New Japan Pro Wrestling continued its second round of the New Japan Cup on March 13 at the Item Ehime in Ehime, Japan.
The main event had Will Ospreay take on his United Empire faction member Mark Davis in the second round of the New Japan Cup. In the co-main event, EVIL competed against Jeff Cobb. The winner of Ospreay vs. Davis and EVIL vs. Cobb will face each other in the next round of the New Japan Cup on March 17.
NJPW streamed their event live on NJPW World at 6:00 AM ET/3:00 AM PT. However, to watch the New Japan Cup, fans must subscribe to their service, which is $9.99 in the United States.
If you would like more results for this week’s events in wrestling, please check back on our results section.
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New Japan Pro Wrestling had its second day of the New Japan Cup tournament on March 6 at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. March 6 marks the 51st anniversary of the first NJPW event.
The main event had IWGP Tag Team Champions Yoshi-Hashi, and Hirooki Goto defend their titles against Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada. The event also had two New Japan Cup tournament matches, with David Finlay taking on Tomohiro Ishii and Shota Uno facing Yujiro Takahashi.
The event went live on NJPW World for free at 4:30 AM ET/1:30 AM PT. However, to watch more of NJPW’s New Japan Cup, fans must subscribe to their service, which is $9.99 in the United States.
If you would like more results for this week’s events in wrestling, please check back on our results section.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 has played host to several notable title changes already, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title.
In a four-way bout, Taiji Ishimori wound up losing his strap to longtime junior heavyweight lead star Hiromu Takahashi. The bout also featured Takahashi’s longtime nemesis El Desperado and Master Wato. It was Wato who wound up eating the pin almost 17 minutes into the match.
Wrestle Kingdom 17 saw the first defense of the junior belt in six months. The long-running four-way angle between this quartet essentially held up the division for much of the closing stretch of last year. Before that, Ishimori’s feud with KUSHIDA had to be cut short when the returning former champ required time off due to severe illness.
Takashi champion again at Wrestle Kingdom 17
Where Does Hiromu Takahashi Go Following Wrestle Kingdom 17?
The now five-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion has a lot of options coming out of the Tokyo Dome. He did suffer a singles bout loss to Ishimori last year. Considering the fact that ‘The Bone Soldier’ didn’t get pinned, a title between the pair soon seems likely.
Interestingly, during and after the match, a confrontation between Los Ingobernables de Japon and NOAH faction KONGO broke out. As the junior ace of LIJ, Takahashi could well have to fend off some NOAH invader challengers in the months to come.
A war between the two factions was first teased last year. Fan interest in a Tetsuya Naito vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima feud has been building for years now. While the pair did wrestle at the 2016 G1 Climax, Nakajima has come a long way since then.
For Hiromu Takahashi, this is another exciting prospect for his latest run on top coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 17.
Former WWE talent Claudio Castagnoli (FKA Cesaro) seems to be preparing for an in-ring return.
As the All Elite Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling event Forbidden Door draws near, fans wonder who will make their debut. The speculation started when Bryan Danielson announced at AEW Dynamite on June 22 that he wouldn’t be able to wrestle Zack Sabre Jr. at the event due to injury.
However, he shared that a debuting replacement, the newest member of the Blackpool Combat Club, will take his place.
Some wrestling fans speculate that Castagnoli will be making his AEW debut to take on Sabre Jr.
Fightful reports that he’s been training at Flatback Wrestling School in Orlando, Florida over the last several weeks. However, the report didn’t state that he has signed with AEW or will compete at Forbidden Door on June 26.
Forbidden Door Injuries Taking A Toll
It’s unclear if Castagnoli will debut at Forbidden Door, but the event could use an extra superstar. Both AEW and NJPW are dealing with talent unable to compete at Forbidden Door because of an injury or illness.
AEW shared today that Hiromu Takahashi won’t compete on the card due to dealing with a fever. Takahashi was supposed to be in an eight-man tag team match with Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi against The Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) and The Young Bucks.
The match will now be a six-man tag team match with Sting, Darby Allin, and Shingo Takagi against El Phantasmo and The Young Bucks.
Danielson vs. Sabre Jr. is a match some fans have wanted to see happen. While it’s unfortunate that Danielson’s injury has prevented it from happening, a debuting Castagnoli against Sabre Jr. could make for a great match.
However, we also don’t know if AEW has a different opponent in mind for Sabre Jr.
Former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi says he’s been cleared to return to New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Takahashi posted on Twitter today that doctors have cleared him to wrestle again after rehabbing a torn left pectoral muscle. NJPW Global Twitter account also quoted Takahashi’s post and said, “Somebody is clear.”
Fightful’s Jeremy Lambert reported that the injury occurred in a tag team match with current IWGP World Heavyweight champion Shingo Takagi vs. Kota Ibushi and Tomoaki Honma on February 19th at Road to Castle Attack at the Iwate Prefectural Gymnasium in Iwate, Japan.
As a result, The timetable after he sustained his injury was that he’d be out for six months. The timing of Takahashi’s tweet suggests that the rehab went according to plan.
The tweet from Takahashi said, “Good news. The doctor gave me permission to return! Let’s go crazy again. Feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.”
— 高橋ヒロム / Hiromu Takahashi (@TIMEBOMB1105) July 22, 2021
Hiromu Takahashi Injury History
When Takahashi announced his injury shortly after, he had to relinquish his IWGP Junior heavyweight championship. It marked the second time Takahashi had to vacate the championship because of an injury.
The first time Takahashi vacated the championship was when he broke his neck. The injury occurred in a match against Dragon Lee during the G1 Special on July 9, 2018, at the Cow Palace in San Fransisco, California.
Takahashi would be inactive for over a year until he made his return in December 2019. He reclaimed the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Will Ospreay on January 4, 2020, at Wrestle Kingdom 14 in the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Title Picture
El Desperado won the vacant championship at Castle Attack at the Osaka-j? Hall in Osaka, Japan, on February 28 in a three-way match against Bushi and El-Phantasmo.
Desperado will defend against Robbie Eagles at Wrestle Grand Slam on July 25th in the Tokyo Dome. However, now cleared, Takahashi could be on track to reclaim the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship once again.
One of the top IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions in recent years, Hiromu Takahashi, was forced to vacate the belt this morning. It was announced recently that Takahashi is going to miss 6 months with a torn pec. He appeared on this morning’s Road to Castle Attack show and officially vacated the belt.
Takahashi asked his Los InGobernables teammate, Bushi, to take his place on Night 2 of Castle Attack against Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo. Suzuki-Gun’s El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru then won the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships later that night. After the victory, El Desperado asked to be inserted into the title picture at Castle Attack as well. It’s not year clear who will wrestle for the now-vacant title on Sunday.
NJPW Castle Attack Lineup
Night 1:
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. United Empire(Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, and Jeff Cobb)
Yoshi-Hashi vs. Tanga Loa
Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
KOPW Trophy Toru Yano (c) vs Chase Owens
Tomohiro Ishi vs Jay White
Kazuchika Okada vs EVIL
Night 2:
Tencozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Satoshi Kojima) vs. United Empire (Will Ospreayand Jeff Cobb)
Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, and Toru Yano) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Evil, and Chase Owens)
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa) (c) vs. Chaos (Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi)
NEVER Openweight Championship Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs The Great-O-Khan
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship El Phantasmo vs TBD
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Championships Kota Ibushi (c) vs Tetsuya Naito
Unfortunately for fans of the popular junior heavyweight, Hiromu Takahashi is going to miss as long as 6 months with a torn pec. NJPW announced the injury today on social media. The company has yet to announce what will happen to Takahashi’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in the wake of his injury.
Takahashi was scheduled to defend his title on night 2 of the Castle Attack show on February 28th in Osaka. He was to face El Phantasmo on the show.
“I’m sorry to everyone at Korakuen Hall,” Takahashi Tweeted regarding missing the recent “Road to Castle Attack” event today.
Takahashi’s Los Ingobernables stablemate, Tetsuya Naito, is also on the shelf at the moment. He is nursing a knee injury but is still scheduled to face Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles on night 2 of Castle Attack.
Takahashi has been one of the most decorated junior heavyweights in recent years. He is a 4x IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion. Takahashi is also a 2x winner of the Best of the Super Juniors Tournament in 2018 and 2020. Last year, Tokyo Sports presented him with the “Fighting Spirit Award.” He is also a 1x CMLL World Lightweight Champion.
BREAKING: After medical assessment, Hiromu Takahashi's left pectoral injury will leave him out of action for an estimated six months. More information will follow.
Today is the second day of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s largest event of the year, Wrestle Kingdom.
This event will be streamed live on NJPW’s streaming service, NJPW World, and on Fite TV. English and Japanese commentary are available on both platforms. This event will have a reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Start Times: January 5, 12AM Pacific, 3AM Eastern, 8AM UK, 5PM Japan, 7PM East Australia
Results
Four Way Match for the Provisional KOPW 2021 Championship: Toru Yano def. Chase Owens, BUSHI, Bad Luck Fale (7:34) Both BUSHI and Toru Yano were refusing to enter the ring, at first, but were forced to break up the pin when Chase Owens laid down for Bad Luck Fale to let him win. Owens and Fale worked together to abuse Yano, while BUSHI mostly tried to avoid getting involved. Yano tried to body slam Fale, who fell on top of him and nearly pinned him then and there. Fale and Chase double teamed BUSHI and put him down with the Grenade Launcher, but kept breaking up each other’s pin attempt. They argued with each other and the referee until Yano slid in, low blowed them both, and pinned the still down BUSHI. Toru Yano is the provisional KOPW 2021 Champion, but will only be crowned as such if he retains the trophy until the end of the year.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato The tornillo that Master Wato pulled off on El Desperado might have been the most impressive he has looked since his return. He and Taguchi took advantage early until Suzuki-gun focused their team efforts on Taguchi, working his legs and cutting off the ring, and attacking Master Wato whenever Taguchi got even close to tagging him in. A hip attack from Taguchi gave him the room needed to rally, but Desperado and Kanemaru’s generous amount of tag team offense had him playing defense soon again. Taguchi tried for the Dodon, but El Desperado rolled through it for a near pinfall. El Desperado decisively finished off Taguchi with the Loco Mono straight punch, followed by Pinche Loco. Suzuki-gun retain the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi (c) def. Jeff Cobb (21:11) Shingo Takagi found himself in the rare position of being the smaller, weaker man in a singles match, as Jeff Cobb ate his strikes and returned heavier ones, and tossed the former junior heavyweight like a ragdoll. Takagi was forced to get creative, pushing Cobb into the ropes and using the bounce to finally take him off his feet with a backdrop driver. Cobb tried to retaliate with a crucifix powerbomb from the apron to the floor, but Shingo avoided it, knocked Cobb off the apron, and came hurtling through the air. You don’t often see a tope con hilo from Shingo Takagi. Shingo tried to follow up with the Noshigami, but Cobb was too heavy, and he picked Shingo up from behind to land a black tiger bomb. Feeling desperate, Shingo immediately fought back with a Death Valley driver, followed by a superplex. He gave a Pumping Bomber with such speed that, despite impacting Jeff, he couldn’t stop and fell out of the ring. He came back in and immediately looked to the leg, taking Cobb off his feet again with a dragonscrew leg whip, and then hoisting him in the air for Made in Japan, which earned a near fall. Shingo came running for another Pumping Bomber, but Cobb pushed him into the ropes, then caught him on the rebound to deliver Tour of the Islands. He was too hurt to go for the pin right away, and when he did, Takagi’s foot found the bottom rope, breaking the pin. He tried to take Shingo for another Tour of the Islands, but was blasted with one more Pumping Bomber! With the Last of the Dragon, Shingo Takagi retains the NEVER Openweight Championship.
