Uncontrollable Charisma, Submission Master, who will win the New Japan Cup?

NJPW’s biggest New Japan Cup field is now down to two! Tetsuya Naito and Zack Sabre Jr. meet again, who will hold that trophy high?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• BUSHI VS Kosei Fujita; Bushi wins.
• 10 Man Tag: Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, Jado & The Guerrillas of Destiny VS Bullet Club; Bullet Club wins.
• Six Man Tag: Chaos VS Suzuki-Gun; Suzuki-Gun wins.
• El Desperado & TAKA Michinoku VS SHO & Yujiro Takahashi; Sho & Yujiro win.
• 8 Man Tag: Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma VS The United Empire; The United Empire wins.
• Hiromu Takahashi & Shingo Takagi VS EVIL & Dick Togo; Hiromu & Takagi win.
• 8 Man Tag: Kazuchika Okada, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Satoshi Kojima & Tiger Mask VS Tatsumi Fujinami & Strong Hearts; Okada, Tanahashi, Kojima & Tiger Mask win.
• 2022 New Japan Cup Finals: Tetsuya Naito VS Zack Sabre Jr; ZSJ wins the New Japan Cup and will challenge Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.

PLAY BY PLAY

10 Man Tag: Ryusuke Taguchi, Master Wato, Jado & The Guerrillas of Destiny VS Bullet Club!

The Ace tried but he couldn’t help the #JadoAvengers defeat Chase Owens, Bad Luck Fale, Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo & Gedo. Will they do whatever it takes to finally win? Or is this their last chance?

Since we’ve seen Jado’s team be the aggressors every time before, Bullet Club rushes out after them! They brawl at the ramp, ELP after Taguchi, Fale after Jado, Taiji after Wato, and Chase Owens after Tama, but Tama turns it around on Chase! The bell rings to put this on record, ELP ROCKS Taguchi, then again! Wato goes after Taiji but ELP ROCKS Wato! Jado rakes Gedo’s eyes then CLUBS him on the back! Taiji is after Taguchi, ELP ROCKS Wato again, Fale brawls with Loa. ELP puts Wato in, Taiji puts Taguchi in, and they have Six or Nine in opposite corners. Taiji rakes eyes, ELP CHOKES Wato, the ref reprimands them both.

Taiji and ELP mock Taguchi’s love of baseball by using baseball hand signs to signal to each other. They coordinate, whip Six or Nine at each other, but the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag champs do-si-do to HIP ATTACK! Then they do signals, Wato whips ELP into a HIP ATTACK! And then Taguchi whips Taiji into the back elbow, uppercut and sobat! Six or Nine double whip ELP, double drop toehold and double basement dropkick! Fans fire up as ELP flops! Taguchi DECKS Chase off the apron and Wato keeps on ELP with a KICK! ELP staggers to the corner, Wato stomps him down, then digs his boots in.

Taguchi adds his boots, the ref counts, and they let off at 4. ELP crawls but Wato brings him up to ROCK with a forearm. Wato whips, ELP reverses and Chase gets a cheap shot in! Wato DECKS Chase, ELP CLOBBERS Wato! ELP DECKS Taguchi, then drags Wato away while Taiji goes after Taguchi! ELP wraps Wato’s arm around ropes, and CLAWS Wato’s back! Tag to Taiji, he hops up and ELP holds Wato, so Taiji can hop down and CLAW Wato! Taiji drags Wato up, brings him around, snapmare and uppercut! Taiji drags Wato up, scoops and SLAMS him, then Gedo gets in to distract the ref.

Tag to Fale, and all of Bullet Club stands on Wato’s back! The ref keeps Loa back, Tama rushes in but Chase intercepts! Chase whips Tama into railing! Taiji and ELP finally hop off before the ref sees. Loa coaches Wato from a neutral corner, but Fale DECKS him! ELP chokes Wato in the corner! Tag to Gedo, ELP and Chase pull Wato’s ears, and then Gedo mugs Wato. Gedo snapmares Wato, and stands on his face! Gedo scrapes his sole on Wato’s face! Then he drops a fist! Cover, TWO! Fans rally up but Gedo argues with the ref. Gedo tags Chase and Chase drags Wato up while fans rally.

