New Japan Pro Wrestling 3/10/2024 New Japan Cup 2024 Day 4

New Japan Pro Wrestling 3/10/2024 New Japan Cup 2024 Day 4

I skipped 2 matches here:

Guerrillas Of Destiny (Hikuleo, Jado & Tanga Loa) vs. BULLET CLUB War Dogs (David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Gedo)

Everyone fights to start. DF pounds on Loa outside and Kidd chokes Hiku with a shirt. Hiku shoulders over Kidd. He bangs DF's and Kidd's heads together then lariats both. Kidd takes a kneelift into a face kick. Gedo chokes Jado outside while DF fish hooks Jado's nostrils.

Jado spits at DF then gives him the finger. DF backbreakers him for 2. Gedo stands on Jado's face then fist drops Gedo. Gedo eye rakes him then Jado shoulders him over. Loa and DF go at it.

Loa hits a strike combo on DF then lariats Kidd. Hiku corner splashes DF then Loa top rope dropkicks DF. DF sliding lariats Loa in the back of the head. Loa fights off a 3v1 then double spears Kidd and DF at the same time. Lora lariats DF over the top then suplexes Gedo. Loa hits a bad bomaye and wins it.

It was a basic trios match and it wasn't that great. Jado, Gedo and Loa are all limited dudes and didn't do much to impress here. 

El Desperado, Oleg Boltin, Shota Umino & YOH vs. House Of Torture (EVIL, Jack Perry, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

The fight starts as the faces enter. 6 of the 8 go outside to fight. Shota is sent into the rails by Jack then Jack chops Shota in a seat. Oleg throws Evil around before hitting karelin's lift. Evil goes to rake Despy's eyes then pulls on his mask. Depsy hits him then Despy is sent into the exposed buckle. Jack hits Despy with a turnbuckle pad outside then Despy is sent into the rails. Despy is suplexed on the floor.

Jack eye rakes Despy then hits corner spears. Jack kicks him in the back for 2 then Yujiro legdrops Despy. YK eye rakes Despy then is backdropped. Yoh gets in and hits forearms on YK. Yoh back elbows him then does a corkscrew vader bomb elbow for 2.

YK step up enzugiri's him then takes a dropkick. Shota running forearms Jack then Shota fisherman suplexes him. Jack throws him down backwards by the hair. Yujiro suplexes Shota for 2. Shota hits a nice dropkick on Yujiro. YK goes to spit whiskey but gets stopped by Yoh. Oleg shoulders over Evil then splashes him with Yoh on his back. Jack then sentons both.

Shota botches a tornado ddt on Yujiro then lifting reverse ddt's him. Shota pop-up knees Yujiro then hits ignition for 2. Shota STF's Yujrio and taps him out to win it.

It was what you would expect. Brawling at the start of the bell, HoT cheating and then everyone getting a segment in before the finishing stretch. It was watchable but the same match they usually do.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito) vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan & TJP)

UE attacks before this starts. 6 of the 8 go outside to fight. TJP does facewash kicks on Bushi then Bushi knee dropkicks him. Bushi flying headscissors him. Akira jumps off of TJP's back to hit a dropkick. Hiromu takes kicks on a double team then is basement dropkicked.

Hiromu and Akira trade chops. Newman chinlocks Hiromu then Khan sits on Hiromu's neck on the buckles. Khan beale throws Hiromu then spits on Naito. Khan mongolian chops Hiromu then Hiromu dragon screws him.

Naito baseball slides Khan in the back of the neck then stops a double team from Akira and TJP. Naito spits at Khan then hits combinacion cabron in the corner. Naito grabs Khan by the hair then step up enzugiri's him. Khan throws him on a suplex.

Newman running face kicks Shingo and is shouldered over. Newman then kips up and enzugiri's him. Newman PK's him for 2. Akira does an interesting trip on Hiromu then Shingo back elbows > punches > lariats Newman. Bushi topes TJP then Newman does a rebound into a spinning high kick. Shingo lariats Newman for 2. Shingo hits made in Japan on Newman and wins it.

