Okayama sees third night of round two
March 13 sees the New Japan Cup roll on to Okayama. With half of the quarter finals bracket set, two more tournament matches will see two advance from the upper right bracket to face off Sunday in Shizuoka.
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Main event: New Japan Cup 2nd Round- Shingo Takagi vs Gabe Kidd
Winner faces EVIL or Hikuleo March 15
A first time ever matchup that was denied fans in the UK thanks to injury takes place in the second round of the Cup, Gabe Kidd going head to head with Shingo Takagi. For all of Kidd’s abrasive attitude, his fighting spirit and intense style have never been in question, on full display as they were in a Korakuen classic earlier this February opposite HENARE. Takagi himself expressed appreciation for the bout and for what Gabe can bring to the table; after having a stunning victory over Yuya Uemura in his home town of Yamanashi as Kidd advanced past countryman Callum Newman, the Rampage Dragon is eager for a hot main event that the War Ready Kidd is certainly ready to provide.
7th Match: New Japan Cup 2nd Round- Hikuleo vs EVIL
Winner faces Shingo Takagi or Gabe Kidd March 15
With Jack Perry already enjoying ill gotten gains in the form of a quarter final spot thanks to interference from HOUSE OF TORTURE, Hikuleo faces NEVER Openweight Champion EVIL for his own spot in the Elite Eight. As big, strong and powerful as HIkuleo is, it’s unlikely he can deal with the numbers game H.O.T plays by himself. The loyalty of the Guerrillas of Destiny will be a valuable asset in this heavyweight clash; could G1 quarterfinalist Hikuleo reach the last eight in the New Japan Cup as well?
6th Match: Tanga Loa, El Phantasmo, Togi Makabe & El Desperado vs Los Ingobernables De Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI)
Eight man action will see a preview of Friday’s second round bout between Yota Tsuji and El Phantasmo. Off of impressive performances and momentum boosting victories in the first round, ELP and Tsuji presents an incredibly enticing second round match up, and Okayama gets a taste of things to come tonight.
5th Match: TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yujiro Takahashi & Ren Narita)
Zack Sabre Jr. will get a preview of his round two match with Ren Narita tonight in Okayama. Traditionally Sabre and TMDK have had the clear advantage over HOUSE OF TORTURE and their shenanigans, but with Narita’s pride having been burned against ZSJ when competing for the NJPW World TV Championship at last year’s Wrestle Kingdom, he and his allies will be sure to pull out all the stops in the coming nights.
4th Match: Just Five Guys (DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA) vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Gedo, Chase Owens, KENTA & David Finlay)
Ahead of SANADA and Dab\vid Finlay’s respective quarterfinals in the Cup, a potential semifinal preview pits BULLET CLUB against Just Five Guys. For Taichi and Yuya Uemura, a chance to regain lost momentum tonight, and KENTA and Chase Owens have IWGP Tag Team Championship shaped targets on their backs to boot.
3rd Match: Ryusuke Taguchi & Shota Umino vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Jack Perry)
Shota Umino has steadily put the pieces together of late in tag team action, following two bitter singles losses against EVIL and then Jack Perry in recent weeks. It’s against Perry that Umino has his biggest personal issue though, and tag action tonight will see the Roughneck teaming with Ryusuke Taguchi as they try and ensure Perry and Yoshinobu Kanemaru don’t get involved on EVIL’s behalf later in the evening.
2nd Match: CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) vs United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira & TJP)
As factions continue to jockey for position, United Empire and CHAOS do trios battle in Okayama. With their entrants out of the cup, United Empire want to show their position as a threat together or separate as NJPW heads into the spring.
1st Match: Tomoaki Honma & Toru Yano vs United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)
The opening contest of the evening pits former IOWGP Tag team Champions Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb against Toru Yano and Tomoaki Honma. Who can set the pace with tag team supremacy in the early going tonight?
