Tag: fred rosser

NJPW Strong results: Fred Rosser vs. Bateman

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight’s card was titled “FIREWORKS FRENZY.”

Lio Rush defeated Adrian Quest

Lio Rush, who recently announced his retirement, took on Adrian Quest in a good opener.

Both jaw-jacked and shoved each other at the top of the match. Quest dropkicked Rush out of the ring, then did a tope suicida through the ropes onto Rush.

Later, Rush landed a pretty springboard cross body-block off of the bottom rope to the floor. When both were back in the ring, the two spent a lot of time exchanging holds on the mat. When Quest had Rush in a sleeperhold, Rush ran backwards into the corner, slamming Quest off of his back to break the hold.

Towards the end of the match, Rush and Quest threw kicks at the same time and ended up double-KO’ing each other. The two were up quickly, though, trading elbows after a few dazed moments. Rush would go for his springboard stunner finish but Quest blocked it and landed a standing shooting star press for two, and later a Tiger Driver for two.

It looked like Quest was going for an avalanche Tiger Driver when he sat Rush on the top rope and under-hooked his arms. Rush was able to block it, then bounce back into the ring to hit his signature springboard stunner on Quest for the win in 8:19. This was probably Quest’s best match on Strong, if not one of his best.

Hikuleo defeated Jordan Clewarter

Clearwater charged Hikuleo in the corner as soon as the bell rang, but Hikuleo seemed to have things under control within a few moments. At 6’2”, Clearwater stands as one of the taller wrestlers on the show, but when he was in the ring with the 6’8” Hikuleo he looked small in comparison. Hikuleo manhandled his opponent for much of the match as Clearwater tried to crawl his way back into the match, somehow. We don’t often see this side of Clearwater, or rather we don’t see him in a position like this usually, as he’s usually the tall guy in his match.

Clearwater later used a jawbreaker to pick up the momentum he lost early on in the match. He grounded Hikuleo with a dropkick to his knee. When he went for the Midas Touch, a running big boot, Hikuleo turned that into a powerslam. When Clearwater went for a running bulldog out of desperation a few seconds later, Hikuleo reversed that into a backdrop suplex. He then put Clearwater out with The End Is Near for the win. Hikuleo continues to establish himself as the show’s resident monster.

Fred Rosser defeated Bateman

The two circled each other before locking up. Bateman locked in a mean front facelock and held it a few seconds longer than he was supposed to before letting Rosser go. When he later had Rosser in an armlock, he bent Rosser’s fingers backwards while the ref’s eyes were elsewhere.

Bateman’s ring style, “the heel’s heel,” is a perfect opposite to “Mr. No-Days-Off” Fred Rosser. Announcer Kevin Kelly nailed it tonight when he compared Rosser to Ronnie Garvin. 

Rosser held control of Bateman at points, but Bateman was just too wily for Rosser to manage. He slid out to the floor to regroup, but to also take his wrist tape off dramatically, which was cool, because it was clear that Rosser was fed up with Bateman’s foolishness. 

The naked-wristed Rosser threw some haymakers and big chops of his own back in the ring. At around five minutes in, Bateman began to target Rosser’s left knee. He used a few ankle lock variations between stomping away at Rosser’s leg. Bateman started to untie Rosser’s boots to hypothetically make Rosser’s knee more vulnerable as there’d be less support on the knee. Kevin Kelly did a good job explaining the mechanics of this.

Bateman’s punches and chops started to lose their effectiveness on Rosser, who began to fire up late in the match. Rosser lost his cool and began gouging at Bateman’s eyes, then started biting him. I feel like if this was in front of a live crowd, they’d have loved that. 

The two brawled on the apron with Bateman looking to get the better of the fight. When Bateman went for a big right hand, Rosser countered it into a falling backdrop that planted Bateman square against the ring apron. Bateman sold this like he was about to throw up; nice touch. 

Before getting back into the ring, Rosser removed his left boot completely and went back into the ring with a boot on the right foot and a black sock on the left.He caught Bateman with a low knee for two. He used two more of the same knee strikes as he couldn’t really move around with just one boot on. He DDT’d Bateman for two. 

