{"id":3509,"date":"2018-03-09T03:30:42","date_gmt":"2018-03-09T09:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?p=3509"},"modified":"2018-03-10T13:49:27","modified_gmt":"2018-03-10T19:49:27","slug":"new-japan-cup-night-1-recap-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/new-japan-cup-night-1-recap-review\/","title":{"rendered":"New Japan Cup Night 1 &#8211; Recap &#038; Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>New Japan Cup 2018<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Event Date: March 9, 2018<\/strong> (18:30 JST)<br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #800080;\">aired live on NJPW World<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>City: <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=bunkyo-tokyo-japan\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Bunko<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=tokyo-japan\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Tokyo<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=japan\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Japan<\/span><\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Venue: <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=korakuen-hall\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Korakuen Hall<\/span><\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Attendance: 1,719<br \/>\nSeries: <span style=\"color: #800080;\">New Japan Cup 2018<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Commentary<\/strong> (English)<strong>: Kevin Kelly, Chuckie T<\/strong> (matches 3- 7)<br \/>\n<strong>Commentary<\/strong> (Japanese)<strong>: Milano Collection AT, Hirooki Goto<\/strong> (matches 3-7)<br \/>\n<strong>Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki, Makoto Abe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Video<\/em><\/span><br \/>\nA brief video package highlighting the history of the New Japan Cup, showing some of the notable winners and title matches that those winners received. This year&#8217;s participants are also shown.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 1<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Tetsuhiro Yagi &amp; Shota Umino &amp; Tomoyuki Oka vs Chuckie T &amp; Toru Yano &amp; Hirooki Goto<\/strong> (NEVER Openweight Champ)<br \/>\n(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a173','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a173\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a173\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Chuckie T pins Shota Umino after an Awful Waffle<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 6:14<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nThis was a nice opener. The match was short and the action was quick. Yagi got a beating, Oka looked determined, and Umino looked pretty good. Ultimately though, the team of Goto, Yano, and Chuckie T handled this one easily.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 2<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Davey Boy Smith Jr. &amp; Lance Archer vs Tanga Loa &amp; Bad Luck Fale<\/strong> (NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Champs)<br \/>\n(referee: Kenta Sato; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a274','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a274\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a274\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Davey Boy Smith Jr. pins Tanga Loa after a Killer Bomb<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 9:11<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nGood match. Smith and Archer took control of this one from the beginning and were never far away from being in complete control. They showed some good teamwork in isolating both Loa and Fale at different times. They also showed intelligence by focusing on the smaller Tanga Loa for most of the match. Loa starting mounting a comeback at one point, but the Killer Elite Squad, as a team, was just too much for him.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 3<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>El Desperado &amp; Yoshinobu Kanemaru<\/strong> (IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champs)<strong> &amp; Zack Sabre Jr.<\/strong> w\/ TAKA Michinoku <strong>vs BUSHI &amp; SANAD<\/strong>A (IWGP Tag Champ) <strong>&amp; Tetsuya Naito<\/strong><br \/>\n(referee: Marty Asami; guest commentary: Chuckie T; ring announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a2ab','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a2ab\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a2ab\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Zack Sabre Jr. forces BUSHI to submit to a modified STF<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 9:32<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nGood match. Both teams fought pretty evenly throughout this match. Suzuki Gun took the fight to the floor and gained some control, but back in the ring it became even again. Zack Sabre Jr. got tagged in for Suzuki Gun, and he finished the match after an exciting and extended sequence with Naito followed by a shorter sequence with BUSHI. Sabre seemed to be the star of this match after everything was over, and I think that was a good idea. Naito doesn&#8217;t need to be built up, so this building up Sabre for their first round match adds a lot of intrigue to the match.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 4<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Toa Henare &amp; David Finlay &amp; Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Taichi &amp; Takashi Iizuka &amp; Minoru Suzuki<\/strong> (IWGP IC Champ)<br \/>\n(referee: Marty Asami; guest commentary: Chuckie T; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a2dc','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a2dc\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a2dc\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Taichi pins Toa Henare after a superkick<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 13:12<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nGood match. This was Hiroshi Tanahashi&#8217;s first match back since losing the IC Title to Suzuki back in January, and those two men were a large focus of this bout. Tanahashi looked like he was still concerned with his knee, so of course Suzuki went after it. After the opening sequence, Suzuki Gun took the fight to the floor (naturally) and cheated as much as possible. Once the fight got back in the ring, Suzuki Gun dominated and Taichi began to emerge as he took advantage of the damage caused by Minoru Suzuki. Overall, this was a fun match with some interesting teases for future matches.