SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)...
-MASATORA YASUDA vs. TAISEI NAKAHARA
This is Nakahara’s second match ever in his career. Yasuda went after Nakahara’s leg during the early going.Charlton said most of the other Young Lions had affiliations with other wrestlers, but Yasuda was on his own. Yasuda worked a half crab, but Nakahara managed to get to the ropes to break the hold and the fans fired up.
Nakahara got a Boston crab on Yasuda, but he quickly powered out of it using his size advantage to his own benefit. Yasuda fired back and got the Boston crab for the win.
WINNER: Masatora Yasuda at 6:51.
-BOLTIN OLEG vs. EL PHANTASMO (w/Jado) – NJPW Cup 2026 First Round match
ELP sent Oleg over the guardrail and set up for a dive, but Oleg moved. ELP went back to the floor and Oleg surprised him with a shoulder tackle. He slammed ELP on the apron a short time later. He then went up to the apron and he military pressed ELP back into the ring for a two count. ELP fired back and went after Oleg’s legs.
They traded blows on the floor, but ELP managed to land a running kick to Oleg’s leg as it was draped over the guardrail. ELP got a half crab. Oleg tried to free himself and eventually managed to get to the ropes. ELP went for a rana after walking the ropes, but Oleg blocked it and turned it into a F5 and both men were down. Oleg got ELP on his shoulders, but he escaped and locked in a half crab variation.
Oleg was down on the outside and ELP went up and hit Ibushi’s moonsault to the floor off the turnbuckles. He got Oleg back inside the ring and played some air guitar. ELP got a half crab, but Boltin struggled and eventually got the ropes. Oleg went to the floor and this time ELP hit the moonsault off the turnbuckles to the floor.
He tossed Oleg back into the ring and dropped an elbow off the second turnbuckle. He played some guitar and set up for Sudden Death twice to the head and once to the mid section. Oleg suddenly fired up and hit a short Kamikaze for a near fall. WOW! They traded blows in the middle of the ring. Oleg sent ELP to the mat with a big forearm. ELP tried several times to take Oleg down with a clothesline. He finally bounced off the ropes and downed Oleg with a clothesline. He then hit CR2, but Oleg kicked out!
ELP went up top and Oleg cut him off. They battled up top. ELP slipped under Boltin and hit a kick to Oleg’s head. Oleg suddenly got ELP onto his shoulders on the second rope. ELP tried to fight out of Oleg’s clasp with several elbows, but he held on and hit Kamikaze for the win.
WINNER: Boltin Oleg at 18:08 to advance to the second round of the NJPW Cup 2026. (***3/4)
(Radican’s Analysis: Great action here. ELP just could not put Oleg away and this is his second big loss in the last week. ELP said after he lost at New Beginning USA that he wanted better results going forward, so it will be interesting to see how he responds to his first round exit in the NJPW Cup.
Oleg on the other hand looked great here coming off his win over Ishii at New Beginning USA. He showcased his power and fighting spirit and ELP did a good job of making him look good.)
-TAICHI vs. REN NARITA – NJPW Cup 2026 First Round match.
House of Tortured jumped Taichi as he was making his entrance in the ring. HOT left the ring and the ref called for the bell. They went to the floor and Narita attacked Taichi with a chair. They ended up back in the ring and Taichi showed some signs of life after shaking off some kicks from Narita. He finally caught Narita with a jumping kick to the head and the fans fired up. They went back to the floor and Red Shoes tried to stop Taichi from using a chair, but he shoved him aside and plastered Narita with a chairshot to the bat.
The ref got bumped and HOT came down to ringside to turn the tide in Narita’s favor. Narita wrapped Taichi’s leg around the guardrail and nailed it with a chairshot. Order was restored and Narita worked over Taichi’s leg. Taichi finally ducked a charge in the corner and nailed Narita with a kick to the head. The fans fired up with both men down on the mat. Taichi hit a spinning backfist in the corner and Narita went straight down to the mat.
The fans fired up as Taichi tore off his pants. House of Torture ran down again and distracted Taichi. Narita took him to the mat and locked in a leg submission, but Taichi got the ropes. Taguchi got on the ropes and protested, so Narita booted him off the apron to the floor. They battled up top and Taichi hit a superplex and sold his knee after landing. Taichi hit a Vertical Drop Brainbuster, but Togo dragged the ref to the floor.
The rest of Hontai finally came down, but were overcome by the numbers game. HOT worked over Taichi inside the ring. They ran the train on him in the corner and Togo went for D2D contact, but Taguchi broke it up. Master Wato ran down and took care of Douki. The fans fired up and when the smoke cleared Tacihi was alone in the ring Narita. Taichi ducked a shot with the push up bar from Narita and hit the Dangerous Backdrop for a good near fall.
Taichi fired back and hit a X-factor. He then grabbed a leg submission. Taichi tried to get to the ropes. Narita held on and continued to crank on Taichi’s leg. Taichi struggled and finally got to the bottom rope to break up the hold. Narita went up top for Hell’s Guillotine, but Taichi nailed him with a kick. Taichi sold his leg on the mat and the fans fired up. He measured Narita and hit a burning lariat. He then hit another Dangerous Backdrop, but Sho rang the bell at the count of two and he let go of the bridge.
Kanemaru acted like he was going to help Taichi. He set up Narita, but it was all a ruse so he could shove him out of the way of Taichi’s kick. Kanemaru hit Taichi with the whiskey bottle. Narita crawled up top. Taichi slowly began trying to get to his feet. Taichi fought his way to his feet only to take Hell’s Guiliotinne from Narita and it was good for the win.
WINNER: Ren Narita at 22:40 to advance to the second round of the NJPW Cup. (***)
(Radican’s Analysis: This was a mixed bag. It’s good to see wrestlers coming down to neutralize House of Torture during matches, but their blatant interference and referee abuse that continues to go unpunished is ridiculous. I had a hard time believing that Taichi would trust Kanemaru to help him, but for some reason he did and it cost him the match in the end.
NJPW needs to tighten up their rules. The crowd was into Taichi big time here and his comebacks, but the amount of cheating HOT gets away with is ridiculous and their presence up and down these cards so far is really annoying and unpleasant.)
Contact Sean at pwtorchsean@gmail.com. Follow him on Bluesky @SeanRadican and on X: @SR_Torch
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