New Japan Cup 2018
Event Date: March 11, 2018 (16:00 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
City: Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan
Venue: BCOM General Gymnasium
Attendance: 4,311
Series: New Japan Cup 2018
Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Hirooki Goto (matches 6-8)
Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki, Makoto Abe
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Video
The same package video from the previous nights of the New Japan Cup is shown. It highlights the history of the New Japan Cup as well as this year’s participants.
Match 1
Ren Narita & Tetsuhiro Yagi vs Tomoyuki Oka & Yuji Nagata
(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)
Result: Tomoyuki Oka forces Ren Narita to submit to a Boston Crab
Time: 9:15
Match Thoughts
This was a good young lion opener. Nagata provided the veteran leadership, but this match was all about featuring the rookies. Yagi actually took the bigger role on his team for once, so Narita was the one that got beat up more. There was some mat wrestling to start, then Nagata got tagged in and started cleaning up. He took on both of the opposing young lions, but for a little while he did get double teamed. It was nice to see Nagata supporting the rookies and giving them some good moments.
Match 2
Shota Umino vs El Desperado (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champ)
(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)
Result: El Desperado wins via submission with Numero Dos (stretch muffler)
Time: 8:22
Match Thoughts
This was a good match for Umino. El Desperado didn’t have much trouble and he dominated Umino, but Umino had a segment where he built a good comeback that led to him putting Desperado in a juji-gatame. It was a good showing for the young lion, but Desperado didn’t have to work too hard to win this one.
Match 3
Yujiro Takahashi w/ Pieter & Chase Owens & Tanga Loa (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) & Bad Luck Fale (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champ) vs Toa Henare & David Finlay & Juice Robinson & Michael Elgin
(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)
Result: Tanga Loa pins Toa Henare after Apeshit (over the shoulder sit-out reverse piledriver)
Time: 9:41
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. The match started at a pretty good pace but then slowed down somewhat. There were a few momentum changes and a little bit of brawling, but overall I think this was a fairly standard tag match.
Match 4
Yoshinobu Kanemaru (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champ) & Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer vs Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto (NEVER Openweight Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)
Result: Toru Yano pins Yoshinobu Kanemaru after a low blow
Time: 9:46
Match Thoughts
Good match. Ishii spent a lot of time in the ring for his team. He got beat up by Archer and Smith for a while, but it all built up to Ishii suplexing Archer which was quite impressive. That (mostly) shifted the momentum of the match, and the final few sequences were fun. Yano was up to his usual tricks, and Kanemaru seemed a bit underpowered compared to everyone else.
Match 5
Taichi & Takashi Iizuka vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Hiroshi Tanahashi
(referee: Marty Asami; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)
Result: Taichi pins Ryusuke Taguchi after a superkick (and a spike from Iizuka)
Time: 10:44
Match Thoughts
Pretty good match. There was a fair amount brawling in the beginning, though the match did settle down somewhat as it went along. Tanahashi and Taichi don’t seem like they’re done with each other, but Taguchi seemed to take the brunt of the action for his team. I liked this alright, but it wasn’t anything terribly special.
Match 6
BUSHI & SANADA (IWGP Tag Champ) vs Chuckie T & Kazuchika Okada (IWGP Heavyweight Champ) w/ Gedo
(referee: Red Shoes Unno; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)
Result: Kazuchika Okada forces BUSHI to submit to a Cobra Clutch
Time: 9:00
Match Thoughts
Good match. Chuckie T started for his team and did fairly well, but he began to get overwhelmed by LIJ. Okada tagged in part way through the match and stayed the legal man for his team until the end. Chuckie and Okada didn’t necessarily work spectacularly as a team, but with Okada in the ring and Chuckie T running interference in and around the ring, Chaos did well.
Match 7
New Japan Cup First Round Match
Kota Ibushi vs YOSHI-HASHI
(referee: Red Shoes Unno; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)
Result: Kota Ibushi wins via pinfall after Kamigoye (wrist-lock knee strike)
Time: 22:23
Match Thoughts
Very good match. It started with some nice sequences on the mat, but it really started to pick up when Ibushi took the fight out to the crowd. Ibushi hit a diving moonsault from the wall separating the floor from the second level of seats (much like he did in his recent tag match), and after both men got back into the ring the battle got much more aggressive. YOSHI-HASHI and Ibushi traded some heavy strikes for a while. After a few minutes, YOSHI-HASHI gained an advantage and started punishing Ibushi with a lot of impactful moves. Ibushi managed to survive the onslaught long enough to put together a good finish to a very good match.
Match 8
New Japan Cup First Round Match
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Tetsuya Naito
(referee: Red Shoes Unno; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)
Result: Zack Sabre Jr. wins via submission with a modified stretch muffler
Time: 22:43
Match Thoughts
Great match! The match began with Naito attempting to frustrate Sabre with his usual method. Naito took his time before getting ready in the ring, and he would fake going in for a tie-up. Sabre seemed to get annoyed, but he never seemed rattled by Naito. Once the two got into the action, it was a good build up to the finish. It started with a little back an forth, but after a while it became a match where Sabre kept trying out different hold s and submissions, and it was a race to see whether or not Naito would give up before he found an opening to hit a big move. Sabre didn’t leave many openings though.
Show Impressions
Another good show. I think the tag matches might have been a little under the standard set by the previous two nights of the tournament shows, but the two first round Cup matches more than made up for any shortcomings earlier in the night.
Match of the Night
Zack Sabre Jr. vs Tetsuya Naito
I think this is my favorite match of the New Japan Cup so far this year.