The New Japan Cup 2018 has arrived.
Today (March 9) night one of the tournament will take place Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The two tournament matches featured tonight will be Tomohiro Ishii vs. Michael Elgin and Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi. Other stars such as Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Kota Ibushi, and many more will also compete.
The action begins at 4:30 a.m. ET. Be sure to keep refreshing this page for live updates below:
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Shota Umino, Tomoyuki Oka, Tetsuhiro Yagi vs. Chuckie T, Toru Yano, Hiroki Goto
Oka was fired up and wanted a piece of Goto to start. He chopped Goto on the ropes and landed a series of forearms. Yagi tagged himself in and soon Goto tagged in Chuckie T. Yagi was hit with a dropkick, followed by a backdrop.
Yano was in to the delight of the crowd. He sent Yagi into the exposed turnbuckle. Yagi hit a dropkick and Oka was tagged in. Yano raked the eyes, but ran into a back elbow. Goto and Oka exchanged strikes in the corner. Chuckie T and Umino were now the legal men.
Chuckie T missed a moonsault and was cradled for a near fall. Chuckie T hit the Awful Waffle for the victory.
Winners: Chuckie T, Toru Yano, Hiroki Goto
Tag Team Match: Tanga Loa & Bad Luck Fale vs. Killer Elite Squad
KES went for the Killer Bomb on Tanga Loa right away, but Fale broke it up. The action spilled to the outside and Fale sent Smith crashing into the barricade. Loa and Archer got into a back-and-forth exchange, while Smith threw Fale into chairs.
Loa was outmatched by Archer and Smith in the ring. Archer connected with a shoulder block. Archer stared at his New Japan Cup opponent Fale. Smith was back in and hit a gutwrench suplex. Loa planted Smith and tagged in Fale.
Fale went for a corner splash on Smith, but was cut off by Archer. KES double tackled Fale. The team went for a Killer Bomb, but Fale avoided it. He hit a shoulder block on Smith and tagged in Loa. Fale and Loa double teamed Smith in the corner.
Smith hit a reverse DDT on Loa. He then ran into a spear. Loa went for a driver, but Archer stopped it. Loa was outnumbered and hit with the Killer Bomb and couldn’t kick out.
Winners: Killer Elite Squad
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Bushi, Sanada, Tetsuya Naito vs. El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr.
Bushi hit hurricanranas on Kanemaru and Desperado. Naito was tagged in and he stomped on Desperado. Sanada was tagged in and he kicked Desperado in the midsection. Desperado was able to avoid the Paradise Lock. The action spilled to the outside and Suzuki Gun was in control.
Kanemaru hit Sanada with a chair. Sabre locked in an arm submission on Naito. Desperado hit a notepad with a hard cover in the back of his pants. He then slapped Sanada over the head with it. The two exchanged shots before Desperado raked the eyes and tagged in Sabre.
Finally, Sanada hit his signature springboard dropkick and tagged in Naito. Sabre and Naito were the legal men and exchanged strikes. Naito hit an arm drag followed by a sliding dropkick. A slingshot dropkick was there for Naito.
Sabre countered Naito with an octopus lock, but Bushi broke it up. Naito landed a popup spinebuster and Bushi was tagged it. He hit a missile dropkick and posed with the Bushiroonie. He went for the MX, but Sabre got out of the way. Sabre reversed the front Lung Blower and turned his opponent into a pretzel for the submission win.
Winners: El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Zack Sabre Jr.
Six-Man Tag Team Match: Toa Henare, Daivd Finlay, Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, Minoru Suzuki
Togi Makabe was replaced by David Finlay due to a left knee injury. Before the bell rang, Suzuki kicked Tanahashi in the injured knee. The action spilled into the crowd and Suzuki whacked Henare with a chair. Taichi worked over Tanahashi and they went inside the ring.
Taichi nailed Tanahashi with a side kick to the head. He was reversed and hit with Twist & Shout. Henare was tagged in and he hit a shoulder block off the top rope. Tanahashi brawled with Suzuki on the outside.
Taichi took his own pants off and went for a kick on Henare. He missed and was hit with a spear. Henare went for a Samoan Drop, but Suzuki broke it up and locked in a choke. Taichi then blasted Henare with his kick for the three-count.
Winners: Taichi, Takashi Iizuka, Minoru Suzuki
Tag Team Match: Yosh-Hashi & Kazuchika Okada vs. Chase Owens & Kota Ibushi
Ibushi and Hashi got things underway. The two countered each other out with their athleticism. Owens and Okada were tagged in. Okada hit a shoulder block and reversed a hip toss to land one of his own. Owens faked a clean break and yanked Okada’s arm before tagging in Ibushi.
Ibushi rained down forearms on Okada in the corner. He then tagged in Owens, who landed a neckbreaker. Ibushi was back in and he traded forearms with Okada. Ibushi ran into a flapjack and Hashi was back in. He landed the Bunker Buster. He eventually ran into an Ibushi dropkick that would give Okada a run for his money.
Owens was tagged in and stomped Hashi. He then taunted Okada’s Rain Maker pose. Hashi buckled Owens with a forearm. Owens sent Hashi’s face crashing into his knee, then hit a running neckbreaker for a two-count.
Owens and Okada were in the ring. Okada nailed a back elbow followed by a DDT for a near fall. Owens landed Jewel Heist, but couldn’t pull off the win. He then set up the Package Piledriver, but ate a kick from Hashi. Ibushi got in the ring, but was hit by the western lariat. Owens ran into a dropkick from Okada and was forced to tap from the cobra clutch.
