SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
NJPW CUP 2025: NIGHT 2
MARCH 9, 2025
HYOGO, JAPAN
AIRED LIVE ON NJPW WORLD
Announcer: Walker Stewart
(a) TORU YANO & YOSHI-HASHI vs. DAIKI NAGAI & KATSUYA MURASHIMA
Hashi was in a bit of trouble, but he turned the tide on Nagai and submitted him with the Butterfly Lock.
WINNERS: Hashi & Yano in 7:40.
(1) JUST4GUYS (Yuya Uemura & Taka Michinoku) vs. BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Chase Owens & Sanada)
Owens got the pin on Michinoku with the C-trigger. Sanada left Uemura lying in pain on the outside as the issue between Sanada and Just4Guys continues.
WINNERS: Owens & Sanada in 7:00.
Uemura’s second round opponent is Hashi. He will face him in March 11.
(2) TMDK (ZSJ & Hartley Jackson & Ryohei Oiwa) vs. THE UNITED EMPIRE (TJP & Jeff Cobb & Jakob Austin Young)
Oiwa had Young in a choke late in the match. He let go and his a discus lariat for the win. ZSJ faces Oiwa in round 2 of NJPW Cup 2025 on March 11. The announcers billed it as student vs. master.
WINNERS: TMDK in 10:55.
(3) BULLET CLUB WAR DOGS (Gabe Kidd & David Finlay & Gedo) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita & Yujiro Takahashi & Yoshinibu Kanemaru)
Finlay pinned Kanemaru after hitting overkill. Finlay promised to beat Evil’s a— when they wrestled in the second round on March 11.
WINNERS: Bullet Club War Dogs in 7:20.
(4) LIJ (Bushi & Yota Tsuji & Shingo Takagi) vs. HOUSE OF TORTURE (Evil & Sho & Dick Togo)
Evil submitted Bushi with the Darkness Scorpion.
Stewart says with every House of Torture win we see the possibility of them running NJPW.
Bullet Club War Dogs lead by David Finlay came down tot he ring after the match and House of Torture ran to the back. Stewart said if Finlay can beat Evil’s, NJPW might be better for it.
WINNERS: House of Torture in 9:50.
TJP joined Stewart on commentary.
(5) BOLTIN OLEG vs. BAD LUCK FALE – NJPW Cup 2025 First Round match
Oleg tried to overpower Fale early, but he couldn’t and Fale took control. They went to the floor and Fale continued to dominate inside the ring. Oleg went for a slam, but he couldn’t hit it. He fired back again a short time later with a slam and a splash for a near fall.
Oleg went for his gut wretch suplex, but he couldn’t get Fale up. Fale eventually hit a Samoan drop to break Oleg’s momentum. Oleg blocked the grenade. He got Fale on his shoulders and hit a Kamikaze for the win.
WINNER: Boltin Oleg in 7:10 to advance to the second round of NJPW Cup 2025. (***1/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: Another good showing for Oleg here building off his recent performance against Takeshita.)
Oleg will face Takagi in the second round of the NJPW Cup.
(6) ELP vs. The Great-O-Khan – NJPW Cup 2025 First Round match
The winner of this match faces Umino in the next round. O-Khan took control and hit some big forearms to the back of ELP’s head as the five minute mark came and went. ELP fired back and sent O-Khan to the floor. He favored his ribs as he wiped out O-Khan with a suicide dive.
ELP went up top for a Moonsault to the floor. He managed to land on his feet, but O-Khan grabbed him and hit the TTD. ELP struggled and barely beat the 20 count. ELP got a couple of pinning combinations for near falls.
ELP hit a tornado DDT for a near fall. He waited for O-Khan to get up and hit Sudden Death for a near fall. ELP went for CR2, but favored his shoulder in the process. O-Khan then hit the Eliminator for the win.
WINNER: Great-O-Khan in 14:00 to advance to the second round of NJPW Cup 2025. (***)
(Radican’s Analysis: O-Khan had to win to set up a rematch with Umino in the second round and he came through here. This match was up and down. It started off well, but then tailed off leading into the finish.)
(7) TOMOHIRO ISHII vs. DRILLA MOLONEY – NJPW Cup 2025 First Round match
They went right at each other after the bell rang. Moloney took control and the announcers said it was clear that Ishii wouldn’t be able to overpower him in this match. Ishii began to show some fire and eventually caught Moloney with a power slam as he came off the ropes.