Bateman used a fisherman’s buster on Rosser for a close nearfall. He spoke a few inaudible words to Rosser before landing two stiff elbows, but again Rosser was able to kick out. 15 minutes had elapsed at this point. Seconds later, Rosser spiked Bateman with an Emerald Frosion for the pin and the win in 15:34.

Final thoughts:

Tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong was short and sweet. The main event delivered, but it’s important to note the difference between a match like this and a match like fans would usually see on a NJPW home team show. Between the Hikuleo vs. Clearwater and Rosser vs. Bateman matches, it feels like now more than ever that the show has its strongest identity and distinct flavor.

Next week’s show will kick off NJPW’s upcoming Tag Team Turbulence tournament.

Fred Rosser signs exclusive agreement with NJPW

Posted on by Bryan Rose

Fred Rosser has announced he has signed an exclusive agreement with NJPW.

Rosser confirmed the news on Twitter this afternoon, writing: “I’m excited to officially announce I’ve signed W/ NJPW! All I can say moving forward is, don’t ever let your dreams just be dreams because as long as you’re patient & believe in your dreams, anything is possible. Patience is a talent.”

Since last year, Rosser has regularly competed on NJPW Strong, a show that features talent from New Japan of America that is taped in the United States. Earlier this year, he competed in the New Japan Cup USA tournament, qualifying after he defeated JR Kratos. However, he lost to Hikuleo in the first round. He later defeated Hikuelo in a no disqualification match.

Prior to NJPW, Rosser had been with WWE, signing in 2009. He was most well known for his time in the Nexus stable, and later teamed with Titus O’Neil as the Prime Time Players. He was released from his WWE contract in 2017. He has also recently made appearances for the NWA.

NJPW Strong results: Fred Rosser vs. Hikuleo no disqualification

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Batemen defeated Alex Coughlin

This was a solid opening match between the returning Batemen and Young Lion Alex Coughlin. We last saw Batemen in March in the New Japan Cup USA tournament, where he was eliminated by Brody King.

This was a trudge of a match, slow and hard-hitting, and in a good way. Coughlin has gotten ridiculously jacked since returning from a neck injury that kept him out for most of 2020. He had the better of the match early on until Batemen used an illegal fish hook to break one of Coughlin’s holds. Batemen feels like a throwback heel with his intentionally un-flashy bully style in the ring.

Coughlin launched himself off the ropes and crashed into Batemen with a flying shoulder tackle, it was more of a human slingshot than anything. Coughlin had Batemen locked in a Fujiwara armbar late, but Batemen came back and put the rookie away with a tombstone piledriver for the win.

Karl Fredericks and Brody King defeated Team Filthy (Danny Limelight and JR Kratos)

Team Filthy bushwhacked Fredericks and King before the bell. This was a fast-paced match, and that’s double-impressive considering how big three of the guys in this match are. Once the bell rang and the match was underway, Limelight worked over Fredericks for a bit, then JR Kratos came in to bring the pain. He threw hard knees at a downed Fredericks. When Limelight was back in, he scraped the edge of his forearm and elbow across Fredericks’ face, a cheap shot behind the ref’s back.

The “Alpha Wolf” eventually escaped Team Filthy’s corner and tagged out to Brody King, who was out for blood upon stepping inside the ring. He delivered a  Death Valley Bomb to Limelight into the bottom of the corner post and directly onto a prone Kratos. King then pressed slammed Limelight to the floor. King followed and took the fight to Kratos ringside. Limelight at one point landed double knees for a close two-count.

Fredericks mounted a final comeback in the end, putting Limelight on the mat with Shibata’s patented choke sleeper, then spiking him with Manifest Destiny to pick up the win for his team. Get the “Alpha Wolf” back over to Japan ASAP, I say. 

Fredericks cut a short but sweet promo on Team Filthy, explaining that all he had needed was a second to take them out, and tonight he did just that.

Fred Rosser defeated Hikuleo in a no-disqualification match

I can say with confidence that this was the most unique match in NJPW Strong’s short history. Rosser and Hikuleo had a fight, straight up. No flash necessary: This was a rugged, sloppy brawl. I mean that in a positive way, too.