Winners: Yosh-Hashi & Kazuchika Okada
New Japan Cup Match: Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
Yujiro fired off right out the gate. Juice was right there with him landing punches. He connected with a side kick. Juice landed a punch and chop combination on his opponent in the corner. He went for the canon ball, but Yujiro moved out of the way. Yujiro dropped Juice with a lariat.
Juice went for Pulp Friction early, but Yujiro grabbed him by the hair and tossed him to the outside. Yujiro took out his pimp stick and blasted Juice with it. Back in the ring, Yujiro pinned Juice for a near fall. At this point in the match, Yujiro was in firm control.
Yujiro ran into a spinebuster. Juice clotheslined Yujiro to the outside. He then hit a plancha before tossing his opponent back in the ring. Juice connected with a slingshot spear. He followed that up with his signature punches, but Yujiro avoided the last punch and sent Juice over the top rope.
Yujiro sent Juice over the barricade with a backdrop onto the chairs in the crowd. Juice was cut up on his back. Yujiro then planted Juice with a fisherman buster. Juice got back in the ring at the count of 19. Yujiro hit another fisherman buster, but Juice kicked out.
Juice went up the top turnbuckle, but Yujiro stopped him. He then connected with a fisherman buster from the top turnbuckle. Juice barely kicked out before the three count. Yujiro went for Tokyo Pimps, but couldn’t get it. Juice kept getting kicked, but he connected with a lariat.
A canon ball attempt landed for Juice this time. He hit the double knee gutbuster for a near fall. Yujiro countered Pulp Friction when he shoved Juice into Red Shoes. He lowblowed Juice and locked in the small package for a near fall. Juice kicked out of Miami Shine. Yujiro hit Tokyo Pimps, but again Juice kicked out.
Juice thwarted Pimp Juice and landed a powerbomb for a two-count. Juice then hit Pulp Friction for the win.
Winner: Juice Robinson
New Japan Cup Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Michael Elgin
They tied up and Elgin did a clean break. Ishii was powered out of a headlock. He tried to shoulder block Elgin, but was hit with a heavy forearm. They exchanged forearms and Elgin brushed off Ishii’s strikes. After a back-and-forth exchange, Elgin had Ishii stumbling. They then engaged in a shoulder block battle and eventually Elgin went down.
Elgin landed a gorilla press slam. A forearm from the exposed elbow sent Ishii crashing down the canvas. Elgin went for a lariat, but Ishii didn’t budge. Ishi responded with a series of chops. Elgin again exposed his elbow and hit another forearm. Ishii countered his opponent with a powerslam.
The two exchanged in a slap battle. Elgin then hit a big boot. Ishii knocked Elgin down with slaps. He landed a headbutt and went for a backdrop. Elgin stopped it, but missed his kick. Ishii charged the corner, but Elgin landed an enziguri. He followed that up with a slingshot splash.
Elgin landed a missile dropkick followed by a falcon arrow for a near fall. Ishii ate a series of chops in the corner and asked for more. He looked unfazed and delivered hard chops of his own. Elgin responded by asking for more as well. They traded chop and forearm combinations. Ishii ducked a clothesline and landed a belly-to-back suplex.
Elgin landed a deadlift suplex. Ishii went for a vertical suplex, but Elgin wasn’t fazed. Again the two traded forearms. Elgin ducked under a lariat and drove him into the corner. They ran into each other with hard lariat and wobbled each other. Elgin dropped Ishii twice.
Elgin hit a blue thunder bomb and Ishii barely kicked out. Elgin mushed Ishii in the face and of course that’s never a good idea. Ishii kept eating forearms with little impact. Elgin then ate some forearms also unaffected. Ishii was stunned but a stiff forearm. Elgin was caught from the top turnbuckle and powerbomb for a near fall. Elgin landed a death valley driver into the corner. He then went up the top turnbuckle and landed a splash for the near fall.
With Ishii on the apron, Elgin went for a deadlift falcon arrow and he nailed it. Ishii was barely able to get the shoulder up. He avoided the Elgin Bomb and countered with a back drop. Ishii ducked under a lariat and landed a German suplex. Elgin landed a side kick, but ran into a wheel kick. Both men were down.
Elgin caught Ishii charging in and slammed him on the mat. He placed Ishii on the bottom rope and went for a powerbomb off the top turnbuckle. Ishii connected with a leaping headbutt. He then landed a superplex. Elgin was able to kick out.
Elgin was hit with a lariat, but kicked out at one.. He was hit with another lariat and barely kicked out. Ishii went for the brainbuster, but was hit with a lariat to the back of the head. Elgin dropped his opponent with an enzuigiri. Ishi got in his signature forearm combination. Elgin was responded with his spinning forearm.
A deadlift German suplex was there for Elgin. He landed another one and landed a lariat. Ishii kicked out at one. Elgin hit another one and followed it up with a spinaround side slam. Elgin landed a top rope crucifix powerbomb and Ishii landed right on his neck. Ishii reversed the Elgin Bomb into the hurricanrana.
Ishii hit the sliding lariat for a two-count. His brainbuster was countered. Elgin hit a tiger suplex followed by a backfist. Elgin hit the buckle bomb, but was turned inside out with a lariat. Elgin hit a popup powerbomb for a two-count. He then landed the burning hammer and picked up the win. Fantastic match!
Winner: Michael Elgin
After the match, Elgin said Ishii was the best competition he could ask for. He then said he’ll be the New Japan Cup 2018 winner. Speaking to the media, Elgin said he fights for his son and that’s the only thing that matters. He closed it out by saying he can’t be stopped.
