The New Japan Cup USA (often abbreviated NJCUSA) is an annual single-elimination tournament held by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW)'s sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America since 2020. The tournament is the counterpart of its Japanese version held in Japan by NJPW.
The tournament is considered the one of the most prominent tournaments in NJoA. In 2020, the winner, received an opportunity at the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. However, in 2021, the winner would be crowned the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion. Unlike the G1 Climax, the reigning IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion does not participate in the tournament. The tournament was originally related to the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic with many wrestlers outside Japan not being able to participate in the New Japan Cup held in Japan. KENTA, is the inaugural winner of the tournament.
In 2020, the winner of the tournament was handed a contract, which gaves the right to challenge for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The certificate is kept in a briefcase that the wrestler then has to defend until receiving the match, similar to the Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate and WWE's Money in the Bank contract. The tournament matches are contested through NJPW's weekly television show, NJPW Strong series.
Tournaments[]
| Year | Tournament | Aftermath | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Runner-up | Total won | Participants | Championship | Match | Result | |
| 2020 | KENTA | David Finlay | 1 | 8 | IWGP United States Heavyweight | Faced Jon Moxley at The New Beginning in USA | Loss |
| 2021 | Tom Lawlor | Brody King | Strong Openweight Championship | Faced Brody King in the finals of the tournament to crown the inaugural champion | Win | ||
Results[]
2020[]
On July 31, during an online press conference, NJPW of America CEO Takami Obari announced the New Japan Cup USA, the American version of the New Japan Cup, to be held between August 7 and August 21, featuring the foreign talent working in NJPW, with the winner receiving an opportunity for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. The tournament matches were contested through NJPW's weekly television show, NJPW Strong series. The winner of the tournament, KENTA was handed a contract, which gave the right to challenge for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship, in which it had to be defended until receiving his match, similar to the Tokyo Dome IWGP Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate.
| Round 1 (August 7) | Semifinals (August 14) | Final (August 21) | ||||||||||||
| Karl Fredericks | Pin | |||||||||||||
| KENTA | 9:59 | |||||||||||||
| KENTA | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Jeff Cobb | 14:38 | |||||||||||||
| Jeff Cobb | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tanga Loa | 8:45 | |||||||||||||
| KENTA | Pin | |||||||||||||
| David Finlay | 13:35 | |||||||||||||
| David Finlay | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Chase Owens | 9:46 | |||||||||||||
| David Finlay | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tama Tonga | 7:10 | |||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tama Tonga | 7:14 | |||||||||||||
2021[]
On February 28, NJPW announced the the second edition of the tournament. In March, NJPW held various qualifying matches to determine the participants for the tournament, with the bracket being revealed on March 28. The tournament itself took part in April. The tournament matches were contested through NJPW's weekly television show, NJPW Strong series. The winner of the tournament would be crowned the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion.
| Round 1 (April 9) | Semifinals (April 16) | Final (April 23) | ||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | 9:57 | |||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Brody King | 7:38 | |||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | 10:42 | |||||||||||||
| Brody King | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | 20:05 | |||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | Sub | |||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | 13:19 | |||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | 8:58 | |||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | 6:22 | |||||||||||||
See also[]
Gallery[]
