By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 12, 2026, in Kagawa, Japan, at Takamatsu City Gymnasium 1st Stadium
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided commentary today.
* This year’s tournament is a 24-man field. We are in the ’round of 16.’ Shingo Takagi and Yuya Uemura qualified for the quarterfinals on Tuesday. Two more competitors will qualify for the quarterfinals today.
1. “The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice vs. “House of Torture” Chase Owens and Yoshinobu Kanemaru. The HoT attacked before the bell; Yuto-Ice didn’t even have his hoodie off yet. The heels ‘wishboned’ Yuto-Ice’s legs. The HoT struck Oskar’s left knee. Oskar hit a double clothesline at 3:00, then a flying guillotine leg drop on Chase for a nearfall. Kanemaru repeatedly slammed Yuto-Ice’s knee into the mat and applied a Figure Four leg lock at 5:00. Oskar flew over the top rope and fell to the floor. Chase attacked Oskar on the floor. In the ring, Kanemaru got a nearfall on Yuto-Ice. Yuto-Ice hit a running penalty kick, then a running knee for the pin.
“The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice defeated Chase Owens and Yoshinobu Kanemaru at 6:31.
2. “The Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa. Oiwa and Nagai opened. Moloney tossed teammate Nagai onto Oiwa at 1:30. Drilla and Oiwa traded forearm strikes, and Oiwa dropped him with a shoulder tackle. Oiwa hit a suplex. Sabre tied up Drilla’s left arm and twisted it. Those two traded European Uppercuts at 4:00. Drilla applied a leg lock around the neck.
Sabre hit some European Uppercuts on Nagai. Nagai hit a crossbody block on Zack, then a dropkick into the corner for a nearfall at 5:30. Sabre put him in a triangle choke, but Drilla made the save. Drilla hit a dropkick on Oiwa; Oiwa hit a back suplex on Drilla. Nagai hit a dropkick on Sabre. Zack tied Nagai in a front guillotine choke, and Nagai eventually tapped out. Good action.
Zack Sabre Jr. and Ryohei Oiwa defeated Drilla Moloney and Daiki Nagai at 7:03.
3. Shota Umino, Aaron Wolf, and Toru Yano vs. “House of Torture” Yujiro Takahashi, Don Fale, and Dick Togo. Shota and Yujiro will meet in the tournament later this week. They opened against each other, but Togo attacked Umino from behind. Yujiro dropped Umino throat-first on the top rope. Togo hit a senton for a nearfall at 2:30. Aaron entered and hit a shoulder block that dropped Fale.
Fale dropped Aaron with a shoulder tackle, and they were both down at 4:30. Yano entered and battled Togo. The ref got bumped. Fale hit a splash in the corner on Yano, and Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Yano’s groin. Yano pushed Togo into an exposed turnbuckle, rolled him up, and got the flash pin. Meh.
Shota Umino, Aaron Wolf, and Toru Yano defeated Yujiro Takahashi, Don Fale, and Dick Togo at 6:28.
4. “The United Empire” Hartley Jackson and Kosei Fujita vs. “United Empire” Callum Newman and Zane Jay. Newman and Hartley opened, and Hartley whipped him into corners. Callum rolled to the floor and called a timeout. Callum hit some chops against the guardrails. Hartley whipped Callum into the guardrails. In the ring, Kosei hit a senton, then Hartley hit one on Callum at 2:00. Zane hit some dropkicks on Hartley, then one on Fujita. They traded forearm strikes at 5:00. Kosei tied him in a Boston Crab and leaned back, and Jay tapped out! That was good for the time given.
Hartley Jackson and Kosei Fujita defeated Callum Newman and Zane Jay at 5:42.
5. Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, and Tetsuya Matsumoto vs. “United Empire” Jake Lee, Jakob Austin Young, and Francesco Akira. Goto and Lee will face each other in the tournament. They opened, but Lee rolled to the floor at the bell. Young and Matsumoto tied up. They brawled into the crowd. Back in the ring, the UE worked over Yoshi-Hashi in their corner. Akira hit a standing moonsault at 2:30. The UE kept him in their corner for several minutes.
Goto and Lee tagged in at 5:30 and brawled, with Hirooki hitting a spin kick in the corner and a back suplex for a nearfall. Goto hit a hard clothesline that sent Lee rolling to the floor. Matsumoto tagged back in at 7:00, and he bodyslammed Jakob several times, then a dropkick for a nearfall. Jakob hit a twisting suplex and a DDT and pinned Matsumoto.
Jake Lee, Jakob Austin Young, and Francesco Akira defeated Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, and Tetsuya Matsumoto at 9:10.
