New NJPW Young Lions to debut this month

New Young Lions from NJPW’s dojo are set to make their in-ring debuts later this month.

NJPW has announced that the 20-year-old Shoma Kato and 23-year-old Katsuya Murashima will debut on the promotion’s World Tag League tour. Kato is making his debut against Oskar Leube on Monday, November 20. Murashima is debuting against Yuto Nakashima on Tuesday, November 21.

Those events are the first two nights of the World Tag League tour. Both shows are being held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. Kato and Murashima are competing in the kickoff matches each night.

Kato was featured on “The Spirit,” a show produced by Kazuchika Okada about NJPW dojo hopefuls. Kato has a background in baseball, MMA, and grappling.

Murashima has a background in amateur wrestling. He competed in the sport in college and was a regional champion.

NJPW wrote about the two new Young Lions:

On November 20, Oskar Leube will go up against Shoma Kato. 173cm, 82 kg Kato played baseball through high school in his native Osaka. Transitioning into MMA and grappling practice in his senior year with a view to getting into professional wrestling, the 20 year old won the hearts and minds of viewers of The Spirit, a reality TV show produced by Kazuchika Okada that followed Dojo hopefuls. Now, discerning eyes will be on him looking to make an impact on NJPW fans moving forward.

The next night, Yuto Nakashima will face Katsuya Murashima. 23 year old Murashima has a nine year background in amateur wrestling, where after his upbringing in Ibaraki, a college career saw him a regional champion in eastern Japan at 86 and 92 kg, and where he came second at the national level. Could he gain worldwide success in NJPW? His journey starts Tuesday November 21. 

Kato’s second match will be against Nakashima on November 23. Murashima is facing Leube on November 24.