Will Darkness Fall on the United Empire?

While Jeff Cobb takes on EVIL, Will Ospreay must face fellow United Empire member, Mark Davis! Will Dunkzilla bow down to the Commonwealth Kingpin?

OFFICIAL RESULTS

• Ren Narita & Oskar Leube VS KENTA & Chase Owens; Kenta & Chase win.
• Tama Tonga & Shota Umino VS Zack Sabre Jr. & Kosei Fujita; Tama & Shota win.
• Taichi & Taka Michinoku VS SHO & Yujiro Takahashi; Sho & Yujiro win.
• Six Man Tag: The United Empire VS Bullet Club; The United Empire wins.
• 10 Man Tag: Chaos VS Los Ingobernables de Japon; LIJ wins.
• New Japan Cup 2023, Second Round: Jeff Cobb VS EVIL; Evil wins and advances.
• New Japan Cup 2023, Second Round: Will Ospreay VS Mark Davis; Ospreay wins and advances.

PLAY BY PLAY

New Japan Cup 2023, Second Round: Jeff Cobb w/ The United Empire VS EVIL w/ Dick Togo!

The Imperial Unit was given the first round bye thanks to the wild card lottery, so he is 100% healthy and ready for the King of Darkness! Will Cobb take Evil on a Tour of the Islands? Or will Cobb see that Everything is Evil?

The bell rings and fans rally up for Cobb. That annoys Evil but Cobb then tells Evil he’s gonna break him. Evil and Cobb circle, but then Evil points at the Empire at ringside, claiming they’re up to something. Kyle Fletcher backs off, but Dick grabs at Cobb’s foot! But Dick can’t trip Cobb, and Cobb drags Dick into the ring! Evil sucker punches Cobb! Evil headlocks, but Cobb powers up and out. Evil RAMS Cobb, but Cobb doesn’t budge! Fans fire up and Cobb smirks. Evil runs, RAMS Cobb again, but Cobb is solid! Cobb pretends he doesn’t even know what’s going on. Cobb dares Evil to try again, so Evil fires up.

But then Evil rakes the eyes! The ref reprimands, Evil runs, but Cobb runs him over! Fans fire up while Evil bails out, but Henare and Fletcher put him back in! Dick protests but the fans cheer as the House of Torture tastes their own medicine. Cobb ROCKS Evil, stalks him to a corner, then ROCKS him again! Cobb stands Evil up in the corner, whips him corner to corner hard, and Evil bounces off buckles to hit the mat! Cobb gets Dick to back off, and he brings Evil up. Cobb wrenches Evil’s arm, whips him corner to corner hard, and Evil again hits the mat! Fans rally as Cobb brings Evil up to suplex!

Fans are in awe as Cobb holds Evil up and carries him around! Then Cobb SLAMS Evil down, covers, TWO! Cobb turns Evil over to stomp him, but Dick gets on the apron. Cobb gets Dick with a made-ya-look, and then slingshots Dick into the ring! Cobb puts Dick on top of Evil, and he stands on them both! Fans fire up as Cobb surfs! The ref reprimands and Cobb “apologizes” as he steps off. Fans applaud and Evil begs for mercy. Evil apologizes and wants to shake hands. Cobb blocks the cheap shot! But then Evil rakes the eyes! Evil throws Cobb out, and RAMS him into the timekeeper’s area! Abe-san gets wiped out!

Young Lions hurry to help Abe-san but Dick removes the blue buckle pad! And Evil whips Cobb into other railing, then he gets chairs! Evil puts a chair on Cobb’s head, and hits a HOMERUN! Dick and Evil put one out, then Evil leaves Cobb behind. The Empire protests but the ref keeps them all back. Evil wants the ring count so the ref starts the count. Fletcher and Henare coach Cobb up, Cobb sits up at 7 but ends up peeling the apron skirt off as he falls over. Fans rally, the count is 13 but Cobb slides in at 14! Evil CHOKES Cobb with the House of Torture shirt! Evil throws it away before the ref sees it but that’s still shady.

