Welcome to Fightful.com's live coverage & discussion for NJPW New Japan Cup Day 1. We'll be bringing you full, match by match coverage of every bout on the card. You can also send in your feedback on our Disqus boards below!
NJPW New Japan Cup Opening Round Match
Michael Elgin def. Tomohiro Ishii
NJPW New Japan Cup Opening Round Match
Juice Robinson def. Yujiro Takahashi
Chaos (Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi) def. Kota Ibushi & Chase Owens
Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka) def. Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Toa Henare
Suzuki-Gun (El Desparado, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) def. Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, Bushi & Sanada)
Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer) def. Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tonga Loa)
Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Chuckie T & Toru Yano) def. David Finlay, Katsuya Kitamura & Tomoyuki Oka
Tetsuhiro Yagi, Syota Umino & Tomoyuki Oka vs. Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Chuckie T & Toru Yano)
The match begins with Oka attacking Goto with a plethora of forearm striks, Goto recovers and he drops Oka with a shoulder tackle. Yagi tags in and Goto attacks him before T tags in, T then hits Yagi with a drop kick as a brawl breaks out between both teams. T nails Yagi with a belly to back suplex for a near fall, Goto tags in and he drops Yagi with a back elbow strike for a near fall. Goto slows things down further by holding Yagi in a chin lock, Yano tags in and he removes the turnbuckle pad before throwing Yagi into the exposed corner a few times. Yano would then hit Yagi with a hip toss for a near fall, Yagi recovers and he nails a charging Yano with a drop kick.
Oka tags in and he drops Yano with a back elbow strike, Oka then hits Yano with a belly to belly suplex for a near fall. Goto hits the ring and he assaults Oka with forearm strikes, Oka catches Yano with a suplex before T and Umino tag into the match. Umino corners T before landing a running back elbow strike, Umino nails T with a missile drop kick for a near fall. T recovers to crack a charging Umino with a knee strike, T misses a moonsault and Umino rolls him up for a near fall. T nails Umino with the Awful Waffle for the three count.
Winners: Chaos (Hirooki Goto, Chuckie T & Toru Yano)
Bullet Club (Bad Luck Fale & Tonga Loa) vs. Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
The match begins with Archer jumping Loa from behind and that starts a brawl between both teams that spills to the arena floor, Fale throws Smith Jr into the barricade as Loa goes after Archer. Fale and Smith Jr take their fight into the crowd, Loa rams the back of Archer into the ringside edge before getting back inside of the ring. Loa attacks the back of Archer with a series of forearm strikes, Archer recovers and he nails a charging Loa with a Bossman Slam. Smith Jr tags in and he stomps away on a downed Loa, Smith Jr slows things down by holding Loa in a chin lock. Smith Jr corners Loa and he assaults him with strikes before tagging Archer in, Archer and Smith Jr hit Loa with a double slam.
Archer waits for Loa to get up before dropping him with a shoulder tackle, Archer starts choking Loa with his handkerchief. Smith Jr tags in and he catches Loa with a gut wrench suplex for a near fall, Smith Jr again applies the chin lock to Loa. KES miss their version of the Hart Attack and Loa nails Smith Jr with a DDT before tagging Fale in, Fale quickly cleans house on the opposing team. Archer and Fale both start choking each other in the middle of the ring, Fale then misses a charge in the corner and is nailed with a double shoulder tackle by KES. Smith Jr nails Fale with a leg drop for a near fall, KES go for the Killer Bomb and Fale escapes to hit Smith Jr with a shoulder tackle. Loa tags in and he work with Fale to double team Smith Jr, Loa hits Smith Jr with a blue thunder bomb for a near fall.
Smith Jr recovers and he nails a charging Loa with a boot to the face, Smith Jr follows that up with a neck breaker on Loa for a near fall. Loa recover and he catches Smith Jr with a spear, Archer hits the ring and Loa tries fighting both opponents off. KES nail Loa with a Hart Attack for a near fall, KES then hit Loa with a Killer Bomb for a three count.
