NJPW Young Lion Cup 2026 finals set
Either Katsuya Murashima or Shoma Kato is set to be crowned the winner of NJPW Young Lion Cup 2026.
The semifinal round of the tournament took place on Tuesday with Murashima and Kato advancing with respective victories over Daiki Nagai and Masatora Yasuda. Submissions ended both matches with Murashima using a Boston crab to defeat Nagai and Kato tapping out Yasuda with a Fujiwara armbar. The finals will now take place at NJPW’s Road to New Beginning event at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on February 1.
As the most senior of the Young Lions currently in NJPW’s Dojo, Murashima and Kato received byes to the semifinals. The opening round of the tournament saw Nagai defeat Zane Jay and Yasuda defeat Tatsuya Matsumoto. Jay is taking a step up in his career despite the loss, joining United Empire as its newest member.
Bragging rights are on the line in the finals with rivals Murashima and Kato attempting to show they’re the top Young Lion in the Dojo system. They debuted at the same time in 2023. Murashima is a former amateur wrestler, while Kato has a background in baseball, MMA, and grappling.
Prior to this, the Young Lion Cup had not taken place since 2019. It was won by Karl Fredericks that year with Yota Tsuji, Shota Umino, and Ren Narita among the others competing.
The February 1 Road to New Beginning event will air live on NJPW World starting at 4:30 a.m. Eastern time/1:30 a.m. Pacific.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.