By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 10, 2026, in Okayama, Japan, at Shigeto Arena Okayama
Streamed live on New Japan World
There is Japanese-only commentary today. This is a large gym, and it’s fairly full, including in the bleachers. This might be a crowd of 1,500. Gedo was at ringside on Japanese commentary.
* This year’s tournament is a 24-man field. We are down to the ‘field of 16.’ Two competitors will qualify for the quarterfinals today.
1. “The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice vs. Aaron Wolf and Masatora Yasuda. The bell rang, and Oskar took Yasuda’s head off with a Mafia Kick! Yuto-Ice and Wolf brawled on the floor. Meanwhile, Oskar was keeping Yasuda grounded in the ring, and he tied the Young Lion in a Camel Clutch. Yasuda reached the ropes at 2:00. Yasuda hit a dropkick on Yuto-Ice. Oskar hip-tossed Yasuda for a nearfall. Wolf tagged in and traded shoulder tackles with Oskar until Oskar fell to the mat.
Oskar hit a bodyslam on Wolf at 5:00. Yuto-Ice stomped on Wolf. Wolf hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Yuto-Ice. Yasuda tagged in and hit some dropkicks on Yuto-Ice for a nearfall, and applied a cross-armbreaker. Yuto-Ice hit his running Meteora in the corner on Yasuda. Oskar put Wolf in a sleeper. Wolf hit a Judo Throw-style DVD on Oskar. Yuto-Ice hit a running Penalty Kick to pin Yasuda. Solid match with an underwhelming finish.
Oskar and Yuto-Ice defeated Aaron Wolf and Masatora Yasuda at 8:38.
2. “United Empire” Jake Lee, Great-O-Khan, Henare, Jakob Austin Young, and Francesco Akira vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, Boltin Oleg, and Tetsuya Matsumoto. Lee and Goto will square off in the tournament later this week, and they opened the match and traded basic reversals. O-Khan tagged in and hit his Mongolian Chops on Goto. Oleg hit a splash to the mat on O-Khan. Akira battled Yoshi-Hashi at 3:00. Akira hit a standing moonsault on Yano for a nearfall.
Henare and Boltin traded shoulder blocks and chops at 5:00. Oleg hit his gutwrench suplex and was fired up. Henare hit a suplex on Oleg, but Boltin hit a shotgun suplex. Young and Matsumoto tagged in at 7:00 and traded forearm strikes. Matsumoto hit a dropkick for a nearfall, and he put Jakob in a Boston Crab. Jake Lee made the save. Goto hit his neckbreaker over his knee on Lee. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Henare. Jakob hit a hammerlock DDT on Matsumoto for the pin.
Jake Lee, Great-O-Khan, Henare, and Jakob Austin Young, and Francesco Akira vs. Yoshi-Hashi, Toru Yano, Hirooki Goto, and Boltin Oleg, and Tetsuya Matsumoto at 9:29.
3. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Kosei Fujita. Oleg and Henare will face each other on Thursday in the tournament. Hartley and Callum opened, but Newman rolled to the floor. Zane tried a shoulder tackle, but he ricocheted off Hartley. Kosei battled Zane, and those two fought to the floor. In the ring, Zane hit a fallaway slam at 3:30, and he stomped on Fujita. The UE began working over Fujita in their corner.
Hartley got a hot tag at 5:30 and hit some clotheslines on Callum, but missed his senton. Callum hit a pump kick. Hartley hit his running crossbody block. Zane hit a Russian Leg Sweep, but he missed a top-rope elbow drop. Hartley hit a release German Suplex on Newman at 7:30. He hit the Jagged Edge (DVD) on Jay for the pin. Decent.
Hartley Jackson and Kosei Fujita defeated Zane Jay and Callum Newman at 8:05.
4. Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma, and Satoshi Kojima vs. “House of Torture” Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens, and Ren Narita. Umino will face Yujiro in tournament action later this week, while Kojima will face Narita. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! Honma missed a Kokeshi falling headbutt. Chase choked Honma in the ropes, and the HoT kept him in their corner. On the floor, Dick Togo and Yoshinobu Kanemaru hit a team suplex on Honma and rolled him back in. In the ring, Honma suplexed Narita.
Kojima got a hot tag at 4:00 and hit his rapid-fire chops on Narita, then on Chase. Narita grapevined Kojima’s leg, but Satoshi reached the ropes. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter on Narita. Shota and Yujiro finally tagged in at 6:00, and Umino hit a flying forearm. Those two traded forearm strikes. Umino hit a tornado DDT on Chase at 8:00. Honma again missed a Kokeshi falling headbutt. Honma blocked Owen’s C-Trigger running knee. Honma finally hit the Kokeshi! Owens struck Honma with a weapon while the ref was distracted and hit the C-Trigger for the pin. Blah.
Yujiro Takahashi, Chase Owens, and Ren Narita defeated Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma, and Satoshi Kojima at 10:29.
5. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa vs. “The Unbound Co.” Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai. Sabre and Oiwa will actually face each other later this week in tournament action. (It’s why I thought Yuto-Ice was going to beat Oiwa on Sunday!) Sabre and Yota opened and traded standing switches and basic reversals. They sped it up and traded nearfalls, and Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee. Nagai entered and hit a splash to the mat on Sabre for a nearfall at 3::00. Sabre applied a Fujiwara Armbar, and he tied up Daiki, who reached the ropes.
Oiwa got in and bodyslammed Nagai for a nearfall. Sabre again tied up Nagai on the mat. Yota and Ryohei locked up, with Tsuji hitting a Flatliner at 6:30. Yota stomped on Ryohei’s head. Daiki tagged back in, but he couldn’t suplex Oiwa. Daiki hit a suplex on Sabre at 8:30! Oiwa hit a senton on Daiki for a nearfall. Oiwa put Nagai in a Boston Crab. Sabre hit some running Penalty Kicks on Yota. Daiki dropkicked Oiwa at 10:00, and he got a backslide for a nearfall, then a spinebuster. Oiwa hit a Chaos Theory (rolling German Suplex) to pin Nagai. Far and away the best match of the undercard.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Yota Tsuji and Daiki Nagai at 12:08.
6. Shingo Takagi vs. Don Fale in a New Japan Cup second-round match. Takagi had a first-round bye, while Fale beat Aaron Wolf. Fale knocked Shingo to the mat to open. Yoshinobu Kanemaru jumped in the ring to attack Shingo, allowing Fale to take control. Fale stood on Shingo’s back at 2:30. Fale missed a butt drop to the chest, and Shingo immediately hit a sliding clothesline for a nearfall at 5:00. Shingo hit a DDT for a nearfall.
Fale hit a running splash in the corner, then a splash to the mat for a nearfall at 6:30. He set up for The Grenade (heart punch), but Shingo avoided it. Shingo suplexed Fale, and that popped the Japanese commentary team. He hit a clothesline, but Kanemaru pulled the ref to the floor. Dick Togo threw powder in Shingo’s eyes at 8:00. Fale hit another splash in the corner.
Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Shingo’s groin, and Fale hit a running elbow drop. However, Gedo jumped on the apron and distracted the ref (and saved Shingo from a pin!) Kanemaru accidentally sprayed alcohol into a teammate’s eyes. Shingo sprayed alcohol on Fale. He nailed the Pumping Bomber clothesline for the pin. What you would expect here. At least Shingo won, and it wasn’t painfully long.
Shingo Takagi defeated Don Fale at 9:28 to advance to the quarterfinals.
7. Yuya Uemura vs. Drilla Moloney in a New Japan Cup second-round match. An intense lockup to open, and they tied up each other’s left arms. They are setting a pace to go 20 or more minutes. They tied up in a knuckle lock. Yuya hit some deep armdrags. Drilla hit a baseball slide dropkick to the floor at 6:30, then he whipped Yuya into the guardrails. In the ring, Drilla hit a backbreaker over his knee, then a back suplex at 8:30. He hit another backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall.
Drilla tied him in a Sharpshooter, but Yuya reached the ropes. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Yuya hit a dropkick at 11:00, and they were both down. Yuya hit a back suplex for a nearfall. Drilla nailed a running Air Raid Crash for a nearfall at 13:00. Yuya went for a cross-armbreaker with Drilla fighting against it. Yuya hit a huracanrana and applied a hammerlock at 15:00. Drilla hit a DVD, and they were both down. Yuya missed a top-rope crossbody block, and Drilla immediately hit a spear for a nearfall at 17:00.
Drilla hit a top-rope elbow drop. Yuya hit a German Suplex and went back to the cross-armbreaker at 19:00. Moloney set up for the Drilla Killa, but Yuya escaped. Drilla hit a powerbomb, and they were both down. Yuya hit a Pele Kick and a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall at 21:30. Yuya came off the top rope, but Drilla caught him with a leaping dropkick. Drilla hit a Gore and the Drilla Killa (swinging piledriver)! However, as Drilla went for the pin, Yuya reversed the rollup and got the flash pin. I guess that technically makes Yuya the first person to ever kick out of a Drilla Killa. A really good match.
Yuya Uemura defeated Drilla Moloney at 22:26 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Final Thoughts: Yuya is certainly one of the favorites to win the whole tournament, but it was a good back-and-forth match that it feels like either man could have won. I was shocked when Moloney hit his finisher, which I’ve repeatedly pointed out that no one has ever kicked out of before. That flash rollup surprised me, and I had to rewind to see it again.
Shingo and Fale went like any other House of Torture match, with the shenanigans and outside interference. Again, the good news is Shingo advanced, and the match was kept under ten minutes, and I think that’s the best we can hope for. After a day off on Wednesday, the tournament continues on Thursday with Boltin Oleg vs. Henare and Satoshi Kojima vs. Ren Narita.
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