New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

had held a variety of

professional wrestling tournament On various occasions in professional wrestling, a single-elimination tournament of varying match types are held, often to determine a championship or number-one contendership therein. It has been known for promotions to use title tournament that a ...

s competed for by wrestlers that are a part of their roster.

Sporadic tournaments

Pin-Pinfall; Sub-Submission; CO-Countout; DCO-Double countout; DQ-Disqualification; DDQ-Double Disqualification Ref-Referee's decision; NC-No Contest

1974 Karl Gotch Cup

The 1974 Karl Gotch Cup was a round-robin tournament held from October 25 until December 8. The tournament featured 8 participants. The tournament was held during the Toukon Series II tour. The winner of the tournament was

Tatsumi Fujinami (born December 28, 1953) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to WWE on a legend's contract. Fujinami is most well known for his long tenure with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a six-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. H ...

, who defeated Masashi Ozawa to win the tournament. Fujinami would later become a Japanese legend having success in both the junior heavyweight and heavyweight divisions. He would later become a six times IWGP Heavyweight Champion and also won the G1 Climax. Later he was abroad, to Mexico's Universal Wrestling Association and to Jim Crockett Promotions in the U.S.

Vacant IWGP Heavyweight Championship tournament

A tournament for the vacant

IWGP Heavyweight Championship The was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on June 12, 1987, in the final of an IWG ...

was held on April 24, 1989.

Kyushu Cup

The Kyushu Cup was a four-man tournament, which took place on June 12, 1990.

Japan/US All Star Tournament

The Japan/US All Star Tournament was an interpromotional

single-elimination tournament A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

pitting NJPW wrestlers against

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

wrestlers. The tournament took place during the 1996 G1 Climax.

G2 U-30 Climax Tournament 2003

The G2 U-30 Climax Tournament 2003 was a tournament.

Yuko Six Man Tag Team Tournament

The Yuko Six Man Tag Team Tournament was a tournament.

President Hoshino 10 Million Yen Offer Tag Tournament

The President Hoshino 10 Million Yen Offer Tag Tournament was a tournament.

Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Team Tournament

The Samurai! TV Openweight Tag Team Tournament was a tournament.

Yuke's Cup PREMIUM One Night Tag Tournament

The Yuke's Cup PREMIUM One Night Tag Tournament was a tournament.

J Sports Crown Openweight Six Man Tag Team Tournament 2010

The J Sports Crown Openweight Six Man Tag Team Tournament 2010 was a tournament.

J Sports Crown Openweight Six Man Tag Team Tournament 2011

The J Sports Crown Openweight Six Man Tag Team Tournament 2011 was a tournament.

IWGP Intercontinental Championship Tournament

On April 8, 2011, NJPW announced the participants in the tournament to crown the first IWGP Intercontinental Champion. The list of participants included former

World Wrestling Entertainment World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

performer

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

, who had signed a contract with NJPW in January 2011,

Kazuchika Okada (born November 8, 1987) is a Japanese professional wrestler 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 dramati ...

, who had been on a learning excursion to American promotion

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 ...

(TNA) since February 2010, Hideo Saito, who had been on a similar tour of Puerto Rican

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

since September 2010, former IWGP Tag Team and

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions The is a professional wrestling tag team championship owned by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The title was introduced on August 8, 1998, at an NJPW live event. The IWGP Junior ...

Tetsuya Naito is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the leader of the ''Los Ingobernables de Japón'' faction. Tetsuya Naito began training for a professional wrestling career in 2000, initially under Anima ...

and

Yujiro Takahashi , is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of Bullet Club and its sub-group House of Torture. Takahashi entered New Japan in November 2003 with an extensive amateur backgr ...

No Limit No Limit may refer to: Music Record labels *No Limit Records, a record label founded by Master P * No Limit Forever Records, a record label founded by Romeo Miller, son of Master P Albums * ''No Limit'' (Art Pepper album), 1977 * ''No Limit'' ...

, NJPW regulars

Tama Tonga Alipate Aloisio Leone (born October 15, 1982) is a Tongan-American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Tama Tonga (タマ・トンガ　''Tama Tonga''). He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is also known a ...

and

Toru Yano , is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, trained by and currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2020 and the provisional KOPW (New Japan Pro-Wrestling), KOPW 2 ...

and American independent worker

Dan Maff Daniel Lopez (born October 28, 1973), better known by his ring name Dan Maff, is an American professional wrestler, known for his time with Ring of Honor (ROH). Professional wrestling career Da Hit Squad Lopez attended Jersey All Pro Wrestling ...

, who made his first appearance for NJPW during the tour. On May 6 it was announced that Tonga had suffered an injury, which would force him out of the tournament. He would be replaced by former TNA and

Ring of Honor Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Jacksonville, Florida. The promotion was founded by Rob Feinstein on February 23, 2002, and was operated by Cary Silkin from 2004 until 2011, when the promotion was so ...

performer Josh Daniels. On May 15, MVP defeated Yano in the final of the tournament to become the inaugural champion. ;Tournament bracket

NEVER Openweight Championship Tournament

On October 5, 2012, over two years after the founding of NEVER,

announced the creation of the project's first championship, the NEVER Openweight Championship. The title was originally created with the idea of using it to "elevate younger wrestlers". The first champion was to be determined in a sixteen-man

, which was set to take place November 15 and 19, 2012. The title and the tournament were announced by New Japan president Naoki Sugabayashi and NEVER regular

, who was scheduled to enter the tournament, but was forced to pull out after suffering a knee injury. Much like regular NEVER events, the tournament also featured wrestlers not signed to New Japan;

freelancer ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

Daisuke Sasaki is a Japanese professional wrestler. He is signed to DDT Pro-Wrestling (DDT), where is a former two-time DDT Universal Champion. In addition to that, in DDT, he is also a former three-time KO-D Openweight Champion, one-time DDT Extreme Champion ...

, Hiro Tonai,

Kengo Mashimo is a Japanese professional wrestler currently working for Active Advance Pro Wrestling (2AW). His style is a combination of submission wrestling and hard, martial arts style strikes. Professional wrestling career Kengo Mashimo debuted in Pu ...

, Ryuichi Sekine,

Shiori Asahi (born February 17, 1978) is a Japanese wrestler, currently working for Kaientai Dojo. He also appears sporadically for Big Japan Pro Wrestling and 666. Championships and accomplishments *Dramatic Dream Team **DDT Extreme Championship (1 time) ...

and

Taishi Takizawa is a Japanese professional wrestler better known by the ring name . Trained by Taka Michinoku, Takizawa has spent most of his career working for his Kaientai Dojo promotion. From December 2011 to June 2012, Takizawa was signed to WWE, working in ...

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 Masato Tanaka from

Pro Wrestling Zero1 (stylized as Pro Wrestling ZERO1), formerly known as Pro Wrestling Zero-One and Pro Wrestling Zero1-Max (stylised in all capital letters) and often referred to simply as Zero1, is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded in 2001. I ...

. The entire first round of the tournament took place on November 15 and saw Shiori Asahi,

Yoshi-Hashi is a Japanese professional wrestler. He currently works for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as Yoshi-Hashi (stylized in all capital letters), where he is a former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion alongside Hirooki Goto. As well as a former ...

, Taishi Takizawa,

Ryusuke Taguchi is a Japanese professional wrestler, trained by and currently performing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is a former two-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion, seven-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion and three-time NEVER ...

Tomohiro Ishii is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He also makes additional appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is also known for his work with the independent Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling ( ...

, Kengo Mashimo,

Karl Anderson Chad Allegra (born January 20, 1980), better known by the ring name Karl Anderson, is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE where he performs on the Raw brand. He also makes appearances for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), whe ...

and Masato Tanaka advance. The rest of the tournament took place four days later. During the second round, Kengo Mashimo defeated Ryusuke Taguchi, Karl Anderson defeated Shiori Asahi, Masato Tanaka defeated Taishi Takizawa, Tomohiro Ishii defeated Yoshi-Hashi. The semifinals saw Anderson defeat Mashimo and Tanaka defeat Ishii. In the final of the tournament, Tanaka, the 39-year-old, who, despite officially being affiliated with Pro Wrestling Zero1, had worked for NJPW regularly since August 2009, defeated Anderson to become the inaugural NEVER Openweight Champion. Though the title was originally designed to be defended at NEVER events, NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since the championship tournament.

Vacant NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship

On August 1, 2020, NJPW announced a tournament to crown new NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions.

Inaugural KOPW Championship

NJPW announced a tournament to Crown the inaugural KOPW Champion.

Vacant IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship

On August 31, 2020, NJPW announced a league tournament to crown new

on the New Japan Road tour.

Lion's Break Crown

Lion's Break Crown was a tournament that took place between September 25, 2020 and October 9, 2020 on

NJPW Strong ''NJPW Strong'' is a professional wrestling television series produced by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) which debuted on August 7, 2020. It currently airs Saturday at 8pm ET on NJPW World and FITE TV. ...

Annually held tournaments

Footnotes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournaments Professional wrestling-related lists