Round of 16 begins March 14
Round three of the New Japan Cup will see four events in the coming days, each determining one of our quarter final matchups. As the best remain, who will be whittled out of the top eight?
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NIGHT EIGHT: March 14, Kagawa
Main event: Kazuchika Okada vs Taichi
Singles record: 3-1 Okada
Taichi’s one singles win over Kazuchika Okada is something he would talk about for many years to come, but its admirable and rare status comes with the caveat that it was in Okada’s first official NJPW match after his pre-debut bout with Tetsuya Naito in 2007. Their 2008 meeting would see the two men have reasonably similar paths, both heading on foreign excursion at the same time, as Okada went to America, and Taichi wrestled for a shorter stint in Mexico, but while Taichi would return as a cowardly schemer in Suzuki-Gun, Okada returned in 2012 as the Rainmaker.
From there Taichi would always resent Okada’s status, and, after turning heavyweight, would lay plans to take down Okada in Taichi’s own hometown. That led to a brutal assault in Sapporo at new Beginning 2020, leading into a main event match where Taichi pushed Okada hard, but not quite hard enough. Since then, Taichi has made more gains on his own merits in successive G1 meetings, but there is no doubt he is the underdog in this Kagawa clash.
Yet after facing a pair of junior heavyweights, and with Okada having few kind words to say about his second round opposition Master Wato, Taichi is certainly a different kind of opponent to the ones the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion has faced in the last few weeks. Victory is by no means a guarantee for Okada, as Taichi will do all he can to break a lot of brackets on March 14.
6th Match: Hirooki Goto vs CIMA
Hirooki Goto and CIMA face off in a what should definitely be an intriguing first round matchup and first time ever pairing. Behind Goto’s traditional Japanese samurai spirit lies a deep understanding of Mexican llave influenced pins and submissions which will gel with CIMA’s own combination of Japanese and Mexican styles honed in Toryumon and Dragon Gate. After severe damage done to his knees by Yoshinobu Kanemaru at Korakuen Hall though, the question will be whether CIMA has healed up in time for this March 14 clash, or whether he will be looking to attack Goto on the break in the same way he did the Heel Master.
As #STRONGHEARTS have continued to capture imaginations among NJPW fans since their first appearance in NJPW, CIMA wants to go as far as possible in this tournament, as now the rubber truly hits the road in the sweet 16. Yet Goto is hungry for his first cup in a decade, a meeting with recent rival Taichi or teammate and long term rival Kazuchika Okada. Is that hunger too much to deny?
NIGHT NINE: March 15 Okayama
Main event: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Tetsuya Naito
Singles record: 7-7-1
In February, Tetsuya Naito wrestled an opponent with a long history and an even scoreline in Kazuchika Okada. March 15 in Okayama, it’s another in Hiroshi Tanahashi. 7-7-1 says the scoreline between the Ace and El Ingobernable; a tale that has seen, in Naito’s eyes, him go from holding the Ace as his idol to looking down upon him as his superior.
As a fan, Naito attended Hiroshi Tanahashi’s debut match, and in his early steps as a wrestler, would bring a Tanahashi T-shirt to him when attending his NJPW tryout. When, in 2010, he would break out as a singles star, it was against Tanahashi, a man the Ace assumed ‘would shoot past me soon enough’. Yet the difference in experience levels at the top flight was evident at this point in time, and though a New Japan Cup 2010 win came in their second singles match, Tanahashi would by and large have the upper hand, forcing Naito to fight from behind, or as in the 2011 G1, catch a break with the same Polvo De Estrella roll-up he dug out of mothballs to advance into round three of this year’s cup.
After that match, Naito had to wait another two years to beat Tanahashi, doing so on the grand stage of the G1 final, but the slump that followed that win for Naito would eventually see him to Mexico, to Los Ingobernables, and to a status above that of his former idol. Tanahashi would be the first man ever to be hit with Destino and after the new move took him to victory during his 2015 G1 campaign, Naito held himself aloof over Tanahashi. Indeed, on January 4 2017 in the Tokyo Dome, Naito celebrated retaining the IWGP Intercontinental Championship with a fist bump to the chest of the downed Ace; symbolically driving a nail in their rivalry.
