There is a lot of history between Yuji Nagata & Hirooki Goto – with Goto having won 7 of their 10 singles matches. They’ve met in three New Japan Cups, and Goto has always won, though both men have previously won this tournament. Tonight, Nagata will look to finally defeat Goto and kick off another successful New Japan Cup.
Hirooki Goto Is A Dark Horse Pick For The 2022 G1 Climax
Nagata would start fast by wrenching down the arm of Goto, and kicking Goto off as he turned the hold around onto Blue Justice. Goto would be shoved off from a headlock attempt, and rush back through Nagata with a shoulder tackle. This fight spilled to the outside, where Nagata ducked a lariat – and Goto ended up hitting the ring post.
Nagata is an expert at arm based submissions, making this now a perfect target. An armbreaker in the ring was followed by an attempt at a cross armbreaker – but Goto found the ropes. Goto blocked a kick from Nagata and threw a headbutt in response. The wheel kick in the corner would land, before the running bulldog.
Nagata would catch Goto on the top rope, and take him down hard with an exploder suplex. Goto would fight back with a lariat, before Ushigoroshi landed – before Nagata dropped Goto on his head with a Fire Thunder Driver. The Nagata Lock II would follow, with Goto trapped in the middle of the ring. Goto made the long crawl to the bottom rope, as Nagata moved to Nagata Lock IV – but the foot made the bottom rope.
Justice Knee in the corner would check the jaw of Goto. Knowing things were getting dire, Goto pulled out the Goto Ni Shiki cradle pin – and that was what he needed for victory. Hirooki Goto will now face Dick Togo on March 9th at Korakuen Hall. Considering the issues between CHAOS and House of Torture, that one will be about more than just advancing forward in this tournament.
Enter The Odds On Favourite To Win New Japan Cup – Jeff Cobb
Jeff Cobb got injured to kick off 2022, and now that he’s back – he intends to run through the New Japan Cup. He managed a 8 win streak in the G1 Climax, and tonight has a chance to kick off another winning streak in a tournament. However, things start with Togi Makabe – and he’s the underdog in this one.
Makabe would start off fast with the shoulder tackle dropping Cobb. This one quickly went outside, where Makabe was tossed into the steel barricade. Cobb picked him up into a suplex, and casually walked him back first into the ring post before slamming him down. Already dead weight, Cobb would get into the ring and see if the countout would get the victory.
Makabe got back into the ring, and was tossed like a sack of potatoes with the wrist clutch suplex. Refusing to go down without a fight, he’d corner Cobb for some downward punches, only to fall to the back drop into the middle of the ring. Forearm blows would be traded before Makabe tried to hit the German Suplex, with Cobb standing firm. Both men hit lariats, but Cobb was the one who stayed down.
Makabe would go for the King Kong Knee drop, but there was no water in the pool. Tour Of The Islands would follow, and that’s the first of seven wins that could bring Cobb the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship.
Jeff Cobb will now face Satoshi Kojima on March 10th in Yamagata. Considering how dominant of a tournament wrestler Cobb is, this seems another easy victory for the trump card of the United Empire.
Who can hope to stop Jeff Cobb? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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