NJPW New Japan Cup 2018: Day 7
TETSUHIRO YAGI & TOMOYUKI OKA vs. BULLET CLUB (Yujiro Takahashi & Tonga Loa) - 3.75/10
MICHAEL ELGIN, SHOTA UMINO, & DAVID FINLAY JR. vs. SUZUKI-GUN (Taichi & the Killer Elite Squad) - 4.5/10
Suzuki-Gun jump the bell on their opponents. Eventually they won. Umino was a good babyface in peril.
TOGI MAKABE & TOA HENARE vs. CHAOS (Tomohiro Ishii & Toru Yano) - 5/10
CHUCK TAYLOR & CHAOS (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI vs. KOTA IBUSHI & BULLET CLUB (Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens) - 6.5/10
CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada & Gedo) vs. SUZUKI-GUN (Minrou Suzuki & Takashi Iizuka) - 7/10
Suzuki-Gun jumped the bell on their opponents. If you were surprised by that fact, you'll also probably be surprised to learn that this match was at its best when Okada and Suzuki were in there against each other.
LOS INGOBERNABLES DE JAPON (Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, Hiromu Takahashi, & BUSHI) vs. SUZUKI-GUN (El Desperado, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, TAKA Michinoku, & Zack Sabre Jr.) - 7.5/10
This was a GREAT eight-man tag with lots of good action. Everyone here was good, but the best part of the stuff that Sanada and Zack did together, which has me quite pumped up for their main event on the next show.
NEW JAPAN CUP SEMIFINAL MATCH: Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Juice Robinson - 8.75/10
Lots of good technical stuff and good work on the limbs here. The y did a great job at keeping the pace slow while still keeping it interesting. They had a lot of little twists and turns along the way, which was especially refreshing to see in a Tanahashi match. By about the twenty minute mark they had me thinking Juice might really do it. Those nearfalls were convincing as hell. Go out of your way to see this one.
Final Thoughts
This was a very good show from New Japan. The undercard was what it always is, but the main event delivered big-time and the other top matches didn't disappoint. The main event is something you should definitely seek out, but if you've got the time, you won't feel like you've wasted your time if you watch the whole thing.