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We’re headed towards the second of New Japan Pro Wrestling’s “big four” in Sakura Genesis, and that means only one thing— New Japan Cup!
A sixteen-man single elimination tournament spread across nine shows (check out the bracket and the schedule here), the winner earns a shot at a singles heavyweight-eligible title of his choice. All nine shows, naturally, will air live and in full on NJPW World, so why not watch along with the best pro wrestling community on the internet?
Today’s action takes place in Tokyo’s Korakuen Hall, kicking off at a brisk 5:30AM Eastern / 2:30AM Pacific, and is headlined by two quarterfinal tournament matches, Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre, Jr. and SANADA vs. Toru Yano, the winners of which will face off against each other in the semifinals on Sunday, March 18.
David Finlay & Ren Narita over Shota Umino & Tomoyuki Oka by pinfall with a Stunner from Finlay on Oka.
Chaos (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) over Toa Henare & Togi Makabe by submission with the arm-trap underhook neck crank from YOSHI-HASHI on Henare.
Suzuki-gun (Davey Boy Smith, Jr., Lance Archer, Taichi, & Takashi Iizuka) over Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Tanga Loa, & Yujiro Takahashi) by pinfall with Killer Bomb from Smith and Archer on Owens.
Suzuki-gun (El Desperado, Minoru Suzuki, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) over Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, & Tetsuya Naito) by pinfall with the Gotch piledriver from Suzuki on BUSHI.
After the match, Suzuki laid the title down and seemingly issued a challenge to Naito!
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson, & Michael Elgin over Chaos (Chuckie T, Kazuchika Okada, & Tomohiro Ishii) by pinfall with Pulp Friction from Robinson on Chuck.
SANADA over Toru Yano by submission, locking Skull End on after a low blow. (New Japan Cup 2018 Quarterfinal Match)
Zack Sabre, Jr. over Kota Ibushi by referee stoppage after an extended and brutal sequence built around Hurrah! Another Year, Surely This One Will Be Better Than The Last; The Inexorable March of Progress Will Lead Us All to Happiness. (New Japan Cup 2018 Quarterfinal Match)
Enjoy the show!