| 1 | 17.02.2025 | FelipeTalksGraps | 8.0 | [3.75*] By far the best match of the tournament until now and the only one deserving of a 8/10 grade. The beginning was slow and I got bored, but when I noticed the match was going to be a 20+ min epic, I understood it all. The second half is just impeccable and a lot better than every other single thing we saw on the NJ Cup, with a lot of incredible sequences and nearfalls. Yota is the only musketeer who may be ready to be a main eventer by next year (he still is not tho), and the only one who knows how to work a Main Event without Ospreay being involved. Jeff Cobb is the kind of guy who is getting knocked out on the 1st round, but still wants to give us the best bout of the whole thing before being written off, and I respect the hell out of it. Awesome match and both guys should be proud of it, they deserve this high rating. |
| 2 | 15.02.2025 | TheRefBump | | |
| 3 | 30.01.2025 | Reinhard Lohengramm | 8.0 | |
| 4 | 05.01.2025 | arrancar | 7.0 | Having missed out a good chunk of NJPW (and wrestling in general) since about April 2024, it's cool to see that Tsuji was apparently still impressing basically every time he stepped in the ring. Cobb was a good opponent for him here, as they both complemented each other well when it came to their bigger trades, their faster-paced interactions, and also the storytelling of Cobb's arrogance in taking Tsuji lightly. They started with some decent stand-offs and stalemates to represent both guys feeling equally confident, but Cobb soon gained control and began impressing with all his fun strength displays on top of his general arrogance, which did well in making it feel like Tsuji had quite an up-hill battle. Tsuji showed good energy and athleticism as he began fighting back, and he'd done a good job selling his struggle in the face of Cobb's control work, making his comeback itself feel quite rewarding. As usual, Tsuji has maybe the coolest offence in wrestling due to his great mix of aerial offence, power, and speed, coming off as an impressive all-rounder. I did have a slight issue in that you could see some of their spots and sequences being cooperatively set-up, given both guys would freeze or move into position beforehand, but it was never in any seriously bad way. I enjoyed seeing Cobb become more and more arrogant, like as he stole Tsuji's Spear (it thankfully didn't come off as some faux-epic finisher-steal moment, just as a continuation of Cobb's earlier bully arrogance) and as he did some Okada references, as if making fun of the idea that Tsuji was one of the guys expected to take over from him. Their more rapid run-on counters and few big moves were good, with some of them also being particularly creative. They thankfully never just mindlessly traded big moves back and forth, instead always remaining at that sort of 70-80% intensity level while almost entirely going for their 'upper-mid-level' moves, though definitely still throwing in a few really impressive bombs every now and then to keep that sense of escalation and freshness. Tsuji lighting Cobb up with big strikes while beginning to show more and more fiery confidence was really cool, while his bigger aerial moves and power moves remained very flashy and convincing. It appeared that the story was ultimately of Cobb's arrogance being his downfall, since if he hadn't been busy taunting Tsuji and instead kept after him, then he wouldn't have given Tsuji the time and space required to then fight back to equal ground and ultimately pull out the win as he did. They did admittedly come a bit closer to overkill territory towards the very end, and Tsuji's match-winning spear didn't look nearly as cool as his top-rope leg drop, so that was all a bit of a shame, but I still thought this was a pretty good match overall, with good action, good chemistry, and a decent enough story. ***1/4 |
| 5 | 25.12.2024 | PerroTriste101 | 8.0 | |
| 6 | 14.12.2024 | violetpoIaroid | 9.0 | |
| 7 | 04.12.2024 | wahoosleg | 9.0 | This was fantastic and a low-end match of the year candidate for me. Tsuji and Cobb have tremendous chemistry with one another, while also both possessing the ability to pull off some impressive and unexpected feats of athleticism for two wrestlers of their size. This felt like a breakthrough victory for Tsuji, which, in hindsight, is exactly what it turned out being. |
| 8 | 30.10.2024 | seriousbusiness | 8.0 | |
| 9 | 05.09.2024 | LincolnAntoine4482 | 6.0 | A true showcase of what Yota Tsuji is capable of for NJPW. Cobb was the type of opponent that brought the best out of each facet where Tsuji excels. His bumping around in the first portion of the match was good and Cobb got to show off his usual power game. Tsuji was able to rely on the Lucha he picked up in Mexico to turn the flow of the match. The two battle back and forth throughout the second half of the match with Tsuji really looking like a big match main-event talent by the time he picked up the win. |
| 10 | 05.09.2024 | danzitorock | 7.0 | This was a good match and one of the best of the tournament so far, but I don't think it deserves this high rating, the first 10 minutes were incredibly boring, they tried to do an epic-match with two guys that don't work well these type of matches... and it's not because I don't like epics, I love them, my MOTT is Shingo vs Yuya, a match many considered boring too, but I liked. It's just this one that didn't clicked with me, I was ready to complain about Tsuji again, but the final minutes were freaking awesome, thrilling action and drama, easily the best snip of the tournament - {***1/4} |
| 11 | 28.08.2024 | Paul04 | 9.0 | |
| 12 | 19.08.2024 | MaximusBidus | 8.0 | |
| 13 | 27.07.2024 | OneOfTheBeatles | 8.0 | |
| 14 | 26.07.2024 | theprincess23 | 8.0 | |
| 15 | 22.07.2024 | Kyle from TheMatchGuide | 7.0 | Easily the best match of the opening tournament, although I wish it was a bit more consistent. The crowd was into it more than any other match, and the ending stretch ruled. Tsuji continues to cement himself as the best new musketeer. 3.75 Stars. |
| 16 | 21.07.2024 | jajt1989 | 8.0 | |
| 17 | 04.07.2024 | Dakota369 | 8.0 | borderline excellent match, fair good sprint at the end that was pretty exciting, probably the best Yota Tsuji format match we will ever get |
| 18 | 20.06.2024 | Judestar | 8.0 | |
| 19 | 21.05.2024 | tds42099 | 7.0 | |
| 20 | 16.05.2024 | PEW565 | 8.0 | |
| 21 | 13.05.2024 | ParkwayDriver | 7.0 | |
| 22 | 10.05.2024 | LG47 | 8.0 | |
| 23 | 05.05.2024 | otherside | 7.0 | |
| 24 | 04.05.2024 | homunculus | 8.0 | |
| 25 | 04.05.2024 | Mfs96 | 9.0 | |
| 26 | 21.04.2024 | RedShow | 8.0 | |
| 27 | 14.04.2024 | njpwawwe | 8.0 | |
| 28 | 11.04.2024 | k9thagod1 | 8.0 | |
| 29 | 09.04.2024 | joethom | 8.0 | A tremendous power match. I loved Tsuji's super Curb Stomp, that looked fantastic with Cobb spiking himself into the mat. |
| 30 | 08.04.2024 | Firebird22 | 8.0 | |
| 31 | 07.04.2024 | Tarkovsky | 9.0 | |
| 32 | 06.04.2024 | NoNameAlexey | 8.0 | |
| 33 | 06.04.2024 | puroraisedme | 7.0 | |
| 34 | 05.04.2024 | kenniferomega | 8.0 | |
| 35 | 04.04.2024 | Fenix | 8.0 | |
| 36 | 29.03.2024 | DerHitman | 8.0 | |
| 37 | 27.03.2024 | NationofDefecation | 8.0 | |
| 38 | 26.03.2024 | popajimbo | 7.0 | |
| 39 | 26.03.2024 | SuperG77 | 8.0 | |
| 40 | 25.03.2024 | Rainmaker4196 | 8.0 | |
| 41 | 24.03.2024 | MaveDeltzer | 7.0 | |
| 42 | 23.03.2024 | AsukaFan2019 | 7.0 | |
| 43 | 22.03.2024 | mateofuerte | 8.0 | |
| 44 | 22.03.2024 | tomwaghorn | 9.0 | |
| 45 | 21.03.2024 | tsuki | 9.0 | |
| 46 | 20.03.2024 | thebodes | 8.0 | |
| 47 | 20.03.2024 | ZachTheOddBall | 7.0 | |
| 48 | 20.03.2024 | shanedouglastheme | 5.0 | I didn't find this to be phenomenal as the other ratings indicate. It was a pretty standard Cobb match. He did all of his usual reversal and throw spots and that was the bulk of the match. I really don't understand how a guy's traveling match can be viewed as much more than an average match. |
| 49 | 19.03.2024 | Mizzle Assault Ant | 9.0 | In the early going I thought this wasn't gonna live up to it's potential, but it got better and better as it went on. The more Cobb leaned into his greatest strength, i.e. literally his horse strength that allows him to chuck guys ridiculously, the more entertaining it was. Tsuji proved a pretty good opponent as well, personally I wouldn't have put him over but clearly NJPW is trying hard with him so it's expected, hope he can live up to it. |
| 50 | 19.03.2024 | BUIOOMEGA | 7.0 | |
| 51 | 19.03.2024 | Chriswarrior11 | 9.0 | |
| 52 | 17.03.2024 | franromanfraga | 8.0 | |
| 53 | 17.03.2024 | Zimbabouix | 8.0 | |
| 54 | 16.03.2024 | Animago | 8.0 | |
| 55 | 16.03.2024 | smokingcrab | 9.0 | |
| 56 | 16.03.2024 | MulXEdgeGJJ | 8.0 | |
| 57 | 16.03.2024 | bigsubwoofer | 8.0 | |
| 58 | 16.03.2024 | Ofir | 8.0 | |
| 59 | 16.03.2024 | chaos2988 | 8.0 | |
| 60 | 16.03.2024 | ColdSkull19 | 9.0 | |
| 61 | 15.03.2024 | felixshanewestern | 8.0 | |
| 62 | 15.03.2024 | WAKA Flockanoku | 8.0 | The best match of the tournament so far, Cobb and Tsuji worked well together and seemingly had some pretty good chemistry with Cobb being in charge for most of the beginning and Tsuji only getting the upper-hand for his big comeback. |
| 63 | 15.03.2024 | JackStiofain | 7.0 | |
| 64 | 15.03.2024 | PakaB | 10.0 | Fantastic match with two men who clearly work well together. An under rated aspect of this match is Jeff Cobb and his ability and willingness to put over everything Yota Tsuji offered. |
| 65 | 15.03.2024 | JTF | 8.0 | Definitely one of the better matches of the tournament up to this point. Tsuji continues to impress and Cobb really brought out his better qualities as a wrestler. I wouldn't mind seeing a rematch between these two later this year. |
| 66 | 14.03.2024 | AGoodLookingGuy | 9.0 | |
| 67 | 14.03.2024 | MarkCarnochan97 | 9.0 | I adored this match. Recently it has been interesting to note which of the younger stars gets the best reaction. This match seems to answer that question, it's Tsuji. Not only is he more over than his counterparts but his ability to put on a good match is great and he just seems to get better and better. This seems like a deining moment in his career and I truly believe he could win the cup. Great match. |
| 68 | 14.03.2024 | American Dragon II Jr | 7.0 | |
| 69 | 14.03.2024 | sixxgod | 8.0 | |
| 70 | 13.03.2024 | Cin3kk | 8.0 | |
| 71 | 13.03.2024 | felyaron | 8.0 | |
| 72 | 13.03.2024 | Emerald flash 33 | 8.0 | |
| 73 | 13.03.2024 | Rasmus Eriksen | 8.0 | |
| 74 | 13.03.2024 | F4br1C34 | 9.0 | |
| 75 | 13.03.2024 | Fifth Pillar | 8.0 | Great match. Having beast-mode Cobb dominate the first 10 minutes made Yota's pumped up comeback mean so much more. They briefly hit a stalemate before Tsuji had to dig super deep to survive a succession of Cobb's signature bombs. Finish was refreshingly no-nonsense and hard earned **** |
| 76 | 13.03.2024 | justind4885 | 8.0 | |
| 77 | 13.03.2024 | aguakun | 8.0 | |
| 78 | 13.03.2024 | hunterp | 8.0 | |
| 79 | 13.03.2024 | kickpuncher305 | 8.0 | |
| 80 | 13.03.2024 | Joelsonz | 8.0 | |
| 81 | 13.03.2024 | NervAce | 7.0 | |
| 82 | 12.03.2024 | Lord AdGnalDiv | 8.0 | |
| 83 | 12.03.2024 | YannisPapiss | 8.0 | |
| 84 | 12.03.2024 | Brettxedge | 9.0 | |
| 85 | 12.03.2024 | Personano | 7.0 | |
| 86 | 12.03.2024 | uni | 7.0 | Another solid 20 minute main event, the New Japan staple, this one also has the distinction of being maybe the second good match so far this tournament as well as coming after Narita and Taichi which sucked. Jeff Cobb isn't the type of guy that comes to mind when I think "20 minute New Japan main event" but I'm glad to see that he can pull it off with a guy as talented as Tsuji. Very light 4. |
| 87 | 12.03.2024 | TheRabbitInTheBush | 8.0 | |
| 88 | 12.03.2024 | Svenless | 8.0 | das war ein ansehnliches Duell zweier Power Houses1Ein bisher eher durchschnittlicher New Japan Vup hat ds beste 1. Runden Match zwischen Cobb vs Tsuji wird auch nach seiner Uemura Fehde stark dargestellt, mal sehen wo es mit ihm hingeht (****) |
| 89 | 12.03.2024 | AZMSZN | 8.0 | |
| 90 | 12.03.2024 | CMgab | 8.0 | |
| 91 | 12.03.2024 | Hitori Gotoh | 7.0 | |
| 92 | 12.03.2024 | jendenrenlen | 9.0 | |
| 93 | 12.03.2024 | GeoffSpelledCorrect | 8.0 | |
| 94 | 12.03.2024 | AJSilver22 | 8.0 | |
| 95 | 11.03.2024 | ImperialUno | 8.0 | |
| 96 | 11.03.2024 | Aliiadwana | 8.0 | |
| 97 | 11.03.2024 | Kennel | 9.0 | |
| 98 | 11.03.2024 | casss22 | 9.0 | |
| 99 | 11.03.2024 | cal9099 | 9.0 | Now THIS is New Japan Pro Wrestling! How on earth do people watch the HoT stuff then this and think the former is acceptable or is over with the fans to any degree that's event remotely close to this match. These two just went at it and had the crowd going wild. Some unique sequences I haven't seen before plus just the pure explosiveness of both men's offence made this easily match of the tournament so far for me. ****1/2 |
| 100 | 11.03.2024 | Rodrigo Andres | 7.0 | |
#