SANADA def. EVIL (23:40) SANADA attacked EVIL with an uncharacteristic ferocity at Power Struggle, but on this day, in the Tokyo Dome, EVIL was ready with weapons. He tossed SANADA into the barricade, causing the timekeeper’s table (and the timekeeper) to be knocked over. He set up a table outside the ring and attempted to STO SANADA through it, but it didn’t take. Nevertheless, EVIL maintained control, partly thanks to aid from Dick Togo on the outside. He lifted SANADA to the top, then brought him crashing down with a superplex. EVIL applied a scorpion deathlock, but SANADA achieved a rope break. Despite this, he was too hurt to make a comeback, and EVIL landed Darkness Falls, but SANADA weakly kicked out. As soon as SANADA rose to his feet, EVIL barreled towards him, looking for a lariat, but SANADA pushed EVIL into the exposed turnbuckle that he himself was the cause of. Seeing his advantage slip away, EVIL pushed SANADA into the referee, allowing Dick Togo to make his presence known. The two performed the Magic Killer, and Dick Togo rose to the top turnbuckle for a senton, but SANADA kicked EVIL into the ropes, causing Togo to lose his balance and fall. From there, SANADA mounted his first major comeback, trapping EVIL in the Skull End. He went for a top rope moonsault, and then another, but EVIL lifted his knees on the latter. As EVIL distracted the referee, Dick Togo tried to come in and choke SANADA out, but SANADA freed himself and pushed EVIL into Togo, causing Togo to comically crash through the table that EVIL placed. With Togo out, SANADA hit EVIL with EVIL’s own finish hold, and then landed a top rope moonsault for the pinfall victory. No bloodshed, but victory nonetheless.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Taiji Ishimori (c) (25:31) At this point, Hiromu and Ishimori know what it’s like to fight each other very well, and often had a hard time making their moves work without being countered. Ishimori’s early strategy was to work over Hiromu’s arms, smart considering many of Hiromu’s best moves start with a fireman’s carry hold. His early attempt at the Yes Lock, with which he tapped Hiromu out at Summer Struggle, was thwarted by a rope break. Before Ishimori’s arm work could pay off, Hiromu was on the offensive, delivering multiple death valley bombs into the corner. Having already wrestled against El Phantasmo last night, Hiromu wasn’t as fresh as Ishimori, and he tried to finish the match early with the Time Bomb. Ishimori would slip out of it and land a Canadian Destroyer to stop Hiromu in his tracks. He kept Hiromu on his knees with the hardest elbow strikes that his compact but overdeveloped body could produce. With a La Mistica into the Yes Lock, Ishimori had Hiromu working for every centimeter as he wriggled to the ropes for one more rope break. Hiromu’s Victory Royale granted him a moment of respite, and he then bowled Ishimori over with a lariat, then drove him into the corner that still had no turnbuckle pad from the previous match. The Time Bomb connected, but Ishimori was not out yet! He tried once more for the Yes Lock, but Hiromu lifted him onto his shoulders and finally pinned Ishimori with the Time Bomb II. “Mr. Belt” is back in the possession of Hiromu Takahashi.
IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championship Match: Kota Ibushi (c) def. Jay White (48:05) It feels like Jay White has been a thorn in Kota Ibushi’s side for years. True, Ibushi defeated him to win his first ever G1 Climax, but he also lost to Jay, and became the first person to ever lose the G1 briefcase. The first ten minutes were almost all Jay, as he grinded Ibushi into the mat with strikes and holds. White cleverly cut off all of Ibushi’s comebacks, sweeping Ibushi’s legs out from under him when he tried for any sort of aerial offense. Gedo called for the Kiwi Crusher, and Jay tried to oblige, but Ibushi fought him off and rallied with a half nelson suplex, followed by the hitodenashi driver. His bicycle knee missed, and Jay was finally able to connect with the Kiwi Crusher for a near fall. He tried for his first Blade Runner, but Ibushi wasn’t having it. Jay tried to roll Ibushi into a pin with his legs elevated on the ropes, but the referee noticed it and refused to count the three. Angered, Ibushi ate Jay White’s elbow strikes and blasted him with kicks, forcing him into the fetal position. He growled for Jay to hit him harder, and would return every strike twice as hard. Ibushi shoved the referee away when they told him to let Ibushi up, but Jay White pounced with a low blow. He took control with repeated German suplexes, and brought Ibushi to the apron. Ibushi rocked him with a high kick and delivered his patented rope-assisted inside to outside German suplex. His first Kamigoye missed, and this gave Jay an opening for him to dump Ibushi on his head with suplexes. He tried again for the Blade Runner, but again Ibushi avoided it, and landed a Kamigoye flush, but Jay kicked out! With no hesitation, Ibushi ascended to the top turnbuckle and delivered a beautiful phoenix splash, but Gedo pulled the referee out of the ring. He tried to hit Ibushi with brass knuckles, but Ibushi caught him and obliterated him with a Kamigoye. Ibushi brought the referee back in, but Jay sprung with a Blade Runner, keeping Ibushi down until just shy of 3. Jay locked in the TTO leglock, but Ibushi crawled with all his might and made it to the ropes. Jay hit a cross-arm Bloody Sunday and tried again for the Blade Runner, and got blasted with a bicycle knee. Jay desperately tried again for the Blade Runner, but Ibushi leveled him with a lariat! He delivered a Kamigoye to the back of Jay’s head, then spun him around for another, and it was all over. Kota Ibushi is still your IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the cards for their upcoming Best of the Super Juniors tournament. Normally taking place in the springtime, this Best of the Super Juniors will take place in the Fall as a result of schedule changes, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Best of the Super Juniors is a round-robin tournament exclusive to junior heavyweight wrestlers. This year’s format will be that of a single block with 10 entrants. Each entrant will wrestle each other over the course of nine block days, with the tenth and final day of the tournament being a rematch of the two top wrestlers in terms of points after the first nine days. The point scheme is as follows: 2 points gained for a victory, 1 point gained for a draw, 0 points gained or lost for a defeat.
NJPW Best of the Super Juniors 27 Schedule
November 15 (Day 1) – Combined day with World Tag League
Hiromu Takahashi vs Taiji Ishimori
Master Wato vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Ryusuke Taguchi vs El Desperado
SHO vs BUSHI
Robbie Eagles vs DOUKI
November 18 (Day 2)
Hiromu Takahashi vs El Desperado
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Taiji Ishimori
Master Wato vs Robbie Eagles
SHO vs DOUKI
BUSHI vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
November 20 (Day 3)
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Master Wato
SHO vs Robbie Eagles
Hiromu Takahashi vs BUSHI
El Desperado vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Taiji Ishimori vs DOUKI
November 23 (Day 4)
Ryusuke Taguchi vs SHO
Master Wato vs El Desperado
Robbie Eagles vs BUSHI
Hiromu Takahashi vs DOUKI
Taiji Ishimori vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
November 25 (Day 5)
Robbie Eagles vs Taiji Ishimori
Master Wato vs DOUKI
Hiromu Takahashi vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
SHO vs El Desperado
Ryusuke Taguchi vs BUSHI
November 29 (Day 6)
Robbie Eagles vs Hiromu Takahashi
Master Wato vs SHO
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
BUSHI vs Taiji Ishimori
El Despeardo vs DOUKI
December 2 (Day 7)
Taiji Ishimori vs El Desperado
SHO vs Hiromu Takahashi
Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs DOUKI
Master Wato vs BUSHI
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Robbie Eagles
December 5 (Day 8)
Master Wato vs Taiji Ishimori
Ryusuke Taguchi vs Hiromu Takahashi
BUSHI vs DOUKI
Robbie Eagles vs El Desperado
SHO vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
December 6 (Day 9) – Combined day with World Tag League
SHO vs Taiji Ishimori
Master Wato vs Hiromu Takahashi
Ryusuke Taguchi vs DOUKI
BUSHI vs El Desperado
Robbie Eagles vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
December 11 (Day 10) – Combined day with World Tag League Final
Final Match: Top two points leaders face off again to determine the tournament winner
On a press conference that took place today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced that the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships will be vacated. The current champions, Roppongi 3K (SHO and YOH) will be unable to defend them for the foreseeable future, due to an ACL injury that YOH sustained during the New Japan Cup recently.
To crown new champions, NJPW will hold a four-team round-robin tournament over the upcoming New Japan Road tour. Here are the four teams:
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Gedo)
As stated by NJPW, the rules are, “Two points will be awarded to winners, zero to losers with one point each in the event of a draw; after the final league match in Sendai on September 9, the top two point scoring teams will then face off in a championship match on September 11 in Korakuen Hall.” The schedule for tournament matches is as follows (all these events will be live on NJPW World):
September 5:
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
September 6:
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
September 9:
Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. Taiji Ishimori & Gedo
Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs. El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
September 11:
Final match to determine new champions involving the two teams with the most points
New Japan Pro-Wrestling returns to Meiji Jingu Stadium for their first outdoor wrestling event in 21 years, as the Summer Struggle 2020 tour comes to a head.
Watch on NJPW World with a paid subscription. Live English and Japanese commentary available. This event will have reduced attendance capacity to comply with COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
Start Times (August 29, 2020): 1AM Pacific, 4AM Eastern, 9AM UK, 5PM Japan, 6PM East Australia
NJPW Summer Struggle in Jingu Results
Yoshinobu Kanemaru def. Master Wato (7:31) The atmosphere of an outdoor show in daylight, albeit the sun beginning to set, was enjoyable and novel for me. Kanemaru dominated the match early, using strikes and holds to wear down his more energetic opponent, for whom this is only his second match since returning in early July. Wato took control with a dropkick to the outside and a plancha. His ability was never in question, just this persona and look of his was the subject of criticism and some humor. Kanemaru pushed Wato into the referee and tried to spit whiskey in his face, but Wato kicked the bottle out of his hand before he could. Wato was on the verge of winning, about to set up his corkscrew senton, but Kanemaru grabbed his legs and rolled him into a flash pin for the three count.
KOPW 2020 Final Four Way Match: Toru Yano def. Kazuchika Okada, SANADA, El Desperado (7:01) Toru Yano was visibly distraught by the smoke machines as he made his entrance. I’ve never seen a four way match involving heavyweights in my time watching NJPW, but this brought something novel and interesting. Wrestlers from different factions working together to break up other wrestlers’ pinfalls, and wrestlers from the same faction working together, and then turning on each other when one went for the pinfall. Okada and Yano engaged in the latter, and it was sufficiently amusing. SANADA caught Okada in the skull end, but El Desperado broke it up with a top rope splash. Okada caught Desperado with the cobra clutch, but Toru Yano snuck up on Okada from behind, hit him with a blow blow, then rolled him up for the victory! Toru Yano is the provisional KOPW 2020 Champion.
The KOPW 2020 trophy is amusingly small.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Minoru Suzuki def. Shingo Takagi (c) (14:56) People have been looking forward to seeing Shingo and Suzuki in a straight up fight, but it was not before long that Suzuki’s cunning was on display, as he bullied Shingo around the outside of the ring, slamming him into barricades. As the match returned to between the ropes, Shingo fired back up with his powerful strikes and throws. Perhaps Suzuki had the advantage in pain tolerance too, as he ate Suzuki’s strikes and came up laughing. From there, Suzuki fought back with headbutts, and put Shingo in the sleeper hold. He looked for the Gotch piledriver again, but Shingo slipped out of it, and came off the ropes looking for the Pumping Bomber, but Minoru Suzuki slowed his roll with a dropkick. The two of them continued to exchange strikes and headbutts, which resounded loudly even in the open air stadium. After a particularly blunt sounding elbow strike, Suzuki applied the sleeper hold again and hit the Gotch-style piledriver for the 3 count! Minoru Suzuki is now a two-time NEVER Openweight Champion!
SUMMER STRUGGLE in JINGU NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH@suzuki_D_minoru 'Headbutt'
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori def. Hiromu Takahashi (c) (13:30) This match had a thunderous start, as Hiromu and Ishimori came at each other with all the energy they had, moving fast enough that neither of them could catch each other. But something had to give, and Ishimori was able to throw himself into a La Mistica, putting pressure down on Hiromu’s left shoulder, which is in poor shape as a result of Ishimori’s attacks on it in recent weeks. Hiromu tried to fight back by hitting the sunset flip powerbomb with his opponent on the apron, but Ishimori backflipped out of it and continued to press the advantage. Frustrated, Hiromu ripped all the supportive tape all his shoulder. He tried to throw a running Ishimori into the turnbuckle pad, but Ishimori was able to catch himself, only to fail to do so after Hiromu tried it again. The two madmen traded German suplexes, and Hiromu floored him with a lariat and the Dynamite Plunger. Hiromu kept the pressure on, but Ishimori granted himself a few moments of rest when he hit the Cipher Uteki. He hit the La Mistica again into the Yes Lock, but Hiromu was able to get a free hand on the ropes to break the hold. Ishimori set up the Bloody Cross, but Hiromu got out of it, only for Ishimori to put him down again with a lariat. He tried the Bloody Cross again, but Hiromu stopped the lift, then brought Ishimori to his shoulders and hit a death valley bomb into the turnbuckle pad. He hit the Time Bomb, but Ishimori kicked out at two! He tried for the Time Bomb II, but Ishimori blocked it and hit a move I’ve never seen before, the reverse Bloody Cross. He applied the Yes Lock again and Hiromu submitted! Taiji Ishimori is now a two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion.