6. “The Unbound Co.” Yota Tsuji and Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki. As I noted above, Yota and Shingo won their respective matches on Tuesday, so they will face each other in the quarterfinals. They opened with a feeling-out process and standing switches. Yota hit a suplex on Honma at 3:30. Yuya tagged back in and hit some dropkicks on Shingo. They traded forearm strikes. Shingo hit a DDT. Tsuji tagged back in at 6:30.
Tsuji hit a splash in the corner, but he missed the Marlowe Crash. Honma got back in and hit some punches on Yota, then a bulldog, but he missed the Kokeshi diving headbutt. Honma finally hit the Kokeshi for a nearfall at 8:30. Yota hit a jumping knee on Honma. Shingo and Yota hit a team back suplex for a nearfall. They hit a clothesline-and-Gene Blaster (spear) combo on Honma for the pin. Solid match.
Shingo Takagi and Yota Tsuji defeated Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki Honma at 10:14.
7. Ren Narita (w/House of Torture) vs. Satoshi Kojima in a New Japan Cup second-round match. Satoshi, who replaced the injured Tomohiro Ishii, had a first-round bye. Ren stepped through the ropes and immediately attacked Kojima, and we’re underway! He stomped on Kojima in the corner. Kojima hit his rapid-fire chops in the corner. On the floor, Ren struck Kojima’s leg with a chair at 2:30 and twisted the leg in the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Kojima hit his rapid-fire chops at 5:30. Kojima hit a second-rope elbow drop for a nearfall, then a DDT. Narita grapevined a leg on the mat and cranked on it. Narita hit an Exploder Suplex for a nearfall at 8:00. Satoshi hit a Koji Cutter. Ren pushed Kojima into the ref, and the ref fell to the floor. Three HoT guys jumped in the ring and beat up Kojima. Narita got his push-up bar, but Kojima swatted it out of his hands.
Kojima hit a DDT at 10:30. Ren couldn’t hit the Double Cross (X-Factor). Kojima hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall, but the ref was pulled from the ring. Dick Togo jumped in the ring and choked Kojima. Don Fale hit a second-rope frog splash onto Kojima, who was lying on a table, and the table shattered. Narita hit the Double Cross for the tainted pin. What you’d expect here.
Ren Narita defeated Satoshi Kojima at 12:10 to advance to the quarterfinals.
8. Henare vs. Boltin Oleg in a New Japan Cup second-round match. They immediately charged at each other and traded forearm strikes, then shoulder blocks. Henare hit some stiff kicks to the spine at 2:30, then a running Penalty Kick. Oleg hit a shoulder tackle that sent Henare through the ropes and to the floor. They fought at ringside. Henare slammed him back-first on the apron at 6:00. Henare snapped Oleg’s neck across the top rope, then pushed Oleg off the apron back to the floor.
In the ring, Henare was in charge. Oleg hit a bodyslam, and they were both down at 9:00. Oleg hit some splashes into the corner. He flipped Henare around in his arms and hit his gutwrench suplex, then the Vader Bomb for a nearfall at 10:30. Henare hit a suplex, and they were both down. Henare hit a modified Blue Thunder Bomb and applied a full nelson lock on the mat. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Henare hit some clotheslines at 14:30 that staggered Henare.
Henare hit a Samoan Drop. Oleg hit a belly-to-belly suplex. Henare hit a Spinebuster, and they were both down. Henare hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall at 17:00. Oleg hit a shotgun dropkick; Henare hit some running kicks. Oleg hit a standing powerbomb with a jackknife cover for a nearfall. They got up and traded chops. They traded clotheslines until they were both exhausted. Henare hit a headbutt and a clothesline to the back of the neck for a nearfall at 20:00. Oleg hit a DVD for a nearfall. He nailed the Kamikaze (forward Finlay Roll), then another one, for the pin.
Boltin Oleg defeated Henare at 22:11 to advance to the quarterfinals.
Final Thoughts: A solid big-man match. It certainly wasn’t flashy or high-flying, but it was a good brawl. We’ve had some sub-standard matches (read: below two stars) in this tournament already, and I would put Kojima-Narita on that list. It wasn’t pretty, and the HoT interference just gets exhausting. Kojima definitely wasn’t winning, so it was just a match I couldn’t get into.
No rest for the wicked! The tournament continues on Friday with Jake Lee vs. Hirooki Goto and Hartley Jackson vs. Callum Newman. The second round will wrap up on Saturday with Zack Sabre Jr. vs. teammate Ryohei Oiwa and Shota Umino vs. Yujiro Takahashi.
Be the first to comment