Best and Worst of NJPW: New Japan Cup 2019, Round 2

Previously on NJPW: The 32-man first round of the 2019 New Japan Cup got sliced in half! Naito and Ibushi’s necks did not, but that wasn’t a given!

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And now, the best and worst of the second round of the 2019 New Japan Cup, which took place on March 13-14 and March 16-17.

Worst: War Boys, Short Boys, And Sad Boys

A notable feature of round one of this year’s New Japan Cup was that double your wrestlers did not turn out to equal double your fun because so many of the matches were skippable, especially on the left side of the bracket. This wasn’t as egregious in the second round, but the left side was still very much the 2019 NJ Cup equivalent of last year’s G1’s A Block.

The biggest disappointment is Kazuchika Okada vs. Mikey Nicholls, Nicholls’ first chance to make a big impression as a singles competitor in NJPW. I’m not writing him off based off this match, that impression still has yet to be made. The crowd is very quiet during this match, which is very much just a normal wrestling match with an outcome everyone could see coming and an unusual amount of chest blood, but not a crazy amount of chest blood. A new guy who’s not a heel vs. the company’s top babyface is not the easiest dynamic to work with either.

Besides Nicholls’ very nice moonsault, the one thing that stood out about him to me here was when he yelled, “Witness me!” at Okada and I finally realized “Mad” Mikey Nicholls is LITERALLY MAD MAX. Oh, so that explains the specific skulls on the tights and the jacket – and the fact that his Twitter account that I did not look at until after this match has been entirely Mad Max Fury Road quotes since he got announced for the New Japan Cup. If Kushida could do Back to the Future Part II for so many years, why not?

Nobody except the extremely optimistic thought that Yoshi-Hashi vs. Chase Owens was going to be a banger. However, the fact that it’s between two guys baffling to see in the second round of the New Japan Cup at all makes it kind of fascinating. The match is helped by the clear story of Owens focusing on Yoshi-Hashi’s taped-up shoulder and being a terrible person. The match is hurt by the crowd not caring, partly because these aren’t characters we’re normally asked to care about, partly because Yoshi-Hashi’s rallies are the mildest in pro wrestling history. The fact his win is aided, like his previous one, by a total accident takes the sadness to heights not achieved since his injury.

Much like he stumbled on those ring steps, the Head Hunter has now stumbled into the quarterfinals. But his opponent for that round is Tomohiro Ishii, and if Ishii can’t bring out Yoshi-Hashi’s inner badass (before defeating him), no one can. Starting the following night in preview tag matches, it seems like he might be able to! I’m pretty sure we haven’t seen Yoshi-Hashi strikes exchanges this good in literally years.

While Yoshi-Hashi prepares for the fight of his life, Chase Owens does the same for the biggest match of his career. He teases right after his Cup elimination that he’ll challenge for that U.S. title shot he’s owed and sneak attacks Juice on March 14 in a way that usually signifies a challenge but this time is like two degrees away from the actual official challenge.

I have a theory Owens is just being plugged into Yujiro Takahashi’s booking for this tour since the Pimp’s out with an eye injury and kind of has a New Japan Cup-based rivalry with Juice Robinson, who he beat in the first round in 2017 and lost to in the first round last year. This clearly isn’t a sudden MSG mega-push for Owens – he, Robinson, and English commentary all repeatedly hint that his U.S. title match will be before the G1 Supercard before it’s officially announced for the final show of the New Japan Cup tour. But booking theories aside, Owens seems to be taking this opportunity, however significant it turns in the long term, by the horns. The creative aspect of the build hasn’t made me excited to see the rematch, but now that Robinson and Owens have settled into their face champion and heel challenger roles with a title match impending, their parts of the show are more driven and engaging.

Best: Godspeed You! Holy Emperor

Tomohiro Ishii vs. Taichi on March 13 is the first half of round two’s ultimate standout. The potential for the awesomeness of this match was there even before its preview tags, visible when these two paired off in multi-man matches briefly last year. The character of Taichi is still a dirtbag who often uses underhanded tactics to try to pick up wins, but we’ve seen the side of him that can be motivated into going head-to-head with opponents and becoming kind of a badass. And, as previously discussed, if anyone can bring that out of someone, it’s Ishii.

