New Japan Cup 2026 Brackets and First Round Matches Revealed

By: Ian McCord

The first 4 nights of the 2026 New Japan Cup were announced on February 12th with first round action kicking off on March 4th in Korakuen Hall.

Night 1 will have 2 first round matches with the first being Yuya Uemura facing off against Great-O-Khan to see who faces Drilla Maloney in the next round on March 10th. Also we will see first time entry Aaron Wolf taking on House of Torture’s Don Fale in a clash of giants to see who will face Shingo Takagi in the 2nd round on the 10th.

The 2nd night of Cup action on March 5th from Korakuen Hall starts with Taichi looking to get revenge on Ren Narita who’s been a thorn in his side the past few years of the New Japan Cup.

Back in 2024 Narita defeated Taichi in the first round of the New Japan Cup, but most recently in 2025, Narita and House of Torture interfered in Taichi’s 2nd round match against Gabe Kidd, helping him advance into the next round without earning a proper victory over Kidd, who was the Strong Openweight Champion at the time.

When the brackets were revealed, Taichi went on X and shared his thoughts on having to face Narita in the opening round.

Taichi on X:

“2024 Narita, 2025 Match ruined by Narita, 2026 Narita. Three years straight of Narita if we’re tangled up with this guy like this, there must be some meaning to it, right? For now, Gabe’s regret from last year—I’ll clear it up for him.”

(English Translation via Google Translate)

If Taichi is able to defeat the new NEVER Openweight Champion Narita, then he will face his tag partner Tomohiro Ishii in the 2nd round on March 12th.

El Phantasmo and Boltin Oleg will also face off on March 5th with the winner advancing to the next round to face HENARE in his first singles match since returning from injury. That 2nd round match would also take place on March 12th.

The 3rd night in Ota on March 6th will see first time entry Jake Lee taking on YOSHI-HASHI with the winner to face Hirooki Goto. Also on that night Callum Newman takes on another first time entry in OSKAR to see who will advance to the 2nd round and face off against Hartley Jackson who is also competing in the cup for his first time. Both of those 2nd round matches will take place March 13th.

Night 4 in Hyogo on March 8th has 2025 finalist Shota Umino taking on Chase Owens with the winner facing Yujiro Takahashi as well as Yuto-Ice battling Ryohei Oiwa for the chance to face 2 time New Japan Cup winner Zack Sabre Jr in the 2nd round on March 14th.

As per tradition, the winner of the New Japan Cup will receive a shot at the coveted IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This year, that title opportunity will take place on April 4th at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

First night of the New Japan Cup 2026 will air live on NJPW World streaming service on March 4th.