Half the final four set in Nagaoka

Two of New Japan Cup 2022’s final four are set, after Nagaoka saw a pair of thrilling quarterfinals on March 20. 

The main event saw a first time ever meeting between two men with similar roots in Ultimo Dragon and Toryumon coaching, Kazuchika Okada taking on CIMA. As Okada used his weight to grind on CIMA in a headlock early, the Rainmaker was determined to show he and NJPW’s superiority over the GLEAT representative. CIMA would throw the first strike with a chop, but quickly paid with a seated basement dropkick, and the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion continued to keep full control. 

It was a stungun over the top rope that saw CIMA find his first opening of the match, and the #STRONGHEARTS leader would decide to focus on Okada’s neck. After an Okada like DDT on the floor, CIMA went high risk, and connected with a Meteora down the apron line that had the champion out of the ring until a count of 18; Okada would find his own space with a flapjack, but clear damage had been done at the ten minute mark. 

The Rainmaker found his own DDT in ring, and then one on the floor to complete the receipt. Okada briefly locked in a Money Clip on CIMA, but a quick escape was followed with a short range dropkick and a Saito suplex, but Okada stayed half a step ahead, and a dropkick scored before the top rope elbow as the champion got set to finish his foe off. 

The first Rainmaker attempt of the match was met with a backcracker, and CIMA landed the reverse Meteora he scored on Hirooki Goto in round three, but the front facing version was countered into a corkscrew Tombstone. CIMA still stayed in the hunt, and landed a second rope backcracker and springboard dropkick before a double stomp off the top, but another Meteora attempt met with disaster as he crashed knees first into the canvas. 

Okada capitalized on the mistake with the Money Clip, CIMA fading before only barely making the bottom rope. Desperately staying in the hunt, he would avoid a Landsluide Tombstone attempt and roll into an enzuigiri, and Rainmaker was countered with a thrust kick, but a codebreaker attempt would be caught into the Landslide and then the Rainmaker. Okada had a rare show of respect for his Toryumon senior post match, before shifting his sights to March 26.

March 26 in Osaka Jo-Hall will see Okada face Tetsuya Naito, who got past Jeff Cobb in the night’s semi main event. Naito clearly went for Cobb’s bad knee in the early moments; when Cobb avoided contact, Naito instead went up to the big man’s neck with a tijeras and a full leg Nelson. The offense had little impact on Cobb, who hit a fallaway slam to send Naito to the floor, before dominating in and out of the ring.

Cobb would even use Naito’s corner dropkick combination for two, as insult and injury piled up for El Ingobernable until a missed standing moonsault allowed Naito to dropkick the knee and go up with a neckbreaker. Going to his MO of knee and neck assaults, Naito would weaken the base of Cobb before landing back elbows to the neck; the Imperial Unit would find space with a lariat, but a follow up corner splash took just as much out of him as Naito. 

A huge superplex from the apron to center ring certainly did more damage to Naito, and a standing moonsault followed, but neither move led to the finish. Instead, Naito landed a wild desperation DDT before Esperanza connected, but a running Destino was effortlessly countered with an Athletic Plex. Naito again went to the base of Cobb, but a Doctor Bomb nearly got three for the imperial Unit instead. 

Cobb went for the Tour of the Islands, but was countered with a short Destino. Naito would try for the full version, countered into a near Tour, but the wherewithal of Naito saw a rollup and a three count.