Tanahashi wins the New Japan Cup

Hiroshi Tanahashi won the New Japan Cup Openweight Tournament last night in front of 5,800 fans at the Osaka Prefecturial Gymnasium, beating Manabu Nakanishi in the finals. Nakanishi defeated long time rival and current Blue Justice partner Kendo Kashin in the semis with his Hercules Cutter finisher, while Tanahashi advance beating Hiroyoshi Tenzan with, you guessed it, a cradle pin.
Tenzan not winning once again casts doubt on whether or not he'll beat Kojima for the IWGP title at the Tokyo Dome on 5/14, so I wouldn't be surprised if Tenzan lost again only for Kojima to ultimately lose the title to Tanahashi at a later date.

Results for the tournament (in reverse order):

NJPW, 4/24/05 (WPW/NJ+IWTV Internet)
Osaka Prefectural Gymnasium
5,800 Fans - No Vacancy
1. Hiroshi Nagao beat Yujiro (6:59) with a chokeslam.
2. Koji Kanemoto, Tiger Mask & Wataru Inoue vs. Jushin Thunder Liger, Masked CTU-M & Hirooki Goto went to a draw (20:00) when the time limit expired.
3. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Manabu Nakanishi beat Kendo Kashin (10:20) with the Hercules Cutter.
4. New Japan Cup - Semi Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan (19:45) with an inside cradle.
5. Tatsumi Fujinami beat Katsuhiko Nakajima (3:59) with a Dragon sleeper.
6. Satoshi Kojima beat Togi Makabe (13:47) with a lariat.
7. Elimination Match: Masahiro Chono, Yuji Nagata, Scott Norton & Ryushi Yanagisawa beat Takashi Iizuka, Osamu Nishimura, Yutaka Yoshie & Shinsuke Nakamura (23:53).
- Yoshie used a diving body press on Yanagisawa (3:23).
- Norton used a powerbomb on Yoshie (10:20).
- Norton used a powerbomb on Iizuka (14:05).
- Nishimura used a backslide on Norton (14:42).
- Chono used a Shining Yakuza kick on Nishimura (16:44).
- Nakamura threw Chono out of the ring (18:46).
- Nagata used a reverse Nagata Lock III on Nakamura (23:53).
8. New Japan Cup - Final: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Manabu Nakanishi (19:21) with the Sling Blade.

NJPW, 4/23/05 (SXW)
Yokkaichi City Gymnasium
3,200 Fans
1. Naofumi Yamamoto beat Yujiro (8:33) with a backdrop suplex.
2. Hirooki Goto & Akiya Anzawa beat Wataru Inoue & Hiroshi Nagao (11:29) when Goto used a cross camel clutch on Nagao.
3. Scott Norton & Jushin Thunder Liger beat Tatsutoshi Goto & Tiger Mask (11:58) when Norton used a Jackhammer on Goto.
4. Black Strong Machine, Togi Makabe & Ryushi Yanagisawa beat Tatsumi Fujinami, Takashi Iizuka & El Samurai (12:24) when Makabe used a modified powerbomb on Samurai.
5. New Japan Cup - 5th Place Match: Osamu Nishimura beat Koji Kanemoto (17:07) with a ground Cobra Twist.
6. New Japan Cup - 5th Place Match: Masahiro Chono beat Yutaka Yoshie (16:31) with a Shining Yakuza kick.
7. New Japan Cup Best 4+alpha Special Tag Match: Yuji Nagata, Manabu Nakanishi & Kendo Kashin beat Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Shinsuke Nakamura & Hiroshi Tanahashi (23:58) when Nagata used a reverse Nagata Lock III on Tanahashi.

NJPW, 4/21/05 (SXW)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
1,450 Fans - No Vacancy
1. Hiroshi Nagao beat Akiya Anzawa (6:34) with a chokeslam.
2. Jushin Thunder Liger, Jado, Gedo & Hirooki Goto beat Tiger Mask, Masahito Kakihara, Wataru Inoue & Katsushi Takemura (15:39) when Goto used the Go To Heaven on Takemura.
3. Scott Norton, Black Strong Machine & Ryushi Yanagisawa beat Takashi Iizuka, Hiro Saito & Shinsuke Nakamura (12:32) when Norton used a powerbomb on Hiro.
4. Togi Makabe beat Tomoaki Honma (11:49) with a lariat.
5. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Kendo Kashin beat Yutaka Yoshie (15:48) with a high-angle front cradle.
6. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Osamu Nishimura (20:47) with the Anaconda Cross.
7. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Manabu Nakanishi beat Masahiro Chono (14:16) with the Hercules Cutter.
8. New Japan Cup - Round 2: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Koji Kanemoto (17:38) with a Dragon suplex hold.

NJPW, 4/19/05 (Samurai! TV)
Hiroshima Sun Plaza
3,000 Fans - No Vacancy
1. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Koji Kanemoto beat Ryushi Yanagisawa (8:19) with a horizontal cradle.
2. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Manabu Nakanishi beat Hirooki Goto (7:34) with the Hercules Cutter.
3. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Minoru (Minoru Tanaka) beat Osamu Nishimura (16:47) by countout.
4. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Yutaka Yoshie beat Scott Norton (9:07) with a diving body press.
5. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Masahiro Chono beat Tiger Mask (10:29) with a Shining Yakuza kick.
6. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Kendo Kashin beat Shinsuke Nakamura (8:55) with a jackknife hold.
7. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Hiroyoshi Tenzan beat Jushin Thunder Liger (15:54) with a moonsault press.
8. New Japan Cup - Round 1: Hiroshi Tanahashi beat Yuji Nagata (24:12) by DQ.