New Japan Cup night six results: Jay White vs. Toa Henare

The New Japan Cup tournament continued today in Kyoto with the final first round matches. 

Here are the results and a report on the Cup matches. 

**********

Recommended matches —

⦁ New Japan Cup first round match: Jay White vs. Toa Henare

Report —

EVIL, Bad Luck Fale, KENTA & Dick Togo defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi, Toru Yano, Juice Robinson & Yuya Uemura (9:47)

EVIL submitted Robinson with a scorpion deathlock. 

Great-O-Khan, Will Ospreay & Jeff Cobb defeated Satoshi Kojima, Yuji Nagata & Tomoaki Honma (9:10)

Cobb pinned Honma after hitting a Tour of the Islands. 

Shingo Takagi, SANADA, Tetsuya Naito & BUSHI defeated Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto & SHO (10:04)

BUSHI pinned SHO with a la magistral.

New Japan Cup first round match: David Finlay defeated Chase Owens (11:20)

The work here was solid, but Owens is typically presented as a comedy guy and Finlay isn’t all that over, so this didn’t feel like it should be a tournament match.

Finlay tried a couple of amateur takedowns before settling on a side headlock. Owens reversed the headlock. Finlay hit a dropkick for an early two count. 

Owens pulled Finlay off the second rope and dropped him on his knee while hitting a lariat. Owens used a bow and arrow and a running elbow drop. Owens hit a northern lights for a two count, then used a body scissors. Finlay came back with a neckbreaker. 

Finlay hit a leg lariat and a slingshot plancha. He followed with a blue thunder bomb for a two count. Owens sent Finlay outside and hit a dropkick through the ropes. Back in, Finlay hit a uranage backbreaker. Owens blocked an Acid Drop attempt and hit a Jewel Heist before a series of near falls. 

They traded cradles. Owens hit a shining wizard and a uranage backbreaker. They traded strikes. Owens hit a clothesline for a two count. Owens rolled outside and pulled up the padding around the ring. While the ref went to fix it, he hit a belt shot for a two count. 

Owens hit another backbreaker. Finlay reversed a package piledriver attempt into a cradle and rolled Owens up for the pin. 

New Japan Cup first round match: YOSHI-HASHI defeated Yujiro Takahashi (15:50)

This was too long given who was involved. YH needs a good dance partner and Yujiro is too beat up to be that guy. 

YOSHI-HASHI was in control for the first couple of minutes as they brawled. Yujiro used his pimp cane on the outside to gain the advantage. YH made it back in after a countout tease. 

Yujiro hit a legdrop, an elbow and a headbutt for a two count. Yujiro hit a slam, then used a chinlock to set up a dropkick to the back for a two count. Yujiro hit a back suplex for another two count. YH came back with a headhunter. Yujiro bit YH’s hand to halt his momentum. 

They exchanged strikes and lariats. Yujiro hit an Angle slam, a superplex and a fisherman buster for a two count. YH blocked Pimp Juice with a kick. He hit a thrust kick, but Yujiro answered with Miami Shine for a near fall. 

YH fought off another Pimp Juice attempt. YH hit a dragon suplex and a lariat for a near fall. YH went for Kharma, but Yujiro fought it off. YH hit a neckbreaker and a senton bomb for a near fall. 

YH used the butterfly lock to set up Kharma. He hit Kharma for the pin. 

New Japan Cup first round match: Jay White (w/Gedo) defeated Toa Henare (24:46)

I’m guessing that this was the longest singles match of Henare’s career and he did well, but this was the Jay White show. He’s firing on all cylinders right now and is one of the best guys on the planer. We’re watching an all-time great in him. 

Henare broke cleanly on the opening lock up. White twice rolled to the floor to control the pace. White used a headlock. Henare hit a couple of shoulder tackles as they began to establish the story of the match –Henare had the power edge. 

Henare whipped White into the barricade. Back inside, Henare hit a knee drop. White dumped Henare outside with a suplex over the ropes to the floor. White used the barricade and ring frame as weapons, bouncing Henare around. 

White began to target the lower back with knee strikes, then a single-leg crab. Henare forced a rope break, but White went after the back again with strikes, then a chinlock with his knee planted in the lower back. 

Henare whipped White into the corner pad. Henare hit a tackle and a delayed vertical suplex for a two count. Henare sold the damage to his back after the cover. White avoided a Samoan drop and hit a DDT. White hit an underhook suplex into the corner pad, then used a Blade Buster for a near fall. 

White hit a series of forearm strikes. Henare dropped White with one forearm. White hit a deadlift German and a uranage. White rolled Henare outside three times and tried to steal a countout win, but Henare made it back in. 

White sent Henare into the barricade. White hit the Kiwi Krusher for a near fall. Henare powered out of a chinlock, but White again attacked the back. White hit a sleeper suplex. Henare fought off two superplex attempts and hit a diving tackle off the top rope. 

Henare hit a Samoan drop and a lariat for a two count. White avoided Toa Bottom twice. Henare ducked a lariat and hit a spear for a two count. 

Henare reversed a Blade Runner attempt and hit Toa Bottom for a two count. Gedo jumped on the apron. White used the distraction to try a Blade Runner. Henare slid out and hit a diving tackle. White avoided another Toa Bottom with a sleeper suplex into a double down. 

White hit a second sleeper suplex, then hit Blade Runner for the pin.