NJPW 4/19/05 Results

The New Japan Cup Openweight Tournament kicked off with a big show that consisted of the eight opening round matches of the tournament, which saw some big upsets as well as expected results. The opening match saw Koji Kanemoto pull off a big upset as he defeated heavyweight Ryushi Yanagisawa! The Junior Charisma was overpowered early on, but bounced back as the two exchanged strikes and submissions. Kanemoto would manage to escape the Yanagi-Lock, but Yanagisawa would kick out of Kanemoto's moonsault! Kanemoto would hit the falcon-arrow for another near fall, and after grappling for a bit, was finally able to make Yanagisawa submit to a modifed ankle lock in the centre of the ring! Rookie Hirooki Goto put on a strong showing in his match with Manabu Nakanishi as the replacement for Masayuki Naruse, but the youngster was overpowered from the start despite getting a few blows in, and ultimately was put away by Nakanishi's high-angle German suplex. Minoru Tanaka entered Muga-World next as he pitted his skills against Osamu Nishimura. The two put on the match of the night as they traded ground holds and submission locks with some good old-fashioned brawling. Nishimura managed to escape the Minoru Special, and likewise Tanaka managed to kick out of the backslide. Tanaka even scored a near fall countering a small-package into one of his own! Unfortunately for Tanaka, unlike Kanemoto earlier, he wasn't able to defeat his heavyweight opponent and after an exhausting battle, was put away by Nisimura's trademark backslide. The next match was a battle of the big men as Yutaka Yoshie took on Scott Norton. Alot of power moves displayed in this one, including Yoshie giving Norton a half-nelson suplex! Norton would hit the Norton-bomb, but Yoshie kicked out at 2.9! Yoshie would battle back giving Norton a running uraken, followed by a diving guillotine leg drop off the top for a 2.9! Yoshie would finish off Norton by slamming him down with a running powerslam followed by the diving body press off the top for the win! It should also be noted the match was Yoshie's first direct victory over Norton ever. Black New Japan leader Masahiro Chono made short work of his first round opponent, IWGP Jr. Champion Tiger Mask. Chono overpowered Tiger from the start and blasted away with Yakuza Kicks, and even the Shining Yakuza Kick, before landing another to seal the win and advance. The highly anticipated return of Kendo Kashin was next as he faced supernova Shinsuke Nakamura. Kashin was up to his old tricks as usual, and dominated Nakamura early on with quick submission attempts and even reverted to using a low blow to keep Nakamura down. Kashin would land a pair of brainbusters, but Nakamura countered a third attempt into a front neck lock! Kashin would escape and manage to hit his flying cross-armbreaker submission finisher, but Nakamura would manage to escape to the ropes! Nakamura battled back with several big strikes, and hit a beautiful German suplex for a 2 count. Kashin fought back and hit super cross-armbreaker off the top, but Nakamura still wouldn't tap out! Nakamura would manage to lock on the Shining Triangle, but Kashin would reach the ropes to break it. Nakamura then landed a German suplex again for a 2.9! Nakamura than managed to finally lock on the Shining Triangle in the middle of the ring, and Kashin fought for all he could before eventually tapping out! IWGP Champion Hiroyoshi Tenzan was up next as he squared off against junior ace Jushin Thunder Liger. Much like Chono/Tiger earlier, Tenzan dominated Liger with ease as he tossed him around with suplexes and Germans. Liger would escape the Buffalo Sleeper and even kick out of a big moonsault from the IWGP champion, but was still overwhelmed and eventually put away by Tenzan's dreaded Anaconda Vice. The main event saw Yuji Nagata advance over Hiroshi Tanahashi. Nagata was dominant as he blasted Tanahashi with heavy strikes and backdrops. Tanahashi fought back with elbow strikes and a dropkick, and even locked on the Dragon Sleeper at one point, but Nagata would escape the hold and plant Tanahashi with a backdrop-hold for a near fall. Nagata would land a big jumping knee into the corner followed by the Nagata Lock II to get the submission win and advance to the next round. New Japan Cup Openweight Tournament 4/19/2005 New Japan Cup – Round 1: Koji Kanemoto beat Ryushi Yanagisawa in 19:15 with a modified rolling leg lock. 70% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi beat Hirooki Goto in 10:53 with a Fuji-yama German suplex-hold. 64% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Osamu Nishimura beat Minoru Tanaka in 24:57 with a backslide. 97% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Yutaka Yoshie beat Scott Norton in 18:55 with a diving body press. 81% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Masahiro Chono beat Tiger Mask in 11:42 with a Yakuza-Kick. 59% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Shinsuke Nakamura beat Kendo KaShin in 19:13 with the Shining Triangle. 84% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Jushin Thunder Liger in 11:37 with the Anaconda Vice. 66% New Japan Cup – Round 1: Yuji Nagata beat Hiroshi Tanahashi in 11:36 with the Nagata Lock II. 62%