After an instant classic between Zack Sabre, Jr. and Kota Ibushi the 2018 New Japan Cup final four is set!
The story between these two men will always be ZSJ’s submission game against Ibushi’s strikes. It’s almost like an MMA matchup between a wrestler and a striker with a real life chess game taking place before our eyes. Early on Kota was eating Zack up with strikes before ZSJ was able to get a hold of Ibushi’s leg.
From here on Sabre torques at Kota’s limbs and even locks in a gnarly STF. Ibushi fights back leading to the final run with ZSJ locking in the octopus stretch while kicking, grinding and stretching Kota all at once. Seriously peeps Sabre is as savage as they come in these closing moments. Finally, referee Red Shoes had seen enough and calls for the bell…ZSJ by referee stoppage. This was Ibushi’s first New Japan Cup loss of his career which should tell you how high NJPW is on Zack right now. I didn’t go into more detail because this match is worth seeking out. WATCH THIS ASAP!
SANADA moved on too after submitting Toru Yano in a “not as bad as it could have been” matchup. Both used dirty tactics, as expected, and Yano almost got the win with his signature low blow/roll up combo. As the ref’s hand was coming down for the three count SANADA caught his hand which was actually pretty badass. Soon after SANADA hits a low blow of his own and locks in Skull End for the victory. Didn’t have high hopes for this one but it was actually pretty fun and SANADA has been growing on me the last year so all in all not a bad co-main.
The New Japan Cup semi-finals take place this weekend with Juice Robinson/Hiroshi Tanahashi and SANADA/ZSJ.
John Mosley is the independent wrestling and TV aficionado of the SoBros Network. He graduated from ETSU with a degree in Radio, TV and Film along with a minor in Film Studies. Since graduating he’s done pretty much nothing but watch, film, edit or commentate for local wrestling promotions and is the current color commentator for Resolute Wrestling. #Preds #Titans #DefendOrVacateConor – Follow on Twitter: @CoupleOfJobbers
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