New Japan Cup USA (2021) was a single-elimination tournament produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling's sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA). The tournament started on April 9, 2021 and was concluded on April 23, 2021. The New Japan Cup USA is a spin-off of NJPW's annual New Japan Cup, with the 2020 version being the inaugural edition. The winner was crowned the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion. The tournament matches will be contested through NJPW's weekly television show, NJPW Strong series.
Background[]
Since 2005, NJPW began holding the New Japan Cup, becoming NJPW's second most prominent tournament, after the G1 Climax, which is held in a round-robin format, being held usually in March or April, with the winner receiving an opportunity at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship since 2009. In 2019, NJPW's American sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA) began holding the New Japan Cup USA a spin-off version of its counterpart of Japan.
On March 1, NJPW announced the second edition of the tournament of the tournament, featuring qualifying matches for spots in the New Japan Cup USA taking place through March, with Tom Lawlor facing The DKC and Rocky Romero facing Lio Rush. The tournament matches were contested through NJPW's weekly television show, NJPW Strong series. On March 5, at NJPW Strong, Lawlor defeated The DKC and Rush also defeated Romero to qualify to the tournament. On March 9, NJPW announced more qualifying matches for spots in the tournament with Fred Rosser taking on JR Kratos and Hikuleo taking on Jordan Clearwater. On March 12, Fred Rosser defeated JR Kratos and Hikuleo also defeated Jordan Clearwater to qualify to the tournament. More matches were also announced with Brody King facing Bateman and Ren Narita facing Misterioso. On March 20, King defeated Bateman and Narita defeated Misterioso to qualify to the tournament. The last remaning qualifying matches were also announced with Chris Dickinson facing Blake Christian and Clark Connors facing TJP. On March 27, all remaining spots were after Clark Connors and Chris Dickinson won their respective matches to take part in the tournament. The bracket was also revealed with tournament taking place in April. On April 3, it was announced that the winner of the tournament would be crowned the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion.
Qualifying Matches[]
- Road to Strong Style Evolved - March 5 (Oceanville Pavillion - Port Hueneme, California, U.S.)
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tom Lawler defeated The DKC | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 9:13 |
| 2 | Lio Rush defeated Rocky Romero | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 13:57 |
- Road to Strong Style Evolved - March 12 (Oceanville Pavillion - Port Hueneme, California, U.S.)
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fred Rosser defeated JR Kratos | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 7:57 |
| 2 | Hikuleo defeated Jordan Clearwater | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 14:16 |
- Strong Style Evolved - March 19 (Oceanville Pavillion - Port Hueneme, California, U.S.)
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brody King (with Logan Riegel and Sterling Riegel) defeated Bateman | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 11:12 |
| 2 | Ren Narita defeated Misterioso | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 13:25 |
Strong Style Evolved - March 26 (Oceanville Pavillion - Port Hueneme, California, U.S.)
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Dickinson defeated Blake Christian | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 9:29 |
| 2 | Clark Connors defeated TJP | New Japan Cup USA Qualifying Match | 8:50 |
Participants[]
On March 27, all spots for the tournament would be filled featuring participants from two American promotions; Major League Wrestling (MLW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), with six spots from NJPW (with one spot designated to the Bullet Club stable and another two designated to the Young Lions) and two of eight spots for the tournament designated to Team Filthy.
| Name: | Promotion: | Group: |
|---|---|---|
| Hikuleo | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | Bullet Club |
| Tom Lawlor | Team Filthy | |
| Lio Rush | ||
| Fred Rosser | ||
| Brody King | ||
| Ren Narita | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | L.A Dojo |
| Clark Connors | ||
| Chris Dickinson | Team Filthy | |
Tournament[]
April 9[]
The first round of the New Japan Cup USA (2021) was held at the Thunder Studios in Los Angeles, California, United States April 9, 2021. The show kicked off with the first match of the first round featuring Lio Rush taking on Clark Connors. In the end, Connors went for a spear, only to Rush kick him in the head. Connors hit Rush with a spear, afterwards Connors flipped Rush and trapped him in the Boston Crab. Rush broke the hold, only to attempt a headscissors, only to Connors lock it once again, afterwards, he reversed it into a double leg Boston Crab, only to Rush escape of it. Rush hit the Rush Hour on Connors to win the match, passing into the second round.
