By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup 2024”
March 17, 2024 in Shizuoka, Japan at Twin Messe Shizuoka South Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
On Saturday, Sanada and Hirooki Goto advanced to the semifinals of the New Japan Cup tournament. Two more wrestlers will advance today. The venue is a large gym with all seating on the floor, and attendance is maybe 800. Walker Stewart and Gino Gambino provided commentary.
* The big news Saturday was David Finlay had a “medical situation” and was removed from the tournament. He was replaced in his match here as well. While no one has said what happened, I’m guessing this is illness, not injury.
1. Katsuya Morishima and Boltin Oleg defeated Ryusuke Taguchi and Shoma Kato at 8:13. The Young Lions opened with basic mat holds. Again, Shoma has the side of his head shaved but they otherwise look fairly identical. Taguchi entered at 4:00; he is again wearing Young Lion black trunks. Oleg entered and he flipped Taguchi around in his arms before hitting the gutwrench suplex for a nearfall. Taguchi hit a buttbump and he tagged Kato back in at 6:30. Oleg applied a Boston Crab and sat down, but Taguchi made the save. Oleg hit the forward Finlay Roll to pin Kato. So much potential in Boltin.
2. “Guerrillas of Destiny” Tanga Loa, Hikuleo, and El Phantasmo defeated “United Empire” TJP, Francesco Akira, and Great-O-Khan at 10:37. An interesting matchup as no one jumps out at me as the “obvious” person to eat the pin. TJP and Phantasmo opened with standing switches, some mat reversals and a standoff. Akira entered at 2:00; he called for Hikuleo to be tagged in! Akira and Hikuleo tied up but Francesco couldn’t budge him, so he hit some dropkicks. Hikuleo hit a sideslam on TJP at 5:00, and the GoD worked TJP over in their corner.
Loa hit a delayed vertical suplex. O-Khan tagged in for the first time at 6:30 and he traded shoulder tackles with Loa. O-Khan hit Mongolian Chops on Hikuleo, who fell to the floor. O-Khan began working over Loa. Akira hit a top-rope crossbody block on Loa at 9:00. TJP hit a tornado DDT on Phantasmo. Loa nailed a Rikishii Driver piledriver on Akira for the pin. Good action.
3. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Mikey Nicholls defeated “United Empire” Jeff Cobb and Callum Newman at 11:09. Nicholls and Cobb opened and traded forearm strikes. Newman and Sabre entered and traded crossarm breaker attempts at 2:30. Zack stomped on the left elbow. Nicholls re-entered and twisted the damaged arm in the ropes. Newman hit a slingshot doublestomp on Nicholl’s back at 5:00 and he made the hot tag to Cobb. Jeff hit a dropkick on Nicholls and a crossbody block into the corner, then a running vertical suplex for a nearfall, then a standing moonsault for a nearfall. Nicholls hit a DDT and they were both down.
Sabre entered and hit some European Uppercuts on Cobb; he jumped on Jeff’s back and applied a sleeper. Cobb hit a Spin Cycle/twisting back suplex. Newman tagged back in but was still favoring his left elbow. He hit a running penalty kick to Sabre’s chest at 8:00. Sabre hit a Pele Kick to the damaged arm. Sabre snapped Callum’s neck between his ankles. Sabre applied a Dragon Sleeper but Callum powered out and hit a suplex. Callum went for a spin kick but Sabre caught the leg and applied an anklelock. Sabre applied a crossarm breaker, and also hooked one of Newman’s legs, and Callum tapped out.
4. Yoh, El Desperado, and Shota Umino defeated “House of Torture” Jack Perry, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Yujiro Takahashi at 8:15. The HoT attacked at the bell, and they worked over Desperado in their corner. Desperado hit a spinebuster on Perry at 4:30. Shota got the hot tag and hit a flying forearm on Perry and he was fired up. Perry hit a clothesline and they were both down. Shota hit a pop-up kneestrike on Yujiro and a Death Rider double-arm DDT for the pin. Kanemaru grabbed the Juniors title (Yoh had stolen it from Sho!) and took it to the back.
5. Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, “Bishamon” Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated “Bullet Club War Dogs” Kenta, Taiji Ishimori, Chase Owens, Gedo, and Gabe Kidd at 9:09. Yano and Ishimori opened. Kenta dropped Goto with a shoulder tackle. The veteran Tenzan entered at 3:00; this is his first action of this tour, and he battled Owens. Ishimori choked Tenzan with a T-shirt. Kidd entered for the first time at 5:30 and hit some Mongolian Chops on Tenzan. Ishii made the hot tag and hit a series of shoulder tackles. Ishii and Kidd traded hard chops. Ishii hit a German Suplex on Kidd and they had an inspired exchange. Yoshi-Hashi tagged in at 7:30 and faced Gedo. Bishamon hit the Shoto team Slam, and Yoshi-Hashi pinned Gedo. Basic action. Kidd and Ishii traded more chops after the bell.
6. “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Taichi, and Yuya Uemura defeated Tetsuya Naito, Bushi, and Hiromu Takahashi at 8:39. Naito and Sanada opened with standing switches. Sanada tied Hiromu in the Paradise Lock at 2:30. Taichi entered and tied up Hiromu. Yuya hit a bodyslam on Hiromu at 5:30. Hiromu hit a basement dropkick on Yuya’s knee. Bushi tagged in and hit a dropkick on Yuya’s knee, then a dive through the ropes on him. Yuya hit a deep armdrag on Bushi, hooked both arms, and got a rollup and the pin out of nowhere!
7. Yota Tsuji defeated Ren Narita in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match at 18:49. Ren attacked from behind as Yota still had his robe on. They brawled to the floor and Yota whipped Narita into a guardrail. Narita took control as they kept fighting on the floor. They went over the guardrail, and Ren whipped Yota into a wall at 3:00, then into rows of empty blue-bucket chairs, and he hit Yota across the back with a folding chair. Tsuji got back into the ring before being counted out at 6:00. Ren applied a Boston Crab and remained in charge. He switched to a Camel Clutch, but Yota reached the ropes at 8:00. Narita kept Yota grounded. Yota hit a shoulder tackle, then a splash, for a nearfall at 11:00.
Ren grabbed his push-up bar but the ref confiscated it. Ren hit Yota in the head with a chairshot at 12:30 for a nearfall. Narita hit a Northern Lights Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall and he kept Tsuji grounded. He hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 14:00. Yota hit a Stomp on the head and they were both down. Yota hit a modified Tiger Driver for a nearfall. Ren fired back wtih a running knee to the chest for a nearfall. Narita went for an X-Factor faceplant but Yota blocked it, and Yota hit a running knee. Yota accidentally speared the referee! Narita immediately got a chair and struck Tsuji in the back. The House of Torture hit the ring and attacked Tsuji. LIJ ran in to make the save. Ren hit a low blow and he set up for the X-Factor. However, Tsuji got a forward roll for the pin!
* EVIL ran to ringside to attack Tsuji, so Shingo ran down to make the save, and our main event is immediately under way.
8. EVIL (w/House of Torture) defeated Shingo Takagi (w/LIJ) in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match at 17:48. They immediately brawled to the floor and took turns whipping each other into guardrails. The HoT beat up Shingo on the floor. EVIL choked Shingo with a T-shirt in the ring at 5:00. He hit a suplex for a nearfall. Shingo fired back with some punches and a short-arm clothesline at 7:00 and they were both down. Shingo hit a bodyslam and a senton for a nearfall. On the floor, Shingo nailed a snap suplex onto a pile of folded chairs at 10:00. Shingo nailed a top-rope superplex and the crowd was fired up.
Shingo accidentally clotheslined the ref in the corner at 13:00. The HoT jumped in the ring and beat up Shingo. Dick Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Shingo’s groin, and EVIL got a nearfall. EVIL hit the Darkness Falls swinging powerbomb for a nearfall at 15:00. He set up for Everything is Evil but Shingo blocked it. Shingo hit a clothesline for a nearfall. Shingo hit the Made In Japan powerbomb for a nearfall but the bell rang while the ref was counting, and the ref stopped his count! EVIL bumped the ref again. Yota and Hiiromu hopped in the ring to help battle LIJ. Bushi accidentally sprayed mist in Shingo’s eyes! One of the heels threw powder in Shingo’s eyes! EVIL hit the Everything is Evil uranage for the cheap pin. My pic for winning the tournament has been eliminated.
Final thoughts: So, our final four has Sanada vs. Hirooki Goto and EVIL vs. Yota Tsuji. The lesson here, kids, is don’t bet on professional wrestling, as nobody had those as the final four in their bracket pool. Yota-Narita was easily best match, but once Yota won, I felt it signaled that EVIL was winning the followup match. The semifinals will be held on Monday.
Be the first to comment