By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 18, 2023 in Shizuoka, Japan at Act City Hamamatsu
Streamed on New Japan World
This is show ten of the tournament, featuring the final two quarterfinal matches. The lights are low. This appears to be a large gym with all seating on the floor, with the crowd in the 800-1,000 range. Kevin Kelly provided solo commentary as the show began.
As of Friday afternoon (CST), no matches had been announced in advance except for the top two matches, so this lineup is really a mystery. We have the major news of Sanada leaving “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” and joining forces with Taichi’s faction, and it’s unclear how that will play out in the lineup today.
1. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita defeated Ryohei Oiwa and Oskar Leube at 11:01. The tall Leube started against Sabre Jr. and easily shoved him to the mat. Sabre slapped on a cross-armbreaker. Fujita and Oiwa entered at 2:30 and traded forearm shots. Sabre re-entered and hit some European Uppercuts on Leube, and he tied Oskar in a leglock on the mat. Oiwa hit a nice dropkick on Fujita at 8:00, then a gut-wrench suplex, and he applied a Boston Crab. However, Fujita got an O’Connor Roll to pin Oiwa. Basic.
2) “United Empire” Aaron Henare and Kyle Fletcher defeated Yoshi-Hashi and Tomoaki Honma at 10:06. We are still headed toward an Aussie Open-Bishamon tag title match. Fletcher and Yoshi-Hashi opened against each other. Honma entered and hit some chops on Kyle, but he missed his Kokeshi falling headbutt. Henare entered and hit some Yes Kicks to Honma’s chest at 4:00. Honma hit a running boot in the corner on Henare. Honma hit the Kokeshi for a nearfall at 8:30, but Fletcher made the save. Henare hit a spin kick to Honma’s face. Henare applied a Full Nelson, then he hit a fisherman’s brainbuster on Honma for the pin.
3. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, and Ren Narita defeated “The Bullet Club” Kenta, Chase Owens, and El Phantasmo via DQ at 9:10. They brawled on the entrance ramp before reaching the ring, with Kenta and Minoru squaring off. (Those two will face each other at the Impact Wrestling show over Mania weekend.) Owens and Desperado got in the ring to ‘officially’ start the match, and Owens hit a backbreaker over his knee. Phantasmo entered and hit an enzuigiri on Desperado at 3:00; he tied Desperado in the Tree of Woe. Meanwhile, Kenta and Suzuki were fighting past the guardrail and into the crowd.
Desperado hit a suplex on ELP and they were both down. We see Kenta has returned to his corner. Narita tagged in at 5:00 and hit a clothesline on Phantasmo, then a Northern Lights suplex, then an overhead release belly-to-belly suplex. Suzuki and Kenta both tagged in at 7:00 and charged at each other, with Minoru hitting several stiff forearm shots and a Helluva Kick, then a running penalty kick to the chest. They traded more forearm shots and this is really good action.
Kenta and Suzuki each got a chair and dueled in the ring. Kenta turned and kicked the referee in the gut, leading to the DQ, and he went back to striking Minoru with chairshots. (The official time of this match is perhaps 8:00; I always start my stopwatch at first contact or the bell, whichever comes first.) Kenta and Suzuki kept brawling up the ramp. Really intense and should be a hot match in a couple weeks.
4. “United Empire” Mark Davis, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo (w/Sho) at 9:54. The HoT attacked at the bell. Davis hit a bodyslam and senton on EVIL and was fired up. The HoT began stomping on Davis. Togo hit some stiff kicks to Davis’ back. Cobb finally made the hot tag at 4:30 and he hit a dropkick on Yujiro, and he ‘surfed’ on Yujiro’s back. Cobb hit the Spin Cycle spinning back slam for a nearfall. EVIL grabbed Cobb’s ankle. Togo entered and hit some punches to Cobb’s gut, but Jeff no-sold them.
Great-O-Khan tagged in at 6:30 and he worked over Togo, but Sho interfered. EVIL hit a fisherman’s suplex on GOK for a nearfall. Togo got his wire and choked O-Khan. Cobb hit a flying shoulder tackle on Yujiro. Sho hopped on the ring apron to distract Cobb. However, Great-O-Khan applied the Sheepkiller submission hold, and Togo tapped out.
