New Japan Cup

The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005.

New Japan Cup
New Japan Cup
Promotion(s)NJPW
First eventNew Japan Cup (2005)
Event gimmickSingle-elimination openweight tournament for a future championship match of the winner's choice

It is considered the second most prominent tournament in the NJPW, after the G1 Climax, which follows a round-robin format. Since 2006, the winner, like with the G1 Climax, receives a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. However, unlike with the G1 Climax, the reigning IWGP Heavyweight Champion does not participate in the tournament (in the case of the G1 Climax, he would, in case of win, get to pick the next challenger for his title). Since 2014, the winner of the tournament can also choose to challenge for the IWGP Intercontinental Championship; in 2015-2018, the winner could also challenge for the NEVER Openweight Championship. It usually featured 16 participants, before extending to 32 participants from 2019 onwards. Although it previously featured almost exclusively heavyweight wrestlers, the 2020 edition of the New Japan Cup was an Openweight tournament; the same year, NJPW premiered the New Japan Cup USA, a version of the tournament taking place in the United States.

Hiroshi Tanahashi, the inaugural winner, is also the first to have won it twice. Hirooki Goto is both the only three-time winner, and the only person to win the tournament two years in a row. All past winners have chosen to challenge for the Heavyweight Championship, with the exception of 2014 winner Shinsuke Nakamura, who challenged for the Intercontinental Championship; in 2020, due to Tetsuya Naito also being both Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, the winner of the New Japan Cup would automatically challenge him for both.

Tournaments
Year Tournament Aftermath
Winner Times won Participants Challenged for[Note 1] Match Result
2005Hiroshi Tanahashi116N/A
2006Giant Bernard1IWGP Heavyweight Championshipvs. Brock LesnarLoss
2007Yuji Nagata112vs. Hiroshi TanahashiWin
2008Hiroshi Tanahashi216vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at New Dimension[1]Loss
2009Hirooki Goto114vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestling DontakuLoss
2010Hirooki Goto215vs. Shinsuke Nakamura at New DimensionLoss
2011Yuji Nagata216vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi at New DimensionLoss
2012Hirooki Goto3vs. Kazuchika Okada at Wrestling DontakuLoss
2013Kazuchika Okada1vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi at Invasion AttackWin
2014Shinsuke Nakamura1IWGP Intercontinental Championshipvs. Hiroshi Tanahashi at Invasion AttackWin
2015Kota Ibushi1IWGP Heavyweight Championshipvs. A.J. Styles at Invasion AttackLoss
2016Tetsuya Naito1vs. Kazuchika Okada at Invasion AttackWin
2017Katsuyori Shibata1vs. Kazuchika Okada at Sakura GenesisLoss
2018Zack Sabre Jr.1vs. Kazuchika Okada at Sakura GenesisLoss
2019Kazuchika Okada232vs. Jay White at G1 Supercard[2]Win
2020Evil1IWGP Heavyweight Championship &
IWGP Intercontinental Championship		vs. Tetsuya Naito at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall[3]Win
2021 TBD N/A TBA TBA TBA N/A

Results

2005

The 2005 New Japan Cup was held from April 19 to April 24. The first two rounds were held on individual nights, with round one taking up the entire card on April 19.[4]

Round 1
April 19 		Round 2
April 21 		Semifinals
April 24 		Final
April 24
        
Hiroshi Tanahashi DQ
Yuji Nagata 24:12[4]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Koji Kanemoto 17:38[4]
Koji Kanemoto Pin
Ryushi Yanagisawa 8:19[4]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 19:45[4]
Minoru CO
Osamu Nishimura 16:47[4]
Osamu Nishimura† Sub
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 20:47[4]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Pin
Jushin Thunder Liger 15:54[4]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 19:21[4]
Kendo Kashin Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 8:55[4]
Kendo Kashin Pin
Yutaka Yoshie 15:48[4]
Yutaka Yoshie Pin
Scott Norton 9:07[4]
Kendo Kashin Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 10:20[4]
Tiger Mask Pin
Masahiro Chono 10:29[4]
Masahiro Chono Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 14:16[4]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 7:34[4]

