David Finlay made a statement at the NJPW 51st Anniversary Show on Monday.
After attacking former Bullet Club leader Jay White at NJPW Battle in the Valley last month, it appears the 29-year-old has joined the faction himself.
Finlay wrestled Tomohiro Ishii in the first round of the New Japan Cup in Monday’s semi-main event. He was accompanied by White’s former manager, Gedo, during his ring entrance as a Bullet Club style logo and the words “Rebel Club” flashed on the screen.
Finlay defeated Ishii cleanly after hitting Trash Panda. Gedo cut a promo after the match saying “Bullet Club needs a rebel” and it doesn’t matter that White is no longer there.
Finlay will now move on to face The Great-O-Khan in the second round on March 15.
Shota Umino also advanced in the New Japan Cup on Monday. He defeated Yujiro Takahashi and will now face Zack Sabre Jr. in the second round on March 15.
The night’s main event saw Bishamon successfully defend the IWGP Tag Team Championships against Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi.
Full results from NJPW 51st Anniversary show on March 6:
KENTA & El Phantasmo defeated Zack Sabre. Jr. & Kosei Fujita
Will Ospreay & Aussie Open defeated Tama Tonga, Toru Yano & Satoshi Kojima
Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado, & Ren Narita defeated EVIL, SHO & Dick Togo
After losing his title to CM Punk at Sunday’s Double or Nothing, now former AEW World Champion Hangman Page will be back in action on next Wednesday’s Dynamite.
His opponent: David Finlay of New Japan Pro Wrestling who will be making his promotional debut as the build to this month’s Forbidden Door pay-per-view picks up.
The two have a history going back to 2016 in NJPW and have faced each other in plenty of tag team and multi-person matches, but this will be their first singles encounter.
That was the only match announced for next Wednesday’s Dynamite in Independence, Missouri.
Finlay, son of Fit Finlay, has been a regular in New Japan Strong in addition to Impact Wrestling where he and Juice Robinson feuded over their tag titles with Bullet Club.
The first match for the AEW and NJPW co-branded PPV on June 26th appears to have been made as Hiroshi Tanahashi appeared Wednesday to answer Punk’s open challenge for the show.
Ahead of Thursday’s New Japan Strong Rivals TV taping in Hollywood, California, David Finlay spoke to me about numerous topics surrounding his career — the full interview of which can be seen on YouTube above.
Finlay discussed growing up in a family of wrestling, training with his dad Fit, life at the New Japan dojo, traveling the world, how the pandemic has changed things for him as a performer, working in the States on both NJPW Strong and Impact Wrestling, and whether or not he has interest in working with WWE.
Here’s a few highlights:
“Wrestling is pretty much synonymous with being a Finlay”
His father Dave “Fit” Finlay is known for his work in WWE and WCW and is both widely known and respected in the business.
When asked about what age he knew he would pursue the trade of his father, he recalls being two and telling people he would become a wrestler.
“To be a Finlay is to be a wrestler. My great grandfather, my grandfather, my dad, my aunt was a referee, my great aunt was a referee, my grandmother was part of doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff, my sister is an amateur wrestler and two-time state champion in Georgia, my little brother (Brogan) who is on the show Thursday wrestles as well. Wrestling is pretty much synonymous with being a Finlay.”
Discovering himself while taking a year off in Africa
There was a short period of time after he graduated from high school where he questioned whether or not he really wanted to pursue a wrestling career or simply take part in it because he wanted to be “cool” like his dad. This led him to take a gap year and travel to Africa to do volunteer work.
“I took myself out of wrestling and away from it to see if I really wanted to do it. Before I knew it, before the year was up, I found a wrestling school in Cape Town and sure enough, I got back to it. So it’s 100% what I want to do in my life and I love every day of it.”
Training with Fit finlay vs. training in the New Japan Dojo
Fit has a reputation for being one of the toughest men in the business. David also not only trained with his own father, but also at the New Japan Dojo, so which was tougher?
“Training with my dad was easier because there was less squats. In the New Japan Dojo, I remember like day one in 2015. Jay White was a young boy, Juice (Robinson) hadn’t come yet, and Jay and I had met each other in England prior in my travels there. So, I had asked him, ‘Hey man, I’ve heard the horror stories about the squats. What’s the deal with it?’ He’s like, ‘I haven’t done more than 500.’ I’m thinking, ‘Alright, I have done 500, I can do that.’
But literally on day one, YOH was the dojo boss at the time, he looks over at me, the trainer says something and YOH goes ‘1000.’ You just start screaming and squatting and they are counting in Japanese and I don’t know any Japanese. I am just watching the clock tick by and after 45 minutes, we stop and start doing other things. The next day, we gotta do 1000 again.”
Although White never had to do 1000 squats according to Finlay, he believes he had to because of who his father was and that it was simply a test to see if he would run away.
Training at the New Japan dojo vs. the WWE Performance Center
Finlay says that since he was fifteen, his dad wanted him to go about things in a different way.
“My dad was like, ‘This is what you’re gonna do. Don’t go to the (WWE) PC right away. Don’t go to developmental. It’s a cookie cutter system. You’re gonna come out and there’s not gonna be much difference to you.’ So the plan was to go wrestle in England for a little bit, go wrestle in Japan for a little bit, and then go to the United States if I wanted to.”
He did just that, competing in England for about six months, then some work in the United States and then Japan.
“It’s also what I wanted to do. It sounded cool, it was different. I am a bit of a free spirit. I like to do things a different way than everyone else, so that was right up my alley. I did not fully understand how difficult it is for someone to get into New Japan until after that I was already in New Japan.”
