry. Narita tried the same on the larger Drake, who shut that down. Henry did an airplane spin TKO and Drake followed up with a shining wizard. Henry came off the top with a diving double foot stomp next, and Drake followed that up with a moonsault off the second rope onto Narita.
KUSHIDA was almost able to bodyslam Drake but he couldn’t pull it all the way off. It was enough to neutralize Drake, though, and KUSHIDA then was able to put Henry away with a bridging hammerlock suplex for the win.
Final thoughts:
The junior heavyweight & tag team matches are what’s worth checking out on this week’s episode of NJPW Strong.
Next week sees the final week of High Alert tapings that will feature Eddie Kingston vs. Jake Something and NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Fred Rosser taking on Fred Yehi.
With Clark Connors out of action due to injury, a change has been made to the card for Ric Flair’s Last Match.
It was announced yesterday that a singles match between NJPW’s Ren Narita and Yuya Uemura is now set for the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Narita was originally supposed to face Connors at the PPV, but Connors has sustained a herniated disc in his back and isn’t currently able to wrestle.
Connors is also unable to wrestle at today’s NJPW Strong High Alert tapings and at NJPW Music City Mayhem this Saturday.
“Sorry to all the fans out there,” Connors tweeted. “I have dealt with herniation issues for the past 8 years or so, but this one is different. Those who know me know that to miss a week like this, you would darn near have to kill me. And that is about the case right now.”
Ric Flair’s Last Match is taking place next Sunday (July 31) as part of Starrcast V in Nashville, Tennessee. The Last Match PPV, which will air live on Fite TV, is being held at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium.
Here’s the updated Ric Flair’s Last Match card:
Ric Flair & Andrade El Idolo vs. Jeff Jarrett & Jay Lethal (w/ Karen Jarrett)
Impact World Champion Josh Alexander defends against Jacob Fatu
Impact Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace defends against Deonna Purrazzo and Rachael Ellering in a three-way match
Ricky & Kerry Morton (w/ Robert Gibson) vs. Brian Pillman Jr. & Brock Anderson (w/ Arn Anderson).
Rey Fenix vs. Laredo Kid vs. Taurus vs. Bandido
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs. Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
Ren Narita vs. Yuya Uemura
The Von Erichs (Marshall & Ross Von Erich) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe)
Jonathan Gresham vs. Nick Wayne vs. Alan Angels vs. Konosuke Takeshita
AEW’s Jay Lethal will appear in the main event of Saturday’s NJPW Strong episode.
In the last episode of the Strong Style Evolved 2022 series on Strong, Lethal will face Narita in the main event in a first-time matchup.
Also announced for Saturday’s show, Mascara Dorada will be in action against United Empire’s TJP. Dorada holds a 3-1 edge over TJP in their previous singles matches.
In Saturday’s opening contest, frequent tag partners Kevin Knight and The DKC will face off in a singles match. The two have faced off twice before, splitting the contests 1-1.
Strong Style Evolved 2022 was taped on March 20 in Florida.
Strong airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time on Saturdays on NJPW World and is available on demand after airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong: Strong Style Evolved 2022, Saturday, April 30, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
