By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup 2024”
March 20, 2024 in Niigata, Japan at Ao-re Nagaoka
Streamed live on New Japan World
New Japan Pro Wrestling wrapped up its 12-event New Japan Cup on Wednesday. Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton, and Gino Gambino provided commentary. It was great to have Charlton back, not just for the English translation, but his incredible knowledge and history of NJPW. This is a small arena and the crowd is maybe 1,500 to 2,000. The lights are low.
* So, here we are, the finals of a 28-man tournament. Yota Tsuji was among the top four predictions to win the tournament in wrestling historian/statistician Chris Samsa’s online bracket challenge. However, Hirooki Goto is an unexpected participant as the other finalist. I firmly believe that if David Finlay hadn’t had a medical situation, he would be the other finalist. So, in my opinion, there is a bit of luster off this year’s finale.
1. Hiromu Takahashi and Bushi defeated Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima at 6:14. The Young Lions were shoving each other before the bell; not a good sign they will get along during the match. Shoma and Hiromu opened, with Takahashi hitting a series of chops. The Young Lions hit a double dropkick and were fired up. Bushi applied a Boston Crab on Katsuya, dragged him to the center of the ring and sat down for pressure, and Murashima tapped out. Okay action.
2. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan, TJP, and Francesco Akira defeated Tanga Loa, Tomohiro Ishii, and Ryusuke Taguchi at 10:11. Charlton continued to ponder over who is the leader of the UE now that Ospreay has left. Tanga Loa and O-Khan opened; Loa got the first-round upset over O-Khan in this tournament, and they immediately traded forearm strikes. Taguchi and Akira entered at 3:30, with Akira hitting a huracanrana and a plancha. Ishii entered and he dropped Akira with a forearm strike at 5:30.
TJP entered and traded quick offense with Ishii. Loa and O-Khan battled some more, with Tanga hitting a Stinger Splash and an enzuigiri. O-Khan hit a clothesline and suddenly everyone was down. Ishii hit a suplex on TJP at 8:30. Taguchi hit a flying buttbump and hhe applied an anklelock on TJP. Akira and TJP hit their team X-Factor face plant on Taguchi. They hit their front-and-back kneestrikes on Taguchi 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 10:02. Nicholls and Cobb opened. Sabre applied a leg lock around Newman’s neck at 2:00. TMDK hit a double clothesline and worked Newman over. Sabre applied a front guillotine choke. Cobb got the hot tag at 5:00 and he hit a back suplex on Sabre. Zack applied a Triangle Choke on Cobb, but Jeff powered out and hit a suplex. Sabre snapped Cobb’s neck between his ankles; he went for a sleeper but Cobb shrugged him off. Newman and Nicholls tagged back in, with Callum hitting his running boot at 7:30. Sabre applied a sleeper on the floor on Cobb. In the ring, Nicholls hit a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall on Newman at 9:30, then a clothesline for a nearfall. He put Newman on his shoulder and slammed him face-first to the mat for the pin. Good action.
4. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Gabe Kidd, Chase Owens, and Kenta defeated Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, and Yoshi-Hashi at 7:40. Still no David Finlay, who is out with a medical situation. All six guys brawled to the floor at the bell. Togi and Kidd squared off, while Kenta battled Yoshi-Hashi. In the ring, Kidd beat up Togi, and the BCWD worked him over in their corner. Tenzan got the hot tag at 5:30 and hit his Mongolian Chops on Owens. Togi hit a double clothesline. Kenta hit Tenzan in the head with a title belt; Chase covered Tenzan for the cheap pin. I don’t think Yoshi-Hashi technically ever tagged in.
5. “House of Torture” Jack Perry, Yujiro Takahashi, and Ren Narita defeated El Desperado, Shota Umino, and Yuji Nagata at 9:39. First time seeing Nagata on this tour. Desperado and Yujiro opened; Yujiro dropped him throat-first across the top rope, and the HoT immediately beat up Desperado on the floor. In the ring, Narita grounded Desperado. Perry entered and hit a stiff kick to the spine at 4:00. Desperado fired back with a spinebuster on Perry. Shota made the hot tag and hit some dropkicks, then a fisherman’s suplex on Perry at 6:00.
