New Japan Cup USA
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| New Japan Cup USA | |
|---|---|
 New Japan Cup USA 2020 logo | |
| Promotions | New Japan Pro-Wrestling |
| First event | 2020 |
| Last event | 2021 |
| Event gimmick | Single-elimination tournament for a championship match |
New Japan Cup USA was an annual professional wrestling tournament produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The tournament is a spin-off of NJPW's annual New Japan Cup introduced in 2020. The tournament was promoted under NJPW's North American branch, New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America.
New Japan Cup USA was an eight-man, single-elimination tournament. Matches are contested through NJPW's weekly television show, Strong.
| Year | Tournament | Aftermath | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | Times won | Participants | Challenged for | Match | Result | |
| 2020 | Kenta | 1 | 8 | IWGP United States Championship | vs. Jon Moxley on Strong February 26, 2021 | Loss |
| 2021 | Tom Lawlor | 1 | Strong Openweight Championship | vs. Brody King on Strong April 23, 2021 | Won | |
History
The New Japan Cup was first held in April 2005.[1] 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. After the 2020 edition of the New Japan Cup was delayed until June due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[2][3][4] 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. It was also reported that the matches would be televised on NJPW's new television show, Strong.[5] The next day, the eight-man bracket was announced.[6]
Editions
2020
| New Japan Cup USA 2020 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | August 7–21, 2020 | ||
| City | Port Hueneme, California | ||
| Venue | Oceanview Pavilion | ||
| Attendance | 0[7][a] | ||
| Event chronology | |||
| |||
| New Japan Cup USA chronology | |||
| |||
It commenced on August 7, 2020 and concluded on August 21, 2020.
| Round 1 August 7[8] | Semi-finals August 14[9] | Final August 21[10] | ||||||||||||
| Karl Fredericks | 9:59 | |||||||||||||
| Kenta | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Kenta | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Jeff Cobb | 14:38 | |||||||||||||
| Jeff Cobb | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tanga Loa | 8:45 | |||||||||||||
| Kenta | Pin | |||||||||||||
| David Finlay | 13:35 | |||||||||||||
| David Finlay | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Chase Owens | 9:46 | |||||||||||||
| David Finlay | Pin | |||||||||||||
| Tama Tonga | 7:10 | |||||||||||||
| Brody King | 7:14 | |||||||||||||
| Tama Tonga | Pin | |||||||||||||
2021
| New Japan Cup USA 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 9–23, 2021 | ||
| City | Port Hueneme, California | ||
| Venue | Oceanview Pavilion | ||
| Attendance | 0[7][a] | ||
| Event chronology | |||
| |||
| New Japan Cup USA chronology | |||
| |||
New Japan Cup USA 2021 commenced on April 9 and concluded on April 23.[11] 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.[12] 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 on April 2 and announced that the winner will become its inaugural champion instead.[13]
| Qualifying March 5, 12, 19, 26 | Round 1 April 9 | Semi-finals April 16 | Final April 23 | ||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | Pin[14] | ||||||||||||||
| TJP | 9:27 | ||||||||||||||
| Clark Connors | 9:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin[15] | ||||||||||||||
| Rocky Romero | 13:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | Pin[16] | ||||||||||||||
| Lio Rush | 7:38 | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Bateman | 13:25 | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | Pin[15] | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | 10:42 | ||||||||||||||
| Blake Christian | 8:53 | ||||||||||||||
| Chris Dickinson | Pin[14] | ||||||||||||||
| Brody King | 20:05 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Sub | ||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | Pin[17] | ||||||||||||||
| Misterioso | 11:12 | ||||||||||||||
| Ren Narita | 13:19 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Sub[15] | ||||||||||||||
| The DKC | 9:13 | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin[16] | ||||||||||||||
| Tom Lawlor | Pin | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | 8:58 | ||||||||||||||
| Jordan Clearwater | 7:57 | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin[18] | ||||||||||||||
| Hikuleo | Pin[15] | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | 6:22 | ||||||||||||||
| Fred Rosser | Pin[18] | ||||||||||||||
| J. R. Kratos | 14:16 | ||||||||||||||