“Mr. No Days Off ” Fred Rosser dove onto Hikuleo before the bell. He came dressed in appropriate brawling attire, which means taped fists and some sort of shirt you don’t normally wear. The match spilled out onto the floor early. As the match got more violent, announcer Alex Koslov claimed that this was “technically a street fight.” Wasn’t it technically a no-disqualification match?

Hikuleo found a table underneath the ring. When he attempted to stand it up, Rosser pegged him dead-center in the back of the head with a plastic bucket and it couldn’t have landed more perfectly. After about five minutes, they brawled past the guardrails and into the backstage area, where Rosser shoved Hikuleo through the swinging exit doors and into boxes of NJPW merchandise. Hikuleo launched Rosser through a door backstage and it looked vicious.

The youngest of Haku’s sons would drag Rosser outside of the building and into the NJPW ring truck. Kevin Kelly made reference to the infamous Dustin Rhodes vs. Blacktop Bully from WCW, one of the few truck-centric matches in pro wrestling history. No need for alarm, though: Tonight’s match was much better than WCW’s “King of the Mountain” affair.

Inside the truck, Rosser choked Hikuleo with his own wrist tape. Hikuleo gave Rosser a low blow, then almost decapitated him with the truck’s sliding door. He tried slamming it down really fast, but Rosser moved out of the way. When Hikuleo lifted the door back up, Rosser kicked Hikuleo, then dove out of the truck onto him. Rosser showered him with fists and choked him with a hose. Or, what looked to be a hose.

Rosser dragged Hikuleo by his long hair back to the ring. Rosser noticed the table that Hikuleo left by the ring earlier in the match. He decided to set it up and try putting Hikuleo through it off the apron. I’m not sure what the plan was, the spot ended with both diving off the apron and onto the table, but it didn’t break. It looked like a disaster, but I can’t honestly call it a botch. It looked completely appropriate after nearly 15 minutes of savage hoss battle. It looked like Rosser took the worst part of the fall, actually.

Rosser later grabbed Hikuleo by the hair and dragged him into the ring, then finally put him away after dropping Hikuleo with a gutbuster and a running knee. What a match. Rosser knocked over a table before exiting the back, still amped up from the donnybrook he took Hikuleo through.

Final thoughts:

Tonight’s show was a nice change in pace from the high-speed action we usually see on NJPW Strong. Each match is worth going out of your way to see, but tonight’s main event between Rosser and Hikuleo was a barnburner of a brawl, no doubt about it. It’s a good example of how two can push the violence without getting gory or over-the-top. For those of us who grew up on Crockett-flavored free-for-alls, this felt like a nod to those days. Rosser was angry, and so was Hikuleo, and they wrestled that way. Rosser wrestled like he was settling a score.

Most of this felt spontaneous, too, which can be exciting. Hats off to both fellows here, as this was probably the best singles bout in either of their careers.

NJPW Strong results: Fred Rosser vs. JR Kratos

Posted on by Justin Knipper

The show opened with Rosser addressing his opponent for tonight, JR Kratos. He explained that this match was not about him, but about Rosser.

Kratos said that “the best, top-tier, no bullsh*t” wrestlers are in NJPW. He said he respects Rosser’s wrestling and what he stands for, but since Rosser called him out, now Kratos has a reason to disrespect him. Rosser said you can’t manufacture passion and that he wants the New Japan Cup USA 2021 more than anything else. Kratos said he’d show Rosser and the New Japan world that there is a “legit no-bullsh*t wrestler” in their midst. 

Strong promos from both at the top of the show.

The Rigel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel) defeated Adrian Quest and Barrett Brown

Before the match, the announcers brought up Brown’s recent losing streak and general depression with his current standing in NJPW USA right now. They showed a video from a few weeks back when he, the DKC and Rey Horus lost their match, with Brown losing his cool while explaining his recent drought.

The Riegel Twins came out wearing compression gear with tattoo designs and ski masks, like Brody King. The two come off more confident than they have in the past, and showcased that throughout the match with their unique double-team offense in the ring.

Though Quest was in first for his team, Barrett Brown was on the receiving end of much of the Twins’ attack. For much of the first half, both Riegels wore Brown out on their side of the ring. Brown put one of the brothers down with a half-and-half suplex out of nowhere before tagging out to Quest, who cleared the ring, putting Logan Riegel down with a backdrop suplex for two. Brown landed a single-leg basement dropkick to Riegel.

