The Young Lion Cup is an in-frequent professional wrestling tournament promoted by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) as a means of showcasing the younger talent on their roster. The tournament is the successor to the Karl Gotch Cup that NJPW promoted in the 1970s. The Young Lion Cup is a round-robin tournament in the same style as NJPW's annual G1 Climax tournament. NJPW has held the tournament twelve times since 1985, with the most recent tournament held in 2019. NJPW did not hold another Young Lion Cup for 12 years, until reviving the tournament in 2017 and again in 2019. Wrestlers traditionally earn 2 points for a victory, 1 point for any sort of draw and 0 points for a loss. The two wrestlers with the most points at the end of the round-robin tournament will then face off in a singles match for the Young Lion Cup trophy.
Young Lion Cup winners[]
| Tournament | Year | Winner | Total won | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Young Lion Cup | 1985 | Shunji Kosugi | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1986 | Keiichi Yamada | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1987 | Masahiro Chono | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1989 | Naoki Sano | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1991 | Michiyoshi Ohara | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1993 | Hiroyoshi Yamamoto | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1994 | Satoshi Kojima | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1995 | Manabu Nakanishi | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 1996 | Tokimitsu Ishizawa | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 2000 | Kenzo Suzuki | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 2002 | Kenzo Suzuki | 2 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 2004 | Ryusuke Taguchi | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 2005 | Hirooki Goto | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 2017 | Katsuya Kitamura | 1 | |
| Young Lion Cup | 2019 | Karl Fredericks | 1 |