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From Nagaoka, Japan:
1 - Ryusuke Taguchi and Taisei Nakahara vs. Yujiro Takahashi and Chase Owens
Takahashi forces Nakahara to tap out to a Boston Crab.
Takahashi was getting some chants from this crowd in Nagaoka. His angle between Takahashi and Shota Umino, earlier in the New Japan Cup, was getting over with the fans.
2 - Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI and Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima and Masatora Yasuda
YOSHI-HASHI forces Yasuda to tap out to the Butterfly Lock.
3 - El Desperado, YOH and Master Wato vs. DOUKI, SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
YOH hits an STO and a Direct Drive on Kanemaru and gets the pin.
YOH will be facing DOUKI for the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title in Korakuen Hall on the Road to Sakura Genesis.
4 - Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney, Taiji Ishimori and Daiki Nagai vs. Jake Lee, HENARE, Francesco Akira and Jakob Austin Young
Jake Lee continues to add face paint slowly to his ring entrance. It will be interesting to see where the final evolution of his character goes.
Young pins Nagai with a Hammerlock DDT, which is now called Another One Bites the Dust.
5 - Aaron Wolf, Toru Yano and Tomoaki Honma vs. Ren Narita, Don Fale and Dick Togo
Narita hits Hells Guillotine on Honma and gets the pin.
6 - Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, OSKAR and Gedo vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Hartley Jackson and Kosei Fujita
Jackson hits a Jagged Edge on Gedo and gets the pin.
NEW JAPAN CUP 2026 Semi-Final Matches:
7 - Yuya Uemura vs. Boltin Oleg
Oleg has his left shoulder heavily taped up. Good wrestling match. Uemura kept going after Oleg's left arm. Oleg tried to use his power but he was selling the arm. They trade strikes. They trade suplexes.
Oleg with a powerbomb. Two count. Oleg hits an F5. Two count. Oleg goes for a Kamikaze off the ropes. Uemura fights out of it and hits a hurricanrana off the ropes. Uemura with a high kick. They grapple, and Uemura hits a Deadbolt. Uemura hits a Flying Body Press off the top rope.
Uemura pins Oleg.
Yuya Uemura moves into the Finals.
Oleg is not hurt by this loss. He is still the STRONG Openweight Champion and a NEVER 6-man Champion, so he is fine.
8 - Shota Umino vs. Callum Newman
It is interesting that Red Shoes is not the referee for this main event. Red Shoes is Shota Umino's actual father.
Umino gets hits nose bloodied early in the match. Newman goes after Umino's left arm. They fight to the floor. They set up tables on the floor. Newman bumps hard over the guardrail to the concrete. Umino hits a running knee into Newman's head and Umino hits a draping DDT on the floor. Back in the ring, Umino hits another running knee strike. Newman looks dazed and confused. Newman kicks out. They trade strikes. Newman powerbombs Umino over the top rope through two tables on the floor. Ouch! The crowd chants for Umino. Umino is almost counted out. Newman hits a punt kick to the head. And another to the chest. Newman with a brainbuster. Two count. Newman applies a Hammerlock submission. Umino gets the rope break. They trade more strikes. Umino hits a lariat. Umino with a Dragon Suplex. Two count. Newman hits a lariat and Excalibur. Two count. Umino reverses a Prince's Curse into a DDT. Umino hits a Poisonrana and a lariat. Two count. Newman hits a low blow and a lariat. Two count. Newman hits Prince's Curse.
Newman pins Umino.
Callum Newman moves into the Finals to face Yuya Uemura.
After the match, Newman says to Umino that he always fails. He is the top Gaijin wrestler in the company. He says if Umino likes the color green, then he knows his number. He craps on the fans. Yuya Uemura comes out. Newman says he will piss on his Heat Storm. He took out his friend (Umino) and he will murder him tomorrow night. Uemura tells the crowd he will stand tall in the Finals.
Uemura vs. Newman makes sense. Uemura was a good wrestling machine going into the Finals and plays the babyface role very well (very similar to Ricky Steamboat). Newman has played the arrogant heel perfectly in this tournament. New Japan needs a strong Heel Faction and Newman is that guy right now. Either man would be a good challenger for Yota Tsuji.
One of the problems is that Tsuji holds both the World and Global Titles. The company already has too many titles, especially if you add New Japan STRONG Titles as well. They should retire the Global Title and highlight the World Title to keep everything simple. When there were multiple factions, you could have multiple titles, with each faction holding one belt. After the dissolution of Los Ingobernales de Japon and Bullet Club War Dogs, there are too many titles and that waters down the importance of each championship.
Despite the loss, Shota Umino still looked strong. The positive crowd reaction for Umino is a great thing. He should now rest and be at the top of his game for the G1 Climax in July. That is where Umino should shine and work his way back into the World Title picture.
Thank you for reading.
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