At around the ten-minute mark, the Riegel brothers were back in control and used a double fall-away slam on Quest—something I don’t think I’d ever seen before—before Brown took out both Riegels, using a Japanese arm drag into the turnbuckle on Logan, then a snap suplex on Sterling into the corner on top of his prone twin.

The brothers both slipped under the ropes to the floor to avoid more power attacks from Brown, who squared up and hit the ropes as though he was about to do a suicide dive onto both Riegels. Adrian Quest sprung out of the corner off the top rope, however, landing on both with a plancha of his own, effectively halting Brown.

Brown began yelling at Quest in the ring. After Brown finished, he turned around and suddenly found himself inside a Logan Riegel small package cradle for the three-count. 

As the twins celebrated, the beleaguered Brown began yelling at the referee. I imagine a new look and image for Brown is coming soon. Solid opener with a nice story that helped push Brown’s story forward.

Hikuleo defeated Jordan Clearwater to qualify for New Japan Cup USA 2021

Earlier in the show, the NJPW announcers set this up as if Clearwater were to win, it’d be a big upset. “The Golden Boy” Clearwater has been slightly repackaged for the show, with updated tights, ring jacket, and even a new hairdo that Kevin Kelly referred to as Jackie Fulton-esque.

Hikuleo took this one to the floor almost immediately, dishing out pain right from the bell. Clearwater dodged out of the way when Hikuleo charged at him against the ring post.

When they stood nose to nose back in the ring, we could see that even though Clearwater is actually quite tall, he still stood a few inches under Hikuleo. These two actually complemented each other well tonight, and a rivalry between them felt almost imminent. Since Clearwater is one of the bigger fellows on the roster, it was interesting to see a monster like Hikuleo dominate him in the ring, and it was great to see the underdog side of Clearwater, something we haven’t had a proper chance to watch yet.

Towards the end of the match, Hikuleo challenged Clearwater to chop him. Clearwater laid in a good four or five solid chops, but Hikuleo absorbed them, then put Clearwater on the mat twice with two front-handed chops.

Clearwater came back with a Hail Mary running neckbreaker on Hikuleo for two. He threw a lariat at the monster, who dropped to a knee but wouldn’t go down. When Clearwater went for a running big boot, Hikuleo dodged it, then planted Clearwater with his sit-out Death Valley Bomb for the win.

Fred Rosser defeated JR Kratos to qualify for New Japan Cup USA 2021

I didn’t expect this to be one of the best matches in the short history of NJPW Strong, but we have to give credit where it’s due. This was a damn fine professional wrestling match!

Like Kevin Kelly mentioned at one point in the commentary, this really did feel like a title match that you could place on any modern wrestling show and it’d work, and even more so with a live audience.

Once the bell sounded, Rosser immediately rolled to the floor. Total Jay White move, but from a white-meat babyface. Kratos was aggressive, but he couldn’t lay his hands on Rosser, who’d slip in and out of the ring to maintain this psychological advantage. Kratos was shut down once he chased Rosser to the floor, eventually laying him out with a rough shoulder block that sent Rosser hard against the floor.

Back in the ring, Kratos launched Rosser across the ring with a vertical suplex. Leave it to Kratos to freshen up something as fundamental as a suplex. At around five minutes in, Kratos hip tossed Rosser three-quarters across the ring. Later, from a seated position, Kratos used a deadlift vertical suplex to Rosser, who is definitely not a junior heavyweight. Jeez.

Rosser threw haymakers at Kratos, then charged at him, tackling him through the ropes to the floor. He then dove off the apron twice, splatting onto Kratos with two Earthquake splashes, which Kratos sold as though someone had dropped an anvil on his chest.

When Rosser went high-risk and climbed to the top rope, Kratos knocked him off with a high enzuigiri kick that’d make Antonio Inoki proud, then suplexed Rosser back into the ring. Rosser later snuck out of Kratos’ grip while they were in the blue corner, and Rosser got Kratos into a fireman’s carry on his shoulders and landed what looked to be a picture-perfect gutbuster, but just for two.

