New Japan Pro-Wrestling kicked off its fifty-second year at Ota Ward Gymnasium with its Anniversary Show with 3,008 in attendance. English Commentary was provided by Walker Stewart, Chris Charlton, and a returning Gino Gambino.
Compared to last year’s Anniversary Show, this one served as the opening night for the 2024 New Japan Cup with a showcase match between IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Tetsuya Naito, and IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, SHO. While last year did feature two first-round NJC matches, this year’s kicked off with a bunch of showcase matches featuring tournament participants and three first-round matches.
NJC Preview Tag: Great O’Khan & Jeff Cobb defeated Tomoaki Honma & Tanga Loa (3:47) – Tour of the Islands on Honma w/ Cobb getting the Pin
This was a short preview of the upcoming New Japan Cup tournament matches. The entrances and post-match felt longer than the actual match.
2024 NJCupdate
- O’Khan and Loa meet tomorrow on night two in the NJC24.
- Cobb will meet Yota Tsuji on night four (3/10) for their first-round match.
NJC Preview Tag: Mikey Nicholls & Zack Sabre, Jr. defeated El Phantasmo & Hikuleo (8:24) – Mikey Bomb/Pin on El Phantasmo
Another short and sweet NJC preview. I do love seeing Zack in TMDK, given their history together in Pro-Wrestling NOAH. Much like many of the tag matches on this show, it’s not just about previewing the tournament matches, but also showcasing all the talent on the card. Also, I do love the TMDK & Australian wrestling deep cut with Gino on commentary.
2024 NJCupdate
- ELP and Nicholls will meet on night four (3/10) for their first-round match.
- SZJ has a bye in the first round but will meet the winner of Taichi/Narita on night eight (3/15) in the second round.
- Hikuleo will meet Boltin Oleg on night three (3/8) for their first-round match.
NJC Preview Tag: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii, El Desperado & Boltin Oleg defeated Shingo Takagi, Yota Tsuji, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI (7:43) – El Desperado submitted BUSHI with El es Kuro?
Give more of Yota Tsuji versus Tomohiro Ishii. Heaps more. Loved Hiromu versus Oleg, but it also served as a great reminder that Hiromu could easily go heavyweight and turn a lot of heads. I am curious when Oleg will be added to the Young Lion Dispatch list and where he’ll be headed in the future, but I also want him to get more experience beforehand.
Of course, Shingo Takagi and Hirooki Goto did not disappoint. Desperado and BUSHI could be another BOSJ preview, but Desperado (like Hiromu) could easily transition to Openweight or Heavyweight and I wouldn’t question it. If they aren’t going to let Despy rebuild STRONG STYLE, let him join and lead CHAOS. Or blend them into something new and fresh.
2024 NJCupdate
- After the match, Chase Owens gets the jump on Ishii before their first-round meeting tomorrow in Korakuen Hall on night two (3/7). The winner will face Hirooki Goto on night six (3/12)
- Takagi will meet Yuya Uemura in the first round on night three (3/8).
- Tsuji will meet Jeff Cobb on night four (3/10) for their first-round match.
NJC Preview Tag: TJP, Francesco Akira & Callum Newman defeated David Finlay, Gabe Kidd & Gedo (7:55) – Akira pinned Gedo after 2/2
It was noted that this was Gabe Kidd’s first match back after the United Empire vs. Bullet Club War Dogs main event at New Beginning in Osaka on February 11th. A big get-well-soon to HENARE. Every time the ruptured artery from the cage match is mentioned, I still get chills. Another tournament preview, including the official start of TJP’s journey as a heavyweight in NJPW. Finlay came in swinging with the shillelagh and TJP tried getting him with the Aswang Red Mist.
I did like that Gedo was a bit more quiet than usual, letting Kidd and Finlay get all the taunts in with the crowd. Finlay with a Cheshire Cat grin while doing push-ups in particular was the right amount of smug, did remind me of the showboating that Jay White occasionally did to rile up his opponents. Finlay has really come into his own in 2024 with BCWD at his side, so I hope his losing the IWGP Global Heavyweight Championship to Nic Nemeth that he’s earmarked for a big year ahead.
Francesco Akira should be one to watch in this year’s Best of the Super Juniors, and I am curious to see how he stands alone without TJP to guide him along the way.
2024 NJCupdate
- TJP and David Finlay will meet tomorrow night in the first round (3/7) at Korakuen Hall.
- Calum Newman and Gabe Kidd will meet on night three (3/8) in the first round.
