The New Japan Cup rolls on, and the quarterfinals are set. March 20th will see Kazuchika Okada take on GLEAT’s CIMA, and Jeff Cobb face Tetsuya Naito. March 21st will see Zack Sabre Jr. face Will Ospreay, and Shingo Takagi will collide with Hiromu Takahashi.
The March 20th show will be a tale of two matches. Okada vs. CIMA is a first time match up and a styles clash. While Okada has had a rather easy path through the cup, the lack of preparation for such a different opponent could bite Okada. Add in the fact that CIMA has really lived up to his STRONGHEART team name, bringing a second and third gear to the tournament that his opponents have had no answer for so far.
While Okada and CIMA don’t really know each other, Tetsuya Naito and Jeff Cobb know each other all too well. Between last year’s tag league, and this year’s Wrestle Kingdom, there’s a lot of dangling threads to tie up between these two. Naito has been a wily, crafty competitor throughout this tournament. He’s been slippery, like a greased-up pig. Cobb will be coming at Naito with fire and fury; looking to cut out his heart out with a crooked knife to get vengeance for the knee injury that Naito left him with in the Tokyo Dome. But he has to catch him first.
[LOS INGOBERNABLES de JAPON]
Pasado mañana en NAGAOKA.
La foto fue tomada en octubre de 2020. pic.twitter.com/pT8spmgmvv
— 内藤哲也 naito tetsuya (@s_d_naito) March 18, 2022
March 21st will see two huge matches. Zack Sabre Jr. will face United Empire’s Will Ospreay. The former-New Japan Cup winner will be looking to shutup the big mouthed Ospreay, as the two represent opposite ends of the British spectrum. The two have faced many times in the past, and are looking to write another chapter in the long rivalry.
The other match on March 21st will be heartbreaking for Los Ingobernables de Japon fans, no matter who wins. Maybe Hiromu keeps his dream run through the tournament alive, and bests Takagi. This would rob Takagi of the chance to win the trophy he was mere inches from last year.
Maybe Takagi wins, crushing the dreams of his LIJ stablemate, and the hopes of his many fans. There is simply no easy outcome for this quarter of the bracket. Heartbreak wins out, regardless.
READ MORE: New Japan Cup First Round (Night 1) (Nights 2 & 3) (Nights 4 & 5) (Nights 6 & 7) (Nights 8-11)
Here is the full schedule:
3/20
New Japan Cup: Night 12
4am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Kazuchika Okada vs. CIMA
- New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Jeff Cobb vs. Tetsuya Naito
- Match order and undercard TBA
3/21
New Japan Cup: Night 13
2am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Will Ospreay
- New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Shingo Takagi vs. Hiromu Takahashi
- Match order and undercard TBA
