By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 10, 2023 in Yamanashi, Japan at Aimesse Yamanashi
Streamed on New Japan World
This is show number four of tournament, with the final first-round matches. The New Japan Cup is a 24-man tournament, so we have eight first-round matches with eight byes. So, no show has more than two tournament matches.
Kevin Kelly provided live commentary. Like Wednesday’s show, this is one of the smaller venues that New Japan uses, as the crowd is entirely seated on the floor, with probably 800-1,000 in attendance. The ceiling is really high so no issues with coming off the top rope.
1. “House of Torture” Sho and Yujiro Takahashi defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita at 7:47. No tournament implications here. TMDK attacked before the bell. HoT worked over Fujita. Sabre made the hot tag at 3:00 and cranked on Sho’s neck. Fujita applied a Fujiwara armbar on Sho at 6:30 but Sho reached the ropes. With the ref out of position, Sho hit a low blow uppercut then a piledriver to pin Fujita. Kelly belittled Sho for needing to cheat to beat a Young Lion. Adequate opener.
2. Taichi and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated “House of Torture” EVIL and Dick Togo at 4:41. No tournament implications here, either, as Taichi is already out of the field. They brawled on the ramp before reaching the ring. The HoT worked over Kanemaru early on. Togo got his piano wire, but Taichi fought him off. Togo accidentally spit alcohol at EVIL’s face, and Kanemaru immediately rolled up Togo for the win. Not good at all but at least it was short.
3. “Bullet Club” Kenta, David Finlay, El Phantasmo, and Chase Owens (w/Gedo) defeated Minoru Suzuki, El Phantasmo, Ryusuke Taguchi, and Ren Narita at 12:11. On Wednesday, NJPW planted seeds that ELP and new teammate Finlay weren’t on the same page. I want to reiterate how Finlay has changed his look by shaving the side of his head and slicked his hair. All eight brawled at the bell. Ren and Phantasmo squared off in the ring once the ref got the match going. Minoru hit a Helluva Kick on Phantasmo as the babyfaces worked ELP over. In a funny spot, Suzuki was not amused by Taguchi’s antics, and Taguchi looked depressed.
The Bullet Club pushed Desperado into their corner at 3:00 and began working him over. Kenta hit a hard kick to Desperado’s back. Desperado hit a back suplex on Kenta, and he tagged in Suzuki at 6:30. Minoru hit some stiff forearms and a Helluva Kick on Kenta. Kenta hit a powerslam for a nearfall. They traded more stiff forearms and this was a really entertaining exchange. They hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks and were both down at 8:30. Finlay tagged in and hit some European Uppercuts on Minoru. Taguchi tagged in for the first time and stomped on Finlay.
Taguchi hit his mid-ring buttbump on Finlay, and he switched to an anklelock. ELP got in the ring but again didn’t make a save for Finlay. Intriguing. Finlay hit a backbreaker over his knee on Taguchi for a nearfall. He then hit the Trash Panda neckbreaker over his knee to pin Taguchi. Entertaining match, and we’ll see where this ELP-Finlay stuff goes. Gedo questioned Phantasmo after the match, with ELP making hand gestures trying to explain why he didn’t make the save.
4. “United Empire” Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Mark Davis, and Great-O-Khan defeated Tomoaki Honma, Tomohiri Ishii, Hirooki Goto, and Toru Yano at 11:05. Davis and Goto started, as Kevin Kelly talked about how Aussie Open is on course to face tag champions Bishamon. Davis missed a senton and they had a standoff. O-Khan and Yano tagged in at 2:00, with Toru playfully slapping him in the back of the head and tugging on O-Khan’s braid. O-Khan hit a series of Mongolian Chops. Davis entered and this time he hit the senton for a nearfall. Cobb ‘surfed’ on Yano’s back as UE worked Toru over.
Ishii and Ospreay entered at 5:30 and traded offense. Davis accidentally kicked Ospreay, and Ishii hit a back suplex on Ospreay. Ospreay and Davis argued with each other, as these teammates will face each other in the second round. Goto hit a spin kick in the corner on Cobb at 8:00. Ishii hit a nice vertical suplex on Cobb, and they were both down. Honma entered for the first time and brawled with Cobb, hitting a Kokeshi falling headbutt for a nearfall.
Honma leapt off the second rope, but Cobb caught him. Cobb hit a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Cobb hit a standing moonsault for a believable nearfall. Cobb hit a dropkick, then the Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam to pin Honma. Good match, and I liked planting the seeds of trouble between Davis and Ospreay; those two kept arguing after the match but they did shake hands.
5. Lio Rush, Yoh, Shota Umino, and Tama Tonga (w/Jado) defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi at 10:46. Sanada and Tama started with a really intense lockup; they are on opposite sides of the bracket so they wouldn’t meet until the Cup finals. They sped it up with some quick reversals, and Tama hit a dropkick. Yoh entered at 2:30; he tried to put Sanada in the Paradise Lock but Sanada blocked it, and he put Yoh in the hold. LIJ began working over Yoh. Naito hit a Buff Blockbuster at 5:30.
