__NOTOC__ The is an infrequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in the 1970s. NJPW has held the tournament eleven times since 1985. After the 2005 tournament, NJPW did not hold another Young Lion Cup for 12 years, until reviving the tournament in 2017, 2019 and again in 2026.
The Young Lion Cup is a round-robin tournament in the same style as NJPW's annual G1 Climax tournament. Wrestlers traditionally earn two points for a victory, one point for any sort of draw and zero points for a loss. In some years, the two wrestlers with the most points at the end of the round-robin tournament would then face off in a singles match for the Young Lion Cup trophy, while in other years, the wrestler with the most points would be declared the winner. The winners of the Young Lion Cup would also be rewarded with a learning excursion overseas. It was held as a single-elimination tournament in 2026.
In 2020, another tournament featuring young lions, Lion's Break Crown, was organized by NJPW, this time as a single-elimination tournament.
Winners TournamentYearWinnerTotal wonReference 1985 Shunji Kosugi 1 1986 Keiichi Yamada 1 1987 Masahiro Chono 1 1989 Naoki Sano 1 1993 Hiroyoshi Yamamoto 1 1994 Satoshi Kojima 1 1995 Manabu Nakanishi 1 1996 Tokimitsu Ishizawa 1 2000 Kenzo Suzuki 1 2004 Ryusuke Taguchi 1 2005 Hirooki Goto 1 2017 Katsuya Kitamura 1 2019 Karl Fredericks 1 2026 Katsuya Murashima 1
1985 +Final standings Shunji Kosugi 32.5 Keiichi Yamada 32.5 Tatsutoshi Goto 32.5 Naoki Sano 25 Keiji Muto 22.5 Hirokazu Hata 15 Masahiro Chono 12.5Shinya Hashimoto7.5 Yuji Funaki 0
1986 +Final standings Keiichi Yamada Winner Tatsutoshi Goto Runner up Akira Nogami Unknown Hirokazu Hata Unknown Masahiro Chono Unknown Masaharu Funaki Unknown Shinya Hashimoto Unknown Naoki Sano Unknown
1987 +Final standings Masahiro Chono 38 Shinya Hashimoto 37 Yuji Funaki 30 Akira Nogami 25 Yoji Anjo 20 Tatsuo Nakano 20 Kenichi Oya 5 Osamu Matsuda 5 Akira Katayama 5 Young Lion Cup Chono Hashimoto Funaki Nogami Anjo Nakano Oya Matsuda Katayama Chono X Draw (20:00) Funaki (11:49) Chono (11:02) Chono (9:35) Chono (9:08) Chono (9:41) Chono (8:24) Chono (9:41) Hashimoto Draw (20:00) X Hashimoto (11:36) Hashimoto (8:52) Hashimoto (7:48) Hashimoto (8:52) Hashimoto (8:19) Hashimoto (8:23) Hashimoto (11:33) Funaki Funaki (11:49) Hashimoto (11:36) X Nogami (10:32) Funaki (15:04) Funaki (5:51) Funaki (9:26) Funaki (10:27) Funaki (9:13) Nogami Chono (11:02) Hashimoto (8:52) Nogami (10:32) X Anjo (??:??) Nogami (9:42) Nogami (8:57) Nogami (11:17) Nogami (7:44) Anjo Chono (9:35) Hashimoto (7:48) Funaki (15:04) Anjo (??:??) X Nakano (10:24) Anjo (11:38) Anjo (11:05) Anjo (7:54) NakanoChono (9:08) Hashimoto (8:52) Funaki (5:51) Nogami (9:42) Nakano (10:24) X Nakano (8:22) Nakano (7:23) Nakano (6:37) Oya Chono (9:41) Hashimoto (8:19) Funaki (9:26) Nogami (8:57) Anjo (11:38) Nakano (8:22) X Matsuda (9:26) Oya (11:35) Matsuda Chono (8:24) Hashimoto (8:23) Funaki (10:27) Nogami (11:17) Anjo (11:05) Nakano (7:23) Matsuda (9:26) X Katayama (11:16) Katayama Chono (9:41) Hashimoto (11:33) Funaki (9:13) Nogami (7:44) Anjo (7:54) Nakano (6:37) Oya (11:35) Katayama (11:16) X
