SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NEW JAPAN CUP 2021
MARCH 10, 2021
KYOTO, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
(1) PROVISIONAL KOPW 2021 CHAMPION TORU YANO & NEVER OPENWEIGHT CHAMPION HIROSHI TANAHSHI & JUICE ROBINSON & YUYA UEMURA vs. BULLET CLUB (BAD LUCK FALE & EVIL & KENTA & DICK TOGO)
Narito got a tag from Tanahashi late and ran wild on Evil. The faces took turns nailing Evil with running attacks in the corner. Narita hit a nice belly to back suplex on Evil for a nearfall. Narita went for the Boston Crab and got it with both teams brawling on the floor. Evil was able to power out. Narita got a rollup on Evil for a nearfall, but ate a big clothesline a short time later. Evil locked in the Scorpion Death Lock a short time later. Nobody could make the save for Narita and he had to tap.
WINNERS: Bad Luck Fale & Evil & Kenta & Dick Togo at 9:47.
(Radican’s Analysis: The action was good here. Narita got some shine getting the better of Evil at times late in the match.)
(2) TOMOAKI HONMA & SATOSHI KOJIMA & YUJI NAGATA vs. THE UNITED EMPIRE (BRITISH HVT. CHAMPION WILL OSPREAY & GREAT-O-KHAN & JEFF COBB)
Honma got isolated late in the match and took a Tour of the Islands from Cobb, but Nagata made the save. Honma caught Cobb with a short Kokeshi, but Cobb fired back with a clothesline and hit another Tour of the Islands and this time it was good for the win.
WINNERS: Will Ospreay & Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb at 9:10.
(Radican’s Analysis: Good action here. The United Empire continues to impress as a unit in trios matches.)
(3) L.I.J. (TETSUYA NAITO & SANADA & SHINGO TAKAGI & BUSHI) vs. CHAOS (KAZUCHIKA OKADA & HIROOKI GOTO & SHO & TOMOHIRO ISHII)
Sho set up Bushi for a shock arrow late in the match, but Bushi backdropped him. Bushi then countered Sho and hit a basement dropkick to his legs. He followed up with a pinning combination on Sho and it was good for the win.
WINNERS: Tetsuya Naito & Sanada & Shingo Takagi & Bushi at 10:04.
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a fine tag match. Nothing too memorable.)
(4) DAVID FINLAY vs. TEXAS HVT. CHAMPION CHASE OWENS – NEW JAPAN CUP 2021 FIRST ROUND MATCH
Owens hit a northern lights suplex and worked over Finlay with a body scissors on the mat. Finlay fired back and hit a neck breaker a short time later. Finlay got on a roll and hit a spinning side slam for a two count. Owens came off the top, but Finlay caught him and hit a back breaker for a two count. Finlay went for Sliced Bread, but Owens blocked it and tossed him back-first into the corner. Owens hit a clothesline and kept going for covers, but all he got was a series of two counts. They went back and forth and Owens eventually hit a Shining Wizard and a backbreaker over his knee for a nearfall.
They went to a big strike exchange in the middle of the ring. The pace picked up and Owens took a running kick to the head. He bounced off the ropes and hit a big clothesline for a nearfall. Owens went to the floor and took the mats up. The ref went to fix the mats, so Owens got his title and hit Finlay with it. He then made the cover for a nearfall. The fans fired up and tried to help get some momentum behind Finlay. Finlay blocked a package piledriver attempt, but Owens hit a big backbreaker and a shining wizard. He went for the Package Piledriver, but Finlay turned it into a Dragon Kid dragoncanrana style pinning combination for the win.
WINNER: David Finlay at 11:20. (**3/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was really dull at times, but it picked up nicely for the last five minutes. I was shocked Finlay won given all the offense he took before the finish.)
(5) YOSHI-HASHI vs. YUJIRO TAKAHASHI – NEW JAPAN CUP 2021 FIRST ROUND MATCH
They went to the floor and Takahashi measured Hashi and then nailed him with a running cane shot to the head. Takahashi continued to control the action once Hashi was able to beat the ref’s count back into the ring. Takahashi seemed to methodically work over Hashi forever until he finally mounted a comeback. He caught Takahashi with a Head Hunter after ducking a clothesline. He hit a seated Takahashi with a running dropkick for a 2 count a short time later. They went back and forth and Takahashi caught Hashi with a running kick for a two count. Takahashi took a clothesline, but got up and hit one of his own and both men were down.