The final moments saw Rosser attempt planting Kratos onto the apron with a backdrop suplex, but Kratos fought it off with a jumping knee strike. I think Kratos’ “special” meter must have been flashing at this point. Kratos looked to be going in for the kill when, suddenly, Rosser rolled him into a small package for three. Rosser digs in and gets the W here in just about 14 minutes.

Rosser didn’t have much time to celebrate afterwards, though: Hikuleo appeared at the entrance to “congratulate” Rosser with a beating. He threw Rosser back into the ring for Kratos, who laid Rosser out with a rolling lariat before heading to the back. Hikuleo then jumped into the ring and put Rosser down with a chokeslam and called him out, saying he wants Rosser next in the New Japan USA Cup.

Final thoughts:

Tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong was arguably its best in terms of storytelling and character development. The opening tag was no less in quality than matches prior, but the special focus on Barrett Brown’s story made me more interested in what they have in store for him down the road. He’s a great wrestler, but because this show hasn’t been on for more than a year yet, there just hasn’t been time or place until now.

 Hikuleo vs. Jordan Clearwater was much better than it probably had any right to be, and that’s no knock against the wrestlers themselves, as it was nice to see more sides to Clearwater in the ring; he could end up a new version of Barry Windham. Hikuleo continues to solidify himself as “house monster heel” on Strong and a legitimate threat to an undercard title IWGP US Heavyweight championship.

The main event, however, stole the show. Ironically, this was one of the best pure “American style” wrestling matches I have seen in a very long time, truly. For someone who either watches each week or for someone who doesn’t watch wrestling, I think either viewer would enjoy this a lot. The story and sub-stories within the match were clear, nothing felt convoluted or out of step with the match, it built on the quick promos both cut at the top of the show, and both wrestlers came off feeling more important than before the show. I’d to see a rematch in front of a live audience, which would have no doubt enhanced this bout’s intensity.

Next week sees Brody King take on Bateman and Ren Narita against Misterioso. Both matches are qualifiers for the New Japan Cup USA 2021 tournament.

NJPW announces full lineup for New Beginning USA night one

Posted on by Ethan Renner

NJPW has announced the full lineup for Friday’s New Beginning USA 2021 edition of Strong on NJPW World. 

Already announced, the main event will see El Phantasmo, number one contender to Hiromu Takahashi’s IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship, taking on Lio Rush. 

ELP and Rush previously faced off in a first round match in the 2020 Super J-Cup, a tournament that ELP would go on to win. 

In Friday’s semi-main, Fred Rosser will take on Bullet Club’s Hikuleo. 

In the opener, Rocky Romero, Adrian Quest and Misterioso will face Rey Horus, Barrett Brown and The DKC. 

Night two of New Beginning USA on February 26 will feature Jon Moxley defending the IWGP United States Championship against KENTA. 

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: 

  • El Phantasmo vs. Lio Rush
  • Fred Rosser vs. Hikuleo
  • Rocky Romero, Adrian Quest & Misterioso vs. Rey Horus, Barrett Brown & The DKC

Lio Rush to make NJPW Strong debut in six-man tag match

Posted on by Bryan Rose

NJPW has announced cards for the next two weeks of NJPW Strong, with Lio Rush making his debut on the program on Friday, January 29.

Rush, who is looking to avenge his first round loss against El Phantasmo during last month’s Super J Cup, will team with TJP and Fred Rosser in the main event of the January 29 show to face KENTA, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo.

The main event for this week’s show will have LA Dojo young lion Ren Narita take on ROH’s Bateman. Narita will be making his debut on Strong following his appearance at the Super J Cup, where he teamed with Kevin Knight in a losing effort against Hikuleo and KENTA. Bateman is also making his first in-ring appearance on the program.

Here are the full cards for both shows:

January 22:

  • Ren Narita vs. Bateman
  • Brody King vs. JR Kratos
  • Jordan Clearwater and Kevin Knight vs. Sterling & Logan Riegel

January 29:

  • Lio Rush, Fred Rosser, and TJP vs. KENTA, El Phantasmo, and Hikuleo
  • Chris Dickinson vs. Rocky Romero
  • Clark Connors vs. The DKC

NJPW Strong results: Jay White vs. Flip Gordon

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight’s episode of New Japan Strong marked the first night of NJPW’s “Fighting Spirit Unleashed 2020” tour.