Chase scoops, SLAMS and says, “SUCK IT!” Rolling knee drop then cover, TWO! Another cover, TWO! Chase kicks Wato in the side, then clamps onto his shoulder. Fans rally and Wato throws body shots, but Chase headlock punches! Chase runs, but he fakes out Wato’s dropkick! The Crown Jewel is too smart for that! Chase tells Tama and Loa to “SUCK IT!” before he brings Wato up. But then Wato breaks free to elbow, uppercut and SUPERKICK! Fans fire up while both men are down! Wato crawls, hot tags to Tama and ELP! The Good Bad Guy rallies on Bullet Club then fires off hands on ELP!

Fans fire up but ELP kicks low! ELP whips, Tama reverses and CLOBBERS ELP! Back elbow, then SUPER- NO, ELP ducks the punch and runs, into Tama’s back drop! Fans fire up as Tama throws off the vest! But Taiji kicks low and whips. Tama reverses, then STINGER SPLASH! And STINGER SPLASH for ELP! BULLDOG LARIAT COMBO! But Chase knees Tama and CLUBS him down! Chase runs, into Loa’s SPEAR! Fans fire up and Tama sees ELP stagger up. Tama runs in, but no Gun Stun! Tag to Gedo and he throws JAB after JAB! But then Tama DECKS Gedo! Tama drags Gedo up and reels him in, and Jado wants in!

Fans fire up and Tama tags Jado! Jado wants Gedo to get up! Fans rally but Gedo JAWBREAKERS! Gedo laughs at Jado, but Jado blocks the superkick! Jado spins Gedo to LARIAT! And LARIAT! And LARIAT! Fans stay fired up as Jado drags Gedo back up. Jado puts Gedo through ropes, but here comes Fale! Fale clamps onto Jado’s shoulders but the ref reprimands. Tama CLUBS Fale! Fale grabs Tama and Loa in choke grips! They break free, Tama dropkicks Fale, and Loa clotheslines Fale OUT! GoD double whip Gedo, body shot to KICK and BIG back suplex! Jado covers, Taiji & ELP break it!

GoD go after Cutest Tag Team, but Taiji rakes Tama’s eyes and ELP pokes Loa’s eyes! ELP & Taiji throw them out, then want fans to rally up. Taiji & ELP build speed, but Wato FLYING UPPERCUTS Taiji and Taguchi MISSILE HIPS ELP! ELP & Taiji bail out, Taguchi and Wato DOUBLE PLANCHA! Fans fire up again and Taguchi even chokes Taiji with his shirt! But Fale throws Taguchi down! Jado gets Gedo in the CROSSFACE! Gedo grabs for his jacket but the ref takes that away from him! But Chase gets in to C-TRIGGER! The ref misses all of that and Gedo covers! Bullet Club wins again!

Winners: Bullet Club, by pinfall

That’s 4-0 for this Bullet Club formation! Is there no stopping them? Will the Jado Avengers never have justice?

2022 New Japan Cup Finals: Tetsuya Naito VS Zack Sabre Jr!

The Uncontrollable Charisma pinned the Rainmaker while the Submission Master put the Rampaging Dragon to sleep. Both men have held this tournament’s trophy, but only one can have it again. Who wins THE New Japan Cup to go after THE IWGP World Heavyweight Champion?

ZSJ sarcastically says he has all the time in the world as Naito takes off his elaborate entrance attire. So Naito takes even more time just to mess with him. The bell rings and fans rally up, “NA-I-TO!” “Z S J!” Naito and ZSJ stare down, circle as ZSJ eggs Naito on, and then they tie up. ZSJ powers Naito back to ropes, hooks the arms on the rope, but Red Shoes calls the break and ZSJ lets off. Naito keeps cool, and circles with ZSJ. Naito powers ZSJ to ropes now, Red Shoes calls for the break and Naito lets off. They circle again, feel out the knuckle locks, and ZSJ rolls, wrenches and wristlocks to then wrench again.

