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Pantoja’s NJPW New Japan Cup Night One Review 3.5.23
Image Credit: NJPW
Loading...NJPW New Japan Cup Night One
March 5th, 2023 | Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan | Attendance: 1,371
I’ve got this, the Anniversary Show, and STARDOM to cover so I’m skipping a review of Revolution (which was great) and only reviewing the tournament matches from this show.
New Japan Cup First Round: El Phantasmo vs. Tetsuya Naito
As far as I know, this is a first time ever meeting. Commentary noted that Naito hasn’t lost one-on-one in Korakuen since July 2016. Right off the bat, I had fun here thanks to some goofy character work. ELP mocked Naito’s taunt so Naito did the same with ELP’s over the top hand gestures, which angered the new heavyweight. He responded with a DDT outside and a cool running dive off the little stage where the fans sit. That even got the crowd to start rooting for ELP a bit but Naito just kept mocking him. Naito got going soon after but ELP kept up pretty well and used his partner Ishimori’s Yes Lock. ELP came close a few times and became one of the many to kick out of Destino. ELP blocked a second but got caught with a pinning combination to lose in 17:32. Naito added another mocking of ELP’s taunt outside and I popped. I liked this match a lot due to the character quirks but the action itself was very good too. [***¾]
New Japan Cup First Round: SANADA vs. Taichi
These two have a history but I’m too pressed for time to go into it. I will say that I typically don’t love their meetings. SANADA is on a cold streak and the finals are in his hometown. Oh my god, he’s gonna win the tournament and Gedo is gonna book SANADA/Okada in another mediocre 39 minute match. Anyway, this felt like a lot of SANADA matches to me and I think I’m just past the point of ever getting into them. The stuff that happens is fine enough but it all comes across as hollow. This felt like the majority of their other matches with a few changes like the finish that saw SANADA busting out a Jay White like Blade Runner to win at the 24:27 mark. A good match but one that kind of just existed and went too long. They shook hands after the match. [***]