Yet where Naito may have been aloof and relaxed opposite the Ace, even in the 2020 G1 Climax where he entered as double IWGP Champion, now neither man holds gold, and both badly want status. Driven to reach the top one more time before time runs out, who wants it more in Okayama?
6th Match: YOSHI-HASHI vs Jeff Cobb
Singles record: 1-0 Cobb
After wins against Tomoaki Honma and Kosei Fujita, YOSHI-HASHI has a much taller task in front of him in the form of Jeff Cobb. Cobb powered his way past first Togi Makabe and then Satoshi Kojima, and there is no doubt that the Imperial Unit is the favourite in this third match as well. Still, YOSHI-HASHI lives by the credo that anything can happen in an instant, and at times in their G1 meeting last year, was able to nearly upset Cobb. YOSHI-HASHI’s indomitable will to win will be on full display in Okayama, but can he do enough to slay a tournament giant?
NIGHT TEN: March 17, Shizuoka
Main event: SANADA vs Will Ospreay
Singles record: 2-0 Ospreay
SANADA has had a United Empire theme to his 2022. It started January 5 with a victory over Great-O-Khan in the Tokyo Dome, a match that Cold Skull parlayed into an opportunity at the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, which he won. Then, on March 12 in Aichi, SANADA bested Aaron henare in a stunning main event, a win he will hope to parlay into his second New Japan Cup final and first tournament win. Yet to do that, he must beat another United Empire member, and one he has never beaten before.
In the 2019 G1 and in last year’s New Japan Cup, Will Ospreay has come out with the upper hand. Can SANADA redress that balance in Shizuoka? In this 2021 quarter final rematch, Ospreay is determined to show he’s still a step ahead of heavyweight competition after beting two junior heavyweights to get this far. Representing as the US Champion, SANADA will feel he must not lose an create a challenger in the process.
6th Match: Zack Sabre Jr. vs Great-O-Khan
Singles record: 1-0 Sabre
G1 Climax 31 started with a lot of momentum for both Zack Sabre Jr. and Great-O-Khan. While ZSJ was a proven commodity in the tournament, O-Khan was turning heads with his early streak of wins. Yet a defeat to Sabre in Korakuen Hall with a sudden submission would start a slump for the Dominator that he was unable to break away from, and created an aura around O-Khan that he would push everyone to their limits, but not quite beat them. For O-Khan, they key will be in avenging the ghosts of defeat against the submission master, and critically, winning to move on to the elite eight.
NIGHT ELEVEN: March 18, Korakuen
Main event: Hiromu Takahashi vs EVIL
Singles record: 1-0 EVIL
It wasn’t a ‘cool way to win’ for Hiromu Takahashi in Hyogo Sunday night, as he bested Minoru Suzuki with the Unnamed Hiromu Roll after withstanding phenomenal punishment. Yet a win it was, and a victory that in some part vanquished some ghosts of the past. In Korakuen Hall, it will have to be the same story for the Time Bomb to be successful; much is left undone between Hiromu and EVIL, but a fair fight seems out of the realms of possibility in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
EVIL made the round of 16 after defeating Tama Tonga in the wake of the entire Japanese arm of BULLET CLUB kicking Tama, brother Tanga Loa and Jado to the curbside. Hiromu found out two years ago, as he rashly challenged EVIL at Sengoku Lord in the summer of 2020, that EVIL will not fight fair to get what he wants in any scenario. Now he has size and power on his hands, and that isn’t in reference to his physical stature. As long as Takahashi’s heart still beats, he will have a chance to move to the quarter finals, but the King of Darkness will have not just HOUSE OF TORTURE but a unified BULLET CLUB as insurance.
6th Match: Shingo Takagi vs Chase Owens
Chase Owens certainly eliminated all doubt this weekend that he was a competitor without a shred of honour to his name, joining Bad Luck Fale to preserve his self interests and assaulting Guerrillas of Destiny and Jado to expel them from BULLET CLUB. Having renewed his vows to the Club then, Owens should hope they come through in his time of need, as Friday in Korakuen he faces Shingo Takagi.
Having made last year’s final, Takagi is not going to let Chase stop him going one further in 2022. With or without backup, the Crown Jewel will need to fight for survive tonight.