It was a shorter tag with everyone getting a segment or two in before the finishing stretch. They kept it moving and it was fine for what it was, but nothing memorable.

New Japan Cup 2024 First Round Match - Mikey Nicholls vs. El Phantasmo

They shoulder battle to start. Mikey corner lariats him then throws him over the top. Mikey backdrops ELP on the apron thne suplexes him inside. Mikey chops him down and back elbows him. Mikey shoulders him over then ELP hits a nice dropkick. ELP flying forearms him thne russian legsweeps him.

ELP goes up and over in the corner, springboard twisting crossbodies him then asai moonsaults him. Mikey lariats him in the back of the head then ELP spinning ddt's him. ELP asai moonsaults him outside. Mikey germans ELP then lariats him.

Mikey cradles him for 2 then ddt's him. Mikey superplexes him then lariats him while he's seated. ELP burning hammers him then superkicks him for 2. Mikey jack knifes him, then ELP crucifixes him and wins it.

It was a short and fast paced match. They didn't have a time to work with here unfortunately, for reasons I don't understand. It was fine for what it was though and the two made the best they could of the time.

New Japan Cup 2024 First Round Match - Taichi vs. Ren Narita

Ren won with a facebuster here.

I'm really not trying to be lazy or anything with a short review like that, but this was complete garbage. Over the last year or so, NJPW invented a rule where you can do anything you want to your opponent before the match starts. You can jump them, you can hit them with weapons and other people can help you beat them up. It makes no sense of course, because anyone with a brain would just smash their opponents with a baseball bat, then pin them as soon as the match starts. NJPW doesn't see it that way though. Then, with the way New Japan is, you can just do that stuff anyway carefree when the match starts anyway.

When Taichi got in the ring, Kanemaru and Ren were in there and just beat him up in front of the ref. The ref did nothing and just watched, then officially started the match after Kanemaru left. They fought outside twice and did some foot chokes and basic holds. The BS continued as we still had weapons usage and interference during the actual match, which of course, the ref was also powerless and spineless to spot.

I wouldn't even call this a match. That's how detached from wrestling and common sense this was.

New Japan Cup 2024 First Round Match - Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji

 

They do a lot of staring down to start and trade shots. They shoulder battle and Cobb knocks him over. Yota 2nd rope hurricanrana's him. Yota goes for a tope but is caught and dropped on the apron. Cobb throws him on a suplex for 2. Cobb then carries him and suplexes him. Yota is on the buckles and Cobb dropkicks him. Cobb then hits a 2nd rope karelin's lift.

Yota drives Cobb's head into the mat with his feet then Yota does a flying headscissors. Yota then topes him outside. Yota shoulders him over and splashes him for 2. Yota suplexes him for 2. They trade forearms and Yota curbstomps him. Cobb no sells it and Yota flatliners him.

Cobb uranages him, then misses a standing moonsault. Yota then boots him. Cobb hits another standing moonsault for 2. They trade shots and Yota drops him with one. Yota goes for a rolling spear but is caught with a razor's edge. Cobb does a tour of the islands backdrop then an F-5. Cobb lariats him then hits a running spear for 2. Yota curb stomps him. Yota does a double jump double stomp then some kind of sitout spinebuster. Yota then spears him for the win.

It was the best match I've seen out of Yota yet. Much like I felt Yuya maybe found his opponent in Shingo, I felt like Yota found his opponent here. It was a fun heavyweight and power match with them stiffing each other and throwing each other around. This looked like it had potential on paper and really delivered here.  The selling could have been a little better here, but this was good.

Yota does a promo after.

Overall thoughts: The main was good with Yota having his best outing yet. The Ren/Taichi match was a joke to the point that I wouldn't even call it wrestling. Mikey/ELP didn't have enough time but they did the best they could with it. The other matches were all sub-10 minute tags with everyone just getting a little in. I don't know what happened here but it didn't feel like anything got enough time on this one. I wouldn't recommend this.