Evil stomps Cobb, stomps the leg, then drops an elbow on it! Cover, TWO!! Fans fire up for the “big power” and Cobb sits up. Evil gives Cobb mocking kicks, then he avoids the body shots. Evil taunts Cobb but Cobb JABS! And forearms! And ROCKS Evil! Evil kicks but Cobb blocks it! Cobb copies Evil’s favorite play by giving the foot to the ref! Then Cobb SUPERKICKS Evil down! Fans fire up and Cobb sits up. Cobb crawls to ropes, stands up, and he runs in to CLOBBER Evil! And again! Evil swings, misses, and Cobb DROPKICKS! Fans fire up and Cobb drags Evil up again. Cobb scoops and runs Evil into a corner! Then OKLAHOMA STAMPEDE! Cover, TWO!

Fans fire up more as Cobb keeps his focus. Cobb drags Evil up, whips him to a corner, then runs in, but Evil dodges. Evil kicks Cobb low, reels him in, but Cobb fights the fisherman! Evil throws body shots, whips Cobb, but Cobb stops himself. Dick swipes at Cobb, and Evil runs in to clothesline Cobb into the buckles! Then FISHERMAN BUSTER! Evil crawls to the cover, TWO!! Fans fire back up as both men are down. Evil sits up and scowls as he drags Cobb up. Evil fireman’s carries and that’s impressive in itself! DARKNESS FALLS! Cover, TWO!! Evil is furious but the fans fire up! The Empire coach Cobb but Evil grits his teeth.

Evil slashes his throat and vows to end this. Evil drags Cobb up, spins him around, EVERYTHING- NO, Cobb blocks! Cobb throws elbows, Evil throws a knee! Evil whips but Cobb reverses, and Evil hits bare buckles! Evil staggers into the ATHLETIC PLEX! Fans rally up as Evil writhes and Cobb rises. Cobb watches Evil go to a corner, then runs in, to BACK ELBOW! Cobb fireman’s carries Evil, puts him up top, and he CLUBS away on Evil’s back. The ref reprimands but Cobb climbs up! Fans fire up as Cobb gut wrenches Evil up, SUPER GUT WRENCH PLEX!! Fans fire up while both men are down again! Cobb crawls to a cover, TWO!!

Evil survives but Cobb is too sore to be upset. Cobb grits his teeth, sits back up, and he watches Evil rise. Cobb aims from the corner, he runs in, but Evil uses the ref as a shield! Evil kicks low, suplexes, but Cobb is too heavy for the ref to hold up! The ref falls over but DICK gets in! Dick and Evil try, but Cobb fights that off! And then Cobb puts Evil on Dick to hit MAGIC KILLER!! Cover, TWO!!! GACHIMUCHI MOONSAULT!! Cover, TWO!?!? Evil survives a heavy combo and fans are thunderous! But Cobb is having fun now! Cobb drags Evil up, ripcords, TOUR OF- NO, Evil slips free! EVERYTHING- NO! Cobb slips around to waistlock!

Evil grabs at the ref! Cobb tries to lift Evil but the ref is enough of an anchor to stop that! But the ref turns around to SLAP Evil!! GERMAN SUPLEX!! Fans are thunderous as the ref tells Evil off! Cobb drags Evil up, whips him to ropes, but Dick holds Evil! Cobb runs in, but into a BOOT! Fans boo as Evil distracts the ref and Dick uses his SPOILER CHOKER! But Fletcher goes after Dick! Evil runs in at Cobb, clinches, but Cobb slips free! So Evil grabs the ref again! Evil ELBOWS Cobb, dodges Cobb, and Cobb almost hits the ref! Evil shoves Cobb INTO the ref! Evil RAKES Cobb’s eyes, and Dick has the choker!

Fletcher and Henare both grab Dick this time! Fans fire up as they carry Dick all the way up the ramp! But Evil grabs something from under the ring! Sho and Yujiro show up, they beat up on Fletcher and Henare! The full House is here! Evil sneaks around, more refs run out to stop this but they get beat up, too! Evil HANDCUFFS Khan?! Fans boo as the House has trumped the Empire! Cobb is all alone now! Fans rally for Cobb as the House flanks him, and Cobb says they’re just four bodies! He fires off hands, Dick hops on, but Cobb still ROCKS Yujiro, Sho and Evil! Evil mule kicks low, and the House starts stomping away!

