NJPW crowns winner of Young Lion Cup
NJPW’s Young Lion Cup concluded on Sunday at Korakuen Hall.
Katsuya Murashima was crowned winner of the tournament. He defeated Shoma Kato with a Boston Crab in the finals.
“The Young Lion Cup belongs to Katsuya Murashima after a gripping Korakuen Hall final!” NJPW wrote.
The 2026 Young Lion Cup was held under a single-elimination format as opposed to the round-robin tournaments previously held. Six wrestlers were entered, with Kato and Murashima both receiving byes to the semifinals.
On January 19 in Korakuen Hall, Masatora Yasuda defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto with a Boston Crab in the first opening round match and Zane Jay was disqualified after hitting Daiki Nagai with a chair in the second. Jay then joined United Empire. On January 20, again in Korakuen Hall, Kato defeated Yasuda with a Fujiwara Armbar in the first semifinal and Murashima defeated Nagai with a Boston Crab in the second.
This was the first Young Lion Cup held since 2019, when Karl Fredericks won the tournament.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.