NJC Preview Tag: SANADA, Taichi, Yuya Uemura & DOUKI defeated EVIL, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Dick Togo (8:53) – Uemura pinned Togo with the Deadbolt Suplex
Yuya Uemura debuted a new red buzzcut after losing his hair against Yota Tsuji at New Beginning in Sapporo in February. I loved the homage to Minoru Suzuki with a towel on his head as Uemura entered alongside the Just5Guys, but the reveal definitely gave Young Tetsuya Naito.
The match quickly spirals into House of Torture fare with weapons, fighting around the ring and in the audience, and the obligatory early bell ring by Togo much to the outrage and chagrin of timekeeper and ring announcer, Makoto Abe. When Narita focuses, he reminds everyone that he used to be someone who was a credible contender in NJPW STRONG against wrestlers like Tom Lawlor and Fred Rosser. He claims that “true STRONG STYLE is in House of Torture,” so I am curious to see what he means by that.
While the spotlight is seemingly on Uemura and Narita, I wouldn’t count out Taichi just yet. DOUKI is another one to shortlist for BOSJ contenders as well.
2024 NJCupdate
- Yuya Uemura will meet Shingo Takagi in the first round on night three (3/8).
- Taichi and Ren Narita will meet in the first round on night four (3/10), with the winner advancing to face Zack Sabre, Jr. in the second round.
- SANADA has a bye in the first round and will face the winner of YOSHI-HASHI/KENTA on night five (3/11).
- EVIL has a bye in the first round and will face the winner of Hikuleo/Boltin Oleg on night seven (3/13).
NJC24 1st Round: Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi (2:56) – Countout
After a long absence, Pieter has returned to escort Yujiro Takahashi to the ring. While she’s been away, she became the first Japanese person to dance as a lead dancer at Carnival in Brazil as well as competed in Samba competitions in Japan. She has also been a repeat guest on NJPW Champion, the TV Asahi variety television program focusing on New Japan.
Yujiro handcuffed Yano to the barricade, but his bad karma would arrive in short order, when Yano handcuffed him to ring announcer Watanabe, resulting in a count-out victory for Yano.
2024 NJCupdate
- Yano advances to the second round and will face the winner of Shota Umino/Jack Perry on night night five (3/11).
- Yujiro will likely resume House of Torture interference for the remainder of the tournament, sadly without Pieter.
NJC24 1st Round: YOSHI-HASHI defeated KENTA (10:55) – Finish
Every time NJPW tournament season rolls around, I look forward to seeing which direction they take with guys like KENTA and YOSHI-HASHI and how much of their potential we will be able to see. I really enjoyed this match as we got Big Match YH and a staunch reminder of why KENTA is one of the biggest names in the modern era of wrestling.
I loved that even after all they had been through, YOSHI-HASHI extended his hand to KENTA after the match. Although it was exceptionally short-lived, their rivalry continues to be one of my favorites in the entire company.
2024 NJCupdate
- YOSHI-HASHI advances to face SANADA in the second round.
- KENTA may now owe YOSHI-HASHI an IWGP Tag Team Championship match.
NJC24 1st Round: Jack Perry defeated Shota Umino (12:20) – Pin
What started at Battle in the Valley back in January with Perry attacking Umino after the match, led to a surprising first-round match-up. The match started hot and had a very good versus evil flow until it started unraveling with the arrival of House of Torture.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Ren Narita assist Perry with a referee distraction. EVIL, Dick Togo, and Yujiro Takahashi arrive and adopt Perry into the House of Torture.
2024 NJCupdate
- Perry advances to night five to face Toru Yano.
- Shota Umino might want to start checking flights for Chicago, to get revenge on Perry in April.
Main Event: Tetsuya Naito vs. SHO (22:07) – Destino/Pin
While a non-title main event, the stipulation that if Naito lost, he would have to surrender the belt or give SHO a championship match at least gave the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion food for thought. Even with the SHO jumping Naito from the entrance ramp, this match was largely a singles match in which we saw shadows of CHAOS Era SHO. I was prepared for HOT to be continually circling like vultures as they tend to do whenever EVIL or anyone else has a main event match, so I was pleasantly surprised that they remained out of sight for the bulk of the match.
After a couple of ref bumps in the corner, House of Torture came out to assist SHO, but in a rare showing, LIJ didn’t take the early trains home and rode up to assist Naito. After HOT and LIJ exchanged solo attacks, SHO and Naito were left alone while Red Shoes recovered. This allowed Naito to return the favor to SHO before drilling him into the mat with Valentia and putting him away with Destino.