Fans boo as the House puts four out on Cobb. They drag Cobb up, CLAW at his face, then double whip. But Cobb reverses to send Sho and Yujiro into each other! DOUBLE- LOW BLOW from Dick! WRENCH SHOT from Sho! PIMP CANE SHOT from Yujiro! Fans boo but Evil drags the main ref back into this. Evil then drags Cobb up, reels him in, EVERYTHING IS EVIL!! Cover, Evil wins!

Winner: Evil, by pinfall (advances to the third round)

The House of Torture used everything in their bag of tricks, every pawn on the board, because that is what it takes to stop the Imperial Unit! But will anyone be able to stop the King of Darkness from winning the cup again?

New Japan Cup 2023, Second Round: Will Ospreay VS Mark Davis!

The United Empire’s momentum has hit a wall, and they were just cheated by the House of Torture! Will the Commonwealth Kingpin and Dunkzilla be able to focus on this fight after all that? Will the Empire still be standing now that two of their own must face each other?

The bell rings and fans rally for Ospreay. Ospreay and Davis shake hands and fans applaud the sportsmanship. The two circle, feel things out, and Ospreay gives a testing kick. Davis stays up, Ospreay gives more kicks, and they feel things out. Ospreay wrenches, wristlocks, kicks, but Davis wrenches back. Ospreay rolls free and fans applaud. Davis and Ospreay reset, knuckle lock, and they go shoulder to shoulder. Davis pushes Ospreay back fast! Ospreay bridges, fights his way back up, and then rolls back to reverse the pressure on the knuckle locks. Davis turns things around and throws Ospreay up and over!

Ospreay KICKS Davis in the leg! But Davis headlocks for a THROW! They tie up again, Davis puts Ospreay on the ropes, and Red Shoes calls the break. Davis lets off and fans applaud the sportsmanship. The two shake hands again and fans applaud. The two tie up again, Ospreay headlocks, but Davis powers up. Ospreay thrashes the hold, but Davis powers up again, Ospreay holds tight! Davis throws body shots, powers out this time, and they RAM shoulders. Fans applaud as neither falls. Davis eggs Ospreay on, Ospreay runs and RAMS Davis, but Davis stays up. Ospreay tries again, but Davis CHOPS him!

Ospreay snarls and CHOPS, CHOPS and CHOPS! Davis swings but Ospreay ducks to CHOP again! Davis winds back but Ospreay ducks, only for it to be a feint! Ospreay stands up into the CHOP! Fans fire up and Davis brings Ospreay up. Davis whips, Ospreay ducks ‘n’ dodges and RANAS, but Davis blocks it! Davis THROWS Ospreay down, then runs to clothesline Ospreay up and out! Fans fire up, Davis goes out and Fletcher is back. Fletcher stays out of the way, Davis brings Ospreay up and whips him at railing. Ospreay jumps over, ROCKS Davis, then springboards, but Davis catches him! Trophy lift for a SNAKE EYES!

Davis puts Ospreay in, KNEES and CLUBS Ospreay on the apron, then KNEES and CLUBS him again! Fans hoot with Davis as he gets space. Davis runs to KNEE Ospreay off the apron! Davis then pulls the padding up! Davis puts it over Ospreay to then SENTON! Ospreay fights out of the padding but Davis goes into the snow. Fans rally up while Fletcher coaches Ospreay. Ospreay gasps as he sits up and the ring count climbs. Ospreay stands at 10, slides in the ring, and fans applaud. Davis stands on Ospreay’s head, but lets off as Red Shoes reprimands. Davis drags Ospreay up, scoops him, and SLAMS him! Kneeling cover, TWO!

Davis clamps onto Ospreay’s arm and grinds the shoulder. Ospreay endures, the fans rally up, and Ospreay fights up. Ospreay fires forearms, but Davis scoops and SLAMS him, to SENTON again! Davis clamps onto the arm again and grinds the shoulder some more. Ospreay endures, crawls forward, and gets the ROPEBREAK! Davis lets off, stands Ospreay up, but Ospreay ROCKS Davis! Davis CHOPS in return! Ospreay goes to a corner, he ROCKS Davis with a forearm, but Davis CHOPS him again! Davis eggs Ospreay on, CHOPS him again, and again, and again! Fans rally, Davis grinds his forearm into Ospreay’s face, but Ospreay gets a leg!

