NJPW Lions Gate Project 8 Results: The Young Lions Cup Begins & Yuji Nagata Headlines

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NJPW Young Lions Cup Match: Hirai Kawato def. Ren Narita

NJPW Young Lions Cup Match: Katsuya Kitamura def. Tetsuhiro Yagi

NJPW Young Lions Cup Match: Tomoyuki Oka def. Syota Umino

Yuji Nagata def. Daisuke Kanehira

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan def. Go Asakawa & Yuma Aoyagi

Manabu Nakanishi def. Kotaro Yoshino

Match By Match Recap

NJPW Young Lions Cup Match: Hirai Kawato vs. Ren Narita

The match begins with Kawato attacking Narita with some leg kicks, Kawato and Narita then do some chain wrestling with nobody getting an advantage. Narita scores a takedown on Kawato and he assaults him with strikes, Kawato gets angry and he stomps away on a downed Narita. Kawato would then catch Narita with a slam for a near fall, Kawato waits for Narita to get up before dropping him with a kick. Kawato would then apply the camel clutch to Narita until he gets to the ropes, Narita eventually recovers and he nails Kawato with a drop kick. Narita gets angry and he stomps away on a downed Kawato before apply the kravat, Narita releases the hold so he can stomp away on Kawato before choking him on the middle rope.

Narita releases the choke to hit Kawato with a middle rope leg drop for a near fall, Narita follows that up by catching Kawato with a slingshot into the bottom rope. Narita decides to slow things down by holding Kawato in a chin lock, Kawato eventually breaks free and he drops Narita. Kawato then slams Narita and he applies the Boston crab until Narita gets to the ropes, Kawato then catches Narita with a springboard drop kick for a near fall. Kawato follos that up with a spin kick to the head of Narita for the three count.

Winner: Hirai Kawato

NJPW Young Lions Cup Match: Katsuya Kitamura vs. Tetsuhiro Yagi

The match begins with Kitamura immediately shoving Yagi to the ground a few times, Kitamura eventually drops a trash talking Yagi with a shoulder tackle. Yagi quickly recovers to drop a charging Kitamura with a drop kick, Yagi then corner a downed Kitamura and he assaults him with forearm strikes and stomps. Yagi would then get Kitamura into the opposite corner before dropping him with a running back elbow strike, Yagi looks for the submission by applying the triangle choke to Kitamura. Kitamura looks to escape and Yagi catches him in an arm bar as well, Yagi reapplies the triangle choke as Kitamura gets to the ropes. Yagi again stomps away at Kitamura as he traps him in the corner, Yagi then gets Kitamura in the middle of the ring to land a slam for a near fall.

Yagi then applies the Boston crab to Kitamura, Yagi releases the Boston crab to apply the Indian death lock to Kitamura. Yagi eventually releases the hold and he gets into a striking exchange with Kitamura, Kitamura then drops Yagi with a single chop for a near fall. Kitamura traps Yagi in the corner before attacking him with many more chops, Kitamura follows that up by dropping Yagi with a shoulder tackle. Kitamura then just destroys Yagi with a spear before landing a jackhammer for the three count.

Winner: Katsuya Kitamura

NJPW Young Lions Cup Match: Tomoyuki Oka vs. Syota Umino

The match begins with Umino immediately getting into a striking exchange with Oka, Umino eventually backs Oka into the corner before just assaulting him with stomps. Oka gets up to level Umino with chops and forearm strikes, Umino eventually drops Oka before twisting away on his ankle until he gets to the ropes. Umino holds Oka down while just stomping away on his injured leg, Umino then goes back to twisting away on the leg of Oka. Oka gets up and he gets into another striking exchange with Umino, Oka gets angry and he just slams Umino to the mat. Oka would then mount Umino and assault him with a plethora of strikes, Oka then slows things down by applying the scarf hold to Umino before transitioning into a chin lock.

Oka then applies a rear naked choke to Umino and Umino eventually gets to the ropes, Oka follows that up by hitting Umino with a butterfly suplex for a near fall. Oka then crushes Umino with a power slam before applying the camel clutch and Umino gets to the ropes, Umino catches a charging Oka with an elbow strike before nailing him with a middle rope drop kick. Umino follows that up by catching Oka with a running forearm strike for a near fall, Oka tries fighting back and Umino nails him with a drop kick. Umino hits Oka with a slam followed by a top rope elbow drop for a near fall, Umino then hits Oka with some kind of odd slam for a near fall. Umino follows that up by locking Oka in the Boston crab and Oka gets to the ropes, Umino picks up Oka and Oka nails him with a belly to belly suplex from out of nowhere.

Oka would then slam Umino and apply the Boston crab until Umino gets to the ropes, Oka would then hit Umino with another slam. Oka then catches Umino with an overhead release suplex for a near fall, Oka reaaplies the Boston crab and Umino taps out.

