NJPW New Japan Cup 2017 results (11/3/2017): Four first round matches, CHAOS vs. Suzuki-gun and more
The 2017 New Japan Cup kicked off this evening in the Aichi Prefectural Gymnasium, with a stacked card that was headlined by the Once in a Century Talent Hiroshi Tanahashi taking on EVIL in first round action.
Three other first round matches took place alongside the usual New Japan undercard of tag matches, and the full results are as follows:
#1 Ryusuke Taguchi & Hirai Kawato vs. El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku
The night began with junior heavyweight tag team action as the Suzuki-gun team of Despy and TAKA took on Taguchi and Young Lion Hirai Kawato.
Any seasoned New Japan fan could have guessed how this one was going to end but Kawato got some impressive offence in (including a beautiful springboard dropkick) before succumbing to El Desperado and his Guitarra de Angel.
#2 Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Manabu Nakanishi, Tiger Mask IV & Tomoyuki Oka
How many times have the Third Generation faced off against each other now?
This was more of the same from five of the most experienced competitors on the roster and the Young Lion Oka. Oka showed some impressive fire before getting hit by a Kojima Lariat for the 1-2-3.
#3 YOSHI-HASHI & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Kenny Omega & Yujiro Takahashi
Kenny Omega was in full house show mode here but such is the quality of Tomohiro Ishii that this ended up being a fun little tag match.
Ishii worked a leg injury for most of the bout (which could work into Omega and Ishii’s first round match tomorrow), but it was YOSHI-HASHI who eventually fell to Omega and the One-Winged Angel.
#4 David Finlay, KUSHIDA, Juice Robinson & Katsuyori Shibata vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI
A typical Los Ingobernables undercard tag match here, in that Naito didn’t remove his shirt and SANADA was the star.
It was SANADA who picked up the fall for LIdJ, forcing Finlay to tap out to the Skull End. The inevitable SANADA vs. Naito match is going to be absolutely fantastic, whenever it happens.
#5 Kazuchika Okada, Hirooki Goto, Gedo & Jado vs. Minoru Suzuki, Takashi Iizuka, Taichi & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
CHAOS did battle with Suzuki-gun in the final non-tournament match of the evening. Has there ever been a faction with a bigger disparity in in-ring quality than Suzuki-gun? On the one end you have performers like Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr., and on the other end of the scale you have Iizuka and Taichi.
The match was full of the usual Suzuki-gun shenanigans (which is never a good thing), but Okada pulled out the win for his team after hitting a Rainmaker on Taichi.