NJPW’s New Japan Cup tournament is slimming down. The first of four quarter-final matchups was confirmed on Monday following the promotion’s card in Matsuyama, Ehime.
Fresh off his induction into the House of Torture faction, Jack Perry picked up a win against Toru Yano. Interferences from Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Yujiro Takahashi helped Perry earn a victory against Yano, putting him away with the Scapegoat to win in just eight minutes.
Former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA went long against YOSHI-HASHI in the main event, defeating him in 23 minutes to earn a quarter-final spot. SANADA hit the Deadfall to close out a back-and-forth match and put away the fellow NJPW vet.
SANADA and Perry are scheduled to face off in a quarter-final match on March 16. The other quarter-final matches will be decided over the next four days.
Tomorrow, NJPW will hold two more second-round matches when they head to another Ehime prefecture city, Uwajima. Aiming to keep his second-ever New Japan Cup run alive, Tanga Loa will meet 2023 finalist David Finlay. Hirooki Goto will also meet Chase Owens in a singles match. A win for Goto would mean that both members of Bishamon overcame members of the current IWGP Tag Team Champions in this year’s tournament. Earlier in the bracket, YOSHI-HASHI advanced with a victory over KENTA.
House of Torture’s EVIL will take on Hikuleo on Wednesday, and Shingo Takagi will meet Gabe Kidd. On Friday, Yota Tsuji and El Phantasmo will face off, as will Ren Narita and Zack Sabre Jr.
The finals for this year’s New Japan Cup is scheduled to take place on March 20 in Nagaoka, Niigata.