1989 +Final standings Naoki Sano Winner Hiro Saito Runner up Norio Honaga Unknown Hirokazu Hata Unknown Tatsutoshi Goto Unknown Takayuki Iizuka Unknown Kuniaki Kobayashi Unknown Osamu Kido Unknown
1993 +Final standings Osamu Nishimura 7 Hiroyoshi Yamamoto 6 Manabu Nakanishi 5 Satoshi Kojima 4 Yuji Nagata 3 Shinjiro Otani 3 Tokimitsu Ishizawa 2 Tatsuhito Takaiwa 0 Results Ishizawa Kojima Nagata Nakanishi Nishimura Otani Takaiwa Yamamoto Ishizawa X Kojima(8:44) Ishizawa(7:37) Nakanishi(7:31) Nishimura(9:03) Otani(9:57) Ishizawa(5:57) Yamamoto(11:35) Kojima Kojima(8:44) X Nagata(9:05) Nakanishi(9:44) Nishimura(9:59) Kojima(11:13) Kojima(8:37) Kojima(11:00) Nagata Ishizawa(7:37) Nagata(9:05) X Nakanishi(10:59) Nishimura(11:19) Nagata(10:33) Nagata(9:55) Yamamoto(10:59) Nakanishi Nakanishi(7:31) Nakanishi(9:44) Nakanishi(10:59) X Nishimura(8:47) Nakanishi(8:35) Nakanishi(9:00) Yamamoto(13:02) Nishimura Nishimura(9:03) Nishimura(9:59) Nishimura(11:19) Nishimura(8:47) X Otani(9:30) Nishimura(5:52) Yamamoto(13:12) Otani Otani(9:57) Kojima(11:13) Nagata(10:33) Nakanishi(8:35) Otani(9:30) X Otani(9:13) Yamamoto(10:27) Takaiwa Ishizawa(5:57) Kojima(8:37) Nagata(9:55) Nakanishi(9:00) Nishimura(5:52) Otani(9:13) X Yamamoto(11:03) Yamamoto Yamamoto(11:35) Kojima(11:00) Yamamoto(10:59) Yamamoto(13:02) Yamamoto(13:12) Yamamoto(10:27) Yamamoto(11:03) X
1994 The 1994 Young Lion Cup featured a league with at least four wrestlers, although more may have participated. The four confirmed participants were Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi, Nobukazu Hirai from WAR, and Tatsuhito Takaiwa. The league scores remain unclear but Kojima and Nakanishi qualified for the finals where Kojima defeated Nakanishi by submission.
+Final standings Satoshi Kojima Winner Manabu Nakanishi Runner up Nobukazu Hirai Unknown Tatsuhito Takaiwa Unknown
1995 The 1995 Young Lion Cup featured a league with at least six participants, although more may have participated. The confirmed participants were Manabu Nakanishi, Yuji Nagata, Yuki Ishikawa from Pro Wrestling Fujiwara Gumi, Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Tatsuhito Takaiwa, and Shinjiro Otani. The final league scores remain unclear but Nakanishi and Nagata both qualified for the final match, this was the second time Nakanishi had made it to the main event. In the finals Nakanishi defeated Nagata to claim the Young Lion Cup trophy.
