By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup 2024”
March 15, 2024 in Osaka, Japan at Kaneoka Park Gymnasium
Streamed live on New Japan World
New Japan Pro Wrestling continued its 28-man New Japan Cup tournament. This show features the final two second-round matches, so at the conclusion of this event, our quarterfinals will be set. This is a large gym and the lights are on. Attendance is maybe 1,000 but there are a lot of empty seats in the second deck. Walker Stewart and Gino Gambino provided commentary.
1. Katsuya Murashima vs. Shoma Kato ended in a time-limit draw at 10:00. The sides of Kato’s head are shaved; they otherwise are hard to keep separate as they both wear the generic black trunks and are of similar height and overall size. Shoma grapevined the leg and this was kept on the mat. Katsuya applied a Fujiwara Armbar, and switched to a crossarm breaker, but Kato reached the ropes at 7:00. Kato hit a dropkick for a nearfall, and he applied a single-leg crab at 9:00, but Katsuya reached the ropes. Kato re-applied the single-leg crab but Murashima held on until the 10-minute mark and we have a draw, which was fairly predictable.
2. Mikey Nicholls defeated Callum Newman at 6:14. A rare singles match in the undercard; more of this please. An intense lockup and feeling-out process early. Newman hit a running boot at 1:30. Nicholls slammed him back-first on the ring apron and took control. He hit a delayed vertical suplex in the ring for a nearfall. Newman hit a snap suplex at 4:00; he actually appears to be a bit taller and thicker than Nicholls. Nicholls hit a Death Valley Driver and a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 5:30. He hit a clothesline to the back of the head; he put Nicholls across his shoulder, dropped down to the mat, and scored the pin. Good match but I was still hoping for a bit more.
3. “Just 5 Guys” Douki, Sanada, Yuya Uemura, and Taichi defeated Togi Makabe, Boltin Oleg, Tomoaki Honma, and El Desperado at 10:03. Oleg and Douki opened, and Douki was intimidated by Oleg’s size. Douki hit some chops that Boltin no-sold. Oleg dropped him with a shoulder tackle, and he flipped Douki around in his arms before hitting the gutwrench suplex for a nearfall at 2:00. Yuya tagged in and battled Desperado, hitting a bodyslam for a nearfall. Sanada tagged in at 4:00, and he tied Desperado in a Paradise Lock, then dropkicked him in the butt.
Togi entered and fought Taichi; they hit simultaneous clotheslines. Honma tagged in at 7:00. Yuya dropkicked Honma, then hit a back suplex. Desperado hit a spinebuster on Yuya, and Honma hit a Kokeshi falling headbutt on Yuya for a nearfall. Honma hit a clothesline on Yuya for a nearfall. Yuya hit a dropkick and a top-rope crossbody block, then the Deadbolt double-underhook suplex with a bridge for the pin. Solid action.
4. “Bullet Club War Dogs” David Finlay, Chase Owens, Gabe Kidd, Taiji Ishimori, and Kenta defeated Hirooki Goto, Ryusuke Taguchi, Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, and Tomohiro Ishii at 7:24. Finlay and Goto opened, but the BCWD quickly beat on Goto in their corner. Yano entered at 2:00 and immediately removed a corner pad, and he jawed at Kenta. Kidd and Ishii entered and traded forearm strikes. They traded suplexes, popped to their feet, collided and collapsed at 4:30.
Ishimori and Taguchi tagged in, with Taguchi hitting a running buttbump. Ishimori hit a handspring-back-spin kick. Owens tagged in at 6:00, but Taguchi applied an anklelock on him. Finlay hit a uranage over his knee on Yoshi-Hashi. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee on Owens for a nearfall. This has been fast-paced with lots of guys in and out of the ring. Owens hit the C-Trigger running knee on Taguchi, then the package piledriver for the pin. That topped expectations. Finlay and Goto jawed at each other; they will meet in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
5. Yoh, Shota Umino, Hikuleo, Jado, and Tanga Loa defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Jack Perry, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, and Dick Togo at 8:58. The babyfaces attacked at the bell and all 10 brawled. Hikuleo hit an elbow drop on EVIL; they also will meet in the quarterfinals. Tanga Loa hit a double clothesline at 2:00. Togo and Jado brawled on the floor, and the HoT worked over Jado in their corner. Shota made the hot tag at 5:00 and he hit some dropkicks. Shota and Perry traded some offense, with Shota hitting a suplex. Perry hit a Tiger Driver and they were both down. Yoh and Togo tagged in at 7:00. The HotT hit clotheslines in the corner on Yoh, and Togo hit his knife-edge chop to the groin, and he choked Yoh with his wire. Yoh got an O’Connor Roll, leaned back for leverage, and pinned Togo.
6. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb, TJP, Francesco Akira, and Great-O-Khan defeated “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi at 9:42. The UE attacked at the bell. TJP and Akira beat up Hiromu in the ring, then they worked over Naito. TJP hit a slingshot senton for a nearfall at 4:00, and he hit his running Facewash kicks in the corner on Naito. Shingo entered and fought O-Khan. Cobb hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Shingo for a nearfall at 7:00, but he missed a standing moonsault. Shingo hit an Exploder Suplex and they were both down. Bushi tagged in, but Akira and TJP hit their team X-Factor on him for a nearfall. Naito hit a standing neckbreaker on Akira. Bushi hit a headscissors takedown on Cobb, then a Rewind Kick. However, Cobb caught Bushi, hit the Tour of the Islands twisting powerslam, and scored the pin.
7. Yota Tsuji defeated El Phantasmo in a New Japan Cup second-round match at 21:56. An intense lockup to open. Yota dropped him with a shoulder tackle at 2:00. They traded forearm strikes; Yota’s wide smile tells me this is a mistake for ELP to get into this blow exchange. Phantasmo clotheslined him to the floor. ELP went for a dive but Yota kicked him in the ropes at 4:00. Yota whipped Phantasmo into the guardrail. In the ring, Yota tied a leglock around ELP’s waist, but Phantasmo reached the ropes at 6:00.
ELP fired back with a tornado DDT. He hit a tornado DDT from the apron to the floor at 8:30. In the ring, he hit a Lionsault for a nearfall. In the ring, Yota hit a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker over his knee. ELP tried to hit the CR2 modified Styles Clash on the apron but Yota blocked it. Yota hit a flying stomp to the head from the apron, and they both crashed to the floor at 13:00. ELP ducked back in before being counted out, but Yota hit another stomp. Yota nailed a top-rope Spanish Fly for a nearfall at 16:00.
ELP hit a superkick for a nearfall. They traded rollups. Yota hit a superkick and a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. He went for a spear but ELP blocked it, and ELP hit the CR2 for a believable nearfall at 18:30! They traded forearm strikes while on their knees as the 20-minute call is spot-on. They got to their feet and kept trading forearms. ELP hit an enziguri; Yota hit a headbutt and a kneestrike to the chin, then a Stomp to the head. Yota hit a top-rope flying Stomp to the head for the pin. Every bit as good as I expected.
8. Ren Narita (w/HoT) defeated Zack Sabre Jr. (w/Mikey Nicholls) in a New Japan Cup second-round match at 23:06. Seeing all six HoT members at ringside is an ominous sign, but they all left before the bell. (We know they’ll be back!) The ref ordered Nicholls to the back, too. Sabre immediately brought Ren to the mat. Zack hit some European Uppercuts at 2:30. They went to the floor, where Ren whipped Sabre into the guardrail, and they brawled into the crowd and away from the ring. Sabre tied him in an Octopus stretch near the wall. They returned to ringside. (Why isn’t the ref counting? NJPW rules are so inconsistent.) Ren whipped Sabre into a guardrail.
Ren began kicking away chairs and fans scrambled to give them room to fight. Ren essentially hit a running Sling Blade, slamming Sabre’s back into the guardrail at 6:00. Ren got a chair but the ref took it; Ren hit Sabre with a different chair. Ren placed Sabre on the ring apron and hit a running kick to his head at 7:30. They finally got back in the ring but Ren was in control. They took turns applying a standing Octopus/Cobra Twist. Sabre hit a Mafia Kick that dropped Narita at 10:30. Sabre tied him in a bow-and-arrow, then hit a basement dropkick. Narita was selling pain in his left elbow, and Sabre kicked at the damaged limb.
Sabre tied him in a Surfboard, then he stomped on the back of the thighs. Sabre applied the anklelock at 13:30, then he switched to a Fujiwara Armbar, and he switched to a double-armbar, but Narita eventually got a foot on the ropes. Narita hit a clothesline and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes. They hit simultaneous Mafia Kicks and both were down at 16:30. Narita hit a Northern Lights Suplex for a nearfall, then a running knee for a nearfall. Sabre got an O’Connor Roll for a nearfall then a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 18:30.
Sabre hit a LOUD slap to the face. “A shot like that could have ended the match,” Stewart said. Ren applied a Cobrat Twist, but Sabre reached the ropes right at the 20-minute call. Ren hit a top-rope flying knee. Sabre applied a crossarm breaker. The House of Torture hit the ring; Mikey Nicholls ran down and tried dragging them to the back. However, Kanemaru sprayed whiskey in Sabre’s eyes. Nicholls hit a double clothesline in the ring; the ref can’t keep them all out. Narita nailed Sabre in the head with the push-up bar! He hit an X-Factor faceplant for the pin! Sabre — who was picked by many people to win it all — has been eliminated. No post-match in-ring comments from the heels.
Final Thoughts: A good show. ELP-Tsuji was best match, even before the outside interference in the main event. Sabre always delivers and he looked like he was on pace to win before all the cheating. The tournament continues on Saturday with the quarterfinals of Sanada vs. Jack Perry and Hirooki Goto vs. David Finlay.
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