New Japan Pro Wrestling continued the 2022 New Japan Cup on Wednesday & Thursday. Both shows were headlined by pillars of NJPW, as Hiroshi Tanahashi overcame Tongan giant Bad Luck Fale and Kazuchika Okada dominated young rookie Master Wato. The two main events could not have been more different.
Wednesday’s main event saw a starstruck Master Wato unable to mount any kind of definitive offense against IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada. Okada practically sleptwalked through the match, barely lifting a finger to defeat the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion. After the heated match between Okada and El Desperado, many expected Master Wato to put up a better fight against The Rainmaker, but alas.
On Thursday, company ace Hiroshi Tanahashi had to sneak out a win against Bullet Club’s Bad Luck Fale. Where Okada’s win was definitive and dominant, Tanahashi’s win was scrappy. Since losing the IWGP United States Title to SANADA, Tanahashi has been struggling in the ring. He has another chance to shake it off, as he heads into the next round.
Wato wasn’t the only young upstart unable to get it done, Young Lion Kosei Fujita was unable to take advantage of his first-round bye and fell to IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion YOSHI-HASHI. The last of the Dojo students to wrestle in this year’s cup, Fujita put up a fiery performance in defeat, proving yet again why the spotlight can’t seem to leave the young rookie alone.
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?NEW JAPAN CUP 2022?山梨大会‼️
＼NEW JAPAN CUP 2022 ２回戦‼️
ヤングライオン藤田が闘志むき出しでYOSHI-HASHIに襲いかかる‼️２回戦突破なるか⁉️? @YOSHIHASHICHAOS × 藤田 晃生
? #njpwworld で配信中??視聴&登録⏩https://t.co/Tj7UBINMhP#njpw #njcup pic.twitter.com/Drh4W6i7me
— NJPW WORLD (@njpwworld) March 10, 2022
GLEAT representative CIMA advanced to the third round, having a fun battle of Junior Heavyweight legends against Yoshinobu Kanemaru.
On the undercards, Bullet Club and its sub-faction House of Torture have shown new-found unity since Jay White betrayed Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa. The teams have been tagging together, and since Gedo delivered an ultimatum. While things aren’t quite stable yet, Chase Owens provided updates on Thursdays show, saying he goes “where Fale goes.” The tangled web of Bullet Club drama will likely unravel on March 13th, when a majority of BC talent compete in the second round.
READ MORE: New Japan Cup First Round (Night 1) (Night 2 & 3)
Here are the full results:
3/9
New Japan Cup: Night 4
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tiger Mask by pinfall. (8:46)
Bad Luck Fale pinned Tiger Mask via Grenade Launcher - Bullet Club (Gedo & SHO) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) by submission. (9:59)
SHO submitted BUSHI via Snake Bite. - Bullet Club (EVIL, El Phantasmo, Yujiro Takahashi & Taiji Ishimori) def. United Empire (Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare) by pinfall. (11:34)
EVIL pinned Great-O-Khan via EVIL. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA & Shingo Takagi) def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & DOUKI) by pinfall. (12:40)
Shingo Takagi pinned DOUKI via Last of the Dragon. - New Japan Cup Second Round: Hirooki Goto def. Dick Togo by pinfall via clutch pin. (9:50)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: CIMA def. Yoshinobu Kanemaru by pinfall via Meteora. (14:46)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Kazuchika Okada def. Master Wato by pinfall via Rainmaker. (18:34)
3/10
New Japan Cup: Night 5
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI) def. Tomoaki Honma, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi by pinfall. (10:42)
Taichi pinned Tomoaki Honma via Yokozuna-style Elbow Strike. - CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & YOH) def. House of Torture (Dick Togo, EVIL & SHO) by pinfall. (8:54)
Hirooki Goto pinned Dick Togo via clutch pin. - United Empire (Will Ospreay, Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon. (SANADA, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) by pinfall. (11:50)
Will Ospreay pinned BUSHI via Hidden Blade. - New Japan Cup Second Round: YOSHI-HASHI def. Kosei Fujita by submission via Butterfly Lock. (9:20)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Tetsuya Naito def. Gedo by pinfall via hammerlock clutch pin. (14:18)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Jeff Cobb def. Satoshi Kojima by pinfall via Tour of the Islands. (15:36)
- New Japan Cup Second Round: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Bad Luck Fale by pinfall via Rollup. (15:01)
The New Japan Cup continues on March 12th at 3am ET on NJPWWorld.com
