The show is available on NJPWWorld.com.
FIRST MATCH: Yuya Uemura & Ten-cozy (Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima) vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Yota Tsuji
Solid start to the show. Uemura and Tsuji are going to be career long rivals. The New Japan Dads let the two Young Lions shine.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.0)
SECOND MATCH: Juice Robinson, Ren Narita & Mikey Nicholls vs. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & HIKULEO)
Mikey Nicholls has made a seamless transition into NJPW. He never feels out of his depth, and he’s a strong MFer as well. Bullet Club continues to be firing on all cylinders.
Need To Watch Rating: (3.5)
THIRD MATCH: Togi Makabe, Michael Elgin & Toa Henare vs. Suzuki-gun (Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Taichi)
Knockdown, dragout, hard-hitting tag match. A throwback to old AJPW tag matches from the 90s, where guys would just beat the piss out of each other.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.1)
FOURTH MATCH: Kota Ibushi, Shota Umino & Roppongi 3K (SHO & YOH) vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito, EVIL, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi)
Magnificent stuff. Ibushi and 3K have great chemistry. Umino continues to be a star on the rise. LIJ is cohesive as always.
Need To Watch Rating: (5.0)
FIFTH MATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma vs. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & TAKA Michinoku)
All respect to TAKA & Honma, but this match was all about ZSJ & Tanahashi.
Need To Watch Rating: (2.5)
SIXTH MATCH: Kazuchika Okada, YOSHI-HASHI & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. CHAOS (Will Ospreay, Tomohiro Ishii & Hirooki Goto)
Chaos taking on The Rainmaker is still an unusual sight. Solid quarterfinal previews.
Need To Watch Rating: (4.4)
SEVENTH MATCH: New Japan Cup Second Round Match: Colt Cabana vs. Toru Yano
Yano and Cabana always find a new twist on their matches. Equally familiar, and surprising, this match is a delight throughout. A little short, but effective. Seek out this match.
Need To Watch Rating: (9.8)
MAIN EVENT: New Japan Cup Second Round Match: SANADA vs. Minoru Suzuki
Everything you want in a New Japan Main Event. So good that its amazing that its buried in the second round of the most exhausting New Japan Cup in company history. SANADA’s first truly epic main event performance.
Need To Watch Rating: (10.0)
