New Japan Pro Wrestling 3/14/2025 New Japan Cup 2025 Day 5

New Japan Pro Wrestling 3/14/2025 New Japan Cup 2025 Day 5

Oleg looks like he's on the toilet in this shot

Satoshi Kojima, Tomohiro Ishii, Toru Yano & Yuji Nagata vs. Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI), Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima

KM = Katsuya Murashima

Goto and Yuji go at it. Yuji wristlocks him and they trade front facelocks. Yuji slaps him and side headlocks him. Goto shoulders Yuji over then misses an elbow drop. Yuji goes for the armbar.

Yano hits a kick and a forearm on Goto. Yano takes a double shoulder then Yoshi is hiptossed onto him. Yano pulls Yoshi down by the hair. Yoshi hits forearms on Ishii and Ishii forearms him back. They collide with shoulders. Yoshi chops him then Ishii shoulders him over.

Yoshi hits chops on Ishii then Ishii suplexes him. Koji hits forearms on Yoshi. Yoshi dropkicks him in the knee. Tana gets in. He flying forearms Koji. Tana slams Koji then 2nd rope swantons him for 2. Koji dragon screws Tana. Koji hits machine gun chops on Tana. 

Koji corner forearms Tana then Tana russian legsweeps him. Goto takes chest kicks from Yuji. Yuji corner facekicks him. They trade forearms. Yuji exploders Goto.

KM comes in and hits forearms on Yuji. KM then flying forearms him. KM corner dropkicks Yuji then powerslams him for 2.  Yuji crossfaces KM and taps him out.

Thoughts: It was your usual short opener. The Yoshi/Ishii and Yuji/Goto sections weren't bad but there wasn't a lot to this one before it ended. 

El Phantasmo, Jado & Shota Umino vs. United Empire (Callum Newman, Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young)

CN = Callum Newman

Khan boots and stomps on Shota after Shota beat him on the last show. Khan foot chokes him. Shota hits forearms. Khan legsweeps him then Shota shoulders him over.

Khan is double teamed and takes a step up enzugiri from ELP. Khan mongolian chops Jado then uppercuts him. Khan sits on Jado's neck in the corner. Jake knee drops Jado for 2. CN forearms Jado and kicks him in the back.

CN hits forearms then Jado shoulders him over. ELP springboard twisting crossbodies CN then asai moonsaults him for 2. CN flying headscissors ELP and ELP flips out of it. CN goes for an os cutter and is caught. ELP flying single leg dropkicks him.

Khan mongolian chops ELP. ELP then takes a Jake shining wizard for 2. CN jumping knees ELP then is lariated by Shota. Shota then lariats Khan. ELP handspring lariats Jake then hits a spinning cut-throat neckbreaker on Jake to win it.

Thoughts: It didn't get much time. Everyone got their section in and not much more. Shota's lariat looked nice here and I think ELP doing the handspring lariat may be a new one.

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Gabe Kidd & SANADA) vs. House Of Torture (Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

HoT was jumped before they even got all the way down the aisle. Gabe sends Ren into the wall then bangs his head off a table. Yujiro chairs Fale in the gut. Ren is thrown into chairs. Sho tries to hide from Sanada. Ren is sent into the chairs again and Sanada chases Sho. Gabe drops Kanemaru with a shot. Gabe then sends Ren into the post.

The match officially starts as Ren and Gabe get in the ring. Gabe hits a forearm flurry on Ren. Gabe is grabbed by Evil in the corner and the ref calls for a DQ.

Thoughts: This was stupid. We've seen refs get grabbed and people nailed right in front of the ref before in this promotion without consequence yet Evil grabbing Gabe caused the DQ here.

David Finlay runs down with Gedo and this turns into a 12-man tag. Gabe gets on the mic. He says this is Osaka and it's War Dog country. Gabe asks if they think he will let them escape.

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, David Finlay, Gabe Kidd, Gedo & SANADA) vs. House Of Torture (Dick Togo, EVIL, Ren Narita, SHO, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)

Everyone brawls to start then everyone fights outside. Evil eye rakes DF then Evil is sent into chairs. DF pounds on Evil. Gabe hits Ren with a chair and sends him into a wall. Gabe is then sent into a wall. Ren is sent into a door and Gedo gets hit with a chair.

Togo double axe handles Gedo in the ring then rakes his face. Gedo is sent into an exposed buckle and has his legs split. Kanemaru elbows him in the face and the head. Gedo's head is banged off the exposed buckle.

Sho pulls Gedo by the beard and slaps his hand down. Gedo is sent into the exposed buckle. Togo eye rakes Gedo then hits punches. Gedo eye rakes him and uppercuts him.

Gedo takes corner attacks. HoT tries to chop in the crotch but Gedo is saved. DF hits corner lariats on Evil then gordbusters him. Gedo superkicks Evil for 2. Gedo is kicked in the crotch then is hit with a magic killer. Evil then pins him.

Thoughts: This didn't make much sense. Someone was DQ'd merely for grabbing a wrestler in the last match. Here, people got hit with chairs and the match wasn't good. Add in Gedo being the punching bag and it sucked.

TMDK (Hartley Jackson, Ryohei Oiwa & Zack Sabre Jr.) vs. Just 4 Guys (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Yuya Uemura)

Zack and Tai go at it. Zack backs him up on the ropes and euros him off the break. Zack foot slaps Tai around. Tai running facekicks him. They trade facekicks. They evade each others moves and stare down.

Yuya and Hart go at it. Yuya side headlocks him and they shoulder battle. Hart shoulders him over. Oiwa slams and splashes Yuya then side headlocks him. Zack cravates Yuya then euros him. Zack then facekicks Tai off the apron. Yuya is whipped into an Oiwa dropkick and a Hart senton.

Yuya goes up and over Oiwa. He armdrags him then dropkicks him. Taka step up knees Oiwa in the corner then running knees him for 2. Taka trips him into just facelock. Oiwa then does an armlock to him that Tai breaks up. Tai urakens Zack then Zack pele kicks his arm. Tai lariats Zack.

Taka superkicks Oiwa. Taka kicks him in the chin and rolls him up for 2. Oiwa spinning lariats him and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a short one. Everyone got their segment in and not much else. It was nice to see Yuya and Oiwa go at it.

Zack and Tai stare down after and talk. 

New Japan Cup 2025 Second Round Match - TJP vs. Drilla Moloney
 
TJP shotgun dropkicks DM to start then tornillo plancha's him outside. TJP has sharp teeth painted on his face. DM is sent into the rails. TJP underhook suplexes DM. DM hits corner spears on TJP and throws him down.

DM hits chops and forearms on TJP. TJP is thrown into the corner and goes over the top. TJP is sent into the rail. TJP slams him. DM chops TJP in the corner and kicks him in the back. They slap each other. DM knbees him in the gut and TJP jumping hurricanrana's him. TJP tope con hilos him outside.

They trade forearms. TJP spin kicks him in the gut and DM forearms him. TJP jumps up and is suplexed by DM. TJP spin kicks him then takes a spinning forearm. DM tornado ddt's TJP then hits a rolling spear for 2. TJP rolls him up. DM spinebusters TJP. TJP does an octopus on him.

They fight on the apron then TJP top rope diving forearms him. TJP does facewash kicks on DM. The fight on the buckles, DM gets stuck in tree of woe and takes a double stomp. TJP basement dropkicks him for 2.

DM brainbusters him for 2. DM then hits a rolling spear for 2. TJP armdrags DM out of a dominator then superkicks him in the shoulder. DM superkicks TJP. DM goes for a spear but gets his back double stomped. TJP then falcon arrows him for 2.

TJP dropkicks him in the corner. TJP then hits a top rope splash on DM for 2. TJP does a regal stretch on DM then goes for an octopus. DM escapes. TJP hits a GTS with a kick instead of a knee. DM hits an over the shoulder piledriver and pins him.

Thoughts: It got more than than it needed and it wasn't that good. The crowd didn't care at all. It didn't help that there weren't any clear faces or heels or any real logic.

New Japan Cup 2025 Second Round Match - Shingo Takagi vs. Oleg Boltin

They do some wrestling to start. Oleg side headlocks him and they shoulder battle. They trade forearms. Shingo hits jabs and is chopped. Oleg misses a corner charge and is hiptossed. Oleg shoulders him over then splashes him.

Shingo stalls outside then pulls Oleg out with him. Oleg is sent into the rails. Oleg charges at him outside and goes into and over the rails. Oleg's back is rammed into the post and he is suplexed on the floor. Shingo bangs Oleg's hand off the mat then sentons him.

Shingo armbars him. Oleg hits a dropkick. Shingo hits knees to the gut then Oleg does a drop on him. Oleg karelin's lifts him. Oleg hits a corner splash then vader bombs him. Shingo hits a corner lariat then hits a punch and chop combo. Shingo hits a twist and shout on him. 

Shingo hits a corner lariat then a slap in the corner. Shingo hits backhand shots then top rope superplexes him. Oleg chops Shingo and Shingo pounds on Oleg's arm.

Oleg sleepers him. Shingo hammerlocks him then lariats him on the ropes. Oleg catches his crossbody and hits a samoan drop. Oleg hits an AA for 2. Shingo stops Oleg's finlay roll. Shingo half-nelson suplexes Oleg then sliding forearms him. Oleg dropkicks Shingo then Shingo sliding forearms him. Shingo hits a made in Japan for 2.

Shingo hits forearms on Oleg. Oleg fires back and Shingo lariats Oleg. Oleg hits a finlay roll on Shingo for 2. Shingo hits a ddt out of an F-5. They collide with lariats then Shingo running lariats him for 2.

Shingo hits downward elbows on him then crucifixes him. Shingo hits a running lariat for 2. Shingo hits a last falconry and wins.

Thoughts: It started off slow and looked to be disappointing but it turned into the heavyweight match with lariats, slams and suplexes by the 2nd half. It wasn't great but it was a good match. I do feel like these two could have a great one someday but this wasn't it.

New Japan Cup 2025 Second Round Match - Tetsuya Naito vs. Jeff Cobb

 

Cobb waistlock takedowns him then throws him. Naito side headlocks him. Naito throws Cobb out then Cobb armdrags him. Cobb runs the ropes and is tripped. Naito then runs the ropes and poses in the ring. Naito dropkicks Cobb in the leg and kicks him in the knee. Naito is sent into the rail and goes over it.

Cobb walks on his gut in the ring. They trade forearms. Cobb blocks an armdrag and drives Naito into the corner. Cobb flying spears Naito into the corner. Cobb does Naito's combinacion cabron in the corner. Cobb misses a standing moonsault. Naito atomic drops him and baseball slides him in the back.

Naito tornado ddt's him. Naito hits back elbows. They fight on the buckles. Cobb takes a 2nd rope hurricanrana from Naito. Naito hits a diamond dust. Cobb tombstones Naito then holds on for a tour of the islands backdrop. Cobb standing moonsaults him for 2. Cobb goes for a spinning slam but takes a destino.

Naito does a tornado ddt into a cradle then does destino into a cradle. Naito step up enzugiri's him. Cobb blocks  destino with his own spinning slam. Naito koppo kicks him and is flipped with a lariat. Cobb spinning backdrops him. Cobb hits a superkick then spinning slams him for the win.

Thoughts: I was surprised to see Cobb win here. Cobb and Naito have matched up well before in the past and they pulled a decent one out of this. I liked Naito turning Cobb's spinning moves into destino attempts and I liked Cobb countering destino's with spinning slams and drops.

Cobb gets on the mic after. He says if you believed the internet (there were rumors that he's going to WWE), he was gonna lose today. He calls Shota a bald b!tch and says he has a date with destiny tomorrow. 

Overall thoughts: There was a pretty even number of good, average and bad matches here. The main and semi main delivered with both being good. Drilla/TJP wasn't as good as it should have been and the Bullet Club House of Torture stuff wasn't good. I'd give it a 6 out of 10 as I liked the two top matches. Nothing here was must see though.