Katsuya Murashima defeated Shoma Kato on Sunday at Korakuen Hall to win the 2026 Young Lion Cup.
The final concluded with Murashima securing a submission victory via the Boston Crab.
The tournament final began with both competitors utilizing their amateur wrestling backgrounds before Kato targeted Murashima’s arm. Kato maintained control throughout much of the encounter, utilizing a Fujiwara armbar to weaken his opponent. Murashima eventually overcame the limb damage to execute an overhead belly-to-belly suplex and a powerslam before applying the winning hold.
New Japan Pro Wrestling utilized a single-elimination format for this year’s tournament rather than the traditional round-robin structure. Six wrestlers entered the competition, with both Kato and Murashima receiving first-round byes.
The Young Lion Cup is a long-standing tradition in NJPW, designed to showcase the progress of developmental wrestlers and identify future stars of the promotion. This marked the 13th edition of the tournament and the first since 2019, when Karl Fredericks became the first person trained outside of Japan to win the trophy.
In earlier rounds, Masatora Yasuda defeated Tatsuya Matsumoto, while Zane Jay was disqualified in his match against Daiki Nagai. Following his disqualification for a chair attack, Jay joined the United Empire stable. Kato advanced to the finals by submitting Yasuda, while Murashima earned his spot by defeating Nagai.
The victory places Murashima on a list of winners that includes historical figures such as Masahiro Chono, Jushin Thunder Liger, and Ryusuke Taguchi.
