Hyogo sees end of first round
At the end of a rollercoaster first week for the New Japan Cup, Hyogo will see the end of round one March 10. The field of 16 will now be complete for round two, as six men vie to join first round bye Zack Sabre Jr.
Main event: New Japan Cup 1st Round- Yota Tsuji vs Jeff Cobb
Winner faces El Phantasmo or Mikey Nicholls March 15 in Osaka
A first time ever singles encounter pits Yota Tsuji against jeff Cobb in first round action. In the wake of TJP and Great-O-Khan’s first round exits, it’s been a difficult week for the United Empire, and there’s a chance for Cobb to recover on behalf of his faction tonight. Yet opposite him is one of the pre-tournament favourites in Tsuji, one who is driven to battle his faction leader Tetsuya Naito for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Motivations are high, and so to is fan anticipation for what is stylistically an incredible main event on paper. The two men’s natural size and strength are matched with incredible athleticism and explosivity, and this is a big time battle that’s a big time treat for the crowd in Kobe.
7th Match: New Japan Cup 1st Round- Taichi vs Ren Narita
Winner faces Zack Sabre Jr. March 15 in Osaka
Another first time ever contest pits Taichi opposite Ren Narita. Taichi had a lot of previous with HOUSE OF TORTURE members at the end of 2023, but this will be his first time opposite Narita in a singles environment. The question is just how long the environment will remain a singles one, and how will Taichi deal with the numbers game when the situation arises. Zack Sabre Jr. awaits in the second round for one of these men, and with Taichi wanting to face his former championship tag partner and Narita hungry for revenge over a World TV title loss at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom, motivation will be high in what’s set to be a chaotic collision.
6th Match: New Japan Cup 1st Round- El Phantasmo vs Mikey Nicholls
Winner faces Yota Tsuji or Shingo Takagi March 15 in Osaka
Kicking off tournament action for the night will be Mikey Nicholls and El Phantasmo. Former IWGP and current NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champion Phantasmo might have been focused on his team with Hikuleo over the last six months to great success, but his singles track record, including in the single elimination tournament format of back to back Super J-Cups in 2019 and 2020, is definitely present. Mikey Nicholls, long held a tag team specialist with Shane Haste, has his own hard hitting singles potential waiting to be shown in the Cup. Will it manifest itself in a first round victory tonight?
5th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SHingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs United Empire (Great-O-Khan, TJP, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman)
After a challenging first week of the Cup for the United Empire, its members will be offering their own support to Jeff Cobb with a hopeful victory against Yota Tsuji’s LIJ teammates tonight. Will this eight man tag be a sign of singles success to come in the main event?
4th Match: Boltin Oleg, SHota Umino, El Desperado & YOH vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Shota Umino and El Desperado’s continued anger at HOUSE OF TORTURE manifests itself once again in eight man action tonight, while YOH continues to push the buttons of SHO- that is if his ‘severe physical and emotional trauma at the hands of Tetsuya Naito’ doesn’t prevent him from wrestling once again. After first stealing the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship belt, and then teasing the champion with a suspicious bag that ultimately only contained SHO’s old Roppongi 3K jacket, YOH seems to live rent free in what remains of SHO’s mind. What happens next between the two in Kobe?
3rd Match: Guerrillas of Destiny (Tanga Loa, Hikuleo & Jado) vs BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Gedo))
Six man action sees a preview of the second round Cup contest for surprise advance Tanga Loa and bracket favourite David Finlay. As GoD and BULLET CLUB continue to collide, it’s a rare chance for the big little brother of the Tongan clan Hikuleo to team with Tanga Loa, while former business ‘brothers’ Jado and Gedo lock horns once more.
2nd Match: Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii vs Just Five Guys (SANADA, DOUKI & Yuya Uemura)
More trios action pits the strong and the strange of Ishii, Yano and Taguchi against three of Just Five Guys. SANADA vs Yano is still a potential quarterfinal matchup in the upper left bracket, and this match could be a sign of things to come.
1st Match: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomoaki Honma vs BULLET CLUB (KENTA, Chase Owens & Taiji Ishimori)
Trios action will kick us off in Yamanashi. After YOSHI-HASHI eliminated KENTA from the New Japan Cup, Hirooki Goto will look to do the same to Chase Owens when they meet in their second round matchup in a couple of days time. Now it’s as teams that Bishamon and Honma face the IWGP Tag team Champions and the man who helped them to the gold in Taiji Ishimori.
