Here are the results from Day 8 of NJPW’s New Japan Cup tournament. The event took place at Osaka Kanoaka Park Gymnasium in Sakai, Osaka, Japan, and featured two second-round matches for the yearly tournament.
Shoma Kato vs. Katsuya Murashima
- Match ended in a time-limit draw.
After a slew of multi-man tag matches to kick off the show, this was a nice change of pace. This exhibition match between two Young Lions ended in a draw. It was a decent match, with some excellent submission work on display.
Mikey Nicholls vs Connor Newman
- Nicholls pinned Newman after a Master Blaster
Two of the tour’s most impressive wrestlers faced off in this match, and did not disappoint. With some great back-and-fourth sequences and fun moves, it was definitely a match worth getting up early for.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi & Yuya Uemura) vs Great Bash Heel (Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma), El Desperado & Oleg Boltin
- Uemara pinned Honma after a Deadbolt Suplex
While decent, this match was your standard multi-man tag match. We’ve seen this match multiple times already. While some good action was to be had, especially when GBH got in the ring, it is incredibly forgettable. Just 5 Guys picked up the win, and Honma ate another pin on the tour.
BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, KENTA & Taiji Ishimori) vs CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) & Ryusuke Taguchi
- Owens pinned Taguchi after a Package Piledriver
While this was your standard “Bullet Club cheat to get the advantage match”, the sequences between Kidd and Owens made this bout something worth watching. It is worth watching just for that part, and hopefully leads to a match between the two somewhere down the line.
Guerrillas Of Destiny (Hikuleo, Jado & Tanga Loa), Shota Umino & YOH vs House Of Torture (Dick Togo, EVIL, Jack Perry, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)
- YOH pinned Togo
This was a House of Torture match. Need I say more?
United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & TJP) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito)
- Cobb pinned BUSHI with a Tour of the Islands
This match was fine. Good? no. But fine. It was another standard eight-man tag match, with neither side trying to hard while in the midst of a gruelling New Japan Cup tour. It had some good back and fourth before breaking out into a brawl multiple times. United Empire picked up the win, and seem to be thriving despite losing Will Ospreay last month.
New Japan Cup Second Round: Yota Tsuji vs El Phantasmo
- Tsuji pinned ELP with a Curb Stomp
Big singles matches in where NJPW thrives, and they’re getting good now we enter the latter stages of the New Japan Cup. ELP is quickly becoming one of the most entertaining faces in the company, and the crowd are firmly behind him. However, he could not contend with Tsuji, who has one of the coolest move sets in all of wrestling.
Tusji picked up the win and advances to the Quarter-finals, and faces the winner of Zack Sabre Jr and Ren Narita.
New Japan Cup Second Round: Zack Sabre Jr. vs Ren Narita
- Narita pins Sabre Jr. after a Double Cross
A rather surprising result came at the end of an impressive match. This was one of the best of the tournament so far, and could be a star-making performance for Narita. Interference for HoT (who’d have thought?) stopped ZSJ from picking up the win. knocking him out of the cup he won in 2018 and 2022.
Narita goes on to face Yota Tusji in the quarter-finals.
