New Japan wrapped up Round 2 of the New Japan Cup today, finishing setting up the Quarterfinals but there were changes to today’s card and the next round because Will Ospreay is now out of the tournament. He suffered a shoulder injury in his Round 2 win and is out indefinitely. It seems the man he beat to advance, Mark Davis, will take his place and be tasked with stopping EVIL from reaching the semifinals.
Today’s event was held at ZIP Arena Okayama in Okayama and can be watched on demand on New Japan World.
The announced paid attendance was 1298.
Match 1: Aaron Henare beat Yuto Nakashima by submission. This was to have been Nakashima & Oskar Leube vs. Henare & Jeff Cobb but Leube was removed from the event and Cobb was a replacement for Ospreay in Match 2.
Match 2: Jeff Cobb & Aussie Open beat Ryohei Oiwa, YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto. Mark Davis pinned Oiwa after Waterslide.
Matxh 3: TAKA Michinoku, DOUKI, Yoshinobu Kanemaru & Taichi beat Dick Togo, Sho, Yujiro Takahashi & EVIL. Taichi pinned Togo after Seitei Jujiro.
Match 4: El Phantasmo, Chase Owens & KENTA beat Jado, Ren Narita & Tama Tonga. KENTA beat Jado with GAME OVER.
Match 5: Lio Rush, Yoh, Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano & Tomohiro Ishii beat BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, SANADA. Shingo Takagi & Tetsuya Naito. Yoh pinned BUSHI after Direct Drive.
Match 6: New Japan Cup Round 2: David Finlay beat Great-O-Khan. As a result, Finlay advances to the Quarterfinals.
Main Event: New Japan Cup Round 2: Shota Umino beat Zack Sabre Jr. As a result, Umino advances to the Quarterfinals. No repeat tournament victory for Sabre.
As a result of today, the final Quarterfinal will be Finlay vs. Umino.
The next event is Friday at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo with the start of the Quarterfinals. The full card including 2 Quarterfinals matches is TBA. Live streaming on New Japan World will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.
