NJPW has announced the bracket for the New Japan Cup 2023 tournament that will start on March 5.
The tournament will have 24 competitors, with eight receiving first-round byes. The winner will receive an IWGP World Heavyweight Title match at Sakura Genesis on April 8. The following stars will have first-round byes:
- KENTA
- Chase Owens
- Jeff Cobb
- Will Ospreay
- Hirooki Goto
- NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga
- Great-O-Khan
- NJPW World Television Champion Zack Sabre Jr.
You can check out the first-round matches below:
March 5 (NJPW 51st Anniversary Show)
- SANADA vs. Taichi
- Tetsuya Naito vs. El Phantasmo
March 6
- EVIL vs. Ren Narita
- Toru Yano vs. Mark Davis
- David Finlay vs. Tomohiro Ishii
- Shota Umino vs. Yujiro Takahashi
March 10
- YOSHI-HASHI vs. Kyle Fletcher
- Shingo Takagi vs. Aaron Henare
The second round matchups includes the following:
March 11
- SANADA/Taichi winner vs. KENTA
- Tetsuya Naito/El Phantasmo winner vs. Chase Owens
March 12
- YOSHI-HASHI/Kyle Fletcher winner vs. Hirooki Goto
- Shingo Takagi/Aaron Henare winner vs. Tama Tonga
- Toru Yano/Mark Davis winner vs. Will Ospreay
- Ren Narita/EVIL winner vs. Jeff Cobb
March 15
- David Finlay/Tomohiro Ishii winner vs. Great-O-Khan
- Shota Umino/Yujiro Takahashi winner vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