Finlay added that he simply wanted to go somewhere where he could train and become the very best wrestler he can be. “I feel like I am still on that journey. The answer for that is still New Japan. I love it here.”
As a personal goal, he said would like to be better than his dad.
“When it’s all set and done, I wanna be the best Finlay that’s ever done it.”
Interest in WWE
Given that his father did spend several years with WWE, Finlay opened up about whether or not that is also of interest.
“From time to time, the thought pops into my head. Honestly, it’s never really been somewhere where I have been dying to go. If the opportunity presents itself, we’ll see, but I am happy where I am at. I am not on the road 24/7 and I actually have off time. There’s pros and cons with it, but right now I am happy and content. I love wrestling for New Japan. I love the schedule that I have and the freedom I have, so I currently have no desire to go anywhere else.”
Finlay and Juice Robinson take on JONAH and Bad Dude Tito Thursday in Hollywood.
Tonight saw the second installment of NJPW Strong: Nemesis tapings from Hollywood.
Karl Fredericks and Kevin Knight defeated Stray Dog Army (Bateman & Misterioso)
Hot start between Knight and Misterioso, who kicked the match off for their teams. Bateman later pulled Fredericks off the ring apron to the floor. He worked over Knight, who kept trying to fire up, but Bateman kept shutting him down, mainly by using barred tactics like eye pokes and gauges, and joint locks.
Misterioso missed a flying legdrop, which allowed the babyface LA Dojo team to make a comeback. Fredericks and Misterioso had a fiery exchange towards the end, but it was Fredericks who would pin Misterioso with the Manifest Destiny to pick up the win.
Brody King defeated Dave Dutra
Stiff match. “The Battle King” Dave Dutra has appeared on AEW Dark in the past. He chopped Brody King early. Both the audience and King knew that Dutra had bit off slightly more than he could chew already. The “You f*cked up!” chants began raining down. King was super over with the Hollywood crowd.
King threw Dutra to the floor and chopped him up, much to the pleasure of the audience in attendance. Dutra would come back and land a big moonsault to the floor onto King. He’d put King down with a swinging DDT at around the five-minute mark.
King fired back with a rolling lariat and a massive elbow shot and the Gonzo Bomb for the win. Dutra took a beating. Hardcore 1—Black Metal 0.
JONAH defeated David Finlay
Finlay was great. These two had their first encounter at the Battle in the Valley special in San Jose back in November. JONAH attacked both Finlay and his tag team partner, Juice Robinson, after Robinson’s match against Moose.
JONAH charged at Finlay at the bell. Finlay dodged him. Some fans booed Finlay while some in the crowd cheered him. His haters were noisy, but more liked Finlay than disliked him.
JONAH ragdolled Finlay around on the floor outside the ring after catching him mid-air. He landed a big standing senton on Finlay before abusing him some more in the corner post.
When the five-minute call sounded, Finlay had fired himself up and mounted a comeback. He’d fly onto JONAH with a pescado to the floor. When Finlay was in control, a number of fans started chanting for JONAH.
JONAH come back and put Finlay out with a backbreaker, a massive lariat that turned Finlay inside out, a power bomb, and finally a huge splash off the top rope, which would put Finlay away for good.
Final thoughts:
Tonight saw another solid section of the recent Nemesis tapings. JONAH vs. Finlay is worth checking out. I expect to see more of these two plus Juice Robinson mixing it up going forward.
Next week’s episode sees Team Filthy take on Fred Rosser, Tyler Rust, & Rocky Romero in the main event.
Three matches have been announced for this week’s episode of NJPW Strong.
In the main event, JONAH will take on David Finlay. JONAH has targeted Finlay and his tag partner Juice Robinson since debuting in NJPW in November at Battle in the Valley.
In the second bout, Brody King will face indie veteran Dave Dutra. The match will be Dutra’s first for NJPW.
In the opening contest, LA Dojo products Karl Fredericks and Kevin Knight will face Stray Dog Army’s Bateman and Misterioso.
The Nemesis episodes of Strong were taped on December 9, 2021 in Los Angeles, California at the Vermont Hollywood. Saturday’s show will also be available on demand immediately following airing.
Here is the full lineup for this week:
NJPW Strong Nemesis night two, Saturday, January 15, 8 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World–
JONAH vs. David Finlay
Brody King vs. Dave Dutra
Karl Fredericks & Kevin Knight vs. Bateman & Misterioso
Some notes on tonight’s Impact Slammiversary event, which featured the return of FinJuice, the debut of the former No Way Jose, and a teaser vignette for a new character called Drama King.
FinJuice appeared after Madman Fulton and Shera entered the ring, mad that they were barred from the Ultimate X match earlier in the show. Scott D’Amore came out and said he didn’t appreciate them bringing the show to a halt, but rather than escort them out, they would wrestle in a match. Finjuice then came out for the impromptu match. The match itself was relatively short, with FinJuice quickly scoring the win.
No Way Jose, who was cut by WWE last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared as Fallah Bahh’s mystery tag team partner, replacing TJP. He was referred to as “No Way” only, dropping the Jose part of his name. They lost to The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson and Doc Gallows) in a four-way match that included Violent by Design (Rhino and Doering) and Rich Swann & Willie Mack.
During the show, a short vignette teased a new character called Drama King. A hand was seen painting on a canvas that eventually read “Long live the Drama King”. It wasn’t made clear who this character was or when they would debut.
NJPW has made their first official match announcement for the Saturday, August 14 Resurgence event in Los Angeles.
