NJPW has made the first two match announcements for Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome night one on September 4.
In a rematch from last Sunday’s Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Kazuchika Okada will face Jeff Cobb. Okada was victorious at Tokyo Dome, pinning Cobb with a quick cradle. Cobb then attacked Okada at Tuesday’s Summer Struggle event in Korakuen Hall to set up the rematch.
Also announced for MetLife Dome, Chase Owens will defend the KOPW 2021 provisional title against former title holder Toru Yano. A stipulation will be added to this match at a later date. Owens won a 22-man New Japan Ranbo at the Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome to claim the provisional KOPW title.
Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome is a two-night event. Three IWGP title matches have already been announced for night two. Here are the cards so far:
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Saturday, September 4, 4 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
Kazuchika Okada vs. Jeff Cobb
KOPW 2021: Chase Owens (c) vs. Toru Yano
NJPW Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome, Sunday, September 5, 2 a.m. Eastern time on NJPW World —
IWGP World Heavyweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. EVIL
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tetsuya Naito & SANADA vs. Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Robbie Eagles (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi
The NJPW Summer Struggle tour continued today in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo.
The only notable angle on the show came after Kazuchika Okada was victorious in a six-man tag. His Tokyo Dome opponent from this past Sunday, Jeff Cobb, appeared and laid Okada out with his Tour of the Islands finisher. That program will likely continue until the September 4 and September 5 Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome events.
After EVIL and Dick Togo attacked IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Shingo Takagi at Wrestle Grand Slam in Tokyo Dome, Shingo teamed with BUSHI to face EVIL and Togo in today’s main event.
Shingo will defend the IWGP World title against EVIL in the main event of Wrestle Grand Slam in MetLife Dome on Sunday, September 5.
After two days off, NJPW returns Friday, Saturday and Sunday with three shows. All of the events will also be held at Korakuen Hall and will begin at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time.
Left My Wallet returns with New Japan superstar Jeff Cobb.
Fresh off one of the best matches of the year against Kota Ibushi, Jeff drops by to talk about training in jiu-jitsu and the transition to the mats from pro and amateur wrestling, his journey to the Olympics, wrestling Yoel Romero, and his path to main eventing in New Japan Pro Wrestling.
He also discusses breaking out on the indie scene, the advice our very own John Larocca gave him, the dojo system of training, and our mindsets when it comes to training young wrestlers.
This is a fun and quick episode with one of the best workers in the world today in New Japan’s own Jeff Cobb.
NJPW’s Wrestling Satsuma no Kuni continues with night two of the event today in Kagoshima. This will serve as the go-home show for both nights of Wrestling Dontaku on May 3 and May 4.
Kota Ibushi returns to action on this show, teaming with Hiroshi Tanahashi in the main event. They will face United Empire’s Jeff Cobb and Aaron Henare. Ibushi has not wrestled since losing the IWGP World Heavyweight title to Will Ospreay on April 4.
Ospreay and Great-O-Khan will take Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito in the semi-main. Naito beat O-Khan in a singles match earlier this week, while Shingo challenges Ospreay for the IWGP World title next week at Wrestling Dontaku.
Here is the remainder of the undercard:
Toru Yano, Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs. EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Taiji Ishimori & Dick Togo
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI vs. Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado
Tiger Mask, SHO & YOH vs. Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru
SANADA & BUSHI vs. Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura
Our live coverage begins at 2 a.m. Eastern time.
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SANADA & BUSHI defeated Yota Tsuji & Yuya Uemura (8:28)
This was a solid technical opener.
SANADA and Uemura began with some chain wrestling, then some basc tackle and drop down spots. Uemura got the upper hand with arm drags. Tsuji tagged in and lost the advantage. SANADA and BUSHI began working over Tsuji’s left leg. Tsuji’s selling was excellent.
Tsuji managed a tag. SANADA tagged BUSHI. Uemura got a cool near submission on BUSHI, with Tsuj spearing an interfering SANADA to add to the drama.
This was another match with some really good technical wrestling.
Suzuki-gun used a jumpstart before the bell.
SHO and Kanemaru started off as the legal men. SHO got some shine with kicks. Suzuki used an armbar over the ropes to interfere, so we were back to brawling on the outside. When the dust settled, Suzuki-gun was in the driver’s seat on SHO, working him over in the ring.
Suzuki and SHO had a great little sequence. Suzuki blocked a spear with a front facelock. SHO countered out with a vertical suplex that Suzuki sold big.
