NJPW New Japan Cup Night Three: Results and Analysis

Day three of the NJPW New Japan Cup is main evented by a huge match between Zack Sabre Jr. and Tetsuya Naito. Kota Ibushi also faces off against YOSHI-HASHI as NJPW continues with its first major tournament of 2018.

Following the excellent main event from last night between Taichi & Hiroshi Tanahashi will be difficult, but NJPW knows how to pace their shows well. Ibushi and YOSHI-HASHI should be good, and Naito and Zack Sabre Jr. could have the best match of the tournament.

Tomoyuki Oka & Yuji Nagata vs. Ren Narita & Tetsuhiro Yagi

This is standard Young Lions tag team wresting, with Nagata in there to make the young guys shine. Oka got the win with a Boston crab for his team, as a Young Lion picks up a rare win.

Result: Tomoyuki Oka & Yuji Nagata

Rating: 2 stars out of 5

Shota Umino vs. El Desperado (Suzuki-gun)

This is a rare singles match this early in the show, as El Desperado takes on the young lion. Umino is going to want to show off how much he has advanced by taking it to the veteran. Desperado, being one half of the Jr. Tag Team Champions, will want to have a win here. The match is what you’d expect from a Young Lion vs. an established star, and Desperado gets the win with a stretch muffler after a few minutes.

Result: El Desperado

Rating: 2.25 stars out of 5

Solid showing for Umino here, as he is looking to become the head of this Young Lion class. NJPW would not have given him the match here if they were not high on him.

Toa Henare, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Michael Elgin vs. The Bullet Club (Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, Yujiro Takahashi, & Bad Luck Fale)

This was mostly standard eight man tag action here, as The Bullet Club got the heat on David Finlay for quite some time before Juice and Elgin got most of the offence in for their team. Nothing in particular stood out to me in this one. Tanga Loa got the pinfall over Henare with a Greetings from Asbury Park after a few minutes.

Result: The Bullet Club

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars