8 months ago
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NJPW
The New Japan Cup continued earlier today with its ninth night of action slated to feature two quarterfinal matches in Nagoya. Before the event had started, it was announced that former IWGP Global Heavyweight Champion David Finlay was out with an illness, and was at the hospital undergoing treatment. Therefore, Hirooki Goto had a bye to the semi-finals.
The main event of the night was the second quarter-final, an AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023 rematch between Jack Perry and SANADA. Perry lost the last time out, so he fought with immediate aggression, taking the ring announcer's mic and choking his opponent out with the cable before the bell had even rung. The former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion wrestled as the underdog against Perry, flanked by the maligned House of Torture group, and it looked at countless times that Perry had got his win back.
However, SANADA's own faction "Just 5 Guys" equaled the odds, and he remarkably found a way to snatch a pinfall from the exiled AEW star. After this round, SANADA and Hirooki Goto are scheduled to clash in the semi-finals on Monday in Fukushima. On the other side of the tournament bracket, Yota Tsuji faces Ren Narita and EVIL takes on Shingo Takagi in quarter-final action on Sunday in Shizuoka. That will determine Monday's second semi-final contest, as the tournament concludes on Wednesday. Perry's NJPW Cup run has been his latest involvement since arriving in Japan in January. At the time of his debut he had been suspended indefinitely by AEW, but made his return in what could be described as a loan situation through the working relationship between the promotions.