Davis ROCKS Ospreay, but Ospreay avoids the chop. Davis avoids the elbow to CHOP LARIAT COMBO! Davis then suplexes but Ospreay slips free to waistlock. Davis elbows free, runs, but into the Tiger Wall Kick, and ENZIGURI! Ospreay whips, Davis reverses but Ospreay handsprings and NEURALIZER! Both men are down and fans fire up! Ospreay rolls out to the apron, springboards in, and PIP PIP CHEERIO! Cover, TWO! Ospreay clutches his shoulder, stretches it out, and he brings Davis up. Davis resists the lift! Ospreay gives Davis a Kawada Kick, then a CHOP! But Davis back drops Ospreay away! But Ospreay KICKS Davis in the leg!

Ospreay grabs that leg, and the other, steps through, but Davis kicks him away. Ospreay comes back, into a CHOP! Davis wrenches but Ospreay elbows him back. Davis kicks, Ospreay blocks, KICKS the leg, then DRAGON SCREWS it! Ospreay keeps hold of the leg to step through, FIGURE FOUR LEGLOCK! Fans fire up while Davis endures! Davis pries at the hold but Ospreay puts on more pressure. Davis drags himself and Ospreay over to the ropes! ROPEBREAK! Fans fire up while Ospreay lets Davis free. Ospreay stomps the bad leg, CLUBS Davis’ neck, then whips him, only for Davis to block.

Ospreay kicks and CHOPS, then he puts the leg on ropes! Ospreay fires off forearms, runs side to side, and he dropkicks the bad leg! Davis falls over, clutching the leg, but Ospreay drags Davis up. Ospreay wrenches, grabs the leg, SHINBREAKER! Ospreay steps through again to FIGURE FOUR!! Davis endures, but he powers it over onto Ospreay! Fans fire up as Ospreay now endures! Ospreay reaches out, ROPEBREAK! Davis lets go, Ospreay crawls to the apron, but Davis hobbles over. Davis brings Ospreay up, but Ospreay HOTSHOTS him! Ospreay brings the leg through ropes, but Davis ROCKS Ospreay!

Ospreay GAMANGIRIS! Ospreay springboards, but Davis catches him again! Davis trips Ospreay up and Ospreay lands on his kingpin! Ospreay is stuck on the top rope, Davis runs side to side to TRIANGLE JUMP FOREARM! Fans fire up again and Davis crawls back to Ospreay. Fletcher cheers Davis but Henare coaches Ospreay. Davis puts Ospreay up top, climbs right up after him, and Davis SUPERPLEXES!! Both men are down and fans rally, Davis crawls to the cover, TWO!! Ospreay is still in this but Davis drags him back up. Davis wrenches and torture racks but Ospreay slips free. Davis ROCKS Ospreay!

Davis ROCKS Ospreay again, and Ospreay drops to a knee! Davis eggs Ospreay on and Ospreay ROCKS Davis back! Davis ROCKS Ospreay again! The forearms keep going back and forth, but Davis ROCKS Ospreay and Ospreay wobbles! Ospreay snarls, he ROCKS Davis but Davis ROCKS him again! Ospreay now KICKS! Davis still throws forearms but Ospreay kicks! Davis gets the edge and he DECKS Ospreay! But Ospreay roars and stands up to KICK, KICK and KICK! Fans fire up, Ospreay runs to KICK Davis’ leg out! Ospreay storms up on Davis, brings him up, but Davis swings! Ospreay blocks, ROCKS and ROLLING ELBOWS!

Ospreay runs, LARIATS, but Davis stays up! Ospreay runs to LARIAT again, but Davis just roars! SUPERKICK! LARIAT!! Davis falls and fans fire up again! Ospreay rolls his way back to the apron and climbs a corner. BLINDSIDE CHEERIO! Davis falls but Ospreay isn’t done! Ospreay prepares his arm, runs in, but into a LARIAT from Davis!! Fans rally up again while both men are down. Davis drags Ospreay up, but Ospreay blocks the lariat! Davis blocks the superkick to DECK Ospreay! Then Davis deadlifts Ospreay into the torture rack, but Ospreay slips off into a CRUCIFIX DRIVER! TWO!!