When this match gets to the point of these two just beating the tar out of each other, which it does pretty quickly after some opening mind games, it gets awesome. The list of moments that work combine to make this such a cool match is long and definitely includes the chops vs. kicks sequences, Ishii just daring Taichi to hit him with the mic stand and Taichi throwing it away instead, and Taichi getting up from taking a piledriver to just kick Ishii in the neck. Overall, the match is hard-hitting, well-executed, and tells an engaging, clear story that makes sense for these characters. It’s just straight-up, good pro wrestling that also exposes the hidden warrior’s heart of a washed-up visual kei star.

This takes Taichi out of the tournament, but he continues to look fairly strong in tag matches, with the Stretch Plum/HOLY EMPEROR’S CRUCIFIX TOMB he keeps going back to earning him multiple wins on the tour. I guess with that new weapon he can afford to hold off on using the Iron Glove longer too. (But also, IRON GLOVE, WHEN?)

Best: Nobody Dies

After a detour into kendo stick shenanigans in the first round, the Will Ospreay Giant Slaying Tour 2K19 finally gets back on track with significant help from Lance Archer. This match completely cuts the bullshit and tells the story of a fight between a giant monster and a way smaller guy (“Chibi Ospreay,” in Archer’s words) and it’s really entertaining. The first part in which Ospreay gets completely shut down, with moments like Archer catching him into a fallaway slam, is also very satisfying to watch for people like me who probably got too much enjoyment out of watching Kushida baseball punch this dude right in the throat about a year ago.

The beginning of the fireworks factory comeback from Ospreay feels like it includes a lot of waiting around for these high-flying spots to come together, but sequences that used momentum, like Ospreay countering a pounce into a Spanish Fly, look fantastic. It’s also really nice that we don’t have to pretend that openweight Ospreay’s strikes and chops are as powerful as Archer’s and instead get to see the smaller wrestler really struggle to keep getting up. I wouldn’t say this match was a masterpiece absent of any awkwardness, but overall it delivers enough on every level to achieve what it wants to achieve.

Ospreay’s post-match promo here is basically that HE IS THE ONE to bring New Japan TO THE WORLD NOW for some reason when it definitely seems like most of the rest of the roster is more qualified to do that. But if this makes you think Ospreay could win the New Japan Cup, think again because for some reason ROH released the video of Jeff Cobb challenging him to a winner-takes-both-titles match DURING the 17th Anniversary Show ROH World Championship match on March 15. This seems much more likely than Ospreay vs. White Whatever Number Right After We Just Did One Of Those and has a basis in their tag match from Honor Rising and everything! Most importantly, this could result in more New Japan Cobb!

On Killer Elite Squad’s part, they start looking like tag title contenders again as soon as they’re both out of the tournament. Their match against Henare and Makabe on March 16 is basically a squash, and when Hijo del British Bulldog says, “We’re back and better than ever!” backstage, it’s believable. Also, count me as part of Archer’s alleged “everyone” who “wants to see Rocky and the American Psycho in a cage” – right after we see the Bushi vs. Romero Mask vs. Right To Dress Roppongi 3K match that’s been due for a while.

Burninating All The Peoples

I’m breezing through the tag matches in this round again so this article isn’t a novel, but a notable feature of them unrelated to the New Japan Cup is again Shingo Takagai’s adventures in looking very strong. He and Elgin chop the marbling out of each other’s chest meat on March 13 and he pins Yoh on March 16. The Dragon now has pinfall victories over both halves of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions on this tour and pinfall or submission losses to nobody in NJPW since he joined the company. Backstage, Takagi’s been supplementing killing it in the ring with killing it on the mic, and if Ospreay can be the True Openweight Champion it really seems like we should be allowed to get him in both BOSJ and the G1.

Best: Papawaru Don’t Preach

Ryusuke Taguchi’s dream of becoming the 69th IWGP Heavyweight Champion via New Japan Cup title shot was doomed when he set foot in the ring with Hiroshi Tanahashi, but that doesn’t hurt the crowd’s enthusiasm at all. It also doesn’t hurt the quality of the match. Taguchi and Tanahashi are two faction friends/recent costars who know each other very well, making it more satisfying to see moments like Taguchi countering an attempt to wear him out in the ropes into an ankle lock and Tanahashi being ready for the tricky fist bump. The match consists of a lot of quality, submission-based wrestling mixed with butt action and culminates with Tanahashi winning with a move that was debuted in Madison Square Garden (which he had spoken about here beforehand and then mentioned backstage afterward), the Dragon Suplex. It sucks that Finlay got injured, but getting three big singles matches from Taguchi in the month or so has been a blessing.