Naito spins through to wrench and hammerlock but ZSJ drop toeholds. ZSJ floats to a headlock, but Naito slips out the back and floats around to a headlock. ZSJ kicks free before it’s a cover, and fans applaud the reset. Naito and ZSJ circle again as the fans rally up. They knuckle lock, Naito breaks one to wrench the other but ZSJ hooks a leg. Naito keeps on the wristlock but ZSJ rolls and spins to trip Naito. ZSJ drags Naito back up but Naito trips ZSJ. Naito wants the toehold but ZSJ counters with an ARMBAR, but Naito rolls it to a cover, ONE! Fans cheer as the two reset again. Naito smirks as he and ZSJ circle again.

They tie up, ZSJ headlocks, but Naito powers out. Things speed up and Naito arm-drags, but ZSJ arm-drags back! They both go for an arm-drag and that cancels out! Fans cheer while both men sit on the mat. ZSJ and Naito get up at the same time, arms still hooked. They tell the other to let go first, but then Naito pats ZSJ on the shoulder and they both let off. And then Naito kicks ZSJ low! ZSJ kicks but Naito blocks and CLUBS the leg! Naito RANAS ZSJ to ropes then strikes his pose. Fans fire up while ZSJ checks his leg. Naito drags ZSJ up, snapmares and digs a knee in with the chinlock.

ZSJ endures but Naito pulls back more. ZSJ pries at the fingers, Naito digs his knee in. ZSJ grabs Naito’s nose but Naito digs his forearm into ZSJ’s face. Red Shoes reprimands them both, but ZSJ pries at fingers again. Naito elbows ZSJ in the head! Naito has a knee on the cover, ONE! Naito drags ZSJ back up to CLUB him down! And again, and then the turn, only for ZSJ to turn it around and trip Naito! ZSJ hooks the legs up, and DOUBLE STOMPS the knees! Fans applaud while Naito bails out. Red Shoes checks on Naito but he’s okay to continue. ZSJ goes out after Naito to stomp one of the legs!

Naito writhes but ZSJ gets the leg for a standing toehold. Naito endures, swipes at ZSJ but ZSJ hits a KNEE JAMMER! ZSJ goes back into the ring and the fans rally up as the ring count starts. Naito drags himself up with the railing’s help, and stands at 10 of 20. Naito shakes out his legs, hobbles his way over, and gets back in at 16. ZSJ is after Naito with another toehold, but Naito gets the ropes. ZSJ doesn’t let go so Naito fights with a chinlock! ZSJ cranks on the other leg! ROPEBREAK! Red Shoes counts, ZSJ lets off to STOMP the leg! Fans fire up with ZSJ while Naito writhes. Fans rally as ZSJ waits on Naito.

ZSJ stands on Naito’s bad leg and pulls Naito’s hair. Naito breaks free to fire off forearms! ZSJ kicks the bad leg! Naito drops but ZSJ brings him back up to get the leg. SHIN- NO! Naito fights it off, but ZSJ slips out of the DDT to get around, ROLLING COBRA! Into CALF SLICER! Naito endures, but ZSJ gets the other leg! ORIENTEERING WITH NAPALM DEATH! Naito kicks and fights, so ZSJ focuses on the Calf Slicer, but Naito rolls to the ROPEBREAK! ZSJ lets off while fans applaud, and then fans rally up again, “NA-I-TO!” “Z S J!” ZSJ gets up and runs to kick the bad leg again!

