NJPW New Japan Cup 2018 Results: Semifinal Matchups Set After Round 2

The semifinals of the New Japan Cup tournament are set following the conclusion of Thursday's round-two action.

Zack Sabre Jr. became the first man to defeat Kota Ibushi in New Japan Cup competition, thanks to a referee's decision that may have been controversial but necessary given the predicament the Golden Lover found himself in.

The Brit will face Sanada, who defeated Toru Yano Thursday, in the next round of competition.

Juice Robinson vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi is the other semifinal match, but before they could do battle, they would have to put their competitiveness aside and unite—along with Michael Elgin—to battle the IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii and Chuckie T.

Though dissension was evident, Robinson and Tanahashi coexisted long enough to pick up the victory.

The young lions were in action, Minoru Suzuki and Tetsuya Naito jump-started a rivalry over the IWGP Intercontinental Championship that should be fun, and Bullet Club battled Suzuki-Gun in an explosive Eight-Man Tag Team match to round out another solid night of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. 

Ren Narita and David Finlay vs. Shota Umino and Tomoyuki Oka

The young lions kicked things off Thursday as Shota Umino and Tomoyuki Oka battled Ren Narita and his partner, the more established second-generation competitor David Finlay.

The tags were quick between Finlay and Narita as they worked over Umino, who had arrogantly tagged himself into the match moments earlier.

Umino finally made the hot tag to Oka, who took the fight right to Finlay, tossing him overhead with a belly-to-belly suplex.

The Boston Crab punished the lower back of Finlay, an area of the body recently injured during a match with IWGP United States champion "Switchblade" Jay White.

It was not enough to put Finlay down as he delivered a lariat and stunner to put a very game Oka away.

Result

David Finlay and Ren Narita defeated Tomoyuki Oka and Shota Umino

Grade

C

Analysis

A very basic tag match to kick the show off, but that should be expected given the young lions involved.

Oka had the fans on his side late, but Finlay was clearly going over here and rightfully so.

An energetic close to the match helped its overall grade and got the show off to a solid enough start.

Toa Henare and Togi Makabe vs. Yoshi-Hashi and Hirooki Goto

Toa Henare, fresh off a victory Wednesday, teamed with Togi Makabe to face the NEVER openweight champion Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi, both of the faction Chaos.

Henare took the fight to Goto but soon found himself on the receiving end of a double-team that grounded him. Goto and Hashi isolated Henare, keeping the less-experienced competitor away from his partner.

Henare powered his way out of the assault and made the hot tag to Makabe, who put Goto down and nearly scored an upset pinfall over Goto.

Goto planted Makabe with an ushigoroshi, creating space for himself and allowing him to tag Hashi in.

Hashi and Henare paired off, with the latter flying off the top rope with a shoulder block that grounded his opponent.

Henare and Makabe executed a flurry of double-team maneuvers on Hashi, leaving him reeling.

A spinebuster from Henare scored him a quality near-fall, but Hashi countered with a western lariat for one of his own. The Butterfly Lock followed and Henare had no choice but to submit, bringing the match to a disappointing end for the young star.

Result

Hirooki Goto and Yoshi-Hashi defeated Henare and Makabe

Grade

B

Analysis

Henare continues to impress when given the opportunity. He has an energy about him when he enters the ring that suits his style. His speed and strength make him a dangerous competitor.

If he could get a little momentum for himself, either in singles or tag team competition, he could be a force to be reckoned with—as Goto and Hashi found out here.

The experienced Chaos team went over, and that is the right move in this instance, but Henare will need a signature win one day if he is to be taken seriously as a contender in New Japan.

Eight-Man Tag Team Match: Bullet Club vs. Suzuki-Gun

Suzuki-Gun's Davey Boy Smith Jr., Lance Archer, Taichi and Takashi Iizuka battled Bullet Club's Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Yujiro Takahashi and Tanga Loa in a huge Eight-Man Tag Team match.

The dislike between the teams led to a wild, chaotic battle in the ringside area.

Though the action continued on the floor, Loa and Smith took their fight to the ring, ensuring the official would not throw the match out right off the bat. Archer joined in, helping his Killer Elite Squad partner punish Loa.

