By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 4, 2026, in Tokyo, Japan, at Korakuen Hall
Streamed live on New Japan World
They always draw about 1,400 at Korakuen Hall. 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.
* This year’s field looks particularly weak. NJPW champion Yota Tsuji is not in the field. EVIL, Sanada, and David Finlay are gone. No Gabe Kidd, either. Hiroshi Tanahashi has retired. Also, Tomohiro Ishii was a late scratch due to a neck injury, and he has been replaced by Satoshi Kojima.
* Today’s first-round action includes Don Fale vs. Aaron Wolf, which has almost no chance of being a good match, but I’ll try to keep an open mind. I will reiterate that Wolf is like the star college quarterback drafted second overall in the NFL’s first round, who turns out to be a complete dud. NJPW pushed him hard in the months leading up to his Wrestle Kingdom debut, and they are now pretty much stuck with this out-of-shape Olympian who has a terrible physique and is easily winded.
1. “House of Torture” Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Shota Umino and Masatora Yasuda. Owens faces Umino in the first round, and the winner will face Takahashi. (There is absolutely no one who honestly wants to see Yujiro vs. Chase.) Umino and Chase opened, and Shota hit a dropkick. All four fought to the floor. In the ring, Yujiro hit some bodyslams on Yasuda for a nearfall at 2:30. Owens entered and dropped Yasuda with hard chops. Yasuda hit a dropkick on Chase. Umino got a hot tag and beat up the heels. Chase went for the C-Trigger running knee at 4:30, but Umino blocked it.
Yasuda got back in and hit a dropkick on Yujiro, then some snap suplexes for a nearfall at 6:00. He put Yujiro in a Boston Crab, but Chase made the save. Yujiro hit a Pimp Juice jumping DDT for a believable nearfall. Yasuda got a backslide for a nearfall. Yujiro hit a fisherman’s buster, and Chase hit a running knee. Chase hit a low blow kick on Shota and the C-Trigger! Meanwhile, Yujiro hit another Pimp Juice on Yasuda for the pin. That played out exactly as I imagined.
Chase Owens and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Shota Umino and Masatora Yasuda at 8:37.
2. Boltin Oleg and Toru Yano vs. Jado and El Phantasmo. Oleg and ELP are first-round opponents, and they opened this match with reversals on the mat. They got up, and ELP hit a chop; he let Oleg hit a chop back, and ELP rightfully sold it like his sternum had been caved in. He went to his corner to tag out, but Jado was on the floor, tying his shoes! Funny! Oleg hit a flying shoulder tackle. He flipped Phantasmo overhead to the mat. Yano tagged in at 3:00 and immediately removed a corner pad.
Of course, Yano accidentally crashed back-first into the exposed corner. Jado entered to battle Yano, with Jado tying him in a Rings of Saturn, and Yano got a foot on the ropes at 4:30. Oleg splashed ELP in the corner, flipped him around in his arms, then Oleg hit the gutwrench suplex at 6:30. Oleg hit a Gorilla Press, slamming ELP to the mat for a nearfall, but he missed a Vader Bomb. Oleg hit a double shoulder tackle. Jado applied a crossface on Yano on the mat. Yano hit a low blow and got a schoolboy rollup on Jado for the pin. Again, exactly as you would expect here.
Toru Yano and Boltin Oleg defeated El Phantasmo and Jado at 9:07.
3. “Unbound Co.” Daiki Nagai, Oskar, Drilla Moloney, and Shingo Takagi vs. “United Empire” Henare, Callum Newman, Jake Lee, and Zane Jay. Callum and Oskar opened and charged at each other. Oskar unloaded some loud chops. Daiki entered and hit some chops on Newman. The UE began working over Nagai in their corner. Zane choked him in the ropes at 3:30. Nagai tried some forearm strikes on Lee, with little impact. Henare entered and hit some hard chops.
Daiki hit a dropkick on Henare at 6:00, and he tagged in Shingo for the first time. Shingo gave Zane a hip-toss, then clotheslined him to the floor. Lee and Newman jumped in and attacked Shingo. Shingo hit a DDT on Henare. Henare hit a Blue Thunder Bomb on Moloney. Zane entered and hit a dropkick on Drilla at 9:00, then a fallaway slam for a nearfall. Shiingo dropped Henare with a clothesline. Jake dropped Shingo with a spin kick. Moloney hit a powerbomb on Zane, then the Drilla Killa (swinging piledriver) for the pin. Good action.
Daiki Nagai, Oskar, Drilla Moloney, and Shingo Takagi defeated Henare, Callum Newman, Jake Lee, and Zane Jay at 10:58.
4. “House of Torture” Douki, Dick Togo, and Ren Narita vs. Tomoaki Honma, Taichi, and Master Wato. The HoT attacked, and we’re all underway. Ren and Taichi opened and immediately traded forearm strikes. Honma hit a DDT on Ren at 2:00, but he missed a Kokeshi falling headbutt. Togo entered and stomped on Honma. Douki and Honma traded forearm strikes. Wato entered at 5:30 and traded forearm strikes with Douki, then he hit a huracanrana.
