Kotaro Suzuki
The first tournament, named simply Junior Heavyweight League, was held from October 15 to October 31 over nine shows, and featured two blocks of five. Foreign participation included Delirious from Ring of Honor and Jyushin Thunder Liger from New Japan Pro-Wrestling. The winner, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, also won the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. Delirious was awarded place in the semifinal because original block A runner-up Kotaro Suzuki had to withdraw with a flu.