New Japan Cup 2024 night three live results: Shingo vs. Uemura
The 2024 New Japan Cup continues today in Yamanashi with three opening round matches.
Shingo Takagi faces Yuya Uemura in the headline bout on today’s show.
The battle between Bullet Club War Dogs & United Empire continues in the semi-main position with Bullet Club’s Gabe Kidd taking on United Empire’s Callum Newman.
The winners of today’s main event and semi-main will square off in a second round match on March 13.
In today’s other first round matchup, Hikuelo faces Boltin Oleg. The Hikuleo/Oleg winner will advance to a second round match against EVIL on March 13. EVIL is one of four wrestlers who received byes into round two.
Five tag team matches round out today’s undercard, including a Los Ingobernables de Japon vs. United Empire matchup with LIJ’s Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI facing UE’s Jeff Cobb, Great-O-Khan, TJP & Francesco Akira.
The show streams live on NJPW World beginning at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time.
CHAOS (Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI) & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated BULLET CLUB (Chase Owens, David Finlay, Gedo & KENTA)
This was the same BULLET CLUB vs. CHAOS match we’ve seen 1,000 times with a slightly different coat of paint.
BC utilized environmental offense and cheating whenever possible. After minutes of BC torturing Taguchi’s rear, Ishii tagged in, leading to a CHAOS rally. The rest of CHAOS maintained this momentum long enough for Bishamon to hit Shoto, winning the match.
TMDK (Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre Jr.) defeated El Phantasmo & Tomoaki Honma
This was also a reasonably by-the-book match.
ELP held his own against TMDK before tagging out to Honma. TMDK established and maintained a lead against Honma early. A hot tag to ELP led to an extended comeback, but in the end, TMDK held on. Nicholls hit Honma with the Mikey Bomb to win the match.
El Desperado, Shota Umino & YOH defeated House of Torture (Dick Togo, EVIL & Jack Perry)
Jack Perry filled in for SHO again tonight.
The match opened with a HoT brawl. As the match calmed down, Perry and Umino squared off. Once Perry established a lead, he passed the momentum to his partners, who used typical HoT tactics to stay ahead. This continued as the rest of the babyfaces entered the fray. Eventually, YOH was able to gain some footing before hitting Togo with direct drive, winning the match.
Just 5 Guys (DOUKI, SANADA & Taichi) defeated House of Torture (Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Yujiro Takahashi)
More HoT stuff here. Nothing special.
After minutes of isolation segments and a bit of cheating, SANADA hit the ring. Once he established the lead, HoT rushed him to put him back on the defense. SANADA avoided a face full of whiskey just as Taichi and DOUKI started providing backup. With the ring cleared, SANADA hit Yujiro with a shining wizard and locked in Skull End to secure the win.
United Empire (Francesco Akira, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & TJP) defeated Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Tetsuya Naito & Yota Tsuji)
This was a fairly basic match, here to tease the upcoming Cobb vs. Tsuji match.
UE established a lead early, working to isolate Naito. Once he tagged out, Cobb and Tsuji traded heavy strikes. The match calmed down as BUSHI entered, but a full-scale match breakdown followed moments later. The ring eventually cleared out, leaving Cobb free to hit BUSHI with Tour of the Islands, winning the match.
New Japan Cup: Hikuleo defeated Oleg Boltin
I love Oleg, but this could have been better. It was the biggest match of Oleg’s career thus far, and he performed well, but some pacing issues held it back.
Before the match, an amateur Kazakhstani wrestler in a Japanese exchange student program gifted Oleg with a bouquet.
Oleg’s first-ever New Japan Cup match opened with a test of power. Both men fought for control, utilizing holds and throwing themselves at each other. Oleg overwhelmed Hikuleo early, forcing him into the corner to recover.
Once Hikuleo worked his way to the center of the ring, he knocked Oleg to the mat. A big body slam scored Hikuleo a two-count. A second slam and an elbow drop yielded another. Hikuleo then worked a hold on the mat, forcing Oleg into the ropes.
Once both men were standing, they began trading chops to the chest. Oleg forced Hikuleo into the corner and hit a belly-to-belly suplex for a quick nearfall. Oleg then locked in the Boston crab. A massive standing suplex followed by a German scored a convincing nearfall.
Hikuleo caught Oleg on a rebound with a scoop slam. He then hit Oleg with a chokeslam, winning the match and advancing to the second round.
New Japan Cup: Gabe Kidd defeated Callum Newman
This match was great. It was a total burst of energy filled with fun offense. Easily the best match of the tournament as of now.
As soon as the opening bell rang, Newman tried stealing a win with a quick pin. A lightning-fast back-and-forth followed that soon spilled to the floor. On the outside, Newman slammed Kidd into the barricade before attempting a dive. On the descent, Kidd hit Newman with a forearm before throwing him into the railing and a sea of chairs.
Back in the ring, Kidd taunted Newman, prompting a barrage of strikes. Kidd responded by sitting Newman on the top rope and pushing him to the floor. With Kidd holding onto control, the taunting continued.
Newman caught Kidd with a suplex followed by a tope to reverse momentum. Newman then used some stiff kicks to further his lead, but Kidd answered with a dropkick and a suplex. During Kidd’s follow-up, Newman landed a few strikes and a Spanish fly, stopping Kidd in his tracks.
Newman missed a dive from the top, and Kidd spit on his face. Newman responded by attempting a slew of moves, eventually scoring a nearfall. Newman attempted another dive but missed. Kidd knocked him down with a lariat, a brainbuster, and a piledriver to win the match.
After the match, Kidd promised to kill his second round opponent.
New Japan Cup: Shingo Takagi defeated Yuya Uemura
This was a very disappointing match. It bored me to tears for nearly all of its runtime. The only thing positive I have to say about it is that, hopefully, I won’t remember it this time next year.
The match opened with some basic wrestling. Uemura gained control of the arm, taking the action to the mat. Shingo answered Uemura with a lariat before taking the match to the outside. On the floor, Shingo whipped Uemura into the barricades, establishing a strong lead.
Back in the ring, Shingo worked Uemura on the mat. Uemura fired back by turning his attention back to the arm. They eventually worked their way into the corner, where Shingo delivered a superplex.
Shingo tried to get Made in Japan, but Uemura cut him off with a strike; a back-and-forth exchange followed. Uemura won out, hitting two suplexes for a nearfall. Uemura then hit a dropkick and a slam for another.
Shingo fired back by hitting a pumping bomber and Made in Japan, but Uemura kicked out. To answer, Uemura caught Shingo with an awkward rana, which he transitioned into an armbar, forcing Shingo into the ropes. Uemura then dropped Shingo with a headbutt before trying for a deadbolt suplex, but Shingo avoided it.
Uemura hit the ropes, but Shingo caught him with a powerbomb. Shingo then landed a pumping bomber, but Uemura kicked out. Finally, Shingo landed Last of the Dragon to win the match.
Shingo advances to the next round.