The second round of the New Japan Cup officially begins.
These are the confirmed participants who advanced into the second round of the annual tournament: Tetsuya Naito, Oleg Boltin, Great-O-Khan, Drilla Moloney, Yuya Uemura, EVIL, Ryohei Oiwa, Gabe Kidd, David Finlay, YOSHI-HASHI, Zack Sabre Jr., Taichi, Shota Umino, Jeff Cobb, TJP, and Shingo Takagi.
Night three saw a few surprises such as David Finlay getting the better of former IWGP Heavyweight Champion EVIL. Heel shenanigans are also expected in EVIL’s matches, but it backfired this time. Though there is a lingering question on the partnership of SANADA and Finlay when the former accidentally hit the latter. Finlay and EVIL brought their fight to the floor. Finlay threw EVIL into Togo and ran back into the ring before the 20 count. EVIL lost the match by count out.
Former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Zack Sabre Jr. was able to finish the job in his match against Ryohei Oiwa. It was a back-and-forth battle for nearly 20 minutes that saw a strong nearfall where Oiwa kicked out after Zack hit the Sabre Driver. In the end, Zack got the three count thanks to his mousetrap cradle pin.
Yuya Uemura had a nearly 15 minute bout against YOSHI-HASHI and survived a decapting lariat from the New Japan veteran. YOSHI-HASHI's experience was a big factor for his control early on, but Uemura was able to capitilize off a big mistake. The rising star ultimately got the win thanks to a Deadbolt suplex.
Below is the full results of Night Three of New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s 2026 New Japan Cup:
- Yuji Nagata, Satoshi Kojima & Daiki Nagai def. Hirooki Goto, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Katsuya Murashima
- United Empire (TJP, Jeff Cobb & Callum Newman) def. Drilla Moloney, Bad Luck Fale & Chase Owens
- Los Ingobernables de Japon (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Yota Tsuji & BUSHI) def. Boltin Oleg, El Phantasmo, Toru Yano & Jado
- BULLET CLUB War Dogs (Gabe Kidd & SANADA) def. Taichi & TAKA Michinoku
- Shota Umino & Tomohiro Ishii def. United Empire (Great-O-Khan & Jakob Austin Young)
- New Japan Cup Second Round Match: Yuya Uemura def. YOSHI-HASHI
- New Japan Cup Second Round Match: Zack Sabre Jr. def. Ryohei Oiwa
- New Japan Cup Second Round Match: David Finlay def. EVIL