The New Japan Cup continued this week, and there was a theme running through this third round of the cup: Healing. Wounds, old and new, were patched in the ring, with old debts being forgiven and new chapters being written. All of which culminated on Friday, with two huge moments that left the crowd with a bit of hope.
In the main event of Friday’s show, Hiromu Takahashi punched his ticket to the quarterfinals by defeating his former stablemate EVIL with his own finisher. The junior heavyweight has been blazing a trail through this year’s tournament. The only wrestler from his division left in the tournament, Hiromu’s run has been a near-miracle; filling the crowds with a hope and energy that hasn’t been seen since the days before COVID restrictions.
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Hiromu gloated proudly over the 2020 New Japan Cup winner after Friday’s match. Held back by injuries and bad luck, Hiromu seems poised to make a real case for the finals, much to the delight of underdogs around the world. Hiromu is set to face his Los Ingobernables de Japon stablemate Shingo Takagi in the quarterfinals.
If Hiromu Takahashi is giving hope to the NJPW crowds during this tournament, Guerrillas of Destiny are the ones doing the healing in the company. Contentious villains for a long time, being jettisoned from Bullet Club has changed Tanga Loa, Jado, and most significantly Tama Tonga.
Stuck in Bullet Club’s crosshairs since the betrayal, Guerrillas of Destiny have needed to get help from an unlikely place. IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi helped save GOD from an assault from Bullet Club and vice-versa, leading to Ryusuke Taguchi extending an olive branch to Tama Tonga, absolving Tama of one of Bullet Club’s original sins. It was Prince Devitt (aka Finn Balor) turning on Taguchi, and breaking up their Apollo 55 tag team, that formed the stable in the first place.
Already becoming quick fan favorites, Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado joining NJPW’s Main Unit beefs up the company’s thin roster of babyfaces, both in Japan and North America. While NJPW-proper has been lacking in faces for fans to cheer, NJPW of America has such a dearth of domestic aces that Will Ospreay spent much of the last tour picking on the Young Lions of the LA Dojo, as they were the only likeable talent that was readily available to the brand.
Elsewhere on this week of New Japan Cup madness (March madness, if you will), CIMA kept his crazy STRONGHEART dream alive by besting multi-time New Japan Cup winner Hirooki Goto to advance to the quarterfinals. He’ll meet IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada on March 20th. Okada advanced with a win over a defiant Taichi.
Jeff Cobb crushed YOSHI-HASHI in a dominant display on Tuesday. He’ll get a chance at revenge on the 20th, as he’ll face Wrestle Kingdom opponent Tetsuya Naito. A crafty, and scrappy Naito has been clutch-pinning his way to the quarterfinals, and will be a slippery foe for Cobb, even if Cobb is motivated to not only avenge his Wrestle Kingdom loss, but the knee injury that came with it.
Cobb wasn’t the only member of United Empire that dominated the third round. Will Ospreay broke SANADA’s face in a thrilling main event on Thursday. Fresh off winning the IWGP United States Championship, SANADA was looking to get another big win, but was beaten so badly that there was no submission, no pinfall, just Will Ospreay bludgeoning him with 12-6 elbows, and the referee putting a stop to the match. A brutal display that puts the IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion out of action for the remainder of the tournament.
United Empire’s Great-O-Khan fell to Zack Sabre Jr. in a wild match on Thursday. Sabre will face off with Ospreay on March 21st, in a match that will not only determine who will go to the semi-finals, but could also put Ospreay’s RevPro British Heavyweight Championship in jeopardy.
Plus, SHO continued stalking, hunting, and attacking El Desperado, Taichi put himself in contention for the KOPW 2022 trophy, and TAKA Michinoku got his ass kicked up and down, the entire week.
