1. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Juice Robinson (JIP) (3/16/18)
I’m not sure I have much to say about this match. It was OK. There were girls in the Korakuen crowd who were shrieking for almost all of it. They went long and sold their exhaustion like pros. Nice near fall off a crossbody roll-through and Juice’s High-Fly Flow. Epic-style matches that don’t connect are one of my least favorite things. **3/4
2. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: SANADA vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/18/18)
SANADA’s hops vs. Sabre’s holds. There wasn’t much more to it than that for a while but it sure was pleasant to watch. SANADA is a guy I wish I was more into, but he feels like New Japan’s resident Best Pure Athlete guy, one who can move like a freak but rarely actually wraps me up in his matches. They did the third triangle choke counter of a moonsault I’ve seen in the last month, one of which was by Sabre with Ibushi, and I can confidently say this was the weakest one. I still love everything that is ZSJ trapping SANADA in a submission and just refusing to let go, instead contorting him in different awful positions, to get the tap. ***
