Two wrestlers advance to New Japan Cup 2026 second round
The first two matches in the 2026 New Japan Cup took place Wednesday.
In the semi-main event at Korakuen Hall, House of Torture’s Don Fale defeated Olympic gold medalist Aaron Wolf in the opening match of the single-elimination tournament. Several House of Torture members attacked Wolf during his entrance and continued to interfere throughout the match. At one point it appeared Wolf had the bout won with an Angle Slam, but the referee was pulled out of the ring before he could make the three count. Fale later picked up the win with his Grenade finisher.
In the main event, Yuya Uemura defeated Great-O-Khan to advance to the second round. Uemura picked up the victory with a Deadbolt Suplex followed by a high cross, then thanked the Tokyo crowd for their support as the show came to a close.
With the win, Fale moves on to face Shingo Takagi in the second round on March 10 in Okayama. Takagi received a first-round bye. Uemura will face Drilla Moloney the same night, with Moloney also having received a first-round bye.
Next up in the tournament, New Japan returns to Korakuen Hall on Thursday with two more first-round matches: Taichi vs. Ren Narita and Boltin Oleg vs. El Phantasmo.
Full coverage from today’s show, courtesy of Corey Michaels, is available here.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has appeared in award-winning publications such as NOW Magazine and The Huffington Post. He joined the F4WOnline team in 2019 and was named managing editor in the summer of 2026. Born in Calgary, Alberta, Ian has covered professional wrestling for more than 15 years.