Written by Alex Marco (@generalreaction)
The month of March has finally arrived and tournament fever has filled the air. The grip of March Madness is slowing taking hold of fans and journalists around the world as the start of a momentous tournament is rapidly approaching. And no, I’m not talking about the NCAA College Basketball tournament that is set to begin later this month; I am, ofcourse, referring to the 2019 New Japan Cup tournament. This year’s star-studded tournament will see some rather notable changes compared to the New Japan Cups of the past. Firstly, unlike previous installments of the New Japan Cup, singles champions from New Japan Pro Wrestling (specifically the IWGP Intercontinental Champion, IWGP US Heavyweight Champion, and NEVER Openweight Champion) will all be included in this year’s tournament bracket. The reason for this is that the winner of the tournament will be named as the challenger to Switchblade Jay White’s IWGP Heavyweight Championship at the G1 Supercard event in Madison Square Garden, which is set to take place on April 6th, 2019. For the last five years, the winner of the New Japan Cup was given the opportunity to challenge the singles champion of their choosing (excluding the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion and IWGP US Heavyweight Champion). But this change to the format of the tournament has made room for reigning champions like Tetsuya Naito, Juice Robinson, and Will Ospreay to be slotted into the tourney’s single elimination bracket.
The second major change comes in the number of entrants that will be competing in this year’s New Japan Cup. Since the inception of the tournament in 2005 the size of the bracket has been kept between 14 and 16 entrants each year. For the 2019 New Japan Cup the number of entrants has ballooned to a staggering 32 combatants who will attempt to capture the coveted New Japan Cup trophy, and earn a IWGP Heavyweight Championship match in the process. While this change will undoubtedly open the door for a number of potential five-star matches, it will also likely draw the ire of one of this year’s competitors - Tetsuya Naito. During last year’s New Japan Cup event, Naito was rather critical of who the higher-ups in New Japan allowed to enter the tournament. He went on record as saying that the tournament’s format needed changes, specifically in the quality of the wrestlers allowed to enter and in the fact that champions should be allowed to enter the tournament as well. In what could possibly be seen as a somewhat “hold my beer” moment by New Japan officials the tournament will now feature current titleholders in New Japan Pro Wrestling, as Naito himself had regularly asked for. But will likely irritate the normally “tranquilo” El Ingobernable is the fact that the tournament bracket has doubled in size since last year’s New Japan Cup. Below is a picture of this year’s New Japan Cup tournament bracket; the tournament itself is set to begin on March 8th, 2019.
* A noted change to the bracket listed above is that David Finlay has been withdrawn from the tournament after sustaining as dislocated shoulder during the Honor Rising tour at the end of February. Ryusuke Taguchi has been announced as his replacement.
The first round alone of this year’s New Japan Cup is set to provide fans with a number of jaw-dropping matches including Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi, Zack Sabre Jr. vs. EVIL, Yuji Nagata vs. Tomohiro Ishii, and Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin (to name a few). With that in mind I wanted to list my picks for the competitors who I believe will advance to the tournament’s final four, as well as the man I believe will take home this year’s New Japan Cup trophy.
Pool A Predicted Winner: Taichi
Starting from the top left with Pool A we have notable crowd favorites like Juice Robinson and Tomohiro Ishii making up this portion of the bracket. Add in the presence of hardened veterans like Nagata and Honma, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the ever-devious Taichi, and Pool A looks like it could be a wide open part of the bracket. What may come as a surprise to a number of people reading this article is that I have none other than Taichi advancing to the final four out of Pool A. The Dark Emporer of New Japan Pro Wrestling had what many would consider a breakout year in 2018, where he captured his first singles title in New Japan Pro Wrestling when he unseated Hirooki Goto to become the NEVER Openweight Champion. To me, Taichi is poised to take the next step in elevating himself higher in the card in New Japan with a deep run in this tournament.
Pool B Predicted Winner: Kazuchika Okada
In what I like to call the “Pool of Giants”, Pool B will feature three of the tallest competitors in this year’s New Japan Cup: Lance Archer, Bad Luck Fale, and Hikuleo. This portion of the bracket will also feature notable stars such as Unbreakable Michael Elgin and the Aerial Assassin Will Ospreay. But without question the stand out name seeded in Pool B is the Rainmaker Kazuchika Okada. The latter half of 2018, and really the start of 2019, was a highly-publicized rough patch in Okada’s career. The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion (who shattered numerous records during his fourth reign as champion) lost his title to Kenny Omega in June of 2018. From there he went through a noticeable change in his personality and in-ring style, becoming much more free-spirited and sometimes careless during his matches. After failing to win the 2018 G1 Climax, and thus being left out of the IWGP Heavyweight Title picture at Wrestle Kingdom for the first time since 2012, the Rainmaker’s hardships only grew from there. First he was betrayed by the man he had recruited into the Chaos faction earlier in 2018 Switchblade Jay White. Then, in an even more shocking turn of events, he was stabbed in the back by his long-time mentor and confidant Gedo, who along with Jay White would join the newly restructured Bullet Club. Since falling to Jay White at Wrestle Kingdom 14, Okada has been looking to right the ship and move himself back into the IWGP Heavyweight Championship conversation. By having a deep run in the tournament, and potentially winning it, he will be able to do just that.
