14 Ups & 4 Downs From NJPW's New Japan Cup 2019

4. Natural Progression (Night 9)

Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada's first bout was a pure exhibition. Coming towards the end of the latter's soon-to-become-legendary IWGP Heavyweight Title reign, it was designed to show that although Ospreay (still a Junior at that point) was making inroads on the talent pyramid, he was still very much a couple of levels below the god-like 'Rainmaker.'

One year later, the duo collided in the New Japan Cup 2019 quarter-finals, and while 'The Assassin' fell once more, his progress continued. Ospreay works differently now. His eyes perhaps opened by the first Okada bout, he works meaner, harder, and with more violence. The NEVER Openweight Champion wasn't shy of bludgeoning his mentor. He was out to inflict the kind of concussive blows that put him past Kota Ibushi at Wrestle Kingdom. Still, while the clash demonstrated that the English is shortening the gap between him and Okada, said gap still exists. Much ground is still to be covered, but this was a fabulous clash.

Elsewhere, Shizuoka, Japan saw a spirited underdog in YOSHI-HASHI on night nine, but all Tomohiro Ishii saw another was snotty little punk who'd fall to the Brainbuster.

YOSHI was gloriously disrespectful in this second battle of CHAOS stablemates. Tired of being NJPW's forgotten man, he resorted to spitting in the 'Stone Pitbull's' face at one point, further stoking his opponent's ire. Barbarism followed. YOSHI, though overmatched, slapped the p*ss out of Ishii, himself a compelling underdog. This was full-on bully Ishii, though. He knocked CHAOS' water carrier into shape for his transgressions, reminding him of his role in the pecking order and, critically, advancing to the semis.