New Japan Pro Wrestling continued their annual New Japan Cup tournament. Since the show aired at 5:30am EST on NJPWWorld.com, here’s a spoiler-free summary for the non-nite owl New Japan fans. Each match receives a Need To Watch Rating of 0.0-10.0
FIRST MATCH: Tetsuhiro Yagi & Tomoyuki Oka vs. Bullet Club (Tanga Loa & Yujiro Takahashi)
Hard-hitting opening match. Yujiro and Tanga Loa have yet to really coalesce as a tag team, but only because they’re usually parts of separate units. Tomoyuki Oka continues to be a star in the making.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.0)
SECOND MATCH: Shota Umino, David Finlay & Michael Elgin vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
Shota and Finlay continue to be an effective unit. Slow but inoffensive match. Recommended viewing simply for the fact that Lance Archer makes children cry, literally.
Need To Watch rating: (3.5)
THIRD MATCH: Toa Henare & Togi Makabe vs. CHAOS (Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii)
A really fast paced brawl of a match. Henare and Makabe are a terrifying unit to all but Ishii. Yano played unwilling punching bag.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.2)
FOURTH MATCH: Kota Ibushi, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens vs. CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI, Chuckie T & Hirooki Goto)
Quick and fun match. Owens and Ibushi continue to be a surprisingly cohesive unit. Ibushi seemed embarrassed by Bad Luck Fale’s typical Fale antics. Chuckie T continues to prove why he’s the champion of Reseda and is fitting in nicely with the CHAOS faction.
Need To Watch Rating: (5.5)
FIFTH MATCH: CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka)
This was a sublime bit of undercard tag team action. Suzuki and Okada always have amazing chemistry, and being paired with their older compatriots contextualized them as the living legends that they are. Definitely recommended viewing.
Need To Watch Rating: (8.6)
SIXTH MATCH: Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA) vs. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, TAKA Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr.)
A wild, fun, chaotic brawl between the top two factions in New Japan. Naito and Desperado continue their entertaining rivalry, while Hiromu and BUSHI continue their quest to best the IWGP Jr. Tag Champs Desperado and Kanemaru. Also, if this match is any indication, SANADA and Zack Sabre Jr. will be having a truly epic match in the Semi-Finals.
Need To Watch Rating: (9.0)
MAIN EVENT: New Japan Cup Semi-Final Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Juice Robinson
Juice Robinson’s first certified classic. As good as his matches with Elgin and Takahashi have been, this was a main event match against Hiroshi Tanahashi. A main event match that would feel at home on any big New Japan show, short of Wrestle Kingdom. Truly a must watch match for fans of both men. It might seem early to chip away at my own rating system, but it’s worth it for this match. Seek. Out. This. Match.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.1)