Jay White will defend the NEVER Openweight Championship against David Finlay. Finlay eliminated White in the quarterfinals of the 2021 New Japan Cup in an upset. After defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi to win the NEVER title at Wrestling Dontaku on May 3, White stated that he would like his first defense to be against Finlay.
Tickets for Resurgence went on sale today. The $299 tier of ringside tickets has sold out, while tickets remain in each of the other five tiers at prices of $39, $59, $79, $99 and $199. The show will be held at The Torch at LA Coliseum, an outdoor concert venue. The event will mark the first ticketed NJPW event in the United States since The New Beginning in USA tour event in Georgia on February 1, 2020.
FITE TV and NJPW World will broadcast Resurgence live. FITE has been announced as the exclusive English commentary broadcast, while NJPW World will offer Japanese commentary for the show.
Here is the full list of talent advertised for Resurgence:
Dave Meltzer covers the state of emergency in Japan, the actual stats, shows canceled, when NJPW is set to return.
Lots more on the life of Brian Pillman, what Dark Side didn’t cover, his football career, contract disputes, booking idea if he stayed with WCW, children and legacy.
Also in this issue:
Match and wrestler of the week
AEW & WWE back on the road and details
A look at the next two major pro wrestling PPV shows
UFC coverage of Saturday’s show, next week’s show, new fights, new financial info
Most detailed look at ratings, what shows do people watch longest, what shows do they watch live or most on DVR, Segment breakdowns and and exclusive info on how the different shows are consumed
U.S. Olympic wrestling preview
The amazing historical story of a fugitive in a foreign country who held the biggest tag team title in the world, and his shocking death
Notes on AEW television schedule for the next six weeks
2016 Gold medalist talks WWE
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw, the AT&T/Discovery merger, the return of ROH to live shows and more news from WrestleMania Backlash. You can send email questions for the show to [email protected]
The Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua fight that seemed to be a go is now on hold as arbitrator Daniel Weinstein ruled that the contract for Fury to face Deontay Wilder that they signed prior to the first fight that guaranteed an automatic rematch was valid. The fight, set for 8/14 in Saudi Arabia, could still happen if Wilder gets paid enough to agree to step aside. But that would have to be a huge amount of money. Fury was at the WWE PPV yesterday with his son, and shared photos of his son with Vince McMahon and Rey Mysterio.
For the first time ever, a WWE PPV failed to crack the top 20 in Google Searches, with No. 20 being at 100,000. That would indicate the lowest interest level except maybe for some of the overseas shows. However, Dave Bautista did chart No. 6 at 200,000, some of which was for responding to people who blamed him for the Miz vs. Damien Priest fiasco. He said to blame Vince. We’re currently taking polls on WrestleMania Backlash as well as UFC 262, so you can leave a thumbs up, down or middle along with a best and worst match for each show to [email protected]
AEW put tickets on sale for Double or Nothing on 5/30. They did not sell out instantly although they sold 3,000 tickets in the first few hours. As of last word a few hours back, they had set up for 3,700 and had about 3,000 sold.
As far as the NBA Playoffs go, Raw is lucky tonight with nothing. NXT on Tuesday goes against two games, Charlotte vs. Indiana at 6:30 p.m. and Washington vs Boston at 9 p.m. AEW on Wednesday goes against San Antonio vs. Memphis at 7:30 p.m. While they are lucky not to go against Golden State vs. Los Angeles, which starts after Dynamite ends, many people will want to catch at least the end of the first game. There will also be one game on Friday night to be determined.
Fit Finlay was on Gerald Brisco & John Layfield’s podcast and Finlay said that the COVID outbreak in New Japan included his son. He said that several wrestlers when they were leaving the country to go home and had to take a test to get on the plane tested positive. The names he gave were his son and Jay White, so both had to stay in Japan to quarantine before they could travel home. He also said that his son was confused about his next move career-wise. We were able to confirm the story but Finlay and White were the only other names we heard that tested positive and are remaining in Japan. At this point, with New Japan back running, on 5/25, it makes sense for them to stay since White for sure was booked for Dominion and both could work shows shortly.
Announced for Raw tonight is Alexa’s Playhouse with new women’s tag champs Natalya & Tamina. The show has been torn up several times today and as of a few hours ago was still being rewritten.
Ringside News reported that the original plan for yesterday’s show was for the Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre vs. Braun Strowman match to be in the main event slot, but it was changed to the Roman Reigns vs Cesaro match. We have confirmed this is accurate and actually the entire order of the matches were changed the day of more than once.
Kip Sabian announced today that he had undergone surgery. The angle with Miro on Dynamite was to set up the needed surgery. Sabian on social media said the surgery was a success.
The New York Post called the Miz vs. Priest match one of the saddest moments in WWE history. (thanks to Barry Werner)
Miz suffered a knee injury last night.
WWE
The bruising of Cesaro’s arm was not from a prior injury but called “lucky bruising” in the sense the match was about working the arm, and in a ring accident, it ended up bruising.
UFC
Conor McGregor announced today the birth of his third child, a boy named Rian.
Philip Rowe vs. Orion Cosce is being looked at for the 7/31 show.
OTHER NEWS
CWE announced its first Internet PPV with Sugar Cube Entertainment on 6/12 at 8 p.m. Eastrn time from Winnipeg for $10. The build will be on the TV show that starts airing on Friday nights at 9 p.m. local time on Shaw TV Winnipeg Ch. 9.
