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Csonka’s NJPW New Japan Cup (Night 4) Review 3.12.18
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Csonka’s NJPW New Japan Cup (Night 4) Review 3.12.18
OFFICIAL RESULTS
– Non-Title Match: Champions Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado defeated Ren Narita & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 8:58 via pin [**¾]
– Bad Luck Fale, Tanga Loa, & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi, Shota Umino, & Yuji Nagata @ 7:55 via pin [**½]
– Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Michael Elgin @ 9:40 via submission [**¾]
– Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI defeated Taka Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr @ 8:50 via pin [***]
– Suzuki-gun defeated Toa Henare, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi @ 10:50 via pin [**¼]
– Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada defeated Chase Owens & Kota Ibushi @ 9:50 via submission [***]
– New Japan Cup 2018 First Round Match: Toru Yano defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr.@ 12:45 via countout [*½]
– New Japan Cup 2018 First Round Match: SANADA defeated Chuckie T @ 21:27 via pin [***¼]
– Follow all of my reviews at this link.
– You can read reviews of night one , night two here, and night three here.
– You can read my preview for the first round matches at this link.
Champions Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado vs. Ren Narita & Ryusuke Taguchi: Narita and Desperado start things off. They do some grappling and then Narita fires up with a chop and hits an arm drag, grounding the action. Narita is showing nice aggression here, refusing to back off and taking he fight to Desperado and even knocking Kanemaru to the floor. Desperado eventually sends him to the floor, and that allows Kanemaru to attack. Back in and Kanemaru takes the heat, working the camel clutch as Desperado takes Taguchi to the floor. The champions work quick tags, with Kanemaru particularly surly this morning as he beat the piss out of Narita. Narita hits the desperation dropkick and tags in Taguchi. It’s ass attack time with Taguchi running wild. The rolling suplexes follow on Kanemaru, covering for 2. Taguchi looks for bum a ye, but opts for some short ass attacks. Kanemaru takes out his knee, Desperado in and ends up running into an ass attack. Narita tags back in and takes out Kanemaru on the floor. He and Taguchi double-team Desperado, and Narita hits a belly to belly for 2. The back slide follows for 2. Desperado cuts him off with the spinebuster and locks in the crab. Kanemaru fights off Taguchi as Desperado transitions to he stretch muffler for the win. Champions Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Desperado defeated Ren Narita & Ryusuke Taguchi @ 8:58 via pin [**¾] This was a pretty good opener, with Narita showing a ton of fire, and the champions working a nice heel formula, minus the usual Suzuki-gun bullshit.
Bad Luck Fale, Tanga Loa, & Yujiro Takahashi vs. Tetsuhiro Yagi, Shota Umino, & Yuji Nagata: Yagi and Takahashi start us off. Nagata slaps around Yagi to fire him up, but Takahashi attacks and takes early control. Bullet Club attacks Umino and Nagata on the floor, while Yagi fires back in the ring. Umino now joins him and they double team Takahashi and than Loa. Loa quickly cuts that off, allowing he and Takahashi to double team Yagi. Takahashi lays in chops, and Loa tags back in. He lays in head butts, and follows with a slam as Nagata makes the save. Fale in and pummels young Yagi, and sits on him for 2. Bullet Club works quick tags as Takahashi is back in, but runs into a dropkick. Hot tag to Nagata, who runs wild with kicks on Fale. XPLODER to Loa and more kicks for Takahashi. Takahashi cuts him off, but Nagata locks on the arm bar until Fale makes the save. Umino tags in and runs wild on Takahashi, but gets crotched as he heads up top. Bullet Club triple teams him, but Fale accidentally takes out Takahashi and it breaks down. Umino finally hits the missile dropkick on Takahashi for 2.The arm bar follows. Takahashi escapes and bites his hand, and hits the fisherman’s buster for 2. It breaks down, Takahashi hits the short DDT and picks up the win. Bad Luck Fale, Tanga Loa, & Yujiro Takahashi defeated Tetsuhiro Yagi, Shota Umino, & Yuji Nagata @ 7:55 via pin [**½] This was a solid tag, with good fire from the lions and Bullet Club picking up the win.
Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tomoyuki Oka & Michael Elgin: Oka & Goto to begin. They lock up, working into some basic exchanges, and then collide center ring. They work shoulder tackle spots, and Goto takes Oka down and knocks Elgin to the floor. CHAOS works double teams, and HASHI covers for 2. HASHI follows with chops, Goto hold Oka as HASHI delivers more chops. Goto tags back in and lays in some kicks, covering for 2. He grounds the action, laying in elbow strikes. Goto now lays in chops, Oka fires back but eats a spin kick and Saito suplex for 2. Oka fires up as Goto lays in strikes and kicks, and hits a lariat for the double down. Tag to Elgin and he runs wild on Goto, hitting elbows and shoulder blocks. Elgin sets him up top and hits an iconoclasm for 2. He knocks HASHI to the floor, and follows with clotheslines on Goto. They both fire away with clotheslines and Goto takes Elgin down and tags in HASHI. HASHI takes control, lays in elbows but Elgin cuts him off, doing the deal with the falcon arrow. Oka tags in and they double-team HASHI until Goto makes the save. Oka dumps him and Elgin follows, Oka locks on the crab, Elgin and Goto battle on the floor as HASHI makes the ropes. HASHI cuts off Oka, but Oka battles back with a spinebuster for 2. HASHI fights off the German, lays in chops hits a neck breaker for 2. The butterfly lock follows, and Oka taps. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI defeated Tomoyuki Oka & Michael Elgin @ 9:40 via submission [**¾] This was a pretty good tag match, on par with the opener, and with Oka getting a lot in, he’s progressing well.
Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI vs. Taka Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr: I have really enjoyed Taka turning into Zack’s Gedo on this tour. Naito is looking for revenge, starting off with Zack. It was just a tease as BUSHI tags right in. BUSHI attacks, but eats uppercuts. BUSHI tries for the shirt choke, but Zack cuts him off and tags in Taka. Taka takes control, grounding the action and tags Zack in. Zack knocks Naito to the floor and then grounds BUSHI, looking to properly grapple fuck him. BUSHI fights and makes the ropes. Taka tags back in and he attacks the arm, softening up BUSHI for Zack. The running knee strike connects for 2. BUSHI starts to fire back, and hits an enziguri. Naito gets the tag and runs wild on Zack for a bit, pummeling him with elbows. Zack counters back, working the guillotine and transitions to the ankle lock. He then transitions into a grounded octopus. Naito escapes, and hits an enziguri and tags in BUSHI, who hits the missile dropkick. Zack immediately cuts him off and tags in Taka. Eye poke to BUSHI, counters a RANA and locks in the crossface. Zack takes out Naito, but Naito fights him off and makes the save. Taka hits the superkick and covers for 2. LIJ cut off Taka, and then double team Zack. BUSHI hits Taka with the neck breaker, and hits MX for the pin. Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI defeated Taka Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr @ 8:50 via pin [***] While I was really expecting Naito to get a bounce back win over Taka here, this was a good and fun tag match as all four worked really well together.
Minoru Suzuki, Taichi, Iizuka, & Lance Archer vs. Toa Henare, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi: Suzuki-gun attacks during the announcements, leading to the usual floor brawling. Taichi & Juice pair off in the ring while the others battle on the floor. Finlay now tags in and they double team Taichi. Iizuka makes the save, but the quickly gets double-teamed. Suzuki attacks Finlay, pulling him to the floor and now everyone is on the floor again, brawling around. Suzuki & Tanahashi fights into the crowd, with Suzuki beating on him with chairs and barricades. Taichi works over Finlay as Iizuka bites him. The pants are off, and Archer tags in to continue the heat on Finlay. The pounce follows, allowing Iizuka to lay the boots to Finlay. Suzuki tags in and kicks the shit out of Finlay, but Finlay hits the desperation spinning back elbow and Tanahashi gets the tag and runs wild on all of Suzuki-gun. Suzuki cuts him off, and locks on a knee bar. Tanahashi makes the ropes, tries to fire back, and he and Suzuki trade center ring. Archer tags in, hits the chokeslam, but Juice makes the save. Archer clears out the faces, but Tanahashi cuts him off with a neck breaker. Henare gets the tag and Juice & Finlay join him to work over Archer. It now breaks down, we get floor brawling as Archer and Henare battle back and forth, but Archer hits a black hole slam for 2. Henare fights off the black out once, but Archer hits it the second time for the win. Suzuki-gun defeated Toa Henare, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, & Hiroshi Tanahashi @ 10:50 via pin [**¼] This wasn’t bad, but felt really flat and had too much floor brawling. It never had any real feel of flow, and there was largely nothing to become invested in.
Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada vs. Chase Owens & Kota Ibushi: Okada and Ibushi will start us off. They lockup and Okada looks to ground things, but Ibushi will have no part of that. They pick up the pace, working into some really fun back and forth, and Ibushi countering out of an early rainmaker attempt. Ishii and Owens tag in, Owens tries to man up to Ishii and starts firing away with chops, but Ishii runs him over with a shoulder block. Owens hits a side back breaker, taking Ishii down and tags in Ibushi. Ibushi maintains control and then quick tags follow, as he and Owens grounds and isolate Ishii. They then work double teams on Ishii, but Ibushi won’t too sweet Owens. Ishii fires up as he and Ibushi trade strikes. Ishii finally hits the desperation powerslam but Owens cuts him off, but Ishii quickly fights back and hits a suplex, and tags in Okada. Okada runs wild, running Ibushi and Owens together and follows with a flapjack on Ibushi for 2. Okada up top, but has to bail out of the elbow drop, allowing Ibushi to hit a PELE. Owens tags in and hits the back breaker for 2. He follows with a flurry of strikes and a running knee strike for2 as Ishii makes the save. Owens mocks the rainmaker pose, but Okada escapes the package piledriver and hits the dropkick. Ibushi flies in to make the save, but Ishii kills him with a lariat. Okada scores with the cobra clutch, and finishes Owens. Tomohiro Ishii & Kazuchika Okada defeated Chase Owens & Kota Ibushi @ 9:50 via submission [***] This was a good and fun tag match, with everyone getting some chance to shine, and Okada gets another finish with the cobra clutch as they continue to try and really get that over. They worked all November and December to do that and it really didn’t work that well, hopefully it will this time. This was fun.