The villains of Suzuki-Gun continued their assault on Loa as all competitors returned to the squared circle. A side suplex allowed him to make the hot tag to Takahashi, who exploded into the match, throwing his body around the ring and at his opponents.

His momentum was cut off by Taichi, who controlled the pace until eating an inverted DDT.

Fale tagged in for Bullet Club, and Archer entered for the opposition. The heavyweights battled until Bullet Club took the fight to seven-footer in a three-on-one attack.

As the action broke down, Smith and Archer delivered the Killer Bomb on Owens to score the win.

Result

Suzuki-Gun defeated Bullet Club

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was more of a brawl than a match, but it was an entertaining one while it lasted.

Takahashi was spectacular in his brief explosion of offense, drawing a big pop from the fans and bringing an energy to the bout after several minutes of the Killer Elite Squad pummeling Loa.

Archer and Smith are great, despicable heels and proof was on display Thursday. From bullying young lions, pushing around referees and intimidating the commentary team, they are a lot of fun to watch.

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Tetsuya Naito, Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi of Los Ingobernables battled Suzuki-Gun's IWGP intercontinental champion Minoru Suzuki and IWGP junior heavyweight tag team champions El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru in a star-studded Six-Man Tag Team match.

Chants of "Naito" filled the arena as the former No. 1 contender to the IWGP Heavyweight Championship started the match with Suzuki. The showdown was a brief one as Takahashi and Bushi teamed up to bring down Kanemaru.

The action broke down and, much like the match before it, the fight spilled to the crowd. Suzuki targeted the knee of Naito, twisting it around the guardrail at a sickening angle.

Back at ringside, Suzuki blasted Takahashi with sickening chops to the chest. The popular babyface unloaded with a series of hard chops of his own, but the grizzled vet no-sold them and delivered another to Takahashi.

Sensing danger, Naito essentially sacrificed his own knee as Suzuki trapped him in a kneebar.

Takahashi was still at the mercy of the heels back in the ring but was able to deliver a headscissors to Desperado that allowed him to make a much-needed tag.

Naito exploded into the ring, still obviously hampered by his knee injury, but he took the fight to the tag champions. That is, until Desperado took him down and tagged Suzuki back into the match. The intercontinental champion unloaded on Naito, but an enzuigiri kept Los Ingobernables in the contest.

Late in the match, the action again broke down and this time Suzuki was able to catch Bushi with a Gotch-style piledriver to score the win.

After the match, Suzuki laid down the intercontinental title, challenging Naito to a title bout.

Result

Suzuki, Kanemura and El Desperado defeated Naito, Takahashi and Bushi

Grade

A

Analysis

There was some particularly strong storytelling here that saw Suzuki brutalize the knee of Naito and essentially jump-start a rivalry between the two of them over the Intercontinental Championship.

Suzuki, a relentless veteran who takes joy in inflicting pain, targeted the knee of his opponent but was unable to really put him down.

While he scored the win, he was taunted during the bout by Naito, who may have pushed the champion into giving up a title shot without thinking it through.

A brilliant bit of booking and a great way to kick off a feud between one of the most respected competitors in New Japan Pro-Wrestling and one of its most popular.

Six-Man Tag Team Match

Juice Robinson defeated Michael Elgin in the quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup Wednesday, and will face Hiroshi Tanahashi Friday. Thursday, though, he teamed with both of those competitors to battle IWGP heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada, Chuckie T and Tomohiro Ishii.

Despite his recent string of successes, Robinson found himself cut off from his partners, the recipient of a beating by the "Stone Pitbull" Ishii.

Elgin entered the match, and fans were treated to another hard-hitting, bone-crushing showdown between him and Ishii.

Their battle gave way to an electric exchange between longtime rivals Tanahashi and Okada that brought fans to a fever pitch.

A somersault senton from Ace stunned Okada, but the heavyweight champion came back with a flapjack.

A dropkick from Okada to his opponent led to a Cobra Clutch attempt, but Elgin broke it up. A blind tag to Robinson allowed the charismatic babyface to deliver a double-knee gutbuster to Okada for a two-count.

Robinson continued his roll, taking the fight to Chuckie T. The other four wrestlers spilled to the arena floor, allowing Robinson to deliver Pulp Friction and score the victory.