Ospreay hurries, springboards, OSCUTTER!! Cover, TWO!?! Davis survives and fans are thunderous! Ospreay roars, he prepares the arm again, but Davis ducks the Hidden Blade! Ospreay blocks Davis’ haymaker, mule kicks, then blocks the discus to HOOK KICK! Ospreay roars but Davis ENZIGURIS him down! Fans are thunderous again as Ospreay and Davis go to opposite corners. Davis stands, he runs in, and he CLOBBERS Ospreay in the corner! Davis then drags Ospreay up the corner, and reels him in! Ospreay fights free to GAMANGIRI! Davis wobbles up top, Ospreay climbs up after him.

Fans fire up as Ospreay stands Davis up, but Davis HEADBUTTS Ospreay! TOP ROPE LARIAT!! Both men hit the mat but Davis stands up! Off comes the elbow pad! Davis runs and runs and LARIATS Ospreay inside-out!! Cover, TWO!?!? Fans are thunderous again as Davis drags Ospreay up. But Ospreay SLAPS away from all sides! Davis just CHOPS Ospreay back down! Davis gets the ankles, Close Your Eyes and Count to F@#$!!! Cover, TWO!?!?!? Ospreay survives and no one can believe it! Davis just pounds the mat and fires himself back up. Davis runs side to side to SLIDING FOREARM Ospreay in the corner!

And then a wrench and a torture rack, but Ospreay slips off! Underhooks, but Davis powers Ospreay up and over! BACK DROP BRIDGE! TWO!! Davis swings, Ospreay spins him, underhooks and lift, STORM DRIVER!! Cover, TWO!!!! Davis fires up, roars, but then he drops to a knee! HIDDEN BLADE!!! Cover, Ospreay wins!!

Winner: Will Ospreay, by pinfall (advances to the third round)

Dunkzilla’s body couldn’t keep up with his fighting spirit, and the Aerial Assassin takes him out! But now, that means Ospreay will be facing Evil in the next round! Will the King of Darkness soon pay for what he did here tonight?

As for Ospreay, he finally realizes Khan’s cuffed to the railing from last time. He has no answers, though, so he tells Khan to wait there. Ospreay gets the mic and fans cheer. Ospreay waits for them to calm down, and then he says, “EHIME~!” Fans cheer the shoutout, and Ospreay asks in Japanese, “Everyone, did you enjoy tonight?” They cheer because they did. “One more time, one more time. Did you enjoy tonight?” The fans cheer again and Ospreay says, “Awesome, awesome. Mark Davis, amazing pro-wrestler, huh?” The fans cheer because that’s also true. “Mark Davis, thank you so much!”

Ospreay also says that the United Empire is the most powerful faction in NJPW today! “But, but… We must win the New Japan Cup. And who is gonna win the New Japan Cup? OSPREAY WILL!” Fans cheer in agreement there. “Next up, Evil! SHOPPAI! (SALTY!) House of Torture! SHOPPAI!! Ospreay will take down Evil!” Fans love hearing that! “Because my name is WILL! OSPREAY! And I am on! Another! Level!!” Mic drop from the Commonwealth Kingpin, and everyone puts the crowns up. Will Ospreay be the one to tear down the House in the quarterfinals?

My Thoughts:

What a four day stretch of the New Japan Cup from Friday to now. And this fourth day was a great one, just like the others. Cobb VS Evil being overbooked should’ve been expected since we’re talking the House of Torture, but at the same time, it had to happen. We can’t have United Empire VS United Empire twice, so Cobb had to fall, and being cheated that hard was the best way to do it. It protects Cobb, it puts heat on Evil, and adds to the motivation for Ospreay beating him next round. Ospreay and Davis had a great match, and Davis looked awesome even in losing, but between the two, of course Ospreay wins.

The quarterfinals on this side of the bracket looks awesome. Ospreay VS Evil, Naito VS Sanada, I feel like each of those could go either way. Naito is more likely than Sanada, and Ospreay is more likely than Evil, but we just saw the House really pull out all the stops. They could do that again to screw Ospreay and then we get Naito VS Evil, a rematch from the 2020 New Japan Cup Finals, something that’d be really strong for Naito’s story of building back to the top.

My Score: 8.8/10