New Japan Cup 2026 finals live results: Callum Newman vs. Yuya Uemura
The New Japan Cup finals take place today in Aore Nagaoka.
Callum Newman vs. Yuya Uemura will headline the show, with the winner earning a shot at Yota Tsuji and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis.
Also scheduled is Konosuke Takeshita defending the NJPW World TV title against a mystery opponent, along with several multi-person tag bouts.
Also scheduled for the show:
- Yota Tsuji, OSKAR, Yuto-Ice & Daiki Nagai vs. Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita & Hartley Jackson
- Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano & Aaron Wolf vs. Ren Narita, Don Fale & Dick Togo
- Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney & Taiji Ishimori vs. Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & Jakob Austin Young
- Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma vs. HENARE & Great-O-Khan
- YOH, Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. DOUKI, SHO & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
- Hirooki Goto, YOSHI-HASHI & Tatsuya Matsumoto vs. Taichi, Satoshi Kojima & El Desperado
- Masatora Yasuda vs. Taisei Nakahara
Our live coverage begins at 3 p.m. Japan Standard Time.
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Konosuke Takeshita (c) defeated Yujiro Takahashi for the NJPW World Television Championship
Chase Owens accompanied his House of Torture faction mate Takahashi to the ring. They settled who would challenge Takeshita by way of Rock, Paper, Scissors, which Takahashi won.
Takeshita, firmly focused on Takahashi, was struck from behind by Owens’s Neckbreaker. Takahashi maintained control mostly by hurling the champ into the steel barricades outside. Takeshita’s Driving Knee laid siege to Takahashi’s momentum, much to the challenger’s panic. The champion dodged Takahashi’s Pimp Cane and sent Owens tumbling with a Blue Thunderbomb. A Raging Fire via Takeshita saw his successful title retention over Takahashi.
Post-match: Takeshita wanted to settle a rivalry from 2025, involving Shota Umino.
It seems that with his New Japan Cup performances in addition to this title bout, NJPW has some solid plans for the House of Torture member. Decent opener, and didn’t overstay its welcome.
Taichi, El Desperado, & Masatora Yasuda defeated Bishamon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI) & Tatsuya Matsumoto
Matsumoto worked on the left arm of Yasuda after the first bell. Bishamon convened with Matsumoto to rain fists on Yasuda’s back. Taichi momentarily gained control with a spinning backfist to Goto. Matsumoto unleashed an uppercut to Taichi and followed with a duck-under suplex to Desperado. A Spinebuster courtesy of Desperado, combined with a Pinche Loco, earned the masked wrestler’s team the victory.
The veterans took great care of the Young Lions, who themselves put on spirited performances. I wouldn’t mind Yasuda joining Taichi and Satoshi Kojima, maybe even El Desperado, in a brief faction.
House of Torture (SHO, DOUKI, & Yoshinobu Kanemaru) defeated YOH, Master Wato, & Ryusuke Taguchi
Taguchi rescued YOH from the obligated House of Torture ambush, planting DOUKI to the mat. House of Torture resorted to hurling their opponents into the steel guardrails outside. Kanemaru engaged Wato in a Boston Crab, which DOUKI followed with a brainbuster. YOH outsmarted SHO with a DDT before slinging DOUKI into the guardrail. Taguchi broke up DOUKI’s Daybreak DDT to engage a firm Ankle Lock. DOUKI pulled the referee down so Kanemaru could low-blow Taguchi with a wrench. Unfortunately for Taguchi, DOUKI seized the opportunity to flip him over for the pinfall.
Not necessarily the worst House of Torture win, but one that still felt flat.
United Empire (Great-O-Khan & HENARE) defeated Shota Umino & Tomoaki Honma
Umino and HENARE’s standoff in the beginning moments culminated in a shoulder tackle from the former. Khan and HENARE swarmed Umino, who fought back valiantly with a dropkick to HENARE and chops to Khan. Umino dazed HENARE so Honma could finally land a Kokeshi. HENARE secured a full-nelson and a Southern Cross before dismantling him with another, more vigorous, full-nelson.
HENARE and Umino had a great back-and-forth. The use of Honma has been quite entertaining on this New Japan Cup tour.
United Empire (Jake Lee, Francesco Akira, & Jakob Austin Young) defeated Unbound Co. (Shingo Takagi, Taiji Ishimori, & Drilla Moloney)
Moloney stood unflinching to Young’s attempts to collide and topple him. Takagi joined in the fun as he and Moloney charged Young. Akira pinned Moloney to the barricade, whereas Lee chased Takagi into the crowd. An irate Young stomped a mudhole through Moloney in the corner. Takagi got his revenge on Lee with a Dangerous Driver. Unfortunately for him, he fell victim to Lee’s gloved invasion of his mouth. Ishimori applied a crossface to Akira, to which the Italian frantically clutched a rope break. Lee halted a stampeding Takagi with a Giant Killing. Despite this momentum for Unbound Co., Ishimori was forced to submit to Akira’s Ground Tarantula.
The best match of the undercard thus far. Akira has needed performances like this since his return.
Oleg Boltin, Toru Yano, & Aaron Wolf defeated House of Torture (Ren Narita, Don Fale, & Dick Togo)
Narita stood in horror after Boltin halted his patented Boltin Shake to Togo, as he threw the House of Torture member at him. Togo whirled the legal Yano into the steel guardrails and into the ring to deliver a series of elbow and knee shots. Yano slapped the back of Fale’s head and blamed it on the referee; he took advantage of the Tongan’s distraction by removing a turnbuckle pad. Wolf rampaged into the ring, dispatching Togo and dropping a senton to Fale. House of Torture went mobile as they ran a train on Wolf, capitalizing via their infamous Dick-to-Dick Contact. Togo shrank in terror at the looming shadows of Boltin and Wolf, with ample reason: Wolf submitted him with a triangle hold.
A fine match, honestly. I selfishly want Wolf and Boltin to go on a tear as a tag team. Maybe I should start a campaign for NJPW to pair them up in the 2026 New Japan Tag League.
TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa, & Hartley Jackson) defeated Unbound Co. (Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, OSKAR, & Daiki Nagai)
Ice went on a warpath, downing Oiwa, Sabre, and Fujita, barely staggering Jackson on the ropes. His Bomboclat increased further punishment for the fiery-maned Oiwa. OSKAR’s luck wasn’t so grand, with Oiwa and later Sabre crippling the giant’s knee. The orange-clad Brit cut off the towering Jerman’s leg, torquing it in a standing Ankle Lock. Sabre countered OSKAR’s leg drop for a punt kick. Tsuji temporarily perched Jackson over his shoulder, but the sheer dead weight of the massive Aussie proved too much. Fujita exploited the air between Tsuji’s respite with a soaring dropkick from the top turnbuckle.
Nagai cracked Fujita’s chest with an unearthly chop. Fujita retorted with a God Special. Momentary fire and spirit permeated through Nagai until Fujita tapped him out with a hammerlock.
Post-match: Ice and Oiwa set a rematch: Knockout Brothers versus Oiwa and Sabre for the IWGP Tag Team Championship at Sakura Genesis.
The big-name heavy hitters executed their spots well for a big multi-man fight, and particular consideration must be given to the exceptional performances by Nagai and Fujita.
New Japan Cup Final
Callum Newman defeated Yuya Uemura
Newman groaned on the mat in the unrelenting arms of Uemura’s headlock. He leveraged the hold, momentarily, in a headscissors. Uemura resumed control over Newman’s bandaged left arm. The mat thundered as Newman picked up speed, subverted by Uemura’s well-placed arm drag. Newman snatched the dominance of the match, stomping Uemura’s arm into the steel guardrail before a nearby Hiroshi Tanahashi. Uemura mounted a comeback by way of a flying crossbody.
Newman fired off a roundhouse kick, to which Uemura replied with a dropkick. He interrupted a vicious forearm exchange to seemingly plead with Uemura before spitting in his face. Newman obliterated Uemura with a Firebolt. The Niigata crowd boomed with applause when Newman’s lariat decimated Uemura. A poisonrana and Excalibur kept Uemura prone on the mat. Zane Jay charged Referee Red Shoes to distract from a steel chair he slid into the ring. Uemura swiftly dropkicked him out of the equation.
Uemura struck Newman with a Deadbolt, which was met by the Brit wrestler’s Prince’s Curse. Pure desperation perspired in an Excalibur and another Prince’s Curse, devastating Newman when neither bore fruit. A German Suplex, Snapdragon Suplex, and Deadbolt Suplex grounded Newman. The United Empire’s leader rejected a Flying Cross for a Prince’s Curse to break the hearts of Uemura fans everywhere.
Post-match: Newman boasted of his victory. Yota Tsuji greeted him, informing him he’d be ready at Sakura Genesis. The United Empire surrounded Tsuji, leading to his departure from Newman. The New Japan Cup winner moved on, stating his goals now that he’s made this milestone, that he’d be the new Ace of NJPW.
Both men were visibly worn ragged, and that story carried to a main event that needed these stakes. What Newman has done to change his image is nothing short of impressive. I’ve been a fan of his for a long time, even when others doubted him, calling him a lite Will Ospreay. The heel rebrand he has stewarded in United Empire, while embracing a vicious mean streak, has added a fine wrinkle in the new and changing landscape of NJPW. Uemura, I can condense it into simpler and shorter terms: he’s easily one of the roster’s best. When I watch him, I’m reminded of Hiroshi Tanahashi through and through, though he has long to reach his status. I believe he will.
Final Thoughts
Unbound Co. versus United Empire and Unbound Co. versus TMDK were highlights, as was the NJPW World Television Championship match. I mainly attribute this to the fact that those interactions set up matches for Sakura Genesis. As for the New Japan Cup Finals, I had a feeling of who would be in the semifinals, and then felt confident in who would end up in the finals.
I had a sneaking suspicion that Newman would possibly come out of the New Japan Cup the winner as the night came close. With the ongoing narrative between Yota Tsuji’s Unbound Co. and United Empire, it makes so much sense. Furthermore, Newman needed this. Uemura will climb his way back to a future title opportunity. He’s one of the best young talents in the company, if not THE best. Both men left the main event feeling huge. That said, given the foreign talent who’ve become stars in NJPW lately have been going to AEW and WWE frequently, due to the yen situation. I am concerned this could be a point later, years even, for Newman, and that the company should push more local talent. Still, Newman’s victory makes Sakura Genesis’s title match against Yota Tsuji a must-see.
Corey Michaels covers the play-by-play action of events hosted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Referenced by content creators and Wikipedia articles, he adds his prosaic voice with authority to the F4W/WON audience.
A content writer and wrestling fan, Corey has woven the stories of our great sport into literature. He cuts to the emotional core of characters, rivalries, and angles.