The final two second-round New Japan Cup matches on day six of the tournaments did not disappoint. The headline match saw 1/2 of the Dangerous Tekkers (w/Zack Sabre Jr.) tag team take on Kota Ibushi 1/2 of the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion team (w/Hiroshi Tanahashi) Golden Ace.
Both combatants were seconded by their tag team partners. Taichi defeated Tanahashi in the first-round, while Ibushi defeated his rival ZSJ. The Danger Tekkers team stayed true to Suzuki-Gun tactics and tried to steal the victory for Taichi, however, the former 8x IWGP Heavyweight Champion Tanahashi would eventually help neutralize ZSJ.
Throughout the match, Ibushi came off as the superior competitor, but unlike from 2006-2017, Taichi was able to dig deep to stay alive during the match. Seemingly once he took on the ‘Dangerous T’ moniker and began using his mentor’s (Toshiaki Kawada) techniques, Taichi has been able to turn the corner in his career.
Taichi was able to defeat the former IWGP Intercontinental Champion at the eighteen-minute and eight-second mark due to the now-retired Takashi Iizuka’s metal glove and his Black Mephisto technique. With the victory, Taichi moved on to face Sanada on July 2nd in the quarter-final round.
The marquee match saw the fifth singles match between Los Ingobernables de Japon (LIJ) member Evil and CHAOS member Hirooki Goto. Goto had a 3-1 advantage over Evil before the match, defeating Evil on February 10, 2018 at New Beginning in Osaka in his v1 defense during his second reign with the NEVER Openweight Championship in their last encounter.
Evil brought the intensity, knowing a win over a resurgent Goto would help elevate him back into singles championship contention, even if he doesn’t go on to win the New Japan Cup. The entirety of the contest felt like a NEVER Openweight division match with both relying on strikes and lariats to wear down their opponent.
However, Evil would need a low blow behind referee Red Shoes Unno’s back and his EVIL technique to defeat Goto in eighteen minutes and twenty-five seconds to move on to the quarter-final round against Yoshi-Hashi on July 2nd.
