It’s been a successful New Japan Cup for the House of Torture thus far.
Following up on Don Fale’s controversial win against Aaron Wolf on Wednesday, House of Torture’s Ren Narita took down Taichi in the main event of today’s Korakuen Hall card in Tokyo.
A lengthy singles battle between Narita and Taichi had no shortage of interference, with Taichi fighting off not just his opponent, but nearly all members of the House of Torture faction.
Taichi came close to victory in a performance that saw him try to overcome the odds. He turned Narita inside out with a nasty lariat, then bridged a side suplex into a pin attempt, which looked like it was going to end the bout. But, SHO ringing the bell in the timekeeper’s area threw off referee Red Shoes, causing him to stop the count.
A Suntory Spray from Yoshinobu Kanemaru then went into the eyes of the referee, blinding him and taking him out for the time being. Kanemaru briefly tricked Taichi into believing that he had actually taken his side in the fight, only for him to betray the New Japan Cup competitor moments later, helping give Narita the upper hand.
Narita struck Taichi over the head with his push-up bar, then came off the top with his Decapitator knee drop for the pinfall victory.
The victory means Narita will now face Satoshi Kojima as part of the second round. It was previously planned that his second-round opponent would be Tomohiro Ishii, although NJPW revealed earlier this week that Kojima had taken his place due to injury.
The result was deja vu for Taichi, who lost in the first round of the 2024 Cup against Narita as well.
Oleg takes down Phantasmo in a lengthy Opening Round battle
Boltin Oleg, riding the momentum of a recent title victory, went a stellar 18 minutes for a win against El Phantasmo in the co-main event.
With the momentum Oleg currently has, it was quite clear that he was going to be the one to advance. But, both performers did a great job at trying to convince you Phantasmo had a chance, fighting from behind and putting together sneaky near falls at times.
Phantasmo earned a two-count late in the bout after dropping Oleg with a hard lariat then following with a CR2. He tried to follow up with a Sunset Flip Powerbomb out of the corner, but Oleg countered into a Kamikaze Powerbomb off the middle rope for the pinfall victory.
Oleg, who captured the NEVER Openweight Championship on Friday with a win over Tomohiro Ishii, is now set to appear in second round action next Thursday against HENARE. Oleg has never made it farther than the second round through his two past New Japan Cup.
Tournament action will continue tomorrow, when NJPW heads to the Ota City General Gymnasium for its 54th Anniversary card. Along with first-round action between YOSHI-HASHI vs. Jake Lee and Callum Newman vs. OSKAR, the card will also see the brand’s junior heavyweight belts on the line.
