The Junior League is an annual

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

round-robin

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

held by

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...

, to decide the promotion's top junior heavyweight wrestler, as well as the #1 contender to the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. It was established in 1983 as a single-block round-robin tournament then in 2006, it began as a two-block round-robin tournament, in which each block's highest scorers face off in the finals. A victory is worth two points, a draw is worth one, and a loss zero; each match has a thirty-minute time limit. In 2012, the tournament was renamed the "Junior Hyper League". After no tournament took place in 2013, the 2014 tournament was dubbed "Jr. Battle of Glory", being announced to take place in February, instead of its usual place in the summer. After a break due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

in 2020, the event was stalled and postponed. The tournament returned in 2021 but as a two-day event presenting a 16-man single elimination tournament. The first winner of the tournament was

Chavo Guerrero Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federatio ...

in 1983 and the latest one is

Francesco Akira Francesco Begnini (born November 12, 1999), better known by his ring name Francesco Akira is an Italian professional wrestler, working for the Japanese promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the United Empire stable and ...

who won it in June 2021. Kai,

Kotaro Suzuki is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . He is currently working as a freelancer, mainly for promotion Pro Wrestling Noah. Career Pro Wrestling Noah (2001-2013) Suzuki was the last person remaining of a grueling t ...

Shuji Kondo is a Japanese professional wrestler. Prior to becoming a pro wrestler, he played rugby. After starting his career in Toryumon, Kondo eventually joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where he became one of the promotion's top junior heavyweigh ...

, and

Koji Iwamoto is a Japanese professional wrestler best known for his time in All Japan Pro Wrestling. Iwamoto has previously competed for DDT Pro-Wrestling and Pro Wrestling Heat Up. He is a former four time World Junior Heavyweight Championship (AJPW), AJP ...

are the only wrestlers to hold the title of champions on more than one occasion each.

Results

List of winners

1983

In 1983, All Japan Pro Wrestling held the "NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title League" between May 12 and 26, 1983. The winner,

, also won the vacant

NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship started in 1979. It was formed by a split in lineage from the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship caused by the retirement of champion Nelson Royal the same year. The first champion, Stev ...

1998

In 1998, All Japan Pro Wrestling held the "World Junior Heavyweight Title League" between July 6 and 19, 1998. The winner,

Yoshinari Ogawa (born November 2, 1966) is a Japanese professional wrestler who currently works for Pro Wrestling Noah. He has earned the nickname of "Rat Boy" from the English-speaking Puroresu fanbase due to his sneaky, clever in-ring tactics and baiting his ...

, also won the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship.

2003

The 2003 Junior League was held from March 28 to April 10, 2003. The winner, Carl Contini, went on to unsuccessfully challenge

Kendo Kashin Tokimitsu Ishizawa (''Ishizawa Tokimitsu'', born August 5, 1968), better known by his ring name Kendo Kashin (ケンドー・カシン, ''Kendō Kashin''), is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his time in New Japan Pr ...

for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on April 12, 2003.

2006

The 2006 Junior League was held from June 25 to July 3 over six shows and featured two blocks of four. Foreign participation included

Taka Michinoku (born October 26, 1973), better known by his ring name (with his first name usually stylized in all capital letters), is a Japanese professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. Michinoku is known in North America for his work for the ...

from

Kaientai Dojo Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion and training facility originally owned and promoted by Taka Michinoku. The promotion places emphasis on a style of puroresu that combines high-flying, technical wr ...

and Virus from

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as ''Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre'' (''EMLL'') (''Mexi ...

. The winner,

Kaz Hayashi is a Japanese professional wrestler known simply as . He is best known for his work in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), where in addition to being a wrestler for the promotion, he also served as the head booker for the company's junior heavyweight ...

, won every match he participated in; he went on to fail in his challenge to Junior Heavyweight champion

on August 27. Note that "brother" YASSHI wrestled as "strong" YASSHI for two of his matches.

2007

The 2007 Junior League, was held from June 24 to July 1 over six shows, involving two blocks of five. Foreign participation included

Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...

from

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

. Unlike the previous year, the Junior Heavyweight champion,

Katsuhiko Nakajima is a Japanese professional wrestler, signed to Pro Wrestling Noah. He started his career in Riki Choshu's Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ) promotion before heading to Kensuke Sasaki's Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring dojo and promotion. He ...

, was allowed to compete.

2008

The 2008 Junior League featured two blocks of five and is being held from July 20 to August 3 over nine shows.

2009

The 2009 Junior League featured two blocks of five and is being held from July 26 to August 7 over eight shows. Foreign participants included

Petey Williams Peter Williams III (born August 26, 1981) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE as a backstage producer. He is best known for his time in Impact Wrestling, where he is a two-time X Division Champion. He is also k ...

and

Super Crazy Francisco Islas Rueda (born December 3, 1973), better known by his ring name Super Crazy, is a Mexican ''luchador'' (or professional wrestler). In Mexico, Islas has worked for Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) and made appearances f ...

. The winner,

, went on to fail in his challenge to Junior Heavyweight champion

on August 30.

2010

The 2010 Junior League featured two blocks of six and was held from July 25 to August 8 over nine shows. The winner,

Jimmy Yang James Carson Yun (born May 13, 1981) is an American professional wrestler and actor of Korean and German descent. He is also best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Ente ...

, went on to unsuccessfully challenge

for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 29, 2010.

2011

The 2011 Junior League featured two blocks of six and was held from September 11 to September 25 over nine shows. With his win, KAI became the first person to have won the tournament twice.

2012

The 2012 Junior League, dubbed "Junior Hyper League", featured two blocks of six and was held from July 15 to July 29 over ten shows.

2014

The 2014 Junior League, dubbed "Jr. Battle of Glory", featured two blocks of five and was held from February 5 to February 16 over eight shows.

2015

The 2015 Jr. Battle of Glory featured two blocks of five and was held from February 7 to February 20 over nine shows.

2016

The 2016 Jr. Battle of Glory featured two blocks of four and was held from February 12 to February 21 over five shows and contested for the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Originally Kazuki Hashimoto won block B, but had to pull out of the finals due to a hand fracture, leading to AJPW booking a playoff match between

Hikaru Sato is a Japanese professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, better known by the ring name . Sato started his MMA career in February 2000, fighting for Pancrase Hybrid Wrestling. During the next eight years, Sato fought, on average, five time ...

and

Atsushi Maruyama is a Japanese professional wrestler, currently signed to All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). He previously worked for Osaka Pro Wrestling under the ring name . His ring name and original wrestling attire were inspired by the Hanshin Tigers baseba ...

to determine the finalist.

2017

The 2017 Jr. Battle of Glory featured two blocks of five and was held from February 17 to February 26 over six shows.

2018

The 2018 Jr. Battle of Glory will feature two blocks of six and will be held from February 13 to February 25 over nine shows.

2019

The 2019 Junior League featured two blocks of six and was held from February 7 to February 24 over eleven shows.

2021

The 2021 edition featured a single elimination tournament that took place between June 2 and June 3, 2021.

2022

The 2022 Junior League features one block of six participants and is held at the same time as the

World's Strongest Tag Determination League __NOTOC__ The , more commonly known in the West as the Real World Tag League, is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling since 1977, usually, run on the first weeks of December. The first tournament was actually ...

between November 13 and December 7.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ajpw Junior League All Japan Pro Wrestling tournaments Professional wrestling in Japan