By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup 2024”
March 16, 2024 in Aichi, Japan at Dolphin’s Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
We are down to our final eight of the New Japan Cup tournament. This show features two quarterfinal matches. This is a small venue; the lights are low over the crowd but the ring is well-lit. As of Friday afternoon, no other matches had been announced beyond the quarterfinal matches, so this show is a bit of a mystery to me. Walker Stewart and Gino Gambino provided commentary.
* The show opened with an in-ring tribute for Yutaka Yoshie, the 50-year-old wrestler who died earlier this week after an All Japan Wrestling Event. Togi Makabe and Hiroshi Tanahashi were in the ring, with the rest of the roster standing at ringside.
* It was announced that a “medical situation” has forced David Finlay off the show, and out of the tournament. It means that Hirooki Goto will automatically advance to the semifinals (Goto had a first-round bye, too, which means only one victory got him to the final four).
1. Yoh, Boltin Oleg, and Shoma Kato defeated Katsuya Murashima, Togi Makabe, and El Desperado at 8:03. Young Lions Shoma and Katsuya opened against each other; again, Shoma has the sides of his head shaved but they otherwise are roughly the same height and overall size. Shoma hit a dropkick on Desperado at 3:00. Yoh tagged in and hit a Vader Bomb-style elbow drop on Desperado. Desperado hit a spinebuster. Oleg and Makabe entered at 5:00, and Boltin dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Katsuya tagged back in and hit some dropkicks on Oleg. Oleg hit a bodyslam for a nearfall, then a forward Finlay Roll on Katsuya for the pin.
2. “United Empire” Jeff Cobb, Francesco Akira, and Great-O-Khan defeated Tomohiro Ishii, Tanga Loa, and Ryusuke Taguchi at 11:22. Taguchi and Akira opened; Taguchi wore black Young Lion-style trunks, not his typical green pants. They did some comedy of Taguchi getting winded while running the ropes. Loa entered at 2:00 and clotheslined Akira. O-Khan applied a sleeper on Loa. Cobb hit some shoulder blocks into Loa’s stomach in the corner, as the UE worked Loa over. Loa hit a second-rope clothesline at 6:30 and he tagged in Ishii.
Ishii hit a series of shoulder tackles to knock down each of the UE. Cobb hit a Spin Cycle back suplex. Ishii hit a brainbuster and they were both down. Taguchi tagged back in at 8:00 and hit some dropkicks on Cobb. Cobb missed a standing moonsault, and Taguchi hit some running buttbumps. Loa and O-Khan fought some more, with Loa nailing a spear. Taguchi went for a flying buttbump but Cobb blocked it. Cobb then hit the Tour of the Islands swinging powerslam on Taguchi for the pin. Good match; it feels like they were given more time because of the cancellation of the main evet match.
3. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Mikey Nicholls defeated “United Empire” TJP and Callum Newman at 14:50. Nicholls just beat Newman in a (rare) singles match on Friday. Sabre and TJP opened with Zack immediately applying an anklelock. They traded mat reversals and had a standoff. Newman and Nicholls tagged in at 2:30, with Callum hitting a dropkick. The UE hit some quick offense on Nicholls, with TJP applying a Muta Lock, but Nicholls reached the ropes at 4:30. Nicholls hit a clothesline on the ring apron on Newman. Zack dragged Newman to the floor and twisted his ankle. Back in the ring, TMDK was in charge and working over Callum. Newman hit a doublestomp on Nicholls’ back at 8:00.
TJP hit a top-rope flying forearm, then a Helluva Kick on Nicholls. Nicholls hit a Death Valley Driver on TJP. Sabre tagged back in and hit some European Uppercuts on TJP. They traded more fast-paced mat reversals. TJP applied an Octopus stretch. Sabre snapped TJP’s neck between his legs, and they were both down at 11:30. TJP hit a back suplex. This has been really, really good stuff. Newman tagged back in and hit his running boot on Sabre. They traded some mat reversals and Newman got some believable nearfalls. Sabre caught a leg on a kick attempt, grapevined the leg, then turned it into a Trailer Hitch leglock, and Newman tapped out. This was hands-down one of the best undercard matches of this tour.
4. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Kenta, Chase Owens, Gabe Kidd, and Taiji Ishimori defeated Toru Yano, Jado, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo at 12:24. The babyfaces came out first and they attacked the BCWD as they walked to the ring, and they all brawled on the floor and amongst the fans. The bell rang to officially begin the match at 2:30 when Yano and Kidd got in the ring. The BCWD worked over Yano in the ring, as Ishimori choked him with a T-shirt. Hikuleo finally got the hot tag at 7:30 and he hit a double clothesline. He hit a Mafia Kick on Kidd for a nearfall.
ELP shoved Kidd into his corner, as ELP wanted Ishimori, who was reluctant to tag in. Ishimori finally tagged in after ELP was down on the mat. Interesting. ELP repeatedly slammed Ishimori’s head on turnbuckles. ELP hit an airplane spin for a nearfall at 11:30. Ishimori and Jado traded rollups, when Ishimori got the three-count out of nowhere. Like other matches so far, it feels like they were given permission to go longer being as we have only seven matches instead of eight today.
