By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 21, 2026, in Niigata, Japan, at Aore Nagaoka
Streamed live on New Japan World
The venue is a gym, but the lights are low. The ring is well-lit. The crowd was maybe 1,500. Walker Stewart and Chris Charlton provided live commentary.
* This is a 24-man tournament, and we’re down to our finals! Both semifinal matches on Saturday were excellent. Yuya Uemura beat Boltin Oleg, while Callum Newman defeated Shota Umino. Our finals are set!
* First up is Konosuke Takeshita’s open challenge. The lineup for this show was released early Friday, almost immediately after the semifinals concluded. Point being, it left only a few possible challengers for Takeshita (unless NJPW has someone work double-duty, which seems unlikely). I suggested on Twitter/X that the opponent should be El Desperado, who did wrestle on Friday’s show, but wasn’t in the New Japan Cup tournament. Coming out of the back instead were Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi. Blah. (If those are your mystery options, why not just announce them? That’s quite a let-down for a mystery.)
1. Konosuke Takeshita vs. Yujiro Takahashi (w/Chase Owens) for the NJPW TV Title. A reminder, this has a 15-minute time limit. Yujiro won a hard-fought battle of rock-paper-scissors, so he is facing Takeshita instead of Chase. Yujiro rolled to the floor and distracted the ref, allowing Chase to hit a stunner. Yujiro got back in and choked Takeshita. Konosuke went to the floor, but Chase attacked him again and pushed him into the ring post at 4:00, but Takeshita hit a DDT onto the thin mat at ringside.
However, Yujiro hit an inverted DDT on Takeshita on the thin mat at ringside. Takeshita tried to get back into the ring but Chase held onto his ankle. Takeshita broke free and got back in. Yujiro hit a back suplex for a nearfall, then an Angle Slam for a nearfall. Takeshita hit a running knee to the forehead. Yujiro hit a low blow, then his Pimp Juice DDT for a nearfall at 7:30. Takeshita hit a Raging Fire (spinning Falcon Arrow) on Owens, then one on Yujiro, for the pin. Meh. Takeshita vs. Desperado would have been so much better.
Konosuke Takeshita defeated Chase Owens to retain the NJPW TV Title at 8:14.
* Takeshita got on the mic and said, “I have some business I want to settle from last year.” He challenged Shota Umino! Shota beat him in last year’s G1 Climax, and Takeshita hasn’t forgotten that!
2. Tatsuya Matsumoto and “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto vs. Taichi, El Desperado, and Masatora Yasuda. Oh, Despe was in this match — I missed that as I glanced at the lineup. The Young Lions stood toe-to-toe, and they opened the match. (Why do they never like each other?) Yasuda hit a dropkick on Goto at 3:00. Taichi hit a Mafia Kick on Goto. Goto hit a hard clothesline on Taichi, and they were both down.
Desperado entered for the first time at 5:30 and battled Yoshi-Hashi, and they traded chops. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Headhunter (running Blockbuster). Matsumoto hit a dropkick on Despe, and put him in a Boston Crab. Matsumoto hit his modified Air Raid Crash on Despe for a nearfall at 8:00. Desperado fired back with a spinebuster for a nearfall. He then hit the Pinche Loco (Angel’s Wings faceplant) for the pin on Matsumoto.
Taichi, El Desperado, and Masatora Yasuda defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto and “Bishamon” Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto at 8:57.
3. “House of Torture” Douki, Sho, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, and Yoh. The babyfaces came out first, but the HoT ran down the ramp and attacked them, and we’re underway! They got in the ring and we got a bell at 00:33 to officially begin. Yoh battled Douki. I noted this Saturday, but this juniors division is ice cold — none of these six are ‘over’ right now. Wato hit some roundhouse kicks to Douki’s chest. Sho crotched Wato around the ring post at 2:00.
Kanemaru was the only man in the ring, as all the babyfaces were down on the floor. Wato jumped back in before a count-out, but Kanemaru put him in a Boston Crab. Wato reached the ropes at 4:00. The HoT continued to work over Wato in their corner. Yoh got a hot tag to face former teammate Sho. Yoh rolled to the floor to whip Douki into the guardrails. He hit a top-rope somersault splash on Sho in the ring for a nearfall at 6:00. Sho hit a basement dropkick on the knee.
