A lot has changed in New Japan since my last post previewing The New Beginning tour. Kenny Omega has officially signed with AEW – though it hasn’t been confirmed that he’s officially left NJPW, and in contrast to what I thought, Hiroshi Tanahashi was dethroned as IWGP Heavyweight Champion by “Switchblade” Jay White has achieved, who is now, arguably, the fastest risen star in professional wrestling.

Jay White won’t be competing in the New Japan Cup, and will instead meet the winner of the tournament which in recent years has seen very surprising competitors go on to face the IWGP Heavyweight Champion: Katsuyori Shibata won in 2017, and Zack Sabre Jr. won last year, with both going on to unsuccessfully challenge then-champion Kazuchika Okada in his all-time great, record setting title run. With that being said, it’s best to think that the New Japan Cup is NJPW’s most unpredictable event of the year. While you’d look at the talent involved and immediately think it’s between one of Okada, Tanahashi, Naito or even Ibushi to go on and face Jay White in Madison Square Garden at the G1 Supercard on April 6th, I can’t help but think this year we’ll see Tomohiro Ishii win the tournament and finally get his long awaited title match.

It’s going to be very interesting this year, not just for some of the match possibilities itself following Round 1, but also to see how the tournament fares with the addition of sixteen more stars, growing the tournament pool to a 32 man elimination. With such an abundance of talent, there’s an much more important feeling to the New Japan Cup this year. There’s also an international feeling to this one as well, with the additions of Mikey Nicholls and Colt Cabana to the NJPW roster for the event. Nicholls never really set the world alight for WWE as part of TM61 in NXT, so I’m intrigued to see what he’ll do in the NJC, as I expect him to dispatch Bullet Club’s Hikuleo in Round 1. If he’s to win, he’ll go up against the winner of Okada/Elgin, which would definitely bring out the best in him. On the other hand, Colt Cabana’s comedic antics should make for an interesting match against Togi Makabe and his hard-hitting style. It’s worth noting that if Cabana is to beat Makabe, he could well face Toru Yano in Round 2, should he find a way to survive KES’ Davey Boy Smith Jr. I get the idea that we’ll be seeing those two against each other in this tournament, so that should be a great laugh.

All in all, the tournament promises to give fans a great look at not just the superstars in the company, but also those who have yet to make a definitive in-ring impression. Make sure to keep an eye on the likes of Chase Owens, Shota Umino and Taichi, who could easily have a properly star-making moment during this tournament.

Early Prediction for New Japan Cup winner: Tomohiro Ishii defeats Hirooki Goto in the final.

Matches To Check Out:

With sixteen matches in Round 1 itself, it’ll take some dedication to watch every moment of the New Japan Cup this year. From looking at the match-ups on paper, I thought it might be worth giving some recommendations of matches I think will be worth watching more than most if you have little time on your hands from March 8th – 11th.

Yuji Nagata vs Tomohiro Ishii

You might not get to see it much, but Yuji Nagata is one of the best wrestlers on a roster filled with some of the very best wrestlers in the world. If you need any evidence, just watch any of his matches from the G1 Climax 27, where he was, in my mind, the MVP of the entire tournament. He’s got the luxury of going up against Ishii who is one of those you can expect to get a great match with anybody. This should be one of the best matches of Round 1 and an excellent showcase of both men.

Prediction: Ishii goes through to Round 2.

Kazuchika Okada vs Michael Elgin

Another one that can be traced back to the G1 Climax 27, where Michael Elgin had perhaps the best match I’ve ever seen him in. In the summer of 2017, Kazuchika Okada was on next level form and hadn’t been beaten since Bad Luck Fale pinned him in a tag team match in April. It was one of those matches in which Elgin looked very good and looked very close to beating Okada, and it wouldn’t have been disappointing if he had. If these two are to put on a match anywhere close to as good as that one on March 9th, we’ll be blessed. There’s only one match of the six I’ve listed here that I’m anticipating more than this one, so make sure you watch this.

Prediction: Okada wins.

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Shota Umino

This is most likely going to be a routine win for The Ace who’ll go on to face the winner of Tenzan and a mystery opponent in Round 2, but with the New Japan Cup, you can’t be too sure, so you might want to watch this for the possible surprise factor of an Umino win. The reason I’ve included this match as one to check out is because it’s a big chance for the Young Lion Umino to step up in the company and show how great of a prospect he is for the future. A good performance against Hiroshi Tanahashi, who while not in the best of shape health wise, will instantly make him a notable name on the roster.

Prediction: Tana takes the win.

EVIL vs Zack Sabre Jr

We saw this one recently in The New Beginning tour leading up to the EVIL and SANADA vs ZSJ and Suzuki match for the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships, and it was a solid match that’s got me looking forward to seeing what they can do here. I’m quite intrigued as to how this one will go result-wise, as while I initially thought this would be an instant EVIL win, the fact that the winner gets Ibushi or Naito in the 2nd Round creates an interesting story should the LIJ teammates EVIL and Naito win, or even if ZSJ and Naito win given their rivalry the last year. Regardless, I wouldn’t be surprised to see EVIL go far in this tournament.

Prediction: EVIL knocks last year’s winner out in the first round.

Hirooki Goto vs SANADA

Two more of the best in-ring performers on the roster, Goto and SANADA should put on an excellent match here, with a great contrasting balance in Goto’s hard-hitting style and SANADA’s unique athleticism for a man his size. The more I write and think about it, this could easily be the best match of the first round. It’s also an exciting prospect to think the winner could be facing Minoru Suzuki in Round 2 should he beat Satoshi Kojima. Suzuki and Goto had a callous feud throughout 2017 culminating in a brutal deathmatch at Wrestle Kingdom 12 in the Tokyo Dome. Whereas we’ve just seen what Suzuki and SANADA can do in their recent matches on the New Beginning tour. I’m looking forward to what comes from this one.

Prediction: Hirooki Goto goes through to Round 2.

Kota Ibushi vs Tetsuya Naito

This is the match I’m anticipating more than Okada/Elgin, and it’s very likely to be the best match of the first round should their recent matches in both last year’s and the 2017 G1 Climax be any example. At this point it’s worth watching these two against each other just to see what they’ll do to try and kill each other, because that’s the way it’s appeared in their previous bouts. I can’t wait. With what I’ve said above about EVIL or ZSJ in the next round, it seems like it’s fitting for Naito to go through, but this will be an important match for Kota Ibushi in New Japan now that Kenny Omega is seemingly gone and the roads aren’t leading directly to an even bigger Golden☆Lovers match than in last year’s G1.

Prediction: Ibushi defeats Naito.

While I think those are the must-sees of the first round, there is so much more that, providing you’ve got the time to watch it, you’re going to want to watch. There’s a lot of stories going into the start of the New Japan Cup and there’s bound to be a few new ones coming out of it, so make sure to check it out on NJPWWorld.com starting on March 8th.