The second match saw the second match of the first round with Young Lion Ren Narita taking on Team Filthy's Tom Lawlor. In the closing moments, Lawlor trapped Narita into a Figure Four Leg Lock, Narita resisted and reached the bottom rope. Lawlor hit a Knuckle-lock Suplex followed by a Front Suplex, for a near-fall. Lawlor hit a Spinning Heel Kick, afterwards Lawlor went to throw him, only to Narita counter each time, only to lock a Sleeper Hold, Lawlor reversed and threw Narita. Lawlor hit a Penalty Kick. Lawlor locked the Sleeper Hold, as Lawlor locked the hold, Narita passed out, forcing the referee to stop the match and awarding the win to Lawlor, passing into the next round.
The third match of the night saw the third match of the first round with Fred Rosser (formerly known as Darren Young in WWE) taking on Bullet Club's Hikuleo. In the final moments, Hikuleo went to choke Rosser, only to Rosser grab his hair and pulled it. Rosser went on to discount his fury on Hikuleo and tossed him outside the ring. Rosser lifted Hikuleo and hit him with a Falling Back Suplex. Rosser hit Hikuleo with some strikes, afterwards, Rosser hit double chops and elbow strikes, only to Hikuleo hit him with a Powerslam. Hikuleo then hit Rosser with the Tongan Driller to win the match and advance into the next round. After the match in the backstage area, Hikuleo claimed to have won the match “fair and square” in spite of Rosser pulling his hair.
In the main event saw the final match of the first round of the tournament with Brody King taking on Team Filthy's Chris Dickinson. King hit Dickinson with the Steinerline followed by a Cannonball. King hit a Piledriver for a near-fall. Dickinson went for a Swinging DDT attempt, only to King lock into the STF before Dickinson reached the ropes. Dickinson hit a Deadlift German Suplex for another near-fall. Afterwards, both traded chops. He went for a Step-up Enzuigiri, only to King hit a another Deadlift German Suplex. King went to a Lariat attempt, only to Dickinson reverse, afterwards, Dickinson hit a Step-up Enzuigiri, only to King hit a Lariat for the win to pass into the semi-finals of the tournament.
April 16[]
The second round of the New Japan Cup USA (2021) was held at the Thunder Studios in Los Angeles, California, United States April 9, 2021. The show kicked off with a non tournament eight-man tag team match featuring Karl Fredericks, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight and The DKC taking on Misterioso, Barret Brown, Adrian Quest and Jordan Clearwater. In the close moments, Knight hit a sliding shoulder block, followed by a standing frog splash for a near-fall. Quest went for a drive only to Coughlin to hit him with a shoulder tackle. Afterwards he it a springboard dive to all of the match participants. In the end, Brown hit Knight with a Running Knee Kick, Brown to took out night with a dropkick followed by Misterioso hitting the MSO for the win. After the match, Misterioso and Brown had an altercation.
Semifinal matches[]
The second match saw the first semifinal match of the tournament with Bullet Club's Hikuleo taking on Team Filthy's Tom Lawlor. In the closing moments, Lawlor trapped Hikuleo with a Figure Four Leglock before rolling into the floor. Hikuleo tossed Lawlor spine-first into the ring post. Before trapping Hikuleo in another Figure Four Leglock, both men fought each other before being almost counted out, afterwards, both broke the count and afterwards Lawlor pinned Hikuleo with an Inside cradle for the win, passing into the finals.
The third match of the night saw the second semifinal of the tournament with Brody King taking on Lio Rush. In the final moments, Rush went for a Tope Suicida, only to King catch him and hit him with a Chockeslam into the apron. King shouted at Rush before launching him with a hip toss. King went for a Powerbomb onto the apron before Rush escaping and hitting King with a plancha to the floor, Rush hit a Frog Splash for a near-fall. Rush went for the Rush Hour before King shoving him into the ropes and hit him with a Lariat. King hit the Gonzo Bomb for the win to pass into the finals. After the match, King cut a promo on Lio Rush briging the fight into NJPW before runing through him. King understood how experienced Lawlor is, even though it would not match the level of violence that he plans to bring.
