New Japan Cup sets the stage for MSG!

Hi guys,

With one of the biggest fields in NJ Cup history, another NJPW tournament has come and gone and what a few weeks it was! This year's New Japan Cup had a massive 32 competitors all fighting for the chance to challenge Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight title at Madison Square Garden.

The tournament started with some amazing matches on both sides of the bracket and it was only the first round. We had the amazing upset in Chase Owens beating Juice Robinson giving Owens a shot at the US title set for the final night of the Cup. Then another match with championship implications as Kota Ibushi v Tetsuya Naito stopped Naito's dream of being the first guy to hold two of the top belts in NJPW. The second round  had some of the best matches of the tournament. Taichi having a surprisingly clean match against Ishii and the giant killer Ospreay defeated Archer. However, one a stand out match but won't be for all the wrestling purist was Yano v Cabana. There were turn buckles, roles of tape and curry sachets - yes, it was that wild! I mean sometimes a bit of humor is needed in such a grueling tournament! With the quarter final, we had another shock with last year's winner Zack Sabre Jr being tapped out by Tanahashi,and However we also had some sweet matches with Okada beating Ospreay for the third time and Yoshi Hashi putting up a major fight and losing valiantly to Ishii (and hopefully showing that he's not just the disappointment of NJPW). This led up to the semi finals saw Sanada beat Tanahashi and another of my matches of the tournament which was another Chaos centred match with Okada v Ishii!

Of course, even some of the best matches couldn’t fully dampen by sadness of my two picks being out of the Cup so soon. Chase Owens and Minoru Suzuki were meant to make it to the end. Obviously, I’m not good at predicting winners. However, luckily, the final was still as exciting as ever.



As the final night came, people were waiting for the main event: Okada v Sanada. A lot of people delighted with Okada and Sanada both making the final. Lasting over 30 minutes (but barely feeling like 15), this match had everything you could possibly want! There were submissions galore, high risk top rope action and a lot of attempts to copy their opponents finisher You could see that both guys were exhausted and it played into the match perfectly. After one of the best and longest matches of the tournament, Okada finally hit the Rainmaker to get the 1, 2, 3. We got our NJ Cup winner and next challenger for White's IWGP title at MSG! Obviously, Jay White had to make his appearance and get his little monologue out, even if the people in Nagaoka didn't want him too!



So, the stage is set! We've got our MSG main event. Even though we've seen Jay v Okada twice before, the in-ring chemistry between the two is just perfect and something I could watch again and again. There's also a perfect story going into with the history between the two dating back to last January when Jay joined Chaos. Jay was never one to lie to anyone about his motives and told the Rainmaker he'd come after him, and boy he did as soon as their G1 match was announced. his victory led to October where we saw Jay betray Chaos and his leader in a plan that was in the works for a long time. The culmination was at Wrestle Kingdom when Jay beat Okada in 14 minutes, nothing close to the near 1 hr matches he's used too!

Predictions are already being made and all seem to be in favour of Kazuchika getting the gold back! People have said he has too much to lose and that he's got this fire in his gut to get back to his former glory. He also wants to finally beat Jay White on the grandest stage in America, the man who broke his trust and took his mentor Gedo. However, people seem to forget about the Switchblade who's got more to lose! He worked his way up the company from Young Lion to US champ to Heavyweight and I don't see him losing the title any time soon. It's not because of anything in the back, it's the desire and drive I see in White whenever he's in the ring. Not the desire to please them because he doesn't need or want the fans appreciation but the desire to prove everyone wrong. He wants to show that he knows he deserves to be at the top of NJPW and no haters will change that or make him doubt himself. However, that's not to say that Okada won't but up a fight, but Jay has his number with wins over the former champ.


For me, my heart always wants Jay White to win, but there's something about Okada that everyone falls in love with and they're both amazing athletes. All I can say for sure is that this MSG match is going to be brutal and, no matter who wins, it's going to be the match I'm most looking forward too. Both have so much to fight for!

Phew, what a month March has been and April is set to be as good with MSG and the Dontaku Tour! So, what was everyone's thoughts of the NJ Cup? What were your stand out matches? Who did you want to win? Are you happy with Okada winning? Like always, let me know in the comments or on social media (@Wrestling_Chat on Twitter and Wrestling Chatter on FB and WrestlingChatter96 on IG) all your thoughts!

Until next time,

Bye!