New Japan Cup 2018 First Round Match: Toru Yano vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.: Yano tosses his robe at Smith, attacks, rakes the eyes and tries to tape him to the ropes. Smith fights back, but Yano uses his shit to cradle him for 2. Yano undoes the buckle pad, but Smith cuts him off and shoots him to he exposed buckle. Smith puts him in the tree of WHOA and teases hitting him in the balls, but instead lays the boots to him. Yano avoids a charge, sending Smith to the exposed buckles and cradles him for 2. They brawl to the floor, and into the crowd. Yano manages to beat the count back in, but Smith is still in control. The gut wrench suplex follows by Smith and he covers for 2. Smith lays in uppercuts and rights, slowly beating on Yano. He blocks the low blow, Yano uses the ref as a shield, and sends Smith to the buckles. He shoves thereof down and gets a chair. Smith kicks it into his face, and hits the backdrop hold for 2. The crossface follows, Yano fights and makes the ropes. Smith follows with clubbing strikes, but Yano catapults him to the exposed buckle. Yano grabs the ref, low blow and the cradle gets 2. Smith cuts him off with the running powerslam, and both men are down. Yano fights off a suplex, stuns Smith off the ropes and gets tape, tying Smith’s feet together until Smith kicks him away. They work to the floor, Smith lays in head butts but crotches himself on the barricade and Yano wins via countout. Toru Yano defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr.@ 12:45 via countout [*½] I’ve said it before, the Yano stuff works best when the matches are shorter. This felt as if it lasted an eternity to get to the finish, and it was not very interesting at all, but I also found it to be bad. Yano Yano’d and picked up the win as expected.
New Japan Cup 2018 First Round Match: SANADA vs. Chuckie T: Chuckie looks to work the arm, they work into a series of counters, and SANADA escapes. The shoulder tackle follows, and they trade arm drags and both look for dropkicks. SANADA wants a handshake, but attacks like a dick. Chuckie follows with a dropkick, and SANADA powders. Chuckie follows, but SANADA rakes the eyes and they brawl into the crowd. Chuckie fights of the paradise lock, but SANADA slams him onto some chairs. Chuckie fights back and looks under the ring and gets out a little table. He sets it up but SANADA counters with a suplex on the floor. Back in they go, with SANADA taking control. SANADA lays the boots to him, and now looks to suplex him to the floor onto the table. Chuckie fights it off and SANADA lays in elbows and pulls him to the apron. Chuckie counters the TKO, but SANADA works skull end in the ropes. SANADA now follows with a snap suplex for 2. Chuckie battles back with strikes, and a powerslam for the double down. Chuckie does the deal with a falcon arrow for 2. The figure four follows, SANADA fights for the ropes and makes it. Chuckie follows with chops and rights, sets SANADA up top but SANADA counters out and hits the dropkick and plancha to the floor. Back in and Chuckie counters the TKO and hits a sitout powerbomb for 2. Chuckie sends SANADA to the floor and follows with the tope. He whips him to the barricade and then into the crowd. Chuckie then follows with a dive over the barricade and wipes out SANADA. Chuckie now gets chairs, lays them on the floor and slams SANADA onto them. SANADA cuts him off and powerbombs him through the table. Back in they go and SANADA hits the springboard missile dropkick. The Saito suplex follows and SANADA covers for 2. Skull end follows, Chuckie escapes and hits the knee strike. He follows with rights, but SANADA cuts him off with uppercuts, but Chuckie hits a sit out Michinoku driver for 2. He heads up top and the moonsault misses. SANADA looks for skull end, Chuckie escapes and counters into soul food. SANADA immediately fires back with a TKO for 2. Chuckie avoids the moonsault and hits awful waffle! That gets a good near fall. SANADA battles back, and rolls into skull end. Chuckie fights, but SANADA drops to the mat only for Chuckie to cradle him for 2. SANADA back to skull end, drops to the mat and Chuckie fades and SANADA lets it go and the moonsault finishes it. SANADA defeated Chuckie T @ 21:27 via pin [***¼] This was an overall good main event, and while the winner was never really in doubt, Chuckie put in a really good effort and almost made me believe he could win. SANADA winning felt like the right call going in, and a likely match with he and Zack looks like it could be a real good one.
– Were we stand…
* Michael Elgin vs. Juice Robinson
* Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Bad Luck Fale
* Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi
* Toru Yano vs. SANADA
– End Scene.
– Thanks for reading.
“Byyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyye Felicia!”
