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NJPW CUP 2024: NIGHT 4 REPORT
MARCH 10, 2024
HYOGO, JAPAN
BAYCOM GYMNASIUM
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Commentators: Gino Gambino and Walker Stewart
UNDERCARD MATCH RESUTLS
(1) KENTA & CHASE OWENS & TAIJI ISHIMORI beat TOMOAKI HONMA & YOSHI-HASHI & HIRROLKI GOTO at 8:58.
Kenta pinned Honma with a school boy.
(2) DOUKI & YUYA UEMURA & SANADA beat RYUSUKI TAGUCHI & TORU YANO & TOMOHIRO ISHII at 8:27.
Sanada pinned Taguchi with a rollup.
(3) GOD (Jado & Hikuleo & Tonga Loa beat BULLET CLUB (Gedo & Gabe Kidd & David Finlay) at 8:48.
Loa pinned Gedo with The Sacrifice.
(4) BOLTIN OLEG & YOH & EL DESPERADO & SHOTA UMINO beat HOT (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Sho & Yujiro Takahashi & Evil) at 9:59.
Umimo pinned Takahashi with a STF.
(5) LIJ (Bushi & Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) beat UNITED EMPIRE at 9:35.
Takagi pinned Newman after Made in Japan.
NJPW CUP 2024 FIRST ROUND MATCH RESULTS & ANALYSIS
(6) MIKEY NICHOLLS (w/ZSJ) vs. ELP (w/Jado) – NJPW Cup 2024 First Round match
Nicholls slowed the pace and dominated the action at the start. He leveled ELP with a big chop at one point. ELP finally leveled Nicholls with a drop kick and both men were down. He went in the attack and went for Sudden Death, but Nicholls blocked it. Nicholls tried to mount a comeback, but ELP countered him and a nice DDT.
ELP followed up with a monsault to the floor. Nicholls hit a superplex and a hook lariat for a near fall a short time later. ELP hit a burning hammer. He then hit Sudden Death, but Nicholls kicked out at the last second. The fans fired up behind ELP. Both men traded pinning combinations and ELP got Nicholls with a crucifix pin.
WINNER: ELP at 13:21 to advance to the quarter final round of the NJPW Cup. (***1/2)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a very good back and forth match. Both men looked good here and the flash pin made sense given how even the match was.)
(7) REN NARITA (w/Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs. TAICHI – NJPW Cup 2024 First Round match
Narita and Kanemaru jumped Taichi when he got into the ring. Boltin Oleg eventually ran down and carried Kanemaru to the back. Narita continued to work over Taichi on the floor. He eventually took him into the crowd and tossed him into a pile of chairs. Taichi took a beating in the crowd for a long period of time, but he managed to beat the 20 count of the ref to avoid a count out loss.
What was the point of Oleg making the save only for Narita to continue to beat on Taichi for five minutes plus? Taichi finally ducked a charge in the corner and obliterated Narita with a jumping kick to the head. Taichi eventually took Narita to the floor and returned the favor, as he tossed Narita into a pile of chairs and put a beating on him in the crowd.
Taichi went for the push up bar, but the ref took it away. Narita went for a low blow, but Taichi blocked it and hit a roundhouse kick to the head. He set up for a super kick, but Narita shoved the ref at him and then hit a neck breaker. Narita shoved the ref and hit a low blow. He then hit a German with a bridge for a nearfall.
Taichi returned the favor after blocking a kick. He shoved the ref and then hit a low blow on Narita. Taichi grabbed a dragon sleeper, but Dick Togo ran down to the apron to distract the ref. Narita tapped out and the ref didn’t see it. Narita then shoved Taichi into the ref. The rest of HOT came down to the ring to run train on Taichi. Togo hit a chop to the groin out of the corner. The ref recovered, but it was only good for a two count. The ref went down again and Just 5 Guys ran down to even the odds.
Taichi hit the Dangerous Backdrop and the ref clearly stalled and shifted into position so the that Jack Perry could make the save. Perry pulled the ref and got into the ring and pounded on Taichi. Taichi ducked a running knee strike from Perry and nailed him with an axe bomber. Taichi tried to kick the push up bar out of Narita’s hand, but hurt his shin.
Kanemaru ran down and spit in his face and nailed him with a bottle of liquor. Narita then hit the Double Cross for the win.
WINNER: Ren Narita at 18:54 to advance to the Quarter final round of the NJPW Cup. (**)
(Radicans Analysis: This match featured a ridiculous amount of interfered and head scratching ref bumps. There’s no way this match needed almost 20 minutes to tell the story that it did. The House of Torture style matches continue to wear thinner and thinner.)
(8) JEFF COBB vs. YOTA TSUJI – NJPW Cup 2024 First Round match
This is a tough one in terms of who you want to see advance. With a field this big you’d love to see both guys make it to the second round. A first round exit is a disappointment for either man. I don’t like this matchup in this round, but I digress.
These two had a good back and forth match with some hard-hitting exchanges mixed in. They built up to a crazy spot where Tsuji went for the Genome Blaster, but Cobb turned it into a powerbomb. That was a sequence made for a gif.
Tsuji blocked a charge from Cobb with a knee that in hindsight was a Gene Blast attempt. Cobb fired back with a spin cycle suplex and a whirly bird F5 for a near fall. Tsuji blocked a Tour of the Islands attempt, but Cobb decked him with a clothesline. Cobb went to the corner and hit the Gene Blaster. Tsuji BARELY kicked out.
The fans really fired up after Tsuji’s kick out. Cobb went for a Rainmaker, but Tsuji hit a pair of knees and a headbutt and smiled. Tsuji then hit an inverted curb stomp. The fans chanted Yota, Yota! Tsuji then hit a double jump curb stomp!!! What?!?? Tsuji went to the corner a short time later and hit the Gene Blaster for the win.
WINNER: Yota Tsuji at 21:41 to advance to the quarter final round of the NJPW Cup. (****1/4)
(Radicans Analysis: This was the match of the tournament to date just edging out Nicholls vs. Takagi the previous night. The crowd went along for the ride and got hotter and hotter as the match went on. This was fantastic.)
Yota Tsuji grabbed a mic and the fans chanted his name. Tsuji cut a promo in Japanese. Tsuji had some words for Hiroshi Tanahashi at ringside. Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi then came down and joined Tsuji in the ring. This mirrored the scene from the previous night after Takagi beat Nicholls.
Walker Stewartt asked if LIJ would represent in the main event of Sakura Genesis as Takagi, Tsuji, and Naito bumped fists to close the show.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com
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