Here are the results from Day 2 of NJPW’s New Japan Cup tournament. The event took place at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan, and featured three first-round matches for the yearly tournament.
Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Oleg Boltin vs Guerrillas Of Destiny (El Phantasmo, Hikuleo & Jado)
- Goto pinned Jado after hitting him with a Shoto.
In a short opening match, Bishamon and Oleg Boltin picked up the victory over the Guerrillas of Destiny.
This teased the bout between Boltin and Hikuelo in the New Japan Cup the following night.
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs Togi Makabe & Toru Yano
- Nicholls pinned Makabe following a lariat.
TMDK made it two wins in two when they beat the duo of Togi Makabe and Toru Yano.
Nicholls won the match for the duo with a lariat before pinning Makage. Nicholls is builing up momentum before facing El Phantasmo on Sunday in the New Japan Cup.
United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira & Jeff Cobb) vs BULLET CLUB (Gabe Kidd, Taiji Ishimori & KENTA)
- Cobb pinned Ishimori after a Tour of the Islands
The rivalry between the two factions continued, as Newman, Akira and Cobb fought Kidd, Ishimori and KENTA in a trios match.
The bout lasted just over seven minutes. UE begun with some fast-paced sequences, with BC soon slowing down the pace and controlling the match.
Cobb won the match for his side, as he prepares to face Yota Tsuji on Sunday.
House Of Torture (EVIL, Ren Narita, Jack Perry & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) vs El Desperado, Shota Umino, Tomoaki Honma & YOH
- Narita pinned Umino with a Double Cross
Another standard House of Torture match was next on the card, as Jack Perry teamed with the faction for the first time.
Shota Umino nearly overcame the group’s constant cheating, but it wasn’t to be. Ren Narita hit him with a push up bar before hitting his finisher, pinning Umino for the win.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA, Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura) vs Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji)
- Tsuji pinned TAKA after hitting him with a Gene Blast.
This five-on five match had all the talent to put on a classic bout, but failed to make an impression.
LIJ and J5G broke out into mass brawls mutliple times before Naito and co. took control. Yota Tsuji won the match when he pinned TAKA following a Gene Blast.
New Japan Cup 2024 First Round Match: Chase Owens vs Tomohiro Ishii
- Owens pinned Ishii following a package piledriver.
This match became a typical Ishii brawl, which is not a bad thing. Big forearm strikers and huge suplexes were the order of the day, and the crowd were into Ishii as the underdog to the cheating Owens.
In the end, Owens showed his metal to the Stone Pitbull. He won the match, booking second round encounter with former New Japan Cup winner Hirooki Goto in the next round.
New Japan Cup 2024 First Round Match: Great-O-Khan vs Tanga Loa
- Loa pinned O-Khan after a knee strike
In a match that won’t entice anybody to give it a rewatch, it was Tanga Loa who came out on top.
The son of Haku had a relatively boring match with the Great-O-Khan, and his win in 15 minutes set up a clash with the winner of the main event for round two.
New Japan Cup 2024 First Round Match: David Finlay vs TJP
- Finlay pinned TJP after hitting him with the Overkill
The feud between the Bullet Club War Dogs and United Empire continued in the main event. BC leader Finlay defeated TJP in a hard fought match in the New Japan Cup.
Buoyed by his faction’s victory earlier in the night, TJP put on a great performance. His selling was good, and his offence was fun to watch and impressed the crowd.
In a back and forth match, Finaly avenged his team’s defeat and pinned TJP. He advances to the next round of the New Japan Cup to face Tanga Loa.