Best/Worst: That’s All, Folks!

While Taguchi doesn’t go for full comedy against the Ace, the two aces of comedy wrestling go full Looney Tunes in their match against each other. If someone didn’t like Toru Yano vs. Colt Cabana, I wouldn’t be mad that them – I know I’ve rolled my eyes at some comedy matches others have really liked in the past. But you’ve got to appreciate all the bits these two put in this match, things like Cabana getting an idea for a specific type of distraction roll-up from Yano, the return of tape, and doing different turnbuckle comedy spots than they’ve done previously. I don’t think this was the GOAT comedy match, but it made me smile and I’m glad it happened. Life is hard, and people should be allowed to enjoy eight minutes of clowns sometimes.

Best: I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish

Like Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Evil before it, fans have a clear idea what they’re getting going into Sabre vs. Kota Ibushi, and then they get it and it’s very good. ZSJ defeated Ibushi by ref stoppage last year as part of his hunk-slaying rampage to win the New Japan Cup, Ibushi got the win back in the G1, and both are so powered-up now in NJPW that it wouldn’t be surprising to see either man beat the other – although this result in this context did surprise me personally and FULLY MURDERED MY BRACKET, so thanks a lot, Zack!

In the opposite dynamic from the most recent Sabre vs. Evil, though, we see the heel dominate early here, with Sabre largely managing to keep his opponent grounded and torture his legs and neck in sadistic and creative ways. Ibushi’s initial sequence of shining on offense is a relief after that tension, but he never manages to control the match for long, though the unleashing of his ALIEN MURDER MODE after being hit in the face following that messed up Indian Deathlock/cravat situation gets him close. The more evenly matched series of counters towards the end of the match is exciting and skillful, but Sabre is able to counter a Kamigoye into Orienteering with Napalm Death for the win. He’s so amazing at this pro wrestling thing and the match was so good and I can’t even be mad at him for ruining my predictions, honestly, even though I did really want to see Ibushi vs. White as the MSG headliner.

The Golden Star is instead moving straight into the IC title picture, encouraged by Naito teasing him with the white belt. That match would be an easy home run for the G1 Supercard, but I could see the feud extending out to Dontaku or something too. It’s hard to tell how many big guns they’re going to pull out for the MSG show when there’s no direct precedent for it!

While I’m not as sold as Taka Michinoku on ZSJ going all the way to become the first foreigner to win back-to-back New Japan Cups, Sabre beating Tanahashi to advance to the semi-finals seems inevitable to me in kayfabe. The young Brit’s been on a mostly dominant run and the state of Tanahashi’s joints is well established to be terrible and therefore ripe for submission-torturing, as Sabre starts to do during their first preview tag on March 17. Tanahashi is forcefully positive backstage afterward, but he seems doomed! I am stressfully anticipating this rematch of last year’s tournament final.

Best: Mohawk, Mo’ Problems

Here was my take on the Sanada vs. Minoru Suzuki feud when it started back at New Year Dash:

“The thing about Sanada is that he’s technically skilled and super athletic and funny and handsome and popular and has good t-shirts and had some really good moments in the 2018 G1, but he still hasn’t really broken out as a singles star. It’s possible that letting this dude shine as a hero against a big villain will be the opportunity he needs to make it to the next level. It’s not like feuds or matches with Suzuki are infallible in terms of getting babyfaces more over, but they work out really well for some people.”

Their New Beginning in Sapporo singles match, though good, didn’t end up feeling like a game-changer for Sanada. However, their March 17 New Japan Cup main event might have been, and the existence of that earlier match justified it being what it was.

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It also helped that Suzuki and Sanada had possibly the most fun, extensive build out of the second-round matches. The heartless destruction of noted L.I.J.-but-especially-Evil-and-Sanada-stan Milano A.T.’s light-up sickle wasn’t murder-of-Daryl-tier cruelty, but it was UP THERE. That sickle had finally been imbued with the power of a Darkness Kiss from Evil, you monster! The pull-apart forearm exchange to staredown from either side of the ring to brawl was a logical escalation for even Sanada, the man with the coolest of heads (he’s not the Cold Skull for something) (I don’t think that’s why he’s the Cold Skull) by the time it happened.

