The Super J-Cup is a periodically held

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 or ...

tournament featuring junior heavyweight wrestlers from all over the world promoted by

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, 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 ...

(NJPW). This tournament differs from NJPW's annual

Best of the Super Juniors The Best of the Super Juniors (often abbreviated BOSJ) is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), typically in May or June. Originally known as Top of the Super Juniors, the first tournament was held in ...

tournament in that it is single elimination, while Best of the Super Juniors has a

round robin Round-robin may refer to: Computing * Round-robin DNS, a technique for dealing with redundant Internet Protocol service hosts * Round-robin networks, communications networks made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology * Round-robin schedu ...

format. The Super J-Cup was originally conceived by Japanese wrestler

Jushin Thunder Liger , better known as and later , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is the longest-tenured member of the NJPW roster, having wrestled for the company since h ...

as a showcase for promotions from Asia and North America, including Liger's home promotion

(who hosted the first tournament in 1994),

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fire. They held their f ...

Wrestle Association R Wrestle Association R (formerly known as Wrestle and Romance and abbreviated as WAR) was a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded and run by Genichiro Tenryu as the successor to Super World of Sports, and which lasted from 1992 to 200 ...

Michinoku Pro Wrestling (originally known as North Eastern Wrestling) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded by The Great Sasuke on October 1, 1992. It was the first independent wrestling promotion in Japan to not base its operations in Tokyo, but rather ...

, Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, and the Social Progress Wrestling Federation. In the following years, wrestlers representing various other NJPW partner promotions would also participate. Since the original Super J-Cup in 1994, the tournament has taken place sporadically (1995, 2000, 2004, 2009, 2016, 2019, and 2020). The original is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestling shows of all time.

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has als ...

, editor of the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four W ...

'', called the 1994 Super J-Cup "the most incredible single night of wrestling ever".

Dates, venues and winners

Tournament history

1994

The inaugural Super J-Cup tournament was hosted by

. The event took place on April 16, 1994, at

Sumo Hall is a form of competitive full-contact wrestling where a ''rikishi'' (wrestler) attempts to force his opponent out of a circular ring (''dohyō'') or into touching the ground with any body part other than the soles of his feet (usually by thr ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan.

1995

The second Super J-Cup was hosted by

taking place on December 13, 1995, at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

2000

The third Super J-Cup tournament was a two-night event hosted by

. The first round was held on April 1, 2000 at

Sendai City Gymnasium is an indoor sporting arena located in Sendai, Miyagi, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 7,000. It hosted preliminary round games for the Basketball World Championship 2006, and is also the home arena of the Sendai 89ers of the Japan profes ...

in Sendai, Japan and the final three rounds were held on April 9, 2000 at Sumo Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

2004

The fourth Super J-Cup was promoted by

Osaka Pro Wrestling Osaka Pro Wrestling is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion, founded in 1998 by Super Delfin. The promotion held a major flagship event called the Osaka Hurricane each year from 2003 to 2012 and also hosted the fourth edition of the Sup ...

and was held on February 21, 2004, at

Osaka-jō Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan.

2009

The fifth Super J-Cup tournament was produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a two-night event taking place on December 22 and December 23, 2009 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

2016

The sixth Super J-Cup tournament was promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a two-night event taking place on July 20, 2016 and August 21, 2016. The first round held on July 20 took place at the Korakuen Hall in

, Japan, while the next three rounds took place on August 21 at the

Ariake Coliseum is an indoor sporting arena in located in Ariake, Kōtō, Tokyo, Japan. It has a capacity of 10,000 and is one of the few professional tennis venues which has a retractable roof. Events The arena is used as the center court for the Japan ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

2019

The seventh Super J-Cup tournament is promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. It was a three-night event taking place on August 22, 2019, August 24, 2019, and August 25, 2019. The first round took place on August 22 at the

Masonic Temple Building-Temple Theater The Landmark Convention Center (historically known as the Masonic Temple Building, the Temple Theater, Helig's Theater, and John Hamrick's Temple Theater) in Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma, Washington (state), Washington, United States is located at 4 ...

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Pa ...

. The second round took place on August 24 at

San Francisco State University San Francisco State University (commonly referred to as San Francisco State, SF State and SFSU) is a public research university in San Francisco. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers 118 different ...

's Student Life Events Center in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The semi-finals and final took place on August 25 at

Walter Pyramid The Walter Pyramid, formerly known as The Long Beach Pyramid, is a 4,000-seat, indoor multi-purpose arena on the campus of Long Beach State University in Long Beach, California. History The Walter Pyramid was officially opened on November 30, 19 ...

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

2020

The eighth Super J-Cup tournament is promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. During the Road to Power Struggle Show on November 2, it was announced that on December 12 a new edition of the Super J-Cup will take place in the United States, with 8 participants announced.

References

{{Wrestle Association R, Super J-Cup New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournaments New Japan Pro-Wrestling shows International sports competitions hosted by Japan WAR (wrestling promotion) events