Shota hit a tornado DDT on Narita. Nagata made the hot tag at 7:30 and hit some kicks on Ren. Nagata hit an overhead belly-to-belly suplex and he tied up Narita on the mat. He hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall. Ren hit a low blow uppercut, and he tied Nagata in a Cobra Twist, and Nagata submitted. Okay action; Nagata really felt a step slow and old today in his two minutes in the ring. Shota got on the mic and said he has a “lesson” coming for the House of Torture on April 6. The commentators weren’t sure what type of lesson Shota was talking about. Interesting.
6. Yoh deeated Yoshinobu Kanemaru (w/Sho) at 13:09. A rare undercard singles match; I really think NJPW needs to do this more often. Kenta attacked Yoh on the floor as he walked to the ring. Kanemaru stomped on Yoh in the ring before Yoh even had his jacket off. The bell finally rang to officially begin the match. Kanemaru kept Yoh grounded. They brawled to the floor at 5:00 and over a guardrail. Yoh dove into the ring at the 19-count to avoid the count-out, but Kanemaru immediately locked in a Camel Clutch. Yoh hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip at 7:00 and a Northern Lights suplex for a nearfall.
Kanemaru hit a top-rope moonsault on Yoh’s back, and he applied a Boston Crab at 9:30, but Yoh reached the ropes. Yoh hit a German Suplex for a nearfall. Kanemaru shoved the ref into Yoh, then Kanemaru hit an enzuigiri. He whipped Yoh into an exposed turnbuckle and he again applied a Boston Crab, but Yoh again reached the ropes at 12:00. Yoh hit a neckbreaker over his knee. Sho hopped on the ring apron to provide a distraction. However, Kanemaru accidentally sprayed whiskey into Sho’s eyes. Yoh immediately got an O’Connor Roll for the pin. Yoh again ran to the back while holding Sho’s Juniors Title. Sho got on the mic and said he refuses to give Yoh a title shot.
7. Jado, Toru Yano, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, and Boltin Oleg defeated “Just 5 Guys” Sanada, Yuya Uemura, Taichi, Douki, and Taka Michinoku at 10:51. Douki opened; he turned around and the massive Oleg was standing across from him. All of Douki’s teammates hopped off the ring apron and refused to get in against Boltin. Douki hit some chops that had little effect. Oleg tossed Douki around in his arms like a rag doll before hitting a gut-wrench suplex for a nearfall at 2:00. Yano and Taichi tagged in and battled; J5G hit a five-way big boot on Yano. Hikuleo tagged in at 5:00 and hit a Mafia Kick that dropped Uemura, but he couldn’t hit a chokeslam.
Yuya hit a big bodyslam on Hikuleo and that popped the crowd. Sanada entered and hit some dropkicks on Hikuleo, then a plancha at 7:00. ELP hit a springboard Swanton Bomb on Sanada. ELP tied Sanada in the Paradise Lock! (It’s a stupid hold but no one seemingly can figure it out except Sanada.) Sanada placed ELP’s feet on the top rope and hit the Magic Screw swinging neckbreaker. Taka tagged in for the first time and hit a running knee on ELP for a nearfall at 9:30. He tied up Phantasmo on the mat and cranked on his head. ELP hit a superkick on Taka, and Hikuleo hit a chokeslam. ELP then hit the springboard frogsplash to pin Taka.
8. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi vs. “House of Torture” EVIL and Dick Togo ended in a double countout at 2:40. The HoT attacked LIJ as they walked to the ring. EVIL whipped Shingo into a guardrail and they brawled into the crowd. The ref got frustrated and counted out both EVIL and Shingo! Naito literally hadn’t even taken off his dress shirt. Shingo got on the mic and challenged EVIL to come back to the ring. Shingo picked up EVIL’s NEVER Openweight Title belt, which he left in the ring.
