Cero Reviews NJPW New Japan Cup 2022, 3.13

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Cero Reviews NJPW New Japan Cup 2022, 3.13

Post by cero2k » Mar 14th, '22, 17:45

NJPW New Japan Cup 2022, Day 7
March 13, 2022
Baycom Gymnasium, Amagasaki, Japan

Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Master Wato vs. Suzuki-gun (Taichi, TAKA Michinoku & Zack Sabre Jr.) - 5.5/10
Good short match, Tekkers and Bishamon seem to want to re-start their feud for the titles, so there was some heat there, but beyond that, it was just a couple of pair ups before Bishamon won with shoto on TAKA.

Suzuki-gun (DOUKI & El Desperado) vs. House Of Torture (SHO & Yujiro Takahashi) - 6/10
After his match in Aichi, Desperado was jumped by SHO, so in return, this match started with Suzuki-Gun jumping HoT during the latter's entrance. They brawled for a bit, but by the time the referee got things under control, DOUKI had been cut off. Despy and SHO wrestled afterwards, but at the end, Yujiro and DOUKI came back for the finish via Pimp Juice.

BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale, El Phantasmo, Gedo & Taiji Ishimori) vs. United Empire (Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan, Jeff Cobb & Will Ospreay) - 7.5/10
A lot of great stuff with this match. First Gedo got cut off for some comedy, the Ospreay got cut off, then we got Fale versus Cobb and a second run of Ishimori versus O-Khan. O-Khan then tapped out Gedo with the claw. Without a doubt, UE has become a really strong unit, their work as a team is getting stronger and stronger.

CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & YOH) & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI, SANADA & Tetsuya Naito) - 7.5/10
Some great stuff here, we got Tana versus Naito and SANADA vs Okada pair ups, and those are two rivalries that not only had I not seen in a while, but it's not the heavyweight champ versus US champ. At the end, SANADA tapped out YOH. It was great seeing all three guys together in the ring.

New Japan Cup 2022 Second Round Match
Tiger Mask vs. Chase Owens (w/Bad Luck Fale) - 6/10
This was way better than I expected, they went back and forth trading momentum, Owens kept going for the head with knees, chasing the package piledriver, while Tiger Mask worked the arm and chased the Tiger Driver, but he wasn't able to land it before Owens caught him with a jumping knee and the PP.

New Japan Cup 2022 Second Round Match
Shingo Takagi vs. Tanga Loa 7.5/10
This was a nice little hoss fight. It was mostly shoulder tackles, lariats, and forearms. Loa kept going for Apeshit, but Shingo kept escaping, dropping Loa, until one of those was the Pumping Bomber and Shingo got the win. Loa I feel is at that verge of really releasing his potential as a brawler, he needs more singles matches with guys like Shingo and Ishii.

It'll be Shingo versus Owens, which sounds meh, especially if you consider that Shingo may have to deal with the rest of the Bullet Club.

New Japan Cup 2022 Second Round Match
Tama Tonga (w/Jado) vs. EVIL (w/Dick Togo) - 8/10
This was a hell of a ride, a babyface Tama Tonga in full display and the angle to seal the deal for the Guerrillas' future with the Bullet Club, and while we're at it, where most of their allegiances fall. To begin with, Jado came out with the Guerrillas, someone who in the last couple of weeks, we've seen take on Owens, but also team up with the House of Torture.

The match was a brawl at first, Tama Tonga rushed EVIL during the entrance and they started a brawl that lasted for a while. Eventually the made it to the ring, and Tama Tonga wrestled a super babyface match, and the whole crowd was behind him, to the point that when he hit the top rope splash, and EVIL kicked out, the crowd audibly reacted with surprise. Not many people have made the NJPW crowd verbally react that way in the last two years. Eventually, EVIL like always had to rely on cheating, and Togo came in to choke out Tama Tonga, but Jado was there to help him and Jado choked out Togo. At this point, all hell broke loose, when SHO and Yujiro ran down to attack Jado, only to be 'run off' by ELP and Ishimori, but alas, it was a ruse, and Ishimori and ELP took out Tama Tonga, leaving him for EVIL to hit the EIE and get the win.

Post-match - Everyone that was out there ganged up on Tama, but Jado made the save with a kendo stick. Owens and Fale then ran down to the ring, but to the surprise of no one, Owens kneed Jado down. Fale, the one that everyone expected to see stay with the Guerrillas, picked up Tama for the Grenade, but hesitated a bit. Tanga Loa at this point ran down and took out Owens, but to hammer the final nail in the coffin, Fale took Loa and dropped him with the grenade. With both Guerrillas and Jado down, Gedo came out, knocked out Jado with brass knucks, and had everyone too sweet up top, like the old days. Everyone walked to the back together, leaving the Guerrillas and Jado for dead. It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for all three, but one thing is for sure, Tama Tonga's babyface fire is something worth working on.

New Japan Cup 2022 Second Round Match
Minoru Suzuki vs. Hiromu Takahashi - 9/10
This was awesome for what it was, it was the battle of a thousand chops, literally 90% of the offense done by both men were chops, to the point that Suzuki's chest bled in the first minutes, and by the end, you couldn't even see the soreness because it had just been absorbed into the body as it all turned red.

Story was just that Suzuki pushed Hiromu to the limit, but as much as he was pushed there, Hiromu didn't really deviate from the challenge that Suzuki had imposed in him, so Hiromu kept coming at Suzuki with the same type of fight that Suzuki was bringing. Eventually, both men started to feel the pressure and we saw Suzuki go for the Sleeper, but at the end, Hiromu took the Sleeper, rolled it over, and got the upset win.

Hiromu versus EVIL is next, which will likely suck because EVIL will win, but if he doesn't, it could be glorious.

Post-match - Hiromu cut his winner's promo.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
A really eventful New Japan Cup show. A combination of good wrestling with somewhat big developments with the Bullet Club story.
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