Douki jumped in and slammed Yoh’s knee into the mat. Yoh hit a dropkick, and they were both down. Taguchi tagged in and hit a running mid-ring buttbump on Douki for a nearfall at 8:00. He applied an ankle lock. Sho shoved his wrench into Taguchi’s rear, just so Taguchi could make his exaggerated facial expressions. Douki rolled up the injured Taguchi for the pin. Flat finish to a passable match.
“House of Torture” Douki, Sho, and Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, and Yoh at 9:00/official time of 8:27.
* Takeshita was shown joining the Japanese commentary team for the next one.
4. “United Empire” Henare and Great-O-Khan vs. Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma. Shota and Henare opened, and they traded shoulder tackles. Henare hit a senton on Honma at 2:30. Honma hit a DDT on O-Khan. Shota entered and hit a fisherman’s suplex on O-Khan for a nearfall at 5:30. Umino and Henare traded forearm strikes.
Honma got back in and battled Henare. Henare hit a Samoan Drop for a nearfall at 8:30. Honma hit the Kokeshi falling headbutt for a nearfall. Henare hit a clothesline for a nearfall, then he applied a full nelson. He let go, hit a clothesline to the back of the neck, then re-applied the full nelson, and Honma submitted.
“United Empire” Henare and Great-O-Khan defeated Shota Umino and Tomoaki Honma at 10:50.
5. “The Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, and Shingo Takagi vs. “United Empire” Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young, and Jake Lee. Drilla and Young opened. Akira and Shingo fought on the floor. Lee again has Joker-style makeup smeared on his face. Drilla hit some chops on Lee. The UE began working over Shingo. Shingo hit a DDT on Lee for a nearfall at 4:30. They traded forearm strikes. Ishimori got a hot tag and hit a handspring-back-enzuigiri on Akira at 6:30, then a rolling DVD for a nearfall.
Akira hit an assisted powerbomb on Ishimori. Akira avoided a Drilla Killa. Lee hit a jumping knee to Shingo’s ribs. Shingo hit a shoulder tackle on Lee. Akira missed his Fireball double knees on Ishimori, but he tied Ishimori up in a submission hold around the neck, and Taiji tapped out! That wrapped up suddenly. A far better match than any of the other preview tags so far.
“United Empire” Francesco Akira, Jakob Austin Young, and Jake Lee defeated “The Unbound Co.” Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, and Shingo Takagi at 8:43.
6. “House of Torture” Don Fale, Dick Togo, and Ren Narita vs. Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, and Aaron Wolf. The HoT attacked, and we’re underway! Oleg hit a bodyslam on Narita, then a splash to the mat for a nearfall. Yano entered at 1:30, but Narita worked him over. The HoT kept Yano grounded. In some good humor, Yano slapped Fale on the top of his head; Fale turned around, but Yano pointed at the ref and blamed him! The ref pleaded innocence!
Wolf got in and battled Fale, who splashed him in a corner at 5:30. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Wolf’s groin for a nearfall. Oleg and Wolf got Togo alone in the ring. Togo tried to push Oleg into Wolf, but Boltin didn’t move. Funny. Wolf put Togo on his shoulders and slammed him to the mat. Wolf immediately applied a leg lock around the neck, and Togo tapped out. Meh. A few good humor spots were the highlights.
Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, and Aaron Wolf defeated “House of Torture” Don Fale, Dick Togo, and Ren Narita at 7:17.
7. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa, and Kosei Fujita vs. “The Unbound Co.” Yuto-Ice, Oskar, Daiki Nagai, and Yota Tsuji. Yuto-Ice and Oiwa argued some more, and those two opened against each other. Yuto-Ice hit his running double knees in the corner for a nearfall at 1:30. Sabre hit a basement dropkick on Oskar’s knee, then some spin kicks to Oskar’s thighs, then he applied an ankle lock, but Oskar fought free.
Hartley and Yota battled at 4:00, with Tsuji hitting a big suplex for a nearfall. Hartley hit a running splash in the corner, then a massive senton, on Yota. Kosei hit some chops and stomps on Yota in the corner. Tsuji dropped Fujita with a headbutt at 6:00. Nagai hit a hesitation dropkick on Fujita. Oskar hit a bodyslam on Sabre. Oiwa clotheslined Oskar to the floor, then he dropkicked Yuto-Ice. Kosei tied up Nagai’s arms on the mat and cranked them backwards until Nagai submitted. Really good action.
“The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa, and Kosei Fujita defeated “The Unbound Co.” Yuto-Ice, Oskar, Daiki Nagai, and Yota Tsuji at 8:42.