Naito gets up, ZSJ runs in again to kick the leg again! ZSJ then runs again, but Naito blocks! Naito spins ZSJ but ZSJ elbows the waistlock away. ZSJ runs, into an atomic drop! Then turn for NECKBREAKER! Fans fire up while both men are down! Fans rally, Naito and ZSJ sit up, and Naito throws forearms and kicks. Naito CLUBS, whips, then elbows ZSJ down to basement dropkick! Naito drags ZSJ up, whips corner to corner and runs in, JUMP KICK! Leg sweep, COMBINACION CABRON! Fans fire up and Naito covers, TWO! Fans rally up and Naito hobbles. Naito drags ZSJ up but ZSJ EuroUppers!

Naito turns ZSJ around, BACKBREAKER, then a cravat! ZSJ endures the neck wrench and moves around. ZSJ tries to throw Naito away but Naito holds onto the cravat! Naito keeps on the neck wrench but ZSJ moves around to the ROPEBREAK! Fans applaud, Red Shoes reprimands and counts, Naito thrashes but lets off at 4. Naito brings ZSJ up, brings him around, hammerlock but ZSJ elbows free. ZSJ dodges the back elbow to headbutt and whip. But Naito reverses, only for ZSJ to deny the DDT and kick out the legs to get a NECK TWIST! Fans rally up while Naito writhes and ZSJ catches his breath.

ZSJ drags Naito up, snapmares and basement dropkicks! Naito bails out of the ring and fans rally again. ZSJ goes out to fetch Naito into the ring. ZSJ takes a moment to catch his breath again and get in the ring. Fans rally, Naito rushes ZSJ but ZSJ catches Naito into a ROPE OCTOPUS! Red Shoes reprimands and counts, ZSJ holds but Red Shoes makes him let go! Fans applaud then rally up as Naito goes to the corner. ZSJ still takes a moment and shouts, “OI, NAITO!” ZSJ runs in to EuroUpper! And he keeps going, to BOOT Naito! Naito rebounds but into a full nelson! Naito breaks that, wrenches, and throws those heavy back elbows!

Naito drags ZSJ up to throw more elbows! Fans rally while ZSJ is down! Naito drags ZSJ back up, to throw even more back elbows! Naito puts ZSJ on the top rope, climbs up after him, SUPER STEINER! But ZSJ sunsets! Naito rolls through, but into a TRIANGLE HOLD! ZSJ throws down elbows, too! ZSJ squeezes as tight as he can and fans rally as Naito endures! Naito powers up to high stack, TWO!! ZSJ escapes, EuroUppers and PELES the arm! ZSJ whips, Naito reverses, TORNADO DDT! Fans fire up again while both men are down! ZSJ crawls to a corner, Naito waits for him to sit up.

Naito runs in, to throw more back elbows! ZSJ drops but Naito goes up. Naito brings ZSJ in, ESPERANZA! ZSJ is in a daze but fans fire up again! Naito waits on ZSJ to stand, then he runs in, but into a wheelbarrow! Victory roll, TWO! Naito has the cover, TWO! ZSJ gets a ghost pin, TWO!! Naito escapes, and he ENZIGURIS! Naito whips, ZSJ reverses then catches the flying forearm to a snapmare, EURO CLUTCH! TWO!! Naito escapes again, but ZSJ clamps on with the SLEEPER! ZSJ has the body scissors, too! Fans rally and Naito endures, but Naito’s already purple! But he gets the ROPEBREAK!

Fans are thunderous as ZSJ drags Naito back up. ZSJ scoops but Naito fights! Naito scoops to hit VALENTIA! Naito fires up and fans rally up! Naito drags ZSJ back up, wrench but ZSJ mule kicks! Scoop, but Naito DESTINOS! Naito isn’t done there, he wrenches and tilt-o-whirls, DESTIN- NO! ZACK DRIVER!! Cover, TWO!!? Naito survives and no one can believe it! Fans are thunderous again while ZSJ and Naito are both down. ZSJ grabs Naito’s hair and keeps him from getting away. Fans rally hard as ever as ZSJ pushes Naito down, too tired to drag him up. ZSJ gets to his feet, catches his breath, and drags Naito up.

