By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup 2024”
March 7, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
This year’s New Japan Cup tournament has a 28-man field featuring four first-round byes. This show features three first-round matches.
1. Boltin Oleg and “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto defeated “Guerrillas of Destiny” El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, and Jado at 6:48. Hikuleo and Oleg opened and traded shoulder tackles. Oleg flipped ELP around in his arms. Hikuleo hit some hard chops on Yoshi-Hashi at 3:30 and got a nearfall. The GoD worked Yoshi-Hashi over in their corner. Goto got the hot tag and hit a Saito Suplex on Phantasmo. Oleg finally knocked Hikuleo down with a shoulder tackle. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter flipping neckbreaker on Jado. Bishamon hit the Shoto team slam to pin Jado. That was a sprint.
2. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Mikey Nicholls defeated Toru Yano and Togi Makabe at 7:19. Sabre and Makabe opened. Yano rolled up Sabre for a nearfall; Sabre got his own rollup. Yano got a few more nearfalls; you can never rule out that Yano gets a pin on a simple rollup. Nicholls entered at 2:00 and stomped on Yano in the corner. Sabre hit some European Uppercuts, and he applied a Front Guillotine Choke. Sabre switched to a double armbar, but Yano reached the ropes at 4:00. Yano hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Togi got the hot tag and battled Nicholls and they traded clotheslines. Mikey hit a DDT for a nearfall. Sabre applied a sleeper on Togi. Togi hit a double clothesline at 6:30. Nicholls hit a sliding clothesline to pin Makabe. Okay match.
3. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb, Callum Newman, and Francesco Akira defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd, Taiji Ishimori, and Kenta at 7:03. Kidd and Newman opened with some fast-paced reversals. Callum hit a running Mafia Kick. Kidd hit a bodyslam. Kenta entered and hit a stiff kick to Akira’s spine at 3:00. Francesco hit a a huracanrana on Ishimori, then a doublestomp to the chest. Cobb made the hot tag at 5:00; Ishimori hopped on his back but Jeff just shrugged him off. Ishimori hit running knees to Cobb’s face in the corner. Kidd and Newman traded mid-ring punches, and Newman hit a Spanish Fly. Cobb missed a standing moonsault on Ishimori, but he hit a Spin Cycle, then a Tour of the Islands on Ishimori for the pin.
* The House of Torture came to the ring for the next match. Sho was using a crutch and had a cartoonish wrap on his left arm and neck. He spoke on the mic and said he was too injured to wrestle tonight. Thus, Jack Perry is taking Sho’s place in the lineup tonight! (If you didn’t read Wednesday’s review, Perry has joined the House of Torture after they helped him beat Shota Umino in his first-round match.)
4. “House of Torture” EVIL, Jack Perry, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Ren Narita (w/Sho & Dick Togo) defeated Yoh, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma, and El Desperado at 9:21. Shota came out through the crowd but he charged into the ring and was given a four-on-one beatdown until his teammates ran to ringside to even the odds. Kanemaru and Yoh opened; Yoh had his backpack on and looked like he was waiting for the school bus to come get him. Desperado batted his former teammate Kanemaru. The heels hit a team snap suplex on Desperado on the floor at 3:30. EVIL choked Desperado in the ring. Perry hit a snap suplex.
Shota made the hot tag and he dropkicked EVIL at 6:00, then a dropkick on Narita, and he was fired up. He hit a fisherman’s suplex on Perry or a nearfall. Honma entered for the first time at 7:30. Desperado hit a Spinebuster on Ren, and Honma hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt on Ren. The ref got shoved; Ren tried a low blow but Honma blocked it, and Honma hit a flying headbutt for a nearfall. Togo tripped Honma. Ren hit Honma across the back with his push-up bar, then Ren hit his X-Factor faceplant for the pin. What you’ve come to expect from a HoT match.
5. “Los Ingobernobles” Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, Yota Tsuji, and Hiromu Takahashi defeated “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Taka Michinoku, Yuya Uemura, Taichi, and Douki at 9:51. This feud just won’t die. Again, Yuya now has a buzzcut with reddish hair. Naito and Taichi opened with an intense lockup. Hiromu and Douki entered at 2:30, and Hiromu hit a basement dropkick. Hiromu and Shingo hit a team shoulder tackle on Douki. Sanada tagged in at 4:30 and hit some dropkicks. He tied Bushi in the Paradise Lock. Yuya hit a back suplex on Shingo for a nearfall at 6:00. Yuya hit a Divorce Court armbreaker and he snapped Shingo’s arm.
Shingo and Yuya traded chop and they are having a good exchange here. Yuya hit a dropkick and they were both down. Taka entered for the first time and hit a Mafia Kick on Bushi at 8:00, and he applied a Crossface on the mat. Bushi hit a Rewind Kick to the jaw. Tsuji tagged in but Taka hit a running knee to Yota’s head. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline on Yuya. Tsuji nailed a spear on Taka for the pin. Okay match; the highlight was definitely the Shingo-Uemura exchange.
