The Super J-Cup is a periodically held

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

tournament featuring junior heavyweight wrestlers from all over the world promoted by

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Puroresu, Japanese professional-wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV As ...

(NJPW). This tournament differs from NJPW's annual Best of the Super Juniors tournament in that it is single elimination, while Best of the Super Juniors has a round robin format. The Super J-Cup was originally conceived by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese wrestler Jushin Thunder Liger as a showcase for promotions from Asia and North America, including Liger's home promotion

(who hosted the first tournament in 1994),

Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling-Explosion (FMW-E) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion founded on July 28, 1989, by Atsushi Onita as (FMW). The promotion specializes in hardcore wrestling involving weapons such as barbed wire and fir ...

, Wrestle Association R, Michinoku Pro Wrestling,

Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre Co., Ltd. (CMLL; , "World Wrestling Council") is a ''lucha libre'' professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City. The promotion was previously known as (EMLL) (''Mexican Wrestling Enterprise''). Founded in 1933, it is the oldest profe ...

, and the Social Progress Wrestling Federation. In the following years, wrestlers representing various other NJPW partner promotions would also participate. Since the original Super J-Cup in 1994, the tournament has taken place sporadically (1995, 2000, 2004, 2009, 2016, 2019, and 2020). The original is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestling shows of all time.

Dave Meltzer David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist, author, and historian who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter' ...

, editor of the ''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'', called the 1994 Super J-Cup "the most incredible single night of wrestling ever".

Dates, venues and winners

Legacy

The popularity and success of Super J-Cup has led various promotions to create J-Cup tournaments showcasing junior heavyweight wrestlers. Some of their examples include

Revolution Pro Wrestling Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro/RPW) is a British professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on 26 August 2012 by Andy Quildan after separating from International Pro Wrestling: United Kingdom. Revolution Pro Wre ...

's British J-Cup, Jersey Championship Wrestling's Jersey J-Cup and the J-Cup Tournament.

References

{{Wrestle Association R, Super J-Cup New Japan Pro-Wrestling tournaments New Japan Pro-Wrestling shows International sports competitions hosted by Japan WAR (wrestling promotion) shows

Dates, venues and winners

Legacy

See also

References