Today was the second day of the New Japan Cup and the 51st-anniversary show. The show was headlined by Bishamon defending the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. There were also two tournament matches: Shota Umino versus Yujiro Takahashi and David Finlay versus Tomohiro Ishii.
In the first cup match, Umino wasted no time getting started and attacked Takahashi before even taking his entrance gear off. Takahashi ended up hanging Umino on the ropes and taking his leather pants off him so he could whip him with his own pants.
Umino got himself back into it by face-planting Takahashi and connecting with a running uppercut. He followed that with a tornado-DDT and he attempted Death Rider, but Takahashi bit his hand and Umino bit him right back.
Umino was distracted by Sho. Credit: NJPW
Sho, Takahashi’s stable mate, then tried to interfere and he distracted the referee so Takahashi could attempt a low blow, but Umino got the block up. Umino was then closing in on the win, but Sho was back on the apron distracting the referee and this time Takahashi was able to hit the low blow.
Sho kept the ref distracted, and Takahashi tried to use his walking stick, but Umino ducked and hit Sho with a Death Rider. He then hit one more Death Rider on Takahashi this time to get the win.
Umino will now face Zack Sabre Jr. in the second round.
David Finlay and Gedo. Credit: NJPW
Next, we had David Finlay facing off with Ishii in the final tournament match of the night. Finlay shocked everyone prior to the match when he came out in Bullet Club attire and had Gedo in his corner, Finlay is officially Bullet Club.
Finlay showed his new colors by attacking Ishii before the bell, but it did not serve many purposes and he ended up in a battle of forearms with the Stone Pitbull. Ishii was not selling anything Finlay had to offer, so Finlay took advantage with a thumb to the eye.
Ishii landed a power slam reversal and he then began laying into Finlay with strong chops, forearms and kicks. Finlay reversed an Irish whip and speared Ishii through the ropes onto the floor, he then dropped Ishii ribs first on top of the steel barricade.
Finlay continued his attack dropping Ishii with a back suplex on the ring apron and he then landed a blue thunder bomb for a two-count. He thought he had full control and hit a superplex, but Ishii popped right up and charged into Finlay sending him into the turnbuckle.
Ishii then returned the favor with the superplex, but Finlay popped right up too and he hit Ishii with a spear. Nobody in this match could stay in the driver’s seat, as not long after Ishii hit Finlay with a German suplex.
Finlay then blocked a clothesline from Ishii and hit him with Prima Nocta, but it somehow was not enough for three. Finlay wanted another stunner, but Ishii blocked and he spun Finlay inside-out with a clothesline.
Ishii wanted more and ran for another clothesline, but Finlay caught him with a lariat of his own. Finlay then dropped Ishii with a brainbuster on his knee and was able to get the victory. After the match, Gedo said who cares if Jay White isn’t here anymore and he said the world needs the rebel.
The newest member of Bullet Club, David “The Rebel” Finlay now faces Great-O-Khan in round two.
In the main event, Bishamon was defending their tag titles against the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion, Kazuchika Okada, and Hiroshi Tanahashi. Yoshi-Hashi and Okada started us off, but Bishamon used their tag experience to gain control. They had Tanahashi isolated on their half of the ring and were working on his right leg.
Bishamon vs. Okada and Naito. Credit: NJPW
The Ace was not going down without a fight, he battled his way back and tagged Okada into the match. Okada came in hot taking out both of his opponents, he then sat Hashi on the top turnbuckle and dropkicked him to the outside.
Okada made the mistake of going high-risk, he wanted a diving elbow but to no avail and Goto was tagged in. Goto did not get to do much, before he knew it Okada had him locked in the money clip. Hashi had to battle through Tanahashi to break up the hold and save Bishamon’s titles.
Okada wanted the Rainmaker, but Hashi interfered once again and Goto got to hit Okada with a lariat. Hashi and The Ace were both tagged in and they traded suplexes with one another, Tanahashi then hit Hashi with a sling blade. Okada and Tanahashi then began the double team, Okada hit Hashi with a diving elbow and then Tanahashi flew for High Fly Flow. Unfortunately for The Ace, Hashi got the knees up and then both men began trading forearms.
Bishamon hit Okada with a vicious double team, a reverse GTR dropping Okada face first on the knee of Goto. The tag champs then began squaring off on Tanahashi and they finished it off with a full-nelson slam into a neck breaker to retain their titles. A massive win for Bishamon over two of the faces of NJPW.
New Japan Cup 2023 Night Two Results
TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita) vs. Bullet Club (El Phantasmo and Kenta)
Fujita gets a hot tag and has all the momentum in the world, but his inexperience works against him. He tries to get fancy with some submission holds, but Kenta locks him in a LeBell lock to get the win for Bullet Club.
Winners: Bullet Club
Satoshi Kojima, Toru Yano and Tama Tonga vs. United Empire (Will Ospreay and Aussie Open)
Mark Davis and Toru Yano started the match, with Yano up to his usual tactics exposing the turnbuckle. United Empire used the numbers game to isolate Kojima and Aussie Open hit him with Coriolis to get the three-count.
Winners: United Empire
Ren Narita, El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki vs. House of Torture (Dick Togo, SHO and Evil)
House of Torture got the jump in the match by attacking their opponents before the bell and taking them out on the outside of the ring. The House tried to continue their cheating ways throughout the match, but it was not enough. Suzuki locked Togo into a sleeper and then threw him to Desperado to hit Pinche Loco and get the win. After the match, Evil was not happy and attacked the winners with chairs. He specifically focused on Narita wrapping a chair around his head and swinging another chair for the fences to take him out.
Winners: Ren Narita, El Desperado and Minoru Suzuki
Los Ingobernables de Japón (Sanada, Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito) vs. United Empire (Aaron Henare, Great-O-Khan and Jeff Cobb)
Aaron Henare finishing off Shingo. Credit: NJPW
United Empire attacked LIJ before the bell and took out Sanada and Shingo, so they could focus their attention on Naito. Jeff Cobb managed to single-handedly take out Shingo and Naito with spin cycles, and this allowed Henare to hit Shingo with a PK and Streets of Rage. Henare has pinned the former world champion to get the big win for United Empire.
Winners: United Empire
Lio Rush and Yoh vs. Los Ingobernables de Japón (Bushi and Hiromu Takahashi)
This was quite a fast-paced match and both teams were going back and forth nonstop from the start. Takahashi attempted to use the numbers game on Rush, but he was caught with the springboard stunner. Rush then flew from the top onto Bushi with the Final Hour to secure the victory.
Winners: Lio Rush and Yoh
Shota Umino vs. Yujiro Takahashi — New Japan Cup Tournament Match
Winner: Shota Umino
David Finlay vs. Tomohiro Ishii — New Japan Cup Tournament Match
Winner: David Finlay
Bishamon with their tag titles. Credit: NJPW