† Minoru was forced to pull out before his Round 2 match, due to suffering severe dizziness, and was replaced by Osamu Nishimura, who he beat in Round 1.[4]

2006

The 2006 New Japan Cup was held from April 16 to April 30.[5] Giant Bernard, the winner of the tournament, went on to fail in his challenge against IWGP Champion Brock Lesnar on May 3.[6]

Round 1
April 16,20,21,22 		Round 2
April 23,25,26 		Semifinals
April 28,29 		Final
April 30
        
Giant Bernard Pin
Toru Yano 8:19[5]
Giant Bernard Pin
Riki Choshu 9:11[5]
Black Strong Machine Pin
Riki Choshu 6:46[5]
Giant Bernard Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 16:43[5]
Manabu Nakanishi Pin
Takashi Iizuka 11:31[5]
Manabu Nakanishi Pin
Ryoji Sai 14:56[5]
Ryoji Sai Pin
Naofumi Yamamoto 13:59[5]
Giant Bernard Pin
Yuji Nagata 19:40[5]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Masahiro Chono 25:12[5]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 14:27[5]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Pin
Scott Norton 12:30[5]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Yuji Nagata 18:49[5]
Togi Makabe Pin
Tatsutoshi Goto 1:24[5]
Togi Makabe Pin
Yuji Nagata 10:50[5]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 9:57[5]

2007

The 2007 New Japan Cup was a 14-man tournament held from March 3 to March 21.[7] Giant Bernard and Hiroyoshi Tenzan received byes to the second round, due to their victories in the 2006 New Japan Cup and G1 Climax respectively. Shinsuke Nakamura was injured in a non-tournament match on March 13, giving Tenzan an additional pass to the semifinals. The winner, Yuji Nagata, went on to defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the championship on April 13, beginning his second reign with the title.[8] He also became the first person to reach the NJC finals twice, and the first to win both the New Japan Cup and G1 Climax.

  Round 1
March 3, 4, 9, 10, 11		 Round 2
March 13, 15		 Semifinals
March 18		 Finals
March 21
                                     
  Togi Makabe Pin  
  Travis Tomko 9:29[7]  
    Togi Makabe Pin  
      Takashi Iizuka 11:32[7]  
  Tomoaki Honma Sub
  Takashi Iizuka 14:06[7]  
    Togi Makabe DQ  
    Hiroyoshi Tenzan 12:27[7]  
  Shinsuke Nakamura Pin  
  Toru Yano 10:16[7]  
    Shinsuke Nakamura Forf
      Hiroyoshi Tenzan [7]  
 
   
    Togi Makabe Pin
    Yuji Nagata 20:05[7]
  Tomohiro Ishii Pin  
  Yuji Nagata 12:12[7]  
    Yuji Nagata Pin
      Masahiro Chono 17:25[7]  
  Masahiro Chono Pin
  Riki Choshu 8:44[7]  
    Yuji Nagata Sub
    Giant Bernard 18:22[7]  
  Shiro Koshinaka Pin  
  Manabu Nakanishi 10:03[7]  
    Manabu Nakanishi Pin
      Giant Bernard 13:05[7]  
 

2008

The 2008 New Japan Cup was a 16-man tournament held from March 9 to March 23.[9] The winner, Hiroshi Tanahashi, became the first two-time winner of the NJC and went on to fail in his challenge against IWGP Champion Shinsuke Nakamura on March 30.[10]

Round 1 Round 2 Semifinals Final
        
Tomohiro Ishii Sub
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 13:03[9]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Pin1
Togi Makabe 18:07[9]
Takashi Iizuka Pin
Togi Makabe 10:27[9]
Togi Makabe Pin
Hiroshi Tanahashi 12:11[9]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Hiroshi Tanahashi 20:32[9]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Ryusuke Taguchi 13:42[9]
Jushin Thunder Liger Pin
Ryusuke Taguchi 11:33[9]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Giant Bernard 18:24[9]
Koji Kanemoto Sub
Karl Anderson 9:05[9]
Koji Kanemoto Pin
Giant Bernard 9:45[9]
Giant Bernard Pin
Tomoaki Honma 10:43[9]
Giant Bernard Pin
Toru Yano 10:44[9]
Milano Collection A.T. Pin
Toru Yano 11:25[9]
Toru Yano Pin
Rhino 11:21[9]
Manabu Nakanishi Pin
Rhino 10:17[9]

