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“I want people to know that when professional wrestling is back, then and only then it means truly that Japanese entertainment has properly recovered” - Hiroshi Tanahashi, April 15th, 2020
These were the words of New Japan’s ace during a meeting where all the major wrestling promotions in Japan came together to meet with Japanese minister and former pro wrestler, Hiroshi Hase, to discuss support for the wrestling industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The way NJPW has handled this pandemic has put some of their American counterparts to shame, and have taken care of things in the best way possible, with safety of their talent and fans, first priority. Not forcing themselves to run shows during the awful circumstances the world has found itself in, has kept up their good will with fans and has made the announcement of their return come with huge excitement.
On June 15th, New Japan Pro Wrestling will return to action for the first time in over 3 months with the “Together Project Special”, an empty arena show streamed live on NJPW World, a mystery show sign no matches announced. This will lead into the kick off of the previously cancelled New Japan Cup. The first rounds of the tournament will take place in an empty arena setting, leading to their first show in front of an audience for the final on July 11th, which will take place in front of a 1/3 full crowd in Osaka, meaning almost 4000 fans will be in attendance. The following night, the winner of the New Japan Cup will challenge IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental Champion, Tetsuya Naito, in an event that replaces the previously scheduled Dominion event, which is traditionally one of NJPW’s biggest shows of the year.
The brackets for the tournament are largely laid out the same as the cancelled March tournament, with junior heavyweight and lower card wrestlers replacing those that are currently stuck outside of Japan.
The opening round will see four matches per show:
*The opening round of the tournament on 6/16 will feature:
-Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuii.
This will see Makabe move on, but expect a good showing from promising heavyweight Tsuji who is steadily improving.
-El Desperado vs. Tomohiro Ishii.
This is the sleeper match of the first round. Can you imagine how hard Ishii is gonna hit people after being locked up for almost four months? This is a first time singles match and could do a lot for Desperado in defeat in one of his biggest ever singles matches. We are probably going to see Ishii vs Makabe in round two and can you imagine hearing every single hard shot in the empty arena setting?
-Jado vs. Toru Yano.
Spoiler: Yano hi-jinx and roll up.
-Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomaoki Honma.
Hiromu was originally scheduled for a Champion vs Champion match with his LIJ stable match Tetsuya Naito on the cancelled Anniversary show in March, so it’s possible that Hiromu could win this tournament so they can get back to their original plan. Either way, Hiromu could go very far in this tournament and a likely quarter final clash with Tomohiro Ishii could be something really special.
The opening round matches on 6/17 will feature:
-Gedo vs. Kazuchika Okada.
This will be fantastic. Gedo will do everything he can to avoid a beating from his former protege Okada, as Gedo will go into full Memphis wrestling inspired chicken shit heel manager mode. This will be one to sit back and enjoy with a huge smile on your face.
-Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki.
What a match this will be in an empty arena setting, as these two legends clash for the first time in quite a while. Both men around the age of 50, but are both capable of still going at a high level, and will no doubt do just that after so many months off to rest. I’m expecting Suzuki to win here and move on to clash with Okada in another match that could be amazing in this unique setting. The only thing we’re gonna miss is the crowd to belt out “Kaze Ni Nare” at the top of their lungs.
-Yuya Uemera vs. Yoshunobu Kanemura.
The second half of this bracket is dominated by junior heavyweight’s and no one that will be expected to go far in this tournament, but could make for an interesting probable match with Okada in the quarter finals. Kanemura will get the win here.
-Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori.
This is a good opportunity for new young lion, the UK’s Gabriel Kidd, who stayed in Japan during the pandemic, making him one of only two non-Japanese wrestlers in this tournament. Kidd was only just debuting when things shut down, so this is a big opportunity for him to impress against the veteran Ishimori, who could do with a good performance himself after being lost in the shuffle for a lot of last year.
Opening Round Matches on 6/22:
-Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi.
The top half of the right side of the bracket is very wide opened and holds four guys that could easily win this whole thing. Upsets are usually a big part of the NJ Cup, so I expect that we will see Taichi get the win here as we move towards Ibushi & Tanahashi defending their tag titles against the Dangerous Tekkers team of Taichi & ZSJ.
-Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Kota Ibushi.
The have clashed many times in recent years, and have a very special chemistry together. ZSJ is a wrestler made for an empty arena setting, so this could be one of the stand out matches of the whole tournament. I can see Ibushi winning here to meet Taichi in the next round. It’s highly unlikely that an Ibushi vs Tanahashi match would be given away in an empty arena show.
-SANADA vs. Rysuke Taguchi.
SANADA is another favorite to win this, but questions remain over whether he is capable of being a top guy for NJPW. This should be a fun match with some comedy around the Paradise Lock, but SANADA will move on for a possible big first time singles clash with LIJ team mate, Shingo.
-Shingo Takagi vs. SHO.
This will very likely be the match of the opening round. Last year they had an incredible rivalry built around SHO’s obsession with trying to beat Shingo, leading to one of the best matches of the year in the Best of the Super Juniors. We will see the continuation here as the fiery underdog SHO, will look to take down the unstoppable Dragon, Shingo for the first time. There’s a chance we will see Shingo & Ibushi clash later in the tournament, which would be outstanding.
Opening Round Matches on 6/23:
-YOSHI-HASHI VS. Hiroyoshi Tenzan.
I really don’t expect much from this. Tenzan is very broken down, but maybe he will go on for a run as the veteran looking for one more chance at glory.
-BUSHI vs. YOH.
BUSHI & YOH are two guys just floating around in the junior division with no major direction. This should be a solid match, but can’t imagine that it will be anything that stands out.
-EVIL vs. Satoshi Kojima.
This could be a sleeper match of the first round. Kojima is still phenomenal, and his style will mesh well with EVIL. I would love to see Kojima go for a decent run in this tournament, because he is still one of the very best wrestlers in the company. A quarter final clash with tag partner, Tenzan would make for a nice story.
-Yujiro Takahashi vs. Hirooki Goto
This will be a win for Goto. There’s always a chance that Goto goes on a run in this tournament, but I can’t imagine it exciting too many people. That being said, he can go in the ring and a second round clash with either Kojima or EVIL will probably deliver something really good.
The New Japan Cup is always one that has its share of upsets, but given that NJPW will want to return with a bang and deliver a major title match, it’s possible that we see Okada win here and get his rematch with Naito. Other possibilities could see Naito meet LIJ team mates, Hiromu, SANADA or Shingo. Or could it be one of his old rivals, Tanahashi, Ibushi or even Ishii. No matter what, it’s great to have New Japan back, and gives us a glimmer of hope pro wrestling and the world in general might be beginning to return to normality.
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