Bullet Club did what it does best on Sunday, overshadowing the results of the New Japan Cup with a coup d’etat as Gedo led a faction-wide assault on Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado, jettisoning the trio from the group.
It was a betrayal of blood and brotherhood. Gedo and Jado have been a tag team for 33 years, nearly more; closer than brothers, but that bond was shattered with a single punch. Tama Tonga was not only betrayed by the group that he had a hand in forming 10 years ago, but by his own cousin Bad Luck Fale, who aligned with the now-united Bullet Club.
Tama Tonga was eliminated from the New Japan Cup by EVIL, leading to the sad scene in Hyogo. The whole House of Torture crew (EVIL, SHO, Yujiro, Togo), ELP, Taiji Ishimori, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, and Gedo stood tall over the fallen bodies of Tonga, Loa & Jado in a crushing display as a united Bullet Club, seemingly under the thumb of Jay White.
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?NEW JAPAN CUP 2022?尼崎大会‼️
＼会場内騒然…BULLET CLUB分裂?
そしてタマ＆タンガ＆邪道を追放‼️
外道は邪道に決別のメリケンサック✊?? #njpwworld で配信中?
?視聴&登録⏩https://t.co/Tj7UBINMhP#njpw #njcup pic.twitter.com/qEX0Qc0RrY
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) March 13, 2022
The main event of Sunday’s show left fans with a much happier surprise. After nearly-20 hard-hitting minutes, Hiromu Takahashi overcame combat sports legend Minoru Suzuki to advance to the next round of the cup, where he will face former stable-mate EVIL. The brutal match continued Hiromu’s streak to not only win the New Japan Cup, but legitimize Junior Heavyweight wrestlers in the eyes of the Heavyweight competitors.
Elsewhere on this weekend’s shows, IWGP United States Champion SANADA had a thrilling main event contest with Aaron Henare. Henare brought serious fire to one of his first main event matches, unfortunately coming up short to the US Champ. SANADA will advance to face Henare’s United Empire comrade, Will Ospreay.
Will Ospreay advanced with a win over longtime thorn in his side, El Phantasmo. The two high-flyers clashed in a wild semi-main event on Saturday. In more lighthearted, intra-faction battle Zack Sabre Jr. had a heated second round match with DOUKI, submitting his stablemate in just about 15 minutes.
READ MORE: New Japan Cup First Round (Night 1) (Nights 2 & 3) (Nights 4 & 5)
In non-tournament shocks, House of Torture’s SHO attacked El Desperado during the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion’s tag match against LIJ. The underhanded move got Desperado’s attention. The two men are looking for a time to settle the score.
Here are the full results:
3/12
NJPW New Japan Cup: Night 6
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato & Ryohei Oiwa def. Tomoaki Honma, Yuto Nakashima & Kosei Fujita by submission. (6:04)
Master Wato submitted Kosei Fujita via Vendeval. - Hiroshi Tanahashi, Tiger Mask & YOH def. Bullet Club (Gedo, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) by submission. (7:51)
Hiroshi Tanahashi submitted Gedo via Texas Cloverleaf. - CHAOS ( YOSHI-HASHI, Kazuchika Okada & Hirooki Goto) def. House of Torture (EVIL, Dick Togo & Yujiro Takahashi) by pinfall. (8:17)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned Dick Togo via Shoto. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, Taichi & TAKA Michinoku) by pinfall. (10:20)
Shingo Takagi pinned TAKA Michinoku via Pumping Bomber. - New Japan Cup Second Round: Zack Sabre Jr. def. DOUKI by submission via Cremation Lily. (15:03)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Great-O-Khan def. Taiji Ishimori by pinfall via Eliminator. (16:43)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Will Ospreay def. El Phantasmo by pinfall via Hidden Blade. (17:31)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: SANADA def. Aaron Henare by pinfall via Moonsault Press. (25:07)
3/13
NJPW New Japan Cup: Night 7
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Hirooki Goto, Mastwer Wato & YOSHI-HASHI def. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & TAKA Michinoku) by pinfall. (7:17)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned TAKA Michinoku via Shoto - House of Torture (SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & DOUKI) by pinfall. (10:18)
Yujiro Takahashi pinned DOUKI via Big Juice. - United Empire (Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare) def. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori, Taiji Ishimori & Bad Luck Fale) by submission. (11:27)
Great-O-Khan submitted Gedo via Iron Claw. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI) def. Kazuchika Okada, YOH & Hiroshi Tanahashi by submission. (13:05)
SANADA submitted YOH via Skull End - New Japan Cup Second Round: Chase Owens def. Tiger Mask by pinfall via Package Piledriver. (10:33)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Shingo Takagi def. Tanga Loa by pinfall via Pumping Bomber. (12:31)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: EVIL def. Tama Tonga by pinfall via EVIL. (14:21)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Hiromu Takahashi def. Minoru Suzuki by pinfall via Hiromu Roll. (19:27)
The New Japan Cup continues on March 14th at 6am ET on NJPWWorld.com