5. Tomohiro Ishii, Lio Rush, Yoh, and Toru Yano defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, and Bushi at 9:29. Again, the big news from Friday’s show is that Sanada has quit the LIJ, leaving them with just four members (plus Titan when he’s around.) Naito seems to be taking extra-long to disrobe today, and Yano is anxious and irritated by it. Shingo and Yano opened, with Shingo hitting a shoulder tackle; he ran over and pushed Ishii and they barked at each other.
Yoh entered and traded offense with Shingo. LIJ hit basement dropkicks on Yoh at 3:30. Yoh hit a Flatliner on Naito. Lio and Hiromu entered and immediately traded forearm shots. Lio hit a head-scissors takedown, then a dive to the floor at 5:30. In the ring, Hiromu hit a sit-out powerbomb. Ishii made the hot tag and immediately traded shoulder tackles with Shingo. Hiromu hit a basement dropkick on Ishii’s knee, then a dragon screw leg whip. Bushi tagged in and he also hit a basement dropkick on Ishii’s knee, then a dive through the ropes on Ishii at 7:30. Bushi hit a lungblower on Ishii for a nearfall. However, Ishii hit a brainbuster to pin Bushi. Really good action.
* Jeff Cobb joined Kevin Kelly on commentary; he is scouting the competition if he gets past Sanada to reach the finals.
6. David Finlay (w/Gedo) defeated Shota Umino in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match at 17:24. They brawled at the bell, and Shota shoved the ref aside as they fought. They brawled to the floor at 2:30. In the ring, Finlay hit some kicks to the back and was in control. Shota hit a diving forearm at 5:30 then a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall, then a dropkick. Shota hit a summersault dive from the ring apron to the floor. He hit a DDT into the ring. Finlay hit a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall at 8:00. Finlay hit a forearm to the back of the head for a nearfall.
Shota hit an Exploder Suplex, and they were both down at 10:00. They got up and traded forearms. Shota hit some European Uppercuts. Shota hit a twisting neckbreaker, then a second one, for a nearfall at 13:00. Finlay hit a spear for a nearfall then a Dominator faceplant for a nearfall. Finlay set up for the Trash Panda but Shota escaped and hit an enzuigiri. Shota tried to hit the Death Rider double-arm DDT, but Finlay blocked it. Finlay then nailed the Trash Panda neckbreaker over his knee for the clean pin. Good match.
* Finlay leaned into the camera and said “This is my cup.” Gedo got on the mic and spoke in English and Japanese, saying Finlay is a rebel.
7. Tama Tonga (w/Jado) defeated Hirooki Goto (w/Yoshi-Hashi) in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match at 16:37. An intense lockup to start; they traded shoulder tackles with Tama eventually going down. Tama hit a dropkick at 4:00. Goto hit a hard clothesline, and they were both down at 6:30. Goto hit a plancha to the floor. Tama hit a second-rope superplex at 9:30. Tama hit a T-Bone suplex for a nearfall. Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee at 11:30.
Tama hit a top-rope frogsplash for a nearfall, and he ripped off his vest. He set up for the Stun Gun, but Goto blocked it. Tama nailed a DDT for a nearfall at 13:30. Goto hit a spin kick to the chest. Tama hit a head-capture suplex. Goto hit a headbutt and a clothesline at 16:00. Tama nailed the Gun Stun out of nowhere for the pin! Good match; not a great match, but a good match.
* Tama got on the mic and spoke in Japanese; it appears he was thanking Goto for a great match.
Final Thoughts: When Finlay-Shota went on first, I immediately assumed Finlay was winning, just to avoid ending the show with a heel going over. Tama Tonga has had an absolutely great last 12 or so months. When the brackets came out, Tama was the obvious choice to come out of his quadrant. I said a few days ago I’m predicting a Tama-Sanada finale, and we’re on pace for that.
I like that we didn’t see Sanada’s crew. Let this sit for awhile and see how it unfolds.
No rest for the wicked, as the semifinal matches take place on Sunday.
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