Since joining the United Empire, Jeff Cobb has been damn near unstoppable in NJPW. After nearly completing a clean sweep in the G1 Climax, and taking Tetsuya Naito to his limits at Wrestle Kingdom – Cobb has golden dreams. His first round match in the New Japan Cup saw him drop Togi Makabe, and now he’s got another former IWGP Heavyweight Champion in Satoshi Kojima.
Jeff Cobb Pushes To The Third Round Of New Japan Cup Despite The Challenge Of Satoshi Kojima
Cobb would start this match by picking Kojima up and placing him on the top rope. Kojima came back down to the ring, only to be hit with some strikes from The Imperial Unit himself. Cobb would be levelled with a shoulder tackle, before Kojima applied the rear chinlock. Kojima would lose control of the hold, and be taken out with a standing dropkick from Cobb, before being stood on like a surfboard.
Machine Gun chops in the corner would brutalise the chest of Kojima, before Kojima showed him how the move is done. The elbow drop from the top rope got a two count, before the Pumphandle Suplex and Standing Moonsault nearly got Cobb the victory. Koji-Cutter would land, before Cobb nailed the powerbomb onto the apron.
Everyone thought this would be the end of the match, but as Cobb lifted Kojima back towards the ring – he’d get spiked with the DDT onto the apron! Back in the ring, Spin Cycle would toss Kojima across the ring, before Cobb was pulled off the top rope with another Koji-Cutter. The lariat was next, before a two count off a brainbuster!
Cosy Lariat would land on the third attempt, but Kojima was unable to follow up before falling to Tour of the Islands. Now, the only thing keeping Jeff Cobb from the semi-finals is YOSHI-HASHI on March 15th. Beware the ides of March.
Hiroshi Tanahashi Survives Brutal Main Event Clash With Bad Luck Fale
Hiroshi Tanahashi had an easy enough first round in the New Japan Cup, taking on the junior heavyweight YOH – but has a big issue coming into the second round. He’s drawn Bad Luck Fale – who is notorious for being a spoiler in tournaments. In yesterday’s tag team meeting, Fale was able to hit a basement dropkick – potentially injuring the knee of Tanahashi in the process, and really putting the chances of a Fale upset at an all time high.
Tanahashi would call for a test of strength with Fale, before Fale drove him down with a tackle. Fale was lured to the outside, where Tanahashi took him down with a basement dropkick through the ropes. Back in the ring, Tanahashi would look for a bodyslam and nearly got beat as Fale fell onto the chest of The Ace.
Going after that knee, Fale would nail the hip drop. Tanahashi nearly got the sunset flip, only for Fale to again drop the hip – this time on the chest. The knee of Tanahashi was wrapped around the ring post, before Fale nailed the running shoulder tackle. Back in the ring, Tanahashi would go after the knee of Fale, first with the dropkick and then the Dragon Screw.
Fale would look to hit the Grenade, only for Tanahashi to nail the bodyslam. Tanahashi would look for Aces High, only for Chase Owens to trip him up while Fale held the referee back. Fale wanted Bad Luck Fall, but Tanahashi blocked into the Slingblade. High Fly Flow would miss, before Tanahahashi rolled Fale up for the win!
Can Hiroshi Tanahashi defeat Tetsuya Naito in the third round of the New Japan Cup? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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