SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
The NJPW Cup is nearly finished with just the finals left on March 20. There’s no better time than now to look back at the first two rounds of the tournament at the best matches to watch if you’re looking to catch up with the tournament before it ends.
Note: I tried not to spoil results with my commentary on each match, but obviously if you look ahead to the second round match recommendations you will see who won their first round matches in the tournament.
*All matches can be watched on NJPW World with English and Japanese commentary.
NJPW CUP 2025: Night 1, March 8, 2025
(7) Gabe Kidd vs. Ren Narita – NJPW Cup 2025 First Round match. (****)
The first night of the tournament featured four matches of varying quality, but there’s no doubt it’s well-worth going out of your way to check out the Gabe Kidd vs. Ren Narita main event. This match featured two former friends dating back to their days in the L.A. Dojo going at it as the civil war between their respective factions, Bullet Club War Dogs and House of Torture, heated up throughout the tournament.
Gabe Kidd has been on a roll putting on good matches and this was no exception. Despite the match featuring interference from both factions, they told a good story that had the crowd engaged in the action from bell to bell.
NJPW CUP 2025: Night 2, March 8, 2025
(7) Drilla Moloney vs. Tomohiro Ishii – NJPW Cup 2025 First Round match. (****¼)
This was a really good match. Ishii is a really good wrestler for the young talent in NJPW to work with. They went at it hard and heavy right from the opening bell. There was a little bit of a lull after the fast start.
The match picked up and once they started trading big moves and fighting spirit spots, the match got really good and it felt like either man could win. Moloney seems to still be figuring out who he is as a heavyweight, but stylistically he matched up well with Ishii.
NJPW CUP 2025: Night 3, March 11, 2025
(7) Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa – NJPW Cup 2025 Second Round match
Oiwa has looked good as a singles wrestler since recently returning to NJPW from NOAH. Historically Sabre has had his number in singles matches in NJPW with a 4 match winning streak against him heading into this encounter.
Sabre had his hands full right from the start here, as Oiwa tried to match Sabre on the mat. It may not have been the most wise strategy against one of the best technical wrestlers in the world, but Oiwa acquitted himself quite nicely going toe-to-toe against Sabre for a shade over 19 minutes.
(8) Evil (w/House of Torture) vs. David Finlay (w/Bullet Club War Dogs) – NJPW Cup 2025 Second Round match . (***¾)
This was another tournament match that told another chapter in the ongoing feud between civil war storyline between Bullet Club sub factions House of Torture and Bullet Club War Dogs. This time it featured the leaders of both groups going at it in singles action.
This match started with Evil coming out with several members of House of Torture to outnumber Finlay, who only had Gedo and Gabe Kidd with him. Drilla Moloney left the commentary booth to join Finlay, but they were still outnumbered with Sanada and Chase Owens nowhere to be found.
This match featured both groups brawling all over the venue before the match officially started. Normally I’m not into the House of Torture angles on NJPW events, but the civil war angle has been good so far. Sanada came down and his interference backfired and he did not help Finlay at all leading into the finish, which set up some intrigue moving forward as to which side of the feud he was on.
NJPW CUP 2025: Night 4, March 12, 2025
(6) Taichi vs. Gabe Kidd NJPW Cup 2025 Second Round match.. (****)
The House of Torture vs. Bullet Club War Dogs civil war program continued to heat up during this match. Taichi came into the match without a win in 15 matches in 2025, which included one singles loss.
They had a really good hard-hitting match and the reason the outside interference late in the match worked is because it is leading to something logically down the line between House of Torture and Bullet Club War Dogs. Taichi is really good in hard-hitting matches and he brought the fight to Kidd during this match.
NJPW CUP 2025: Night 5, March 14, 2025
(7) Boltin Oleg vs. Shingo Takagi – NJPW CUP 2025 Second Round match. (****)
Oleg has been impressive in the ring lately. He’s still got a long way to go, but he’s found his niche when matched up against hard-hitting opponents. It wasn’t much of a surprise that he ended up having really good chemistry with Takagi.
They had some great strike exchanges and as the match built, the crowd got more and more into the action. At one point Oleg hit a great Kamikaze for a near fall that got a big reaction from the crowd. This match had a great final stretch and it’s going to be fun to watch Oleg develop this year if he continues putting on matches like this one.
Write Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com with any questions or concerns you might have. Follow him on BlueSky @SeanRadican.
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