SUMMER STRUGGLE in JINGU IWGP Jr. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH@taiji_ishimori 'Corbata Armbreaker'
IWGP Tag Team Championship: Dangerous Tekkers (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) (c) def. Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi) (16:01) As the sky turned dark, Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi entered to new mashup entrance music.These two teams, some of the most high-profile to fight for the IWGP Tag Team Championships in recent memory, have been at each other’s throats ever since NJPW began having shows again in June. As such, they know what to expect of each other more than ever. Furthermore, the dynamic between Golden Ace has been brought into question; Ibushi questioned his faith in Tanahashi as a partner after he took the losing fall at Dominion, but they have since reassured the public that they are fine. As Ibushi and Taichi were about to begin, Tanahashi called out that Zack was sneaking up behind Ibushi. Dangerous Tekkers focused their double team offense on Tanahashi, meaning perhaps they thought he was the weak link of the team as well. Ibushi ran wild after getting tagged in, hitting a running shooting star press on a prone Taichi. Ibushi and Taichi engaged each other in a battle of kicks under the lights. After Ibushi hit a brutal high kick, he tagged in Tanahashi, who delivered repeated dragonscrew leg whips to Zack Sabre Jr, and then to Taichi, with the aid of Ibushi. Zack slowed Tanahashi’s roll with the Jim Breaks Armbar, but was interrputed by Taichi, who had pulled out the Iron Finger from Hell. Ibushi kicked him in the face nonchalantly and continued on. Tanahashi hit the High Fly Flow on Zack Sabre Jr., and climbed to the top rope for another, but Zack moved out of the way. From that point, Taichi ran in, and they together hit the Zack Mephisto on Tanahashi for the pinfall victory. Dangerous Tekkers retain the IWGP Tag Team Championships. Kota Ibushi looked absolutely distraught, and perhaps disappointed yet again.
IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championship: EVIL (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito (26:20) EVIL had a very cool entrance, emerging from the dugout in pitch-blackness, with the stadium lights turned off, as if entering from “The Darkness World” if you will. EVIL controlled the match early on, as well-timed help from Dick Togo enabled him to take advantage of the leader of the unit he used to be a part of. Naito came back multiple times, but Dick Togo was continually a thorn in his side. It’s unknown whether Naito, like Hiromu, has insisted to the rest of LIJ that he fight his own battle regardless of the circumstances, but he could really use their help in these circumstances. Naito’s comebacks continued to garner thunderous applause, and he looked to be making the most progress yet before EVIL pushed the referee into an exposed turnbuckle, and Dick Togo came in again to attack Naito. He and EVIL hit the Magic Killer on Naito, prompting heavy boos. BUSHI ran in and fought off the two of them, but Gedo was also there to take out BUSHI. EVIL brandished a chair as Naito rose to his feet, but Naito kicked it away before Dick Togo came in and choked him with a wire. SANADA ran in and he and BUSHI fought off everyone, hitting simultaneous planchas on Togo and Gedo. EVIL and Naito rose to their feet, and Naito hit the running Destino for a near fall. Naito hit the Destino again, but EVIL blocked it and hitting a mule kick. EVIL went for his self-named finish, but Naito managed to block it. EVIL tried to hit Naito in the groin again, but Naito blocked his hand and slapped him in the face before hitting the Valentia. Finally, he hit the Destino for the three count. Tetsuya Naito is IWGP Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Intercontinental Champion again!
As he always does after winning in a main event, Tetsuya Naito performed the roll call of Los Ingobernables de Japon, emphasizing not mentioning EVIL. A firework display began, and Naito posed under the dazzling night sky.
Start Times: 2AM Pacific, 5AM Eastern, 10AM UK, 6PM Japan, 7PM East Australia
An English commentary version will be uploaded later in the week. Note: This event was held with a reduced attendance capacity so that the crowd could maintain social distancing.
NJPW Sengoku Lord 2020 in Nagoya Results
Taiji Ishimori def. Yuya Uemura (8:02) It continues to be obvious that Yuya Uemura has a lot of potential. If I were in charge, I would have both him and Yota Tsuji skip excursion and simply turn up as non-Young Lions one day. After all, it’s not going to be practical or fruitful to send them overseas to wrestle any time soon. Uemura looked a bit awkward when he did a springboard crossbody, he lost his balanced on the top rope but was able to save it. Taiji Ishimori submitted Yuya Uemura with the Yes Lock after hitting the Cipher Uteki.
Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Gabriel Kidd (10:25) Tomoaki Honma and Yota Tsuji were also supposed to be on oppiste teams in this match, but NJPW reported that they had recently been on a TV show, where they were in close proximity with a cast member who has since tested positive for COVID-19, so they were removed from the show out of an abundance of caution. This match was at its best towards the end when it involved young lion Gabriel Kidd against Togi Makabe. Makabe was using his power to run over Gabriel with lariats, but Kidd was able to get Makabe down for multiple near falls using clever pinning combinations. Togi Makabe pinned Gabriel Kidd with a bridging German suplex.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) def.CHAOS (SHO, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) (10:31) The most interesting thing about this match is what’s going to happen with two sets of splintered tag team championships that have members present here. SHO has the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship, but YOH is likely going to be out for the rest of the year with the ACL tear he sustained. The NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships, which are held by EVIL, SANADA, and BUSHI, are also in an obvious state of flux. EVIL said in an interview that he didn’t need the championship other than the fact that he was able to call himself a triple champion, so it will be interesting to see what happens. Notably, while SHO brought his championship, SANADA and BUSHI did not bring theirs, and EVIL likely will not bring his during his match tonight. SANADA submitted SHO with the Skull End. After the match, all of LIJ attacked the referee, which they used to do frequently, but haven’t done at all recently.
At this point, an intermission to disinfect the ring was held, but NJPW had a major announcement to make. They will be running their second outdoor event in history on August 29th to conclude the Summer Struggle Tour. It will take place at Meiji Jingu Stadium, a baseball stadium in Tokyo that can seat over 30,000 people. Read all about it.
For the first time in 21 years, open air action in the legendary Jingu Stadium!
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Master Wato def. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) (12:55) It was notable that Tenzan entered to Master Wato’s music while all the other members of that team entered to Tanahashi’s. It’s really being presented that Tenzan and Wato are in something of a master-and-student relationship. Kota Ibushi pinned DOUKI after the Kamigoye. He and Tanahashi gestured at IWGP Tag Team Champions Taichiand Zack Sabre Jr. as if they wanted their championships back. The match in which Dangerous Tekkers won the championships involved heavily unfair two-on-one offence, so it might be the best course of action to give them a rematch.
Kazuchika Okada def. Yujiro Takahashi (13:43) Yujiro was hesitant to start this match from the beginning. In interviews leading up to this match, Yujiro had acknowledged that Okada was stronger than him, but said that he would try to brign Okada down to his own level. Okada got Yujiro in the cobra clutch, which he has been using to win matches lately, but Yujiro was able to get his foot on the bottom rope to braek the hold. Following that, Gedo came in and hit Okada with a spanner, but Okada still kicked out when Yujiro went to pin him. Finally, Okada knocked Gedo off the apron when he tried to interfere again, then hit Yujiro with a spinning tombstone piledriver and then submitted him with the Cobra Clutch.
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) def. El Desperado (17:03) El Desperado entered wearing the NEVER Openweight Championship that he had stolen from Shingo Takagi at Dominion. Furious, Shingo Takagi entered quickly to start the match, and laid waste to Despy with his explosive power. However, El Desperado knew he wouldn’t be able to outmatch Shingo blow for blow, and instead relentlessly went after Shingo’s legs. Shingo was still capable of brief bursts of quickness, but his damaged leg stopped him from following up at speed. El Desperado lured Shingo out of the ring only to hit him with his own NEVER Openweight Championship. As Shingo barely made it back in before the count, Despy floored him with a spear and the Guitara de Angel for a two count. With a brief display of energy, Shingo was able to get Despy up for Made in Japan, but it only garnered a near fall. El Desperado tried to push Shingo into the referee and give him a low blow, but Shingo blocked it. With his last energy, he hit the Pumping Bomber and Last of the Dragon to put El Desperado away. He them limped back up the ramp, damaged but victorious.
IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championships: EVIL (c) def. Hiromu Takahashi (33:57) EVIL’s look has improved substantially from his victory several weeks ago, as he’s substituted the awkward skirt for some tights that are more appropriate for the rest of his look. Dick Togo entered with him, wearing an all white suit that made him look like a drug lord. Hiromu Takahashi blitzed him at the start of the match, incensed by the betrayal of his former stablemate and friend. He took advantage early, but well-timed and subtle interference from Dick Togo let EVIL firmly take control. The crowd was all for Hiromu here, wanting to see good conquer EVIL, so to speak. He tried to hit Hiromu with the Darkness Falls on the apron, but Hiromu stuffed it and made EVIL’s plan backfire with an apron death valley bomb, then a diving senton bomb from the top rope to the outside. EVIL was able to fire back with a superplex and he went for the EVIL, but Hiromu blocked it, only for EVIL to throw him with multiple high-angle German suplexes. He went for the EVIL again, but Hiromu just slapped him in the face, and followed up with a lariat for a 2.9 count. EVIL threw Hiromu into the referee and this gave Dick Togo the opportunity to interfere again. He and EVIL hit a Magic Killer on Hiromu, and Dick Togo went to the top turnbuckle, but Hiromu kicked EVIL into the ropes, causing Togo to fall. Hiromu capitalized by hitting EVIL with his own self-named finish, then a death valley bomb into an exposed turnbuckle. He then hit the Time Bomb, but it onlymanaged a two count! He then hit the Time Bomb II, and it looked like he would win, but Dick Togo pulled the referee out right before the three. Hiromu was about to take out Togo, but EVIL hit him with a low blow from behind to slow his roll. Togo was out, but EVIL hit the Darkness falls and the EVIL for the pinfall victory. He retains the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships.
Following the match, Taiji Ishimori attacked the fallen Hiromu, and tried to hit him with the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, but Tetsuya Naito finally ran in to scare him off. Naito stared EVIL down and expressed his desire for revenge, before leaving with Hiromu slumped over his shoulder.
Following the events of yesterday’s Dominion 2020 event, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced cards for their upcoming events, New Japan Road on July 20th and Sengoku Lord in Nagoya on July 25th.
New Japan Road (July 20, 2020)
TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Ryusuke Taguchi & Gabriel Kidd vs. CHAOS (SHO, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi & SANADA) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & DOUKI)
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto) vs. Bullet Club (Yujiro Takahashi & Gedo)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Master Wato vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., Minoru Suzuki & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) vs. Bullet Club (EVIL, Dick Togo & Taiji Ishimori)
Sengoku Lord 2020 in Nagoya (July 25, 2020)
Yuya Uemura vs. Taiji Ishimori
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano, Yota Tsuji & Gabriel Kidd
CHAOS (SHO, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI)
Following the events of yesterday’s New Japan Cup Final, New Japan Pro-Wrestling has been shaken up by the betrayal of EVIL, turning his back on Los Ingobernables de Japon and joining Bullet Club after his victory over Kazuchika Okada to win the New Japan Cup. Today, he challenges Tetsuya Naito in the main event for Naito’s IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event will have a reduced attendance capacity to comply with social distancing regulations. Also, the live audience was instructed not to cheer loudly to reduce exhalation of potentially contagious aerosols.
NJPW Dominion 2020 Results
Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Gabriel Kidd (9:25) The audience only reacting by applause is still somewhat jarring, but the crowd is making the most of it. There was an extended bit of Kojima and Honma trading Machine Gun chops in which the crowd clapped in time with every single chop. Their hands are going to be sore by the end of the night. These matches do get repetitive, but when a young lion’s in there it’s always satisfying to see the process of their development. Finish: Yuji Nagata over Gabriel Kidd by submission (Nagata Lock II)
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, BUSHI & SANADA) def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji (10:15) The story of this match was more how Los Ingobernables de Japon were processing EVIL’s betrayal yesterday. None of them looked particularly happy to be there. and SANADA and BUSHI weren’t carrying the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championships that they were holding with EVIL. Hiromu Takahashi’s hair was frayed like he’d been up all night and his wrist tape had “Why?” written on it over and over again. Finish: Hiromu Takahashi over Yota Tsuji by submission (Boston crab)
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) def.Master Wato, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yuya Uemura Master Wato’s strikes are a little loose, but he wrestles with a good energy about him and he’s very young so I don’t view it as particularly problematic. He got over as a young lion for being an underdog who you could really feel for, so his lack of dominance can be forgiven, but Hiroyoshi Tenzan being the one to draw sympathy by being beaten up by all three members of Suzuki-gun seemed misplaced. Finish: El Desperado over Yuya Uemura by pinfall (Pinche Loco)
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi) def. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto) Okada threw his big coat at Yujiro as he entered, incensed by Yujiro’s intereference in the New Japan Cup yesterday, and he kept trying to go after Yujiro. This isn’t the first time Yujiro interfered to Okada’s detriment in a big match, so Okada’s bone to pick was evident. After a while, Gedo came out and hit Okada in the back with a spanner while Goto was the legal man, and this gave Ishimori and Yujiro the opportunity to team up on Goto for the victory. Finish: Yujiro Takahashi over Hirooki Goto by pinfall (Pimp Juice)
After the match, Okada was able to shake Gedo off to attack Yujiro some more, but Yujiro planted him with a Pimp Juice of his own. As he said in an interview yesterday, he wasn’t on Okada’s level, but he could pull Okada down to his own level.
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi (c) def. SHO We’ve seen a lot of this match over the last month, with SHO defeating Shingo for the first time in the first round of the New Japan Cup, and them coming to blows ever since. SHO has continued to carry himself more and more like Shingo’s equal despite Shingo’s advantage in experience and size. It goes without saying that these two hit each other hard and threw each other hard, but they brought it into a new gear in this match, just potatoing each other in a way that pleased my hindbrain very much. SHO looked to have Shingo on the ropes and lifted him for the Shock Arrow, but Shingo sprawled and lifted SHO for a Made in Japan that gave him a near fall. He hit a Pumping Bomber, but SHO kicked out immediately, even before the one count. SHO attacked with a cross-arm piledriver for a near fall. From that point, he kept going for a cross armbreaker, but Shingo used his strength to keep getting out of it. SHO finally hit a straight punch, followed by a GTW and the Last of the Dragon for the win. Shingo Takagi defends the NEVER Openweight Championship.
As Shingo celebrated on the ramp, El Desperado came from behind the curtain and punched him in the face, then hit Shingo with his own belt. He yelled that Shingo would be accepting this challenge no matter what.
IWGP Tag Team Championship Match: Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) def. Golden Ace (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi) (c) Even Zack Sabre Jr., who is considered a relatively noble wrestler by Suzuki-gun’s standards, couldn’t help but stoop down to Taichi’s level. The two of them took turns beating down Tanahashi while keeping him separate from Ibushi. Zack bit off more than he could chew and Tanahashi got out of his abdominal stretch and whipped him with a reverse Dragon screw. He reached Ibushi for the hot tag, who unleashed hot fire on his enemies. Ibushi was on the verge of winning, but Zack came in and put him in a guillotine, which he was nearly disqualified for. Ibushi landed a LOUD high kick that dropped Taichi to the mat, then tagged in Tanahashi as Taichi tagged in Zack. Tanahashi hit a sling blade for a near fall when Taichi came in to break up the pin. Tanahashi hit another sling blade and a high fly flow, but Zack got his knees up. With Taichi holding Tanahashi in place, Zack hit repeated dragonscrews on both of Tanahashi’s legs. Taichi hit a high kick on Tanahashi as Zack planted him with the Zack driver for the victory. Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) are the new IWGP Tag Team Champions.
IWGP Heavyweight & IWGP Intercontinental Championships Match: EVIL def. Tetsuya Naito (c) EVIL entered with new music and a new look about him, like a cross between a Roman gladiator and a dominatrix. Every member of Bullet Club in the country accompanied him to the ring, but the referee refused to start the match with them present. EVIL rolled in and out of the ring as the match began, but the angered Naito ran straight after him. EVIL took the early edge, and with Naito laying, EVIL took Milano Collection AT’s EVIL toy scythe and broke it in half, then threw it at him. Incensed, Milano jumped the barricade and tried to fight EVIL, but EVIL whipped him into the guardrail, knocking him out of commission. EVIL continued to batter Naito, destroying his knee to nullify his speed advantage. He had pulled out a table earlier in the match and he lifted Naito and gave him a sickening knee drop straight through the table on the outside, which also gave Naito a big cut on his back. He grinned (evilly, as you might imagine) at Naito, then floored him with a running lariat and Darkness Falls for a two-count. Naito took back the momentum with a turning rope-assisted DDT and the Gloria for a near fall of his own. He lifted EVIL to the top rope to hit a super hurricanrana, then a running DDT for yet another count of two. Naito went for the Destino again, but EVIL blocked it and pushed him into the referee, giving Bullet Club the opportunity to interfere. Hiromu Takahashi ran out and took on Jado and Taiji Ishimori by himself. Although they were apprehended, EVIL had grabbed a steel chair amidst the chaos and slammed it right over Naito’s head, popping the seat off. He looked to capitalize, but Naito blocked the EVIL finish and went for the Destino only for EVIL to hit a mule kick while pushing the referee down. BUSHI came out and lifted Naito to his feet, only to attack him. EVIL stomped Naito in the groin and hit the EVIL for the three count. EVIL is the new IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion.
BUSHI, who had helped EVIL win the match, took his mask off to reveal he wasn’t BUSHI, but Dick Togo, a freelance wrestler who has been in NJPW before. Hiromu Takahashi came out and, to avenge Naito’s loss, wanted to challenge EVIL for his newly won championships. If not both, either one would be fine, he noted. EVIL brushed him off and left Hiromu going ballistic in the ring.
Today, NJPW will hold the ninth and final day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. It is a 32-man single elimination tournament. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold the final match to determine tomorrow’s main event challenger at Dominion!
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event will have a reduced attendance capacity to comply with social distancing regulations.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 9 Results
Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma) def.Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (9:15) Everyone in this match wrestled with a level of enthusiasm befitting the first NJPW match with a paying crowd in over four months. Also, there was a mystifying new element to this match: the fact that the crowds were told by NJPW not to cheer loudly. Instead, it was just a sea of applause for every cool move and every time the young lions made a comeback. The happiness was palpable. Togi Makabe finished off Yota Tsuji with a bridging German suplex.
TenKoji (Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan) def. Hirooki Goto & Gabriel Kidd (9:57) The euphoria of the return of the audience was still affecting me during this match, and it must have been affecting Gabriel Kidd too because he was a house of fire in this match. Even after the crowd successfully stifled the instinct to chant Kojima’s “Icchauzo bakayaro” catchphrase, Kidd lifting Kojima up for a vertical sequence got the biggest vocal reaction so far, prompting gasps from the crowd. Katsuyori Shibata must be a great trainer. Satoshi Kojima put Gabriel Kidd down for the three count with a lariat.
Master Wato def. DOUKI (7:46) I’m not sure that Master Wato came out like a house of fire, leveling DOUKI with high kicks and a spinning uppercut. When DOUKI took control of the match, it was mostly with repeated eye-rakes and hitting Wato with his pipe. I’m still not sure about Wato. His strikes are very good and fit his persona well, and he certainly looks better than he did in the video package hyping him up over the last month, but it still feels out of place. Master Wato pinned DOUKI with a top rope corkscrew somersault senton.
Following the end of the match, as Wato celebrated, Yoshinobu Kanemaru came out and attacked him. Hiroyoshi Tenzan came out to pull Kanemaru off Wato and the two of them shook hands.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & Yujiro Takahashi) def.Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA & BUSHI) (9:20) It seemed like Los Ingobernables de Japon especially relished the return of live audiences. The crowd roared (with applause) when SANADA applied the Paradise Lock on Taiji Ishimori, and BUSHI was over as well. There was a single person booing when Ishimori tried to rip off BUSHI’s mask, which may have been unintentional comedy. Yujiro Takahashi pinned BUSHI with the Pimp Juice DDT.
Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:43) Hiroshi Tanahashi experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in this match. He soaked in the crowd’s applause like no one else, then ten minutes later he was having his knees twisted, pummeled, pulverized, and punished by everyone in Suzuki-gun. This damage may make the difference in the outcome of Tanahashi and Ibushi’s first defense of the IWGP Tag Team Championships against Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi tomorrow. Ibushi and Zack Sabre Jr. exchanged incredibly quick blows and transitions, Nagata threw some lovely suplexes, and Taguchi’s shtick is much more enjoyable with a crowd, even if all they do is clap. El Desperado pushed Taguchi into the referee, then hit him with a straight punch and the Pinche Loco for the pinfall victory.
Golden Ace and Dangerous Tekkers came to blows after the match, but for once in this whole rivalry it was Tanahashi and Ibushi who held the IWGP Tag Team Championships high in the end.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. CHAOS (SHO, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) (15:00) This was a wild trios match featuring five great athletes, and one generational athlete in Toru Yano. But seriously, between SHO and Shingo coming to violent blows as they usually do, Hiromu Takahashi and Tomohiro Ishii in a battle of speed versus hardness, and Toru Yano being surprisingly formidable and only going down after being triple-teamed by all three members of LIJ, and getting several dramatic near-falls on the dual IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, this match was action-packed. Tetsuya Naito pinned Toru Yano with a jackknife pin for the victory.
After the match, the three members of Los Ingobernables de Japon posed in the ring, with five Championship belts between the three of them.
New Japan Cup 2020 Final: EVIL def. Kazuchika Okada (31:50) EVIL has really been living up to his name this tournament. Every match he’s won to make it to this point has occurred in a dastardly fashion, with groin stomps and chair shots as far as the eye can see. He went to finish the match early, going for his namesake finisher within two minutes of the opening bell, but to no avail. Even though the crowd was instructed not to cheer vocally, you could hear people calling out EVIL and Okada’s name from time to time. EVIL’s game plan, at first, was to work Okada’s arm to weaken both the Rainmaker, which Okada has yet to actually win a match with in the tournament, and the cobra clutch, which he has been finishing all his matches with. Okada hit a flapjack and a short-range dropkick to slow EVIL’s roll and applied the cobra clutch, but EVIL made it to the ropes to break the hold. Okada tried to capitalize, but EVIL pushed him into the referee and delivered a low blow to Okada. With both Okada and the referee down, EVIL threw no fewer than four chairs into the ring, and Okada with Darkness Falls into the pile of chairs. Okada had enough energy to hit a reverse neckbreaker, but fell to the mat. EVIL hit a nasty rolling elbow and went to run the ropes, but Okada hit a standing dropkick and reapplied the cobra clutch, but EVIL raked his eyes to stop it. Okada applied the cobra clutch once more, but stopped it to hit a short-range Rainmaker. As Okada went to follow up, Gedo came out and distracted the referee, then Yujiro Takahashi attacked Okada while the referee wasn’t looking. Okada caught EVIL in the cobra clutch yet again, but EVIL broke it with a mule kick and then stomped the laying Okada right in the groin. Finally, EVIL hit the EVIL on Okada for the three count.
EVIL wins the New Japan Cup 2020. He will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships tomorrow at Dominion!
After the match, Tetsuya Naito showed up to congratulate EVIL on his victory. He said that he enjoyed the new EVIL he’s been seeing lately, and that he was looking forward to their match tomorrow. He offered a fist bump to EVIL, but EVIL met it with a Too Sweet, and he hit the EVIL on Naito. Every Bullet Club member in Japan showed up to applaud him, and he left with then. EVIL is Bullet Club.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the eighth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold the two semifinal matches.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 8 Results
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & Taichi) def.Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Gabriel Kidd As expected, the main theme of the match was continuing the heated rivalries forged during the New Japan Cup, namely Minoru Suzuki with Yuji Nagata and the Golden Aces against Zack Sabre Jr. and Taichi. I wouldn’t be surprised if both of said rivalries culminate at Dominion. In addition, Gabriel Kidd’s gumption was on display, as he stepped right up to Minoru Suzuki, only for Suzuki to eat his elbow strikes and drop him with one slap. In the end, El Desperado finished Kidd off with a punch to the face and the Pinche Loco. The fighting continued after the match, and the Dangerous Tekkers threw the IWGP Tag Team Championships at Tanahashi and Ibushi as Zack exclaimed “We’ll make those belts worth something!” Ibushi chased them backstage in a fit of rage.
CHAOS (SHO, Hirooki Goto & Tomohiro Ishii) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) If there had to be one wrestler who was the focus of this match, it was undoubtedly SHO. He came out like a house of fire against every member of LIJ to prove what he had to offer. When Shingo Takagi and SHO fought last year, it seemed like SHO was always on the back foot, that Shingo was never in danger of losing. After beating Shingo in the first round of the tournament and his performance in this match, he now feels like Takagi’s equal and I can think of no greater praise than that. SHO pinned BUSHI with the Shock Arrow. Afterwards, Shingo brandished his two championships at SHO, asking which one he wanted. SHO pulled the NEVER Openweight Championship, making his intentions clear. Shingo attempted to hit SHO with said Championship, but SHO dodged it and hit an impactful spear to state his case. Expect that match to take place at Dominion as well.
Prior to the cleaning and disinfection intermission, a new vignette played involving the new wrestler coming to NJPW who has been referred to as “The Grandmaster.” It revealed that this was Hirai Kawato, who was returning from his learning excursion in Mexico. His gimmick appears to be something of a martial artist, and his new name is “Master Wato.” Personally, I think it looks too goofy and it’s hard to take seriously. It turned out that he was in the building and made his entrance to speak a few words in the ring. As he posed, DOUKI came out of nowhere and attacked him, and Wato needed to be helped to the back after the assault. Perhaps DOUKI will be Master Wato’s first obstacle to overcome.
Semifinal Match: EVIL def. SANADA (20:13) The match began at a tempered pace, as the teammates gingerly approached each other. Their level of trust has been a recurring theme in their matches together, and EVIL has won his matches so far in the tournament in less than sportsmanlike ways. The question was whether or not EVIL would fight fairly and honorably in this match. As you would guess from his name, of course not. SANADA offered a handshake and EVIL accepted it only to go for his EVIL finish right away, but SANADA had it scouted. As the match progressed, EVIL seemed to have the advantage most of the way through. Shortly after the ten minute mark, he hit the Darkness Falls for a near fall. Not out yet, SANADA wrenched on the Skull End, but EVIL flipped backwards over him to get out of the hold and then floored him with an evil lariat. SANADA fired back up with a cutter from the top rope, but appeared to land on his own head and it looked bad. As EVIL looked to capitalize on the mistake, SANADA rolled him into the Skull End again, but stood up to go for a top rope moonsault but EVIL blocked it with his knees. EVIL pushed SANADA into the referee and hit a low blow, then hit him in the face with a steel chair. With the referee still down, EVIL stomped on SANADA’s groin. He then pushed the referee into the ring, hit the EVIL and won. EVIL advances to the New Japan Cup Final.
Semifinal Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Hiromu Takahashi (27:00) Hiromu looked excited to wrestle against Okada, while Okada didn’t have any particular expression about him. Hiromu took control of the early going, hitting Okada with rapid and high-powered offense and using his speed advantage on the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Okada had 20 kilograms on Hiromu but that extra weight was costing him. Okada hitting a flapjack and a shotgun dropkick to even out the momentum of the match. Okada continued with a top rope dropkick, sending Hiromu flying across the ring, and now seemed firmly in control. Okada went to the top rope, but Hiromu dropkicked off of it, and then sunset flip powerbombed Okada to the floor. He followed up with the Dynamite Plunger, but Okada managed a standing dropkick to end his momentum. Okada hit the Tombstone piledriver and the Cobra clutch, but Hiromu struggled to his feet, picked Okada up, and gave him a death valley bomb in the corner turnbuckle pad. Hiromu hit Okada with a rainmaker of his own and the Time Bomb, but Okada kicked out just before the three count. Hiromu went for the Time Bomb II, but Okada wiggled out of it and hit a spinning Tombstone piledriver and a discus Rainmaker. Finally, he hit a wrist-clutch Rainmaker and applied the Cobra clutch again. Hiromu was unresponsive, and the referee called the match for Okada. Kazuchika Okada advances to face EVIL in the New Japan Cup Final.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the seventh day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold the four quarterfinal matches.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 7 Results
Quarterfinal Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomohiro Ishii (19:29) Hiromu charged Ishii immediately, but his recklessness resulted in him making one of the worst possible decisions: challenging Ishii to a chop battle. Ishii decisively won said battle and started Hiromu off on the back foot, showing Hiromu he’d need to be more tactical to win. The more you watch these two together, you realize that they’re not that different in size for supposedly being in two different weight classes. Hiromu went to repeatedly applying an armbar known as D to Ishii’s right arm, but was unable to disable Ishii’s lariats. Ishii went for the brainbuster, but Hiromu reversed it and lifted Ishii for the Dynamite Plunger and a near fall. Hiromu went for the Time Bomb but Ishii stuffed it, only for Hiromu to floor him with a loud headbutt. Hiromu hit the Time Bomb but Ishii kicked out of it at two, being the only second person after Will Ospreay to kick out of it. Ishii briefly fired back up, only for Hiromu to drop him on his head with the Time Bomb II. Hiromu Takahashi advances to the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Match: EVIL def. YOSHI-HASHI (2:00) YOSHI-HASHI was limping to the ring during his entrance, clearly feeling the effects of hyperextending it during his match with BUSHI yesterday. At the bell, EVIL pushed the referee out of the ring and immediately laid into YOSHI-HASHI’s right leg with a steel chair. From there, EVIL put YOSHI-HASHI in the Darkness Scorpion (sharpshooter) for a solid minute. He kept fighting and didn’t tap out, but the referee saw there was no way out for him and called the match: EVIL won by referee stoppage. EVIL advances to the semifinals.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) def.SHO, Hirooki Goto & Yuya Uemura (9:34) BUSHI entered holding EVIL’s NEVER Openweight Six Man Tag Team Championship in addition to his own, so every member of LIJ in this match were holding two belts, and it made for a cool visual. No one in this match is in the New Japan Cup running anymore, so there’s no future matches to speak of, but it was well-worked and everyone looked good, especially Yuya Uemura, SHO, and Shingo. BUSHI pinned Yuya Uemura with a spin-out codebreaker. Afterwards, SHO squared up to Shingo Takagi yet again and Shingo held up both his NEVER Openweight and NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team championships at SHO, as if asking him which one he wanted.
Quarterfinal Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Taiji Ishimori (16:52) Okada entered through the stairs opposite the entrance stage, where the orange seats are, and gestured towards a crowd that wasn’t there. Okada took control of the match early on, but within the first five minutes Gedo was out and hit Okada with a spanner while Ishimori distracted the referee. The match evened out from then on, and Ishii was able to get a momentary Yes Lock on before Okada made it to the ropes to break the hold. Okada hit the reverse neckbreaker and went for the top rope elbow drop, but Gedo lurked in the corner and got Okada’s attention, allowing Ishimori to push Okada off the apron and hit a triangle moonsault. Ishimori hit a beautiful La Mistica into the Yes Lock (yes, that Yes Lock) but Okada was able to get his foot on the bottom rope yet again. Okada hit a standing dropkick and the tombstone piledriver, but Gedo got on the top rope and Okada broke the hold to go after him, but reapplied it. He went to flip Ishimori over to get him further away from the ropes, but as he did so, Ishimori pulled the referee’s shirt, flipping his over as well. Gedo came in with a pair of brass knuckles as the referee was down, but Okada dropkicked him to avoid the attack. Finally, Okada hit another dropkick on Ishimori and put him in the cobra clutch for the submission victory. Kazuchika Okada advances to face Hiromu Takahashi in the semifinals.
Quarterfinal Match: SANADA def. Taichi (22:50) The match began with Taichi attempting to be underhanded as usual, trying to choke SANADA with the ropes and tying him up in the ropes to immobilize him, only for it to backfire when SANADA put him in an upside down Paradise Lock while hung up in the ropes. Taichi often has these moments in matches where he realizes that fighting fairly might actually be more effective than cheating, despite it being outside his nature, and this was one of those moments. As Taichi went back to his tried-and-true kicks and backdrop drivers, he began to gain advantage, and went for the Black Mephisto but SANADA blocked it. SANADA hit a corner moonsault into the Skull End but Yoshinobu Kanemaru, who was on commentary, jumped onto the apron. He didn’t do anything, but the referee who was focused on removing him didn’t notice Taichi tapping out in the Skull End. SANADA broke the hold but Taichi hit a backdrop driver on him and his own Skull End, which lasted a good while before SANADA was able to put his foot on the rope to break it. Taichi followed up with a bridging backdrop driver, an homage to Jumbo Tsuruta, but SANADA kicked out at two. Kanemaru tried to distract SANADA again, but SANADA was too smart this time. He pushed Taichi into Kanemaru and pinned him with a bridging O’Connor roll. SANADA advances to face EVIL in the semifinals.
Scheduled for tomorrow, the two semifinal matches are SANADA vs. EVIL and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Kazuchika Okada. Two other matches will also take place.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the sixth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the eight matches in the second round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 6 Results
Second Round Match: YOSHI-HASHI def. BUSHI (10:22) BUSHI entered wearing a mask with a glowing red eye and a suit with a skeleton design over it, which clearly means he wants a match with Jado. BUSHI attacked YOSHI-HASHI as he posed in the corner before the bell, and it was amusing watching them fight while the latter was still in his green entrance robe. BUSHI targeted YOSHI-HASHI’s right leg, and before long he was moving much slower than usual. However, as BUSHI went for the M-X, YOSHI-HASHI simply lariated him out of the air. YOSHI-HASHI applied the Butterfly Lock, but BUSHI made it to the ropes to force a break. YOSHI-HASHi was able to follow up with the Karma sitout driver for the three-count. YOSHI-HASHI advances to the quarterfinals.
Second Round Match: SHO vs. SANADA (14:43) After vanquishing Shingo Takagi, SHO looked to follow up against another member of Los Ingobernables de Japon. This turned out to be a battle of a heavyweight’s technique versus a junior heavyweight’s power, which is unusual. SANADA often found his more finesse-based moves thwarted by SHO’s sheer strength, as SHO also tried to wear down SANADA’s arm to disable to the Skull End. As SANADA went for a leapfrog, SHO caught him and landed a German suplex into an arm bar, but SANADA was able to lift him into a powerbomb to end the hold. SHO came off the ropes and SANADA went for a rana, but again SHO caught him and lifted him into the Powerbreaker for a near fall. SHO went for the Shock Arrow, but SANADA blocked it and was able to wrestle him to the corner, then moonsault into the Skull End for the submission victory. Still, SHO looked great in defeat. SANADA advances to the quarterfinals.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & Hiromu Takahashi) def. Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yota Tsuji As a result of defeating Toru Yano in the second round, Hiromu Takahashi seemed to have gotten over his primal fear of Yano. Nevertheless, Yano brandished in a plastic bag the lock of hair he managed to cut off during their match. Perhaps he viewed it as a symbolic victory. In this match, the main themes were Yota Tsuji getting mercilessly beaten up by everyone, especially Shingo Takagi, and Hiromu facing off against his New Japan Cup quarterfinals opponent tomorrow, Tomohiro Ishii. Tsuji attempted some convoluted submission on Hiromu, like a cross-legged crossface with the opponent held over his knee. In the end, Hiromu Takahashi submitted Yota Tsuji with a Boston crab. After the match, Hiromu got right in Ishii’s face and Ishii grabbed him by the hair, but unlike when Yano did it, it didn’t seem to bother Hiromu at all.
Second Round Match: Taichi def. Kota Ibushi (18:08) In Ibushi and Taichi’s respective corners were Hiroshi Tanahashi and Zack Sabre Jr., who spent as much of the match fighting each other as Ibushi and Taichi did. Ibushi started the match on the back foot, as Taichi took him outside the ring and smashed his face into folded up bleachers, leading Ibushi to nearly get counted out. In the ring, Ibushi and Taichi engaged in a battle of leg kicks, which seemed mostly evenly matched.Taichi landed a high-angle backdrop driver on Ibushi and went for the Taichi-style Last Ride, but a violent head kick sent him falling to the mat, and Ibushi followed up with the sitout elevated powerbomb. Zack Sabre Jr. briefly distracted the referee, giving the opportunity for Taichi to hit a low blow on Ibushi and pin him, but Ibushi kicked out at two. Ibushi landed a jumping knee and went for the Kamigoye, but Taichi avoided it and hit another backdrop driver. As Ibushi went for the Kamigoye yet again, Taichi pushed him into the referee, and Zack came in and attacked Ibushi, only for Tanahashi to fight him off. With the referee still down, Taichi hit Ibushi with the Iron Finger from Hell and the Black Mephisto for the pinfall victory. Taichi advances to face SANADA in the quarterfinals.
Second Round Match: EVIL def. Hirooki Goto (18:25) EVIL entered first and waited outside the ring for Goto, so the brawling commenced before they even got in the ring. EVIL took advantage early, perhaps partly due to a stray chair shot, and arrogantly brushed his boot in Goto’s face as if it was completely earned. Incensed, Goto fired up and delivered a belly-to-back suplex followed by the Ushigoroshi. As they struggled for a suplex, Goto spun EVIL around and hit the reverse GTR, but didn’t go for a pin. He was determined to continue punishing EVIL for his disrespect, but paid for it when he went for a headbutt and got hit with a heavy elbow to the face. EVIL hit the Darkness Falls for a near fall and went for the EVIL, but Goto reversed out of it and hit a headbutt and the GTW, but EVIL kicked out at two. EVIL hit a stomp to the groin and then hit the EVIL for the three count. EVIL advances to face YOSHI-HASHI in the quarterfinals.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the fifth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the eight matches in the second round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 5 Results
Second Round Match: Taiji Ishimori def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (9:18) These two men have a lot of history. They’ve wrestled one dozen singles matches, both in NJPW and NOAH, and Taiji Ishimori has yet to win even one. No sooner did Ishimori walk through the entrance curtain than did Kanemaru follow him and set about laying waste to Ishimori’s left knee, to nullify Ishimori’s agility advantage. Five minutes in, Ishimori was still able to pull off a handspring kick but the pain stopped him from following up. Kanemaru tricked Ishimori into hitting the ref and used the free moment to put whiskey in his mouth, but Ishimori clamped a hand on his face and forced him to swallow it. COVID-19 best practice. From there, he hit a double-knee gutbuster and the Bloody Cross to advance to the quarterfinals and break his losing streak.
Second Round Match: Togi Makabe vs. Tomohiro Ishii (13:28) Ishii and Makabe have fought many times over the years, and you know what you’re getting with them. Immediately they began bashing into each other with reckless abandon, trading forearms and shoulder tackles. Ishii delivered a nasty German suplex to Makabe directly into the turnbuckle pad, causing him to crumple, and from there he handily took control of the match. Down but not out, Makabe finally rose to his feet and got back on offense with a lariat and a powerbomb. Makabe lifted Ishii to the top rope to set up his finishing combo, but Ishii blocked it and delivered a superplex for his troubles. Makabe immediately fired up and tried to hit the King Kong Knee Drop, but Ishii got out of the way. With one last lariat and the vertical drop brainbuster, Ishii took the pinfall victory and cemented his place in the quarterfinals.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & DOUKI) (13:55) Suzuki-gun entered first today, and Kota Ibushi sprinted out to attack them all immediately, perturbed by the double-team beatdown he received yesterday at the hands of Sabre and Taichi. This didn’t last long though, as Suzuki-gun’s greater commitment to teamwork, regardless of the legality thereof, resulted in all three of them stretching Tanahashi’s legs out, despite him already having been eliminated from the tournament. When Ibushi and Taichi shared the ring, they exchanged brutal leg kicks and Taichi dropped Ibushi right on his neck with a backdrop driver. In the end, following a Sling Blade assist from Tanahashi, Ryusuke Taguchi delivered the Dodon on DOUKI for the pinfall victory. Despite losing, Suzuki-gun attacked Golden Ace once again after the match, but this time they were unable to leave the IWGP Tag Team Champions in a crumpled heap.
Second Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Toru Yano (9:17) Hiromu Takahashi entered wearing an NJPW-branded hard hat, which he must have thought would thwart Yano’s attempts to cut his hair. Fearless, Yano brandished his hair trimmer as soon as the bell rang. Hiromu hid under the ring, leading Yano to chase him while leaving his trimmer in the ring. Hiromu came out the other side of the ring and claimed the trimmer, but it turned out to be a decoy with no batteries, while Yano held another trimmer. The referee wrested it away, but Yano also carried scissors in his trunks, but Hiromu was able to grab those too and throw them away. Hiromu threw Yano out of the ring, but Yano snatched some duct-tape and tied Hiromu’s leg to Yota Tsuji’s leg, and was able to cut off some of Hiromu’s hair with yet another pair of scissors. Incensed, Hiromu and Tsuji took Yano to the lobby of Korakuen Hall, with their legs still taped together, and pushed him into an open elevator. The elevator was sent down to the ground level of the building, and Hiromu and Tsuji scrambled into the ring before the twenty-count. Hiromu Takahashi defeated Toru Yano by countout and will face Tomohiro Ishii in the quarterfinals.
Second Round Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Yuji Nagata (20:14) Nagata came out with a point to prove: that, even at 52 years old, he was still The Anti-Aging Hero. As Okada pushed him into the ropes, Nagata kicked him into the face. Okada might have been a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, but Nagata still considered himself Okada’s senior. Okada’s pace, initially slow, increased over time as he realized that he had to take Nagata more seriously than he thought. As Okada climbed to the rope to try for a top rope elbow drop, Nagata had it scouted, and caught him with an avalanche exploder suplex. As Nagata went to follow up, Okada managed to hit him with a standing dropkick and a tombstone piledriver, but did not go for the pin. Instead, he tried to go for the cobra clutch, but Nagata reversed it into the Nagata Lock II, but Okada made it to the ropes to break the hold. Nagata went for a wrist-clutch exploder suplex only for Okada to apply the cobra clutch, which he held for a long time before Nagata broke the hold with a suplex. Okada tried a rolling lariat, but Nagata blocked it and hit a backdrop driver for a two count. Nagata kept trying for the backdrop hold, but Okada was able to catch him with another cobra clutch, this time with bodyscissors, for the submission victory. He will face Taiji Ishimori in the quarterfinals.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the fourth day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the sixteen matches in the first round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 4 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: BUSHI def. YOH (15:42) YOH entered to new music that I’ve never heard before. In singles matches in the past, he always entered to the Roppongi 3K music. YOH and BUSHI have a lot of experience against each other, but in the past it has been almost exclusively tag team affairs for the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. BUSHI took control at the start softening up YOH’s neck for the M-X, but YOH fought back soon enough with flying forearms and a figure four leglock that BUSHI got out of with a rope break. BUSHI tried to scramble to the ropes for the M-X, but YOH got out of the way and laid in consecutive German suplexes. YOH kept going for a dragon suplex, but BUSHI stuffed his attempts. BUSHI rocked YOH with a codebreaker and then hit the M-X for the victory. Both sets of Tag Team Champions had one member lose and one advance in the first round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: YOSHI-HASHI def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan (17:35) YOSHI-HASHI brought an uncharacteristic aggression as he took the fight to Tenzan, reddening the Raging’s Bull’s chest with a flurry of chops. He delivered a headbutt only to recoil in pain while Tenzan seemed unharmed. YOSHI-HASHI seemed determined to put the 49-year-old out of his misery, but Tenzan showed the spirit was still within him, running up to the top rope to attempt a super Mountain bomb. YOSHI-HASHI blocked it and sunset flipped over Tenzan to land a sitout powerbomb. Tenzan wrenched YOSHI-HASHI into an STF and broke the hold to go for the top rope moonsault, and he did pull it off but YOSHI-HASHI moved out of the way. YOSHI-HASHI capitalized and put on the Butterfly Lock but Tenzan made it to the ropes. Tenzan applied his patented Anaconda Vice, but YOSHI-HASHI rolled over him and got his shoulders down for a near fall, then tapped out Tenzan with the Butterfly Lock. He will advance to to face BUSHI in the second round.
CHAOS (SHO, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA) ended in a Double Countout Hiromu Takahashi made his entrance first and looked positively traumatized by the sight of Toru Yano. As a young lion, Hiromu’s head was involuntarily shaved by Yano and they just so happen to be facing each other in the second round. Hiromu demanded that the referee check Yano for foreign objects, and Yano was indeed smuggling a spray bottle of water and a hair trimmer in his tights. As SHO engaged Shingo in battles of heavy strikes and power moves, and tried to overwhelm SANADA’s finesse with brute force, Yano continued to stalk Hiromu with his clippers. When Yano and Hiromu were both legal, Yano chased Hiromu into the lobby and duct-taped his legs together. Okada followed Yano to remind him to get back in the ring on time, but it was too late, and both legal men were counted out.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Hirooki Goto def. Yujiro Takahashi (16:40) With Pieter unavailable, Yujiro’s only valet was Jado. Yujiro knew that he would be outmatched in a straightforward fight so he stalled outside the ring until Goto lost his patience and was lured into a trap on the outside, in which Yujiro evaded Goto’s attack while Jado irish whipped Goto into the barricade. Yujiro continued to control the match, not being rocked by Goto’s lariats and getting him to the top rope for a super fisherman’s suplex. Goto used a moment of opportunity to land the Ushigoroshi, and when Yujiro tried to fight back, Goto leveled him with a cracking forearm to the face. Goto then landed a gnarly rope-hung reverse GTR, but couldn’t follow up when Jado hit him with a kendo stick as he ran the ropes. Opportunistically, Yujiro used this moment to land the Miami Shine, but Goto blocked his attempt at the Pimp Juice DDT. Jado distracted the referee leading to Yujiro attempting to hit Goto with his pimp cane. However, Goto saw it coming and avoided the attack, and then irish-whipped Yujiro into Jado to take Jado out. Finally, Goto hit the GTW only for Yujiro to kick out at two, and then hit the GTR to advance to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: EVIL def. Satoshi Kojima (20:08) EVIL had a game plan from the moment the bell rang: take out Kojima’s right arm, the arm that his delivered so many match-ending lariats. Between arm-wringers and bashing Kojima’s arm with a steel chair, EVIL dominated the early going of the match. A DDT from Kojima brought the match on even footing, and Kojima’s continued use of chops and elbows showed that EVIL hadn’t done enough to take out his dominant arm. Kojima hit the Koji Cutter, then lifted EVIL to the top rope for a super Koji Cutter, but EVIL was not down yet. EVIL buffeted Kojima with repeated lariats, bringing Kojima to his knee, and EVIL finally took him down with yet another running lariat. EVIL hit the Darkness Falls for a near fall. EVIL went to follow up, but Kojima responded with a left arm lariat to get EVIL down for a count of two, exposing the flaw of EVIL’s strategy. As EVIL hit the ropes, Kojima hit the lariat with his right arm, but was in too much pain to go for the pin immediately, and EVIL kicked out at two. Kojima kept going to the well with the lariat, but EVIL kept blocking them and caught Kojima with the EVIL STO for the pinfall victory. EVIL will face Hirooki Goto in the second round.