NWA Powerrr tomorrow has Thunder Rosa vs. Kamille. If Rosa wins, she becomes the top contender for the title held by Serena Deeb. If Kamille wins, she gets the shot at Deeb and Rosa can no longer work for AEW or any other promotion besides the NWA. Pope vs. Matt Cross for the TV title plus NWA tag champs Aron Stevens & JR Kratos, Nick Aldis, Tyrus with manager Austin Idol, War Kings, The end, JennaCide, Melina, Fred Rosser, Marshe Rockett and Sal Rinauro.
Game Changer Wrestling on Saturday night in Las Vegas. Jack Cartwheel b Jimmy Lloyd, Chris Dickinson b Bad Dude Tito, Jordan Oliver b Ricky Marvin, Lio Rush b Starboy Charlie, Mance Warner & 1 Called Manders & Matthew Justice b Eli Everfly & Damian Drake & Matt Vandagriff, Shlak b Juice Finau, Effy b Dark Sheik, Joey Janela b Allie Kat, Nick Gage b AJ Fury to retain the GCW title. Jon Moxley attacked Gage and they had a big brawl after the match (thanks to Nick Mahmood)
AXS on Thursday at 10 p.m. will have The Best of Drew Galloway in TNA. Also on Thursday at 3 p.m. they will air the 2014 Lockdown PPV which was headlined by Magnus (Nick Aldis) vs. Samoa Joe and MVP & Jeff Hardy & Eddie Edwards & Davey Richards vs. Bobby Roode & Austin Aries & The Bromans in a Lethal Lockdown match plus Gail Kim vs. Madison Rayne.
Combate Global and Univision announced Friday’s show starting at midnight on Univision will have Christian Perez (4-0) vs. Brian Del Rosario (5-4) Del Rosario is the WBC super welterweight Muay Thai champion. Also Marcos Lloreda (9-6) vs. Luis Iniguez (3-1) and Blanca Marquez (0-0) vs. Mariel Celimen (0-0).
The third match in the best-of-three with Kanji vs. Gisele Shaw for the Progress women’s title will take place on Saturday airing on Peacock.
Impact World Champion Kenny Omega makes his Impact Plus in-ring debut tonight when he teams with the Good Brothers to face Tag Team Champions FinJuice and Eddie Edwards at Under Siege.
Even though the world title won’t be on the line, the nine-match card features several championship matches, several of which were finalized last Thursday.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo will look to successfully defend her title once again when she faces former champion Havok; X-Division Champion Josh Alexander will take on New Japan’s El Phantasmo; and Knockouts Tag Team Champions Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering will rematch former champions Fire N’Flava.
Under Siege will also feature a six-way that will determine the next World title challenger in addition to a four-way that will determine the next Tag Team title challengers.
Also announced for the show: Brian Myers vs. Black Taurus; W. Morrissey vs. Willie Mack; and Tenille Dashwood and Taylor Wilde vs. Susan and Kimber Lee.
Our live coverage kicks off at 8 PM Eastern.
* * * * * * * * * *
We’re live!
Brian Myers defeated Black Taurus (w/ Decay)
After losing his qualifier match against Matt Cardona, Brian Myers found himself as the punchline to Decay’s jokes as Rosemary tried to read him his future. On the last episode of Impact, Myers defeated Crazzy Steve, only to get taken out by Taurus seconds later, setting up tonight’s match.
Story of the match was that Taurus had the power advantage over Myers, but also, the numbers advantage outside the ring, with Crazzy Steve and Rosemary, something that Myers eventually had to use to distract Taurus, by attacking Steve, and finally managed to attack Taurus from behind and gain control of the match.
Myers worked over Taurus for a couple of minutes until Taurus got a desperation top rope crossbody to bring down Myers. Taurus had a good couple of lucha spots, a good near fall after a crucifix bomb and a shoulder breaker, but he couldn’t keep Myers down. After a couple more near falls, Myers managed to land a roster cut out of nowhere after he had poked Tauru’s eye.
Myers has wins over both Steve and Taurus, so I would imagine a tag team match is next.
– D’lo Brown and Matt Striker ran down tonight’s card.
Taylor Wilde & Tenille Dashwood (with Kaleb with a K) defeated Kimber Lee & Susan
Taylor Wilde made her big return at Rebellion and saved Dashwood from an attack at the hands of Deonna Purrazzo, Lee, and Susan. After doing so, Susan and Lee decided to put their focus on taking out Wilde, who’s only focus is the Knockouts Championship, but unfortunately for Wilde, Dashwood now thinks that she and Wilde are destined to be tag team partners, which Wilde is just not interested in being.
Not much to the match, but it did the point across that even if Wilde does not want to be a team with Dashwood, both women ended up getting a win against the team of Susan and Lee. It was a short match with little to none heat from the heels. At one point, Dashwood was taken out and Wilde had to deal with Susan and Lee by herself, but at the end, it was Kaleb that assisted Wilde, by kicking Susan and setting her up for Wilde to pin her. Wilde didn’t see the assist, but she still didn’t want to celebrate with Dashwood.
This seems to be building to a Wilde vs Dashwood match, likely at Against All Odds.
– Sami Callihan cut a promo about going through the roster if necessary, all to win the championship.
Ace Austin & Madman Fulton defeated XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D), TJP & Petey Williams, and Rohit Raju & Mahabali Shera in a Impact Tag Team title no. 1 contenders match
These teams are made from the competitors that failed to become #1 contenders to the X Division Championship. As a second opportunity, they all entered to this match to become the #1 contenders to FinJuice’s tag team championships.
Match started with Fulton and Romero going at it, but as it went on, we started to test out different pair ups between competitors. This wasn’t tornado tag rules, so every pair up got a chance to showcase and get some signature spots in before transitioning to a different pair. What made this dynamic was that half of the men involved were super heavyweights, and the other cruiserweight size wrestlers, so there were changes from seeing a hoss fight to fast paced counters and reversals.
The match slowed down a bit when Shera and Raju cut off Williams and kept him in their corner, and for that time, the match felt like a match between two teams. Eventually, Austin and Fulton got in and they worked over TJP the same way that Williams had been worked on by Raju and Shera. At this point, commentary started to sell that TJP and Williams were the only team that was really getting tired while everyone got time to rest, yet they are the most experienced in the field.
Williams got a hot tag against Austin, but as soon as it seemed that Austin was about to cut him off, XXXL had enough and decided to get in the ring and take out everyone.
Last couple of minutes, the match picked up a lot, with every team stealing tags on each other and attempting to end the match, but there were just too many people involved for a clear pin. Finish finally came when Fulton took out both Romero and D, ending with an assisted plancha for Austin to pin D for the win. For the amount of people, this was a great and organized match with great pacing.
It will be Ace Austin and Fulton vs. Tag Team Champions FinJuice in the future.
– Gia Miller interviewed Hogan and Steelz about their match. They said they’re regaining the titles tonight. Great stuff from both.
W. Morrissey defeated Willie Mack
Morrissey debuted at Rebellion and call it coincidence, but he made a statement by taking out Mack in his match. Mack decided to make a challenge that Morrissey answered in the form of a beat down and it all came down to this match.
Mack started hot, he rushed at Morrissey at the bell, and while having some hiccups, he kept the offense and at one point made Morrissey walk away to recoup, but as much as Mack did, Morrissey wasn’t that injured and easily recovered.
At one point, Morrissey knocked out Mack with a big boot and worked over him for a couple of minutes before Mack made a comeback, but it was a short-lived comeback. The beat down continued for most of the match, but at the end, Mack did manage to make a great comeback with a couple of near falls, but at the end, Morrissey cut him off again and destroyed Mack with a big boot to the back of the head. This went on way longer than I expected, but it was good.
After the match, Morrissey kept attacking Mack, but as he was about to use a chair, Rich Swann made his first appearance since losing the World title at Rebellion for the save. He and Mack cleared the ring before the big staredown between Morrissey and Swann.
Fire N’ Flava (Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz) defeated Jordynne Grace & Rachael Ellering to win the Knockouts Tag Team championship
This is the title rematch from Rebellion, where Grace and Ellering defeated Hogan and Steelz to capture the titles. Going into this match, Hogan and Steelz have been messing around with Grace’s confidence, making her believe that she is the weak link of the team and that it was all Ellering, who won the titles at Rebellion.
Even with Hogan and Steelz jumping Grace and Ellering at the start, it was the champions that managed to control the match early on with their power advantage. After watching Grace and Ellering show off, tossing around Hogan for minutes, Steelz finally got in and helped cut off Ellering, cut the ring in half on her, and completely turn the match around.
Hogan and Steelz worked over Ellering for a long time, constant tags, always keeping Ellering down on the mat, switching between kicks and submissions, with the occasional tease to Grace in the corner.
Grace made the hot tag and it led to both teams chasing the pin, trading big moves. At the end, it came down to Steelz and Grace, with the latter going for the Vader bomb before she got cut off. Outside the ring, Hogan took out Ellering with a sliced bread on the floor, but in the ring, as Grace went for a superplex, Steelz blocked it, dropped Grace, hit a frog splash, and won the match to recapture the titles. This was so much better than their Rebellion match.
Fire ‘n Flava are 2-time champions.
– We got a Swinger’s Palace skit with XXXL wanting to get a bet in for the main event and it went nowhere.
X-Division Champion Josh Alexander defeated El Phantasmo to retain the title
In a matter of two weeks, ELP debuted on Impact Wrestling with a singles win, and then a win to become the #1 contender to Josh Alexander’s title. There is no story between these men, just a championship on the line.
This was fantastically paced. The story of the match was that Alexander was a better wrestler, he had the upper hand when it came power and technique, but as it has been rumored, ELP’s boot is allegedly loaded, and surprisingly, while nothing was working against Alexander, it was the stomps and kicks that were hurting Alexander way more than they should, and thus it led to ELP dismantle Alexander’s limbs slowly.
Alexander would still deliver some desperation attacks here and there, because even with injured limbs, Alexander was still a better and stronger wrestler, he just happens to be across the ring from a troll level wrestler that is really hard to anticipate and counter.
Last couple of minutes saw Alexander start to chase the ankle lock, while ELP started going for the superkick over and over, but he just couldn’t make contact.
At the end, Alexander went for divine intervention, but ELP countered. Alexander locked in the ankle lock, powerbomb into the knee, and after a couple of stomps, submitted ELP! Awesome match.
I totally expected ELP to win the championship, but it’s great to see that Impact is putting their coins in Alexander’s basket.
– Gia Miller interviewed FinJuice and Edwards. Robinson said that there wouldn’t be any interference because everyone would be in there in the ring. Finlay hyped the match, saying this is a combination of some of the greatest active wrestlers today.
Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo (w/ Kimber Lee & Susan) defeated Havok to retain the title
Havok had been eyeing Purrazzo for a while, but it wasn’t until last week where she defeated Rosemary in a #1 contendership match, in which she finally achieved what she wanted, a one-on-one shot with Purrazzo for the title.
