El Samurai
Liger returned to NJPW after recovering from his injury on August 11 after missing nearly a year. In his return match, Liger teamed with El Samurai in a loss to Koji Kanemoto and Shinjiro Otani. Later that year, Liger participated in the 1995 Super J-Cup on December 13, in which he defeated Gran Naniwa in the quarterfinals, Último Dragón in the semifinals and Gedo in the finals to win the tournament. Liger defeated Koji Kanemoto to capture his record setting seventh IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship at Wrestling World on January 4, 1996. Liger successfully defended the title against Black Tiger on February 3. At Battle Formation in Tokyo Dome, Liger lost the title to The Great Sasuke. Later that year, Liger participated in the 1996 Best of the Super Juniors, in which he qualified for the semifinals and defeated El Samurai in the semifinal but lost to Black Tiger in the final.