YOH and Desperado got tags. YOH hit a missile dropkick for a near fall. YOH went after Desperado’s right leg, so look for that in their title match next week. YOH used a falcon arrow for two. Desperado hit a spinebuster. YOH managed a tag before Desperado did.
Tiger tagged in for a high cross and a near fall on Desperado after preventing a tag to Suzuki. Tiger hit a Tiger Driver for a near fall. Desperado went for Pinche Loco, but YOH saved with a superkick. Tiger used an armbar, but Desperado made the ropes.
Desperado hit a knee crusher to Tiger. Kanemaru hopped in for a dropkick to the leg. Desperado used Numero Dos, trapping Tiger’s arms as well. The ref called for the stoppage.
Taichi, Zack Sabre Jr. & DOUKI went to a no contest with Tama Tonga, Tanga Loa & Jado
The match never officially began.
Taichi’s entrance music played, but both teams spilled out to the stage and began brawling with weapons. DOUKI had a pipe, Jado a kendo stick, Taichi and Tama had ladders.
Sabre and Loa made their way to the ring and did a few spots, but threw the ref outside. After he was revived, Tama and Taichi bumped the ref with their ladders.
Can we get these guys some safer ladders? These things look painful and not structurally sound.
The ref revived a second time and officially called for the no contest.
Gedo and Kanemaru came out to try to hold their respective factions back. Sabre and Loa fought to the back in a comical ankle lock spot.
This started off decent enough. Tenzan and Yujiro were the legal men. Tenzan used Mongolian chops. Wato tagged in and continued working on Taguchi. Yujiro turned the tide after a basement dropkick. Bullet Club went to work on Wato.
The match started to drag, as they worked Wato over for quite a while. Wato finally hit EVIL with a Dreamcast and tagged Taguchi. Taguchi hit his usual hip attack cavalcade. He missed one on EVIL, then hit Three Amigos and a bumaye for a near fall.
Taguchi went for Dodon on EVIL. EVIL grabbed the ref. The match pretty much fell apart from there. Togo hit Taguchi with a corner pad. Yano tagged in. EVIL put a hood on Yano. Togo and Yano started doing spots. EVIL took the ref. Togo choked Yano with a ligature. Yano hit low blows on EVIL and Togo, then used a schoolboy to pin Togo.
LIJ controlled the first five minutes of the bout. Ospreay and Shingo began with a slower sequence than we’re used to seeng from them, but it was good. Both tagged out. Naito took over on O-Khan after grabbing his hair.
Shingo tagged back in and was cut off after a high kick from Ospreay on the apron. Naito and O-Khan tagged back in for a lengthy sequence. Naito was cut off. O-Khan worked him over with his wacky offense and chops. Naito came back with a top rope frankensteiner and a one-legged dropkick.
Shingo and Ospreay tagged in. Most of their exchanges on this tour have been built on their speed, but they were throwing bombs tonight, hitting each other really hard. Ospreay hit a Shibata dropkick and a bloody sunday DDT.
Shingo avoided a powerbomb. Ospreay avoided a sliding lariat. Ospreay landed on his feet off a German suplex attempt. Ospreay hit a rolling elbow and tagged O-Khan. O-Khan hit a judo throw and used a head and arm choke on Shingo, but Naito saved.
O-Khan and Ospreay hit double pump kicks to Shingo. Ospreay and Naito brawled to the floor. O-Khan went back to the choke on Shingo. Naito saved. Ospreay hit pip pip cheerio to Naito. Shingo finally hit on a sliding lariat to Ospreay after not connecting with one all tour.
O-Khan went for the Eliminator on Shingo. Naito saved with a dropkick. Ospreay teased a springboard attack, but Shingo sent him to the floor with a lariat.
Naito and Shingo doubled up on O-Khan. Shingo hit a pumping bomber and a Last of the Dragon to pin O-Khan.
After the match, Ospreay hit a rolling elbow to Shingo. He went for a Stormbreaker, but Shingo reversed and hit him with Last of the Dragon. Shingo briefly posed with Ospreay’s title belt.
Kota Ibushi & Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Jeff Cobb & Aaron Henare (17:04)
This was great pro wrestling.
Cobb laid out Ibushi with a Tour of the Islands the last time they were in the ring together, so it made sense that they started off together here. They hit a ton of simultaneous forearm strikes to get the crowd into it right away. Ibushi connected on a flying mid kick to briefly establish the edge.