After the match, Elgin tried to play moderator for Robinson and Tanahashi, between whom there was clear tension ahead of their New Japan Cup match.

Result

Robinson, Tanahashi and Elgin defeated Okada, Chuckie T and Ishii

Grade

B+

Analysis

The tease of dissension between mentor and student Tanahashi and Robinson is a nice sell for their match Friday, as was Okada's post-match taunting of both with the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.

Any match between two babyfaces can be a tough sell because audiences do not typically want to boo a wrestler they enjoy, but creating tension and conflict between them forces the fans to pick sides.

The question is whether they will side with the legendary Tanahashi or the popular up-and-comer Robinson. Or will they split?

The match itself was a fast-paced, energetic one that allowed the key players to shine and Robinson to score another significant victory.

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Sanada vs. Toru Yano

Toru Yano upset Davey Boy Smith Jr. to advance to the quarterfinals of the New Japan Cup. His opponent, Sanada, bested Chuckie T.

Yano's win came via count-out and that finish was teased twice early on as both he and Sanada nearly lost Thursday's bout the same way.

Yano, overmatched on the surface, scored several dramatic near-falls throughout the heart of the match and utilized every underhanded method he could, including removing the turnbuckle pad and delivering a low blow.

Sanda returned the favor with a low blow of his own and applied his version of the Dragon Sleeper for the submission victory.

Result

Sanada defeated Yano

Grade

C+

Analysis

This was more comedy and high spots than anything but also a nice change of pace from some of the other matches on the card.

Yano is reminiscent of Santino Marella in WWE in that he is more about creativity and humor than traditional wrestling skill. The fans love him for it and were solidly behind him to upset Sanada, but it was not to be.

Now, the IWGP heavyweight tag team champion will head to the semifinals where he will meet the winner of the night's main event.

New Japan Cup Quarterfinal Match: Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.

Zack Sabre Jr. scored the upset of the tournament thus far when he defeated Tetsuya Naito in the first round. Thursday, he battled Kota Ibushi in the quarterfinals. Ibushi had never lost in the New Japan Cup entering the night's main event.

Chain wrestling defined the early minutes of the match before Sabre grabbed hold of Ibushi's right leg and worked it over, targeting it in an attempt to take away both strikes and speed, not to mention his base.

Ibushi was able to deliver a standing moonsault moments later, but Sabre regained control, continuing his joint manipulation to great success. He trapped Ibushi in a submission, wrapping his own arms around his neck like a boa constrictor, sucking the life out of the popular star.

A backflip kick by Ibushi created some separation that allowed him to recover. A powerbomb attempt was countered into the triangle choke by Sabre. Ibushi found the strength, though, to counter into a powerbomb.

Counter-wrestling dominated at one point, each man reversing pinfall attempts before striking took over. Sabre and Ibushi exchanged hard rights and lefts until Ibushi flattened his opponent with a sickening lariat that likely would have ended the match if he could have capitalized.

Ibushi answered a few insulting slaps to the face with a chop to the chest that knocked Sabre off his feet. The babyface attempted to end it with a moonsault, but Sabre trapped him in the triangle choke for the second time.

Ibushi again tried to counter with a powerbomb, but Sabre countered into a submission. Ibushi would find himself trapped in a seemingly inescapable submission, his arms trapped behind him and his face shoved hard into the mat.

Ibushi refused to submit to the point that the official stopped the match, awarding the victory to Sabre.

Result

Sabre Jr. defeated Ibushi

Grade

A

Analysis

The main event of Thursday's show was a masterclass in drama through mat wrestling.

Everything Ibushi attempted was either neutralized or countered by Sabre, who was brilliant as he slithered his way out of and into submissions like a calculating snake. He was superb as he outwrestled and outclassed one of the best in the world en route to a spot in the semifinals.

There will be some left heartbroken over Ibushi's early exit, but given his ongoing story with Kenny Omega and their reunion as The Golden Lovers, he will be just fine, if not in a higher-profile position than he would have been had he won the New Japan Cup.

In a backstage interview after the match, Sabre balked at the idea he was the dark horse.

Following a hard-fought but convincing win, his days as the dark horse should be a thing of the past.