Pool C Predicted Winner: Kota Ibushi
Much like what I had done with Pool B, I have given a nickname to Pool C in the 2019 New Japan Cup: “Murderer’s Row”. This portion of the bracket is likely filled with the highest number of participants that fans and journalists alike consider as favorites to win the tournament. This pool features the most former New Japan Cup winners with four (Tanahashi, Naito, Ibushi, and Sabre Jr.), two former IWGP Heavyweight Champions (Tanahashi and Naito), the defending New Japan Cup tournament champion (Sabre Jr.), the finalists of last year’s G1 Climax tournament (Tanahashi and Ibushi), AND three of the last four New Japan Cup winners (Ibushi, Naito, and Sabre Jr.). So with such a stacked lineup of stars competing in this part of the bracket - let’s not forget guys like EVIL and Hiroyoshi Tenzan either - it seems almost impossible to pick someone to advance to the final four out of Pool C. I decided to pick with my heart for this part of the tournament bracket and thusly chose Kota Ibushi as the man who would represent Pool C in the final four of the 2019 New Japan Cup. The Golden Star will have his work cut out for him as his first match of the tournament will be against the reigning IWGP Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito, and a showdown with the Ace of New Japan Hiroshi Tanahashi will almost certainly be in the future for Ibushi if he hopes to advance deep in the tournament. But my gut tells me that, in the 2019 New Japan Cup, the Golden Star will shine brightly.
Pool D Predicted Winner: Minoru Suzuki
The fourth and final pool of the 2019 New Japan Cup includes battle-hardened veterans, sadists, master thieves, and the only three time winner in the tournament’s history. Notable names such as Togi Makabe, Satoshi Kojima, Minoru Suzuki, Toru Yano, and Hirooki Goto make up Pool D of this year’s tournament bracket; and, the man who advances to final four from Pool D will likely have to endure an immense amount of punishment to do so. With potential matches in this part of the bracket including Suzuki vs. Goto, Makabe vs. Yano, Makabe vs. Suzuki, and Colt Cabana vs. Yano (a comedy wrestling fan’s dream match), fans should not sleep on the action that may unfold in Pool D. In my opinion the King of Pro Wrestling, the Elder Statesman of Sadism, and the leader of Suzuki-Gun Minoru Suzuki is the most likely to advance to the final four out of Pool D. The 50-year old veteran has continued to get better with age, defying logic and father time at seemingly ever turn to remain one of the most feared competitors in all of New Japan Pro Wrestling. It is my belief that Suzuki-Gun will be represented in the 2019 New Japan Cup final four, and who better to be that representative than the faction’s merciless leader.
Predicted Tournament Winner: Kazuchika Okada
This was a REALLY hard choice for me to make as when I began to fill out my bracket and penciled in both Kazuchika Okada and Kota Ibushi in the tournament’s final match, I felt conflicted at who I truly believed would emerge as the 2019 New Japan Cup winner. On one hand I had Kota Ibushi, who had a memorable run to the finals of the 2018 G1 Climax tournament and who recently inked a multi-year deal to become a full-time member of the New Japan roster. On the other hand I had Kazuchika Okada, the embattled leader of Chaos who is seeking to both thrust himself back into title contention while also still eyeing vengeance against Switchblade Jay White. If possible I would love for both of these men to be named co-winners of the tournament to face Jay White in a triple threat match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship (hey, a man can dream), but will almost assuredly not be the case. I ultimately chose Okada as my pick to win the 2019 New Japan Cup because he would have an overall easier path to the tournament’s finals when compared to Kota Ibushi. Add in the fact that Ibushi’s high-risk style of offense will likely take an impactful toll on his body, and the choice of the Rainmaker as this year’s tournament winner became the right one in my mind. With the win Okada would claim his second New Japan Cup trophy, and his first since winning the tournament in 2013. Oh and by the way, the last time Kazuchika Okada won the New Japan Cup he went on to capture the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to begin his second run with the belt.
Below I have shared a picture of my predictions for the entire 2019 New Japan Cup. Be sure to sign up for the NJPW World streaming service to catch all the action from this year’s New Japan Cup tournament, and remember to follow Turn Tweener Wrestling on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news and rumors from the world of pro wrestling!
