New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced the biggest lineup ever for this year’s New Japan Cup. 48 wrestlers will compete this year. First 32 wrestlers will go head to head from March 2nd-7th, and then the 16 winners will go on to face 16 more wrestlers that received a first round bye to the second round. The second round will begin on March 9th, and the final match will take place on March 27th.
Here is your official New Japan Cup 2022 bracket!
Who do you think goes the distance this year?
It all starts LIVE in English March 2!https://t.co/DwaafavinO#njpw #njcup pic.twitter.com/SIrKzFD2ys
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) February 21, 2022
Seemingly the whole roster, save for a few overseas talents is in the tournament, as well as every champion, with the exception of NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion Tom Lawlor. Much like Wrestle Kingdom, CIMA is the lone outsider making a surprise appearance.
Last year’s New Japan Cup was won by Will Ospreay, who went on to defeat IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kota Ibushi at Sakura Genesis.
Here are the participants in the first round of this year’s New Japan Cup:
- IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Champion El Desperado
- IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion YOSHI-HASHI
- IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Hirooki Goto
- NEVER Openweight Champion & NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion EVIL
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion SHO
- NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Champion Yujiro Takahashi
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Ryusuke Taguchi
- KOPW 2022 Provisional Trophy Holder Toru Yano
- CIMA
- TAKA Michinoku
- Tomoaki Honma
- Yuji Nagata
- Togi Makabe
- Jeff Cobb
- Taichi
- Hiroshi Tanahashi
- YOH
- Tetsuya Naito
- Yuto Nakashima
- Aaron Henare
- Ryohei Oiwa
- Zack Sabre Jr.
- BUSHI
- Will Ospreay
- Great-O-Khan
- Kota Ibushi
- Chase Owens
- Jado
- Hiromu Takahashi
- Tomohiro Ishii
- Shingo Takagi
Here are the entrants receiving a bye to Round 2:
- IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Master Wato
- IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion SANADA
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan
- Dick Togo
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Bad Luck Fale
- Gedo
- Satoshi Kojima
- Kosei Fujita
- Taiji Ishimori
- DOUKI
- El Phantasmo
- Tama Tonga
- Tanga Loa
- Tiger Mask
- Minoru Suzuki
NEW JAPAN CUP FIRST ROUND
March 2nd, 4am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- CIMA vs. TAKA Michinoku
- YOSHI-HASHI vs. Tomoaki Honma
- Yuji Nagata vs. Hirooki Goto
- Togi Makabe vs. Jeff Cobb
- Toru Yano vs. Taichi
- YOH vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Tetsuya Naito vs. Yujiro Takahashi
- Kazuchika Okada vs. El Desperado
March 6th, 1am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- Aaron Henare vs. Yuto Nakashima
- Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Ryohei Oiwa
- Will Ospreay vs. BUSHI
- Kota Ibushi vs. Great-O-Khan
March 7th, 4:30am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- Chase Owens vs. Jado
- Ryusuke Taguchi vs. EVIL
- Hiromu Takahashi vs. SHO
- Tomohiro Ishii vs. Shingo Takagi
NEW JAPAN CUP SECOND ROUND
March 9th, 4:30am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- Master Wato vs. TBD
- Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. TBD
- Dick Togo vs. TBD
- Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. TBD
March 10th, 4:30am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- Bad Luck Fale vs. TBD
- Gedo vs. TBD
- Satoshi Kojima vs. TBD
- Kosei Fujita vs. TBD
March 12th, 3am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- Taiji Ishimori vs. TBD
- DOUKI vs. TBD
- SANADA vs. TBD
- El Phantasmo vs. TBD
March 13th, 1am ET on NJPWWorld.com
- Tanga Loa vs. TBD
- Tiger Mask vs. TBD
- Tama Tonga vs. TBD
- Minoru Suzuki vs. TBD
The third round will take place from March 14th-18th. The quarter finals will take place on March 20th & 21st. The semi-final will take place on March 26th. The finals will take place on March 27th.
