By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 11, 2025 in Okayama, Japan at Zip Arena
Streamed live on New Japan World
This is a large gym and the lights are on. The crowd is maybe 1,200. Walker Stewart provided solo commentary as the show began.
* This year’s New Japan Cup is a 24-man field. We are down to our final 16, and we have three of the second-round matches here.
1. Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Hirooki Goto vs. Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, and Daiki Nagai. Satoshi and Tanahashi opened; they will have a singles match on the final day of the New Japan Cup. Stewart said we have 299 days left until Tanahashi retires; they have a sign in the hall with the countdown. Kojima laid in his rapid-fire chops. Nagai hit a dropkick to Goto’s face at 5:00. Yuji got in and hit some kicks on Goto. Murashima got in and hit a flying dropkick on Yuji, then a Bulldog Powerslam. Nagata tied up Murashima in a modified crossface, and Katsuya tapped out. Basic but fine.
Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata, and Daiki Nagai defeated Katsuya Murashima, Hiroshi Tanahashi, and Hirooki Goto at 7:42.
2. “United Empire” TJP, Jeff Cobb, and Callum Newman vs. “Bullet Club” Bad Luck Fale, Drilla Moloney, and Chase Owens. The big men, Fale and Cobb, opened and traded punches, and Cobb hit a dropkick. Chase whipped Callum into a guardrail at 2:00. The BC kept Newman in their corner. Callum hit an enzuigiri on Drilla and he tagged in TJP at 4:00, who traded forearm strikes with Moloney — those two will face off later in the second round. TJP hit his Facewash kick on Drilla at 6:30. Drilla hit a Gore and they were both down. Cobb and Chase tagged in, with Jeff hitting a back suplex. He went for a standing moonsault but Chase got his knees up. Newman hit a basement dropkick on Fale’s knee and dumped Fale to the floor. Chase hit a C-Trigger knee on Cobb, but Cobb nailed the Spin Cycle twisting back suplex, then the Tour of the Islands (swinging powerslam) for the pin on Owens. That was a pretty good preview tag.
TJP, Jeff Cobb, and Callum Newman defeated Bad Luck Fale, Drilla Moloney, and Chase Owens at 8:47.
3. “Los Ingobernables de Japon” Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Yota Tsuji vs. Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, El Phantasmo, and Jado. Oleg and Shingo opened, and they also will meet in the second round and they traded shoulder blocks and forearm strikes. Oleg knocked him down with a shoulder tackle. Yano entered at 2:00 and playfully slapped Shingo in the back of the head; Shingo responded with a clothesline. Bushi entered and rolled up Yano. Yota and ELP got in at 3:30 and they traded forearm strikes. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee and a Stomp. Naito entered for the first time at 5:00 and he worked over Phantasmo, then he battled Jado. Oleg hit a double shoulder tackle. Naito applied a heel hook submission hold, and Jado quickly tapped out. Naito seemed particularly stiff and uncomfortable in the ring today.
Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Bushi, and Yota Tsuji defeated Boltin Oleg, Toru Yano, El Phantasmo, and Jado at 7:29
* Drilla Moloney joined commentary; I don’t think he’s done this before. (At first, I thought it was Hartley Jackson, but the English accent is just a bit different than Hartley’s Australian.)
4. “Bullet Club War Dogs” Sanada and Gabe Kidd vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi and Taka Michinoku. All four fought at the bell. Taichi and Kidd traded forearm strikes. Taichi finally had a second to peel off his long jacket. Taichi knocked him down with a clothesline at 3:30 and they were both down. Sanada and Taka both tagged in. Sanada almost immediately locked in the Skull End dragon sleeper, and Taka tapped out! That was out of nowhere. Drilla shouted taunts at Sanada and made fun of his haircut.
Sanada and Gabe Kidd vs. “Just 4 Guys” Taichi and Taka Michinoku at 4:49.
5. Shota Umino and Tomohiro Ishii vs. “United Empire” Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young. Shota is completely bald; it’s the first time I’ve seen him like that. Shota and O-Khan opened, and Walker talked about how Shota’s shaved head signifies a new beginning for him. Jakob and Ishii tied up at 2:00. Ishii hit a delayed vertical suplex on O-Khan. Shota knocked O-Khan down with a shoulder tackle at 4:30, then a fisherman’ suplex for a nearfall. Ishii and Young tagged back in, with Ishii hitting a clothesline in the corner. Young hit a missile dropkick. O-Khan and Shota traded more stiff forearm strikes. Shota hit a German Suplex. Young got a rollup for a nearfall at 8:00. Shota got back in and clotheslined each opponent. Ishii nailed a brainbuster on Young and scored the pin. Solid match.
Shota Umino and Tomohiro Ishii defeated Great-O-Khan and Jakob Austin Young at 9:04
6. Yoshi-Hashi vs. Yuya Uemura in a New Japan Cup second-round match. This is a first-ever singles match, Walker said. Yuya hit a deep armdrag and grabbed Yoshi-Hashi’s left arm. Yoshi-Hashi unloaded some chops and was in charge early. Uemura hit a back suplex for a nearfall at 5:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a standing neckbreaker and they were both down. Uemura applied a Fujiwara Armbar, but Yoshi-Hashi reached the ropes at 8:30, and he snapped Y-H’s arm across his shoulder. Yuya hit a huracanrana and locked in a cross-armbreaker.
