Korakuen action live and free on NJPW World
After New Japan Cup gets underway on March 6 at Anniversary, Korakuen Hall sees the left side of the bracket completed as half of the sweet sixteen to make round two are determined.
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Main event: New Japan Cup 1st Round: TJP vs David Finlay
Singles record: 1-0 Finlay
Winner faces Tanga Loa or Great-O-Khan March 12 in Uwajima
In the wake of Will Ospreay’s departure to AEW, TJP has volunteered himself to take the lead if needed within United Empire, and has pledged to be an openweight competitor. That means entering an NJPW heavyweight tournament for the first time in his career, opposite the ‘GOAT slayer’ David Finlay. For Finlay, the ecstasy of victory over Ospreay in the Dog Pound Cage Match in Osaka was replaced by agony of defeat at the hands of Nic Nemeth and the loss of the IWGP Global Championship in Sapporo. After Finlay defeated TJP in a hard fought battle in San Jose in January, he will be looking to make a forceful statement in the Cup, but could this be the upset special of the first round?
7th Match: New Japan Cup 1st Round- Tanga Loa vs Great-O-Khan
Singles record: 1-1
Winner faces TJP or David Finlay March 12 in Uwajima
Both competitors in this Korakuen contest will be motivated by recent exits. For Tanga Loa, bidding farewell to his brother Tama Tonga in Sapporo has the Silverback considering his own future within NJPW, and the chance for a Cinderella run in this year’s Cup could convince him of a bright future still to come. Great-O-Khan was furious at the way in which Kazuchika Okada made his exit from New Japan and is determined to prove that the Rainmaker has left because he was scared to face the Dominator and his own vision of NJPW’s future. Both have traded wins in G1 Climax encounters, with Loa’s victory over O-Khan in Ota last summer being a particularly notable one for the Silverback. Who’s will proves stronger this March?
6th Match: New Japan Cup 1st Round- Chase Owens vs Tomohiro Ishii
Singles record: 1-1
Winner faces Hirooki Goto March 12 in Uwajima
While Chase Owens recent championship victory has required the strength of numbers, a win in Osaka securing the IWGP Tag Team Championships alongside KENTA, and only then with the aid of Taiji Ishimori, one cannot count the Crown Jewel out in singles tournament settings, nor in the hallowed Hall. Owens can lay claim to big wins over Hiroshi Tanahashi and Juice Robinson in Korakuen on his resume, as well as a G1 victory over his opponent on March 7 in Tomohiro Ishii. As Ishii will reset following Kazuchika Okada’s departure and breakup of his NEVER Openweight 6 Man Championship team, singles glory will be a tantalizing prospect, but Owens is a tough first round draw.
5th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) vs Just Five Guys (SANADA, Taichi, Yuya Uemura, DOUKI & TAKA Michinoku)
With members yet to wrestle their respective New Japan Cup matches, LIJ and J5G will instead meet in ten man tag team action Tonight. Their Sapporo singles battles put lines under a lot of issues between the two teams, and set a pecking order of sorts, certainly when it comes to Tetsuya Naito over SANADA and Yota Tsuji over Yuya Uemura for now. That order may change at the end of the tournament however, and the possibility of Tetsuya Naito wrestling SANADA in three consecutive championship matches still remains as well.
4th Match: YOH, Tomoaki Honma, El Desperado & Shota Umino vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Ren Narita & EVIL)
Fury from New Beginning in Sapporo a week ago will drive El Desperado and Shota Umino into combat against HOUSE OF TORTURE tonight. SHO’s disgraceful countout victory to grab the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship was something not even the worldly wise EL Desperado could have predicted. Meanwhile, Shota Umino’s desire to follow a violent victory over Ren Narita in Korakuen with an unwavering ‘ace like’ performance against EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship was met with total defeat at the hands of H.O.T. 24 hours after a clash with Jack Perry in Ota, where will Umino’s mental state be tonight?
3rd Match: United Empire (Callum Newman, Jeff Cobb & francesco Akira) vs BULLET CLUB (Taiji Ishimori, Gabe Kidd & KENTA)
Ahead of Callum Newman’s Friday Cup meeting with Gabe Kidd, six man preview action in Korakuen. Yamanashi will see the week end with perhaps the most hotly contended sections of the New Japan Cup bracket, and with Kidd and Callum equally hungry to show themselves in this tournament, this six man prelude is not one to be missed.
2nd Match: Toru Yano & Togi Makabe vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr.)
Before Mikey Nicholls and Zack Sabre Jr. both take their first strides into this year’s New Japan Cup, tag team action sees them tangle with the one time Most Violent Players. Can TMDK teamwork prevail over Yano and Makabe’s veteran violent tendencies?
1st match: Boltin Oleg, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto vs Guerrillas of Destiny (Jado, El Phantasmo & Hikuleo)
With the encouragement of Tama Tonga and the classic Guerrillas of Destiny team passing the torch to the new generation at New Beginning in Osaka, El Phantasmo and Hikuleo have to be wrestling their respective New Japan Cups with singles success on their minds, but also knowing the route back to the IWGP Tag Team Championships is a short one. For Bishamon meanwhile, YOSHI-HASHI facing KENTA on night one of the Cup, with Hirooki Goto potentially meeting Chase Owens via his bye, the path is much shorter, and the target as NJPW STRONG Openweight Champions on the backs of GoD, much more direct in our opener.
