The second match of the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Strong pilot saw Jeff Cobb take on Tanga Loa in the New Japan USA 2020 Tournament to see who would go on to face Kenta in the semi-final round.
Bullet Club member and one-half of the Guerrillas of Destiny (GOD) Tanga Loa took on former NEVER Openweight Champion Jeff Cobb in what was another contest.
Despite not having nearly as much recent experience in singles competition as Cobb, he seemed comfortable in the environment. Tanga Loa was able to keep Cobb from dominating the match with Greco Roman suplex techniques.
However, Cobb was able to match Loa’s brawling style and would match him strike for strike. Eventually, Cobb was able to obtain victory with the Tour of the Islands at the 8 minute and 45-second mark.
With the victory, Cobb will face Kenta next week for the first time in a one on one environment. The two have only wrestled one previous time before when they met during World Tag League 2019.
In that match on December 5th of last year, Kenta and Yujiro Takahashi defeated Jeff Cobb and Mikey Nicholls in 10 minutes and 8 seconds — meaning the two don’t have a lot of familiarity with one another.
Cobb and Kenta are likely the two remaining favorites on paper to win the New Japan Cup USA Tournament, adding an extra level of intrigue to the match to their match next week on NJPW Strong.
Jeff Cobb has been on a roll during his NJPW appearances this year thus far within the New Japan Pro Wrestling of America (NJoA) brand. If he can defeat Kenta, he’ll likely be on a collision course to make the V3 challenge to the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship during Jon Moxley’s current reign.
