By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
New Japan Pro Wrestling “New Japan Cup”
March 17, 2026, in Fujushima, Japan, at Big Palette Fukushima
Streamed live on New Japan World
Walker Stewart provided commentary. We haven’t seen him on screen, so I think he is doing commentary remotely. The venue is a large convention center room with all seating on the floor. The crowd was maybe 600. The lights were on, and it was easy to see.
* This year’s tournament is a 24-man field, and we’re at the quarterfinals stage. Yuya Uemura and Boltin Oleg qualified for the semifinals on Sunday, and we have the other two quarterfinal matchups tonight!
1. ‘House of Torture” Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda. We haven’t seen much of Taichi on this tour since his elimination. The babyfaces came out first; Taichi attacked Kanemaru as he entered the ring, and we’re underway! Walker Stewart talked about being the only person on the planet fooled by Yujiro wrestling like a babyface in his tournament match. Kanemaru hit a basement dropkick on Taichi’s knee at 2:00, and the heels kept Taichi in their corner. Stewart noted that no House of Torture members were left in the tournament.
Kojima tagged in at 5:00 and hit his rapid-fire chops on all three heels in the corner. He hit a second-rope elbow drop on Chase for a nearfall, then a DDT, and the Koji Cutter. Yasuda entered at 7:00 and hit a dropkick on Yujiro, then a snap suplex for a nearfall. He hit a top-rope assisted senton for a nearfall. Chase hit a running C-Trigger knee strike on Yasuda. Yujiro then hit the Pimp Juice DDT for the pin.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Chase Owens, and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Taichi, Satoshi Kojima, and Masatora Yasuda at 9:29.
2. “House of Torture” Dick Togo, Don Fale, and Ren Narita vs. Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, and Tetsuya Matsumoto. All six brawled at the bell. Togo stomped on Yano in the ring. Fale stood on Yano’s back at 3:30. Wolf got a hot tag and hit a bodyslam on Togo and a Judo Throw on Narita, then a clothesline in the corner on Fale, but he couldn’t suplex Fale. Those two traded shoulder blocks with neither man going down.
Wolf finally hit the suplex at 5:00. Fale hit a clothesline. Narita entered and choked Wolf. Masatora entered and hit some flying back elbows on Narita for a nearfall at 6:30. Narita applied a heel hook, but Yano made the save. Matsumoto hit an Air Raid Crash move on Narita and applied a Boston Crab, but Ren eventually reached the ropes. Narita applied a modified Figure Four leg lock, and Matsumoto quickly tapped out.
Dick Togo, Don Fale, and Ren Narita defeated Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano, and Tetsuya Matsumoto at 9:00 even.
3. “The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice vs. “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa. The KO Bros attacked, and we’re underway! Yuto-Ice immediately whipped Oiwa into the guardrails. In the ring, Oiwa hit an armdrag and a dropkick. The champs worked over Oiwa in their corner. Oiwa hit a back suplex on Yuto-Ice at 4:30, and they were both down.
Oskar and Hartley both tagged in and hit some shoulder blocks with neither man going down. Hartley hit his massive senton for a nearfall at 6:00. They got up and traded forearm strikes. Oskar scooped him up and hit a bodyslam for a nearfall. Hartley hit a running crossbody block. Oskar applied a sleeper, and Hartley passed out! That wrapped up suddenly.
“The Knockout Brothers” Oskar and Yuto-Ice defeated “The Mighty Don’t Kneel” Hartley Jackson and Ryohei Oiwa at 7:38.
4. “The Unbound Co.” Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, and Gedo vs. “United Empire” Francesco Akira, Henare, Great-O-Kahn, Jakob Austin Young, and Jake Lee. This is Ishimori’s first show on this tour, and he opened against Akira, and they traded some quick reversals. Yota and Jake Lee battled at 2:00. Jake crotched him on the top rope. Several guys were brawling on the floor. Lee stomped on Tsuji and kept him grounded.
The UE stomped on Tsuji on the floor. In the ring, O-Khan dropped him snake-eyes at 5:00. Yota hit a backbreaker over his knee on Young. Shingo and Henare tagged in and traded shoulder blocks. Shingo hit a DDT for a nearfall at 7:00. O-Khan jumped in and attacked Shingo from behind. O-Khan and Henare worked over Shingo. Shingo hit a DVD on Henare. Drilla hit a dropkick on Henare at 9:30. O-Khan hit a pump kick on Shingo. Shingo hit a Pumping Bomber clothesline on O-Khan.
Shingo and Henare traded more forearm strikes. Gedo entered for the first time and battled Young, hitting some jab punches. Akira and Young stomped on Gedo. Ishimori jumped in and hit a handspring-back-enzuigiri. Yota stomped on Akira’s head. O-Khan applied a Claw on Gedo’s face. Young immediately hit a DDT on Gedo for the pin. Good energy in this one.
