Three hours of the New Japan Cup! On WrestleMania Weekend (and yeah G1 Supercard) no less!
March 20 saw CHAOS collide with Tomohiro Ishii beating YOSHI-HASHI and Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay, which aired here. On March 21, SANADA beat surprise quarter finalist Colt Cabana and Hiroshi Tanahashi squared off with Zack Sabre Jr. in a rematch of last year’s New Japan Cup finals. What a setup!
1. New Japan Cup – Quarter Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay (3/20/19)
The quiet Okada/Ospreay match, that still tried to be a loud Okada/Ospreay match sometimes, so it ended up just A Match. I liked the early stuff that was essentially an Okada squash, with a lot of good cut-offs and Will bumps. His topple to the floor off the top turnbuckle off a dropkick made me feel great empathy for his skeletal structure. But then there was stuff like the Rainmaker pose counter or Ospreay’s counter of a tombstone with a Stunner that didn’t really get over. The finish got going but this ultimately felt like a good TV match that got drawn out too long. ***1/4
2. New Japan Cup – Quarter Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/21/19)
This was a match about struggles for control based around strategy of putting the opposite man into some kind of submission hold until he could not escape. It was good. I liked how Tanahashi looked amused and almost giddy as he circled Sabre for lock-ups, before the wrestling got SERIOUS. Zack is just this weird creepy skinny fuck of a wrestling genius and this beautiful golden God Tanahashi must figure out how to get past him using the tactics he normally does not use. Lots of great drama too, from Tanahashi’s fade in the triangle choke to seeing Tanahashi’s shoulder socket completely bare as he was trapped in a hold from ZSJ. Very good, gentleman. Very good. ***3/4
3. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tomohiro Ishii (3/23/19)
These blessed competitors kept the early 25% interesting, which is what these matches live and die by, with a classic battle of CHAOS manliness that also involved Okada being a dick and Ishii chopping him to death. Okada controlled most of this and that’s fine, especially when you’ve got Ishii hocking loogies while he’s down and out and throwing stiff elbows that Okada’s walking into, all while the dram builds and ascends. You think they’ve done everything with the Rainmaker counters and then here they are, doing something completely different. Wonderful headbutts, a glorious superplex, and a cross armbreaker near fall that I thought might just happen. These fucking two, man. ****1/2
4. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. SANADA (3/23/19)
This was a match that started with Tanahashi calling for a turnbuckle pose-off, as if he licked his finger to see which way the wind was blowing. Can’t say it ended up effecting the match though. Part of this was some big time New Japan heavyweight wrestling, baby. An absolute battle with multiple dragon screw leg whips and big near falls. Great cradle pinfalls that had the crowd biting. O’Connor Roll blocks were legit sweet. But I struggled with a lot of it because I still don’t get “get” SANADA, you know? It’s hard to totally buy in, to pass over from cool-looking to emotionally compelled. I’ll reserve judgment on this next one. Really good, just not more. That’s fine. ***1/2
5. New Japan Cup – Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. SANADA (3/24/19)
Holy shit, a New Japan Tournament Final.
Atmosphere.
The stalemates. Oh, the glorious stalemates.
The steady build.
SANADA using his speed and agility and occasional ass-kicking ability to keep up and at times overcome this invincible king.
The payoffs.
The use of their finishes: the Skull End and Rainmaker.
The insanity. The absolute insanity.
Okada, exhausted, holding onto SANADA’s leg as he tries to set up a moonsault, then SANADA kicking him away and moonsaulting anyway but into the Skull End, only for Okada able to counter into a spike tombstone which is what sets up the final Rainmaker.
There was a mission here to give a dramatic, win at all costs finale, and put over a young buck as a true contender in the process. They did the shit out of that. ****1/2
Heck of a tournament, from what I saw at least. Ibushi and Naito continue to be wildcards, but Okada and Tanahashi running through the competition made for quality wrestling while SANADA, Ishii, Sabre, Ospreay, and by god Colt Cabana all had themselves a run. All five matches here are worth checking out.