April 23[]
The third round of the New Japan Cup USA (2021) was held at the Thunder Studios in Los Angeles, California, United States April 23, 2021. The show kicked off with a non tournament tag team match featuring TJP and Clark Connors taking on Team Filthy (JR Kratos and Chris Dickinson). In the close moments, Connors trapped Dickinson in the Boston Crab while TJP trapped Kratos in the Octupus Hold. Both men broke the hold. Dickinson hit Connors with a Brainbuster for a near-fall. In the end, Connors attempted to lock Kratos in the Boston Crab, only to Kratos reverse and hit the Game Changer for the win.
The second match saw another non tournament match with Rocky Romero taking on Wheeler Yuta. In the closing moments, Yuta hit a flying cross body attack, later, Yuta trapped Romero in a figure four-STF style lock, Romero broke the hold and hit Yuta with a springboard Dropkick, Romero hit a kick into Yuta's face, only to Yuta hit a German Suplex for a near-fall. In the end, Romero hit Yuta with the Sliced Bread followed by the Diablo Armbar, forcing Yuta to submit for the win.
Finals[]
The third match of the night saw the finals of the 2021 New Japan Cup with winner to be crowned the inaugural Strong Openweight Championship, with Brody King taking on Tom Lawlor. In the final moments, Lawlor locked the Guillotine Choke, afterwards King put him in the corner and hit a Superplex for a near-fall. Lawlor trapped King the Ankle Lock, as King did not tap, Lawlor countered into a Jacknife pin, only to King reverse and hit a jumping Piledriver for another near-fall. King hit another forearm strikes, before Lawlor hitting an Uranage for a near-fall. Lawlor hit a Dropkick and locked King in the STF, only to broke the hold. Lawlor hit a Penalty Kick in King's back, Lawlor went for it again, only to King catching his leg and Lawlor reversing it into the Rear Naked Choke, to exhaust King. In the end, Lawlor hit another Penalty Kick followed by the Rear Naked Choke, forcing King to pass out and win the match to win the tournament and become the inaugural champion. After the match, Kaname Tezuka presented Lawlor with the trophy of the tournament and the Strong Openweight Champion. Afterwards, JR Kratos and Chris Dickinson came in to celebrate with Lawlor. Lawlor said to the win to be a "long time coming", and claimed to be the strongest competitor in the NJPW roster. Lawlor demand a challenger for his title, although, nobody emerged, As Lawlor's music hit, Dickinson surprisingly challenged Lawlor to a title match, Lawlor questioning the timing of the challenge, Dickinson affirming it to be and afterwards, Lawlor accepted.
Bracket[]
| 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 | |||||||||||||
Results[]
Night 1[]
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lio Rush defeated Clark Connors | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament first round | 9:57 |
| 2 | Tom Lawlor defeated Ren Narita by technical submission | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament first round | 13:19 |
| 3 | Hikuleo defeated Fred Rosser | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament first round | 6:22 |
| 4 | Brody King defeated Chris Dickinson | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament first round | 10:42 |
Night 2[]
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Misterioso, Barret Brown, Adrian Quest and Jordan Clearwater defeated Karl Fredericks, Alex Coughlin, Kevin Knight and The DKC | Eight-man tag team match | 10:37 |
| 2 | Tom Lawlor defeated Hikuleo | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament semifinals | 8:58 |
| 3 | Brody King defeated Lio Rush | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament semifinals | 7:38 |
Night 3[]
| # | Results | Stipulations | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Team Filthy (Chris Dickinson and JR Kratos) defeated TJP and Clark Connors | Tag team match | 11:06 |
| 2 | Rocky Romero defeated Wheeler Yuta by submission | Singles match | 12:41 |
| 3 | Tom Lawlor defeated Brody King by technical submission | 2021 New Japan Cup USA tournament finals for the inaugural Strong Openweight Championship | 20:05 |
