After a week (in which I started my new intensive journalism course), I'm back for a preview of the New Japan Cup which is always exciting and really full on with the schedule!
Like all the other tournaments, I'm going to run down all the participants who've been announced and the possible match ups that I'm mega looking forward too! With all the guys chasing Jay White for his title, the stakes are massive! I was initially going to do the usual ‘look at each competitor’ thing, but the card's so stacked and there’s 24 competitors. So I’ve decided to look at them in terms of first matches. They changed it up this year by putting most of the heavyweights which is nice! Also, I’ll split this preview into two posts because there’s so much to write about - I don’t want to blow your mind. Hope you enjoy!
Yuji Nagata v Tomohiro Ishii
When this match was announced, I was literally over the moon considering what happened at Iizka's retirement show. Both guys are veterans Nagata especially, and both are also stubborn as hell with a damn lot to prove. The line that epitomises Ishii is 'Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.' He's seen his fellow faction members in Chaos win titles galore and Ishii always alludes the biggest prizes in NJPW except a tag team reign and NEVER titles. I also think that Ishii v Jay would be a nice bit of retribution for the Chaos faction member... or maybe it's all a ploy to show him as the dissenter of the faction. In terms of Nagata, I've seen him live as well as on the few shows he's been on recently and he's got the energy of a young lions with those spine tingling chops or backbreaking kicks. Both guys are going to kick the living daylight out of each other and no matter who wins, either man will fight tooth and nail to get that championship shot!
Tomoaki Honma v Taichi
I love how it takes 2 years for Honma to get back into the NJ Cup and a long ass time to gain momentum since his return, and he's got to go against Taichi (no offence Taichi)! This is a match where both Honma and Taichi have so much to prove this year with Taichi being left out of the G1 and Honma being left out of World Tag League. I don't really know if Honma is ready for a tournament yet, but everyone knows that he's going to put in 110% into his matches and he'll always be a crowd favourite whether he wins and loses. Whereas Taichi probably doesn't care what anyone thinks and probably believed he deserved this opportunity ages ago... which I neither agree or disagree with. Whatever my, or your, opinion on Taichi is, he's done a hell of a lot recently and with the tournament being so big, you could hardly miss him out. I worry about Honma in this match because Taichi will use every tactic in the book (including Iizka's iron glove I guess) but never count the Kokeshi out because Kokeshi makes you happy!
Sanada v Hirooki Goto
This match up probably has two of the most underrated guys in the whole company and it's really a match that I'm looking forward too and I'd be surprised if I was the only one. Sanada has always been pretty silent and sometimes blends in compared to Evil, but people forget just how talented Sanada is. Like Tama Tonga, he is the perfect hybrid athlete of strength, speed and stamina. Even though Sanada has done pretty well in the last few tournaments he's been in, I think this could be the year and the tournament for him to really shine. However, Hirooki Goto won't make it easy and I have to say that Goto is one of my favourite wrestlers and is probably even more underrated and under-utilised by the company. He's had a good few title runs and is synonymous with the NEVER title but, like his fellow Chaos teammate Ishii, the big title and those big matches have aluded him recently. I've missed watching him over the last few months and this is going to be Goto's way of reminding them what they've missed. Even though it's really hard to pick a winner, I have to go with Goto because I think he deserves it and really deserves a shot after coming so close in so many New Japan Cups. Whatever happens, it's going to be an amazing match!
Manabu Nakinishi v Yoshi-Hashi
From the get go, it sort of seems like this could either be a squash match where the veteran Nakinishi eats the hell out of Yoshi Hashi. Or it could be a surprise with Yoshi Hashi actually gaining some momentum and winning (with his sad slogan shirts). I mean it'd probably be smarter to have Yoshi Hashi win because then we can get this whole story re-make and maybe he can live up to that potential Shinsuke Nakamura saw ages ago. I mean he's picked up a few wins recently but nothing amazing and I really like Yoshi Hashi but I just feel like he needs to find his identity. Nakinishi on the other end is a veteran, he knows how to domineer a ring and has his character down. Like Nagata, it would be nice to see Nakinishi go far in this tournament because he's still as scary and powerful as ever. It's really a test of, can Yoshi Hashi prove the doubters wrong or will Nakinishi eat him for breakfast (did you get the pun?). But, I would like to see Yoshi Hashi win just for character progress.
Juice Robinson v Chase Owens
Juice Robinson has been pretty absent from NJPW the past few months because ROH. But, even failing to capture the ROH tag titles at Honor Rising, what a way to return. He's got a lot to prove after the average G1 he had. He's always been a crowd favourite and maybe that and the momentum as US champ is putting him in good stead for the tournament. In terms of his opponent, I was literally squealing with joy when Chase Owens was announced for the NJ Cup because he's not had the chance to be in a heavyweight tournament (even though he's been in a few BOSJ). It means that Chase hasn't had the chance to prove himself as a heavyweight but, after his winning streak this year as part of BC OG, this could be the time! The styles clash so much with Robinson's babyface, Taguchi Japan mentality with one of the King's of Sneaky Style (sorry Rocky). By putting Chase in a match with the champ, Owen's is going to have a tough time trying to beat the champ but, if he does, the rewards would be huge with a future title opportunity. This is another match where both guys have so much to prove but in completely different ways. I'd love to see Chase progress really far in this tournament because he is so underrated!
Kazuchika Okada v Michael Elgin
Even though I'm a mahoosive Okada fan, I don't know how excited I am to see him in a match against Big Mike in the first round. We all know that Okada is on a bit of a hot streak after his meltdown pre-G1 that lasted a damn long time in the grand scheme of things. So the NJ Cup is definitely the right place to remind the crowds how amazing the Rainmaker is! I should be more excited to see Michael Elgin back, after being absent due to injury, but I just don't feel his character even though he's crazy talented. It's probably easy for me to predict that Okada is going to win this match and hopefully go VERY far in this tournament (it would be nice to get to see Nicholls v Okada in the 2nd round) and I would love to see a longer version of the Jay v Okada match we saw at WK but with title implications. Away from the fact that Okada is one of my picks to win, I think the biggest question for me is: are the balloons and red hair returning?
Mikey Nicholls v Hikuleo
After Hikuleo returned at Honor Rising, I was pretty surprised that they put him in his first tournament so quickly but I'm also mega excited. The exact same thing can be said for Mikey Nicholls (formerly NXT Nick Miller) who was announced as the newest member of Chaos and then as a participant of the NJ Cup. I guess this match is sort of proving ground for both guys to really gain some momentum in the company because I don't see either guys winning the whole thing. There's going to always be a size advantage to Hikuleo because he is so damn tall but has the same agility of his brothers. However, Mikey is really fast and, even though he's a tag team specialist, he can really hold his own in the ring and we've seen that time after time. If both guys can make use of their advantages like size and speed, it's going to really help them in this match. This match really shows that NJPW are focusing on their new talent and hopefully the two guys show the crowds what they're really made of and, in terms of Nicholls, what we've not been able to see. I love me a good first time match up!
So, that's part one of my run down on the participants in the cup and my mouth is already salivating. I can promise you though: it get's better and the names get bigger so keep an eye for the second part ft Tanahashi, Naito, Minoru Suzuki and Kota Ibushi!
Until next time,
Bye!
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