New Japan Cup: Day 3 Results & Review

Four more men move into Round 2

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Special Tag Match: Gabriel Kidd, Yuya Uemura, Yota Tsuji, Yuji Nagata vs DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki

With a star-packed New Japan Cup draw on the schedule today, we start things off with a special eight-man tag match. Surprise, surprise - Suzuki-gun gets the jump on the good guys before the bell rings. Yuji Nagata and Minoru Suzuki continue their feud right off the bat in this one, building on their terrific NJ Cup match from last week. Lots of good brawling outside the ring and fiery Young Lions in this match. Suzuki remains a joy to watch work, especially when matched up with a YL. The end comes at 10:33 as El Desperado hits the Pinche Loco on Yota Tsuji.

Should you watch it? Definitely a fun appetizer to the main course to come.

NJ Cup First Round: SANADA vs Ryusuke Taguchi

A bit of a 'funny ha-ha’ match, which really isn’t my thing, but it wasn’t too out of control. Started off with each guy trying to trick the other into fist bumps, and The Coach thinking he locked SANADA up in a Paradise Lock. Lots of atomic drops on Taguchi’s Atomic Weapon. Action picks up after the joke spots at the start, and it’s pretty much a sprint throughout, with lots of very near falls from Taguchi. The proverbial favourite to win the tournament, SANADA, advances with an O’Conner Bridge at 15:47. Then he leaves his shirt as a sign of respect for his vanquished opponent, who puts it on.

Should you watch it? Sure, why not.

NJ Cup First Round: SHO vs Shingo Takagi

This is the one many of us have been waiting for the most since this tournament was re-announced. And it didn’t disappoint. The Japanese announce team lose their minds throughout, which definitely adds to it. Lots of speedy, beefy action, with hard-hitting strikes. SHO kicks out of Made in Japan and Pumping Bomber, and finally gets over his Shingo Takagi hump with Shock Arrow at 17:06. Probably a result that broke some peoples’ brackets.

Should you watch it? Definitely.

NJ Cup First Round: Zack Sabre Jr. vs Kota Ibushi

Another highly-anticipated bout here, and it also delivered. Starts off with slick grappling exchanges, moves into hard strikes and submission attempts. These two work real well together, and ZSJ showed he is perhaps the best in the game at pulling off counters and locking on slick submissions. Ibushi hits a knee strike out of nowhere then a Kamigoye to win it in 15:15.

Should you watch it? Of course

NJ Cup First Round: Taichi vs Hiroshi Tanahashi

This one was a slog. A definite letdown from the matches that lead up to this main event. Taichi was on the offensive pretty much the whole fight, other than some brief Ace bursts. DOUKI gets involved and we’ve got some heel shenanigans. Taichi ends up getting a CLEAN PIN over the Ace, with Black Mephisto at 21:51. Then they heel it up some more, destroying Ace as well as Kota Ibushi when he comes out for the save.

Should you watch? Nope.