NJPW’s annual New Japan Cup is back. 24 participants will compete over 16 days for a shot at the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis on April 8. The tournament begins on March 5.
KENTA, Zack Sabre, Jr., Will Ospreay, Hirooki Goto, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb, Tama Tonga, and Chase Owens all have first round byes.
New Japan Cup participants
There will be two Cup matches to kick off the tournament, beginning with SANADA vs. Taichi and Tetsuya Naito vs. El Phantasmo.
Here’s how the rest of the first round bracket breaks down:
-3/6: Ren Narita vs. EVIL
Toru Yano vs. Mark Davis
David Finlay vs. Tomohiro ISHII
Shota Umino vs. Yujiro Takahashi
-3/10: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kyle Fletcher
Shingo Takagi vs. Aaron Henare
Mark Davis and Kyle Fletcher, also known as the tag team Aussie Open, will be making their New Japan Cup debuts. The most surprising snub is Hikuleo. Having just beat Jay White in a “Loser Leaves Japan” match at New Beginnings, it seems like the perfect way to build on his momentum.