Havok is Purrazzo’s first actual powerhouse challenger since winning the championship, and so the story of the match was that of the technical wrestler trying to work herself around to bring down Havok to her knees and target one of her limbs, the left arm as usual, setting it up for the Fujiwara armbar.
Havok made a couple of comebacks using her strength to power out of Purrazzo’s holds, but Havok would end up back on her knees with Purrazzo working the arm. Havok got her biggest offense, locking in a single leg Boston crab, taking out both Susan and Lee, but as she went for the running kicks, Purrazzo dodged, brought her down to the mat, and submitted Havok with the Fujiwara armbar. Purrazzo looked great, even winning the match with her 3rd from the top signature move.
Eddie Edwards & Tag Team Champions FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) defeated Impact World Champion Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows)
FInJuice and the Good Brothers have feuded over the tag team titles for months now, but now that Omega has joined Impact and won the championship, the group became a nuisance for Impact, and thus Eddie Edwards, the heart and soul of Impact, joined the fight. As of late, Omega and the Good Brothers cost Edwards his shot at the #1 contendership six-way match, and hence this match was booked.
Match started with some good back and forward tag team wrestling between FinJuice and the Good Brothers, neither team was able to gain proper advantage, and it all led to Edwards vs Omega for the first time. The match continued with Omega vs Robinson, with the latter actually having most of the offense until Anderson and Gallows had to get involved to allow Omega to cut Robinson out.
It didn’t take long for Finlay to get the hot tag and run wild against Anderson, but he too was cut off by the teamwork and cheats from Omega, Anderson, and Gallows. At the end, it all built to a second Edwards vs Omega face off, a proper one with more time where Edwards got himself a near fall with a blue thunder bomb. Edwards hit a Tiger bomb for a near fall, which was the point that Omega woke up and started hitting V-triggers and snap dragon suplexes.
Finish saw FinJuice stop a magic killer. Finlay hit the stunner on Anderson, pulp friction by Robinson, and the Boston knee party by Edwards for the pin.
This was great. Whether it is Against All Odds or Slammiversary, Edwards vs Omega is coming close to a boiling point.
– Brown and Striker announced that Austin and Fulton challenge FinJuice for the titles on next week’s Impact.
Moose defeated Trey Miguel, Chris Bey, Matt Cardona, Chris Sabin, & Sami Callihan in a World title no. 1 contender match
Each of these men won qualifiers in the last couple of months in order to advance to this six-way match, where the winner will challenge Kenny Omega for the Impact World Championship. Callihan comes in with momentum, as he got the win over Sabin on the go-home show’s Moose, Bey, and Callihan vs Sabin, Miguel, and Cardona match.
Match started with Moose taking everyone out single handedly, it took the combined forces of Bey and Sabin’s superkicks to finally get him off his feet and out of the ring. The match continued with everyone coming in and out of the ring, taking each other out, only to get taken out too, and so on. It wasn’t until a tandem dive from Bey and Miguel that things slowed down a bit inside the ring.
We got our first big multiman spot with Bey hitting a German on Callihan on the ropes, as Callihan brought down Cardona with a superplex, only for Sabin and Miguel to dropkick Bey off the ropes. Moose came back and once again started to take everyone out until Bey and Miguel teamed up on him. At this point, Callihan introduced a chair into the match, but we got no disqualifications.
Callihan actually continued cheating in order to gain some momentum, but that was when the Good Brothers ran down, pulled out Callihan, and took him out, so serves him right.
Sabin got a great near fall after hitting cradle shock, but was stopped by Moose, who delivered a trifecta of lights out spears for the win. Good match with the exception of Callihan using chairs and low blows.
It will be Kenny Omega vs. Moose, who told the camera and Omega that he is coming to get back what is theirs. Impact could pull the trigger on a babyface Moose right now and it would be huge.
NJPW has revealed the full card for this Friday’s episode of NJPW Strong.
After last week’s opening round, the New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament will continue this week with the two semifinal matches.
In the main event of Friday’s show, Lio Rush will face Brody King in a Cup semifinal. Rush defeated Clark Connors in his opening round match on last week’s episode, while King defeated Chris Dickinson in last week’s main event.
In the other semifinal bout, Tom Lawlor will face Hikuleo. Lawlor defeated Ren Narita in the first round with a rear naked choke, and Hikuleo defeated Fred Rosser to advance.
In Friday’s opener, Karl Fredericks, Kevin Knight, The DKC and Alex Coughlin will face Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Adrian Quest and Jordan Clearwater in an eight-man tag.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and is available on demand shortly after airing.
Here is Friday’s full lineup:
New Japan Cup USA semifinal match: Lio Rush vs. Brody King
New Japan Cup USA semifinal match: Tom Lawlor vs. Hikuleo
Karl Fredericks, Kevin Knight, The DKC & Alex Coughlin vs. Misterioso, Barrett Brown, Adrian Quest & Jordan Clearwater
The show opened with a backstage segment with Team Filthy (“Filthy” Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Danny Limelight, and Chris Dickinson).
Team Filthy is not playing around anymore, according to Lawlor. “You got a problem with me and the way I handle business?” Dickinson asked. This led to Lawlor and Dickinson having words because Dickinson thought Lawlor doubted whether he’d defeat Blake Christian later in the night. Limelight tried easing the tension in the room, but Kratos said Limelight talked too much. There’s obvious tension amid Team Filthy right now.
Clark Connors defeated TJP to qualify for New Japan Cup USA 2021
These two first squared off in an NJPW ring at the 2019 Super J-Cup, where Connors fell to TJP in the first round.
Connors came for revenge, hitting a spear and two vertical suplexes off the bat. He followed with a big hip toss and chops in the corner.
