NEVER

**NEVER** was a series of events held by New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) between August 2010 and November 2012. On July 12, 2010, NJPW officially announced the NEVER project, which was to highlight younger up-and-coming talent and outside wrestlers not signed to the promotion. It was explained that the name of the project was an acronym of the terms "New Blood", "Evolution", "Valiantly", "Eternal" and "Radical". For the events, NJPW recruited several freelancers as well as wrestlers signed to promotions such as DDT Pro-Wrestling and Kaientai Dojo. Some outsiders who became NEVER regulars included Daisuke Sasaki, Kaji Tomato, Madoka, Ryuichi Sekine and Shinobu. KUSHIDA, who entered NEVER as a representative of the SMASH promotion in February 2011, signed a NJPW contract the following month and returned to the project the following September, now representing NJPW. Three NJPW trainees; Hiromu Takahashi, Sho Tanaka and Yohei Komatsu, made their professional wrestling debuts at NEVER events. Takahashi, who debuted at *NEVER.1*, was the only wrestler who wrestled on all thirteen NEVER events.

On October 5, 2012, NJPW announced that NEVER was going to get its own championship, the NEVER Openweight Championship. The title was originally scheduled to be defended exclusively at NEVER events, but this plan was quickly changed and since its foundation, the title has been defended on the undercards of NJPW events. NJPW has not held a single NEVER event since the tournament, which crowned the first NEVER Openweight Champion on November 19, 2012. A second NEVER title, the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship, was announced on December 21, 2015, with the first champions crowned on January 4, 2016.

On July 18, 2015, NJPW announced "Lion's Gate", a project with a theme similar to NEVER, which held its first show on February 25, 2016. On October 13, 2020, NJPW announced the return of the NEVER events, with two events being held on October 16 and 23, 2020 in the United States for NJPW's American sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA), as part of the *NJPW Strong* weekly show.

## NEVER.1

**Date**: August 24, 2010
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 300

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## NEVER.2

**Date**: September 16, 2010
**Venue**: Sekaikan theater - Osaka, Japan
**Attendance**: 200

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## NEVER.3

**Date**: October 8, 2010
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 250

## NEVER.4

**Date**: November 18, 2010
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 250

## NEVER.5

**Date**: February 24, 2011
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 350

## NEVER.6: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament

**Date**: April 7, 2011
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 250 (Day 1)
**Date**: April 8, 2011
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 300 (Day 2)

April 7

April 8

Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament A

Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament B

## NEVER.7: Go to the Next Level

**Date**: September 21, 2011
**Venue**: Sekaikan theater - Osaka, Japan
**Attendance**: 200

## NEVER.8: Go to the Next Level

**Date**: February 10, 2012
**Venue**: Sekaikan theater - Osaka, Japan
**Attendance**: 220

## NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament 1st.

**Date**: April 13, 2012
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 250

## NEVER.9: Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament Final

**Date**: April 13, 2012
**Venue**: Shin-Kiba 1st Ring - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 250

Road to the Super Jr. 2Days Tournament

## NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament 1st Round

**Date**: November 15, 2012
**Venue**: Shibuya-Ax - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 250

## NEVER: Shodai NEVER Musabetsu Kyu Oza Kettei Tournament Final

**Date**: November 19, 2012
**Venue**: Shibuya-Ax - Tokyo, Japan
**Attendance**: 300

NEVER Openweight Championship tournament

## NEVER

**Date**: October 16, 2020 and October 23, 2020
**Venue**: Oceanview Pavilion - Port Hueneme, California, Japan
**Attendance**: 0

### Night 1

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## Notes

1. ↑ The event was held without a live audience due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nextジェネレーション育成 新プロジェクト「NEVER」シリーズがスタート!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2010-07-12). Archived from the original on 2010-12-28. Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Caldwell, James 2012-10-05. News items: Velvet Sky launches clothing line, Details on Nash's next int'l tour, NJPW introducing new title . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
3. ↑ Kushidaの“新日本入団会見”にTajiri&酒井代表も出席！ 3.18Smash後楽園には棚橋が来場!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2011-03-08). Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 あの『NEVER』がリニューアル!! "無差別級王座"も新設!! 11.15＆11.19Shibuya AXで再出発!!  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2012-10-05). Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
5. ↑ *ja:新日若手興行ＮＥＶＥＲで王座決定戦開催* (in Japanese). *Nikkan Sports* (2012-10-05). Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
6. ↑ *ja:復帰の内藤 標的はＮＥＶＥＲ王座* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-05-24). Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
7. ↑ *ja:内藤「俺の使命はＮＥＶＥＲ復権」* (in Japanese). *Tokyo Sports* (2013-10-03). Retrieved on 2014-09-10.
8. ↑ ja:【WK10】1.4東京ドームは“8大選手権”！ 第2試合は初代NEVER無差別級6人タッグ王座戦！ 第3試合はROH世界選手権に！ NJランボー参戦選手も追加！ (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-12-21). Archived from the original on 2015-12-21. Retrieved on 2015-12-21.
9. ↑ *ja:木谷オーナーが「ファーム設立プラン」「21世紀のIWGP構想」、そして「新日本プロレスは株式上場を目指す」と宣言! 【7.18戦略発表会】* (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2015-07-18). Retrieved on 2015-07-18.
10. ↑ Rose, Bryan 2016-02-25. Lion's Gate Project 1 results: Nagata vs. Kitamiya; NJPW and Noah rookies shine . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2016-02-25.
11. ↑ https://www.njpw1972.com/82225
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NEVER6Part1`
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NEVER6Part2`
14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NEVER91st`
15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NEVER9Final`
16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.6 16.7 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NEVER1stRound`
17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `NEVERFinal`