1This match originally ended in a double countout at 2:35, but it was restarted with Makabe winning via pinfall in 14:49.[9]

2009

The 2009 New Japan Cup was a 14-man tournament held from March 8 to March 22.[11] Giant Bernard and Yuji Nagata, the winners of the Cups of 2006 and 2007, received byes in the first round of the tournament. The eventual winner of the tournament, Hirooki Goto, went on to lose the IWGP Heavyweight Championship match to Hiroshi Tanahashi on May 3 at Wrestling Dontaku 2009.[12]

Round 1
March 8 		Round 2
March 15 		Semifinals
March 22 		Final
March 22
        
Hirooki Goto Sub
Karl Anderson 11:10[11]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 19:00[11]
Shinsuke Nakamura Pin
Togi Makabe 15:32[11]
Hirooki Goto Sub
Yuji Nagata 14:51[11]
Yuji Nagata Bye
  [11]
Yuji Nagata DQ
Takashi Iizuka 14:49[11]
Takashi Iizuka Pin
Tomoaki Honma 10:53[11]
Hirooki Goto Sub
Giant Bernard 18:18[11]
Milano Collection A.T. Pin
Toru Yano 09:50[11]
Milano Collection A.T. Pin
Giant Bernard 9:13[11]
Giant Bernard Bye
  [11]
Giant Bernard Pin
Yutaka Yoshie 08:56[11]
Yutaka Yoshie Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 20:29[11]
Yutaka Yoshie Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 13:38[11]
Tomohiro Ishii Countout1
Wataru Inoue 12:33[11]

1This match originally ended in a double countout at 3:18, but it was restarted with Inoue winning via countout in 9:15.[11]

2010

The 2010 New Japan Cup was a 15-man tournament held from March 14 to March 22.[13] As the previous winner of the Cup, Hirooki Goto received a bye in the first round of the tournament. With his victory Goto became the second two-time winner of the tournament and the first to win it back-to-back. Goto went on to challenge the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Shinsuke Nakamura on April 4, but would once again fail in his attempt to win the title.[14]

Round 1
March 14 		Round 2
March 20 		Semifinals
March 22 		Final
March 22
        
Hirooki Goto Bye
  [13]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 15:04[15]
Yujiro Takahashi Pin
Yuji Nagata 13:41[13]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Masato Tanaka 11:15[16]
Wataru Inoue Pin
Giant Bernard 7:39[13]
Wataru Inoue Pin
Masato Tanaka 13:05[15]
Masato Tanaka Pin
Manabu Nakanishi 18:01[13]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Togi Makabe 21:42[16]
Togi Makabe Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 11:46[13]
Togi Makabe Pin
Toru Yano 14:26[15]
Toru Yano Pin
Tomoaki Honma 10:34[13]
Togi Makabe Pin
Tetsuya Naito 15:52[16]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Strong Man 8:37[13]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Tetsuya Naito 23:17[15]
Tetsuya Naito Pin
Karl Anderson 9:52[13]

2011

The 2011 New Japan Cup was a 16-man tournament held from March 6 to March 20. The winner, Yuji Nagata, went on to unsuccessfully challenge Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship on April 3.[17]

Round 1
March 6
March 13 		Round 2
March 19 		Semifinals
March 20 		Final
March 20
        
Manabu Nakanishi Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 9:50[18]
Manabu Nakanishi Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 8:49[19]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 13:45[18]
Shinsuke Nakamura Pin
Togi Makabe 9:55[20]
Karl Anderson Sub
MVP 12:20[18]
MVP Pin
Togi Makabe 10:41[19]
Togi Makabe Pin
Satoshi Kojima 16:01[18]
Shinsuke Nakamura Pin
Yuji Nagata 14:44[20]
Wataru Inoue Pin
Toru Yano 10:17[21]
Toru Yano Pin
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 11:09[19]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Sub
Takashi Iizuka 12:50[21]
Toru Yano Sub
Yuji Nagata 7:27[20]
Tetsuya Naito Pin
Masato Tanaka 13:03[21]
Masato Tanaka Pin
Yuji Nagata 16:33[19]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Giant Bernard 11:32[21]

2012

The 2012 New Japan Cup was a 16-man tournament held from April 1 to April 8.[22] With his win, Hirooki Goto, became the first three-time winner of the tournament.

Round 1
April 1 		Round 2
April 5 		Semifinals
April 8 		Final
April 8
        
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Toru Yano 17:25[23]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Tetsuya Naito 18:21[24]
Satoshi Kojima Pin
Tetsuya Naito 17:53[23]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Karl Anderson 12:36[25]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Pin
Karl Anderson 8:00[23]
Karl Anderson Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 15:22[24]
MVP Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 9:45[23]
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Hirooki Goto 25:25[25]
Togi Makabe Pin
Lance Archer 8:47[23]
Togi Makabe Pin
Minoru Suzuki 13:34[24]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Minoru Suzuki 15:31[23]
Togi Makabe Pin
Hirooki Goto 9:22[25]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 9:55[23]
Hirooki Goto Pin
La Sombra 9:51[24]
La Sombra Pin
Yoshi-Hashi 9:41[23]

2013

The 2013 New Japan Cup was a 16-man tournament held from March 11 to March 23.[26] The winner of the tournament, Kazuchika Okada, went on to defeat Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at Invasion Attack on April 7.

Round 1
March 11 		Round 2
March 17 		Semifinals
March 23 		Final
March 23
        
Togi Makabe Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 10:45[27]
Yujiro Takahashi Pin
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 11:43[28]
Shinsuke Nakamura Pin
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 13:06[27]
Davey Boy Smith Jr. Pin
Hirooki Goto 8:14[29]
Satoshi Kojima Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 13:37[27]
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Hirooki Goto 18:46[28]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Tama Tonga 9:37[27]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Kazuchika Okada 23:52[29]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Pin
Karl Anderson 8:42[27]
Karl Anderson Pin
Kazuchika Okada 15:27[28]
Kazuchika Okada Sub
Lance Archer 10:14[27]
Kazuchika Okada Sub
Toru Yano 10:42[29]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Minoru Suzuki 10:24[27]
Minoru Suzuki Pin
Toru Yano 10:14[28]
Manabu Nakanishi Pin
Toru Yano 6:18[27]

2014

The 2014 New Japan Cup took place between March 15 and 23.[30] The winner of the tournament got to choose whether to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight or the IWGP Intercontinental Championship.[31]

Round 1
March 15 		Round 2
March 22 		Semifinals
March 23 		Final
March 23
        
Togi Makabe Pin
Bad Luck Fale 9:36[32]
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Tetsuya Naito 11:29[33]
Tetsuya Naito Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 12:55[32]
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Shelton X Benjamin 4:13[34]
Katsuyori Shibata Sub
Karl Anderson 9:14[32]
Katsuyori Shibata Pin
Shelton X Benjamin 10:06[33]
Yujiro Takahashi Pin
Shelton X Benjamin 6:21[32]
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 15:20[34]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Doc Gallows 6:59[32]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Minoru Suzuki 12:27[33]
Toru Yano Pin
Minoru Suzuki 8:01[32]
Minoru Suzuki Pin
Shinsuke Nakamura 13:12[34]
Shinsuke Nakamura Pin
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 14:59[32]
Shinsuke Nakamura Pin
Prince Devitt 10:23[33]
Prince Devitt Pin
Lance Archer 7:57[32]

2015

The 2015 New Japan Cup took place between March 5 and 15.[35] The winner of the tournament got to choose whether to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental or the NEVER Openweight Championship at Invasion Attack 2015 on April 5.[36]

Round 1
March 5 		Round 2
March 8 		Semifinals
March 15 		Final
March 15
        
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Toru Yano 2:47[37]
Toru Yano Pin
Kota Ibushi 2:44[38]
Kota Ibushi Pin
Doc Gallows 8:49[37]
Kota Ibushi Pin
Tetsuya Naito 14:14[39]
Tetsuya Naito Pin
Karl Anderson 12:10[37]
Tetsuya Naito Pin
Bad Luck Fale 12:51[38]
Kazuchika Okada Pin
Bad Luck Fale 16:34[37]
Kota Ibushi Pin
Hirooki Goto 17:31[39]
Togi Makabe Pin
Tomoaki Honma 10:10[37]
Togi Makabe Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 10:13[38]
Yoshi-Hashi Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 8:02[37]
Togi Makabe Pin
Hirooki Goto 8:11[39]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Hirooki Goto 11:24[37]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Katsuyori Shibata 17:18[38]
Satoshi Kojima Pin
Katsuyori Shibata 8:53[37]

2016

The 2016 New Japan Cup took place between March 3 and 12.[40] The winner of the tournament would once again get to choose whether to challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight, IWGP Intercontinental or NEVER Openweight Championship at Invasion Attack 2016 on April 10.[41]

Round 1
March 3 		Round 2
March 4 		Semifinals
March 12 		Final
March 12
        
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Bad Luck Fale 13:55[42]
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Michael Elgin 10:10[43]
Hiroyoshi Tenzan Pin
Michael Elgin 8:22[42]
Michael Elgin Pin
Hirooki Goto 9:28[44]
Togi Makabe Pin
Tama Tonga 7:40[42]
Tama Tonga Pin
Hirooki Goto 9:24[43]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Hirooki Goto 11:28[42]
Hirooki Goto Pin
Tetsuya Naito 20:15[44]
Tomoaki Honma Pin
Satoshi Kojima 11:50[42]
Satoshi Kojima Pin
Toru Yano 5:41[43]
Toru Yano Countout
Yujiro Takahashi 1:13[42]
Toru Yano Pin
Tetsuya Naito 2:32[44]
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Evil 15:20[42]
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Tetsuya Naito 16:21[43]
Yoshi-Hashi Pin
Tetsuya Naito 13:42[42]

2017

The 2017 New Japan Cup took place between March 11 and 20.[45] Unlike previous years, this tournament was held across eight events in 10 days.[46] Tomoaki Honma was originally announced for the tournament, but was pulled out and replaced with Yuji Nagata after suffering a spinal cord injury.[47]

Round 1
March 11, 12 		Round 2
March 13, 14, 15, 17 		Semifinals
March 19 		Final
March 20
        
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Evil 22:55[48]
Evil Pin
Yuji Nagata 13:33[49]
Yuji Nagata Pin
Tanga Loa 11:45[48]
Evil Pin
Bad Luck Fale 12:20[50]
Michael Elgin Pin
Bad Luck Fale 10:32[48]
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Toru Yano 8:33[51]
Toru Yano Pin
Tama Tonga 3:46[48]
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Katsuyori Shibata 18:48[52]
Katsuyori Shibata Pin
Minoru Suzuki 19:44[53]
Katsuyori Shibata Pin
Juice Robinson 11:23[54]
Juice Robinson Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 10:21[53]
Katsuyori Shibata Sub
Tomohiro Ishii 22:32[50]
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Kenny Omega 29:45[53]
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Sanada 14:02[55]
Yoshi-Hashi Sub
Sanada 13:57[53]

2018

The 2018 New Japan Cup took place between March 9 and 21.[56] The winner of the tournament, Zack Sabre Jr., challenged Kazuchika Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Sabre also became the second gaijin, after Giant Bernard, to win the New Japan Cup.

Round 1
March 9, 10, 11, 12 		Round 2
March 14, 15 		Semifinals
March 16, 18 		Final
March 21
        
Michael Elgin Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 29:02
Michael Elgin Pin
Juice Robinson 17:04
Juice Robinson Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 16:08
Juice Robinson Pin
Hiroshi Tanahashi 29:53
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Taichi 23:53
Hiroshi Tanahashi Countout
Bad Luck Fale 14:36
Bad Luck Fale Pin
Lance Archer 11:02
Hiroshi Tanahashi Sub
Zack Sabre Jr. 34:02
Yoshi-Hashi Pin
Kota Ibushi 22:23
Kota Ibushi Stop
Zack Sabre Jr. 21:02
Tetsuya Naito Sub
Zack Sabre Jr. 22:43
Zack Sabre Jr. Sub
Sanada 26:36
Toru Yano 12:52
Davey Boy Smith Jr. Countout
Toru Yano Sub
Sanada 4:51
Chuckie T. Pin
Sanada 21:31

2019

The 2019 New Japan Cup took place between March 8 and 24.[57] Unlike the previous year, the tournament featured 32 wrestlers instead of 16 and marks the New Japan Cup debut of 7 wrestlers. After David Finlay was pulled out of the tournament due to an injury, Ryusuke Taguchi was announced as his replacement.[58]

Round 1
March 8, 9, 10, 11 		Round 2
March 13, 14, 16, 17 		Quarterfinals
March 20, 21 		Semifinals
March 23 		Final
March 24
               
Yuji Nagata 21:34
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Taichi 22:55
Tomoaki Honma 17:54
Taichi Sub
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Yoshi-Hashi 20:25
Manabu Nakanishi 12:26
Yoshi-Hashi Sub
Yoshi-Hashi Pin
Chase Owens 14:10
Juice Robinson 24:36
Chase Owens Pin
Tomohiro Ishii 21:10
Kazuchika Okada Pin
Kazuchika Okada Pin
Michael Elgin 24:06
Kazuchika Okada Pin
Mikey Nicholls 17:25
Mikey Nicholls Pin
Hikuleo 08:55
Kazuchika Okada Pin
Will Ospreay 20:10
Will Ospreay Pin
Bad Luck Fale 11:30
Will Ospreay Pin
Lance Archer 18:08
Toa Henare 11:11
Lance Archer Pin
Kazuchika Okada Pin
Sanada 33:07
Hiroshi Tanahashi Sub
Shota Umino 16:48
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Ryusuke Taguchi 17:18
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 12:08
Ryusuke Taguchi Pin
Hiroshi Tanahashi Pin
Zack Sabre Jr. 21:11
Kota Ibushi Pin
Tetsuya Naito 20:38
Kota Ibushi 16:07
Zack Sabre Jr. Sub
Evil 15:33
Zack Sabre Jr. Sub
Hiroshi Tanahashi 24:11
Sanada Sub
Togi Makabe 07:26
Colt Cabana Pin
Colt Cabana Pin
Toru Yano 7:47
Toru Yano Pin
Davey Boy Smith Jr. 05:30
Colt Cabana 14:56
Sanada Sub
Satoshi Kojima 13:43
Minoru Suzuki Pin
Minoru Suzuki 28:45
Sanada Pin
Hirooki Goto 20:47
Sanada Pin

2020

The 2020 New Japan Cup took place between June 16 and July 11. It was originally going to take place from March 4 until March 21, but was postponed when New Japan Pro Wrestling suspended all of its activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[59][60]

On June 9, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that it would resume its activities, beginning with the 2020 edition of the New Japan Cup, which would now be an Openweight tournament and take place from June 16 until July 11, with the finals being held at Osaka-jō Hall in Osaka.[61][3]

Due to both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles being held by Tetsuya Naito, the winner of the tournament would earn a match against him for both titles at Dominion in Osaka-jo Hall, instead of choosing one title to challenge for. [62]

Round 1
June 16, 17, 22, 23 		Round 2
June 24, July 1 		Quarterfinals
July 2 		Semifinals
July 3 		Final
July 11
               
Togi Makabe Pin
Yota Tsuji 08:41
Togi Makabe 13:28
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
Tomohiro Ishii Pin
El Desperado 20:17
Tomohiro Ishii 19:12
Hiromu Takahashi Pin
Toru Yano Pin
Jado 09:07
Toru Yano 09:17
Hiromu Takahashi Countout
Tomoaki Honma 18:45
Hiromu Takahashi Pin
Hiromu Takahashi 27:00
Kazuchika Okada Stop
Kazuchika Okada Sub
Gedo 15:30
Kazuchika Okada Sub
Yuji Nagata 20:14
Yuji Nagata Pin
Minoru Suzuki 20:35
Kazuchika Okada Sub
Taiji Ishimori 16:52
Yuya Uemura 09:32
Yoshinobu Kanemaru Pin
Yoshinobu Kanemaru 09:18
Taiji Ishimori Pin
Gabriel Kidd 08:53
Taiji Ishimori Sub
Kazuchika Okada 31:50
Evil Pin
Hiroshi Tanahashi 21:51
Taichi Pin
Taichi Pin
Kota Ibushi 18:08
Kota Ibushi Pin
Zack Sabre Jr. 15:15
Taichi 22:50
Sanada Pin
Ryusuke Taguchi 15:47
Sanada Pin
Sanada Sub
Sho 14:43
Sho Pin
Shingo Takagi 17:06
Sanada 20:13
Evil Pin
Hiroyoshi Tenzan 17:35
Yoshi-Hashi Sub
Yoshi-Hashi Pin
Bushi 10:22
Yoh 15:42
Bushi Pin
Yoshi-Hashi 2:00
Evil Stop
Satoshi Kojima 20:08
Evil Pin
Evil Pin
Hirooki Goto 18:25
Hirooki Goto Pin
Yujiro Takahashi 16:40

Original card

The original card for the New Japan Cup, when it was scheduled to take place from March 4 to March 21, had to be completely re-worked for the eventual final card, as a number of wrestlers originally planned to participate could not go to Japan when NJPW resumed its activities due to traveling restrictions in the midst of the pandemic.

Of the 32 wrestlers included in the original card, 14 were not a part of the eventual tournament in June-July: Alex Coughlin, Bad Luck Fale, Chase Owens, Colt Cabana, David Finlay, Karl Fredericks, Jay White, Kenta, Jeff Cobb, Juice Robinson, Mikey Nicholls, Tanga Loa, Toa Henare, and Will Ospreay.[63]

Cancelled Round 1 card
Day 1 (March 4)
Togi Makabe vs Jeff Cobb Tomohiro Ishii vs Toa Henare Toru Yano vs. Chase Owens Colt Cabana vs. Bad Luck Fale
Day 2 (March 7)
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jay White Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki Juice Robinson vs. Alex Coughlin David Finlay vs. Tanga Loa
Day 3 (March 8)
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Taichi Kota Ibushi vs. Zack Sabre Jr. Mikey Nicholls vs. Sanada Will Ospreay vs. Shingo Takagi
Day 4 (March 9)
Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Yoshi-Hashi Karl Fredericks vs. Kenta Satoshi Kojima vs. Evil Hirooki Goto vs. Yujiro Takahashi

2021
New Japan Cup 2021
Promotional poster for the March 14 show of the tournament, featuring various NJPW wrestlers.
PromotionNew Japan Pro-Wrestling
DateMarch 5-21, 2021
CityVarious, Japan
Final: Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
VenueVarious
Final: Xebio Arena Sendai
Event chronology
← Previous
Anniversary Event		 Next →
—
New Japan Cup chronology
← Previous
2020		 Next →
—

The 2021 edition's schedule was announced on January 13.[64] The tournament will run from March 5, one day after NJPW's annual anniversary event, to March 21. The final night will be NJPW's first show held at Xebio Arena Sendai.[64]

See also

Notes
  1. From 2006-2013, the winner would always earn a match for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. From 2014 onwards, he could decide between challenging for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the IWGP Intercontinental Championship. In 2015 only, the winner could also choose to challenge for the NEVER Openweight Championship, and in 2020, due to Tetsuya Naito being both the Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion, the winner received a match against him for both titles, instead of choosing one to challenge for.

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