Winners: Killer Elite Squad (Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer)
Los Ingobernables (Tetsuya Naito, Bushi & Sanada) vs. Suzuki-Gun (El Desparado, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
The match begins with Kanemaru jumping Bushi from behind to double team him with Desparado, Bushi fights back and takes out both of his opponents. Bushi would then stomp away on a downed Desparado until Naito tags in, Naito and Bushi would together to stomp away on Bushi. Sanada tags in and he nails Desparado with elbow strikes to the back of the neck, Kanemaru distracts Sanada and Desparado rakes his eyes a short time later. Sanada recovers and Kanemaru drags him out of the ring and throws him into the barricade, a brawl breaks out between both teams on the arena floor. Sabre Jr bends the arm of Naito in some unnatural ways on the arena floor, Kanemaru and Sanada broefly take their back into the backstage area.
Desparado gets Sanada in the ring before attacking him with a note pad, Sanada and Desparado have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring. Sabre Jr tags in and he wrenches away on the neck of Sanada, Kanemaru tags in and he nails Sanada with elbow strikes to the back of the neck. Kanemaru and Sanada have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring, Sanada then hits Kanemaru with a springboard drop kick. Naito tags in and he gets right into it with Sabre Jr, Naito takes Sabre Jr down with a hip toss before landing a drop kick. Naito drops Sabre Jr in the corner before landing a slingshot drop kick for a near fall, Sabre Jr recovers and he lands an overhead kick to the arm of Naito before applying the octopus stretch.
Bushi gets in the ring and he breaks up the submission attempt on Naito, Sabre Jr would then attack Naito with some European uppercuts. Naito recovers and he catches Sabre Jr with a pop up spine buster, Bushi tags in and he nails Sabre Jr with a missile drop kick. Sanada hits the ring to double team Sabre Jr alongside Bushi, a brawl breaks out between members of both teams and that spills to the arena floor. Bushi catches Sabre Jr with a mule kick, Bushi misses the MX and Sabre Jr counters with a modified STF and a tap out follows.
Winners: Suzuki-Gun (El Desparado, Zack Sabre Jr. & Yoshinobu Kanemaru)
Hiroshi Tanahashi, David Finlay & Toa Henare vs. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka)
The match begins with Suzuki-Gun jumping their opponents before the bell sounds and a brawl breaks out that spills all over the place, Suzuki attacks the injured knee of Tanahashi in the ring. Tanahashi fights back and he catches Suzuki with a few strikes, Iizuka and the rest of the competitors hit the ring. Finlay and Henare drop Iizuka with a double shoulder tackle, Finlay nails Iizuka with a running European uppercut in the corner. Suzuki interferes and he locks Finlay in a triangle choke while using the ropes, Taichi and Tanahashi brawl into the crowd. Iizuka takes Finlay into the crowd while attacking him with a chair, Suzuki is also attacking Henare with a chair.
Suzuki then focuses his attack on Finlay before Iizuka works him over in the ring, Iizuka grabs some rope and he chokes Finlay with it. Suzuki attacks Finlay again as Iizuka distracts the referee, Iizuka again chokes Finlay with the rope. Suzuki tags in and he levels Finlay with a series of strikes. Suzuki traps Finlay in the ropes while landing a series of chops, Suzuki also levels a downed Finlay with a few kicks. Finlay recovers and he drops Suzuki with a flying back elbow strike, Tanahashi tags in and he immediately cleans house on the opposing team. Tanahashi nails Suzuki with a dragon screw leg whip, Suzuki recovers and he kicks Tanahashi in the injured knee few times.
Suzuki applies the knee bar to Tanahashi and Tanahashi eventually gets to the ropes, Suzuki then applies the sleeper hold to Tanahashi. Suzuki goes for the Gotch Style Pile Driver and Tanahashi doesn’t allow it to happen before landing a sling blade, Taichi tags in and he attacks Tanahashi with a series of kicks. Tanahashi recovers and he catches Taichi with a Twist & Shout, Henare tags in and he nails Taichi with a flying shoulder tackle. Henare goes to the top rope and he nails Taichi with a flying shoulder tackle for a near fall, Henare’s partners hit the ring to triple team Taichi. Tanahashi and Suzuki would then brawl on the arena floor.
Taichi misses a super kick and Henare lands a spear for a near fall, Suzuki appears and he applies a sleeper hold to Henare. Taichi then hits Henare with a super kick for the three count.
