by Rob Goodwin @REALRobGoodwinWith the brackets finally announced, it is time to get excited for the first of New Japan’s fabeled annual tournaments; the 16-man, single elimination competiton - The New Japan Cup. And with a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis in April on offer, as well as the respect of being named in the same breath as past winners Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Niigata, Shinsuke Nakamura and Tetsuya Naito, the stakes are certainly high, especially with the additional eyes that the recent upsurge in popularity of the product has brought! So, without further ado, it’s time to preview the tournament and predict our winners and losers, as well as looking at those 16 wrestlers included and some of the more notable names omitted! With past winners such as Kota Ibushi, Tetsuya Naito and Hiroshi Tanahashi included in the tournament, it certainty lends credibility and validity to anyone who can overcome the odds and win the cup. It is also nice to see names such as Juice Robinson, Tomohiro Ishii and YOSHI-HASHI included, as they look for this chance to boost their stock, and capture the gold from Okada at Sakura Genesis. Speaking of Okada, his passionate wish to be included in the New Japan Cup seems to have gone unanswered, whilst other notable exceptions include Kenny Omega, current Intercontinental Champion Minoru Suzuki and Cody. Some surprising names have been included mind; both members of KES return to New Japan for the first time since January’s New Years Dash, while Chuckie T makes his New Japan Cup debut against SANADA. Which leads me to the most frustrating omission of the 2018 bracket - Beretta. Having left the success of Roppongi Vice in order to seek fame as a Heavyweight, Beretta seemed to be relegated to a mere pawn in 6-Man Tag Team matches, or to the odd match with Best Friend Chuckie T. Many people, myself included, saw this year’s New Japan Cup as Beretta’s coming out party, a stage on which to show what could do, but alas it was not meant to be. We wish Chuckie T the best, and hope beyond hope that Beretta gets his chance in the G1 Climax! Looking at what we do have however; Naito and Sabre promises to be one of, if not the match of the tournament, while Ishii vs. Elgin and Ibushi vs. YOSHI-HASHI could be ones to look out for!
As for predictions, Ishii will edge out Elgin, with Juice overcoming The Tokyo Pimp. I believe they will then be joined by an almost broken Tanahashi, who will just scrape through against a seemingly reinvigorated Taichi, and Fale will get the better of Lance Archer. On the other side of the bracket, perhaps surprisingly to most, I’m going for YOSHI-HASHI to suprise us all and take out Ibushi, setting up a possible redemption match against previous foe, Tetsuya Naito who will beat Sabre in, as already stated, a match of the tournament contender. The last Quarter-Final places will then fall to SANADA who will overcome debutant Chuckie T, and Toru Yano, who will be brutalised but will ultimately sneak a victory over Davey Boy Smith Jr. Pure speculation now, as the remainder of my predictions do really depend on how well I have predicted the opening round, but I think the final will be contested between Tomohiro Ishii and...YOSHI-HASHI. Yes, I believe New Japan are looking to light a fire under the extremely underrated HASHI! After his feud with Naito leading into The New Beginning in Osaka, people sat up once again and realised that YOSHI-HASHI can actually go in the ring, it is merely his character that is incredibly dull. This does not mean I think he is going all the way, absolutely not. This has to be Ishii’s year. After a wayward end to 2017 tagging with Yano, Ishii deserves another shot at the gold when you consider just how many stellar encounters he has had in the past year; his matches against Omega adsunbelievable. He is underrated, a fan-favourite and delivers in spades when required, why on earth wouldn’t they give him a chance? I know I’d tune in to a Ishii vs. Okada main event at Sakura Genesis wouldn’t you? So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, a whistle-stop preview and some outlines of predictions for my first taste of New Japan Tournament goodness, I simply cannot wait... by Rob Goodwin @REALRobGoodwinAfter so much happened at The New Beginning Shows at the end of January and start of February, it’s no wonder that the ordinarily decent yet ultimately missable supercards - Honor Rising - co-hosted by both Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling are set up to be essential viewings this year. Sure, Hirooki Goto defends his NEVER Openweight Championship against Beer City Bruiser and Dalton Castle defends his Ring of Honor Championship against serial Tag team member, and criminally underrated Trent Baretta, plus the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team belts are on the line, but that isn’t even close as to why these shows promise to be exciting viewing. The implosion of Bullet Club has been a slow and brilliant story arc and came to a head at The New Beginning in Osaka show where Cody delivered a Cross Rhodes to Kenny Omega, only for Omega to then be saved by ex-Tag Team partner, Kota Ibushi. The two embraced in the culmination in a ‘will-they, won’t they’ storyline that has had us gripped