Full results: https://www.njpw1972.com/tornament/40410?showResult=1
Event replay (English commentary): https://njpwworld.com/p/s_series_00511_24_1
After a grueling 16 day tour, 32 of New Japan’s finest were reduced to just two in Nagaoka on March 24th. After over half an hour of action, the one to have his hand raised was Kazuchika Okada, who bested home town hero SANADA and booked his ticket to the main event of G1 Supercard on April 6th.
SANADA showed his trademark composure in the early going, controlling Okada both on the mat and outside the ring, gracefully faking a dive to the floor and seamlessly landing a cannonball plancha from the apron. With Okada seemingly unable to pressure a mistake from his opponent, he would instead bring pace and power, high velocity knockdowns and brutal shotgun dropkicks finding their mark.
The closing stretch of the match saw both men struggling to negotiate Tombstone piledrivers and Skull Ends, each lifting pages from their opponent’s playbooks. SANADA was determined to finish the Rainmaker with a Muto Moonsault, but Okada was similarly dogged, grasping at SANADA’s ankle and even his boot laces to prevent the Nagaoka native’s victorious ascent.
Determination paid off, and an emphatic Rainmaker saw Okada to his second New Japan Cup victory in just three appearances. Gracious in victory, the Rainmaker was full of praise for his opponent, while emphasizing the toughness of the competition in the torunament. ‘Title matches, G1s, those are undoubtedly tough, but man this was hard,’ he’d comment post match.
The first to congratulate Okada on his victory was Katsuyori Shibata, who was commentating on the match from the Japanese broadcast position. Okada was brought to tears at this show of support, voice trembling as he said ‘two years ago, he was in this position, and the result was what it was,’ referring to their Sakura Genesis 2017 IWGP title match that led to the injury that saw Shibata withdraw from in-ring competition. Shibata’s approval seemed to make the former IWGP Champion doubly determined to take his title back from the waist of Jay White. Can Okada finally overcome the Switchblade on wrestling holy ground at G1 Supercard from Madison Square Garden? Find out April 6 on NJPW World.
The semi main event saw Juice Robinson make his second defense of the IWGP United States Championship, overcoming Chase Owens and a deck that couldn’t be more stacked against the champion.
From the outset, Master Heater Jado was fixed on intervening in the match, before his luck was pushed too far, and his kendo stick lay broken, after Robinson managed to get some shots in. When referee Red Shoes Unno was laid out, Owens would take advantage, as would Bad Luck Fale, who made his way to the ring. The Left Hand Of God delivered Juice from failure, however, and Owens, Jado and Fale all got a taste before Pulp Friction kept the belt on the Flamboyant One’s shoulder.
Post match, Fale would again assault Robinson, leading to a Bad Luck Fall for the US Champ. It was new CHAOS recruit Mikey Nicholls that made the save for Robinson, another sign of CHAOS and New Japan’s Hontai co-operating. How will this alliance play out?
The sixth match of the evening saw CHAOS and BULLET CLUB collide as Mikey Nicholls, YOSHI-HASHI and Hirooki Goto faced Bad Luck Fale, Hikuleo and the IWGP Champion, Jay White. The BULLET CLUB super heavyweights combined well with White, who again proved himself as one of the best counter wrestlers in the industry today, as he slipped out of a Goto GTR attempt to his a Bladerunner for the win.
Tempers flared in the fifth match on the card, as Hiroshi Tanahashi and Will Ospreay, two men who had impressive New Japan Cup runs, took on Taichi and Zack Sabre Junior. ZSJ was intent on out wrestling Tanahashi and proving that his loss to the Ace during the Cup was a fluke. Taichi also had a chip on his shoulder, and wanted to assert his dominance over NEVER Openweight Champion Ospreay, after a previous title match between the two late last year had to be cancelled due to an Ospreay injury. A Gedo clutch secured the win for Taichi after Ospreay, and post match Taichi and ZSJ would both pay twisted tribute to the greats by stretching their rivals; Zack with an Inoki-style Cobra Twist (with a leg bending twist), and Taichi with his Holy Emperor’s Crucifix Tomb, a version of Toshiaki Kawada’s Stretch Plum. These two pairings are sure to meet up one on one at some point in the future; where and when are the only questions.
The same questions could be asked of EVIL and Tomohiro Ishii, as well as Kota Ibushi and Tetsuya Naito, who all tore each other apart during the fourth match. Ibushi and Ishii were teamed with Young Lion Ren Narita and Ryusuke Taguchi against a Los Ingobernables de Japon team of Naito, EVIL, BUSHI and Shingo Takagi. Takagi would get yet another win on a dominant tour for the Dragon, nailing a game Narita with a Pumping Bomber, but the story was of Ibushi tearing into Naito on the floor and asking when the two were going to go at it for Naito’s Intercontinental title, all while EVIL and Ishii had to be pulled apart by some very brave Young Lions.
Suzuki Gun looked to reassert their presence in the New Japan narrative in the third match on the card. A Killer Bomb to Tomoaki Honma saw Lance Archer score a win for himself, Davey Boy Smith Junior and Minoru Suzuki against Honma, Togi Makabe and Toru Yano.
Michael Elgin was showed similar strength in the second bout, pinning Shota Umino with an Elgin Bomb as he, Toa Henare and Colt Cabana stood tall over Shota Umino, Satoshi Kojima and Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
In the opener, Yuji Nagata played his familiar harsh mentor role, stretching Yuuya Uemura with the Nagata Lock II until submission gave him and Manabu Nakanishi the win over Uemura and Yota Tsuji.
