New Japan Cup 2019: Highlights and Quarterfinal Preview

The New Japan Cup has blasted through the first two rounds with some must-see matches, and the quarterfinals of the annual NJPW tournament won’t be any different. With a chance to challenge Jay White at MSG on April 6 and 8 men left in the field, who could be the one to square off with the Switchblade in New York City?

This year’s New Japan Cup is the first of its kind to feature 32 wrestlers, the largest field yet, and while some of the matches thus far have had clear favorites, there have been a few surprises along the way.

With the quarterfinals of NJPW‘s tournament set to kick off on March 20, it’s time to look back at some of the best matches from the first two rounds before looking ahead as the New Japan Cup winds down.

Round 1: Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii

These two were meant to face off during the New Beginning In USA shows, but the US government shutdown put a stop to New Japan wrestlers obtaining visas for the trip. While it’s never a good thing for paying fans to miss out on seeing a match between two of the best in New Japan, it always felt like this match should have happened in Japan.

I may be a bit biased as Nagata is one of my absolute favorites (I’m always on the lookout for his excellent Anti-Aging Hero t-shirt) and the way he can still go in the ring at his age is nothing short of remarkable. Ishii has become one of my top New Japan guys in the past year or two as well and his effort against then-IWGP Champion Kenny Omega after the G1 left me hungry for an Ishii title run.

It was likely a foregone conclusion for most viewers that Ishii would advance in the tournament, but the intensity and emotion of this match were enough to make a Nagata believer out everybody watching. These two completely battered one another drawing on the frustrations of their interactions in the shows leading up to the New Beginning In USA tour.

In the end, Ishii came out on top in one of my favorite matches of the year. If you’re only going to go back and watch one match from the first two rounds of the tournament (why would you do such a thing?), this is the one to watch.

Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shota Umino

Few things in life have compared to being able to yell “GO ACE!” in the Tokyo Dome at Wrestle Kingdom 13 as the undisputed Ace of the Universe regained the IWGP Heavyweight Title.

Unfortunately for Tanahashi and his perfect hair, Jay White was waiting just around the corner and snatched the prize up at February’s New Beginning In Osaka.

I went from shouting “GO ACE!” in an arena full of people as my heart burst with joy to whimpering it to myself in my living room as everything I thought I knew in the world came unraveled. Okay, maybe that’s a little dramatic, but it’s not far off.

All of this to say, Tanahashi’s quest to get back to the IWGP Heavyweight Title began with Young Lion Shota Umino who is arguably the most impressive of this batch of Young Lions so far. Like the Nagata/Ishii match, most assumed a Tana win was a foregone conclusion… but what if?

With Tanahashi already falling to White in February and Shota making history by becoming the first Young Lion to compete in the New Japan Cup, could Shota actually pull off an upset against a New Japan Cup 2019 favorite? Not only that, he’d be doing so against the first-ever winner of the very same tournament in 2005.

Every near fall in this match was 100% believable. Hook, line, and sinker. It truly felt like the stars were aligning and Shota would come away with the biggest win of his career by knocking out one of the tournament favorites in the very first round.

Despite a valiant effort, Tanahashi came away with a victory with the cloverleaf. Even in defeat, though, Shota proved that he is ready to stand toe-to-toe with the top wrestlers in New Japan.

I’m not looking forward to Shota’s eventual excursion as it will mean less Shota in NJPW, but I’m already anticipating his return when he’ll be free of the Young Lion shackles and able to run free.

Round 1: Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito

I don’t know who it is who put these brackets together, but it’s some kind of cruel punishment to have these two meet in the first round. In a perfect world, Ibushi and Naito would have had a couple of other matches before meeting each other in the quarterfinal or semifinal rounds, but here we are.

This match not only served as a total bracket buster for anyone playing along at home, but was also one of the harder to predict matches of the entire first round.

