By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 5, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
They always draw about 1,400 at this venue. Chris Charlton provided English commentary.
* This year’s tournament is a 24-man field. So, eight wrestlers ‘randomly’ received first-round byes. Notably, Shingo Takagi, Zack Sabre Jr. and Hirooki Goto are among those who have byes. Eight first-round matches will take place over four shows this week. That will shrink the field to 16, and from there, it’s a normal elimination tournament. On Wednesday, Don Fale and Yuya Uemura advanced to the field of 16.
1. Toru Yano, Master Wato, Aaron Wolf, and Shota Umino vs. “House of Torture” Douki, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. Douki attacked, and we’re underway. Wolf hit an Exploder Suplex and some Judo Throws. Wolf hit a snap suplex on Yujiro for a nearfall. On the floor, Kanemaru shoved Yano into the ring post. In the ring, the HoT worked over Toru and kept him grounded.
Shota entered at 4:00 and hit some bodyslams. He hit a dropkick on Kanemaru and was fired up. He backed Owens into a corner and hit repeated chops, then a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. Chase hit a backbreaker over his knee. Wato tagged in at 5:30 and traded offense with Douki. Douki hit a dropkick on the knee, and they were both down. Kanemaru locked in a Figure Four at 8:00, but Shota broke it up. Wato applied Vendeval (submission hold around the neck and shoulders), and Kanemaru tapped out. Decent.
Toru Yano, Master Wato, Aaron Wolf, and Shota Umino defeated Douki, Chase Owens, Yujiro Takahashi, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 8:45.
2. “The Unbound Co.” Gedo and Shingo Takagi vs. “House of Torture” Don Fale and Dick Togo. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway. Fale and Shingo brawled to the floor. Fale stood on Gedo’s back. The heels worked Gedo over in their corner. Shingo got the hot tag at 3:00. He threw some clotheslines that only staggered Fale, but finally sent the big man through the ropes to the floor. Shingo hit a suplex on Togo and a sliding clothesline. He put Togo in a double armbar, and Togo tapped out? Lame finish, but this didn’t need to be longer than this.
Gedo and Shingo Takagi defeated Don Fale and Dick Togo at 4:38.
3. “United Empire” Henare, Jake Lee, and Jakob Austin Young vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto and “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto. Lee was going to start against Yoshi-Hashi, but he tagged out. Yoshi-Hashi hit a baseball slide dropkick onto him anyway. In the ring, Matsumoto battled Jakob. The UE backed the Young Lion into their corner and worked him over. Henare hit a series of forearm strikes at 3:00. Matsumoto hit a dropkick, and they were both down. Goto tagged in at 4:30 and hit a spinning leg lariat in the corner on Henare for a nearfall.
Lee and Yoshi-Hashi traded kicks. Henare hit a Samoan Drop on Goto and they were both down at 7:00. Matsumoto and Young tagged back in, and Matsumoto knocked him down with a shoulder tackle, then a flying back elbow and a bodyslam for a nearfall. Young hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Young hit a twisting suplex. He tied Matsumoto in a Sharpshooter, and Tatsuya tapped out.
Henare, Jake Lee, and Jakob Austin Young defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto, Yoshi-Hashi, and Hirooki Goto at 9:19.
4. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay vs. “The Unbound Co.” Oskar and Drilla Moloney. Oskar chased the heels up the stairs, and they brawled on the landing halfway up the seating area. I started the stopwatch at first contact, as all four brawled on the landing. They eventually started making their way down the stairs and toward the ring. Oskar hit some LOUD chops on Callum. (Callum is deceptively big and thick, but he looks tiny next to Oskar!) At ringside, Oskar kicked Newman into the rows of chairs.
They got into the ring, and we got the bell at 3:38 to officially begin. Callum hit a basement dropkick on Oskar’s knee and repeatedly kicked at the damaged leg. Zane hit a dropkick that sent Oskar flying into Moloney. Zane and Drilla traded blows, and Jay hit another impressive dropkick. Callum hit an enzuigiri on Oskar at 7:00. Oskar nailed a Mafia Kick to the face, and he was fired up. Oskar put Zane in a sleeper, and Moloney dove through the ropes onto Callum! Oskar hit a Choke Bomb on Zane for the pin. Really good action.
Drilla Moloney and Oskar defeated Zane Jay and Callum Newman at 8:10/official time of 4:32.
5. “The Unbound Co.” Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, Yuto-Ice, Daiki Nagai, and Yota Tsuji vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson. Kosei and Ishimori opened, and they immediately traded forearm strikes. We got Robbie vs. Robbie at 1:00! Eagles got the crowd going with his “Robbie! Robbie! Robbie!” chant. Robbie X dropped Ishimori onto Eagles, with Robbie X getting the nearfall. TMDK began working over Nagai. Meanwhile, Oiwa whipped Yuto-Ice into the guardrail at 3:00.
Sabre did his neck-snap between his ankles on Nagai. Hartley entered and hit a massive splash for a nearfall. Yuto-Ice and Oiwa got in the ring and traded blows at 6:00. Oiwa hit a senton. Yuto-Ice hit a superkick for a nearfall at 8:00. Oiwa hit a dropkick, and they were both down. Yota and Hartley traded punches, and Tsuji hit a Flatliner, then a running knee in the corner, but he couldn’t hit the Marlowe Crash. Sabre entered and hit some European Uppercuts on Yota at 9:30. Robbie X hit a missile dropkick. Robbie Eagles hit a mid-ring Sliced Bread.
Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee on Sabre. Daiki entered and unloaded some forearm strikes on Sabre and a hesitation basement dropkick in the corner for a nearfall at 11:00, and he was fired up. He hit a suplex. He applied a cross-armbreaker, rolled Zack over, and got a nearfall. Yuto-Ice and Oiwa brawled some more, then left the ring again. Nagai hit a spinebuster on Sabre for a nearfall, and he applied a Boston Crab! However, Sabre escaped, tied up both legs, and cranked back on Daiki’s head until he tapped out. Easily the best match so far.
Zack Sabre Jr., Robbie Eagles, Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, and Hartley Jackson defeated Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X, Yuto-Ice, Daiki Nagai, and Yota Tsuji at 14:09.
6. Boltin Oleg vs. El Phantasmo (w/Jado) in a New Japan Cup first-round match. ELP hit a shotgun dropkick at the bell, then he dove through the ropes and barreled onto Oleg on the floor. Oleg hit a running shoulder block that sent ELP flying! Boltin slammed Phantasmo on the ring apron at 2:00, then a Gorilla Press into the ring for a nearfall. They traded forearm strikes, and Oleg hit a splash to the mat for a nearfall. ELP applied a headlock, but Oleg flipped him overhead to the mat at 4:00.
Phantasmo wrapped Oleg’s legs around the ring post and slammed the left knee repeatedly against the post. They fought on the floor, and ELP repeatedly kicked at the damaged knee. They rolled back into the ring, and Phantasmo got a nearfall at 6:00. He applied a half-crab and kept Boltin grounded. He hit a Lionsault, but Oleg immediately flipped ELP around in his arms. Phantasmo hit a huracanrana. Oleg nailed an F5 faceplant at 8:30, but he sold the pain in his knee, and they were both down.
Oleg hit a running shoulder block in the corner. He again flipped ELP around in his arms and hit a gutwrench suplex. Phantasmo hit a tornado DDT. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex at 10:30. He set up for Kamikaze, but ELP escaped, and Phantasmo went back to a half-crab, but Boltin eventually got to the ropes. ELP hit a top-rope moonsault to the floor on Oleg at 12:30, and they were both down. They got back in the ring, where Phantasmo hit some superkicks and a piledriver.
However, Oleg got ELP on his shoulders and hit the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll) for a believable nearfall at 14:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes, and Oleg dropped Phantasmo. ELP got up and hit some slaps to the face. They hit stereo clotheslines. ELP nailed the CR2 (modified Styles Clash) for a believable nearfall at 16:30. This has been insanely good. They fought on the ropes in the corner. Oleg hit a second-rope Kamikaze for the pin. I really liked this one — it should have been the main event.
Boltin Oleg defeated El Phantasmo at 18:09 to advance.
7. Taichi vs. Ren Narita in a New Japan Cup first-round match. Taichi came out first; Ren snuck into the ring behind him and attacked. The ref called for the bell, and we’re underway! They brawled at ringside and past the guardrail and into the crowd. They rolled back into the ring at 2:30 with Ren playfully kicking Taichi and keeping him down. Taichi got up and absorbed a series of forearm strikes, then he hit an enzuigiri. They again fought on the floor, and Taichi struck him with a chair at 5:00.
Yujiro Takahashi appeared, and he hit Taichi with the chair. Narita wrapped Taichi’s leg around the ring post. In the ring, Taichi hit an enzuigiri in the corner, and they were both down at 9:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes until Taichi dropped him at 10:30, and he finally removed his tear-away pants. Ren hit a Russian Leg Sweep and grapevined the leg on the mat. Taichi hit a second-rope superplex at 13:00, and they were both down. Taichi hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall. He hit a brainbsuter but the ref was immediately pulled to the floor by Dick Togo!
Several members of the House of Torture appeared out of nowhere, and they stomped on Taichi. They took turns slamming into Taichi in a corner. Ryusuke Taguchi jumped in the ring and hit some buttbumps. Shota Umino hit a tornado DDT on Chase Owens. Meanwhile, Ren got his push-up bar, swung, and missed. Taichi hit a Saito Suplex for a nearfall at 17:00. Ren nailed the Double Cross (X-Factor) for a nearfall, and he applied a modified Figure Four.
Taichi eventually reached the ropes at 18:30. Narita came off the ropes, but Taichi caught him with a superkick. Taichi hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Kanemaru got in the ring and sprayed alcohol in the face of the ref! He helped Taichi to his feet? Why? Sho looked irate, as if Kanemaru had just betrayed the House of Torture. But of course, Kanemaru hit Taichi with his whiskey bottle. Narita hit Taichi in the head with his push-up bar, then he nailed the Hell’s Guillotine (top-rope flying knee strike to the throat) for the pin. Good action that got a bit too cute at the finish.
Ren Narita defeated Taichi at 22:46 to advance.
Final Thoughts: Yes, ELP vs. Oleg should have been the main event. It’s the best match of the four tournament matches so far, and those two really clicked in the ring. I did like Narita-Taichi more than either of Wednesday’s tournament matches. That said, the finish was just plain dumb. Kanemaru teased a babyface turn out of nowhere? Why? Why would Taichi believe or trust him, even for a second? Kanemaru should have just struck him with the whiskey bottle, rather than pretending to befriend him first.
The tournament continues on Friday with Oskar vs. Callum Newman and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Jake Lee in first-round tournament matches.
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