6. Chase Owens defeated Tomohiro Ishii in a New Japan Cup first-round match at 16:40. A day ago, Owens attacked Ishii after a match and hit a piledriver. Owens wore his tag title belt. Ishii attacked Owens during the ring introductions, and they immediately brawled to the floor, over the guardrail, and fought in front of the fans. Back in the ring, Owens choked Ishii with his shirt at 3:30. Ishii hit a shoulder tackle that dropped Owens. Ishii hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 6:00. Owens slammed Ishii’s face into the top turnbuckle, then he hit a senton, then a running knee to the forehead, then a running neckbreaker or a nearfall at 8:00.
Ishii hit a German Suplex and a hard clothesline, and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes. They fought on the ropes with Owens trying to fight it off, but Ishii hit a second-rope superplex at 11:00. Chase hit a hard running-back-elbow, then a kneestrike in the corner. Ishii hit a standing powerbomb with a folding press cover for a nearfall. Chase hit a short-arm clothesline for a nearfall. Ishii hit a headbutt. Owens hit a running knee to the chin, then a second one, for a believable nearfall at 13:30. Owens set up for the package piledriver but it was blocked. Owens instead hit a Styles Clash for a believable nearfall.
Ishii hit another headbutt; Chase hit a clothesline and a snap Dragon Suplex. He again couldn’t hit the package piledriver! Ishii hit a rolling forearm and they were both down at 15:30. Ishii hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall, then a diving headbutt for another nearfall. Ishii hit a decapitating clothesline but he couldn’t hit a brainbuster. Owens hit a pop-up kneestrike, then he finally hit the Package Piledriver for the clean pin. Say what you will about Owens and the Bullet Club, he didn’t cheat to get the win (he choked Ishii early in the match with a shirt but that’s about it.) That’s among the best Owens matches I’ve seen. I cry a little every time I see Ishii lose.
7. Tanga Loa (w/Jado) defeated Great-O-Khan in a New Japan Cup first-round match at 15:49. Loa charged at O-Khan at the bell and hit some shoulder blocks to the gut. An extensive feeling-out process early on. They brawled to the floor at 3:00, where O-Khan stomped on Tanga, and he whipped Loa over the guardrail and into the crowd. In the ring, O-Khan hit some Mongolian Chops at 7:00. Loa hit his open-hand jabs to the stomach and face. Loa hit a top-rope missile dropkick for a nearfall. O-Khan grounded Loa and kept it on the mat. They got up and traded forearm strikes at 11:00.
Loa hit a Bulldog Powerslam, but he missed a top-rope flying headbutt. O-Khan hit a head-capture suplex at 13:30. Loa hit a sit-out piledriver for a believable nearfall and that woke up the crowd. O-Khan hit his own piledriver for a nearfall. O-Khan went for his Claw-slam, but Loa blocked it. Loa hit a Kamigoye kneestrike for the clean pin! That might be the biggest upset of the tournament.
8. David Finlay defeated TJP (w/Franceso Akira) in a New Japan Cup first-round match at 16:29. Finlay beat TJP at a recent NJPW show in the U.S. so this is a rematch. TJP dove onto Finlay on the floor to begin the action. He dove off the top rope onto Finlay on the floor. In the ring, he hit a running Facewash in the corner. Back on the floor, Finlay tossed TJP head-first into the ring post at 2:00. David was now in charge in the ring, and he tossed the smaller TJP around. TJP snapped the arm backward at 5:30 and he clotheslined them both over the top rope to the floor. TJP snapped Finlay’s arm over the top rope, then he hit a frogsplash on Finlay’s back as David was lying on the top rope.
TJP hit a top-rope flying forearm in the ring at 7:00 and he was fired up. Finlay hit a uranage-style backbreaker over his knee at 8:30 but he sold the pain in his arm. Finlay nailed a Dominator faceplant for a nearfall and he was back in charge. TJP hit a DDT at 13:30 and they were both down. Gedo hopped on the ring apron and distracted the ref. Finlay grabbed his shillelagh but TJP sprayed red mist in his face! TJP hit a running knee for a nearfall, then a Mamba Splash for another nearfall. TJP applied his modified STF. Finlay nailed a release powerbomb for a believable nearfall at 16:00. He hit his pop-up kneestrike to the chest for the pin. Good match; TJP put up a heckuva fight but Finlay should go deep in this tournament.
* Finlay got on the mic and said “one down, four to go.” He said he went to the finals last year, and he will win it this year. He said he would first beat Naito for the world title, then he’s coming after Nic Nemeth.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event and TJP was a great foil for Finlay with some excellent hope spots at the end of the match. The Ishii-Owens match was really good, even though I would have preferred Ishii winning and that was second-best. The O-Khan-Loa match stayed in second gear; it wasn’t bad but it didn’t feel like they ever were really on fire, either.
The New Japan Cup continues Friday with first-round matches of Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura in the main event, plus Gabe Kidd vs. Callum Newman and Hikuleo vs. Boltin Oleg. The tournament has an off-day on Saturday before the first round concludes on Sunday.
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