All eight second round matches have been determined. They are as follows:
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the first day of the 2020 New Japan Cup. The New Japan Cup is NJPW’s annual 32-man single elimination tournament, usually scheduled for the Spring. The winner will challenge Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships at NJPW Dominion on July 12. Today’s card will hold four of the sixteen matches in the first round.
Watch exclusively on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. English commentary will be recorded and uploaded to NJPW World this week. Note: This event was held in an empty arena.
New Japan Cup 2020 Day 1 Results
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Togi Makabe def. Yota Tsuji (8:41) It’s going to take a while to get used to hearing Togi Makabe’s actual music be played instead of a generic dubbed track to avoid playing licensing fees. As a young lion, Yota Tsuji was overeager to prove himself against the former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Makabe. Tsuji leveled Makabe with a spear and a shoulder tackle as soon as the bell rang. Makabe quickly gained the advantage back, but Tsuji showed more than one would have expected for a young lion. Makabe leveled Tsuji with a lariat and pinned him with a bridging German suplex to advance to the second round.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Toru Yano def. Jado (9:07) Jado entered wearing a shirt that said “So What, I Don’t Care.” I’m sure he does care somewhat but he’s been wrestling for thirty years and hasn’t had a singles match since 2016 for good reason. Toru Yano started the match by attempting to rally a crowd that didn’t exist with “Yano To-Ru” chants. Amused, Jado responded by chanting “Jado-o!” at him. As the referee fought Jado to take away his kendo stick, Yano knocked Jado square on the head with a turnbuckle pad. Jado fell on his face a la Ric Flair and Yujiro Takahashi briefly attacked Yano while the referee was checking on the fallen Jado. Despite Jado’s sluggish pace, he was able to work over Yano with punches to the lower back and a cobra twist. Yano thwarted Jado’s kendo stick attack and pinned him with a low blow and schoolboy to advance to the second round.
Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def.Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Yuji Nagata & Yuya Uemura (13:27) The bulk of this match consisted of all of Suzuki-gun collectively trying to destroy Hiroshi Tanahashi’s knees. Leg locks and a cheeky dragonscrew from Zack Sabre Jr. left Tanahashi writhing in agony. ZSJ and Ibushi always fight hard, even in large tag team matches when they don’t have to. Yuya Uemura has been vocal about wanting to fight Minoru Suzuki head on and he briefly locked the Boston crab on Suzuki before Kanemaru broke it up. Suzuki got his revenge with the Gotch-style piledriver on Uemura for the pin.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. Tomoaki Honma (18:45) Hiromu and Honma have been building up this first round match as a battle of two men who have both had their necks broken. The power of youth is evident: despite being sidelined for over a year, Hiromu has not lost a step, while nearly every movement Honma makes is labored. Hiromu dominated the heavyweight Honma with dropkicks and neck holds. Honma made a brief rally with a running bulldog and a Kokeshi. Honma attempted a Kokeshi headbutt of his own but missed. Hiromu hit Honma with a death valley driver on the outside of the ring, and Honma barely avoided being counted out. Hiromu pushed Honma into the mat with his foot on the back of Honma’s neck. Honma made a comeback and hit three consecutive Kokeshis only for Hiromu to kick out. Honma went for the top rope Kokeshi but missed. Hiromu capitalized with the Time Bomb to to win and advance to the second round. His opponent will be Toru Yano.
New Japan Cup First Round Match: Tomohiro Ishii def. El Desperado (20:17) El Desperado taunted Ishii about his height, but Ishii seemed to take advantage early with his superior strength and durability. Desperado used leg kicks and twists to target Ishii’s knee and removed a corner turnbuckle pad. Ishii eventually had enough and used strikes to level the junior heavyweight. Persistently, El Desperado kept going back to the knee. He applied his Numero Dos stretch muffler but Ishii managed to flip over and break the hold. Ishii hit a powerslam to turn the momentum of the match. He attempted to powerbomb El Desperado but his knee buckled and he needed to do it a second time, but it only received a near fall. Despy hit a discrete low blow followed by a small package hold, but Ishii kicked out at two, followed by the Guitarra de Angel only for Ishii to kick out again. El Desperado went for the Pinche Loco, but Ishii levelled him with a headbutt and a lariat for a two count. Finally, he hit the vertical drop brainbuster to defeat El Desperado and take his place in the second round. His opponent in the second round will be Togi Makabe.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold their first wrestling event in 110 days. Since late February, the promotion has cancelled all events as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, with testing of workers and staff, and approval of the Japanese government, that hiatus ends today.
Watch: NJPW World (English Commentary) NJPW World (Japanese Commentary) Note: This show was held in an empty arena.
NJPW Together Project Special Results
Yota Tsuji def. Gabriel Kidd (8:43) Even without a crowd, the fire of young lions often leaps off the screen. The noise of the commentary, the ring, the grunts and growls of the wrestlers, and their hard strikes more than compensated for the lack of an audience to react. Yota Tsuji hit a spear and then submitted Gabriel Kidd with a Boston crab.
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Tomohiro Ishii & Yuya Uemura (12:57) Yuya Uemura has clearly gained muscle mass over the last several months. Ishii and Uemura attacked the Suzuki-gun junior heavyweights before the bell rang. The main focuses of this match were Suzuki-gun beating down Uemura together, followed by Ishii fending off both of them by himself. Suzuki-gun worked together to attack Ishii’s knee. After taking him out of commission, they systematically dismantled Yuya Uemura in similar fashion. El Desperado submitted Yuya Uemura with a Numero Dos, a stretch muffler.
Ishii did some squats outside of the ring to show El Desperado that his knee wasn’t affected that much. Tomorrow, June 16th, Tomohiro Ishii faces El Desperado in the first round of the New Japan Cup, as does Yuya Uemura against Yoshinobu Kanemaru on June 17th.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori, Yujiro Takahashi, Gedo & Jado) def.Hirooki Goto, Toru Yano, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomoaki Honma (13:20) Toru Yano entered with a disinfectant spray bottle instead of his usual spitting water, as compliant with NJPW safety regulations. YOSHI-HASHI entered with new black and red gear that says “Get Back Up” on one leg, which I’m convinced is a rib. Yano immediately went to remove the turnbuckle, while Jado brandished a kendo stick. They dared each other to drop their weapon first. Honma missing the second-rope Kokeshi was surprisingly impactful considering the lack of reaction, but this gave Yujiro the opening he needed to secure the victory. Yujiro Takahashi pinned Tomoaki Honma with the Pimp Juice DDT.
The New Japan Cup fixtures for this match are as follows: Toru Yano versus Jado (6/16), Taiji Ishimori versus Gabriel Kidd (6/17), and Hirooki Goto versus Yujiro Takahashi (6/23).
During the intermission to disinfect the ring and the ringside area, a vignette played for a new wrestler coming to NJPW. It only referred to them as “The Grandmaster.”
Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (EVIL, SANADA & BUSHI) (13:33) Tenzan and Kojima looked much more well-rested than they did prior to this hiatus. Kojima and EVIL took each other on in a battle of brawn. Failed attempt at the Paradise Lock aside, Taguchi looked surprisingly capable of standing in the ring with SANADA. Notably, SANADA is the only member of Los Ingobernables de Japon who does not possess any championship, and some have postulated that he should be the favorite to win the New Japan Cup. This was a chaotic match involving a lot of teamwork, but TenCozy and Taguchi showed unexpected synergy. Ryusuke Taguchi submitted BUSHI with his ankle lock known as Oh My and Garankle to win.
The New Japan Cup first round matches involving people in this match are Ryusuke Taguchi versus SANADA (6/22), Hiroyoshi Tenzan versus YOSHI-HASHI (6/23), and EVIL versus Satoshi Kojima (6/23).
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Kota Ibushi, Togi Makabe & Yuji Nagata def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi & DOUKI) (13:04) Hiroshi Tanahashi might have appreciated three months of rest more than anyone. Neither arm of his donned a compression sleeve for what seems like the first time in ages. Suzuki and Nagata defied their combined age of 104 years old with some of the hardest strikes on this whole show while Zack Sabre Jr., the only non-young lion foreign wrestler on this show, squared off against Ibushi at a high rate of speed. Ibushi hit a double Pele Kick on both DOUKI and Zack to stop Suzuki-gun all ganging up on him. Togi Makabe hit the King Kong Knee Drop on DOUKI to win the match for his team. Makabe’s music, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s Immigrant Song, played in the building. This is unusual, usually a generic dubbed rock song plays when he wins since paying for licensed music is expensive.
Minoru Suzuki goes one-on-one with Yuji Nagata on day one of the New Japan Cup tomorrow while Tanahashi and Ibushi compete against Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. respectively on June 22.
Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi) def. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, SHO & YOH) (14:17) It was amusing watching Okada gesticulate excessively to absent members of the crowd. In what might be a first for Okada, he was the only person in this six man tag team match to not be a Champion. Naito and Okada briefly opened the match with grappling, but it kicked into the next gear when SHO and Shingo Takagi tagged in to batter each other. SHO and Shingo have both stated that their rivalry that began in last year’s Best of the Super Juniors is not over, and they took the fight especially hard to each other. Tetsuya Naito pinned YOH with the Destino to close out the show. Naito and Hiromu fist-bumped each other after the match, but Shingo did not take part.
In the New Japan Cup first round, Kazuchika Okada will face Gedo, Hiromu Tanahashi will face Tomoaki Honma, it’s Shingo Takagi versus SHO, and YOH versus BUSHI. Tetsuya Naito sits out of the New Japan Cup as the reigning IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Champion, set to defend both championships against the winner of the tournament at Dominion next month.
On May 25th, the Japanese government lifted the nationwide state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic. New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced their plans to return to conducting live wrestling events over the next month. To ensure minimal risk of virus propagation, NJPW has been conducting antibody testing on wrestlers, crew, trainers, and other live event staff, and preparation of venues has begun.
The last NJPW event took place on February 26th in Okinawa, Japan. New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s first live event following the end of Japan’s COVID-19 state of emergency will be an empty arena event on June 15th, called the NJPW Together Special. In all, eleven events have been scheduled, including a rescheduled New Japan Cup and Dominion.
The New Japan Cup participants have changed to accommodate international travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. The majority of participants who live overseas have been replaced. As such, the 32-man New Japan Cup, usually a heavyweights-only tournament, now includes a number of NJPW’s junior heavyweight wrestlers. Also, it has been announced that, as previously, Tetsuya Naito will defend both his IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental championships against the winner of the New Japan Cup.
All events will be streamed live on NJPW World. NJPW has also announced that their Summer Struggle 2020 tour, originally scheduled to take place from July 11 to July 19, has been cancelled.
NJPW Event Schedule
June 15: NJPW Together Project Special
Matches unknown
June 16: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji
Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
Toru Yano vs. Jado
Tomoaki Honma vs. Hiromu Takahashi
Unknown “special match”
June 17: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo
Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
Yuya Uemura vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori
Unknown “special match”
June 22: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi
Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Ryusuke Taguchi vs. SANADA
SHO vs. Shingo Takagi
Unknown “special match”
June 23: New Japan Cup 2020 First Round (empty arena)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. YOSHI-HASHI
YOH vs. BUSHI
Satoshi Kojima vs. EVIL
Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Unknown “special match”
June 24: New Japan Cup 2020 Second Round (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup second round matches
Unknown “special match”
July 1: New Japan Cup 2020 Second Round (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup second round matches
Unknown “special match”
July 2: New Japan Cup 2020 Quarterfinals (empty arena)
Four New Japan Cup quarterfinal matches
Unknown “special match”
July 3: New Japan Cup 2020 Semifinals (empty arena)
Two New Japan Cup semifinal matches
Two unknown “special matches”
July 11: New Japan Cup 2020 Final (Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, one third capacity attendees)
New Japan Cup 2020 Final match
July 12: Dominion (Osaka-jo Hall, Osaka, one third capacity attendees)
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling presents The New Beginning in Osaka 2020. This event will be held at Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.
Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma, Toa Henare & Ryusuke Taguchi This match was dubbed “Manabu Nakanishi Final in Osaka-jo Hall” and indeed, this will be the last big arena show of Nakanishi’s 27-year career. To be honest, it looked to be about time for him. His lariats were slow and his chops were lethargic, but nevertheless, the crowd popped for everything he did. Nevertheless, the crowd was with him, especially when he climbed to the top rope for perhaps the last time ever. Nakanishi delivered a top rope brain chop to Tomoaki Honma, setting up Satoshi Kojima to deliver the lariat and get the pin. (7:08)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match: Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) (c) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) Roppongi 3K attacked Suzuki-gun before the bell to remove the possibility that they would receive that treatment themselves. After getting into a gnarly slap fight with El Desperado, YOH tagged in SHO, but both members of Suzuki-gun cut SHO off and began assaulting his knee. Kanemaru held him in a long figure four leglock but SHO was able to make the rope break. Kanemaru hit the Deep Impact on SHO, who kicked out at two. As Rocky Romero rallied the capacity crowd, SHO rallied with heavy lariats. Roppongi 3K went for their 3K finish, but El Desperado was in to break it up. SHO hit the Shock Arrow on Kanemaru for a near fall. Finally, Roppongi 3K hit the dropkick and Shock Arrow combination known as Strong X for SHO to get the pinfall on Kanemaru and make their first championship defense. (16:22)
After the match, as Roppongi 3K celebrated in the ring, Ryusuke Taguchi entered the ring, with a basketball and a rugby helmet on. He told Rocky Romero that he was not only the manager of SHO and YOH, but a great wrestler in his own right. Taguchi stated that he and Rocky, as The Mega Coaches, should challenge Roppongi 3K for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. He threw his basketball to Rocky and made a hoop with his arms. Despite RPG 3K’s assistance otherwise, Rocky shot the ball into Taguchi’s hoop, signifying his agreement to challenge for the Championships.
Juice Robinson, David Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kota Ibushi def. Bullet Club (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Yujiro Takahashi) This matched Kota Ibushi’s return to the ring following a short absence due to a bout of influenza. One wouldn’t have known that he was running a 104 degree fever within the last two weeks, due to some superhuman healing factor. The factor that was of greatest note in this match was the appearance of Tanahashi and Juice. Tanahashi had a very fluffy pompadour and Juice Robinson’s hair was in an afro, continuing the ’70s-dancer-esque appearance he has been going for recently. Tanahashi pinned Tanga Loa with a bridging roll-up. (10:50)
Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kota Ibushi reiterated their desire to challenge for the IWGP Tag Team Championships.
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Will Ospreay) def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi) Following their respective losses at The New Beginning in Sapporo, Will Ospreay and Taichi wrestled with chips on their shoulders to avenge their losses. Taichi seemed unfazed by his defeat among the hometown crowd of Sapporo, and laid into Okada with his hard-hitting offense. The crowds went wild for his dangerous backdrop drivers and loud kicks, but the CHAOS team’s combined might was too much for Dangerous Tekkers. Ospreay landed the Oscutter followed by Okada’s Rainmaker for Okada to take the pin on Taichi. (11:50)
Will Ospreay held the belt around his waist before putting it down on the mat for Zack. Angrily, ZSJ yelled “Look at it, you moron! This is coming back to Japan with me!”
Jay White def. SANADA In the buildup to this match, Jay White had attempted to get under SANADA’s skin in a way that few have been able to do before, with very little success. SANADA did not seem to be intimidated, and often overpowered Jay when the competition was fair. SANADA hit the backbreaker and went for the moonsault, but Gedo tried to knock him off his perch. SANADA responded by pulling on his Gedo’s beard and using the ropes for a groin attack. Jay tried to capitalize on the opportunity with the Blade Runner, but SANADA caught him and hit the giant swing into the Skull End. SANADA broke the hold and went for the top rope moonsault, but Jay White moved out of the way. White hit the sleeper suplex and Blade Runner for the pinfall victory. (21:52)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Hiromu Takahashi (c) def. Ryu Lee For the better part of a decade, Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee have had a reputation of wrestling each other with an exceptional amount of reckless abandon. For the better part of the first five minutes of the match, Hiromu and Lee simply traded slaps to each other’s chests: over and over, until their pectorals were purple, and that was just the start. Ryu Lee teased the Phoenixplex that put Hiromu out of action with a broken neck for over a year, but Hiromu reversed it as the crowd breathed a collective sigh of relief. Lee went for the Phoenixplex once more later on, but Hiromu reversed it into a Canadian Destroyer. Hiromu hit the Time Bomb, but Lee kicked out, so Hiromu simply hit the Time Bomb again and marked the first successful defense of his title reign. (23:54)
IWGP US Heavyweight Championship Match: Jon Moxley (c) def. Minoru Suzuki This match has been highly anticipated ever since Moxley and Suzuki locked eyes for the first time. It’s safe to say that they delivered on what was expected of them. This was simply a brawl from the outset, when Suzuki invited Moxley to have a chair-swinging fight. They did no acrobatics, they just hit each other, sometimes with foreign objects. Suzuki smashed Moxley’s hand with a chair and then put him in an armbar, only for Moxley to lift him up and powerbomb him through a table. Moxley was clearly chagrined by Suzuki’s remarks that Moxley lacked redeeming qualities as a wrestler. Suzuki went for the Gotch-style piledriver, but Moxley reversed it into a double-arm DDT. He didn’t get much lift on it, so Suzuki was able to kick out at two. Moxley and Suzuki traded strikes until Suzuki pushed Moxley just a bit too far, and Mox decided he had had enough. He bowled Suzuki over with a lariat and hit the Death Rider to retain the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. (17:16)
After the match, Zack Sabre Jr. ambushed Jon Moxley and took him to the ground with a rear naked choke and bodyscissors. Moxley was temporarily subdued as the British submission specialist held up the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship.
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Double Championship Match: Tetsuya Naito (c) def. KENTA KENTA entered with the majority of Bullet Club with him, and they pushed Red Shoes Unno down before the match even began. All the Bullet Club members save KENTA were removed from ringside. As the match began, KENTA was reluctant to begin, rolling out of the ring instead of engaging Naito. The crowd booed as KENTA took a Naito teddy bear from the crowd and stepped on it, and he relished in the boos. KENTA attempted to remove a turnbuckle pad, but Red Shoes caught him and stopped him in the process, only for KENTA to remove the opposite one as Red Shoes was retying the one he had partially removed. KENTA continued to methodically work over Naito with kicks and arm holds. Naito rallied with elbows, but KENTA was able to apply the Game Over facelock only for Naito to crawl and wriggle his way to the rope for the break. Naito was able to hit a top rope hurricanrana into the valentia. Naito went for the Destino, but KENTA pushed him into the ropes and then Jay White came in to interfere. BUSHI tried to stop Jay White to no avail, but then Hiromu Takahashi came in and successfully apprehended Jay. KENTA went for the Go 2 Sleep but Naito reversed it with a counter Destino. KENTA threw Naito into the exposed turnbuckle, causing him to bleed profusely from his face. KENTA went for the Go 2 Sleep again, but Naito blocked it with a reverse frankensteiner. Finally, the bloody Tetsuya Naito hit the valentia and Destino to retain the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental Championships. (35:50)
The still-bleeding Naito then challenged his faction-mate Hiromu Takahashi to a singles match at the 48th Anniversary Show next month. Hiromu and Naito mutually agreed to it.
Today, New Japan Pro-Wrestling will hold the first day of their two-day event, The New Beginning in Sapporo. The event will be held at the Hokkaido Prefectural Sports Center in Sapporo City, Japan. This event will be available to watch on their live streaming service, NJPW World. English and Japanese commentary are available.
Bullet Club (Taiji Ishimori & El Phantasmo) def.Tiger Mask IV & Yuya Uemura The match began with both members of Bullet Club taking turns beating up Yuya Uemura. This built up to the hot tag to Tiger Mask. The crowd went wild as Uemura managed to put Phantasmo in a Boston Crab and hit him with his overhead suplex. Uemura got several near falls with a school boy and a small package hold. Taiji Ishimori submitted Yuya Uemura with the Yes Lock. (8:13)
Togi Makabe, Tomoaki Honma & Toa Henare def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Manabu Nakanishi & Yota Tsuji Exactly three weeks from today, Manabu Nakanishi will retire from professional wrestling. The youngest and most sprightly wrestlers in this match, Tsuji and Toa Henare, made for the high point of this match as they fought. Toa Henare pinned Yota Tsuji with the Toa Bottom uranage. (9:41)
SHO, YOH, Will Ospreay & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & DOUKI) This was a fast-paced match, no surprise considering the majority were junior heavyweights. The main focus was on the two upcoming title matches involving the participants: Zack Sabre Jr. defending the Rev Pro British Heavyweight Championship against Will Ospreay tomorrow, and Roppongi 3K defending against Desperado and Kanemaru next week. Ryusuke Taguchi pinned DOUKI with the Dodon. Also, DOUKI brought a new metal rod, that was a little more professional than the one he was using before. (11:45)
Ryu Lee & Robbie Eagles def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) Hiromu Takahashi and Ryu Lee were not waiting until their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match at The New Beginning in Osaka to go to war. Their rivalry that has gone on since Hiromu’s excursion to CMLL is revered for good reason: the two men never hold back around each other. Robbie Eagles also performed well. He may have felt slighted for not getting his own title match after pinning Hiromu in his return match last December. Robbie submitted BUSHIH with the Ron Miller Special, an inverted figure four leg lock. (11:47)
Bullet Club (KENTA & Jay White) def.Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & SANADA) This tag team match was a preview for two singles matches at The New Beginning in Osaka: SANADA versus Jay White and Tetsuya Naito defending his IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships against KENTA. It could be said that this match was a tale of two matches. The first half could have been described more as physical banter than proper wrestling. Naito and KENTA taunted each other, entered the ring only to leave immediately, and generally tried not to take each other seriously. As the match progressed, all wrestlers involved became more urgent in their actions, and this gradual escalation made for a high-quality match. Jay White pinned SANADA with a victory roll. (18:42)
Suzuki-gun (Taichi & Minoru Suzuki) def.Kazuchika Okada & Jon Moxley Kazuchika Okada in a tag team match with Jon Moxley as his partner was something that no one could have predicted a year earlier. Okada against Taichi is the main event of tomorrow’s show, but the stars of this match were Moxley and Suzuki. It was not lost on them as to how much people are anticipating their IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match next Sunday, and gave the crowd today a delightful appetizer. They beat each other every which way, hit each other with guardrails and fans’ seats, spent a clearly illegal amount of time outside the ring, and traded their hardest hits. Suzuki pinned Moxley with the Gotch-style piledriver. (17:48)
After the match ended, Okada tried to hit a Rainmaker on Taichi, but Taichi avoided hit and knocked Okada down with the Iron Finger from Hell. Will Ospreay came out to apprehend Taichi, but Zack Sabre Jr. showed up to stop him. Taichi hit a Black Mephisto on Okada on the ramp.
Tomohiro Ishii def. EVIL It was known all along that this match would be, as another wrestler put it “two meaty men slapping meat” and it lived up to that expectation. These two fridge-shaped men traded chops and lariats as close to the larynx as possible, and EVIL even seemed at times to have a hoarse voice from them. EVIL accidentally didn’t get enough lift on a corner suplex and Ishii fell on his head, but the match seemed to pick up from there, so maybe it energized him. EVIL used Ishii’s trademark superplex, but it only netted him a near fall, as did a following Darkness Falls. After a white-hot closing stretch, Tomohiro Ishii pinned EVIL with the vertical drop brainbuster. (21:14)
NEVER Openweight Championship Match: Shingo Takagi def. Hirooki Goto Shingo and Goto were clearly not content to be outdone by the previous battle of rectangular, heavy men. So many lariats were traded, so many angry Japanese words that are probably inappropriate were said, and so much sweat flew. After landing a monstrous lariat, Goto was too tired to stand up, so Shingo lifted him to the top rope and hit him with an avalanche brainbuster known as the Stay Dream. To add insult to injury, Takagi landed a rope-hung GTR on Goto, which he had been referring in the lead-up to this match as the Great Takagi Revolution. Goto got a second wind and hit the Shouten Kai for a near fall. Goto hit the reverse GTR and was winding up for the regular version, but Shingo countered it into Made in Japan. He followed up with Last of the Dragon to win the NEVER Openweight Championship. (20:10)
Hirooki Goto’s reign lasted 25 days with 0 successful defenses.