For Naito, the dream is to become the first-ever dual champion in NJPW history, holding both the Intercontinental and Heavyweight Titles. For Ibushi, this is the start of a new life in New Japan free of Kenny Omega and ties to The Elite.

You may be hard-pressed to find a more even and dynamic pairing than Ibushi and Naito. These are two wrestlers with massive chips on their shoulders and something to prove every time they hit the ring.

Naito has more than made up for his lukewarm Stardust Genius run, but he’s still seeking that big Tokyo Dome moment. Ibushi, on the other hand, has seemingly always been the darling of every New Japan fan, but has only achieved a certain level of status thus far. That may all change now that Ibushi has signed with NJPW rather than continuing as a freelancer.

These two absolutely murdered one another in a match good enough to be the tournament finals. Naito took sickening pleasure in delivering a sitout Tombstone to Ibushi on the apron and Ibushi returned the favor by trying to break Naito’s neck with a double underhook Ganso Bomb.

With a Kamigoye as an exclamation point, Ibushi claimed a spot in the second round of the New Japan Cup and may also have a shot at the Intercontinental Title in his future.

Round 1: EVIL vs Zack Sabre Jr

Zack Sabre Jr has been the bane of EVIL’s existence for quite some time. It almost always seems to be Zack Sabre Time when the LIJ mainstay checks his watch, but here he had a chance to turn that all around by taking last year’s Cup winner out in the very first round.

As he does, ZSJ had an answer for everything EVIL through his way. EVIL not only used his size and strength to thwart his smaller opponent but he mixed in a bit of grappling as well. None of it was enough, though, to keep Sabre down for long at all.

Using his spindly limbs and impeccable technique, Sabre tied EVIL in submission after submission before taking him down near the ropes with an insane combination Orienteering With Napalm Death/Cobra Twist on the canvas. It quickly became clear to EVIL that he wasn’t going anywhere and tapped the saddest tapout I think I’ve ever seen.

On this day, everything was, in fact, not EVIL.

Round 2: Tomohiro Ishii vs Taichi

Ishii did it again in round 2 by providing my favorite match of the 8 matches in this sprint. What’s even more remarkable is that he achieved this feat against Taichi.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it – I just don’t get Taichi. In the “Let’s go Taichi!”/”Taichi Go Home!” camp, I’m firmly on the side of “Taichi Go Home!”

The gimmick itself seems like it could be fine, but his lackadaisical singing and even more lackadaisical offense haven’t been enough for me. He has a great entrance and great outfit, looking like more of a Final Fantasy villain than a wrestler in the best ways possible.

That all changed for me on March 13.

I’m willing to put much of the credit on Ishii for pulling something amazing out of Taichi, but The Holy Emperor’s performance wasn’t without its own merits.

At one point, Taichi crawled to the corner and struggled with a choice between using one of two weapons – Iizuka’s iron glove or his own microphone stand. Taichi lingered on the pouch containing the glove for a moment before deciding on his usual foreign object.

For me, this was a beautiful character moment. Taichi seemed to be weighing the options between using the iron glove and taking a step closer to becoming the raving maniac that was Iizuka or saving that madness for another day.

Even when he did finally pick up the mic stand, he refused to use it against a waiting Ishii, instead throwing it to the arena floor. Suddenly, Taichi wanted to fight on his own without any chicanery! A low-blow later in the match would negate this a bit, but we can chalk that up to frustrating after not being able to keep Ishii down.

Ishii eventually put Taichi down with the Vertical Drop Brainbuster, but the performance from Taichi was enough to make me a believer. I’ll make this promise right now – if Taichi churns out more performances like this in 2019, I’ll show up to Wrestle Kingdom 14 in full Taichi gear.

Round 2: Colt Cabana vs Toru Yano

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum of literally any other match on this list is Colt Cabana versus Toru Yano. There were no surprises here in regards to what type of match we were going to get. While Cabana and Yano can absolutely go in the ring when it comes down to it, their ability to mix comedy into wrestling puts them in a category all their own.