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 5<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Chase Owens &amp; Kota Ibushi vs YOSHI-HASHI &amp; Kazuchika Okada<\/strong> (IWGP Heavyweight Champ) w\/ Gedo<br \/>\n(referee: Marty Asami; guest commentary: Chuckie T; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a30b','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a30b\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a30b\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Kazuchika Okada forces Chase Owens to submit to a Cobra Clutch<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 11:42<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nGood match. After two matches with a bunch of brawling, this was a nice change of pace. This bout was fought in the ring and mostly one-on-one. Everyone fought each other, and there didn&#8217;t seem to be a specific match-up that dominated any other. Of course, Ibushi and Okada were the most popular for their teams, but everything was spread out fairly evenly. This was a solid tag match, and even though there wasn&#8217;t a lot of superb teamwork, both teams had solid individual efforts.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 6<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>New Japan Cup First Round Match<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Yujiro Takahashi<\/strong> w\/ Nana <strong>vs Juice Robinson<\/strong><br \/>\n(referee: Red Shoes Unno; guest commentary: Chuckie T; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a345','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a345\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a345\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Juice Robinson wins via pinfall after Pulp Friction<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 16:08<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nVery good match. Surprisingly good actually. It started off pretty ordinary, but early in the match the fight went to the floor. It could have been some generic brawling at ringside, but Takahashi dropped Robinson on some chairs that left a large red welt and a couple of cuts on Robinson&#8217;s back. It looked like it hurt like crazy, and that move set up the rest of the match. The cuts on Robinson&#8217;s back kept bleeding throughout the match, and the pain he appeared to be going through helped make his battle more tense and impressive. Robinson got beat up a lot, but he showed a lot of resilience and determination as he kept kicking out of pin attempts. It might have bordered on a bit of ridiculousness when Robinson kept surviving, but I think it mostly worked. It certainly made me want to pull for Robinson when I didn&#8217;t really care who won before the match had started.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 7<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>New Japan Cup First Round Match<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Tomohiro Ishii vs Michael Elgin<\/strong><br \/>\n(referee: Red Shoes Unno; guest commentary: Chuckie T; ring announcer: Makoto Abe)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69f380239a391','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69f380239a391\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69f380239a391\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Michael Elgin wins via pinfall after a burning hammer<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 29:02<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nVery good match. This one was a slow build, but by the end both Elgin and Ishii were doing some crazy powerful moves. To start, both men were mostly just trading strikes and shoulder blocks. Kevin Kelly talked about them being mirror images of each other, and that played out in the ring. One of them would do something, then the other would do the same thing, then they would both repeat the same thing until someone fell down. Eventually they both starting hitting some power moves, but Elgin started to get the better of Ishii. Elgin certainly had the biggest moves, including a deadlift second rope falcon arrow and an avalanche splash mountain powerbomb that had Ishii scarily landing mostly on his head. The end of the match was mostly about Ishii refusing to go down and Elgin hitting him with a succession of strikes and throws.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Ring Area<\/em><\/span><br \/>\nMichael Elgin gets on the mic after the match. He says that he became a professional wrestler because he wants competition, and Ishii is the best competition in the world. But the New Japan Cup is all about winning. Elgin plans to win it all.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Show Impressions<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nThis was a nice opener for the New Japan Cup. The tournament matches both surprised me a little, and the tag matches had some decent teases for many of the first round matches.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match of the Night<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Michael Elgin vs Tomohiro Ishii<\/strong><br \/>\nThe other tournament match was very good too, and I think the decision for best match of the night could easily just come down to taste. But for me, I think the slow build and huge moments towards the end of the main event push it over the top.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Japan Cup 2018 Event Date: March 9, 2018 (18:30 JST) aired live on NJPW World City: Bunko, Tokyo, Japan Venue: Korakuen Hall Attendance: 1,719 Series: New Japan Cup 2018 Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Chuckie T (matches 3- 7) Commentary (Japanese): Milano Collection AT, Hirooki Goto (matches 3-7) Ring Announcer: Kimihiko Ozaki, Makoto Abe &nbsp; &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[620,297],"tags":[596,723,1437,608,1389,1587,1609,1796,581,1327,586,612,616,621,584,618,1322,637,1901,1319,1409,877,1797,1277,1320,1326,615,1315,1405,1903,1899,1900,1904,577,576,1341,1328,1279,1487,1324,1321,1773,1778,1338,607,1902,1400,613,603,1339,617,1329,595,901],"class_list":["post-3509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-njpw","category-show-results","tag-bad-luck-fale","tag-bullet-club","tag-bunkyo-tokyo-japan","tag-bushi","tag-chaos","tag-chase-owens","tag-chuckie-t","tag-davey-boy-smith-jr","tag-david-finlay","tag-el-desperado","tag-gedo","tag-hirooki-goto","tag-hiroshi-tanahashi","tag-japan","tag-juice-robinson","tag-kazuchika-okada","tag-kenta-sato","tag-kevin-kelly","tag-killer-elite-squad","tag-kimihiko-ozaki","tag-korakuen-hall","tag-kota-ibushi","tag-lance-archer","tag-los-ingobernables-de-japon","tag-makoto-abe","tag-marty-asami","tag-michael-elgin","tag-milano-collection-at","tag-minoru-suzuki","tag-nana","tag-new-japan-cup","tag-new-japan-cup-2018","tag-new-japan-cup-first-round-match","tag-new-japan-pro-wrestling","tag-njpw","tag-oka-tomoyuki","tag-red-shoes-unno","tag-sanada","tag-suzuki-gun","tag-taichi","tag-taka-michinoku","tag-takashi-iizuka","tag-tanga-loa","tag-tetsuhiro-yagi","tag-tetsuya-naito","tag-toa-henare","tag-tokyo-japan","tag-tomohiro-ishii","tag-toru-yano","tag-umino-shota","tag-yoshi-hashi","tag-yoshinobu-kanemaru","tag-yujiro-takahashi","tag-zack-sabre-jr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3509"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3511,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3509\/revisions\/3511"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}