New Japan announces return of Super J Cup

New Japan will be bringing back the Super J Cup tournament for the first time since 2016, but the event will be emanating from one of New Japan’s newer markets this time around.

The Super J Cup is a junior heavyweight tournament that was first conceived by Japanese legend Jushin “Thunder” Liger back in 1994 and has come and gone several times. The historic tournament has taken several hiatuses over the years and hasn’t been active since 2016, but Liger has stepped up to bring it back in 2019.

But this year the tournament will be taking place not in Japan, but in the United States.

Per an official YouTube announcement, Round 1 will be held in Tacoma, WA at the Temple Theater on August 22. Round 2 will be held in San Francisco, CA at the SFSU Student Life Events Center on August 24.

The semi-finals and the finals will be held in Long Beach, CA at the Walter Pyramid on August 25.

Liger commented that New Japan has had several events in America but that this time the junior heavyweights would be in the spotlight. New Japan has stated that the field of 16 competitors, to be revealed at a later date, will be made up of their own talent as well as representatives from their partner companies CMLL and ROH.

Tickets for the seventh iteration of the junior heavyweight tournament will go on sale on June 24th.

These events look to be another attempt for the Japanese company to gain more traction with the American wrestling fans. Expect some big matches from main event level heavyweight wrestlers to be announced for these shows as well in an attempt to draw a larger audience.