The fans fired up as both men tried to regroup. Takahashi got the upper hand as the 10 minute mark passed. Takahashi hit a fisherman buster, but Hashi kicked out at two. Hashi fired back and caught Takahashi with a hook kick, but Takahashi countered him and hit Miami Shine for a nearfall. Hashi blocked a short DDT attempt and shoved Takahashi down to the mat hard from his knees. Hashi went for Kharma, but Takahashi blocked it. Hashi hit a big neckbreaker and went up top and connected with a swanton for another nearfall. Hashi locked in the Butterfly Lock. He worked the hold for what seemed like an eternity. He let it go eventually and hit Kharma for the win.
WINNER: Yoshi-Hashi at 15:50. (**¼)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was largely dull and listless. There’s no reason for any Takahashi match to go nearly 16 minutes.)
(6) TOA HENARE vs. JAY WHITE (W/GEDO) – NEW JAPAN CUP 2021 FIRST ROUND MATCH
White went to the floor and lured Henare towards him. He then snapped Henare’s neck over the top rope to get the upper hand. Henare fired back with a big right hand and a shoulder tackle. They went to the floor and Henare whipped White hard into the guardrails several times before rolling him into the ring. Henare got a running start and hit a jumping chop for a nearfall. White caught Henare against the ropes and hit a half and half suplex over the top to the floor to put a step to his momentum. White got the upper hand and worked a single leg crab with his knee in Henare’s back. Henare struggled, but got to the ropes.
White began going after Henare’s back inside the ring. Henare eventually fired back and whipped White hard into the corner. Henare hit a jumping shoulder attack that grounded White. White tried to fight out of a suplex attempt, but Henare kept lifting him back up. Henare got the crowd to clap before dropping White with a suplex for a two count. They went back and forth and White finally caught Henare with a DDT and both men were slow to get up. He suplexed Henare into the corner a short time later. White then hit the Blade Buster, but it was only good for a two count.
White hit a deadlift German a short time later and flexed for the fans. White mocked Henare by slapping him lightly across the face and head as the fans tried to rally behind them. Henare went for a big slap, but White ducked it and hit a spinning urangi. He then rolled Henare to the floor and told the ref to count. Henare got back into the ring, but White hit some blows and rolled him to the floor again. He told the ref to count, but Henare got back into the ring. White slid around Henare and dragged him back to the floor. He threw him into the guardrail several times. He hit the Kiwi Crusher and flexed on top of Henare while making the pin attempt. Henare managed to kick out the last second. White measured Henare and hit a big Saito suplex. He then mocked the fans as they tried to rally behind Henare.
Henare fired back up top multiple times. He set up and hit a diving shoulder tackle off the top that sent White flying to the mat. Henare hit a flurry of offense on White. He set up and nailed White with a big running clothesline for a nearfall. The fans clapped behind Henare. They traded counters. Henare hit a big elbow and a spinning elbow that knocked White down to the mat. White ducked a clothesline, but Henare bounced off the ropes and nailed him with a spear for a nearfall. They went back and forth and Henare caught White with a Rock Bottom for a super close nearfall. Henare sold shock that White had kicked out! White distracted the ref and Gedo got up on the apron, but Henare took care of him. Henare then connected with a spear out of the corner on White for another nearfall.
Henare went for a fisherman suplex, but White blocked it and hit a sleeper suplex. The fans fired up once again with both men down on the mat. White hit another sleeper suplex and followed up with Blade Runner for the win.
Winner: Jay White at 24:46. (****)
(Radican’s Analysis: I won’t say this was a star-making performance for Henare, but I think NJPW officials will look at this match and say he is ready for more than just being a third or fourth tier singles wrestler. He showed great intensity and landed everything well as the match wore on to get the crowd behind him.)
After the match, White got on the mic. White yelled for The Young Lions to give him the ice they were using on Henare. The Young LIons complied. White asked the crowd to give Henare a round of applause and then he said he doesn’t deserve it. He asked the fans to applaud him. He didn’t get many claps. White told Henare to get out of his site.
White turned his attention to Ibushi. He said Ibushi tried to erase his name. White said Tanahashi had a free pass to the second round. He said Tanahashi will still not be prepared for him and he will still not matter. White said he will take the belt from Ibushi and split it back into two belts and protect Tanahashi’s legacy. White said Tanahshi should just lay down, so their legacies aren’t erased by Ibushi. White said he will be the real winner and everyone will still breathe with the Switchblade in his real era.
White and Gedo called Jado into the ring to celebrate with them to close the show.
Contact Sean at radicansean@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @SR_Torch.
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