NJPW New Japan Cup Finals: Results & Ratings [YOH Returns After A Year Away, EVIL Leads Bullet Club Against CHAOS In Undercard Action]

We’re back in Xebio Arena Sendai for the final night of New Japan Cup action. Last night saw an Earthquake halt the action, before David Finlay & Will Ospreay put on an instant classic, and Shingo Takagi slugged it out with EVIL. Will Ospreay & Shingo Takagi will have their third singles match as the finals of this year’s New Japan Cup, but first let’s get to the undercard action.

Before the show, YOH would return to New Japan and provide an injury update. YOH tore his ACL during last year’s New Japan Cup. He’s been off for a long time, but is ready to return to the ring, and on April 4th YOH will return to the ring at Sakura Genesis. YOH wants to team with SHO to retake the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships.

Gabriel Kidd, Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura vs. Suzuki-gun (DOUKI, Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr.)

Kicking things off is our brave Young Lions taking on a daunting challenge in Suzuki Gun. We know that Gabriel Kidd can almost match Zack Sabre Jr. in terms of technical wrestling, but six man tags are simply chaos, and don’t allow for those types of exchanges. Yota Tsuji wanted a singles match with Tetsuya Naito tonight, but failed to get enough fan support.

Young Lions struck first in this match, knowing Suzuki-Gun too well. Uemura took the fight to DOUKI in the ring, hitting a scoop slam, before looking for the Kanaki Suplex. DOUKI hit a lariat, and looked for the wheelbarrow German Suplex, before they’d just brawl on the outside. Uemura was beaten with a steel pipe on the outside, before being taken back in for some strikes.

Taichi got the tag and applied the Greco Roman Throat Hold on Uemura before tagging in ZSJ. Kidd would tag in and show again that he’s ready to scrap with ZSJ as a wrestler, before ending up in the single leg boston crab. ZSJ would twist the leg to add more damage, but Kidd made the ropes. Kidd would hit a big dropkick, before Uemura tagged in alongside Taichi.

A scoop slam dropped Taichi before Uemura & Tsuji tried to pull off a tag team move, and it didn’t work. Instead, Tsuji applied a Boston Crab, and DOUKI broke it up. Taichi hit Axe Bomber for a two count, before Tsuji came back with a powerslam for a two count of his own. The Gamiguri from Taichi nearly turned the lights of Tsuji out, and the Dangerous Backdrop ended this one.

The Young Lions are getting better by the day, and tonight was another solid showing. Suzuki-Gun are the perfect foil for them. Once again, they got mauled but showed a great amount of fighting spirit. Tsuji & Uemura started to show the start of a tag team move, which was amazing to see even though it failed. Match Rating: 3/5 (***)

Satoshi Kojima & Tomoaki Honma vs. The United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jeff Cobb)

The third gen talent has had great issues with The United Empire, and that continues tonight. Kojima & Honma will take on the hard hitting tag team of Jeff Cobb & Great-O-Khan. All four of these men tried their best in the New Japan Cup, but even Jeff Cobb only made it to the second round.

O-Khan started with Honma, and Cobb made a grab of Honma on the apron. Honma slipped out of the way and had O-Khan run into Cobb. Kojima hit a flipping senton before Honma missed a Kokeshi, before Honma applied a choke hold in the middle of the ring.

Cobb got a tag, and teased a Kokeshi of his own before just picking Honma up and taking him back to the corner. Honma would be goaded to fight harder, so he nearly won with a small package and DDT to get the tag to Kojima. Kojima hit the Machine Gun Chops on O-Khan, before setting up the elbow drop off the top rope.

Another DDT dropped O-Khan, who got back up with a crane pose before hitting the throat thrust. Kojima went for the cutter and was shoved off, before being picked up by Cobb who hit some backbreakers before being hit with a standing moonsault. Cobb went for a lariat, but Kojima swatted the arm away before hitting the cutter.

Honma tagged in, and would trade shoulder tackles with Cobb, before looking for another DDT. O-Khan tried to save Cobb, but he got dropped with a flatliner while Cobb took the DDT. Honma hit the Koseshi before being double teamed by UE, who set up the Spin Cycle, a heavy lariat and Tour Of The Islands for the win.

Honma has been turning it up regularly in 2021, and tonight was another great showing. He traded blows with both O-Khan & Cobb, which is something that was only expected from Kojima tonight. O-Khan & Cobb keep getting better and better, and could be on their way to a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships. Match Rating: 3.25/5 (*** 1/4)

CHAOS (SHO, Toru Yano & YOSHI-HASHI) vs. BULLET CLUB (EVIL, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi)

Arguably the weakest match of the night on paper. EVIL will lead a Bullet Club unit against a Toru Yano led CHAOS unit in this six man tag. This comes right after EVIL lost in the semi-finals of the New Japan Cup. Gino always claims EVIL is a results based wrestler, and a loss is still a result!

BULLET CLUB waited for the introduction of Toru Yano to end before attacking, with EVIL focusing on Yano in the ring. EVIL would get help from Togo who used the towel of Yano to blind him while EVIL charged in. A yank of the hair pulled EVIL down, before SHO tagged in, who hit a mid kick for a two count.

EVIL pulled SHO outside and took out the ring announcer by knocking the barricade. Takahashi tagged in and threw SHO into the exposed corner. KENTA tagged in, and threw SHO into the steel again before getting a two count. He’d apply a side headlock, before SHO hit a suplex upon getting free.

YOSHI-HASHI tagged in, and hit a running chop on KENTA before a dropkick. KENTA hit a DDT, tagging in Takahashi who worked with EVIL to take out YOSHI-HASHI with a Fisherman Buster and sliding dropkick. YOSHI-HASHI stayed in the match, hit the backstabber and applied the butterfly lock. EVIL broke the hold, but Yano took him out. Togo ran a distraction, and Takahashi hit YOSHI-HASHI with his can before the Pimp Juice DDT for the win.

A standard BULLET CLUB vs. CHAOS match, with Takahashi pinning one of the six man tag team champions to perhaps set up a coming title match. It was a brawl, with some solid action between, but nothing special or memorable. Match Rating: 2/5 (**)

Will Yujiro Takahashi grab two Bullet Club mates to challenge YOSHI-HASHI, Ishii & Goto? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.

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