Alex Zayne and Fred Rosser defeated The DKC and Clark Connors

The DKC and Zayne in first for their teams. They had obvious chemistry together. DKC overall shows great energy that shines through onscreen.

Tonight was Fred Rosser’s NJPW debut. He and Clark Connors were good together. It’s easy to forget how big Rosser is, and he looked to be twice Connor’s size when they stood face to face.

The finish saw Zayne do a crazy double-jump springboard Asai moonsault to the floor, which allowed Rosser to score the pinfall in his debut after taking out the DKC with a fireman’s carry-to-double-knees gutbuster.

Karl Fredericks defeated Misterioso

Fredericks and Misterioso got into it on last week’s episode of NJPW Strong, which led to tonight’s bout.

This was good. Misterioso took most of the offense throughout this. He did a tope con giro to the floor, then landed a diving crossbody block for two inside the ring. Fredericks mounted a comeback halfway through the match, at one point blasting Misterioso in the face with his own version of the Shibata dropkick in the corner.

Misterioso tried using a back cracker on Fredericks–the move that put him away in last week’s tag team match–but Fredericks blocked it, then used the Manifest Destiny (high-angle implant DDT) for the win.

Hikuleo defeated Brody King

They exploded on each other right from the bell. King laid Hikuleo out early with a running cross body block.

The match spilled to the floor soon after. We had a true hoss brawl on our hands. Hikuleo looks much different from when he debuted in New Japan. Kevin Kelly talked about his recent excursion to England. It’s clear he hasn’t just improved, but is already finding his swagger and comfort zone in the ring.

King planted Hikuleo with a jumping piledriver late in the match and scored a two count. King went for a Gonzo Bomb but Hikuleo powered out, and later used a deadlift flatliner on King to pin him clean and pick up what some may consider an upset victory. Really good stuff from both here. 

Before he left the ring, Hikuleo yelled “I’m not a Young Boy anymore!” at King.

Jay White defeated Flip Gordon

White rolled to the floor as the bell sounded. When he came back to the ring, White took the reins. He kept Gordon glued to the mat with side headlocks and other plodding offense for the first half of this, basically until Gordon landed a dropkick to stun White. He scored a nearfall after taking White out with a springboard spear.

The finish saw White shove the referee into Gordon. White threw a sucker-punch but Gordon dodged out of the way, then planted White with a Falcon Arrow for another close nearfall.

Things heated up at around ten minutes into this. They traded close falls, but White took the win after a Bladebuster and later the Bladerunner for the win over Gordon. Really good stuff from both here. 

Afterwards, White cut a promo explaining how that was just a warm-up, and that this was still “his” New Japan.

Final thoughts:

Great show this week, and maybe one of the best so far. The main event was as good as the recent KENTA vs. Jeff Cobb match, though that’s not to take away from the really impressive hoss brawl between Brody King and Hikuoleo. Fredericks continues to be impressive.

Fred Rosser will be an interesting character to keep an eye on; aside from a somewhat botched legdrop spot in his match, he clearly could hang with the younger guys. His size adds a freshness to the show, which tends to be heavier on junior heavyweight matches. Overall, it was yet another solid hour of Friday night pro wrestling with two exceptional matches.

Matches set for NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Darren Young to debut

Posted on by Bryan Rose

NJPW has released details on Fighting Spirit Unleashed, a two night event that will take place on NJPW Strong.

The company announced that the shows will take place on September 4 and September 11. The events will be headlined by a KENTA vs. Jeff Cobb match that will take place on the second night. That match will be for KENTA’s IWGP US title match contract, which he won by winning the New Japan Cup USA tournament.

A match between Jay White and ROH’s Flip Gordon will take place on September 4. White attempted to lay out Gordon with a bladerunner after losing a tag team match, but was saved by Brody King.

King will face Hikuleo on September 4, a clash of two behemoths. Hikuelo made his debut for NJPW of America last week by attacking Lee after he made the save for Gordon.

Fred Rosser, formerly known as Darren Young in WWE, will be making his NJPW debut on the September 4 show.