There’s a lot of pro wrestling out there, but when the 18th annual New Japan Cup rolled around someone said, “double it.” Most astoundingly of all, someone(s) agreed. Before thoughts on all 45 matches — ranked least to best — here’s the 10 best wrestlers of the 2022 New Japan Cup based mostly on match quality (and count) but also weighted by fun factor, credibility, uniqueness, and leg selling. It’s something I’m working on.
The Best Wrestlers, Ranked Statistically
1. Zack Sabre Jr. (219)
2. Shingo Takagi (149)
3. Kazuchika Okada (124.5)
4. Tetsuya Naito (115.5)
5. CIMA (91.5)
6. Will Ospreay (75.5)
7. Hiromu Takahashi (72)
8. Tomohiro Ishii (60)
9. Hirooki Goto (49)
10. El Desperado (45)
The Bracket Bummers
45. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Toru Yano vs. Taichi (3/2/22)
A series of dad jokes that ended with a running elbow smash.
44. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Gedo vs. Tetsuya Naito (3/10/22)
15-minutes of stalling and figure-fours with none of the substance.
43. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Tiger Mask IV vs. Chase Owens (3/13/22)
Chase Owens continues living the niche dream of having mediocre singles matches with the early-to-mid 2000’s juniors division.
42. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Jeff Cobb vs. Togi Makabe (3/2/22)
Makabe takes just about every Jeff-plex available, but the match never quite works.
41. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Chase Owens vs. Jado (3/7/22)
At some point as the dilapidated Jado continued to try and deliver a wrestling match, it all got sort of admirable — still a no.
40. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Dick Togo vs. Hirooki Goto (3/9/22)
In a description that sounds a lot cooler than it was, Goto got beat up by Togo before fighting off bad guys with a bow staff.
39. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Aaron Henare vs. Yuto Nakajima (3/6/22)
Aaron Henare seemed to somewhat enjoy beating up young Yuto Nakajima, though only a little bit.
38. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Taiji Ishimori vs. Great-O-Khan (3/12/22)
Ishimori worked O-Khan’s arm here for a lot longer than was really necessary.
The Average Eight
37. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Kosei Fujita vs. YOSHI-HASHI (3/10/22)
Young Kosei goes for it. Elbows, chops, YOSHI. **
36. New Japan Cup – Round 2: SANADA vs. Aaron Henare (3/12/22)
This “SANADA” guy only seems to deliver in big matches against big stars, so having him go nearly half an hour against a guy who had trouble filling time with a young lion led to a boring main event when New Japan came to town. **1/4
35. New Japan Cup – Round 3: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jeff Cobb (3/15/22)
The kind of match that could only work in the New Japan Cup, though it still only occasionally worked here: shoulder tackles, blah blah, near falls. **1/2
34. New Japan Cup – Round 1: EVIL vs. Ryusuke Taguchi (3/7/22)
This had more energy than the standard issue EVIL match, and he seemed particularly into selling the ass attacks. I thought that was noteworthy. **1/2
33. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi (3/2/22)
Yujiro gets throttled here by a rolling koppou kick from his former tag partner, the lone highlight during 18 minutes of low energy wrestling. **1/2
32. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Hiromu Takahashi vs. SHO (3/7/22)
SHO drags Hiromu to the ring before the bell, Hiromu hits the sunset flip powerbomb on the floor, SHO hits a piledriver on the floor… Hiromu wins with a cradle. Weird match. They still haven’t had a really good one. **3/4
31. New Japan Cup – Round 3: Hiromu Takahashi vs. EVIL (3/18/22)
Just good enough, though not as good as it could have been. There was a devil on Hiromu’s shoulder called House of Torture hijinks, and he gave in bad. **3/4
30. New Japan Cup – Round 1: YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tomoaki Honma (3/2/22)
Tomoaki Honma wrestles at such a slow pace it borders on compelling, a Rusher Kimura for a new generation who doesn’t so much run the ropes, but falls into them. He and YOSHI-HASHI still went ahead and tried to have a whole New Japan match, and in fairness they occasionally got there: strikes connected, as did a few near falls, and one YOSHI superkick in particular seemed to just turn Honma to dust. Good effort, if not a reason to have 48 participants. **3/4
The Sweet 16 of Good to Very Good Matches
29. New Japan Cup – Round 3: Shingo Takagi vs. Chase Owens (3/18/22)
The possibility of a Chase Owens upset wasn’t really lighting up Korakuen, but Shingo sold his wrist enough to give this some meaning and if he didn’t get there, at least he sold his wrist. ***
28. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Master Wato vs. Kazuchika Okada (3/9/22)
Master Wato gets in so much offense on The Champ, too much offense really — Okada sells a Code Red, Wato’s little dinky submission… then hits the Rainmaker, pins him with one hand, and pats his chest before taking off to Round 3. A confusing match. ***
27. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. YOH (3/2/22)
This was solid, though disappointing considering the participants. Tanahashi worked a headlock, YOH worked a leg, and they brought the energy towards the end but in the New Japan Cup that’s easy stuff — Honma brought the energy towards the end. ***
26. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto (3/2/22)