+Final standings Manabu Nakanishi Winner Yuji Nagata Runner up Yuki Ishikawa Unknown Tokimitsu Ishizawa Unknown Tatsuhito Takaiwa Unknown Shinjiro Otani Unknown
1996 Tokimitsu Ishizawa defeated Yuji Nagata by pinfall (12:27)
2000 NJPW brought back the Young Lion Cup in 2000 with a round-robin tournament that took place between April 14 and May 5, 2000 during NJPW's "Strong Energy II 2000" tour. The tournament featured five rookies from NJPW, Shinya Makabe, Kenzo Suzuki, Wataru Inoue, Katsuyori Shibata and Hiroshi Tanahashi as well as Masakazu Fukuda from the G-EGGS promotion. The tournament was marred by a tragedy on the first night when Masakazu Fukuda was hurt by a flying elbow smash from Shibata. Following the blow he collapsed on the mat and was taken to the hospital. He died five days later from an internal brain hemorrhage. The rest of the tournament was dedicated to Fukuda's memory. Both Shinya Makabe and Kenzo Suzuki remained undefeated after the first four rounds, qualifying them for the final before they had even wrestled the final match of the league. On April 30, 2000 Makabe defeated Suzuki, making him the only undefeated wrestler in the tournament. On May 5, 2000, during Wrestling Dontaku 2000, Kenzo Suzuki defeated Makabe to win the 2000 Young Lion Cup.
+Final standings Shinya Makabe 10 Kenzo Suzuki 8 Katsuyori Shibata 6 Hiroshi Tanahashi 4 Wataru Inoue 2 Masakazu Fukuda 0 Young Lion Cup Fukuda Inoue Makabe Shibata Suzuki Tanahashi Fukuda X Inoue (Forfeit) Makabe (Forfeit) Shibata (Forfeit) Suzuki (Forfeit) Tanahashi (Forfeit) Inoue Inoue (Forfeit) X Makabe Shibata Suzuki Tanahashi Makabe Makabe (Forfeit) Makabe X Makabe Makabe Makabe Shibata Shibata (Forfeit) Shibata Makabe X Suzuki Shibata Suzuki Suzuki (Forfeit) Suzuki Makabe Suzuki X Suzuki Tanahashi Tanahashi (Forfeit) Tanahashi Makabe Shibata Suzuki X
2004 Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Kazuya Yuasa by pinfall (11:20).
2005 The 2005 Young Lion Cup was the tenth tournament held by NJPW and ran from to March 3 to March 23, 2005. The league matches took place during NJPW's "Big Fight Series 2005" tour and the final was on their NJPW "Nexess V" show. The tournament was scheduled to feature seven wrestlers but Tommy Williams was injured and had to withdraw from the competition without wrestling a single match, forfeiting all matches. The tournament also featured Naofumi Yamamoto, Yujiro, Hiroshi Nagao and Akiya Anzawa, in addition to the top two point scores Hirooki Goto (9 points) and Hiroyuki Ito (11 points). In the league Ito wrestled to a draw against Goto and won the other five matches, making him the only undefeated participant. On March 23, 2005, Hirooki Goto defeated Hiroyuki Ito to win the 2005 Young Lion Cup.
+Final standings Hiroyuki Ito 11 Hirooki Goto 9 Akiya Anzawa 8 Hiroshi Nagao 6 Yujiro 4 Naofumi Yamamoto 4 Tommy Williams (withdrew) 0 Young Lion Cup Anzawa Goto Ito Nagao Williams Yamamoto Yujiro Anzawa X Anzawa (08:51) Ito (07:59) Anzawa (07:42) Anzawa (Forfeit) Anzawa (07:16) Yujiro (10:04) Goto Anzawa (08:51) X Draw (20:00) Goto (06:03) Goto (Forfeit) Goto (05:53) Goto (07:19) Ito Ito (07:59) Draw (20:00) X Ito (03:54) Ito (Forfeit) Ito (06:56) Nagao (08:47) Nagao Anzawa (07:42) Goto (06:03) Ito (03:54) X Nagao (Forfeit) Nagao (09:02) Yamamoto (06:05) Williams Anzawa (Forfeit) Goto (Forfeit) Ito (Forfeit) Nagao (Forfeit) X Yamamoto (Forfeit) Yujiro (Forfeit) Yamamoto Anzawa (07:16) Goto (05:53) Yamamoto (06:05) Nagao (09:02) Yamamoto (Forfeit) X Yamamoto (06:05) Yujiro Yujiro (10:04) Goto (07:19) Ito (06:56) Nagao (08:47) Yujiro (Forfeit) Yamamoto (06:05) X
2017 After his match at the Lion's Gate Project 7 event on July 4, 2017, Yuji Nagata proposed bringing back the Young Lion Cup. On September 26, NJPW officially announced the revival of the tournament after 12 years. The round-robin tournament started on October 12 at Lion's Gate Project 8 and concluded on December 21 at Lion's Gate Project 10, and included six wrestlers who debuted in 2016 and 2017. The tournament was dedicated to the memory of Kotetsu Yamamoto, who served as the head of the NJPW Dojo.
