"NJPW New Japan Cup" Day One Results: Tanahashi Vs. Bad Luck Fale, Ishii, Goto Vs. Nagata
Here are results for day one of the New Japan Cup, courtesy of Wrestling Inc. reader @BryanHoughting :
New Japan Cup First Round:
Toru Yano def. Yujiro Takahashi by count-out very short match with Bullet Club tryin to cheat, but Yano hits a low blow at 19 and rolled in the ring to beat the count.
New Japan Cup First Round:
Michael Elgin def. Hiroyoshi Tenzan by pinfall with the buckle bomb to spinout powebomb. Super hard hitting contest. These 2 suprised me with the pace they kept. Elgin is my Darkhorse to win the cup this year
New Japan Cup First Round:
Tama Tonga def. Togi Makabe by pinfall with a stalling double arm DDT. Huge upset in my eyes as Makabe was a favorite to go far in this tournament. These 2 brought a good intensity to the match. I would like to see more matches between the 2 of them.
New Japan Cup First Round:
Satoshi Kojima def. Tomoaki Honma by pinfall with a huge larriet. The fans enjoyed this more than I did I am not as high on Honma as the fans over there seem to be. Still a fun match.
Kazushi Sakuraba & Kazuchika Okada def. KUSHIDA & Katsuyori Shibata by pinfall when Okada hit The Rainmaker on KUSHIDA. Great match. After the match Will Osprey appeared on screen and challenged KUSHIDA for the IWGP Jr. Championship
New Japan Cup First Round:
Hirooki Goto def. Yuji Nagata by pinfall with a Figure Four cradle pin. Brutal match with some big chops and kicks. Nagata got cocky at the end when he could have gotten the pin but he kept picking Goto up. Goto reversed a Side Suplex and went into the Reverse Figure Four and sat down for the pin.
New Japan Cup First Round:
Tetsuya Naito def. YOSHI-HASHI by pinfall when Naito hit a standing sliced bread no.2 another great match. Its between this and the Tag match for MOTN so far in my opinion.
New Japan Cup First Round:
Tomohiro Ishii def. EVIL by pinfall with a decapitating Lariet. Wow... Just wow. I have been watching NJPW faithfully for a few months now and I think since Nakamura went to WWE, Ishii has been my favorite competitor to watch. I love his intensity. My new pick for MOTN so hopefully the Main Event can stand with these last 2 matches.
New Japan Cup First Round:
Bad Luck Fale def. Hiroshi Tanahashi by pinfall after a Razor's Edge. They told a great story of Tanahashi not being able to do much with the size and weight advantage of Fale. Not the best match but still fun.
This show was very fun. Make sure to check back tomorrow for results for day two.