New Japan Pro Wrestling’s annual New Japan Cup tournament is underway.
The winner of this year’s single-elimination tournament will earn the chance to face “Switchblade” Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This matchup is scheduled to take place at their upcoming show, co-promoted with Ring Of Honor (ROH), G1 Supercard. The event takes place on April 6th and emanates from the legendary Madison Square Garden in New York.
This event took place on 3/17 from Korakuen Hall, Tokyo, Japan.
New Japan Cup Results (3/17)
Yuji Nagata, Yota Tsuji, and Manabu Nakanishi defeated Yuya Uemura, Satoshi Kojima, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan via submission.
A painful-looking Nagata Lock II helped Nagata get the win on the Young Lion, Uemura.
HIKULEO, Chase Owens, and Bad Luck Fale defeated Ren Narita, Mikey Nicholls, and Juice Robinson via pinfall
Another Young Lion eats the pin as Owens puts Narita away via his Package Piledriver.
Taichi, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and Lance Archer defeated Toa Henare, Michael Elgin, and Togi Makabe via submission.
Henare would tap out to Taichi, giving the win to Suzuki-Gun.
Shingo Takagi, BUSHI, EVIL, and Tetsuya Naito defeated SHO, YOH, Shota Umino, and Kota Ibushi via pinfall.
EVIL would hit his finisher on Umino, securing LIJ the victory.
Tomoaki Honma and Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated TAKA Michinoku and Zack Sabre Jr. via submission.
Tanahashi convinced TAKA to “just tap out” via a Texas Clover Hold.
Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, and Will Ospreay defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, YOSHI-HASHI, and Kazuchika Okada via pinfall.
This match saw CHAOS teammates face off against one another. The match would end, however, after Goto managed to hit GTR onto Taguchi, ensuring the pinfall.
Tournament Results
Colt Cabana defeated Toru Yano via pinfall.
Perhaps stealing the title of ‘Master Thief’ in the process, Cabana managed to defeat Yano in a short, comedic affair. He would eventually manage to nail his Superman pinning combination for the win.
SANADA defeated Minoru Suzuki via pinfall.
As hard-hitting as you could expect it to be, SANADA would come away victorious after a Cold Skull/Moonsault combination.