since 2015. In the main event of these two nights, Omega faces Cody for the first time in two tag matches, teaming with Ibushi for the first times since the Golden Lovers ended. Who will win? Who will take ownership of Bullet Club? Where will the story go from here? We give our predictions and preview the show below! by Rob Goodwin @REALRobGoodwinMatch #1 - Yuji Niigata vs. Katsuya KitamuraThere's no denying that Kitamura is headed for great things, especially once he gets back from his inevitable excursion following the culmination of this best of 7 series. After losses to Juice Robinson, Hiroyoshi Tenzan and Michael Elgin in his opening 3 bouts, I don't really see things improving here. Yes, Yuji Niigata might be seen as a veteran with nothing to gain, but the respect still needs to be paid by the Young Lion, and Niigata, though unable to put on matches like those in his prime, can still teach the Young Lion a lot in this match. YUJI NIIGATA to defeat Kitamura in match 4 of his trials. Match #2 - Roppongi 3K (c) vs. SUZUKI-GUN [El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru] Though not for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, I can only see this match going one way in truth. After a quite frankly hellacious and wonderful match between the champs and the Young Bucks during the 2nd night in Sapporo, Roppongi 3K need to begin building momentum by beating other teams around them after hot potatoeing the tag belts between themselves and the Bucks. Whether this means that El Desperado and Kanemaru are the new challengers to the straps or whether we will see another installment in the excellent encyclopedia of Young Bucks and Roppongi 3K matches, I'm going for ROPPONGI 3K to come out on top here! Match #3 - Taguchi Japan [David Finlay & Juice Robinson] & Toa Henare vs. CHAOS [Toru Yano, Tomohiro Ishii & Jay White (c)] I would argue that behind the match later in the card between Naito and YOSHI-HASHI, this is the lock of the night. Look at the team CHAOS have put together, do you see anyone who is going to take the pin in that team? Now look at Taguchi Japan; apart from Juice, the other 2 are there to eat the pin. I think Ishii and Yano could well be the next challengers to EVIL and SANADA's IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team belts, and therefore they need to be made to look strong, whilst Jay White has just defeated Kenny Omega to clinch the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. I just do not see them losing. There's not a lot of direction for Taguchi Japan at the moment I feel, and I know they can be seen as a comedy act, but I'd love to see more from them. Also, slightly on a tangent, I have Juice Robinson as my dark horse for the New Japan Cup - you heard it here first! Match #4 - Taguchi Japan [Rysuke Taguchi & KUSHIDA] Michael Elgin and Togi Makabe vs. SUZUKI-GUN [Minoru Suzuki (c), Takashi Iizuka, Taichi & Taka Michinoku] I am incredibly sad that I must endure another Iizuka match. That aside, this match could potentially hold a lot of intrigue. I think it's pretty clear that Makabe is lined up to be the next challenger for the IWGP Intercontinental belt after he came out in Sapporo and saved Henare from Suzuki's post-match attack, that is what makes this so hard to call. Makabe hasn't really done a lot recently and could therefore do with the pinfall victory, but obviously not over Suzuki. Yet, I don't really see Suzuki-Gun losing two matches on the same show. However, I am going to go for TEAM MAKABE in this. As I stated before, Makabe needs some momentum if he truly is to challenge Suzuki for the belt at a later date, so I see him getting the pin over Taichi! Match #5 - Gedo vs. BUSHI Poor Gedo and BUSHI. This really is the match that no-one cares about in this riveting feud between LIJ and CHAOS isn't it. It's a shame, as BUSHI can definitley go in the ring (as proved by his capture of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in 2016, before losing it fairly promptly to KUSHIDA.) Short of just being Okada's valet to the ring, I don't really understand what Gedo brings to the table (and that really is my NJPW noob status talking as I understand he is a former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion with Jado) whilst BUSHI could do with the momementum that a victory could give him here. Match #6 - YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tetsuya Naito TETSUYA NAITO. 100% It has to be. I'm sorry, and I mean no disrespect to YOSHI-HASHI, there is not a chance on this planet that they are handing Naito - possibly the most over man in the company right now, a man who has recently endured a heart-breaking loss at the Tokyo Dome in a match that everyone was convinced he would win for the Heavyweight Championship - a defeat on the following show. This being despite NJPW’s best attempts to build some heat behind HASHI after he attacked the leader of LIJ for failing to acknowledge him. Don't get me wrong, YOSHI-HASHI will have a great showing I'm sure - and let's face it, if there is a man to carry him to a great match it's Tetsuya Naito - and it will resemble a competitive bout, but I fully expect Naito to come out victorious. Match #7 - Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi |
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