READ MORE: New Japan Cup First Round (Night 1) (Nights 2 & 3) (Nights 4 & 5) (Nights 6 & 7)
Here are the full results:
3/14
New Japan Cup: Night 8
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Tomoaki Honma, Tiger Mask & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado) by submission. (6:35)
Ryusuke Taguchi submitted TAKA Michinoku via Ankle Lock. - Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Bad Luck Fale & Taiji Ishimori) def. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado) by pinfall. (7:05)
El Phantasmo pinned Jado via Sudden Death Super Kick. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi) def. Bullet Club (Dick Togo, EVIL & Chase Owens) by pinfall. (10:33)
SANADA pinned Dick Togo via O’Connor Roll. - United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare) def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI) by pinfall. (10:55)
Aaron Henare pinned DOUKI via Streets of Rage. - United Empire (Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb) def. CHAOS (YOSHI-HASHI & YOH) by pinfall. (9:48)
Will Ospreay pinned YOH via Hidden Blade. - Hiroshi Tanahashi & Master Wato def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) by pinfall. (11:31)
Hiroshi Tanahashi pinned BUSHI via High Fly Flow. - New Japan Cup Third Round Match: CIMA def. Hirooki Goto by pinfall via Meteora. (17:20)
- New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Kazuchika Okada def. Taichi by pinfall via Rainmaker. (24:17)
3/15
New Japan Cup: Night 9
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Tomoaki Honma & Tiger Mask def. Ryusuke Taguchi & Ryohei Oiwa by submission. (9:36)
Tomoaki Honma submitted Ryohei Oiwa via Boston Crab. - Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) def. Master Wato & Kosei Fujita by pinfall. (7:49)
El Phantasmo pinned Kosei Fujita via Unidentified Flying Opponent. - Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Gedo & Chase Owens) def. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado) by pinfall. (8:51)
Chase Owens pinned Jado via C-Trigger. - United Empire (Will Ospreay, Great-O-Khan & Aaron Henare) def. Suzuki-gun (Zack Sabre Jr., El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku) by pinfall. (8:40)
Aaron Henare pinned TAKA Michinoku via Streets of Rage. - Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA, BUSHI & Shingo Takagi) def. House of Torture (EVIL, Dick Togo, SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) by pinfall. (9:22)
Shingo Takagi pinned Dick Togo via Pumping Bomber. - CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & YOH) def. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & DOUKI) by pinfall. (8:43)
Hirooki Goto pinned DOUKI via GTW. - New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Jeff Cobb def. YOSHI-HASHI by pinfall via Tour of the Islands. (17:22)
- New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Tetsuya Naito def. Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall via Jackknife Clutch. (18:48)
3/17
New Japan Cup: Night 10
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Bullet Club’s Cutest Tag Team (El Phantasmo & Taiji Ishimori) def. Tiger Mask & YOH by pinfall. (7:36)
El Phantasmo pinned Tiger Mask via Sudden Death. - Six or Nine (Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku) by submission. (8:21)
Ryusuke Taguchi submitted TAKA Michinoku via Ankle Lock. - Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens & Gedo) def. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado) by pinfall. (6:18)
Chase Owens pinned Jado via C-Trigger. - United Empire (Aaron Henare & Great-O-Khan) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomoaki Honma by pinfall. (9:30)
Aaron Henare pinned Tomoaki Honma via Streets of Rage. - House of Torture (EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Dick Togo & SHO) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito, Shingo Takagi & BUSHI) by pinfall. (9:47)
Yujiro Takahashi pinned BUSHI via Big Juice. - CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) def. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & DOUKI) by pinfall. (10:17)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned DOUKI via Shoto. - New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Great-O-Khan by submission via You Can’t Play Conkers In England. (20:03)
- New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Will Ospreay def. SANADA by stoppage via Mounted Elbows. (16:56)
3/18
New Japan Cup: Night 11
Available on NJPWWorld.com
- Hiroshi Tanahashi, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi def. Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe & YOH by submission. (9:28)
Hiroshi Tanahashi submitted Tomoaki Honma via Texas Cloverleaf. - House of Torture (SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) def. Suzuki-gun (El Desperado & DOUKI) by pinfall. (9:59)
Yujiro Takahashi pinned DOUKI via Big Juice. - Bullet Club (El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori & Bad Luck Fale) def. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado) by pinfall. (8:30)
El Phantasmo pinned Jado via Sudden Death. - CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii) def. Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki, TAKA Michinoku & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) by pinfall. (9:12)
YOSHI-HASHI pinned TAKA Michinoku via Shoto. - United Empire (Will Ospreay & Aaron Henare) def. Los Ingobernables de Japon (Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI) by pinfall. (9:01)
Will Ospreay pinned BUSHI via Hidden Blade. - Dangerous Tekkers (Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.) def. CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Toru Yano) by pinfall. (9:06)
Taichi pinned Toru Yano via Sumo Elbow Strike. - New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Shingo Takagi def. Chase Owens by pinfall via Last of the Dragon. (16:41)
- New Japan Cup Third Round Match: Hiromu Takahashi def. EVIL by pinfall via EVIL. (15:52)
The New Japan Cup will continue on March 20th at 4am ET on NJPWWorld.com
