Originally published at New Japan Cup Final is set
The finals of the New Japan Cup are set after Monday’s card in Fukushima.
In the first semi-final, Yota Tsuji advanced to the final by pinning EVIL while overcoming the usual House of Torture involvement.
Immediately, the House of Torture interfered and was joined by Hiromu Takahashi and BUSHI of LIJ when the match was thrown out after ninety seconds before being restarted.
There were several ref bumps which opened the door for another appearance by EVIL’s group. The run-ins climaxed with an appearance by Shingo Takagio to thwart Ren Narita, who was about to strike with the weightlifting bar. BUSHI hit EVIL with the black mist as Takagi followed with a Pumping Bomber.
Tsuji finished the match by hitting the Gene Blast and pinned EVIL at 16:50.
In the main event in Fukushima, Hirooki Goto advanced to Wednesday’s final after pinning former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA.
Goto has dedicated this year’s tournament to his father, who died last month.
The crowd intensity picked up down the final stretch of the match as the two exchanged several near-falls. Goto survived a shining wizard and landed the match-finishing GTR at 19:05 to secure a spot in the final.
Tsuji and Goto had a face-off inside of the ring as the show concluded.
Goto has previously won the New Japan Cup in 2009, 2010, and 2012. He was also a finalist in 2013, 2015, and 2016.
SANADA won last year’s New Japan Cup which led to him beating Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP World Heavyweight title at Sakura Genesis last April,