NJPW reveals bracket for New Japan Cup 2025
The full field has been revealed for New Japan Cup 2025, a tournament where the winner receives an IWGP World Heavyweight Championship shot.
In total, the tournament consists of 24 entrants. Sixteen of those wrestlers have to compete in first-round matchups, while the other eight participants have randomly been selected to receive a first-round bye. David Finlay, YOSHI-HASHI, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Shota Umino, Jeff Cobb, TJP, and Shingo Takagi are the wrestlers getting byes.
Here is the full bracket:
Left side —
- Yota Tsuji vs. EVIL (winner faces David Finlay in next round)
- Yuya Uemura vs. SANADA (winner faces YOSHI-HASHI in next round)
- Ryohei Oiwa vs. Chase Owens (winner faces Zack Sabre Jr. in next round)
- Gabe Kidd vs. Ren Narita (winner faces Taichi in next round)
Right side —
- El Phantasmo vs. Great-O-Khan (winner faces Shota Umino in next round)
- Tetsuya Naito vs. Callum Newman (winner faces Jeff Cobb in next round)
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Drilla Moloney (winner faces TJP in next round)
- Oleg Boltin vs. Bad Luck Fale (winner faces Shingo Takagi in next round)
The tournament begins on March 7 and runs through March 20. At Sakura Genesis on April 5, the winner gets their match for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship. Hirooki Goto — the newly crowned IWGP World Heavyweight Champion — has one title defense before Sakura Genesis, facing Hiroshi Tanahashi at NJPW’s 53rd Anniversary show in March.