“United Empire” Francesco Akira, Henare, Great-O-Kan, Jakob Austin Young, and Jake Lee defeated “The Unbound Co.” Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori, and Gedo at 11:36.
5. Boltin Oleg and Yoshi-Hashi vs. Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki Honma. As I noted earlier, Yuya and Oleg will meet in the semifinals later this week, and they opened against each other. Yuya hit some deep armdrags. Yoshi-Hashi worked over Honma. Yuya hit some flying forearms on Oleg at 4:00. Boltin dropped Uemura with a shoulder tackle. He flipped Yuya around in his arms, and he hit a bodyslam.
Honma and Yoshi-Hashi traded forearm strikes, but Honma missed a Kokeshi. Boltin hit a belly-to-belly suplex on Yuya. Honma hit the Kokeshi on Yoshi-Hashi, then one on Oleg! He hit a clothesline on Yoshi-Hashi for a nearfall at 8:00, but he missed a flying headbutt. Yoshi-Hashi hit a headhunter (running Blockbuster) for a nearfall. Yoshi-Hashi applied a double-armbar submission hold, and Honma eventually tapped out. Merely okay.
Boltin Oleg and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Yuya Uemura and Tomoaki Honma at 9:42.
6. Hirooki Goto vs. Callum Newman in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match. An intense lockup to open. They started hitting forearm strikes at 1:30. Callum knocked Goto to the floor, and Hirooki was selling pain in his ribs. Callum followed and whipped him into the guardrails. They got back into the ring, and Callum took control and stomped on Goto, then hit a Russian leg sweep at 4:00, and tied him up on the mat. Goto hit a hard clothesline, then a spin kick in the corner and a back suplex for a nearfall at 5:30.
Newman hit a dropkick in the corner and a suplex, and they were both down at 8:00. Goto hit a neckbreaker over his knee. Newman hit some shoulder thrusts in the corner. Goto hit his GTR Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Newman hit a neckbreaker over his knee at 11:00, and they were both down. Callum hit a superkick. He pushed the ref into the middle, then hit a low blow! He hit a double-arm spike DDT for the tainted pin! I fully expected Callum to win here, as NJPW really needs to push their younger roster.
Callum Newman defeated Hirooki Goto at 12:34 to advance to the semifinals.
7. Shota Umino vs. Zack Sabre Jr. in a New Japan Cup quarterfinal match. They charged at each other at the bell and immediately traded some quick rollup attempts! Not the way I expected this one to begin! Zack applied a leg lock around Shota’s neck. Shota applied a cravat. Sabre did his neck-snap between his ankles at 4:00, and Shota rolled on the mat in pain. Sabre hit some European Uppercuts and again tied a leg lock around the neck. Umino got up and hit some chops. He hit a suplex at 7:30. Sabre applied a cross-armbreaker in the ropes at 9:30, but let go before the DQ.
Sabre twisted the right wrist and fingers, and Shota rolled to the floor in pain, selling pain in his right elbow. In the ring, Sabre tied Umino’s right arm and right leg behind his back. Umino hit a tornado DDT at 12:30, and he snapped Sabre’s neck on the ropes. Umino put Sabre’s feet on the guardrails and hit a DDT onto the thin mat at ringside! Ouch! They got back into the ring, and Shota hit a powerbomb for a nearfall at 14:00. Sabre tied him in a Triangle Choke. They got up and traded European Uppercuts.
Umino hit a running knee to the back as Sabre was in the corner, then a mid-ring running knee to the chest at 17:30. Sabre applied a Fujiwara Armbar, then he tied both of Shota’s arms behind his back. Zack stood up and hit some running Penalty Kicks. Umino hit a Michinoku Driver at 21:00, and they were both down. Sabre hit a Zack Driver for a nearfall. They traded some reversals on the mat and traded nearfalls. Sabre hit a running penalty kick, then a clothesline at 24:30, and he was fired up. Umino hit a DDT. Umino hit a hard clothesline for a nearfall, then a fisherman’s buster for the pin!
Shota Umino defeated Zack Sabre Jr. at 25:39 to advance to the semifinals.
Final Thoughts: Two strong matches to conclude the quarterfinals. With so many top wrestlers leaving the promotion in the past couple of years, it really feels like a smart move for NJPW to focus on a younger core and push them into the upper tier. Umino-Sabre was really good, and I actually thought it would last longer than it did. While I would love to see an Umino-Yuya finale, I wouldn’t be surprised if Callum takes down Shota. In the undercard, the feud between the Unbound Co. and the United Empire continues to shine.
A rare two-day break for the tournament, with action resuming Friday, featuring both semifinal matches of Newman-Shota and Yuya-Oleg.
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