On the heels of an incredible G1 Climax tournament, New Japan Pro Wrestling returns to the Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo for the finals of the 2016 Super J-Cup.
For those unfamiliar with the single-elimination tournament, NJPW established the Super J-Cup in 1994 to showcase the best junior heavyweight wrestlers from various promotions all around the world. It is not an annual event, as there have only been five previous incarnations, this year marking the sixth, and the first since 2009. For Western fans, the concept is nearly identical to that of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, with the notable difference being New Japan’s more extensive list of partners to draw talent from.
The Super J-Cup was responsible for the early rise of many of the world’s top juniors stars, including Eddie Guerrero, Taka Michinoku, The Great Sasuke, Hayabusa, Jushin Thunder Liger who won the tournament in 1995 and 2000, Gedo the current booker of New Japan, Ultimo Dragon, Christopher Daniels, Chris Jericho, Naomichi Marufuji who won the tournament in 2004 and 2009, and Chris Benoit, who won the inaugural 1994 tournament that was credited as “the most incredible single night of wrestling ever”, by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
The 2016 return of the Cup brought together wrestlers from New Japan, All Japan, Noah, CMLL, Dragon Gate, K-Dojo, Ring of Honor, and Ryukyu Dragon. 16 competitors faced off last month to determine who would advance to the finals on August 21st. The card will feature all four quarter-final matches, both semi-finals and the Cup Finals, as well as the Young Bucks defending the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championships, the Noah GHC Jr. Tag Team Champions defending their titles, and several inter-promotional tag team matches.
Wrestlezone will have live coverage of the 2016 Super J-Cup late Saturday/early Sunday kicking off at 2AM EST (11PM PST). This will be just one night after our coverage of Ring of Honor’s return to PPV with Death Before Dishonor, which also explains why certain names are missing from either show. Fair warning: with 11 announced matches this will probably be a very long show (3.5-4 hours not including intermission) unless they really rush through the undercard.
NJPW Super J-Cup Finals
August 21, 2016
Tokyo, Japan
Tournament Finals
??? vs. ???
IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championship
Young Bucks (c) vs. Motor City Machine Guns
GHC Jr. Tag Team Championship
Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada (c) vs. ACH & Taiji Ishimori
Tournament Semi-Finals
??? vs. ???
Tournament Semi-Finals
??? vs. ???
Titan, Karisutiko & Volador Jr. vs. Gran Guerrero, Ultimo Guerrero & Euforia
Tournament Quarter-Finals
Matt Sydal (ROH) vs. Will Ospreay (NJPW)
Tournament Quarter-Finals
Ryusuke Taguchi (NJPW) vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Noah)
Tournament Quarter-Finals
Kushida (NJPW) vs. Kobushio (Noah)
Tournament Quarter-Finals
Jushin Thunder Liger (NJPW) vs. Taichi (Noah)
Eita, Aoyagi Yuma & David Finlay vs. Gurukun Mask, Kaji Tomato & Bushi
