New Japan Cup 2019: Highlights and Quarterfinal Preview

Round 2: Minoru Suzuki vs SANADA

Having to pick between my close, personal friend Minoru Suzuki and the effortlessly talented SANADA is a real Sophie’s Choice situation and one that I don’t appreciate being forced into. Instead, I watched with bated breath as two of my top picks tore one another apart.

Suzuki was tactical here, as always, but truly shined against his counterpart. What was also remarkable here is that Suzuki is 20 years SANADA’s senior and still moves with all these ease and grace of the LIJ member.

Much like his partner in Suzuki-Gun, ZSJ, Suzuki seemed to have an answer for SANADA at almost every turn. More times than I can remember, Suzuki locked his opponent in the standing rear naked choke he uses to set up for the Gotch-Style Piledriver rendering SANADA’s strength and speed useless.

With a leg damaged by continued attacks by Suzuki, SANADA powered through and fought back against the grizzled veteran. Just as Suzuki was able to snatch SANADA in chokes and submissions, there was no shortage of Skull End submissions threatening to force a Suzuki tapout.

In a tremendous sequence toward the end of the match, both men traded submissions back and forth on the mat going back and forth between Suzuki’s leglocks and SANADA’s Skull End. SANADA would eventually wear Suzuki down enough to leave him laying on the mat allowing for the Muta-inspired diving moonsault for the victory.

Round 2: Kota Ibushi vs Zack Sabre Jr

In another match that could have easily been the tournament finals, the winner of the 2015 New Japan Cup tangled with the winner of last year’s tournament.

Sabre was forced into playing the long game against Ibushi who pummeled the slender frame of the Submission Master with kicks and strikes early on. With ZSJ knowing he couldn’t stand on solid ground with the power of Ibushi, he turned to his reliable submission game to wear down the Golden Star.

Words may not be able to truly express just how incredible this match was. It’s certainly no surprise that these two would go out there and have a show-stealing match, but it was raised to a completely new level with the stakes hanging in the balance.

Could Sabre take one more step toward becoming only the second man to win back-to-back Cups, or would Ibushi spoil ZSJ’s chances and get one step closer to Madison Square Garden?

The end of the match saw an intense series of reversals and counters as Ibushi tried to knock Sabre unconscious with the Kamigoye while Sabre attempted to cinch in every trusted pin attempt he’s used to fell opponents in the past.

Sabre locked in the full Orienteering With Napalm Death on Ibushi and, continuing the trend, forced one of the most defeated and depressing tapouts ever seen in a wrestling ring.

Ibushi seemed to tap out not just due to the pain of the hold, but also because he knew there was no way to escape the hold. There is no counter and with his body tied up tight, no way that he could make it to the ropes.

This was easily the most shocking result of the entire New Japan Cup so far. I had Ibushi pegged as the man to challenge Jay White in New York City, and now that entire concept has been blown to pieces. I guess I should have listened to TAKA Michinoku more closely when he told us all that everybody just taps out to Zack Sabre Jr.