The bracket for the 2017 New Japan Cup has been unveiled earlier today, featuring 16 competators all vying for a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika Okada at Sakura Genesis on April 9th. The first set of matches take place on March 11th and 12th, the Quarter Finals on the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 17th, the Semi Finals on the 19th, and the final on March 20th. The brackets are as follows These Matches take place on March 11th. Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Evil The Ace of NJPW takes on the Arn Anderson of Los ingobernables de Japon, the King of Darkness, EVIL. Tanahashi and Evil have found themselves in opposing corners as of late while fighting over the NEVER Openweight 6 man hot potatoes, and while their encounters weren’t as exciting as Tanahashi’s battles with Sanada, this match will still be a featured contest of the first round. Prediction – Tanahashi could go all the way to the finals. Yugi Nagata vs Tanga Roa After an injury sustained in a match last week, Honma has withdrawn from the tournament. His replacement is podcast favourite "Blue Justice" Yugi Nagata Tanga Roa will be looking to make an impression here, much like his tag partner did in the G1, however he will face tough opposition from the former IWGP heavyweight champion. Prediction: Tanga Roa sneaks through Michael Elgin vs Bad Luck Fale. Fresh from his 5* match with Naito for the IWGP Intercontinental championship at New Beginnings, Big Mike will have a lot of eyes on him going into the New Japan Cup. He faces the Underboss of the Bullet Club in this first round matchup of the big lads. This should be a good showcase of Elgin’s ability to play the Babyface in peril, while also offering up some nice feats of strength. Prediction – Elgin to the semi final against Tanahashi. Toru Yano vs Tama Tonga. Toru Yano has been on a bit of a roll since returning to NJPW full time, he is currently one half of the IWGP Heavyweight tag team champions and he faces here one of the men he dethroned for those titles. Tama Tonga will get to show more of the showmanship which won this writer over in the G1 last year, and also set up a future title shot at the CHAOS members tag team titles. Prediction – Tonga victory, lose to Elgin in the semi final. The Following take place on March 12th Katsuyori Shibata vs Minoru Suzuki ITS WAR When Suzuki gun returned at New Years Dash, one of the matches people wanted to see was this. Shibata has a reputation as one of the hardest hitters and over the last year and a half has built a reputation that only one man can match, and that man is Suzuki. Suzuki is a genuinely terrifying man and this match will be sure to have some fireworks. Prediction – Suzuki could go all the way to the final, but so could Shibata, Ill just be happy this match is happening. Juice Robinson vs Yujiro Takahashi. Juice Robinson is currently receiving a lot of recognition for how much he has improved over the last year since joining NJPW. Here he faces the Tokyo Pimp, a man who actually picks up quite a lot of wins in tag matches for the Bullet Club, however this should be a feature match for Juice. Prediction – Juice to get knocked out by the winner of Suzuki/Shibata. Tomohiro Ishii vs Kenny Omega As if this side of the bracket wasn’t stacked enough, here we get a bit of a dream match for those in the know. Ishii has, as quietly as a man who competes like he does, put together an impressive resume over the last year, including several star making performances in the G1 Climax, which included a victory over CHAOS stable leader and IWGP champion Kazuchika Okada. He will face off against one of the people that can claim to have had a better year of matches. Kenny Omega returned at this weekends Honor Rising shows to huge receptions and the expectation is that he will be champion sooner rather than later, will this tournament be the road to the title for Omega? Prediction – Omega possibly in the final, will be tough. YOSHI-HASHI vs SANADA The CHAOS member with the most ridiculous hair, YOSHI HASHI is coming off an unsuccessful attempt at dethroning the ROH champion Adam Cole (Baybee), but has been building steam as he raises his standing not only in CHAOS, but in NJPW. SANADA is one of the most under-utilised competitors in NJPW, capiable of having great matches with pretty much anyone. This should be a great little match. Predictions – YOSHI-HASHI to be eliminated in the next round. So that’s the first round of the tournament, full brackets thanks to @evandeadlysinsW.
Listen into the Royal Grumble every Sunday for all the news and results from this years New Japan cup, as well as coverage right here on the website. You can watch the full tournament live on NJPW World.com
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