ZSJ EuroUppers, and EuroUppers again! Then again! ZSJ clutches his side, and Naito grins as he kicks low. Naito throws more of those back elbows! That last one was hard! ZSJ falls over and fans fire up again. Naito waits on ZSJ to get up, and he eggs ZSJ on. ZSJ EuroUppers in return! And again! ZSJ runs to EuroUpper! Naito ends up in a corner and fans rally up more. Naito comes back to kick low, then throws another hard elbow! ZSJ drops to his knees, but Naito stands him up for another hard elbow! And another- NO! ZSJ knees low, snapmares, NECK TWIST! Naito writhes and fans rally again.

ZSJ goes to a corner, he runs in, but Naito ducks the kick to roll-up! TWO, and ZSJ EuroUppers, into a spin and hammerlock, POLVO DE ESTRELLA! TWO, and PENALTY KICK! Cover, TWO!! Naito survives again and fans are thunderous once more! But ZSJ doesn’t waste time being frustrated, he gets to a corner. ZSJ shouts at Naito as he runs in, PENALTY KICK! High stack, TWO!! Naito is still in this but both men are gasping for air. Fans keep on rallying as Naito slowly rises! ZSJ runs, goes up the corner, TORNADO DDT, to a GUILLOTINE, then scoop, SPINNING ZACK DRIVER!!! Cover, ZSJ wins!!!

Winner: Zack Sabre Jr, by pinfall (2022 New Japan Cup Winner)

ZSJ literally puts a new twist on his piledriver, and he takes the victory! Will Naito now have to wait and see what happens after Hyper Battle?

The New Japan Cup trophy is brought to the ring and presented to ZSJ by NJPW management. ZSJ kisses the trophy, raises it high, hugs it, gives it more kisses, and of course poses with it. ZSJ then sets it down so he can get the mic. “Oi, Naito, chotto matte,” he wants Naito to wait a moment. “Naito, gracias.” Fans cheer as ZSJ shows respect to his opponent. “Until next time.” Fans applaud again and Naito even raises his fist in respect back. Then in English, ZSJ shouts, “OI! The Soy Boy did it again! And I did it with 100% Vegan, George Michael approved bloody tekkers. Oi, I’m not just the best technical wrestler in the world. Very, very soon, I’m gonna be the best wrestler in the whole world!”

Because winning the Cup is nice, and it was coming home with him, but “Tsugi wa?” What’s next? “IWGP Sekai Hebi-Kyu Champion.” The WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE! ZSJ then notices the mic cord got tangled around the trophy. “Nande?” The hecc? Back in English, “Oi, but that’s all you’re getting for now. As you were.” Mic drop and the celebration begins, will Zack Sabre Jr. make Kazuchika Okada #JustTapOut and then take the title from him?

My Thoughts:

A great event to close out the tournament, and I should’ve really tried to get that Hiromu & Takagi VS EVIL & Dick match in. LIJ wins but the major development is that Hiromu brings up the NEVER Openweight Championship. His post match promo, available through NJPW’s YouTube channel, Hiromu puts it on Evil to call him out, since he also said he didn’t want anything to do with Evil anymore. A pretty clever way of setting up the title match, that is definitely happening during the upcoming Hyper Battle tour. I kept the 10 Man Tag because I thought just this once, Jado Avengers would win, but it seems a 0-4 losing streak is only going to further guarantee Bullet Club loses all the separate matches.

The New Japan Cup Finals was an awesome match, but that was to be expected. It was a great follow-up to their G1 Climax match, and I didn’t think ZSJ would get the win again. That’s big stuff for ZSJ, but I can’t be sure he beats Okada for the world title. They’re going to have a great match, but Okada has still only just begun his newest reign in this big year for NJPW, so I would think Okada keeps that going past the returning Hyper Battle event.

My Score: 8.9/10