wrestling / TV Reports
Pantoja’s NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 Night 3 Review
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW New Japan Cup 2025 Night 3
March 11th, 2025 | ZIP Arena Okayama in Okayama, Japan | Attendance: 1,312
Night two was something of a disaster but we’re on to round two and hopefully a jump in quality.
New Japan Cup Second Round: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Yuya Uemura
Apparently, Yuya told YOSHI before the match that just because Goto is on a Cinderella run doesn’t mean he gets one too. This was a chop heavy match and was played pretty evenly. Yuya was quicker and had more snap to his offense but YOSHI could stall his momentum with a stiff shot or by using his veteran savvy. Still, a lot of this felt like YOSHI kind of testing the toughness of Yuya and the youngster was more than up for the challenge. If there was one bit of limb work it was Yuya focusing on the arm but YOSHI mostly shrugged it off to hit his lariats. However, Yuya caught him late with headbutts and hit the Deadbolt to win in 14:50. That’s the YOSHI-HASHI special. Go out there for 12-15 minutes and have a solid match that doesn’t really do anything you’ll ever remember. The right winner though. [***]
New Japan Cup Second Round: Ryohei Oiwa vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
We’ve got us a classic student vs. teacher meeting here. Oiwa used some ZSJ tactics in his opening round win so it’s interesting to see him against the master. Indeed, this saw a lot of mat wrestling in the early goings. Obviously ZSJ had the upper hand there but the idea was that Ryohei was able to at least keep up a bit, showing just how much he’s learned during his tie with TMDK. Ryohei had a power advantage, so when he got in trouble going hold for hold, he’d snap off a body slam or something to change things up. As they reached the 10 minute mark, you might not think they had done a lot but the exchanges were all very engaging and right in line with what you want from the match. Ryohei set up the Arc Hold (that’s what it sounded like commentary said but it’s Nigel McGuinness’ old London Dungeon) and ZSJ had to get to the ropes to escape. That’s kind of a big deal for a guy like Zack. They kept up that same level of back and forth, trading submissions, a Zack Driver for a Liger Bomb, strikes, and near falls. In the end, ZSJ took Ryohei down and used a pinning combination to advance in 19:13. That was so my shit. Just some highly entertaining mat wrestling, a well told student/teacher story, and a good finish. [****]
New Japan Cup Second Round: David Finlay vs. EVIL
Why must you follow something so good with these two? There was actually a chance for something interesting before the bell. EVIL had the whole House of Torture with him and Finlay came out with his smaller but better group. That included Drilla leaving commentary to join them. The two factions brawled and there was animosity here since EVIL suggested that he’s the real leader of Bullet Club. After about 4 minutes, they hit the ring to officially start the match. The action itself was nothing to write home about since it was two heels just brawling and cheating. That included interference, low blows, and more. SANADA showed up again late and dropkicked Finlay though whether it was intentional or not was kind of hard to figure out. Finlay survived that and they fought to the outside where he sent EVIL into the Dick Togo and they resulted in a countout win for Finlay in 17:13. Not bad and better than I’d expect given the situation. Still, hard to be interested in anything the House of Torture does. [**½]
