Full Match Line-Up Revealed For NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 1

By: Lewis Carlan

The New Japan Pro-Wrestling New Japan Cup 2026 tournament is set to get underway on March 4th at the famed Korakuen Hall. The New Japan Cup, which is second in prominence to the G1 Climax, is a single elimination tournament with the winner getting a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship that is currently held by Yota Tsuji.

NJPW revealed the entire match line-up for the opening night of New Japan Cup 2026 in which two first round bouts will be contested.

The main event will feature a first round encounter between Yuya Uemura and Great-O-Khan. Uemura made it to the quarter-finals in last years tournament while O-Khan didn’t make it past the second round.

Uemura will be looking to take the next step in his singles career and winning the New Japan Cup 2026 tournament would be an terrific accomplishment but he has the tough Great-O-Khan standing in his way. The winner will go on to face Drilla Moloney on March 10th.

In the other first round match-up, former NEVER Openweight Champion Aaron Wolf will take on Don Fale in a first time ever bout. Wolf will be looking to bounce back after he disappointingly lost the NEVER Openweight Title to Ren Narita on Feb. 11th.

This will be the first NJPW tournament for the rookie Aaron Wolf while Don Fale is a two time New Japan Cup tournament finalist.

For Wolf to get out of the first round, he will have to defeat the super heavyweight veteran Don Fale and that will not be an easy task. The one who claims victory in this bout will go on to meet Shingo Takagi in Round 2 on March 10th.

Photo Credit: NJPW

Here is the full match line-up for NJPW New Japan Cup 2026 Night 1:

• Main Event: New Japan Cup 1st Round- Yuya Uemura vs. Great-O-Khan
• New Japan Cup 1st Round– Aaron Wolf vs. Don Fale
• Unbound Co. (Yota Tsuji, Yuto-Ice, Taiji Ishimori, Robbie X & Gedo) vs TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Ryohei Oiwa, Robbie Eagles, Kosei Fujita & Hartley Jackson)
• Taichi, Master Wato & Tomoaki Honma vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Ren Narita, DOUKI & Dick Togo)
• Unbound Co. (OSKAR, Shingo Takagi, Drilla Moloney & Daiki Nagai) vs United Empire (Callum Newman, Jake Lee, HENARE & Zane Jay)
• El Phantasmo & Jado vs Boltin Oleg & Toru Yano
• Shota Umino & Masatora Yasuda vs HOUSE OF TORTURE (Yujiro Takahashi & Chase Owens)