NJPW New Japan Cup Night Two: Results and Analysis

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi (Suzuki-gun) w/ Miho

Miho spent some time trying to flirt with Tanahashi to get him distracted. Tanahashi seemed immune to it. He’s loyal to his wife, you see. That doesn’t stop Taichi from taking advantage of the momentary distraction. Taichi managed to keep the heat on Tanahashi for quite some time in this one by cheating, hard kicks, and sending Tanahashi into the guardrail.

Taichi tried to powerbomb Tanahashi on the entrance ramp, but Tanahashi reversed it and sent Taichi flying with a hurricanrana. Once back in the ring, Taichi removed his pants to reveal his tights, which is always a poor moment in the match. He brutalized Tanahashi with some kicks and a powerbomb that looked like it dropped Tanahashi directly on his head. Taichi went for a kick, hit it, and Tanahashi responded with a sling blade and a High Fly Flow, but couldn’t complete the pinfall due to his injured knee.

Taichi responded with a low blow and a roll up, but Tanahashi kicked out. Clearly frustrated, Taichi then hit an elevated powerbomb, but couldn’t put Tanahashi away! Tanahashi hit three Twist and Shout’s and both men went down. Taichi grabbed his microphone, but Tanahashi grabbed it from him and threatened Taichi. Unlike Naito, however, Tanahashi did not smash it over Taichi’s head. Instead, he hit two sling blades and followed that with a High Fly Flow. Tanahashi wins!

Result: Hiroshi Tanahashi (3/4 on my predictions for round one).

Rating: 4.25 stars out of 5.

Hiroshi Tanahashi has a very impressive showing here coming back from injury. Taichi had the best match of his career. Tanahashi showed that he is clearly still the Ace and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. This was an excellent match.

Final Thoughts

Show Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

I am becoming convinced that NJPW is hinting at Okada/Ibushi by having them stand opposite each other two nights in a row in tag matches. I’m also sure Suzuki/Naito will be happening sooner rather than later. Where does Chris Jericho factor into this? I’m not sure. I do know we’ll be seeing that match by the summer, for sure. I expect Jericho to show up sometime soon to attack Naito again. We’ll have to see when that happens.

Next: New Japan Cup Night One Results

The story of Tanahashi’s return has been a great one. He was only gone a month, but it seemed so strange to not see him on a show. It was great to see him return to form here, having a fantastic match. Some folks have suggested Tanahashi has slowed down, but I don’t see it.

Every single time he has a singles match, he tears the house down. He is getting older, but he is still one of the biggest draws in NJPW. I, for one, am very glad NJPW has him. He’s the man. If I am allowed to show a little bias here, I will gladly say that Hiroshi Tanahashi is one of my favourite wrestlers alive. I really enjoyed this show, and having Tanahashi win is always something that makes me happy. This was far better than night one.