New Japan Pro Wrestling is returning to Long Beach this September. At today’s press conference for tomorrow’s New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Special in San Francisco, NJPW president and CEO Harold Meij confirmed New Japan will be returning to the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach on September 30, 2018 with Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Meij also announced two Lion’s Gate Project events taking place at the Anaheim Convention Center on November 10 and 11. Those events will be titled The Lion’s Break.
Fighting Spirit Unleashed will be second time NJPW has run at the Walter Pyramid, having held their Strong Style Evolved Event there on March 25, 2018. The September 30 event will be the fourth overall New Japan Pro Wrestling event to be held in the United States, after two G1 Specials in Long Beach in July 2017, Strong Style Evolved, and Saturday’s G1 Special in San Francisco.
The Walter Pyramid is located on the campus of Long Beach State University. Strong Style Evolved had an attendance of 4,372 and tickets sold out online in about 20 minutes after going on sale. It is possible for the promotion to add slightly more seats with the setup they had for Strong Style Evolved. The venue’s attendance record currently stands at 6,912 people for a men’s basketball game when the Long Beach State 49ers faced the North Carolina Tar Heels on November 16, 2012.
Lion’s Gate Project is the developmental branch of New Japan Pro Wrestling. To date there have been thirteen Lion’s Gate events, with all of them taking place at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, Japan. The Lion’s Break events in Anaheim, CA will feature New Japan Pro Wrestling’s Young Lions and wrestlers that have come through the New Japan Dojo in Carson, CA. The Lion’s Break will be part of CharaExpo USA, a manga, anime, games and cosplay event that is run by Bushiroad, New Japan pro Wrestling’s parent company.
Ticket information has not been announced for either event.
