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3/14 NEW JAPAN CUP ROUND THREE RESULTS FROM TAKAMATSU CITY, JAPAN

3/14/22 Results from the Round 3 of the New Japan Cup 2022 from Takamatsu City, Kagawa, Japan:

As the New Japan Cup is down to the remaining 16 men in the Round 3, the undercard matches will be setting up storylines in the future.

El Desperado, TAKA Michinoku and Minoru Suzuki vs. Tiger Mask, Ryusuke Taguchi and Tomoaki Honma

Taguchi forces TAKA to tap out to an ankle lock submission.

After the match, El Desperado was helping TAKA back to the locker room, when SHO attacked with a wrench.  He beat on Desperado and dragged him back to the ring.  SHO blasts Desperado in the face with the wrench in the middle of the ring.  SHO places the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight belt along side the body of Desperado.

El Phantasmo, Taiji Ishimori and Bad Luck Fale vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa and Jado

G.O.D. charges the ring and attacks everyone.  They fight all around ringside.  Fale beat on Jado in the ring, until it settled into a regular tag match.   Tama makes the tag and was fired up and took out Ishimori and ELP.  They all took the match to the floor again.   ELP was fighting Jado in the ring.   Gedo came to ringside.   Jado was distracted and ELP hit Sudden Death in Jado's face.

ELP pins Jado.

After the match, Bullet Club was about to attack Jado again, with Gedo's brass knuckles.   G.O.D. makes the save.   Bullet Club retreats.

Chase Owens, Dick Togo and EVIL vs. SANADA, Shingo Takagi and Hiromu Takahashi

SANADA pins Dick Togo with an O'Conner Roll.

After the match, Owens gets in the face of Takagi.   They will meet later in Round 3.  Takagi tells Owens he will beat him in less than 5 minutes.   Hiromu, who is the only Jr. left in the New Japan Cup, was having words with EVIL.  They will also face each other in Round 3.

My quick thoughts on the Bullet Club angle:  These last two matches showed that all the teasing of problems within Bullet Club could be over for now.   Kevin Kelly has said that Jay White has organized the removal of Guerillas of Destiny and Jado from Bullet Club.   House of Torture and Bullet Club seem to be now on the same page and a singular unit.   They have painted Tama Tonga as the problem in the storyline.  With the increased presence of New Japan in the United States, I wonder if the G.O.D. will now spend more time at home.  As Jay White is building the Bullet Club brand in the United States, Tama Tonga and Jay White could continue their feud in New Japan Strong, Impact, AEW or at a New Japan event in the States.  G.O.D. has done everything they can in New Japan as a tag team.  They have won World Tag League 2020, won the IWGP Heavyweight tag team title seven times and won at Wrestle Kingdom 15.  If Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa wish to stay close to home, there is opportunity within the United States now to still contribute to New Japan, whether it is New Japan Strong or Impact.  We shall see.

Great O-Khan and Aaron Henare vs. Zack Sabre Jr. and DOUKI

Henare pins DOUKI with Streets of Rage.

Solid match.  ZSJ and Great O-Khan should be a great Round 3 match.

YOH and YOSHI-HASHI vs. Will Ospreay and Jeff Cobb

Ospreay pins YOH after a Hidden Blade.

YOSHI-HASHI and Cobb have words before their Round 3 match tomorrow.

BUSHI and Tetsuya Naito vs. Master Wato and Hiroshi Tanahashi

Tanahashi pins BUSHI after a High Fly Flow.

New Japan Cup 2022 Round 3 Matches:

Hirooki Goto vs. CIMA

Wow!   Good match! 

CIMA hit a Meteora to the back of Goto's head.  He hit another Meteora to his face.

CIMA pins Goto.

Big surprising upset here.

Taichi vs. Kazuchika Okada

Miho Abe comes to the ring with the Taichi.

Another good match.  Both men hit each other with their best moves and could not put each other away.

Okada finally hit a Landslide and a Rainmaker.

Okada pins Taichi.

Kazuchika Okada will face CIMA in the next Round.

One of my issues with the New Japan Cup 2022 is that the Champions are competing.  Kevin Kelly kept saying that Taichi has never beaten Okada one on one.   I do not know if that is true, but it paints a picture that Okada is unbeatable, and that Taichi is not at Okada's level.   At this point, I do not think CIMA will beat Okada.  Okada beat El Desperado, Master Wato (also verbally trashing Wato on the mic) and now Taichi in the tournament.   If Okada wins the New Japan Cup, then who is a worthy challenger?  It cannot be whoever Okada says is the best challenger for the title.  The fans will have to see it to believe it.  I am sure they can build another challenger quickly, but the enjoyment of the matches is in the story they choose to tell.  

Round 3 continues tomorrow on New Japan World.

Thanks for reading.

 

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