TJP used an octopus hold and transitioned to a pin, then hit a pescado to the floor.
The middle part of this was slow as both wrestlers traded holds on the mat, with TJP seeming to get the better of that aspect of tonight’s match. He targeted Connors’ left knee and worked it over with a series of attacks and submissions to keep the rabid Connors neutralized.
Connors responded with a snap powerslam at around five minutes in. He could only built a few moments of momentum, though, as TJP would continuously go back to the left knee attacks.
When Connors was finally able to lock in a Boston Crab, TJP seemed like he was almost out of the match, barely making it to the ropes for a break. Later, Connors came off the second rope for a shoulder block, but TJP countered with a perfectly timed drop toe hold as Connors was on his way down. From there, TJP locked in a kneebar on Connors’ tenderized left leg. Connors was desperate to escape but couldn’t make it. He teased tapping, but before he could, he rocked his momentum backwards and managed to cradle TJP into a pin and nabbed the three count for an upset victory.
TJP actually wouldn’t let go of the submission,selling the finish as though he wasn’t pinned. Both were in disbelief. Really good match with a solid story. Connors advances to the first round of the 2021 New Japan Cup USA.
Chris Dickinson defeated Blake Christian to qualify for New Japan Cup USA 2021
WWE’s Blake Christian sprung out of the gate at the bell, diving at Dickinson with a series of fast-paced aerial attacks. Dickinson hung in there, keeping the pace with Christian until he found the right time to shut him down, which happened to be when Christian came off the top rope minutes into this and Dickinson caught him mid-air with a dropkick. He quickly transitioned to a figure four leglock, a strategy meant to ground Christian as soon as possible.
Dickinson blasted Christian with some hard chops before going after his leg once again, at one point wrapping his knee around the bottom rope and cranking on it from the ankle. Dickinson’s offense slowed Christian but didn’t stop him, as Christian mounted a high-flying response to Dickinson’s punishment. We saw Christian fly over the top to the floor with a tope con giro. Back in the ring, he later tried landing a springboard 450 splash, but Dickinson got his knees up in time.
The two traded power spots and pinfall attempts from here, which included a big folding powerbomb from Dickinson. Christian locked in a guillotine choke — kind of a random choice for him, isn’t it? — but Dickinson rolled out, then applied a kneebar of his own. Christian escaped, but Dickinson zoned in on Christian’s weakened knee and put him back down onto the mat with a dragon screw leg whip, and later, a nasty half-and-half suplex.
The way Dickinson put Christian away was so smart. As he went for a piledriver, Christian resisted by sandbagging his bodyweight down, so Dickinson grabbed onto Christian’s injured leg, or the same one he’d worked on in the match, and pulled on it for leverage. This allowed Dickinson to get Christian high enough off the ground and hit the piledriver. This was probably Christian’s best match in his run on NJPW Strong, while Dickinson continues to steal the spotlight.
Karl Fredericks & David Finlay defeated Team Filthy (“Filthy” Tom Lawlor & Danny Limelight w/ JR Kratos)
It should be noted that over the past two weeks, Finlay had the two best singles matches of his career, against both Jay White and Will Ospreay in this year’s New Japan Cup proper, and I don’t think anyone would disagree. While tonight’s show was taped months prior, it’s still great evidence of “the new Finlay” that developed over 2020.
Also of note is that Lawlor has already qualified for the 2021 New Japan Cup USA that will start next week.
Finlay and Lawlor were in first for their teams. Lawlor feigned a grip fight up top, then did the Ric Flair strut. Classic. They then fought for a proper takedown; Finlay was able to trip Lawlor, but Lawlor stayed in step with Finlay on the mat. It was ultimately a stalemate, which then saw both Limelight and Fredericks tag in. Something Fredericks likes to do these days is a SANADA-style split-legged leapfrog, but the visual is unreal because of how big the dude is. His vertical leap must be 50 inches, at least.
Limelight tagged out to Lawlor, who was able to cut Fredericks back down to the mat, softening him up for Limelight. Limelight tagged in next and laid in a few hard kicks before tagging back out to Lawlor.
Team Filthy continued to work Fredericks over in the blue corner, with Limelight using a running bulldog for two at one point. When Lawlor tagged back in, he used an ankle lock on Fredericks, but Fredericks escaped the hold with a forward roll, and the momentum from the roll launched Lawlor into the red corner post. With Lawlor dazed, Fredericks tagged out to Finlay, who by now was the proverbial house of fire.
Finlay put Lawlor down with a high dropkick and then a flying back elbow from the second rope. Lawlor used an exploder suplex in response. The two traded bigger and bigger moves before again reaching a slight stalemate. Both tagged out to their partners, but it was Fredericks who had the upper hand in the ring. He used Shibata’s basement corner dropkick on Limelight and later hit a spinebuster for a close two.
Fredericks went for his Manifest Destiny DDT finish, but Limelight blocked it and was able to muscle Fredericks into the corner and tag out to Lawlor. Limelight blasted Fredericks with a superkick as Lawlor held Fredericks in a waistlock, then dumped him over his head with a German suplex. Announcer Kevin Kelly called the spot like the match was over when Fredericks kicked out just in time.
The turning point in this came as Lawlor held Fredericks in a choke sleeper and Limelight was about to come off the top rope until Fredericks shoved Lawlor forward. Team Filthy collided in the corner, which gave Fredericks the chance to tag out to Finlay again.
