NEW JAPAN CUP 2020 FINAL: KAZUCHIKA OKADA V. EVIL
New Japan Cup History
- Kazuchika Okada is 13-1 All-Time New Japan Cup Matches, giving him the best winning percentage (.929) in New Japan Cup History.
- Okada enters tonight’s final on a 9 match winning streak in New Japan Cup Matches, dating back to his apperance in the 2020 tournament and his loss to Bad Luck Fale.
- EVIL’s 2020 Tournament has been efficient, his average winning match length of 15:11 is four minutes and 43 seconds shorter than Okada’s average of 19:54
- Kazuchika Okada has won every match in this year’s tournament with his Cobra Clutch submission hold. If Okada wins tonight with the Cobra Clutch, he will be the first competitor to win all of their tournament matches with a submission.
- Only two New Japan Cup Finals have ended with a submission, 2018 when Zack Sabre Jr tapped out Hiroshi Tanahashi and in 2009 when Hirooki Goto submitted Giant Bernard.
- This will be Kazuchika Okada’s third New Japan Cup Final. He previously defeated Hirooki Goto in 2013 in 23:52 and SANADA last yaer in 33:07.
- This will be EVIL’s first New Japan Cup Final.
Recent History
- Having no time limit on New Japan Cup Matches works in Okada’s favor, his average winning match length of 24:58 only trails Tetsuya Naito for longest in NJPW in 2020.
Head To Head
- EVIL and Kazuchika Okada have met four times historically in singles matches. Okada leads the head-to-head series 3-1 with two G1 Climax victories and one successful Heavyweight Title defense against EVIL. EVIL defeated Okada in the 2017 G1 Climax in the EDION Arena in Osaka.
- EVIL and Okada’s match at King of Pro Wrestling 2017 was the longest singles match of EVIL’s career, clocking in at 33:26. EVIL’s longest victory in his career clocks in at 22:55, in a win over Hiroshi Tanahashi during the 2017 New Japan Cup.
- Okada holds a three match winning streak over EVIL, with his last (and only) loss coming in their first matchup during the 2017 G1 Climax.