This match wasn’t for everybody. There’s a fine line drawn between the Jim Cornettes of the world and the Colt Cabanas of the world when talking about comedy and silliness in wrestling. Of course, Cornette once wrestled a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles knockoff, so maybe we should stop taking everything he says with so much weight.

Much like he did in the first round of the tournament against Togi Makabe, Cabana used his comedic sensibilities and trickery to outsmart Yano and walk away with the victory. This wasn’t an Ishii wrestling classic, but will probably go down as one of my favorite matches of the New Japan Cup overall.

This is Cabana’s first tour with New Japan and I have a hard time believing it will be his last. He seems to have instantly connected with the live crowds and has a skill set which transcends language. Fingers crossed that we get more Colt Cabana by way of the G1.

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.

The Quarterfinal matches of the New Japan Cup kick off on March 20 and continue the next day on March 21. With only one match feeling like an easy pick, everything is still up in the air as to who will win this year’s prize.

Tomohiro Ishii vs YOSHI-HASHI

Can Ishii make it 3-for-3 in pulling out amazing matches in the New Japan Cup? With the quality of his performances thus far, and despite my unironic love of YOSHI-HASHI, I don’t see a way Ishii suffers a loss in this round of the tournament.

At this point, I’m putting my money on Ishii to take the entire thing. He’s consistent, he’s deadly, and he’s been the most impressive wrestler in the tournament thus far. If he can pull a star-making performance out of YH the way he did with Taichi, he’ll step to another level.

Kazuchika Okada vs Will Ospreay

Aside from Mike Elgin in the first round, Okada has a chance to win his side of the bracket by defeating members of his own faction in Chaos. Okada took down Mikey Nicholls in a fine, if uninspiring, match in the second round and will now take on NEVER Openweight Champion Ospreay who has already overcome massive odds against Bad Luck Fale and Lance Archer.

My money is on Okada walking away with the victory and putting an end to Ospreay’s excellent run in the New Japan Cup. If Ospreay takes the victory, though, it would be another sign that New Japan is willing to shake things up around the top of the card by solidifying Ospreay as the junior who can hang with the heavyweights.

SANADA vs Colt Cabana

Cabana may have been better off letting Yano take the victory in the second round. As we know, Cabana can compete with anyone in the tournament and is far more than “just” a comedy wrestler – but SANADA operates in a completely separate universe than anyone else on the New Japan roster.

This is where it ends for Cabana and his New Japan Cup dreams on my bracket. SANADA is coming off of huge wins over Hirooki Goto and Minoru Suzuki already and has a huge semi-final match awaiting him regardless of who wins the other match in his bracket. By the same token, though, has SANADA over-exerted himself to the point of Cabana picking up a win over an exhausted Cold Skull?

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Zack Sabre Jr

In a rematch from last year’s final, we’ll find out if the Ace is in top form coming off of his IWGP Heavyweight Title loss to Jay White in February or if the clock is ready to chime Zack Sabre Time.

With Sabre’s win over Ibushi in the second round, I’m no longer sure what to expect. He has the skills to pick apart any wrestler’s weaknesses and Tanahashi has a well-documented pair of weaknesses with his knees. Sabre’s partner, Minoru Suzuki, has enjoyed tearing Tana’s legs apart in the past and ZSJ stands to continue the Suzuki-gun legacy of doing so.

I don’t see Tanahashi winning the entire New Japan Cup, but I could see him overcome Sabre to shut down his dreams of a repeat tournament victory. If Tana does come up short, though, where does that leave the Ace in the overall landscape of NJPW? Without the IWGP Heavyweight Title in his sights, what does Tanahashi fight for?

The next round of the New Japan Cup kicks off on March 20 with Ishii/YOSHI-HASHI and Okada/Ospreay ahead of SANADA/Cabana and Tanahashi/Sabre on March 21. The winners will have just a couple of days to rest before the semi-finals and finals in Niigata on March 23 and March 24.