New Japan Cup 2014 - Don't miss this train...

[Gibby]

They've announced the non-cup matches for the quarter-finals. It's mostly tag filler with all the big names. However, Yohei Komatsu and Sho Tanaka are taking each other on in the opener. Think both of them have a good future, especially Komatsu. Should be worth a watch.

 

[Gibby]

Quarter final thoughts.

Spoiler

what the fuck

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

The opener was a good match as expected, really enjoyed both guys performance inside the ring. With time they could be great additions to the main roster of NJPW no doubt. Good selling and great looks was the thing that made them stand out.

For the tournament in itself, I've just watched Shelton Benjamin v. Shibata and Fale vs. Naito and I don't understand shit. Also, Naito v. Fale was an okay match, but Benjamin v. Shibata was pure shit.

 

[Gibby]

I'll keep it in spoiler tags in case.

Spoiler

Agree on Komatsu v Tanaka. They've worked that match on house shows before and their familiarity showed. Think they're really selling Tanaka's Single Leg Cloverleaf, once he slapped it on Komatsu's bad leg it was all done for. Impressed by both lads here.

Enjoyed the tag filler, except for the Anderson match which I skipped to make something to eat. CHAOS are a guilty pleasure, always get a laugh out of Yano and Iizuka. The match with the star names was pretty cool, great tope con hilo on Okada by Desperado too. Not enough Ishii in his match. Kushida looked good in his match too.

My friend and I were just shocked as hell by the Shibata - Benjamin result. Dead silence for 15-20 seconds. Is Shibata done? It looks better in the context of the Fale-Naito result (Fale's best match yet) and the Goto-Suzuki result as it sets things up down the line, but this was a serious reversal on their tease at New Beginning. Last two matches were good, but they held back a bit as you'd expect.

It makes sense to pull the trigger on Fale now if you're ever going to do it. I see a Fale - Nakamura final, but don't know who will win or who will challenge who. I'd take a Suzuki win too, started to catch up on his career and I really rate him.

 

[Gibby]

Semis + final

Spoiler

Quite enjoyed the last night of a headscratcher of a tournament and I think things make a bit more sense looking forward now.

Nakamura was a good winner for a tournament that never really lit up; most matches were cut short and some suffered from some stylistic clashes. His hardway busting in the final looked really badass, though I worried he was going to have to cut it short. He made Fale look like he had a legit chance. Good match against Suzuki too.

Thought Fale looked pretty good in his matches, actually. His finisher is over. He was booked a bit like Bigelow in the KOTR that Bret won; easier route to the final, shorter match, heel tactics and a giant - but couldn't do it on the night.

Nakamura issued a challenge to Tanahashi. Perhaps not the most forward-thinking step ever done in pro-wrestling, but it protects the money match of Nakamura v Okada, which needs more build. That opens Okada v Fale up, which is an easy way to see how Fale handles the bigger stage whilst progressing Okada to his second year as champ. The rubber match between Naito and Ishii also looks to be on the cards, which I'd be very much up for.

People seem to be hot for Styles showing up soon but nothing announced yet by NJPW, and Styles did announce a string of indy dates in the US for a few weeks ahead of today. So I'd play down that happening for now. Goto-Shibata v Anderson-Gallows looks set. No real story direction for any juniors except maybe Devitt v Taguchi and Liger v Desperado for the masks.

Fun, but 2014 hasn't really taken off for NJPW yet, some good matches aside.

 

[Hard Hit Prince]

::SPOILERS AHEAD FOR NEW JAPAN CUP 2014 FINALS ::​

Shinsuke Nakamura, who will be coming to the U.S. for the ROH vs. New Japan tour in May, won the 2014 New Japan Cup Sunday in Japan.

Nakamura beat Bullet Club's enforcer, Bad Luck Fale, in the main event. Next up for Nakamura is challenging Tanahashi for the IWGP IC Title.

Nakamura advanced to the finals by defeating Minoru Suzuki in the semi-finals and Fale advanced by defeating Shelton Benjamin in the other semi-final match on Sunday.

Overall, New Japan set up a series of title match-ups coming out of Sunday's show:

- Future IWGP World Title match: Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale
- Future IWGP IC Title match: Tanahashi vs. Nakamura
- Future IWGP Tag Title match: Bullet Club vs. Goto & Shibata.
- Future NEVER Title match: Ishii vs. Naito

I wasn't expecting such a good performance from Bad Luck Fale, so I can tell you that the guy earned a new fan in this year's tournament. But going a match at a time, I thought that the final was the most dramatic match of the evening, but to me, the Six-Man between Naito/Ibushi/Desperado v. Okada/Ishii/Gedo was the runner-up for best match of the night.

Goto/Shibata looked good as a team. I loved the bit of the Suzuki-gun eight man tag team match up where Archer would slam a guy and his team mates would bump because of the "impact" of the slam. Tanahashi's team v. Bullet Club was also an okay showing and I'm enjoying a lot of Tama Tonga's in-ring character - a bit like a spider.

Shelton v. Fale was alright for the first semi-final, but Shelton going over Shibata was already a stretch so no way he would go over Fale. It was an okay match. Nakamura v. Suzuki was a good match with a good finish sequence - I was okay with either of them, but Nakamura v. Fale sounded a lot better than Suzuki v. Fale for sure, so in a way it was a predictable bout. The final was to me the best showing of Fale's potential as a pro wrestler. He looked like a beast and Nakamura showed everyone how big of a babyface he already is. After Nakamura's broken nose the crowd popped big for each and every move he did and he earned everyone's respect by continuing with the match and selling a lariat like a beast.

Good victory for Nakamura and an odd choice in Tanahashi again. I was expecting him to win and choose Okada and pull the trigger, but as Gibby pointed out, they are saving the money match for a bigger stage (Tokyo Dome cof cof). I don't know if Nakamura going against such a strong babyface after an already two month feud is a good thing, but I expect both of them to be respectful for each other in the hand with a good ol' hug or handshake to push even further the Nakamura's babyface turn.

As for Fale going against Okada, it will only be a test for him, at least I hope it is as I feel it would be way too soon for him to be world champ and dethrone such a strong Okada. Somehow someway I see some trouble for Bullet Club in the near future and I dig that. I'm also way too pumped up for the Naito v. Ishii 3rd match with both of them going 1-1 in single's matches and already being early candidates for Match of The Year. Overall, it was a good set of shows. A little bit unpredictable and with half the matches being really disappointing - but however with other good ones and a strong final and really good "filler" matches.