NJPW recently announced their return. This year edition of the New Japan Cup will take place from June 16 to July 11 at Osaka Jo-Hall.
NJPW also announced the new brackets for this tournament considering some of the talent announced earlier this year can’t travel to Japan for now. With this prestigious tournament coming back, the speculation on who will win this year’s edition will be interesting topic for the next few months.
As always, the winner of the NJ Cup will receive a title match against current IWGP Heavyweight 6 Intercontinental Champion Tetsuya Naito on July 12 at Osaka Jo-Hall.
SANADA
Last year’s finalist, SANADA, is the only member of Los Ingobernable de Japón that does not hold a championship. SANADA will want to prove his worth now more than ever.
In the last couple of years, SANADA has been advancing progressively in this tournament and this year could be finally his year. For many, he is the favorite to win this year’s edition.
Hiroshi Tanahashi
“The Ace of the Universe” is always a favorite for these type of events. Now more than ever, Tanahashi will want to win the cup and challenge Tetsuya Naito for both the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Championships.
Hiromu Takahashi
The current IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion is the wild card of this tournament. Fans were disappointed when his match against Tetsuya Naito was cancelled because of COVID-19, but now the hope of seeing two of the most charismatic members of Los Ingobernables de Japón clashing has returned.
Kazuchika Okada
The former IWGP Heavyweight Champion is always a top contender in all NJPW tournaments and this is no exception.
Okada will want payback for losing the IWGP Heavyweight Championship against Tetsuya Naito earlier this year and the NJ Cup brings him the opportunity to face him again.
Matches
June 1st
- Yota Tsuji Makabe vs. Togi Makabe
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. El Desperado
- Jado vs. Toru Yano
- Toki Honma vs. Hiromu Takahashi
June 17th
- Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo
- Minoru Suzuki vs. Yuji Nagata
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Yuya Uemura
- Yuya Uemura vs. Gabriel Kidd
June 22nd
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi
- Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
- SANADA vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
- Shingo Takagi vs. SHO
June 23rd
- YOSHI-HASHI vs. Hiroshi Tenzan
- BUSHI vs. YOH
- EVIL vs. Sataoshi Kojima
- Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi
June 24th & July 1st
- Second Round
July 2nd
- Quarterfinals
July 3rd
- Semi-finals
July 11th
- Finals
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