Winner: Tomoyuki Oka

Manabu Nakanishi vs. Kotaro Yoshino

The match begins with Yoshino attempting to play some mind games with Nakanishi, Nakanishi and Yoshino get into a striking exchange in the middle of the ring. Nakanishi eventually drop Yoshino with a chop before tossing him out of the ring, Nakanishi follows Yoshino around the ringside area while landing more strikes. Nakanishi gets Yoshino back in the ring and he nails him with a running clothesline in the corner, Nakanishi then assaults Yoshino with chops in the corner. Yoshino starts fighting back and he eventually drops Nakanishi with a shoulder tackle, Yoshino drags Nakanishi to the corner before landing a middle rope splash.

Yoshino tries picking Nakanishi up and Nakanishi blocks it each time, Yoshino falls on a slam attempt and Nakanishi punches him in the throat. Nakanishi gets angry and he just slams Yoshino before leveling him with a clothesline for a near fall, Yoshino finds his way to the middle rope before nailing Nakanishi with a drop kick. Yoshino then hits Nakanishi with a slam followed by a splash for a near fall, Nakanishi recovers and drops Yoshino with a clothesline. Nakanishi applies the torture rack to Yoshino and a tap out follows.

Winner: Manabu Nakanishi

Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Go Asakawa & Yuma Aoyagi

The match begins with Aoyagi and Kojima doing a little chain wrestling, Tenzan and Asakawa get the tags from their respective partners. Asakawa applies a headlock to Tenzan and then he attacks him with shoulder tackles, Asakawa then nails Tenzan with a few strikes. Tenzan recovers and he drops a charging Asakawa with a shoulder block, Tenzan follows that up by nailing Asakawa with a few Mongolian chops. Kojima tags in and he takes turns with Tenzan as they attack Asakawa with Mongolian chops, Kojima then hits Asakawa with a neck breaker. Kojima picks up Asakawa and he hits him with a side Russian leg sweep before applying a modified octopus stretch, Tenzan tags in and he gets a near fall om a downed Asakawa.

Tenzan decides to slow things down further by holding Asakawa in a chin lock, Asakawa tries fighting back and Tenzan nails him with a headbutt. Kojima tags back in and he applies the Boston crab to Asakawa, Kojima would then transition into an STF against Asakawa. Tenzan tags back in and he works over Asakawa in the corner, Asakawa eventually drops Tenzan before tagging Aoyagi into the match. Aoyagi levels Tenzan with a few strikes before getting a near fall on him, Tenzan quickly recovers and he drops Aoyagi with a Samoan drop. Kojima tags in and he nails Aoyagi with machine gun chops in the corner, Kojima then hits Aoyagi with a running forearm followed by a top rope elbow drop for a near fall.

Aoyagi recovers and he drops Kojima with a suplex before tagging Asakawa in, Asakawa quickly cleans house on the opposition. Asakawa then locks Kojima in a modified dragon sleeper until Kojima gets to the ropes, Kojima blocks a clothesline from Asakawa before dropping him with a DDT. Aoyagi hits the ring and Tenzan quickly takes care of him, Asakawa catches Kojima with a northern lights suplex for a near fall. Kojima and Tenzan work together to hit Asakawa with a 3-D for a near fall, Kojima then hits Asakawa with a brain buster for a near fall. Kojima crushes Asakawa with a Cozy Lariat for the three count.

Winners: Satoshi Kojima & Hiroyoshi Tenzan

Yuji Nagata vs. Daisuke Kanehira

The match begins with Kanehira and Nagata trying to work over the others arm, Nagata gets angry and he nails Kanehira with a few strikes. Kanehira looks to drop Nagata with a shoulder tackle and he eventually gets the job done, Kanehira keeps Nagata down and he starts working over his arm. Nagata breaks free and he focuses his attack on the ankle of Kanehira, Kanehira and Nagata have a striking exchange in the middle of the ring. Nagata drops Kanehira before kicking him right in the back, Nagata then goes to work on the arm of Kanehira. Nagata looks for the arm bar and Kanehira quickly gets to the ropes, Nagata goes for the Fujiwara arm bar on Kanehira until Kanehira gets to the ropes.

Nagata waits for Kanehira to get up and he attacks him with some kicks, Kanehira recovers and he nail a charging Nagata with a power slam. Kanehira picks up Nagata and he quickly drops him with a knee lift to the midsection, Kanehira follows that up by catching Nagata with a shotgun drop kick. Nagata tries fighting back and Kanehira catches him in an arm bar, Nagata tries escaping and Kanehira locks him in a triangle choke instead. Nagata eventually breaks free and he applies the Nagata Lock to Kanehira, Kanehira breaks free and he gets into a striking exchange with Nagata. Nagata eventually wins the exchange by dropping Kanehira with a single kick, Nagata follows that up by nailing Kanehira with a running knee strike followed by a suplex.

Kanehira recovers and he nails Nagata with a knee strike of his own followed by a suplex for a near fall, Kanehira quickly locks Nagata in a sleeper hold. Nagata breaks free and he catches Kanehira with an enzaguri followed by a back suplex for the three count.

Winner: Yuji Nagata