Despite a build that’s taken place almost entirely in the ring over the past few months, we get a very odd choice by the English commentary team to try and tie the Suzuki vs. Sanada singles match to INOKI VS. MUTOH and decades of Japanese wrestling history. The last time Sanada, who admittedly doesn’t reference much of anything, referenced Mutoh in-character was before his G1 match with Naito. Suzuki has never brought up his old enemy in relation to Sanada or even brought up their All Japan matches from 2009-2011. We couldn’t get an explanation by English commentary of what the Sailor Boys were before/during Taguchi vs. Ishimori, yet Kelly and Carlton decide for some reason to go on about this stuff that the performers, who have the crowd extremely invested by the time of their singles match, have not opted to reference at all.

I would love to hear how the philosophies mentioned in “when you think about the philosophies of this match…” are meant to have actually affected what happened between these two in the ring. This isn’t Tanahashi vs. Omega at Wrestle Kingdom; it’s very much a sports-based story of two skilled wrestlers, one looking to take the elusive next step in his career, the other always fighting to maintain his white-knuckled death grip on the title of “King of Pro Wrestling.” Pretending that philosophical stuff is part of the story isn’t adding depth if it ultimately doesn’t add up.

Now that I complained for two paragraphs about people not talking enough about the match, let’s talk about the match! Come March 17, beloved international superstar Minoru Suzuki enters the ring looking very focused on making good on his promise to break Sanada’s neck and the presence, unusual these days, of Taka Michinoku in his corner with the flag tells us something’s up. After some engaging hold-to-hold and STRONG FUNDAMENTALS, BABY, that get the crowd HOT for some freaking WRESTLING, we learn that Taka is here SPECIFICALLY to distract the referee during a Paradise Lock attempt. I love so much that the thing that got Suzuki to bring back the use of Suzukigun interference was the threat of being humiliated via comedy submission again. (Also, way to keep the Paradise Lock looking strong.)

The following sequence of Suzuki just completely controlling the match and trying to snap off one of Sanada’s legs at the knees features incredible selling by both men, but man, Sanada’s comeback is really hurt by his application of “poker face” selling to his entire body, which is the nice way to say he has a severe case of “it’s fine when I do moves because of adrenaline or something and then less fine when I stop doing them and okay, now it’s just fine thirty seconds later.” This might actually be his biggest weakness as a singles wrestler.

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But ultimately, the damage to the suspension of disbelief created by this inconsistency wears off by the time the match gets to its dramatic third act. The strike battle makes it look like Sanada might be doomed, but the crowd still believes in him as he manages to stay in the game. Suzuki dodging the moonsault and counters a dropkick into a kneebar creates a ton of tension, and the endurance battle element of this match really kicks in when the rear naked choke comes back into play. When you’re making your way to the top rope and the heel pops up to stop you from behind and some people in the audience SCREAM, you both have to know you’re good at your jobs. The struggle in and out of Skull End on the ground rules from a pure wrestling perspective as well as a dramatic perspective. When Sanada finally hits that moonsault on a Suzuki who just BARELY couldn’t make it to his feet, it’s an impressive and hard-earned victory.

These two didn’t have a rivalry straight out of prestige television or whatever, but they put on a physical epic that kept the Korakuen Hall audience – and also me watching it on my laptop – super invested. Some of Sanada’s singles wins have been achieved through his incredible athleticism, but that’s not the case here. If anything, Suzuki looks more freakishly in-shape after a hard-fought match for nearly half an hour against a guy twenty years his junior. Instead, Sanada showed off the strength of his wrestling ability, with barely any of his crowd-pleasing high-flying. I’m not saying he’s definitely, finally going to be a big singles star this year, but this, running-gag post-match speech included, makes him look like he could be, even if his hair and beard continue to be mirror-images of each other.

I’ll see you back here after Sanada gets to take a rest and do maximum ten minutes of comedy wrestling in our somewhat unexpected quarterfinal round of:

• Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yoshi-Hashi
• Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
• Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
• Sanada vs. Colt Cabana