Yoh hit a Falcon Arrow on Naito. Lio tagged in for the first time and hit an enzuigiri on Hiromu, and they traded quick moves. Lio hit a moonsault from the ring apron to the floor on Hiromu. In the spear, Lio hit a spear for a nearfall at 7:00, and they traded hard forearm shots. Lio hit a handspring-back-elbow. Shota tagged in for the first time; Hiromu hit a dragon screw leg whip on him and tagged in Bushi. Bushi hit a missile dropkick on Shota, then a dive between the ropes on him.
In the ring, Bushi hit a DDT for a nearfall. Everyone began hitting their finishers on each other. Shota hit a nice dropkick on Naito, then a pop-up European Uppercut on Bushi. Shota hit a sideslam, and he tied Bushi in an STF, with Bushi tapping out. Really good action.
* Jeff Cobb joined Kevin Kelly on commentary. Cobb had a first-round bye and will face EVIL in the second round.
6. Kyle Fletcher (w/Will Ospreay) defeated Yoshi-Hashi in a first-round New Japan Cup tournament match at 20:04. Again, NJPW seems to be headed toward the Bishamon-Aussie Open tag title match. They opened with mat reversals. Fletcher hit a knee strike that sent Yoshi-Hashi to the floor at 2:30. Fletcher whipped Yoshi-Hashi into the guardrail and was in control. YH barely made it back into the ring before being counted out. Fletcher hit a suplex for a nearfall at 6:00.
Yoshi-Hashi hit a dropkick on Fletcher’s left knee. He hit a dropkick through the ropes that sent Fletcher flying into the guardrail at 8:00, and he whipped Fletcher into the guardrails. In the ring, Yoshi-Hashi hit a Buff Blockbuster for a nearfall. Kyle hit a step-up enzuigiri in the corner, then he dove through the ropes and barreled onto Yoshi-Hashi at 10:30. Fletcher dragged him in the ring and nailed a brainbuster for a believable nearfall. Fletcher hit a Falcon Arrow for another believable nearfall.
Yoshi-Hashi fired back with a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall at 13:30, and they were both down. They traded forearm shots while on their knees, then while standing, and some of these were BRUTAL and stiff. Fletcher caught him with a superkick at 16:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a second-rope Canadian Destroyer and a hard clothesline for a believable nearfall. Fletcher hit a half-nelson suplex. Yoshi-Hashi hit another clothesline. Yoshi-Hashi hit a modified brainbuster for a believable nearfall. “They are tearing the house down!” Kelly shouted, and he’s not wrong. Yoshi-Hashi hit a superkick. Fletcher hit a jumping tombstone piledriver for the pin. This was great stuff.
7. Aaron Henare (w/Will Ospreay, Mark Davis) defeated Shingo Takagi in a New Japan Cup first-round tournament match at 20:45. Henare scored a big pin over Takagi in a multi-man tag match earlier in the week. Shingo had his KOPW title belt. They immediately traded stiff forearm shots, then shoulder tackles with neither man going down. They brawled on the floor. In the ring, Henare hit a senton at 5:30, then some knee strikes to the ribs, and he stretched Shingo on the mat. Henare stayed in control with a series of kicks.
Shingo hit a suplex for a nearfall, then a DDT at 9:30, then a sliding clothesline. Shingo nailed a top-rope superplex for a nearfall. Shingo went for a pumphandle slam but Henare fought it off. Henare hit a second-rope spin kick to the head, and they were both down at 12:00. Henare hit a Samoan Drop and a second-rope senton for a nearfall. Henare went for the football tackle, but Shingo blocked it; Henare switched to going for the Full Nelson, but Shingo blocked that, too. They hit simultaneous clotheslines, and both were down at 14:30.
Henare hit some spin kicks to the chest; Shingo fired back with hard chops. Shingo nailed a Gory Bomb at 16:00. Henare hit a closed-fist punch to the gut, then the football tackle for a believable nearfall. Henare locked in the Full Nelson at 18:30! Shingo was on the verge of passing out. Shingo got free and hit the pump-handle sit-out powerbomb for a believable nearfall. Henare hit a knee strike to the jaw in the corner, and he set up for a fisherman’s suplex but Shingo avoided it. They traded hard headbutts. Henare hit a fisherman’s suplex for the pin! That was really good and the first real upset of the tournament.
* The United Empire mobbed Henare in the ring and celebrated the victory. Kelly pointed out that all United Empire members in the tournament are still in the field. Great-O-Khan got on the mic and barked at the crowd.
Final Thoughts: I really liked Naito-ELP, and Yoshi-Hashi-Fletcher joins it as the top first-round matches. I presumed Fletcher was winning this one to advance to face Yoshi-Hashi’s tag partner Hirooki Goto. I wouldn’t be surprised if Fletcher wins that matchup too to cement he gets Aussie Open a tag title shot.
I liked giving Henare this big win. He’s in great shape and has always been just a step below breaking into the next level. I don’t seen Henare going much further in the tournament, but he can now have another singles match with Shingo for the KOPW Title. After two sluggish tournament matches on Wednesday, these two were stellar.
The second round of the tournament will be spread out on shows on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday. Saturday’s matches feature Sanada vs. Kenta, and Tetsuya Naito vs. Chase Owens.
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