Here are the results from Day 6 of NJPW’s New Japan Cup tournament. The event took place at Uwajima City Overall Gymnasium in Uwajima, Ehime, Japan, and featured three first-round matches for the yearly tournament.
CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. Katsuya Murashima, Oleg Boltin & Tomoaki Honma
- Ishii forced Murashima to tap out to a Boston Crab
In a short bout, CHAOS defeated their opponents quite easily. While Boltin was showcased yet again as a strong contender, he could not stop Ishii forcing Murashima to tap out at the end of the match.
This tour has seen a keen eye placed on Oleg Boltin. I expect him to be sent out on excursion soon, before returning to a big push by the company.
Catch- 22 (TJP & Francesco Akira) vs El Desperado & Ryuske Taguchi
- TJP pins Taguchi after a knee striker
Taguchi began the match with his usual tomfoolery and silly offence. UE eventually caught up and put a stop to it, controlling the match from then on.
They quickly took out both of their opponents, before TJP avenged the loss against LIJ with a win here.
United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb) vs Just 5 Guys (SANADA, Taichi and Yuya Uemura)
- Uemara pins Newman after hitting a Deadbolt Suplex
While this match looked to be one of the top ones of the card, given both team’s previous performances, it was rather tame.
It was a standard six-man tag match, with man getting their signature spots in. Nothing overly exciting happened, and it eventually broke out into a brawl which let Uemura pick up the win for J5G.
BUSHI & Yota Tsuji vs TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr)
- Zack Sabre Jr forced BUSHi to tap out
While Nicholls suffered defeat in the New Japan Cup, TMDK are still undefeated in tag action on the tour.
They defeated the LIJ duo in a fun match that showcased Tsuji’s technical abilities against one of the world’s best in ZSJ.
House of Torture (EVIL, Jack Perry, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi) vs El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, Shota Umino, Tohi Makabe & YOH
- EVIL pinned Makabe after a Everything is EVIL
If you thought previous HoT matches on the tour had a bit too much cheating, stay clear of this one. It was peak HoT, with almost the entire match consisting of them cheating their way to victory.
BULLET CLUB (Gabe Kidd, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
- Ishimori forced Takahashi to tap out after a low blow
In a fairly lengthy encounter, BC beat LIJ in a decent match just before the New Japan Cup matches started.
This bout gave a short preview of the upcoming Kidd vs Shingo match, as well as teasing a match between Takahashi and Ishimori some way down the line.
New Japan Cup Second-Round Match: David Finlay vs Tanga Loa
- Finlay pinned Loa after hitting an Overkill
This was a disappointing encounter that has once again shown why David Finlay is not a main event talent in New Japan.
He picked up the win against Tanga Loa, but the match was a bore to watch. Both men looked poor in the ring, with slow transitions and impactless looking moves did nothing to keep the Japanese crowd excited.
New Japan Cup Second-Round Match: Chase Owens vs Hirooki Goto
- Gota pinned Owens after hitting to GTR
Another Bullet Club member battled in the New Japan Cup, as Owens took on Goto in the main event. Given Goto is a record three-time winner of the competition, this was a huge match for Owens in Uwajima.
However, it failed to live up to the billing. Another disappointing bout followed the last one, with neither man pulling up trees in this second-round encounter.
The first two rounds of the New Japan Cup have been nothing special so far, and this match embodies that. A few near falls and big moves papered over the cracks, but this is a match to avoid.
Gota will face Finlay in the next round, which is not a match anyone will be excited for based on today’s matches.
