NJPW New Japan Cup 2020
Night 5 – Round 2
Event Date: June 24, 2020 (19:00 JST)
aired live on NJPW World
#njcup
City: Bunkyo, Tokyo, Japan
Venue: Korakuen Hall
Attendance: empty arena
Series: New Japan Cup 2020
Commentary (English, recorded remotely): Kevin Kelly
Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Katsuhiko Kanazawa, Kazuki Kusanagi (1, 3), Yohei Onishi (2, 4), Shinpei Nogami (5), Satoshi Kojima (5)
Ring Announcer: Makoto Abe
Video
A brief look at this year’s New Japan Cup featuring heavyweights, juniors, and young lions.
Ring Area
Makoto Abe is in the ring, and he announces tonight’s matches.
Match 1
New Japan Cup Second Round Match
Taiji Ishimori vs Yoshinobu Kanemaru
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Taiji Ishimori wins via pinfall after the Bloody Cross
Time: 9:18
Match Thoughts
Good match. As the match was starting, Kevin Kelly said that Taiji Ishimori has never beaten Yoshinobu Kanemaru in more than ten one-one-one matches. That stat surprised me quite a lot, and it made me think about this match a little differently. Before I’d heard that, I expected Ishimori to be dominant, but after learning about their past, it came as no surprise that Kanemaru ended up controlling most of this match. Kanemaru started with a pre-match attack, and it took Ishimori a long time before he could even start to fight back. This was a fairly fast-paced match, and I liked it quite a lot. I think knowing the personal history between these two guys helped make it even better.
Match 2
New Japan Cup Second Round Match
Tomohiro Ishii vs Togi Makabe
(referee: Kenta Sato)
Result: Tomohiro Ishii wins via pinfall after a vertical drop brainbuster
Time: 13:28
Match Thoughts
Very good match. These two guys started slamming into each other right away. They first tried to just run each other over, then they started the first of many striking exchanges. The hits kept coming over and over again, only to be broken up by a few slams here and there. With the way match went, it was really just a matter of who could take the most punishment and still keep standing. I think Ishii had the edge both in taking and dealing punishment. Makabe is tough, but Ishii just barely seems to register pain most of the time. This was a lot of fun.
Match 3
Douki & Zack Sabre Jr. & Taichi vs Ryusuke Taguchi & Kota Ibushi (IWGP Tag Champ) & Hiroshi Tanahashi (IWGP Tag Champ)
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Ryusuke Taguchi pins Douki after Dodon
Time: 13:55
Match Thoughts
Very good match. Though Ibushi and Taichi are both still in the New Japan Cup, this match felt like it was more just about building the grudge between the teams of Tanahashi and Ibushi versus Taichi and ZSJ. Ibushi ran to the ring and attacked Taichi before the bell, and that started this match off with chaos. Things did settle down in the ring shortly after that, but there was still quite a lot of fighting outside the ring. Suzuki Gun focused heavily on hurting Tanahashi’s knee in the ring, and Ibushi was kept at a distance for a good portion of the match. Since nothing could really be settled in this match, it’s no surprise that the finish occurred between Taguchi and Douki. Still, even though the finish didn’t mean much, this was another good step in the buildup of friction between the tag champs and Suzuki Gun.
Ring Area
After the match, Taichi and ZSJ attack Ibushi and Tanahashi. Ibushi and Tanahashi go down, and Taichi and ZSJ pick up the tag titles. Before they can use the titles as weapons, Ryusuke Taguchi snatches both titles away from them. Ibushi and Tanahashi fight off Suzuki Gun, and Taichi and ZSJ back away.
Video
Again, Way to the Grand Master is coming soon.
Ring Area
The commentators talk as the ring is sanitized during a brief intermission.
Match 4
New Japan Cup Second Round Match
Hiromu Takahashi (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champ) vs Toru Yano
(referee: Marty Asami)
Result: Hiromu Takahashi wins via count out after taping Yano’s hands and head and sending him down an elevator (while Takahashi was taped to Yota Tsuji)
Time: 9:17
Match Thoughts
This was fun. I knew this was going to be a bizarre match going in, and it didn’t let me down. I don’t want to give too much of it away here, but the basic premise is that Hiromu Takahashi was terrified of Toru Yano because Yano used to bully him when Takahashi was a young lion. Apparently Yano once shaved Takahashi’s head, so the main theme of this match was Yano threating to cut or shave Takahashi’s hair while Takahashi looked for any means of escape. It definitely made Yano the bad guy in this scenario which was certainly interesting to see. And yeah, I’ve never seen a finish quite like this before. I enjoyed it quite a lot.
Match 5
New Japan Cup Second Round Match
Yuji Nagata vs Kazuchika Okada
(referee: Red Shoes Unno)
Result: Kazuchika Okada wins via submission with a modified Cobra Clutch
Time: 20:14
Match Thoughts
Great match. Yuji Nagata has been a big surprise and a sentimental favorite of mine in this tournament so far. Just like in his match against Minoru Suzuki, Yuji Nagata looked great again tonight. Okada had the speed and agility advantage, but Nagata had a very big advantage when it came to straight-up strong style. Okada tried to match strikes with Nagata at certain points during the match. Okada did well, but Nagata tended to dominate those segments. Okada is smart though, and he diversified his attacks throughout the entire match. Nagata was never quite sure what Okada was going to try next, and that made it difficult for Nagata to defend well. This was a really good match on multiple levels (technical, emotional, entertainment, etc.).
Show Impressions
This show got the second round off to a good start. I enjoyed all the matches, and there was a lot of variety in the action. Plus, I’m happy with the winners of every match (though I would’ve been happy with either man winning the main event).
Match of the Night
Yuji Nagata vs Kazuchika Okada
I’d like to see Nagata get some nice, prominent singles matches after his performance in this year’s New Japan Cup.
Official Results (Japanese): https://www.njpw.co.jp/tornament/248166?showResult=1