Suspended AEW Star To Compete in New Japan Cup Tournament

A suspended AEW star is headed to Japan to participate in this year's installment of the New Japan Cup tournament. "Scapegoat" Jack Perry, who has been absent from AEW since being suspended following a backstage incident involving CM Punk at AEW All In 2023, is included among the competitors in the New Japan Cup 2024 bracket released on Monday by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The New Japan Cup is a single-elimination tournament, so this only guarantees one match for Perry in NJPW, where he faces off against Shota Umino, one of the "Reiwa Three Musketeers" and a protégé of Jon Moxley.

Perry targeted Umino during an unexpected appearance at NJPW's Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California in January. That attack now seems to have foreshadowed their showdown in the first round of the New Japan Cup, which marks Perry's return to in-ring action for the first time since All In.

Should Perry survive the first round of the tournament, and go on to victory in the second round against the winner of Toru Yano vs. Yujiro Takahashi, it may lead to a rematch with SANADA in the third round of the tournament. Perry faced SANADA in a losing effort to win the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Forbidden Door II.

SANADA won last year's New Japan Cup and went on to defeat Kazuchika Okada for the championship, ending Okada's final reign as as singles champion in NJPW. SANADA dropped the title to Tetsuya Naito at Wrestle Kingdom 18 and lost his rematch against Naito this past weekend in the main event of NJPW's The New Beginning in Sapporo show, thus his entry into the New Japan Cup tournament, where the winner earns a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight Champion at Sakura Genesis 2024 on April 6th. SANADA has a first-round buy in this year's tournament and will face the winner of Yoshi-Hashi vs. KENTA in the second round.

What is the New Japan Cup?

The New Japan Cup is an annual single-elimination tournament put on by New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Begun in 2005, the New Japan Cup is the second most prestigious tournament on New Japan's schedule after the summer G1 Climax event.

While the winners of both tournaments win a shot at the IWGP Heavyweight championships, there are two key differences between the events. The first is that the G1 Climax is a round-robin tournament where finalists are determined by points. The second is that the reigning IWGP Heavy Champion does not compete in the New Japan Cup, which means Naito will not be a factor in this upcoming event (he may want to stay fresh for his showdown with Moxley at NJPW Windy City Riot in Chicago on April 12th).

The number of entrants in the New Japan Cup has varied year to year, from as few as 12 in 2007 to as many as 48 in 2022. This year, the number of entrants is 28, with 24 competing in the first round of competition (SANADA, Hirooki Goto, EVIL, and Zack Sabre Jr. have first-round buys). You can see the full New Japan Cup 2024 bracket above.

The 2024 New Japan Cup kicks off at the NJPW Anniversary Event in Ota City General Gymnasium on March 6th, which will feature three first-round matches, including Jack Perry vs. Shota Umino. Fans outside of Japan can catch that event and all of the New Japan Cup 2024 matches on NJPW's streaming service, NJPW World.