ZSJ, Naito to face off in Sunday final
Zack Sabre Jr will face Tetsuya Naito in the finals of the 2022 New Japan Cup, after both survived two gruelling semifinals in Osaka Jo Hall on March 26.
Sabre was first to book his place in the final, forcing a referee stoppage to get past Shingo Takagi. With neck issues being a pervading factor through Takagi’s tournament the question was not ‘if’ but ‘how long before’ ZSJ would target the weakened body part. Under two minutes was the answer as ZSJ tried a cravate, but it was at three and a half that Sabre threw a kick designed to bait Takagi into a Dragon Screw counter, itself turned into a neck twist. There, Sabre had an opening that he refused to relinquish through the match, unless to apply supplementary damage to the Dragon’s arm as he caught a Ryukon Elbow into a cross armbreaker.
Takagi would throw what he could in response, using power to combat technique. A pop up DVD would rattle Sabre, and Shingo withstood damage done to himself to land a superplex. In a bid to use Shingo’s growing momentum against him, Sabre would escalate the pace with flash pins and a Dragon suplex, but this was almost the Briton’s undoing.
The quicker the pace the better things suited Takagi, who landed Made In Japan for two and goaded his foe into a strike exchange. Yet Sabre would doggedly avoid Last of the Dragon, eventually countering into a rear naked choke. In a bid to shake his opponent off, Takagi would climb to the middle rope, and throw himself backward, crushing Sabre. Still though, ZSJ kept the hold on, the referee making the correct call to wave off the match in Sabre’s favour.
That left Tetsuya Naito and Kazuchika Okada in the main event. After an even start, Okada had the first significant damaging blow of the match, a top rope dropkick sending Naito tumbling to the floor, where he was the recipient of a hangman’s DDT over the guardrail. As the IWGP World heavyweight Champion wore a cool countenance on his face, taking full control until a sudden dropkick to Okada’s knee had the Rainmaker screaming in pain.
Naito pressed the advantage outside, mirroring Okada’s guardrail assault, but dropkicking his foe’s knee into the ringside steel. Back in the ring, Naito would go to a now familiar refrain, switching from knee to neck and back again, but both men had difficulties responding and following through on signature attacks. Naito’s corner dropkick would be denied, as would Okada’s top rope elbow before a success on the second attempt.
Instead Okada would have more success with a brutal shotgun dropkick and Money Clip, but Naito would stay in the hunt. Switching between past and present offense, Naito would follow Esperanza and a running Destino with Gloria and then a Stardust Press attempt. Unlike in Sapporo though, the move would do heavy damage to El Ingobernable on empty impact with the mat; still though Okada could not capitalize as Naito resolutely refused to go for the ride on a Tombstone or Rainmaker.
Instead, Naito would go to the jackknife pin that has earned him success through the tournament. Okada escaped, but when Naito got out of the back door of another attempted Rainmaker he teased Destino only to cradle his opponent with the Polvo de Estrella pin for the victory.
