UNIVERSE CUP Opening Round Kicked Off At UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026 on Mar. 9th

By: Ian McCord

The opening round of the inaugural UNIVERSE CUP took place at UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026 on March 9th at the legendary Shinjuku FACE in Tokyo. 4 first round matches took place on the card with representatives from WRESTLE UNIVERSE promotions Pro Wrestling NOAH, DDT, Michinoku Pro, ZERO1, BASARA, Ganbare Pro, Uptown, and MONDAY MAGIC competing in the tournament. 

The opening match of the UNIVERSE CUP saw DDT’s Sanshiro Takagi defeat MONDAY MAGIC’s Great Mummy with a Stunner in just over 8 minutes. Takagi, with help from DDT’s Mecha Mummy, was able to defy the odds and make it to the next round after dealing with heelish tactics from NOSAWA, who had brought a 2nd Giant Mummy to the ring during the match to add to the chaos.

The 2nd match of the UNIVERSE CUP saw NOAH’s Naomichi Marufuji defeat Uptown’s Kuroshio TOKYO Japan via submission with Marufuji’s Perfect Necklock.

The 3rd match of the tournament saw Michinoku Pro’s The Great Sasuke pull off the win by trapping BASARA’s Isami Kodaka with La Magistral for the 3 count to advance to the next round. 

The main event of the evening saw ZERO1’s Hayabusa take on Ganbare Pro’s Yumehito Imanari to decide who would be the last man to advance into the semi-finals. After a good back and forth battle, Hayabusa was able to hit his signature Firebird Splash for the win, defeating his opponent in just over 14 minutes. 

After the main event, The Great Sasuke, Sanshiro Takagi, and Naomichi Marufuji joined Hayabusa in the ring. With all 4 semi-finalists present, Hayabusa had a confident message for his next opponent and the other competitors in the UNIVERSE CUP stating: 

“I won Round 1! On 4/6 in Shinjuku I face Marufuji. I’ll defeat him, reach the final, and win the UNIVERSE CUP.”

It was announced that the UNIVERSE CUP semi-final matches will take place April 6th at Shinjuku FACE. The Great Sasuke will be taking on Sanshiro Takagi and Hayabusa is set to take on Naomichi Marufuji to see who will make it to the finals for the inaugural UNIVERSE CUP. 

Here are the full results from UNIVERSE MAGIC 2026 on March 9th courtesy of purolove.com:

• Takeru Inoue & Sentaro Motojima defeat Yuki Toki & Nobuhiko Kimura (8:56) after Inoue applies a crab hold on Kimura.
• 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Sanshiro Takagi defeats Great Mummy (8:23) with a stunner.
• 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Naomichi Marufuji defeats Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (9:12) with a Perfect Necklock.
• Takumi Iroha, Utami Hayashishita, and Miyuki Takase vs. Mayu Iwatani, Mika Iwata, and Mio Momono – Time Limit Draw (20:00).
• 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: The Great Sasuke defeats Isami Kodaka (12:24) with a La Magistral.
• 1st UNIVERSE CUP – Round 1: Hayabusa defeats Yumehito Imanari (14:06) with a Firebird Splash.