Top 10 New Japan Cup 2020 Matches

7. SANADA v SHO – New Japan Cup Night 6

This singles matchup was one that many New Japan viewers would not have expected to see as they have rarely met outside of tag matches. However, this tournament created many matches that fans never knew that they needed to see between two very distinct and talented wrestlers.

The match itself started with some basic wrestling moves including lock-ups, standing reversals and take-downs. However, in a matter of minutes, the speed and momentum changed dramatically. It started to become a battle of the high fliers with both men launching themselves over the top rope.

This then quickly changed to a more methodical and ground style of wrestling with both men targeting a specific body part of their opponent to set up for their respective submissions. If you weren’t aware of the two wrestlers, it would have been hard to tell whether they were Jr’s or Heavyweights because they utilised a varied style that was dynamic and mesmerising.

In the end, SANADA submitting SHO with his patented Skull End after a series of smooth reversals. Although it was a victory for SANADA, it could’ve easily gone in SHO’s favour. The in-ring chemistry between the two was something magical and hopefully, this isn’t the last singles bout we see between the two.

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6. Hiromu Takahashi v Toru Yano – New Japan Cup Night 5

Hiromu Takahashi vs. Toru Yano was a match nine years in the making. When Hiromu was a Young Lion, he had a match with the mischievous Yano with a loss leading to having his hair shaved. Neither man forgot this and, even in the warm-up match, you could see that Hiromu was terrified. Yano came out with clippers and you could see the Ticking Time Bomb having flashbacks.

If this was the lead-up, you can imagine just how chaotic the real match was. Coming out in a hard hat helmet, you could see that Hiromu wasn’t taking any chances with his opponent and he was right to do so. This time armed with two clippers and then finding scissors: nowhere was safe from Toru Yano. From there, it was chaos mixing humour, wrestling and performance perfectly.

The climax of the match had to be when Yano got out his trusty tape and wrapped it around Hiromu and Young Lion Tsuji so they could barely move and then cut off of his hair. Taping his opponent’s legs with a Young Lion has always been trusty trick Yano depended on seen by previous uses with Kenny Omega and Ren Narita as well as Jon Moxley and Shota Umino. Even with everything that Yano threw into this match, in the end, Hiromu got the win with Tsuji via a count-out victory. It was karma for Yano who was taped up and then thrown into a lift.

This match felt more like something out of DDT than New Japan, but it was done perfectly and in a way that made fans watching smile.

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5. Tomohiro Ishii v El Desperado – New Japan Cup Night 1

Nobody knew what to expect when New Japan announced this first-round matchup between El Desperado and Tomohiro Ishii. Apart from the odd tag team match, neither man has had much contact with each other. However, it was a match many fans would happily watch again.

The match started with some teasing from the Suzuki Gun member as El Desperado pointed out the obvious size difference between himself and the Stone Pitbull. Unfortunately, all that did was make Ishii angry. Surprisingly though, many didn’t expect the fight that Desperado put up.

For fans who may not be too familiar with his fighting style, it’s more similar to Ishii’s than you would first expect. Compared to the rest of the Jr division, he uses a more heavy-hitting and Japanese Strong Style offence. Both men put in their all with chops, clotheslines and a combination of offence unique to their style. El Desperado focused on targeting Ishii’s leg to set up for Numero Dos and Ishii made sure to use his strength to try and counter this.

Although very few expected El Desperado to beat the force that is Tomohiro Ishii, it was still an amazing match. It not only cemented how amazing Ishii is but also showed fans that El Desperado is a hard-hitting, wrestler who is not your average Jr Heavyweight.

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4. Kazuchika Okada v Hiromu Takahashi – New Japan Cup Night 8

In another reality, this could have been the match fans saw at the New Japan Anniversary Show if Okada had won the Double Gold Dash. So, fans were lucky to be treated to it during the New Japan Cup. The two competitors are completely different and this was evident throughout the match but made it more interesting to watch.

There was a clear size difference with Okada being Hiromu’s largest opponent to date. Hiromu knew this and made sure that he utilised his speed and unpredictability that fans know and love from the Ticking Time Bomb. Unfortunately, Kazuchika Okada is just as athletic combining traits from both Jr’s and Heavyweights alike. This meant that, throughout the match, it was either man’s game to lose.

Although unevenly matched in many ways to give Okada the advantage, it was Hiromu’s heart that put them back on a level playing field. There were hurricanranas, dropkicks and the first Rainmaker which surprisingly came from Hiromu. Despite this, in the end, the real difference-maker in this match had to be the change in Kazuchika Okada. Fans saw a new side to the Rainmaker’s offence with a more ground-based offence and his increased reliance on the effective Cobra Clutch to pick up each win.

In the end, the match was ended with referee stoppage after Hiromu passed out. This was very significant as it not only showed the power of Okada who had shown a more brutal side during the tournament but also the will and strength of Hiromu in not wanting to give up.

• new japan pro wrestling
• New Japan Cup
• EVIL
• Kazuchika Okada
• NJPW

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