Yuya hit a twisting uranage for a nearfall at 11:30. Yoshi-Hashi hit a Dragon Suplex and a superkick, then a second one, and he was fired up. He nailed a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall, then a backbreaker over his knee and a Meteora for a nearfall at 14:30. He nailed a decapitating clothesline. However, Yuya nailed the Deadbolt suplex (double underhook belly-to-belly with a high bridge) for the pin. Good match. The right guy one; NJPW needs to be pushing its young, rising stars.
Yuya Uemura defeated Yoshi-Hashi at 14:49 to advance to the quarterfinals.
7. Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa in a New Japan Cup second-round match. Stable mates collide! Harley Jackson was in a ‘neutral corner’ for his partners. They immediately tied each other up on the mat. Oiwa hit a bodyslam at 4:30. Sabre hit a backbreaker over his knee and tied him in a bow-and-arrow, and he applied a leg lock around the neck and kept Oiwa grounded. Oiwa hit a gut-wrench suplex, then a dropkick at 8:00. Sabre snapped Oiwa’s head between the ankles and they were both down. They got up and traded forearm strikes; the 10:00 call was spot-on. Zack dragged him to the mat and tied him in a knot, but Oiwa got to the ropes. “Those ropes are your best friend when you’re in there with Zack Sabre Jr.,” Drilla said.
Zack hit a hard Penalty Kick, then another. Oiwa applied a top keylock behind the head and he hit a back suplex, and they were both down at 13:30. Oiwa dropped him with a forearm strike; Sabre got up and hit a European Uppercut; the 15:00 call was a few seconds early (again, no time limits and those are just updates.) Sabre nailed the Zack Driver for a nearfall. Oiwa hit a gut-wrench suplex and he re-applied the top hammerlock. Sabre got some rollups for nearfalls. Zack hit some spin kicks to the chest. He hooked both arms and got a mousetrap cover for the pin. Good match; I never once thought Oiwa was winning here, but that was entertaining.
Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Ryohei Oiwa at 19:12 to advance to the quarterfinals.
8. EVIL vs. David Finlay in a New Japan Cup second-round match. The entire House of Torture came out with EVIL; Gedo and Gabe Kidd came out with Finlay. (And again, Drilla was already at ringside.) Right on cue, Drilla left commentary. The BCWD got in the ring and they all brawled! (I start my stopwatch at first contact but we don’t have a bell yet.) EVIL and Finlay brawled into the crowd. Walker noted there are a lot more War Dogs (I think it’s six-on-four.) EVIL and Finlay made it back to ringside at 3:00 but they haven’t been in the ring yet, and they traded chops. Everyone else is fighting elsewhere in the building. The Japanese announcer was shouting, trying to get order. We have a bell at 4:33 to officially begin as they finally got in the ring!
Finlay immediately hit a backbreaker over his knee. He crashed back-first into an exposed corner at 6:30. They went back to the floor, where EVIL put a chair over Finlay’s head and hit that one with a different chair. Back in the ring, EVIL stomped on Finlay and kept him grounded. David went to the floor, where Dick Togo struck him at 9:30 (and we hear the official 5-minute call). I don’t see any other HoT members around but Togo now. Back in the ring, Finlay hit the Irish Curse backbreaker over his knee at 11:00 and the crowd was fired up. He hit a release suplex, and EVIL rolled to the floor to regroup. Finlay whipped him stomach-first into the guardrail. Finlay speared EVIL through a table that was leaning against the guardrail at 13:00 and they were both down on the floor.
In the ring, Finlay nailed the Dominator swinging faceplant for a nearfall. EVIL locked in a Sharpshooter at 16:00. The ref got knocked down, and EVIL immediately hit a low blow. Togo and Jado fought on the apron and powder flew into the ref’s eyes. It was Finlay’s turn to hit a low blow! Out of the back came Sanada at 18:30 and he rolled into the ring, but he (accidentally?) dropkicked Finlay. Was that on purpose? He knocked EVIL to the floor. EVIL and Togo hit the Magic Killer team slam on Finlay, with EVIL getting a nearfall. Finlay clotheslined them both to the floor. They kept fighting on the floor, and Finlay threw him into the ring post. The ref was counting and getting close to 20! Finlay threw EVIL onto Togo and ducked back into the ring just before the 20-count. Sanada glared at Finlay. Intrigue. Good brawl; that was on the high end of what you can hope for in an EVIL match, and a nice way to avoid having either eat a pin.
David Finlay defeated EVIL at 21:46/official time of 17:03 to advance to the quarterfinals.
* Finlay got on the mic and said “Bullet Club is mine. The War Dogs are mine. New Japan Cup is all mine. Which means Goto’s World Heavyweight championship is mine.”
Final Thoughts: A really good night of action. I liked going from a mat-based Sabre match to a good brawl; it felt like we had a little bit of everything. Yoshi-Hashi has never really clicked for me, so I’m glad that Yuya won that match, too. The undercard was solid.
The tournament continues Wednesday with just two second-round matches, as Shota Umino faces Great-O-Khan, while Taichi faces Gabe Kidd.
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