The New Japan Cup makes its official U.S. debut with a new version of the tournament.
NJPW's U.S. division announced that NJPW Strong, a new weekly U.S. television show on NJPW World, will start on August 7. The debut episode will also be the start of the inaugural New Japan Cup USA, an eight-man, single-elimination tournament where the winner will be eligible to challenge for Jon Moxley's IWGP United States title.
The first round will start on August 7 with the semifinals taking place on August 14 and the finals on August 21.
Below are the first-round matches:
- Karl Fredericks vs. KENTA
- Jeff Cobb vs. Tanga Loa
- David Finlay vs. Chase Owens
- Brody King vs. Tama Tonga
Below are the semifinal matches:
- Fredericks/KENTA winner vs. Cobb/Loa winner
- Finlay/Owens winner vs. King/Tonga winner
Moxley has not wrestled in NJPW since February and has not made an appearance for the promotion since it returned weeks ago. Moxley has primarily been wrestling for AEW as the AEW World Champion. NJPW did not announce when Moxley would defend his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup USA winner.
Over in Japan, EVIL won the 2020 New Japan Cup on July 11, which led to him beating Tetsuya Naito at Dominion to become the new IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental Champion.
NJPW recently wrapped up its Lion's Break Collision series, which was a four-show series that saw Fredericks and Cobb compete as well as the NJPW debut of "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. The press conference can be seen in the video at the top of the page.