Winners: Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki, Taichi & Takashi Iizuka)
Chaos (Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi) vs. Kota Ibushi & Chase Owens
The match begins with Yoshi-Hashi going to work on the arm of Ibushi, Yoshi-Hashi transitions to a headlock on Ibushi before dropping him with a shoulder tackle. Owens and Okada get tagged in by their respective partners, Okada drops Owens with a shoulder tackle before landing a hop toss. Owens eventually drops Okada before tagging Ibushi in, Ibushi attacks Okada with a plethora of strikes. Owens tags back in and he nails Okada with elbow strikes to the back of the neck, Ibushi tags in again and he mauls Okada with some strikes in the corner. Okada recovers and he nails a charging Ibushi with a flap jack, Yoshi-Hashi tags in and he catches Ibushi with a rolling neck breaker.
Ibushi misses a charge in the corner and Yoshi-Hashi nails him with a running chop, Ibushi recovers and he cracks Yoshi-Hashi with a drop kick. Owens tags in and he stomps away on a downed Yoshi-Hashi, Owens drops Yoshi-Hashi before landing a falling elbow strike. Owens goes to work attacking the arm of Yoshi-Hashi, Yoshi-Hashi fights back and Owens drops him with a running neck breaker for a near fall. Ibushi tags in and he applies the chin lock to Yoshi-Hashi, Owens tags in and he nails Yoshi-Hashi in the back with a top rope axe handle smash. Owens drops Yoshi-Hashi with a back breaker for a near fall. Ibushi tags back in and he levels Yoshi-Hashi with a forearm strike. Yoshi-Hashi recovers and he drops Ibushi with a mule kick followed by a lung blower, Okada tags in and Owens gets the tag as well.
Owens catches Okada with a few strikes before Okada drops him with a running back elbow strike, Okada then plants Owens with a DDT for a near fall. Okada goes to the top rope and he nails Owens with a high cross body for a near fall, Owens fights back and he nails Okada with the Jewel Heist for a near fall. Owens goes for a package pile driver and Okada escapes, Ibushi hits the ring and Yoshi-Hashi nails him with a Western Lariat. Okada catches Owens in the cobra clutch and a tap out follows.
Winners: Chaos (Kazuchika Okada & Yoshi-Hashi)
NJPW New Japan Cup Opening Round Match: Juice Robinson vs. Yujiro Takahashi
The match begins with Takahashi and Robinson having a striking exchange, Robinson traps Takahashi in the corner before landing some more strikes. Robinson drops Takahashi in the corner before missing the cannonball attempt, Takahashi capitalizes by nailing Robinson with a boot to the face followed by a lariat. Takahashi then mounts and attacks Robinson with a plethora of strikes, Takahashi traps Robinson in the ropes before landing another boot to the face. Robinson tries fighting back and Takahashi throws him out of the ring, Takahashi grabs the pimp cane and he nails Robinson with it.
Takahashi gets Robinson back in the ring for a near fall on a pin attempt, Takahashi then drops Robinson and then lands a basement drop kick for a near fall. Takahashi slows things down further by holding Robinson in a chin lock, Robinson recovers and he nails Takahashi with a back suplex. Robinson then hits a charging Takahashi with a spine buster, Robinson follows that up by clotheslining Takahashi out of the ring. Robinson would then take out Takahashi with a dive, Robinson gets Takahashi in the ring before landing a slingshot spear. Robinson waits for Takahashi to get up before landing his patented jabs, Takahashi recovers and he propels Robinson out of the ring.
Takahashi follows Robinson out of the ring so he can bite his hand, Takahashi then back body drops Robinson over the barricade and onto some chairs. Takahashi then hits Robinson with a fisherman buster suplex on a chair, Robinson gets back in the ring and Takahashi nails him wth another fisherman buster suplex for a near fall. Takahashi get Robinson to the top rope and he follows him up there until Robinson knocks him off, Robinson tries standing on the top rope and Takahashi crotches him. Takahashi nails Robinson with a top rope fisherman buster suplex for a near fall, Takahashi then catches a kneeling Robinson with a few thrust kicks. Robinson recovers and he destroys a charging Takahashi with a lariat, Robinson finally catches Takahashi with a cannonball in the corner.