* Yuto-Ice got on the mic and told Ryohei Oiwa that he hates him and challenged him to a match. (So glad to have Charlton here today for the instant translation.) Oiwa wants a tag title shot for himself and Sabre. Yuto-Ice agreed.
8. Yuya Uemura vs. Callum Newman (w/Zane Jay) in the New Japan Cup final. Callum held a toy sword across Yuya’s neck. They locked hands and had a feeling-out process to open. Charlton and Stewart discussed prior winners of the Cup. (I love that NJPW doesn’t avoid mentioning the names of wrestlers who are now elsewhere. Don’t ignore your deep history.) Yuya hit a deep armdrag at 3:30 that sent Newman to the floor to regroup. In the ring, Yuya snapped the left elbow between his ankles, and Newman immediately sold the pain in his left arm.
Callum kicked out Yuya’s wrapped-up right elbow and targeted that. They fought to the floor at 8:00, fighting in front of Hiroshi Tanahashi in the front row. Back in the ring, Newman stayed in charge. Yuya hit a second-rope twisting crossbody block at 9:30. He hit an armdrag and a dropkick and was fired up! Yuya hit a back suplex for a nearfall and went for a cross-armbreaker, but Newman quickly got his feet on the ropes. He snapped Newman’s arm over his shoulder.
Yuya hit a back suplex; Callum hit an enzuigiri; Yuya hit a dropkick, and they were both down at 13:30. They traded forearm strikes while on their knees, then while standing. Callum hit a hard buzzsaw kick and a fisherman’s buster for a nearfall at 16:00. Callum climbed the ropes, but Yuya armdragged him to the mat. Callum hit a Poison Rana and a doublestomp to the back for a nearfall at 19:00. Zane hopped on the apron and distracted the ref, but Yuya kicked him to the floor. Yuya hit a huracanrana on Callum and immediately applied a cross-armbreaker.
They got up, and Yuya hit a headbutt. Callum hit a low blow and another brainbuster for a nearfall at 21:30. Callum hit a delayed vertical suplex for a nearfall. This crowd was HOT! Yuya hit a German Suplex with a high bridge for a nearfall at 24:00, then a Dragon Suplex for a nearfall. Yuya hit a release Deadbolt Suplex, then a top-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Yuya came off the ropes, but Callum kicked him, then Newman hit a clothesline and a winding uranage for the pin!
Callum Newman defeated Yuya Uemura to win the New Japan Cup at 25:50.
* Hiroshi Tanahashi entered the ring and presented the Cup to Newman. Newman got on the mic and said, “This is my empire. This is my f—ing company now.” He pointed to the trophy and said it makes him one of the best in the world, and proclaimed himself the “new ace” of New Japan. Right on cue, Yota Tsuji came to the ring, wearing a plum suit and sunglasses, with the IWGP Title belt over his shoulder. He got in the ring, but all of the United Empire guys surrounded him! Yota looked around, and he left, rather than getting into a fight. Callum got back on the mic and called himself the “kingslayer” and told everyone they would “kiss the crown.” The confetti cannons went off to shower the United Empire in streamers.
Final Thoughts: A very good main event. While I still think Shota-Newman a day ago was better, this was an excellent main event. NJPW has many, many problems right now, but it has a tremendous young core, as shown in the later rounds of this tournament. I don’t mind Newman winning, as a match against Yota will be very entertaining, but I don’t doubt that Tsuji will retain. Some pretty uneven undercard matches. The matches with The Unbound Co. were both really good. Of course, the matches with the House of Torture were not.
For a few years now, I’ve noted that the Juniors Division has revolved around Hiromu Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori, and El Desperado. Others can have a good match with any of those three, but the division has struggled when those guys aren’t in it. But Hiromu is gone. Clark Connors and Kevin Knight were in the division but have also left. Drilla Moloney has moved up and out of the division. TJP is gone. It has left a division that is decimated and ultimately… not that interesting. And I’m a bigger fan of the juniors than most. I don’t see a short-term solution.
I see no point in bringing Takeshita over to have him face Yujiro Takahashi. Even if you were a fan of Yujiro… he wasn’t seen as top-tier enough to be in last year’s G1. There were just some better options for a match with Takeshita. And if you are planning to do Takeshita vs. Takahashi… just go ahead and announce it. Don’t bill it as a ‘mystery opponent’ to build up expectations that a Yujiro surprise just cannot meet.
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