Round two ends as quarterfinal field determined
March 15 sees the New Japan Cup come to Osaka, and the conclusion of the round of 16. With the tournament just days from its conclusion, the pace of the action heats up, and the impacts get harder with our last two tournament matches to come tonight.
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Main event: New Japan Cup 2nd Round- Zack Sabre Jr. vs Ren Narita
Singles record: 1-0 Sabre
Winner faces Yota Tsuji or El Phantasmo March 17 in Shizuoka
Zack Sabre Jr headed into the second round after his round one bye hoping to be paired with former Dangerous Tekkers partner Taichi tonight, but instead will face Ren Narita thanks to a tainted victory for Souled Out Narita last week in Hyogo. It’s reasonable to suspect that Sabre isn’t sweating the prospect of HOUSE OF TORTURE interference tonight- in ZSJ’s numerous runins with the House, he and TMDK have tended to have the upper hand in short order, staying one step ahead of the groups devious tactics.
Yet tonight sees Narita all the more motivated to take down the Front Man. At the end of 2022, many had Narita circled as the centerpiece of the tournament to crown the first ever NJPW World TV Champion, but he would find himself stopped at the Tokyo Dome final by Sabre, who dominated as the belt’s first holder for a full year. Perhaps his Wrestle Kingdom 17 defeat to Sabre sent Narita down the path to the HOUSE OF TORTURE front door- now will it be H.O.T that brings Narita to the Elite Eight, or will he live or die on his own considerable merits?
7th Match: New Japan Cup 2nd Round- El Phantasmo vs Yota Tsuji
Winner faces Zack Sabre Jr. or Ren Narita March 17
In spite of back to back success in the Super J-Cup in 2019 and 2020, El Phantasmo had short shrift in New Japan Cup competition until a reaffirming victory over Mikey Nicholls last weekend in Hyogo. The main event that night though, Yota Tsuji also got some much needed reaffirmation with a stunning victory over Jeff Cobb many still hold as the match of the tournament so far. That sets the table for this semifinal clash in Osaka. An incredible clash on paper, this battle of two of NJPW’s most dynamic heavyweight wrestlers should bring high speed, high impact and high athleticism every step of the way, but who has the highest will to win?
6th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) vs United Empire (Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, TJP & Francesco Akira)
United Empire continue to work toward building back strong from their New Japan Cup exits with eight man action tonight. Though the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito makes LIJ attractive opposition, the juniors in this match are also worth looking out for in this one, as Best of the Super Jr. approaches in May.
5th Match: Jado, YOH, Hikuleo, Tanga Loa & Shota Umino vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Dick Togo, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, Yujiro Takahashi, Jack Perry & EVIL)
Two days removed from Hikuleo and EVIL’s Cup clash, ten man action tonight in Osaka. As Shota Umino continues to pick up the pieces in a team setting from singles losses, and YOH continues to be a thorn in the side of H.O.T, what happens in this chaotic setting?
4th Match: Ryusuke Taguchi, Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs BULLET CLIB (Taiji Ishimori, Gabe Kidd, Chase Owens, KENTA & David Finlay)
More ten man action will see a preview of David Finlay and Hirooki Goto’s quarterfinal meeting Saturday. What’s sure to be a hard hitting tournament bout will have an equally competitive tag preview in Osaka.
3rd Match: Boltin Oleg, Tomoaki Honma, El Desperado & Togi Makabe vs Just Five Guys (DOUKI, Yuya Uemura, Taichi & SANADA)
Eight man action sees Just Five Guys take on Hontai in Osaka. SANADA wants to set a strong pace and send a strong message to Jack Perry ahead of the first quarterfinals night Saturday- will he and J5G come out with the W?
2nd Match: Callum Newman vs Mikey Nicholls
A singles clash of two first round eliminations, Callum Newman and Mikey Nicholls make for an intriguing one on one matchup. The Prince of Pace’s incredible speed and Mad Mikey’s brute force power collide in Osaka for the first time as both men seek to gain momentum.
1st Match: Shoma Kato vs Katsuya Murashima
Singles record: 0-0-3
Shoma Kato and Katsuya Murashima get the call to battle in the first match of the night. The two young prospects have wrestled to a pair of ten minute draws before; will it be third time lucky for one to get their first singles win?