There was a lot of action in the last couple minutes of this. Lawlor used Tenzan’s TTD on Fredericks, effectively eliminating him from the match as he rolled to the floor afterwards. When Lawlor turned around, though, Finlay caught him with a stunner. Limelight then caught Finlay with a cradle fisherman’s buster for two. He landed a big jumping knee strike before Finlay turned Limelight inside-out with a lariat, then spiked him with Slapshot, his signature brainbuster-to-shoulderbreaker finish, for the win in just over 17 minutes.
A winded Finlay spoke to cameras backstage after the match. He said Lawlor impressed him tonight. He also mentioned that while he hadn’t ever really tagged with Fredericks, he thought they were “pretty damn good together.”
Finlay then said he wants Lawlor in a singles match next. He said he remembered watching Lawlor in the UFC at Hooters back in the day, but now that Lawlor was in NJPW, Finlay wanted Lawlor to step into his ring, his world.
Final thoughts —
This was another solid show topped off by a great main event. The way this episode was booked made for a nice “go-home show” for the New Japan Cup USA tournament that kicks off next week.
Here’s the full bracket for New Japan Cup USA 2021:
Yano won a terrible match, rolling up Jado for the pin after a low blow.
Tetsuya Naito, SANADA & BUSHI defeated Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI (11:19)
This was a fun sprint. SANADA tapped out DOUKI with Skull End.
Kota Ibushi, Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada defeated Jay White, KENTA & Yujiro Takahashi (w/Gedo) (10:26)
This was the match with the earthquake break in the middle of it. Ibushi pinned Yujiro after a Kamigoye.
They teased tension between Okada and Ibushi, and Tanahashi and Ibushi during the match.
New Japan Cup semifinal: Will Ospreay (w/Bea Priestley) defeated David Finlay (w/Juice Robinson) (21:04)
This was a good match with good psychology.
They traded hammerlocks to start, then did some basic drop-downs, tackles and simple spots. Finlay hit a dropkick. Ospreay rolled outside. Finlay hit a backdrop on the floor.
Back in, Ospreay briefly got the upper hand. They went back to the outside and Finlay got sent into the fence. Finlay was back on top after another backdrop.
Ospreay hit Pip Pip Cheerio for a near fall and began to go to work. He teased his Chelsea Grin, but Finlay blocked and hit a superplex. Finlay used a series of cradles for near falls. Finlay blocked Stormbreaker and hit a uranage backbreaker. Ospreay came back with a Spanish Fly.
Finlay hit an ushigoroshi. He went for an Acid Drop, but Ospreay tossed him over the top rope to the floor. Finlay sold like he had broken his ankle. A medical attendant checked on Finlay. They teased a countout, but Finlay made it back in.
Ospreay hit a dropkick and a stack powerbomb for a two count, then applied a figure four. Ospreay removed the boot on Finlay’s injured ankle while he kept the figure four applied. Finlay forced a rope break.
Ospreay hit some Kawada kicks. Ospreay hit a hook kick. Finlay blocked an Oscutter with a jaw breaker. Finlay tried an Acid Drop, but his ankle gave out. Finlay turned a Stormbreaker attempt into a victory roll for a two count.
Finlay went for the Acid Drop, but Ospreay blocked. Ospreay nearly dropped Finlay on is head as they tried to set up a powerbomb, but hit the move safely.
Ospreay then hit Stormbreaker for the pin.
New Japan Cup semifinal: Shingo Takagi defeated EVIL (w/Dick Togo) (22:43)
This was a good match that never reached a higher gear. The usual Bullet club shenanigans didn’t help. Shingo did a masterful job of selling his back, though.
EVIL stalled at the outset. Togo interfered from the outside to allow EVIL to hit a lariat. Togo exposed a buckle and took the ref. EVIL whipped Shingo into the buckle.
Shingo came back with some power spots, but sold the damage to his back from the buckle. EVIL blocked an early Last of the Dragon attempt and hit a backbreaker. EVIL hit a drop toehold into the exposed buckle. EVIL continued to work on the back with a superplex.
EVIL went for Everything is EVIL. Shingo blocked and hit a short lariat. They traded lariats, then traded strikes. The crowd started to really get into it here. Togo slid EVIL a chair and took the ref. EVIL hit a chairshot to the head for a two count.
EVIL hit Darkness Falls for another two count. Shingo blocked Everything is EVIL and hit Made in Japan for a two count. EVIL bumped Shingo into the referee.
Togo entered and hit Shingo with right hands. EVIL hit a low blow to Shingo. EVIL and Togo hit a Magic Killer. Togo used a ligature to choke Shingo. Shingo came back with a double lariat to knock Togo outside. Shingo blocked a low blow and hit a pumping bomber.
Shingo revived the ref, then hit Last of the Dragon for the pin.
Ospreay made an appearance during Shingo’s show-closing promo. Ospreay hit a series of strikes. Shingo blocked a Stormbreaker and sent Ospreay packing with a clothesline.
David Finlay and Will Ospreay claimed the two remaining semifinal spots with wins today in Shizuoka. Finlay scored an upset win over Jay White, pinning him with a stunner and an Acid Drop. Ospreay pinned SANADA after a Hidden Blade and a Stormbreaker.
Both semifinal matches will take place Saturday in Sendai, which will also host the finals on Sunday.
Here are the updated results and the remaining Cup schedule.
**********
New Japan Cup schedule —
Semifinals —
Saturday, March 20, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
EVIL vs. Shingo Takagi
Will Ospreay vs. David Finlay
New Japan Cup final —
Sunday, March 21, 1 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World
EVIL or Shingo Takagi vs. Will Ospreay or David Finlay