+Final standings Katsuya Kitamura 10 Hirai Kawato 8 Tomoyuki Oka 6 Shota Umino 4 Ren Narita 1 Tetsuhiro Yagi 1 Young Lion Cup Kawato Kitamura Narita Oka Umino Yagi Kawato X Kitamura(4:12) Kawato(7:14) Kawato(5:35) Kawato(8:27) Kawato(6:43) Kitamura Kitamura(4:12) X Kitamura(5:35) Kitamura(11:20) Kitamura(10:04) Kitamura(8:32) Narita Kawato(7:14) Kitamura(5:35) X Oka(13:22) Umino(6:08) Draw(15:00) Oka Kawato(5:35) Kitamura(11:20) Oka(13:22) X Oka(10:50) Oka(7:13) Umino Kawato(8:27) Kitamura(10:04) Umino(6:08) Oka(10:50) X Umino(7:54) Yagi Kawato(6:43) Kitamura(8:32) Draw(15:00) Oka(7:13) Umino(7:54) X
2019
The 2019 Young Lion Cup was announced on August 27 and was held on the Destruction tour throughout September. It featured 8 participants: 4 from the New Japan Dojo, 3 from the Los Angeles Dojo, and 1 from the Fale Dojo. 2 competitors also competed in the 2017 tournament. Karl Fredericks won with 12 points.
+Final standings Karl Fredericks 12 Shota Umino 10 Ren Narita 10 Alex Coughlin 8 Clark Connors 8 Yota Tsuji 4 Michael Richards 2 Yuya Uemura 2 Young Lion Cup Uemura Tsuji Umino Narita Richards Coughlin Connors Fredericks Uemura X Tsuji(8:50) Umino(6:53) Narita(8:35) Richards(8:47) Coughlin(7:49) Uemura(9:31) Fredericks(6:12) TsujiTsuji(8:50) X Umino(7:34) Narita(7:49) Tsuji(6:44) Coughlin(10:12) Connors(7:43) Fredericks(7:23) UminoUmino(6:53) Umino(7:34) X Umino(9:09) Umino(8:00) Umino(8:14) Connors(6:50) Fredericks(7:17) NaritaNarita(8:35) Narita(7:49) Umino(9:09) X Narita(7:18) Narita(7:49) Connors(7:25) Narita(7:06) RichardsRichards(8:47) Tsuji(6:44)Umino(8:00) Narita(7:18) X Coughlin(6:13) Connors(7:09) Fredericks(6:12) CoughlinCoughlin(7:49) Coughlin(10:12) Umino(8:14) Narita(7:49) Coughlin(6:13) X Coughlin(7:53) Fredericks(8:01) ConnorsUemura(9:31) Connors(7:43) Connors(6:50) Connors(7:25) Connors(7:09) Coughlin(7:53) X Fredericks(7:06) FredericksFredericks(6:12) Fredericks(7:23) Fredericks(7:17) Narita(7:06) Fredericks(6:12) Fredericks(8:01) Fredericks(7:06) X
2026