Sometimes you just need a little arm work followed by a rollup. Nagata can do this match forever. ***
25. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa (3/6/22)
Zack Sabre Jr. versus the Young Lion was good. The prison lock combined with a boot on the thigh for additional pressure was just mean. ***
24. New Japan Cup – Round 3: Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Great O-Khan (3/17/22)
This didn’t freak me out like their match in last year’s G1 Climax did, though there’s still plenty of quality grappling and leg-locking to be found. In addition to all the ways he finds to break down his larger opponent, ZSJ mocking O-Khan is quality wrestling too. ***
23. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Tama Tonga vs. EVIL (3/13/22)
This was a brawl that sustained the feel of an actual brawl the entire match, including Tama Tonga’s dropkicks that seemed like the dropkicks one might throw in a fight if anyone was strange enough to do that. It went on too long to recommend, though the angle after with Gedo orchestrating another Bullet Club split is semi-notable. ***
22. New Japan Cup – Round 1: CIMA vs. TAKA Michinoku (3/2/22)
Shiima Nobunaga and TAKA Michinoku were at various points in the late-1990s going to be the next big stars in junior heavyweight wrestling, until they settled for careers as journeymen and occasional businessmen who now find themselves gainfully employed by New Japan Pro Wrestling and opening the New Japan Cup. Is it success? I think so. This was a fun batch of nostalgia complete with a willingness (or need to) do big armdrags and dives to the floor. CIMA glides on a tope early and just thrashes TAKA with a few variations of the Meteora — he either still has it or is going to hurt people trying to prove he still does. ***
21. New Japan Cup – Quarter Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. CIMA (3/20/22)
Like Okada’s match with Master Wato, Okada is so giving to the underdog that it becomes borderline ridiculous, the crowd audibly shifting in their seats as he got in place for the middle-rope Meteora. The novelty of this match even happening was almost enough to carry it, but CIMA running through all his stuff and Okada looking down at him in disgust after he didn’t give up to the Money Clip brought it up a notch, too. ***1/4
19. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI (3/6/22)
18. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Will Ospreay vs. El Phantasmo (3/12/22)
Here were a pair of those good matches that I didn’t particularly enjoy. ***1/4
20. New Japan Cup – Round 3: SANADA vs. Will Ospreay (3/17/22)
These two had a match I flipped out over in the 2019 G1 Climax, but after subsequent rematches that might’ve just been an anomaly. The whoa was there, but like most matches it needed a crowd to reach any height it was trying to. Violent Will is an odd one too. ***1/4
17. New Japan Cup – Round 3: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Tetsuya Naito (3/15/22)
Tanahashi offers a hand, grabs a headlock, does the Naito pose… what follows is a good, solid professional wrestling match that felt one step behind from not only the classics they’ve had in the past but even their more low key matches, too. At this point these are still matches that are better than most matches happening anywhere, just ones that might test your patience. ***1/4
16. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Bad Luck Fale vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi (3/10/22)
Tanahashi will seemingly always be able to have a good match with Bad Luck Fale, this one a little less than their others though Fale’s clotheslines in the corner were awesome. ***1/4
15. New Japan Cup – Quarter Final: Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb (3/20/22)
Neither guy had enough to keep this interesting past 20 minutes, but as Naito targeted Cobb’s leg and Cobb responded by tossing him all over the place they ended up getting a real stew going. ***1/2
14. New Japan Cup – Round 2: DOUKI vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/12/22)
They kept a fast pace the entire time here, DOUKI bringing the babyface fire while ZSJ went from confident walking down the ramp to outright mean trying to put down his stablemate. ***1/2
The Elite Eight (Nine)
13. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Tanga Loa vs. Shingo Takagi (3/13/22)
Tanga Loa, bordering on Officially Good now, goes along with the good timing and big impact of a Shingo Takagi match and provides his own twist on it by just continuing to keeping up. ***1/2
12. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Satoshi Kojima vs. Jeff Cobb (3/10/22)
Kojima took enough bumps, shot enough looks, and threw enough lariats to make this a tournament highlight. The final lariat is cash money. ***1/2
11. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. CIMA (3/9/22)
A real epic Leg Selling kind of match, with CIMA having to overcome Yoshinobu’s targeted work plus his own Meteora to advance. ***1/2
10. New Japan Cup – Round 3: Hirooki Goto vs. CIMA (3/14/22)
CIMA was on a journey across wrestling styles in his first New Japan Cup, trading submissions with TAKA then selling legs with Kanemaru before this match where he goes all laid back Strong Style with Hirooki Goto. CIMA finds success early going after Goto’s neck, and Goto has to resort to a pescado to find any offense — a move that he follows up with a kick to the guardrail out of frustration.