They began trading bombs. Both men hit clotheslines at the same time. Moloney hit a German and Ishii got right up and hit a clothesline. Moloney then got up and hit a Gore and both men were down.
Ishii blocked another Gore attempt and hit a big headbutt to Moloney’s chest. Moloney no sold a lariat and hit one of his own to ground Ishii and the fans fired up. They traded blows and Moloney caught Ishii with a spinebuster as he came off the ropes for a two count.
Ishii blocked another piledriver initially, but Moloney managed to counter a backdrop and hit a piledriver. He then hit a Gore for a near fall. A short time later, Ishii ducked a clothesline and hit a release German and both men were done. Moloney hit snake eyes, but Ishii caught him by surprise with a lariat!
Ishii hit a sliding lariat for another two count. Ishii blocked a Drilla Killa attempt and hit a rocket headbutt. Ishii hit a big lariat, but Moloney kicked out at the last second. Moloney hit a Vertical Drop Brainbuster for a one count. Ishii then hit a Gore for a one count. WOW!!
Money suddenly hit a running knee to the head and the Drilla Killa for the win. He will face TJP in the second round.
WINNER: Drilla Moloney in 14:05 to advance to the second round of NJPW Cup 2025. (****1/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a really good match. Ishii is a really good guy for the young talent in NJPW to work with. They went at it from the opening bell. It took a little while for this match to really get going.
Once they started trading big moves and fighting spirit spots, the match got really good and it felt like either you could win. I thought maybe NJPW would keep Ishii strong heading into his title match against Kidd, but they chose to give Moloney a big win here.)
(8) TETSUYA NAITO vs. CALLUM NEWMAN – NJPW Cup 2025 First Round match
Naito took forever to take his entrance attire off, but it did not faze Newman. The announcers noted the winner here would face Cobb in the second round. Naito sent Newman to the floor and whipped him into the guardrail. Newman slid back into the ring and Naito stomped on his bad knee.
Naito kept going after Newman’s knee and he rolled to the floor. Naito continued to focus his attack on the knee. The announcers mentioned Naito had beaten Newman twice in singles matches so far.
Newman fired back and went on the attack. He hit a PK for a two count. Newman continued to favor his knee and Naito eventually got a knee bar. He hit Esperanza out of the corner and things looked bleak for Newman.
The announcers mentioned Newman hadnt lasted this long in the ring with Naito in the past, so he had learned something. Newman mounted a comeback and hit a bit kick. Naito ended up countering him with to a reverse Destino for a super close near fall.
Newman blocked a Destino and slammed Naito into the mat. Newman rolled out of Tornado DDT. Naito avoided an Os-cutter attempt. Naito looked to be going for Destino, but he got a pinning combination instead for the win.
WINNER: Tetsuya Naito in 11:10 to advance to the second round of NJPW Cup 2025. (*1/2)
(Radican’s Analysis: Newman was coming back from injury and he sold his knee throughout the match. This was pretty much all Naito. Newman’s only saving grace was that he lost to a pinning combination.
I was surprised how this one went. I through maybe Newman would get some momentum coming back from injury with either a really good performance or a win. This was neither. Back to the drawing board for him, although the announcers said he wasn’t done with Naito and they’d likely see each other again sooner than later.)
Naito advances to face Cobb in the second round.
(9) HIROOKI GOTO & HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. YUJI NAGATA & SATOSHI KOJIMA
Odd to have a preview tag close the show, but then again the IWGP World Hvt. Championship isn’t usually defending during the NJPW Cup tour. Naito vs. Newman would have made for a really poor ending to the show. Goto and Nagata are scheduled to wrestle on March 15 for the title.
The finish saw Goto isolate Kojima late. He finished him off with the GTR as Nagata looked on from the outside.
WINNERS: Goto & Tanahashi in 12:15.
Goto cut a promo after and thanked the fans for coming. He then turned the mic over to Tanahashi. This is his last appearance at this venue and he sent the fans home happy to close the show.
Tanahshi took a long time to go around and greet fans at ringside. He continued to greet fans all the way to the back before finally leaving.
The tournament will resume on Tuesday with second round action including David Finlay vs. Evil, Yoshi-Hashi vs. Yuya Uemura, and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa.
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on BlueSky @seanradican.
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