6 Winners And 4 Losers From The New Japan Cup

Hiromu Takahashi put the entire junior division on his back and carried them to the next level, and he didn't even fight a single junior.

Instead Takahashi ran through some respectable heavyweights like Tomoaki Honma, Toru Yano, both former tag team champions, but most of all Tomohiro Ishii, who has consistently made it deep in the New Japan Cup tournament, put on stellar matches in the G1 Climax, held the NEVER title, and has also challenged numerous times for the company's top belts. Takahashi took down Ishii in a hard hitting and thrilling encounter that left no doubt about either man's ability.

He even managed to look strong in his match against Okada, NJPW's greatest heavyweight champion in terms of total defenses, and length of reign. Though Okada has been making others submit, adopting more holds and locks into his offense, Takahashi would go on to lose through a stoppage rather than tapping out. Thanks to Takahashi's valiant wins, a new standard has been set for the Junior division, making sure its talents get just as much respect as the heavyweights.

Hiromu looks to continue his reign as the Junior Heavyweight champion, and the door has now opened for him to compete with the big boys more regularly, perhaps even carrying the belt with him on his way into the G1 Climax.