Coming out of Wrestle Kingdom 20, the theme for New Japan Pro Wrestling appears to be change. That change has saying goodbye to Hiroshi Tanahashi at Wrestle Kingdom and possibly former IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA at New Year Dash!!, and saying hello to some older concepts, including Yota Tsuji bringing back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and restoring its lineage. And along with that comes another old tradition making its return for the first time in years.

On their website, New Japan announced that they would be bringing back the Young Lions Cup tournament. The six person competition will kick off on January 19 as part of the Road to New Beginning tour, with the semi-finals taking place on January 20, before the finals take place nearly two weeks later on February 1. The quarterfinals see Masatora Yasuda take on Tatsuya Mastumoto and Daiki Nagai take on American Zane Jay, with Katsuya Murashima and Shoma Kato each receiving first round byes.

The Young Lion Cup is BACK for 2026!

Three day, single elimination tournament to be held on the Road to New Beginning in Korakuen!https://t.co/IfVyU7eSDa#njpw #njnbg pic.twitter.com/THDJnKpMUJ

— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) January 6, 2026

As the name, and participants, would suggest, the Young Lions Cup focuses on the trainees in the New Japan Dojo System, and has been held intermediately since first being introduced in 1985. It has been seven years since the last Young Lions Cup was held in 2019, which featured New Japan Dojo students taking on students from the promotion’s LA Dojo, then run by Katsuyori Shibata.

Of the 13 Young Lions Cup winners, most have gone on to become stars in New Japan or elsewhere. Among the most notable winners are former IWGP Heavyweight Champions Masahiro Chono, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima, Manabu Nakanishi and Hirooki Goto, former IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champions Jushin Thunder Liger, Kendo Kashin, Naoki Sano, and Ryusuke Taguchi, and former WWE stars Kenzo Suzuki and Karl Fredericks, aka Eddy Thorpe.