New Japan Pro Wrestling tournament season is almost over. With the World Tag League and Best of Super Juniors ending earlier today, it’s now time for a historic tournament in NJPW known as the Super J-Cup. It will be based in America and feature 8 of the best junior heavyweight wrestlers. Let’s get into this preview.
An incredible night in the Nippon Budokan!
Coming up, a huge weekend of US action!
Friday 10e/9c NJPW STRONG!
Saturday 10e/9c SUPER J-CUP!https://t.co/QMONOL1tWy#njdetonation #sjcup pic.twitter.com/GWREXfEl8R
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 11, 2020
NJPW Super J-Cup 2020 Match Card
Super J-Cup First-Round Match: Clark Conners vs. Chris Bey
Super J-Cup First-Round Match: TJP vs. ACH
Super J-Cup First-Round Match: Blake Christian vs. Rey Horus
Super J-Cup First-Round Match: Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
Super J-Cup Semifinals Match #1
Super J-Cup Semifinals Match #2
Tag Match: Ren Narita and Karl Fredericks vs. Hikuleo and KENTA
Super J-Cup Finals Match
Tonight Hiromu Takahashi declared that as Best of the Super Jr. 27 winner, he wants to face the winner of Super J-Cup 2020!
Who will step forward to prove they are the best tournament wrestler in the world?
Find out on FITE & NJPW World!https://t.co/hpMBu5YfdZ#njbosj #sjcup pic.twitter.com/PzCsf98dgp
— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) December 11, 2020
What Is The Super J-Cup?
The Super J-Cup is a tournament that happens occasionally in NJPW. It returned in 2019 to America, with El Phantasmo winning that year’s edition. The tournament that year focused on a brand new contender for the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. With the BOSJ recently ending, this might be similar, but further down the line. This tournament has historic winners such as KUSHIDA, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Naomichi Marufuji. The Super J-Cup has also given foreign talent a chance to shine. Whether it’s from America, Mexican, or other Japanese promotions like 2016’s, the Super J-Cup is a tournament not to miss.
Chris Bey vs. Clark Conners
Clark Conners has been part of the LA Dojo since its formation. He has also been a mainstay on NJPW Strong, including working for CWF these past few months. Conners walks into this tournament against Chris Bey, making his NJPW debut. Bey has been one of the main talents in IMPACT Wrestling. He won the X-Division Championship and was recently involved in a feud with Rich Swann over the IMPACT World Championship. This is big considering the coverage this debut has had for the company with the possibility of IMPACT working with New Japan for the first time in many years. The winner of this match will face the winner of TJP vs. ACH in the semifinals.
TJP vs. ACH
ACH and TJP have been wrestling occasionally on NJPW Strong, with the return of ACH being big news at the time. ACH has a great history in junior tournaments across many different promotions, especially in tags. However, both men enter the Super J-Cup with major highs; this is one of those matches that’s difficult to predict. Will TJP’s LA Dojo Experience break in here? Will ACH go to the semifinals to face either Clark Connors or Chris Bey? Tune in to find out.
Rey Horus vs. Blake Christian
Blake Christian has been part of NJPW Strong since its second episode. Recently, he hasn’t much luck in matches and is on a three-loss streak within the company. This includes his loss in the last tournament that he was part of for NJPW. While Blake doesn’t have the win/loss on his side, Rey Horus will be making his NJPW debut in this show, representing Ring of Honor. In ROH, he’s part of the Mexi-Blood tag team with Bandido. Furthermore, Horus is an ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Champion alongside Bandido and Flamita. While Horus is making his debut here, especially under ROH, one shouldn’t count Christian out. This match’s major focus will be high-flying action, both men set to put on one of the best matches of the Super J-Cup. The winner of this match will face off against the winner of Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo
One of the biggest free agents in pro wrestling right now is Lio Rush. “The Man of the Hour” is set to make his anticipated NJPW in the Super J-Cup. This debut is being built heavily by New Japan, with the recent video package involving him. El Phantasmo, on the other hand, has been part of NJPW’s junior heavyweight division since 2019. He is also the defending Super J-Cup winner in this tournament, aiming to win it for the second year in a row.
This also marks the return match for El Phantasmo after over 10 months away from the company. Both men are favorites in this tournament as well. While El Phantasmo boasts an extremely dirty moveset, all the while incorporating high-flying offense, Rush has been on a major high since leaving WWE. With the winner of this match facing Blake Christian or Rey Horus, one might say that the Super J-Cup could be a catapult for a wrestler going to Japan very soon.
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