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

NJPW, 3/23/13 (WPW/iPPV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
2,015 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Manabu Nakanishi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat Yuji Nagata, Super Strong Machine & BUSHI (10:07) when Nakanishi used an Argentine backbreaker on BUSHI.
2. Togi Makabe, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Satoshi Kojima beat Takashi Iizuka, Yujiro Takahashi & YOSHI-HASHI (11:13) when Kojima used a lariat on YOSHI-HASHI.
3. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Hirooki Goto beat Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8:14) with the Goto Shiki.
4. New Japan Cup – Semi Final: Kazuchika Okada beat Toru Yano (10:42) with the Red Ink.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado beat Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer & TAKA Michinoku (14:04) when Ishii used a brainbuster on TAKA.
6. Karl Anderson, Tama Tonga, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi beat Hiroshi Tanahashi, Captain New Japan, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley (13:22) when Devitt used the Bloody Sunday on Captain.
7. New Japan Cup – Final: Kazuchika Okada beat Hirooki Goto (23:52) with the Rainmaker.

* The incredible Kazuchika Okada has done it! In little more than 14 months after returning from his overseas excursion he has now won the IWGP Heavyweight Title, G1 Climax, and New Japan Cup! Okada today completed the hat-trick by winning the 2013 New Japan Cup, first defeating CHAOS comrade Yano in the semi final while Goto beat Davey Boy Smith Jr. Then the two native big guns collided in the final with Okada overcoming Goto (the winner in 3 of the last 4 NJC tournaments before today) using his Rainmaker! And so destiny draws Hiroshi Tanahashi and Kazuchika Okada back together and they faced off after the match with their fourth big match since Okada’s return now set for 4/7 at Sumo Hall. Tanahashi is 2-1 going into it having beaten Okada in the Tokyo Dome main event… will Okada continue to make history and defeat the man who took the title from him last June?

* IWGP Jr. Tag Team Title co-holder Alex Shelley challenged Prince Devitt to a match for his IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Title on 4/7 at Sumo Hall after the semi final.

* Tomoaki Honma returned to New Japan after the second match to save former GBH pal Togi Makabe from a CHAOS beatdown. Honma was fired by New Japan for some allegedly dodgy reasons looks to have been allowed back.

* Nakamura & Ishii challenged the Killer Elite Squad for a match for the IWGP Tag Team Title with Archer & Smith accepting but at the same time Davey Boy Jr. challenged Shinsuke for a match for his IWGP Intercontinental Title! Ishii’s improved results on this tour look to have been rewarded if he’s given a shot at the tag belts.

* It was announced that the NWA will send an “assassin” to the 4/7 Sumo Hall (video) and he is NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Rob Conway, who wrestled in the WWE for 7 years and held the WWE Tag Team Title three times with Sylvain Grenier as La Résistance. Kojima has requested a title match and looks to be the the first line of defense against the NWA “invasion”.

* Yuji Nagata has requested a singles match with Kazushi Sakuraba on 4/7 after they collided in a tag match on 3/17 in Amagasaki. These two were youngsters during the legendary New Japan vs. UWFi feud and first met around 18 years ago.

* So after all those challenges “INVASION ATTACK” on 4/7 is shaping up very nicely with a possible card of Tanahashi vs. Okada (IWGP Heavyweight), Nagata vs. Sakuraba, Conway vs. Kojima (NWA World Heavyweight) Nakamura & Ishii vs. KES (IWGP Tag) OR Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. (IWGP IC), and Devitt vs. Shelley (IWGP Jr.).

–> ANNIVERSARY SERIES (3/4/13 to 3/10/13) <--

NJPW, 3/4/13
Tsubame Citizen Gymnasium
1,650 Fans – Super No Vacancy Full House

1. Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu went to a draw (10:00) when the time limit expired.
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask beat KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi (10:40) when Devitt used the Bloody Sunday on Takahashi.
3. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga beat YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo (10:39) when Anderson used the Gun Stun on Gedo.
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan beat Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Takaaki Watanabe (13:46) when Tenzan used a diving headbutt on Watanabe.
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado beat Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & TAKA Michinoku (13:47) when Okada used the Rainmaker on TAKA.
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto beat Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi (15:46) when Tanahashi used the High Fly Flow on Iizuka.

-

New Japan announced participants and round one matches for the 2013 New Japan Cup, the 9th edition of the “G1 of Spring”. There are no major surprises in the tournament and the top round one matches continue the ongoing CHAOS vs. Suzuki Gun feud with Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Okada vs. Lance Archer as the two main matches. Right underneath is the rivalry that never dies as Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki happens again, two months after Nagata pinned Suzuki at the Tokyo Dome. “Laughter7″ Kazushi Sakuraba & Katsuyori Shibata will appear on the 3/17 Amagasaki show in a tag match. The 3/20 Sendai show is a complete sell out in advance. The winner of the tournament of course will get a shot at Tanahashi’s IWGP Heavyweight Title, most likely on the big 4/7 Sumo Hall show titled “INVASION ATTACK”.

NJPW, 3/11/13 (Samurai! TV)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

1. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Satoshi Kojima vs. Tomohiro Ishii
2. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Hirooki Goto vs. Tama Tonga
3. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi vs. Toru Yano
4. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Karl Anderson
5. Special 6 Man Tag Match: Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA & Alex Shelley vs. Captain New Japan, Prince Devitt & Ryusuke Taguchi
6. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Togi Makabe vs. Yujiro Takahashi
7. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki
8. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Kazuchika Okada vs. Lance Archer
9. New Japan Cup – Round 1: Shinsuke Nakamura vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr.

NJPW, 3/17/13 (Samurai! TV)
Amagasaki Memorial Park Gymnasium

1. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Winner of Makabe/Yujiro vs. Winner of Nakamura/Smith Jr.
2. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Winner of Kojima/Ishii vs. Winner of Goto/Tonga
3. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Winner of Tenzan/Anderson vs. Winner of Okada/Archer
4. New Japan Cup – Round 2: Winner of Nagata/Suzuki vs. Winner of Nakanishi/Yano

NJPW, 3/19/13
Shirakawa City Central Gymnasium

1. Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
3. Hirooki Goto & BUSHI vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Gedo
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Tama Tonga
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Jado vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & TAKA Michinoku
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Karl Anderson vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi

NJPW, 3/20/13
Sendai Industrial Exhibition Hall Aztec Museum

1. Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask vs. KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
3. Karl Anderson & Tama Tonga vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Jado
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Takaaki Watanabe
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & TAKA Michinoku
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Hirooki Goto vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi

NJPW, 3/22/13
Kumagaya Citizen Gymnasium

1. Sho Tanaka vs. Yohei Komatsu
2. Prince Devitt, Ryusuke Taguchi, Hiromu Takahashi & Takaaki Watanabe vs. KUSHIDA, Alex Shelley, Jushin Thunder Liger & Tiger Mask
3. Hirooki Goto & BUSHI vs. YOSHI-HASHI & Jado
4. Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Captain New Japan vs. Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Karl Anderson
5. Shinsuke Nakamura, Kazuchika Okada, Tomohiro Ishii & Gedo vs. Minoru Suzuki, Lance Archer, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & TAKA Michinoku
6. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tama Tonga vs. Toru Yano, Takashi Iizuka & Yujiro Takahashi

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

1. New Japan Cup – Semi Final:
2. New Japan Cup – Semi Final:
3. New Japan Cup – Final: