New Japan Cup USA 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 ...

tournament produced by

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 ...

(NJPW). The tournament is a spin-off of NJPW's annual

New Japan Cup __NOTOC__ The New Japan Cup (NJC) is an annual single-elimination professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) since 2005. It is considered the second most prominent heavyweight tournament in NJPW, after the G1 Climax w ...

introduced in 2020. The tournament was promoted under NJPW's North American branch, New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America. New Japan Cup USA is an eight-man,

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 ...

. Matches are contested through NJPW's weekly

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

, '' Strong''.

Tournaments

History

The

was first held in April 2005. The event then became an annual tradition for NJPW and was held every year around mid-March to mid-April, with the winner receiving a match for the

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 ...

. After the 2020 edition of the New Japan Cup was delayed until June due to the

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 ...

, it was announced during a press conference on July 31 that the New Japan Cup USA would take place from August 7 to August 21 of that year, with the winner receiving a shot at the

IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. "IWGP" is the acronym of NJPW's governing body, the . The current champion is Will Ospreay, who is in his first reign. History Backgr ...

. It was also reported that the matches would be televised on NJPW's new television show, '' Strong''. The next day, the eight-man bracket was announced.

Editions

2020

It commenced on August 7, 2020 and concluded on August 21, 2020.

2021

New Japan Cup USA 2021 commenced on April 9 and concluded on April 23. Eight qualifying matches were held from March 5–March 26 to determine the eight participants. The bracket was revealed after the eight participants were determined. Originally, the winner of the tournament would receive an IWGP United States Championship title match, but this was changed when NJPW revealed the

Strong Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021. The title is exclusively featured on NJPW's American television program ''NJPW St ...

on April 2 and announced that the winner will become its inaugural champion instead.

Notes

References

External links

Official New Japan Pro-Wrestling website
{{New Japan Pro Wrestling events New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournaments New Japan Pro-Wrestling shows Professional wrestling in California