With Best of the Super Juniors potentially on the horizon and the latest addition of Jack Perry to HOT, the Island of Misfit Toys could afford to cut SHO loose because their numbers are starting to get a bit unwieldy.
Naito closes the Fifty-Second Anniversary Show with LIJ in the ring. They’ve been trying to get as much as possible out of that roll call since January.
“Takagi… Yota… I’ll be waiting for you at the Main Event at (Sakura Genesis; Ryogoku Sumo Hall) on April sixth.” – Tetsuya Naito
What’s Next
- SHO still hasn’t been able to locate his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship that YOH carried off in Sapporo.
- Tetsuya Naito will meet the Winner of the New Japan Cup 2024 at Sakura Genesis on April 6th at Ryogoku Sumo Hall. Should he retain, he will then defend the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship against Jon Moxley at Windy City Riot in Chicago on April 12th.
Additional matches will be added to all cards over the rest of the tour, likely dependent upon the outcomes of tournament matches. After the conclusion of the live broadcast, the NJPW World server went down for about thirty minutes but was quickly resolved.
NJC24 First Round
New Japan Cup Night 2 (3/7) Korakuen Hall
- NJC24 1st Round: TJP vs. David Finlay
- NJC24 1st Round: Tanga Loa vs. Great O’Khan
- NJC24 1st Round: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Chase Owens
New Japan Cup Night 3 (3/8) Aimesse, Yamanashi
- NJC24 1st Round: Shingo Takagi vs. Yuya Uemura
- NJC24 1st Round: Callum Newman vs. Gabe Kidd
- NJC24 1st Round: Boltin Oleg vs. Hikuleo
New Japan Cup Night 4 (3/10) Hyogo Baycom Gymnasium
- NJC24 1st Round: Yota Tsuji vs. Jeff Cobb
- NJC24 1st Round: El Phantasmo vs. Mikey Nicholls
- NJC24 1st Round: Taichi vs. Ren Narita
NJC24 Second Round
New Japan Cup Night 5 (3/11) Item Ehime
- NJC24 2nd Round: YOSHI-HASHI vs. SANADA
- NJC24 2nd Round: Jack Perry vs. Toru Yano
New Japan Cup Night 6 (3/12) Uwajima City Gymnasium
- NJC24 2nd Round: Winner of TJP/Finlay vs. Winner Loa/O’Khan
- NJC24 2nd Round: Winner of Ishii/Owens vs. Hirooki Goto
New Japan Cup Night 7 (3/13) ZIP Arena Okayama
- NJC24 2nd Round: Winner of Takagi/Uemura vs. Newman/Kidd
- NJC24 2nd Round: Winner of Oleg/Hikuleo vs. EVIL
New Japan Cup Night 8 (3/15) Kaneoka Park Gymnasium
- NJC24 2nd Round: Winner of Tsuji/Cobb vs. Winner of El Phantasmo vs. Mikey Nicholls
- NJC24 2nd Round: Winner of Taichi/Narita vs. Zack Sabre, Jr.
NJC24 Quarters, Semis & Finals
New Japan Cup Night 8 (3/16) Kaneoka Park Gymnasium
- NJC24 Quarter Finals: Winner of Night 5A vs Winner of Night 5B
- NJC24 Quarter Finals: Winner of Night 6A vs Winner of Night 6B
New Japan Cup Night 9 (3/17) Twin Messe Shizuoka
- NJC24 Quarter Finals: Winner of Night 7A vs Winner of Night 7B
- NJC24 Quarter Finals: Winner of Night 8A vs Winner of Night 8B
NJC24 Semi-Finals (3/18) Big Palette Fukushima
- NJC24 Semi-Finals: Winner of Night 8A vs Winner of Night 8B
- NJC24 Semi-Finals: Winner of Night 9A vs Winner of Night 9B
New Japan Cup 2024 Finals (3/20) Big Palette Fukushima
- NJC24 Finals: Winner of Night 10A vs Winner of Night 10B
Upcoming Shows
- New Japan Cup Finals (3/20) Aore Niigata
- Sakura Genesis (4/6) Ryogoku Sumo Hall
- Windy City Riot (4/12) Wintrust Arena, Chicago, IL
- Wrestling Dontaku (5/3-4) Fukuoka Convention Center
- Resurgence (5/11) Toyota Arena, Ontario, CA