8b. “Los Ingobernobles de Japon” Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi defeated “House of Torture” EVIL and Dick Togo at 8:48. EVIL and Shingo opened, and HoT beat up Shingo some more on the floor, as they targeted Shingo’s right shoulder, which was heavily wrapped. Naito entered and hit a standing neckbreaker on EVIL at 7:00. Togo choked Naito with his wire. Naito choked Togo with the wire! Naito hit a low blow punt kick and made a jackknife cover to pin Togo. Naito and Takagi continued to beat up EVIL after the bell. Shingo got on the mic and challenged EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Title.
* Here we are! The finals! Again, I’m all-in on Yota winning here. I just don’t find Goto’s offense particularly interesting, and I’m highly doubtful he would have beaten David Finlay if that match had occurred. Goto is 3-3 in New Japan Cup finals, last winning it in 2012. However, in his mid-40s, Goto has slowed down a bit. Worth reiterating that Tsuji has won FOUR tournament matches, but due to a bye and Finlay’s forfeit, Goto has only won TWO tournament matches to reach this point. Tetsuya Naito is shown seated at ringside on commentary.
9. Yota Tsuji defeated Hirooki Goto to win the 2024 New Japan Cup at 22:58. A feeling-out process and standing switches. This crowd is hot and split. Goto dropped him with a shoulder tackle at 4:00. Yota dove through the ropes onto Goto. In the ring, Yota applied a leglock around the waist and grounded Goto; Hirooki reached the ropes at 8:30. Yota hit a Stinger Splash and a shoulder tackle, then a splash for a nearfall at 11:00. Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee and they were both down. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Goto hit a modified Death Valley Driver for a nearfall at 15:30.
Tsuji hit a Falcon Arrow for a nearfall. He nailed a running Stomp to Goto’s head at 17:00. Tsuji hit a top-rope doublestomp on Goto’s head as Hirooki was bent over, and he scored a nearfall. Goto applied a standing sleeperhold, and he dropped down to the mat. He let go of the hold and hit a running Penalty Kick to the chest. Tsuji hit a headbutt; Goto fired back with his own headbutts at the 20:00 call. Goto hit a swinging sideslam for a believable nearfall; the commentators went nuts as Yota kicked out.
Goto hit a spin kick to the chest; Yota fired back with a running knee, and they were both down at 21:30. This crowd was HOT. Goto hit a decapitating clothesline. Goto set up for a Rainmaker, but Yota hit a spear for a believable nearfall. Yota nailed another Gene Blaster spear, cutting Goto in half, for the pin. A very good match that did top my admittedly low expectations, but the right man won. Stewart said it was a “battle of two different eras.”
* Yota was presented with the elaborate, red gem-covered New Japan Cup. It appears be at or near three feet tall. He got on the mic and said he has “opened the gates to a new era.” He said that “an emperor has left us but I am here. I am the face of this new era.” He called Naito to the ring. He stood across from Naito and told him he would take the belt off of him. Naito took the mic and said “are you ready?” Naito turned and left. He tipped his hat at Yota then headed to the back, leaving Yota alone in the ring. The confetti cannon covered Tsuji in streamers as he held the cup high above his head.
Final Thoughts: Definitely the right decision in the main event. Yota is the rising star and he needed this win. I will definitely be cheering for him when he faces Naito for the title. I am admittedly not a big fan of Goto, but he had a few big moments here, particularly when he hit a swinging sideslam just after the 20-minute mark, where it appeared he could win. But that would have been a mistake for NJPW, in a moment where they desperately need to promote new stars in the wake of losing Jay White, Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada, to move forward with a victory by a guy in his mid-40s and has been spinning his wheels in the mid-card for years.
A solid undercard. TJP continues to impress against bigger men, and the commentators speculated he might be transitioning to the heavyweight division, even if he hasn’t topped 100 kilograms/220 pounds.
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