Tag: njpw young lion cup

NJPW Young Lion Cup 2026 finals set

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Either Katsuya Murashima or Shoma Kato is set to be crowned the winner of NJPW Young Lion Cup 2026.

The semifinal round of the tournament took place on Tuesday with Murashima and Kato advancing with respective victories over Daiki Nagai and Masatora Yasuda. Submissions ended both matches with Murashima using a Boston crab to defeat Nagai and Kato tapping out Yasuda with a Fujiwara armbar. The finals will now take place at NJPW’s Road to New Beginning event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on February 1.

As the most senior of the Young Lions currently in NJPW’s Dojo, Murashima and Kato received byes to the semifinals. The opening round of the tournament saw Nagai defeat Zane Jay and Yasuda defeat Tatsuya Matsumoto. Jay is taking a step up in his career despite the loss, joining United Empire as its newest member.

Bragging rights are on the line in the finals with rivals Murashima and Kato attempting to show they’re the top Young Lion in the Dojo system. They debuted at the same time in 2023. Murashima is a former amateur wrestler, while Kato has a background in baseball, MMA, and grappling.

Prior to this, the Young Lion Cup had not taken place since 2019. It was won by Karl Fredericks that year with Yota Tsuji, Shota Umino, and Ren Narita among the others competing.

The February 1 Road to New Beginning event will air live on NJPW World starting at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time/1:30 a.m. Pacific.

NJPW Young Lion Cup tournament returning

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Six up-and-coming NJPW wrestlers are set to battle it out for Young Lion supremacy.

NJPW has announced that the Young Lion Cup — which was last held in 2019 — is returning on the upcoming Road to The New Beginning tour. It’s a single-elimination tournament that will be held over three shows. The winner earns bragging rights as the top Young Lion in NJPW.

Katsuya Murashima, Shoma Kato, Daiki Nagai, Zane Jay, Masatora Yasuda, and Tatsuya Matsumoto are the six participants in the tournament. Due to being the most senior of the Young Lions, Murashima and Kato have received first-round byes.

Here is the full schedule:

NJPW Young Lion Cup 2026 —

Monday, January 19:

  • First-round match: Daiki Nagai vs. Zane Jay
  • First-round match: Masatora Yasuda vs. Tatsuya Matsumoto

Tuesday, January 20:

  • Semifinals: Katsuya Murashima vs. either Daiki Nagai or Zane Jay
  • Semifinals: Shoma Kato vs. either Masatora Yasuda or Tatsuya Matsumoto

Sunday: February 1:

  • Finals: TBD vs. TBD

All three of these Road to The New Beginning events are being held in Tokyo at Korakuen Hall.

Karl Fredericks, who went on to compete for WWE NXT as Eddy Thorpe, was the winner of the 2019 Young Lion Cup. Other participants included Yota Tsuji, Shota Umino, and Ren Narita.