–> NEW JAPAN CUP 2013 (3/11/13 to 3/23/13) <--

NJPW, 3/17/13 (Samurai! TV)
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium
5,500 Fans – Super No Vacancy

1. Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Captain New Japan & BUSHI (8:22) when Tiger used a crucifix hold on BUSHI.
2. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Takashi Iizuka, YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo (11:58) when Kojima used a lariat on Gedo.
3. Shinsuke Nakamura & Jado beat Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku (9:34) when Nakamura used the Boma Ye on TAKA.
4. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Yujiro Takahashi (11:43) with a jumping powerbomb.
5. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Hirooki Goto beat Tomohiro Ishii (18:46) with the Shouten Kai.
6. Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata beat Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi (11:13) when Sakuraba used a triangle choke hold on Nakanishi.
7. Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley beat Tama Tonga, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi (12:18) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Tonga.
8. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Toru Yano beat Minoru Suzuki (10:14) with the Akakiri.
9. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Kazuchika Okada beat Karl Anderson (15:27) with the Rainmaker.

* Kazuchika Okada won the 2012 G1 Climax final rematch today against Karl Anderson to move one step closer of completing a hat-trick of IWGP Heavyweight Title, G1 Climax, and New Japan Cup since his return to Japan 14 1/2 months ago. The Rainmaker sunk the Machine Gun before a sold out crowd of 5,500 to set up a semi final against CHAOS comrade Toru Yano who pulled off a big win over Minoru Suzuki to continue a great month for him that also saw him pin Takashi Sugiura to win the GHC Tag Team Title for he and Iizuka.

* Hirooki Goto has a big chance of making it 4 New Japan Cup tournament wins in 5 years after beating Tomohiro Ishii in a close match. Ishii had beaten Kojima in round one, which itself was a major overachievement, and he came close to doing it again today but Goto had just too much and dropped him with the Shouten Kai. Goto will meet Davey Boy Smith Jr., who defeated Nakamura in round one and added another CHAOS scalp to his collection today with a win over Yujiro.

* Laughter7 met tough opposition in their latest return to New Japan, facing former IWGP Tag Team Champions and third generation veterans Yuji Nagata & Manabu Nakanishi. This wasn’t as overwhelming a win as some of their tag matches have been but they were victorious when Sakuraba choked out Nakanishi with a triangle choke. Saku and Nagata slapped hands out of respect after the match with a future rematch suggested.

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NJPW, 3/23/13 (WPW/iPPV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hirooki Goto vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.
2. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada vs. Toru Yano
3. New Japan Cup – Final: