Juice Robinson’s could soon be a free agent, according to a report.
Fightful Select reports that Robinson’s NJPW contract is set to expire “at the end of January 2022.” The Fightful report states that one promoter expects Robinson to receive offers from multiple companies.
Robinson has been a regular on NJPW Strong events in the United States of late, appearing at the Showdown tapings in Philadelphia in October, Texas in September, plus the Resurgence show in Los Angeles in August.
Robinson reportedly signed a three-year deal with NJPW in early 2019. During that time, he has also worked for Ring of Honor and Impact Wrestling due to NJPW’s working agreements with those companies.
Robinson has held singles and tag team gold in NJPW. He is a two-time IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion, with reigns in 2018 and 2019. Robinson and David Finlay captured NJPW’s World Tag League in 2019 and held the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team titles for 28 days in early 2020. The duo also won the Impact Wrestling World Tag Team titles at Sacrifice in March 2021.
Robinson was with WWE on their FCW and NXT brands from 2011 to 2015 under the name CJ Parker. He requested his WWE release, which WWE confirmed on April 3, 2015. It was reported in the Wrestling Observer Newsletter in July 2018 that WWE had interest in bringing Robinson back after a strong showing against Jay White at NJPW’s G1 Special show in California. Robinson shot down in a promo that he would ever return to the company.
A tag team match will headline this week’s New Japan Showdown episode of NJPW Strong.
In the main event, Will Ospreay and TJP of The United Empire will tag against NJPW LA Dojo graduates Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors.
In the semi-main, Juice Robinson will be in singles competition against Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo.
In the opener, Robinson’s FinJuice tag partner David Finlay will team with Alex Coughlin and Yuya Uemura against Team Filthy’s JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson.
The New Japan Showdown episodes of Strong were taped on October 16 and October 17 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the 2300 Arena.
Strong airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday on NJPW World. The show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong New Japan Showdown night one, Saturday, November 6, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
Will Ospreay & TJP vs. Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
Juice Robinson vs. El Phantasmo
David Finlay, Alex Coughlin & Yuya Uemura vs. JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
The stipulation for the KOPW 2021 match at NJPW Power Struggle has been decided.
Toru Yano will defend the provisional KOPW 2021 title against The Great-O-Khan in an amateur rules match. The stipulation was decided in a poll on the NJPW Global Twitter account and another on the NJPW 1972 account.
The Great-O-Khan had proposed a Kiss My Feet match, while Yano proposed the amateur rules stipulation. 25,826 votes were cast in total between the two accounts.
Yano vs. O-Khan is one of five title matches set for the nine-match Power Struggle card.
Here is the lineup:
NJPW Power Struggle, Saturday, November 6, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Right to challenge for the IWGP title at Wrestle Kingdom: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tama Tonga
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. KENTA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. El Desperado
NJPW has revealed the lineup for the Monday, November 15 Strong Detonation tapings in Riverside, California.
Josh Barnett will return to NJPW action for the first time in over 17 years, facing Alex Coughlin as Coughlin’s challenge series continues.
The NJPW Strong Openweight Championship will be on the line, as Tom Lawlor defends the title against top contender Fred Rosser.
Tomohiro Ishii will be in action, taking on Brody King. Ishii faces Jay White for the NEVER Openweight title at Battle in the Valley on November 13. White and Hikuleo will tag against Alex Zayne and Chris Dickinson in Riverside.
Jonathan Gresham will face Gabriel Kidd in Kidd’s return to action for the first time since May. United Empire’s Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb and TJP will take on Karl Fredericks, Clark Connors and Ren Narita in a trios match.
Rounding out the card, Lio Rush will team with Adrian Quest against Bateman and Misterioso, plus LA Dojo members Kevin Knight and The DKC will face Brogan Finlay and Jordan Clearwater.
A pair of Impact Wrestling stars have been added to next week’s NJPW Battle in the Valley event in San Jose.
Impact’s World Champion Moose will be in action against Juice Robinson. Moose also took part in the NJPW Resurgence event in Los Angeles this past August, losing to Tomohiro Ishii.
Also added, Impact’s Josh Alexander will take on Yuya Uemura. Alexander briefly won, then quickly lost the Impact title to Moose at last week’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view.
Already announced for the show, Jay White will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii, Will Ospreay takes on Ren Narita, Jeff Cobb and TJP tag against Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors, Brody King and Chris Dickinson face Bateman and Misterioso, plus Fred Rosser, David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Alex Coughlin and Alex Zayne take on Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson in a ten-man tag.
Battle in the Valley will air with English commentary on FITE TV, and with Japanese commentary on NJPW World.
NJPW Battle in the Valley, Saturday, November 13, 11 p.m. Eastern time on FITE TV and NJPW World —
NEVER Openweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Juice Robinson vs. Moose
Josh Alexander vs. Yuya Uemura
Will Ospreay vs. Ren Narita
Jeff Cobb & TJP vs. Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
Fred Rosser, David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Alex Coughlin & Alex Zayne vs. Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
Brody King & Chris Dickinson vs. Bateman & Misterioso
NJPW Xtra will primarily be a news and highlights show, according to the announcement, but each week an exclusive match will also air on the show.
The November 1 episode will feature the dark match from August’s NJPW Resurgence event in Los Angeles, with Jordan Clearwater, Kevin Knight and The DKC taking on Bateman, Misterioso and Barrett Brown.
The November 8 episode will include a Will Ospreay vs. Alex Zayne match from the New Japan Showdown tapings in Philadelphia earlier this month.
The announcement states that NJPW Xtra will include highlights from both NJPW’s main roster, plus the NJOA branch of the company that produces NJPW Strong.
The next NJPW event in the United States will be the Saturday, November 13 Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California. That show will air with English commentary on FITE TV and on NJPW World with Japanese commentary. The show airs at 11 p.m. Eastern time, head-to-head with the final hour of AEW’s Full Gear pay-per-view.
NJPW has added four matches to the Saturday, November 13 Battle in the Valley event in San Jose, California.
Will Ospreay of The United Empire will take on Ren Narita in a singles match.
Ospreay’s United Empire stablemates Jeff Cobb and TJP will face Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks in a tag match. Cobb is coming off a 7-1 performance in the G1 Climax 31 tournament, with his lone defeat coming to tournament winner Kazuchika Okada in the B Block finals.
Also added, Fred Rosser, David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Alex Coughlin and Alex Zayne will take on Team Filthy’s Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson in a ten-man tag. Rosser is next in line to challenge Lawlor for the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship.
NJPW also posted an announcement of Brody King and Chris Dickinson vs. Bateman and Misterioso on the NJPW Global Twitter account, although the match is not officially listed on their website.
Already announced for the show, Jay White will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against Tomohiro Ishii.
Battle in the Valley will air with English commentary on FITE TV, and with Japanese commentary on NJPW World.
Here is the lineup:
NJPW Battle in the Valley, Saturday, November 13, 11 p.m. Eastern time on FITE TV and NJPW World —
NEVER Openweight Championship: Jay White (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii
Will Ospreay vs. Ren Narita
Jeff Cobb & TJP vs. Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
Fred Rosser, David Finlay, Rocky Romero, Alex Coughlin & Alex Zayne vs. Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson
Brody King & Chris Dickinson vs. Bateman & Misterioso
New champions were crowned at today’s NJPW Road to Power Struggle event.
Robbie Eagles and Tiger Mask defeated El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru to win the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship on the third of three consecutive nights at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
Eagles used the Ron Miller Special to submit Kanemaru and earn the title win for his team in the show’s main event.
For Tiger Mask, the win marks the first time he has held gold in NJPW since 2012, when he captured the Junior Tag titles with Jushin Liger. This is also the first time that Eagles has held tag team gold in NJPW. Eagles currently holds the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, making him a double champion.
Eagles will defend the Junior Heavyweight title against Desperado at Power Struggle on Saturday, November 6.
Desperado and Kanemaru’s fourth reign with the Junior Tag titles ends after 52 days. Three of their four reigns have come since September 2020, as they have spent much of the last year trading the titles with Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori and El Phantasmo.
Hiromu Takahashi & SANADA (Los Ingobernables de Japon) defeated Ryusuke Taguchi & Yuji Nagata
This was generally uneventful, with nothing special about it.
Takahashi and Taguchi opened the match with typical lockups. As Taguchi gained control over Takahashi, he traded tags with Nagata, who helped maintain their lead. Takahashi eventually earned a breather after sidestepping an aerial move. This allowed him to take the match to the outside, where he gained control for the first time.
SANADA, now legal, placed Taguchi in the paradise lock before tagging Takahashi back into the match. Taguchi immediately stuffed Takahashi’s attempt at offense, leading to a hip attack and double tag.
SANADA and Nagata traded blows before aid from Takahashi allowed SANADA to hit a TKO. Taguchi broke up the pin. Following the breakup, Nagata locked in a cross face and maintained control even after SANADA escaped.
This lasted until Nagata worked SANADA into the ropes, leading to an unexpected SANADA favored bridging pin, from which Nagata did not escape.
This wasn’t great. It was structurally uninteresting and character-wise, only the interactions between SHO and his former faction mates held water.
This match opened with a brawl between the teams. In the ring, CHAOS members worked through SHO before turning their attention to their other opponents; the focused attack on SHO continued after order was restored.
The match broke down into an outside brawl again. This time, Bullet Club emerged with control. EVIL lost his team’s lead after Ishii landed a backdrop and secured the tag to Goto, but Bullet Club soon recaptured momentum with underhanded tactics.
CHOAS, with a rally lead by Wato, recaptured control late into the match. Wato lost the lead after SHO, not the legal man, pushed him from the top rope. Togo then provided the distraction for Takahashi to land a cane strike followed by pimp juice. Takahashi then pinned Wato to close this one.
Another brawl broke out post-match. Bullet club stood tall in the end.
Following some typical antics, Yano opened the match with control. This lasted through one coup attempt, but the second left Khan in a favorable position. From this point on, Honma and Yano struggled to land anything substantial.
Henare stuffed out the last babyface rally before hitting Streets of Rage, winning for his team.
This match had moments of excitement and did a fine job building interest in the title match at Power Struggle, even if the finish fell flat.
Makabe ran through Gedo and KENTA in their first attempt at offense, but KENTA interfered from the outside, cementing a lead for his team. Only after a hot tag did the babyfaces regain any advantage.
Tanahashi landed dragon screws on both his opponents but dealing with two men proved to be too much. The referee caught Gedo with brass knuckles, providing KENTA with an opening for a chair shot, which he missed. With Makabe’s help, Tanahashi was in control again.
As Tanahashi went to lock in the Texas Cloverleaf, KENTA hit the ring with the IWGP US Heavyweight Championship. He hit Tanahashi over the head, leading to the disqualification.
KENTA left with the belt in hand.
Jado, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa (Bullet Club) defeated Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Kazuchika Okada & Satoshi Kojima
This was a Bullet Club match.
The match opened with a brawl. The action returned to the ring for a moment, but another brawl broke out almost as soon as the first ended. Okada and Tonga had an intense offensive sequence after order returned, with Tonga getting the better of Okada before the double tag.
Loa lost control to Kojima, but a shot from a cane allowed Bullet Club to maintain momentum. Tonga ran through all the opposition before Loa hit a driver on Kojima, leading to a Bullet Club victory.
DOUKI & Zack Sabre Jr. (Suzuki-gun) defeated BUSHI & Shingo Takagi (Los Ingobernables de Japon)
This was a good seller for the upcoming world title match. It played off the expected dynamics of the pairing, but that’s far from a bad thing.
ZSJ and Takagi opened the match with a sequence showcasing the pair’s equality. After the DOUKI and BUSHI tagged in, the match broke down. ZSJ and Takagi continued their fight outside of the ring. ZSJ won the battle on the outside. As the pair regained legality, Takagi got the better of ZSJ between the ropes.
ZSJ eventually took the match to the mat, working over Takagi’s arm. Even with ZSJ’s focus, Takagi was able to land big offensive blows from an unfavorable position. With a BUSHI assist, LIJ scored a near fall.
ZSJ caught BUSHI with a submission that Takagi was forced to break up. DOUKI was able to fend off Takagi long enough following a beautiful dive for ZSJ to hit the Zack driver, leading to a pinfall.
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Flying Tiger (Robbie Eagles & Tiger Mask) defeated El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (Suzuki-gun) to win the titles
In the end, this was a feel-good match. While not perfect, it was structurally sound and entertaining bell to bell.
Together, Tiger Mask and Eagles resisted early underhandedness from the champions but could not keep up as the match spilled outside the ring. Desperado and Manemaru took turns working over the leg of Tiger Mask once action returned to the ring.
Tiger Mask finally escaped opposition control and tagged in Eagles, leading to Eagles favored offense. A rake to the eyes from Desperado initiated a two-way struggle, leading to a double tag.
Tiger Mask sold his leg, even as he climbed to the top rope and delivered a piledriver. Tiger Mask gained control of Kanemaru’s arms on the mat, forcing a breakup from Desperado. Kanemaru was able to take advantage of the separation this provided to return his attention to the leg of Tiger Mask. Tiger Mask managed to endure a significant amount of time in submission and kick out of a moonsault.
Tiger Mask landed a tiger driver from left field, allowing him to tag in Eagles.
Eagles put Kanemaru through his whole menu of moves before locking in the Ron Miller Special. Kanemaru submitted to the hold, resulting in new champions.
Minoru Suzuki and Lance Archer will face Team Filthy’s Tom Lawlor and Royce Isaacs in the main event of this week’s NJPW Strong Autumn Attack.
Also announced, Lio Rush will face Bullet Club’s Taiji Ishimori in a junior heavyweight clash.
In the opener, Fred Rosser and Rocky Romero will team against Team Filthy’s JR Kratos and Danny Limelight. Rosser is next in line to challenge Lawlor for the NJPW Strong Openweight Championship.
The Autumn Attack episodes of Strong were taped on September 25 and September 26 in Garland, Texas.
Strong airs at 8 p.m. Eastern time this Saturday on NJPW World. The show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is Saturday’s full lineup:
NJPW Strong Autumn Attack night three, Saturday, October 30, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
Minoru Suzuki & Lance Archer vs. Tom Lawlor & Royce Isaacs
Lio Rush vs. Taiji Ishimori
Fred Rosser & Rocky Romero vs. JR Kratos & Danny Limelight
In a statement released on their website, NJPW says that Ibushi suffered a right anterior dislocation of the shoulder, plus joint lip damage. His estimated recovery time was listed as two months.
Ibushi was injured during the G1 Climax 31 finals on October 21. While wrestling Kazuchika Okada in the main event of the tournament finale, Ibushi missed a phoenix splash and immediately clutched his arm after landing. The match was stopped and the win was awarded to Okada.
Ringside attendants and trainers appeared to be trying to put Ibushi’s shoulder back into socket in the ring in the aftermath of the injury.
The two-month recovery timetable would mean that Ibushi is expected to be available for NJPW Wrestle Kingdom, set to take place over three nights on January 4, January 5 and January 8, 2022.
2021 has been a year marred by health problems for Ibushi. In addition to the shoulder injury, he missed two months earlier in the year while suffering from aspiration pneumonia.
A new NEVER Openweight title match has been added to Battle in the Valley.
Jay White vs, Tomohiro Ishii has been added to NJPW’s event in San Jose, which takes place on November 13. Ishii has agreed to the stipulation that if he loses, he can never challenge for the NEVER Openweight Championship again. He agreed to the new stipulation after Jay White cut a promo accepting the challenge Ishii had issued back in September. White said he would only accept it, however, if the stipulation was added.
White vs. Ishii is the first match announced for Battle in the Valley, NJPW’s next major event in America. G1 Climax 31 winner Kazuchika Okada, Strong Openweight Champion Tom Lawlor, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, Lio Rush, Fred Rosser, Hikuleo, Ren Narita, and Will Ospreay have also been announced for the show.
Battle in the Valley will take place at the San Jose Civic Center.
Provisional KOPW 2021 Toru Yano and his NJPW Power Struggle challenger The Great-O-Khan have proposed stipulations for their November 6 bout.
Yano has proposed an amateur rules match, while O-Khan has proposed a kiss my feet match. The proposed stipulations will be posted in a poll on the NJPW Global Twitter account.
Both Yano and O-Khan have amateur wrestling backgrounds, while O-Khan is seeking revenge for Yano refusing to kiss his boot after their September 23 G1 Climax 31 bout. After Yano had seemingly accepted O-Khan’s demand, he hit O-Khan with a low blow and escaped.
Yano defeated O-Khan in their only other singles meeting in the 2021 New Japan Cup on March 11 to kick off their on-and-off feud.
Here is the lineup for Power Struggle:
NJPW Power Struggle, Saturday, November 6, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
Right to challenge for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 16: Kazuchika Okada vs. Tama Tonga
IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship: Hiroshi Tanahashi (c) vs. KENTA
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. El Desperado
Provisional KOPW 2021: Toru Yano (c) vs. Great-O-Khan
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Championship: Hirooki Goto, Tomohiro Ishii & YOSHI-HASHI (c) vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi & SHO
In a post-G1 Climax 31 press conference last week, Kazuchika Okada declared his intention to bring back the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as a symbol of his tournament win.
Today at NJPW’s Road to Power Struggle event in Korakuen Hall, he did just that.
When entering for his six-man tag team match at today’s show, Okada carried what is commonly referred to as the v4 IWGP Heavyweight Championship, a title that was retired earlier this year after it was unified with the IWGP Intercontinental title and the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship was created.
Traditionally, the G1 Climax winner carries a briefcase with a contract inside guaranteeing a title match at Wrestle Kingdom. At the press conference, Okada lobbied NJPW Chairman Naoki Sugabayashi to be allowed to carry the belt rather than the case.
“…I won the G1, and I want to face [Kota]Ibushi again, but I feel there should be something concrete to represent that,” said Okada. “I’m not a champion, and I don’t have anything to put up. The IWGP Heavyweight Championship that Ibushi retired though… I’m not saying that people should call me the ‘X-ieth Heavyweight Champion’ or anything, but I want to hold that belt, until Ibushi gets back.”
Since the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship’s inception, Okada has made clear that he is not a fan of the title. In an interview on NJPW World in June, Okada called the title a “mistake” and referring to the run of illness and injuries that have befallen the company this year as the “IWGP Curse.”
Okada won the G1 Climax 31 finals by referee stoppage after Kota Ibushi suffered a shoulder injury, cutting their main event match short.
Okada is set to defend his Wrestle Kingdom title shot against Tama Tonga at NJPW Power Struggle on Saturday, November 6.
