Pantoja’s NJPW New Japan Cup 2023 Quarterfinals Review

NJPW New Japan Cup Quarterfinals

March 17^th, 2023 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,351

I’m again falling behind so I will be reviewing the four quarterfinals matches together.

New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: EVIL vs. Mark Davis

One of the most exciting hard hitting guys in recent New Japan memory against a dude who used to be that but is now awful. EVIL started this with a promo whining about Davis having help at ringside and called him a “fucking loser” (IRONY) so Davis laid him out with a tope suicida. The guys outside brawled a bunch and the referee kicked them all out. While that happened, EVIL used a chair to gain control. That put Davis on the defensive which isn’t really a place I’m used to seeing him though I appreciate EVIL going after the knee as Ospreay did. Things picked up after Davis avoided a countout and got his offense going. We got a sensible ref bump here instead of one for the sake of it. House of Torture returned but Kyle Fletcher ran out to help his partners. The numbers were too much for him so here came Ospreay in a sling to call for O-Khan, Henare, and Cobb to clean house. I love shit like that. It was a highlight of the classic Suzuki/AJ match in the G1 24 and while this was clearly not on that level, it had a similar vibe. Cobb planted EVIL with Tour of the Islands and Davis added the Water Slide to win in 15:30. That worked because the crowd was hot and the run-ins made sense. Plus, EVIL is gone and Davis rules. [***]

New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: SANADA vs. Tetsuya Naito

2017 me would’ve ben excited about this but SANADA has fallen hard and of course, Naito’s body has made it so he’s nowhere near his peak. So, a big issue with SANADA matches is that they follow an all too familiar formula. He works the Okada Formula except it’s not as good. The first two-thirds of so of his matches are really dull and ultimately feel kind of pointless before he picks it up late for hot stretches yet none of it works nearly as good as when Okada does it. Maybe that’s why they’re awful opponents for one another. I’m just as over these kind of matches as I am with the House of Torture nonsense. So I’m probably harsher than most on this but it goes without saying again that this company remains in dire need of something fresh. 15 minutes in and they had barely done anything so you knew they were going to get close to the 30 minute mark. Naito got his knees up on SANADA’s dumb moonsault spot and one thing I did like was how he kept going for rollups. It’s how he has won in the tourney so far so the crowd bit on them. SANADA survived Destino because everyone does before he countered a second and won with his Blade Runner style DDT in 24:41. We’re one step closer to SANADA/Okada again which is hilarious. [**¾]

March 18^th, 2023 | Act City Hamamatsu in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka | Attendance: 1,101

New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: David Finlay vs. Shota Umino  

Two guys getting major pushes in New Japan who honestly don’t feel all that ready for it. This started with more aggressive shots than expected and that hooked me. I’m here for anything that starts with action instead of killing time. That allowed this to be better than a lot of bigger NJPW matches even if this one wasn’t huge. They traded stuff in the early stages with neither man grabbing a clear advantage. Shota busting out a Northern Lights Suplex will always get a pop from me because that’s a favorite move of mine. He threw a few good suplexes actually. The forearms each guy threw were harder than expected and added to the intensity level here. Shota avoided Trash Panda and hit an enziguri before Finlay blocked the Death Rider and eventually succeeded on hitting Trash Panda to advance in 17:50. That was really good and a strong showing for two guys who needed it. [***½]

New Japan Cup Quarterfinals: Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga

Commentary noted that Tama came into this 0-7 against Goto in singles action. Goodness. That’s almost as bad as Goto’s record in IWGP Heavyweight Title matches. This was another case of a good match that missed something to take it to the next level. Maybe it’s because it’s still tough to care about Goto but whatever. I liked some of the different aspects here from Goto trying a plancha to Tama going for several pins. I especially dug the pin idea because Tama should be desperate to finally beat someone who always has his number. Tama got two on a Frog Splash and removed his vest, showing how serious he apparently was. They went into the typical “finisher counter/block” sequence as Tama couldn’t hit Gun Stun on an attempt or two before nailing it from out of nowhere to win in 16:38. A solid match with an abrupt finish that I liked because it sells the GUN STUN OUTTA NOWHERE idea. [***]

6.5

The final score: review Average

The 411

Kind of par for the course in this tournament. Two good matches, one that was overly long and lackluster, and one that was very good. They don’t have the most exciting final four either.