5. “Just 5 Guys” Yuya Uemura and Taichi defeated Shota Umino and Yoshi-Hashi at 15:35. Shota and Uemura opened with friendly mat reversals. Uemura and Yoshi-Hashi traded chops. Shota hit some European Uppercuts as they kept Yuya in their corner. Taichi finally got the hot tag and hit a Mafia Kick on Yoshi-Hashi at 7:30. Shota hit a Northern Lights Suplex on Taichi for a nearfall. Taichi hit some spin kicks to Shota’s thighs. Shota hit a shotgun dropkick. Yuya entered at 11:00 and hit a dropkick on Yoshi-Hashi.
Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter flipping neckbreaker on Uemura for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi tied up Uemura’s head and shoulders on the mat; Uemura eventually reached the ropes at 14:30. Yosh-Hashi nailed a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Yuya got a Crucifix Driver out of nowhere to pin Yoshi-Hashi! That finish came out of nowhere and another strong undercard match.
6. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, Yota Tsuji, Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu Takahashi defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Ren Narita, and Dick Togo at 17:07. All ten brawled at the bell. Ren and Shingo opened in the ring. Yujiro tagged in and traded shoulder tackles with Shingo at 2:00. Bushi entered and hit a huracanrana. Hiromu got whipped into an exposed corner at 5:00, and the HoT worked over Hiromu in their corner and on the floor. Narita applied a Boston Crab at 8:00. Hiromu finally hit a backbreaker over his knee on Togo, then a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Kanemaru.
Naito tagged in at 11:00; he kicked at the ropes to crotch EVIL. He hit a standing neckbreaker on Kanemaru. Naito hit an enzuigiri. Yota got in and battled Ren; they will meet in the quarterfinals. LIJ hit stereo basement dropkicks on Narita at 15:00. The HoT beat up Yota in their corner, and Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Yota’s groin. Everyone hit finishers. Uemura took a swig of whiskey but Yota superkicked him, with the whiskey spraying straight up in the air. Yota immediately hit a spear on Yujiro for the pin. Adequate. EVIL continued to attack quarterfinals opponent Shingo Takagi after the bell.
7. Sanada defeated Jack Perry in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match at 16:28. So, the winner will face Hirooki Goto in the semi-finals. Perry grabbed the mic and said Sanada “tried to make me seem like a joke” last year; he suddenly attacked Sanada with the mic and choked him with the mic cord. The bell rang at 0:30 to officially begin. Sanada hit a dropkick that sent Perry to the floor, and they brawled on the floor. In the ring, Perry was in control; he hit a standing neckbreaker for a nearfall at 3:30. Sanada hit a plancha to the floor. In the ring, Sanada hit a TKO stunner for a nearfall, and he applied a Skull End dragon sleeper on the mat. Sanada went for a top-rope moonsault but Perry got his knees up, and they were both down at 7:00.
Perry tied Sanada in the Snare-trap leglock on the mat. On the floor, Perry dropped Sanada face-first on the exposed floor; Sanada dove back into the ring at the 19-count. Perry immediately hit a Tiger Driver/butterfly powerbomb for a nearfall at 10:30. The ref got bumped and immediately the House of Torture ran in and beat up Sanada. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Sanada’s groin. Taichi and Uemura finally ran to the ring to help. Sanada hit a Poison Rana! Perry immediately hit a running knee and they were both down at 13:30.
Sanada placed Perry’s feet on the top rope and hit the Magic Screw/swinging neckbreaker, then a Shining Wizard, then a top-rope moonsault for a visual pin, but the ref was pulled from the ring. Togo jumped in the ring and choked Sanada with his wire. Perry hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall. Sanada set up for Deadfall but Perry avoided it. Sanada got an O’Connor Roll and leaned back for leverage for the pin!
* Hirooki Goto walked to the ring, in his street clothes, and stood across from Sanada! He spoke on the mic. Sanada got on the mic. According to Chris Charlton’s translation on his Twitter/X feed, he said, “When I came into NJPW in 2016, Goto was one guy I looked up to. I’m excited to face him. The finals are in my home town. I’ll be there.”
Final Thoughts: In my online bracket, I had Sanada winning here, but I also had David Finlay winning. As this match played out, I started to think Perry would win, just to have a heel-babyface dynamic in the semi-finals. Despite all the end-of-match interference by the House of Torture, Sanada and Perry had a really good match before all the shenanigans.
I don’t think it’s my imagination; the undercard matches were longer to make up for having one fewer match, and it made for some much better matches. Both United Empire matches and Yuya/Taichi vs. Umino/Yoshi-Hashi were inspired matches. The other two quarterfinal matches, EVIL vs. Shingo Takagi and Ren Narita vs. Yota Tsuji, will take place Sunday.
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