Who Won the NJPW New Japan Cup 2017 Finals?

facebooktwitterreddit

NJPW’s New Japan Cup 2017 has come and gone, so who won and will challenge for a championship at Sakura Genesis?

On Monday morning, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s New Japan Cup 2017 came to an end. This closed the book on the tournament that decided the next challenger to either the NEVER Openweight, IWGP Intercontinental or IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis on Apr. 9.

The finals match saw Katsuyori Shibata vs. Bad Luck Fale take place. After a lengthy match, Shibata won with the PK. He then announced his intentions of challenging for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, presumably at Sakura Genesis. Kazuchika Okada, the current titleholder, will be his opponent.

Results of this match and others from New Japan Cup can be seen below. Everything seen at the show was tag team matches:

  • New Japan Cup Finals Match
    Katsuyori Shibata defeated Bad Luck Fale
  • Hirai Kawato vs. Tomoyuki Oka wrestled to a time limit draw
  • David Finley, Tiger Mask and Jushin Thunder Liger defeated El Desperado, Takashi Iizuka and TAKA Michinoku
  • TenCozy defeated Katsuya Kitamura and Yuji Nagata
  • Gedo, Jado and Hirooki Goto defeated Taichi, Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Minoru Suzuki
  • Los Ingobernables de Japon defeated Taguchi Japan
  • YOSHI-HASHI, Tomohiro Ishii, Kazuchika Okada and Toru Yano defeated Kenny Omega, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi and Tama Tonga

Sakura Genesis will not only feature Okada vs. Shibata, but Hiromu Takahashi vs. KUSHIDA for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. This is a Wrestle Kingdom 11 rematch which saw Takahashi defeated KUSHIDA for the belt. The rest of the match card hasn’t been announced.

Next: 5 Best NJPW Stars Right Now

New Japan Cup is in the books, which means the focus will be put on the April event and the upcoming G1 Climax in the summer. It should all make for another fun midseason for NJPW. What could happen next?