Robinson follows that up with a double knee gut buster on Takahashi for a near fall, Takahashi shoves Robinson into the referee before landing a low blow and roll up for a near fall. Takahashi follows that up with a firemen slam for a near fall, Takahashi goes for Pimp Juice and he winds up landing an over the shoulder pile driver instead for a near fall. Takahashi goes for Pimp Juice again and Robinson counters by landing a left, Robinson then hits Takahashi with a power bomb for a near fall. Robinson catches Takahashi with Pulp Friction for the three count.
Winner: Juice Robinson
NJPW New Japan Cup Opening Round Match: Michael Elgin vs. Tomohiro Ishii
The match begins with Ishii applying a headlock before both competitors exchange some strikes, Ishii and Elgin exchange shoulder tackles until a striking exchange breaks out. Ishii and Elgin exchange shoulder blocks again and neither goes down, Ishii eventually drops Elgin with a shoulder tackle after another long exchange. Elgin recovers and he flattens Ishii with a power slam, Elgin gets Ishii up and he attacks him with chops. Elgin eventually drops Ishii with an elbow strike to the head, Ishii gets up ad he attacks Elgin with some chops of his own. Elgin fights back and he catches Ishii with some more strikes, Ishii recovers and he nails a charging Elgin with a power slam.
Ishii and Elgin get into yet another striking exchange in the middle of the ring, Ishii nails Elgin with a headbutt to end the exchange. Elgin recovers and he nails a charging Ishii with an enzaguri, Elgin would then slam Ishii before landing a slingshot splash. Elgin follows that up by catching Ishii with a northern lights throw, Elgin goes to the middle rope and he nails Ishii with a missile drop kick. Elgin follows that up with a falcon arrow on Ishii for a near fall, Elgin traps Ishii in the corner while landing a series of chops. Ishii gets angry and he attacks Elgin with some chops of his own, Elgin recovers and he the two exchange a ton more chops.
Ishii ends the exchange by dropping Elgin with a belly to back suplex, Elgin recovers and he catches Ishii with a suplex. Ishii gets back and he drops Elgin with a suplex of his own, Ishii and Elgin have yet another striking exchange in the middle of the ring. Elgin corners a charging Ishii before the two exchange a bunch of clotheslines, Elgin eventually drops Ishii with a clothesline. Elgin then hits Ishii with a blue thunder bomb for a near fall, Ishii and Elgin have a forearm strike exchange in the middle of the ring. Ishii goes down and Elgin goes to the top rope, Ishii gets Elgin out of the corner by landing a power bomb for a near fall.
Ishii misses a sliding lariat and Ishii nails him with a death valley driver into the turnbuckle, Elgin then hit Ishii with a top rope splash for a near fall. Elgin follows that up with a top rope falcon arrow on Ishii for a near fall, Elgin looks for a power bomb and Ishii counters with a back body drop. Elgin nails Ishii with a super kick and Ishii responds by dropping him with a spinning heel kick, Ishii charges at Elgin and Elgin quickly nails him with a uranage. Elgin gets Ishii to the top rope and he follows him up there, Ishii crushes Elgin with a step up headbutt. Ishii nails Elgin with a superplex for a near fall, Ishii catches Elgin with a flat liner followed by a series of lariats for a near fall.
Ishii and Elgin get into yet another striking exchange until Elgin drops Ishii with an enzaguri, Elgin follows that up by destroying Ishii with forearm strikes. Ishii responds by nailing Elgin with strikes until Elgin lands a roaring forearm strike, Elgin then hits Ishii with a dead lift German suplex for a near fall. Elgin then nails Ishii with a lariat for a near fall, Elgin follows that up with a spinning uranage for another near fall. Elgin then hits Ishii with a super power bomb from the top rope for another near fall, Elgin then hits Ishii with a buckle bomb. Ishii then counter a power bomb with a hurricarana followed by an enzaguri, Ishii and Elgin exchange blows until Ishii lands a headbutt.
Ishii then hits Elgin with a sliding lariat for a near fall, Elgin recovers to hit Ishii with a brain buster and half nelson German suplex. Elgin then hits Ishii with a buckle bomb, Ishii quickly recovers and he drops Elgin with a lariat from out of nowhere. Elgin recovers to hit Ishii with a sit out pop up power bomb for a near fall, Elgin then hits Ishii with a Burning Hammer for the three count.
Winner: Michael Elgin
