Final Four locked
The final four are set in the New Japan Cup, after Shizuoka saw the last two quarterfinal matchups.
The first quarterfinal match of the day pit Yota Tsuji against Ren Narita. Narita tried to get the jump on Tsuji on his entrance, getting short shrift from Tsuji who drove his foe into the railing to the delight of the Shizuoka crowd. It was a misdirection from Narita that turned the tide however, and the Souled Out HOUSE OF TORTURE member took control with a big boot to the face. Fans scattered as Narita took control on the floor; Tsuji made it back in the ring before the referee’s count, but Narita remained on the offensive. Putting Tsuji in a Boston Crab, Narita passed on a cruel reminder of his Young Lion days, but the LIJ member would grit his teeth and fire off a back elbow to get distance at the ten minute mark.
With an arm drag that took Narita to the floor, Tsuji had designs on a dive to his foe; Narita sought o ward of Tsuji with his pushup bar and was foiled, but grabbed a chair to clobber Tsuji on his second try. Remaining in the driver’s seat, Narita got a near two off a German suplex, but a second rope attack to Tsuji was countered with a face breaking combination. A brainbusterbomb followed and Tsuji set for the Gene Blaster but was met with a guillotine knee, but Tsuji countered the Double Cross, landing on his feet and bringing Narita down. Just as the Gene Blaster was set to hit though, Narita pulled in the referee who was ploughed through by Tsuji.
That brought out H.O.T, and the pushup bar from Narita, but Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI hit the ring in response. Tsuji foiled Narita’s pushup bar attack and a low blow, scoring a pin with La Casadora. An angered EVIL came to the ring to beat down Tsuji, but Shingo Takagi sprinted in to fight back, and the main event was underway, the Dragon getting two off a suplex. H.O.T got the advantage on the floor though, and EVIL targeted the taped up shoulder of Shingo with the aid of his lackeys to boot. It was a de-facto lumberjack match, and one that Shingo was struggling in until he was able to use his functioning left arm to hit the Ryukon Lariat.
With a rake of the eyes, EVIL caught a break, and H.O.T stacked chairs up at ringside for the King of Darkness to spike Shingo atop of. It would be EVIL that tasted the steel with a suplex though, with a superplex following back in for a near two. In trouble, and running out of dirty tricks in the book, EVIL feigned a right knee injury, drawing the referee to get drilled by a charging Shingo; again H.O.T hit the ring en masse as Takagi was driven into a now exposed corner buckle, but Takagi fired out anyway with a lariat. A cracking Pumping Bomber scored two for Shingo as recovered LIJ forces took care of the outside interference; Made In Japan scored, landed but again interference took hold.
Bodies flew everywhere as H.O.T and LIJ battled; a backfiring mist from BUSHI, whiskey from Kanemaru and then powder from Togo ensured that Takagi was thoroughly blinded however, and after EVIL, the three count was rendered. EVIL and Yota Tsuji, and Hirooki Goto vs SANADA are not the two tournament semifinals, to be wrestled in Hamamatsu March 18.