The way they build to the end here is really great, playing with the distant possibility of a CIMA win that became closer with every near fall: he gets absolutely blasted with a kick followed by the Ushigiroshi but kicks out at 2, then counters the GTR with a backslide for 2, then hits the Schwein for 2, then a sliding elbow for 2, then the Meteora from the middle for a phenomenal 3. ***3/4
9. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito (3/26/22)
Like Tanahashi/Naito from earlier this match didn’t capture the magic of year’s past, extra disappointing given the Semi Finals placement even if it was still was The Match that Okada and Naito have from time to time and a casual ****. Twist rollup ending too.
8. New Japan Cup – Quarter Final: Shingo Takagi vs. Hiromu Takahashi (3/21/22)
This started all fast and frantic and mostly stayed that way as Shingo and Hiromu delivered an excellent match that was just missing some pieces. There’s a story in Hiromu the underdog, but a crowd reacting to his climb uphill is a real big piece. ****
7. New Japan Cup – Round 3: Kazuchika Okada vs. Taichi (3/14/22)
Okada vs. Taichi does not miss. That’s just proven now. When they’re in the ring together everything connects a little more, is paced more urgently, and though it probably won’t happen they make it feel like Taichi might actually get that win. ****
6. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiromu Takahashi (3/13/22)
Slaps. This was two of wrestling’s best reactors slapping each other and reacting to it for 20 minutes. Like the cradle battle in last year’s BOSJ with Taguchi, Hiromu has one of the best matches of the tournament by doing something weird. ****
5. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Shingo Takagi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/26/22)
Another side of the coin, here was two of wrestling’s best reactors having a really good wrestling match for 20 minutes. Each guy hits as hard and reacts as big as possible as Shingo tries the usual main event run but finds his body ravaged from rounds one through however many, open to attack from ZSJ who just keeps wearing him down by attacking a limb or just wrapping himself around him like a snake or Voldo from Soul Calibur. ****
The Final 4
4. New Japan Cup – Quarter Final: Will Ospreay vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/21/22)
The exchange of cradles at the end of this match is brilliant, just brilliant. ****1/4
3. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Kazuchika Okada vs. El Desperado (3/2/22)
Since he regained the IWGP Heavyweight Title at the Tokyo Dome, Okada has changed his entire disposition — he’s wiser, more confident, he even seems taller. Before Desperado’s leg work actually starts causing pain he’s more annoyed than anything too, the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion who’s whole deal is out-performing expectations trying to do it again.
When Okada tries a standard signature spot with a dropkick off the top rope, Desperado is among a select few ready for it. Eventually the leg work downright surgical, and after Okada rallies back he drops the too cool for school act and screams out loud before dropkicking Desperado across the ring. They pick up the pace towards the end before Okada sells Desperado’s stretch muffler like it’s something that could end him too, all the confidence displayed early on paying off. Supreme match. ****1/4
2. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi (3/7/22)
The greatest match that I have nothing much to say about, filled with so much “did you just hit me that hard motherfucker” energy that this duo can still channel into some of the most high-end pro wrestling possible. ****1/2
1. New Japan Cup – Final: Tetsuya Naito vs. Zack Sabre Jr. (3/27/22)
New Japan Cup 2021 was a drag, but it did have three matches I really liked and two of them had these two right here (Naito vs. O-Khan, ZSJ vs. Ospreay). The other match? Taichi vs. Goto.
They bring the dueling dipshit attitude which keeps the matwork cooking, the story of ZSJ having an answer for everything which keeps the match cooking, and a big time finish that managed to stand out above anything in the Cup besides maybe match #2. ZSJ wins the New Japan Cup a second time and prepares for a second showdown with Okada, too, with both guys re-built to the point that it’s a momentous occasion. ****1/2
Happy Thoughts: Through wrestling matches — maybe too many wrestling matches, but wrestling matches nonetheless — New Japan built their March Madness to a peak and came roaring back into the heart and mind of this particular wrestling fan. 4.5 / 5.0