Douki applied the Darkness Stretch (Douki Chokey triangle choke) on Wato at 7:00. Wato hit a backbreaker over his knee, and they were both down. Taichi entered and hit an enzuigiri. Ren tied up Taichi’s legs on the mat. Togo tagged in, and the HoT took turns slamming onto Taichi in a corner. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to Taichi’s groin for a nearfall at 10:30. Taichi hit a double clothesline. Taichi applied a Stretch Plum submission hold, and Togo submitted.
Tomoaki Honma, Taichi, and Master Wato defeated Dick Togo, Douki, and Ren Narita at 11:26.
5. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, Hartley Jackson, and Robbie Eagles vs. “The Unbound Co.” Yuto-Ice, Robbie X, Taiji Ishimori, Gedo, and Yota Tsuji. Oiwa and Yuto-Ice opened and immediately traded forearm strikes. Yota and Sabre tagged in at 2:30 and squared off. Zack hit his neck-snap between his ankles and some European Uppercuts on Yota. Everyone started brawling on the floor. Youta pulled Eagles back into the ring at 6:00, and TUC began working him over. Ishimori hit a shoulder-breaker over his knee for nearfall.
Robbie X jumped in and hit a standing moonsault on Robbie Eagles. Eagles hit a back suplex on Robbie X. Fujita hit a missile dropkick for a nearfall at 8:00. Robbie X hit a Pele Kick. Gedo tagged in, but the massive Hartley tagged in! Gedo tried to run from him. Hartley hit a splash in the corner, but he missed a senton. Oiwa hit a back suplex on Yuto-Ice at 10:00. Hartley hit the Jagged Edge (DVD) on Gedo for the pin.
Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita, Hartley Jackson, and Robbie Eagles defeated Yuto-Ice, Robbie X, Taiji Ishimori, Gedo, and Yota Tsuji at 10:40.
6. Don Fale vs. Aaron Wolf in a New Japan Cup first-round match. Fale came out first. As Wolf emerged from the back, he was attacked by the House of Torture. They pushed Wolf into the ring, and the ref called for the bell at 00:36 to officially begin. Fale hit some clotheslines in the corner. Fale got thrown to the floor, where several guys stomped on him. (This looks like a lumberjack match, with so many heels at ringside!) In the ring, Fale stood on Wolf’s chest at 2:30 and kept him grounded. Fale hit a bodyslam and ‘surfed’ on Wolf’s back.
Wolf hit some chops. Fale again pushed him to the floor, where several HoT members attacked Aaron some more. In the ring, Wolf tried several times to suplex Fale before finally hitting one for a nearfall at 6:00. The ref got bumped, and a half-dozen HoT members attacked Wolf in the ring. Fale hit a clothesline to the back of the head. Wolf threw a table at Fale, then hit an Angle Slam for a visual pin at 8:30, but the ref got pulled to the floor. Narita struck Wolf in the head with a title belt! Fale hit the Grenade (pop-up heart punch) for the pin! I’m clearly no fan of Wolf, but I expected him to win here!
Don Fale defeated Aaron Wolf at 9:22 (official time of 8:46) to advance to the second round.
7. Yuya Uemura vs. Great-O-Khan in a New Japan Cup first-round match. Basic reversals early on. Yuya hit an armdrag at 1:30 and tied up the left arm on the mat. O-Khan applied a nerve hold to the neck as they were on the mat. A pretty methodical start to the match. O-Khan hit some Mongolian Chops at 5:30, and he did a Samoa Joe-style sidestep of Yuya flying off the ropes. Yuya hit a dropkick, and they were both down at 7:00. Yuya hit a back suplex and applied a cross-armbreaker. Yuya repeatedly snapped O-Khan’s arm across his shoulder and kept targeting O-Khan’s damaged left arm.
They fought to the floor and into the crowd. O-Khan whipped him into rows of chairs at 11:30. O-Khan grabbed a chair to hit Yuya with it, but the ref confiscated it. Of course, O-Khan just grabbed a different chair and struck Yuya! Uemura got back into the ring before being counted out. O-Khan hit a big backbody drop for a nearfall at 14:00. Yuya hit a second-rope crossbody block for a nearfall. Yuya went to the top rope, but O-Khan bailed to the floor to regroup, so Yuya hit a crossbody block to the floor on him. In the ring, Yuya hit a butterfly suplex for a nearfall at 16:00.
O-Khan applied a Claw over Yuya’s face and dropped him to the mat, and eventually got a nearfall. Yuya applied a hammerlock on the mat. O-Khan slammed him to the mat for a nearfall at 19:00, and they were both down. Yuya hit a Dragon Suplex with a high bridge for a believable nearfall. He went to the top rope, but O-Khan shook the ropes to cause Uemura to fall and be crotched in the corner. Yuya hit a top-rope crossbody block for the pin. Solid match, but definitely a bit longer than it needed to be.
Yuya Uemura defeated Great-O-Khan at 22:03 to advance to the second round.
Final Thoughts: Certainly not in the top 50 percent of Korakuen shows I’ve seen. I knew to expect Wolf-Fale to be sluggish with plenty of interference, but I would have ‘written it in pen, not pencil,’ that Wolf was winning. Yuya and O-Khan could have had a 15-minute match that would have been tighter and better — they padded it to make it that long. The undercard matches certainly did a good job of highlighting some of the other first-round matches.
The tournament continues Thursday at Korakuen Hall with Taichi vs. Ren Narita and Boltin Oleg vs. El Phantasmo in first-round matches.
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