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3/18 NEW JAPAN CUP RESULTS: THE FINAL FOUR IS SET

3/18/21 Results for New Japan Cup 2021 From Shizuoka, Japan:

Gabriel Kidd vs. Yuya Uemura.  Kidd pinned Uemura after a Butterfly Suplex.

Great O-Khan and Jeff Cobb vs. Yota Tsuji and Yuji Nagata.  O-Khan pinned Tsuji with the Eliminator.  O-Khan told the audience that Will Ospreay will go on to win the New Japan Cup.

Bad Luck Fale and KENTA vs. Juice Robinson and Toa Henare.  Fale pins Henare after a Hand Grenade.   After the match, Henare walks to the locker room, and he kicks the guardrail, which goes flying, into some empty chairs.  His frustration could be a foreshadowing a possible character change to come.

BUSHI, Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi vs. Chase Owens, Taiji Ishimori and EVIL, with Dick Togo.  Naito pins Owens after hitting Destino.  EVIL stares down Takagi prior to their New Japan Cup showdown in a few days.

New Japan Cup Round 3 Match:  David Finlay vs. Jay White, with Gedo

Juice Robinson comes to ringside with Finlay.    White tried to use Gedo to gain an early advantage, but Finlay was ready for Bullet Club tricks.  Really good athletic match.  Finlay kept going for Prima Nocta (a jumping stunner) but White kept avoiding the move.   White hit a sleeper suplex.  White tried for a Bladerunner, but Finlay reversed out and hit a stunner.  White dropped to his knees.  Finlay grabbed his neck and hit an Acid Drop off the ropes.   Finlay pins White.

David Finlay moves on to the Final Four.   

Wow!  I did not expect this.   Great match!  White had a look of confusion that he could not believe that he lost.

As I said in my last report about the rise of Shingo Takagi, the same could be said about David Finlay.   Finlay has beaten Chase Owens, YOSHI-HASHI and now Jay White (possibly his biggest win in New Japan).

New Japan Cup Round 3 Match:   Will Ospreay vs. SANADA

Ospreay is playing the whiny heel very well.   He is more concerned about his broken nose and how well he looks rather than wanting to lock up with SANADA.  Ospreay dropped SANADA back first on the guardrails, and concentrated his attack on that area.  He draped SANADA over the ring apron and hit a jumping knee to his back.   SANADA almost gets counted out.   Back in the ring, Ospreay hits Pip Pip Cheerio for a two count.   SANADA goes after Ospreay's nose which enrages Ospreay.  Ospreay started stomping on SANADA's face.  SANADA trapped Ospreay's arms and pinched his nose.   Ospreay screamed and tried to retreat.   SANADA locked Ospreay in the Paradise Lock.  SANADA pushed him into the corner, and he leaned Ospreay's face on the turnbuckle.  SANADA dropkicked Ospreay in the back, smashing his face into the turnbuckle and freeing him from the Paradise Lock.  Ospreay retreated out of the ring screaming about his nose and SANADA hit him with a plancha.  Back in the ring, Ospreay went for a Storm Breaker but SANADA reversed it into Skull End.   SANADA suplexed Ospreay up and over, bracing Osperay's legs on the top rope.   SANADA dropped him with a TKO on the nose.   Two count.  SANADA went for a moonsault, but Ospreay moved out of the way.   Ospreay plants SANADA with a Spanish Fly.   Ospreay hits top rope elbow to the back of SANADA's head, and a powerbomb for a two count.   SANADA with a bridging Tiger Suplex for a two count.   SANADA tries for another moonsault, but Ospreay stops him, pulls his head down and superkicks him in the face.  Ospreay plucks SANADA off the top rope in a fireman's carry and hits an F5.  Two count.   Pace of the match picks up.   Too much to recap here.  SANADA locks in Skull End in the middle of the ring.  SANADA goes for another moonsault and Ospreay lifts his knees to block it.   Ospreay hits a Poisonrana and an Oscutter.   Two count!!   Wow!   Ospreay hits a Rolling Elbow to the back of SANADA's head, then hits a Storm Breaker.   Ospreay pins SANADA.

Will Ospreay will face David Finlay in the next Round.

Another great match.   Ospreay as an arrogant annoying heel is getting better.  SANADA is always performs well especially when facing another great athlete.

Ospreay took the mic and said that he will go on to the next round to face Jay White.   He paused.   Then he realized that David Finlay beat Jay White.  He laughed and congratulated Finlay on his win.  But Finlay will be facing another animal in the next Round.

In the interview area, Ospreay says he beat one of the best wrestlers in the world in SANADA.   He claimed SANADA cheated by attacking his broken nose.  He continued to laugh at the idea of facing David Finlay.   He said that Finlay's Cinderella story ends when he faces him in the next Round.

On 3/20/21, the New Japan Cup 2021 Semi-Final matches will be:

*EVIL vs. Shingo Takagi

*Will Ospreay vs. David Finlay

My pick from the Final Four competitors is Shingo Takagi.   Last year, when EVIL won the New Japan Cup 2020, he joined Bullet Club and a storyline was built around that.  This year I think it is Shingo Takagi's turn.  At Castle Attack in Osaka, after beating EVIL, Kazuchika Okada announced that he would be working towards winning the IWGP Heavyweight Title again.   Takagi eliminated Okada in the First Round, which at the time I felt was a shocking upset.  Especially after what Okada had declared.  

EVIL had his moment in the sun last year.  Will Ospreay still holds the British Heavyweight Title and is still building the foundations of the United Empire.   David Finlay holds the Impact Tag Team Championship and will have to return to States.

Shingo Takagi, from a storyline building perspective, makes the most sense.

Stay tuned for the conclusion to the New Japan Cup 2021.

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

 

 The Final Four is se

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