Tanahashi tagged in for a diving elbow drop and some air guitar. Cobb came back with some powerful forearm shots. Henare took Tanahashi to the floor and beat him down with strikes. Cobb worked on Ibushi in the ring. Henare tagged in and was promptly hit with a flying mid kick.
Tana tagged in and hit a flying forearm to Henare. He hit Cobb with a dragon screw in the ropes for good measure. Tana hit a somersault senton on Henare for a two count. Henare came back with a snake eyes in the corner, then hit a vertical suplex for a two count. Cobb beat down Ibushi on the outside.
Henare mounted Tana and hit a series of strikes, then used a heel hook. Tana fought to the ropes to force a break. Henare continued to attack Tana’s left leg wth stomps, then went back to the heel hook. Tana forced another rope break. Henare hit a dragon screw.
Cobb tagged in and hit a series of headbutts. Tana hit a dropkick to the left leg and looked for a tag, but Henare knocked Ibushi off the apron. Tana reversed a suplex attempt into twist and shout, then tagged out.
Ibushi hit a double overhead kick to Cobb and Henare. He followed with a standing moonsault on Cobb for a near fall. He teased Kamigoye, but missed. Cobb hit a release belly-to-belly, European uppercut and a running back suplex for a near fall.
Cobb tried a spin cycle, but Ibushi blocked and hit a high kick into a double down. Tana tagged in and went for a slingblade, but Cobb blocked and hit a spin cycle. Henare tagged in for a step-up knee in the corner, then hit two stiff PKs for a near fall.
Henare hit a rugby tackle for another two count. He went for Streets of Rage, but Tana reversed into a slingblade at the 15 minute call.
Ibushi tagged in and hit a striking combination to Henare. He went for a Kamigoye, but Cobb saved Henare with a lariat. Cobb lifted both Ibushi and Tana on his shoulders. Ibushi sent Cobb to the apron, then kicked him off.
Henare took on both Tana and Ibushi with strikes. Ibushi hit a v-trigger to Henare. Tana followed with a slingblade. Tana hit a standing High Fly Flow. Ibushi followed with a Kamigoye and pinned Henare.
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Ibushi and Cobb had an intense staredown after the match. Cobb pulled up a chair and sat ringside as Ibushi cut a promo. Ibushi put Cobb over, then challenged him. Cobb said “F*** yeah.” Expect that match to be made official shortly.
Tanahashi then addressed the crowd. Ibushi closed the show on the mic.
Toa Henare, under a new name, has joined The United Empire.
Henare, going under the name Aaron Henare, joined the group during tonight’s NJPW Sakura Genesis event, revealing himself as their mystery tag team partner. He teamed up with Jeff Cobb and The Great-O-Khan to take on the Los Ingobernables de Japon team of Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, and Shingo Takagi. He picked up the win for his team, pinning SANADA after a death valley driver.
After the match, Henare and Cobb held Naito down as Great O-Khan attacked Naito’s knee with a steel chair.
Henare had been doing a storyline earlier this year where he expressed frustrations about his recent losses. He mentioned on Twitter that he was not in Japan for the current tour and was back home in New Zealand under quarantine.
Starting off as a young lion in 2016 under the name Henare, he would later emerge out of his young lion stage without taking an excursion, going under the name Toa Henare. Despite no longer being a young lion, Henare has spent the last few years in NJPW’s midcard, usually taking the pin for more established stars.
Hiroshi Tanahashi, Juice Robinson & Toa Henare defeated Jay White, KENTA & Chase Owens (w/Gedo) (13:18)
Tanahashi used a Texas cloverleaf to submit Owens.
New Japan Cup second round match: Toru Yano defeated The Great-O-Khan (13:02)
I don’t how what to say about this.
The comedy in the first few minutes was fun. Then they had a boring stretch. Then there was almost a stabbing.
O-Khan allowed Yano to tape his hands behind his back. O-Khan then dared Yano to hit him with a corner pad. O-Khan ducked the corner pad and broke his hands free of the tape.
O-Khan took a flat-back bump and dared Yano to try to cover him. Yano charged in and got caught in a kneebar. Yano forced a break.
O-Khan sat on a chair in the middle of the ring. Yano sat on a chair in the aisle. O-Khan took Yano’s KOPW trophy and threatened to stomp on it to get Yano back inside.
O-Khan offered a handshake. He took Yano down with the handshake and stomped on Yano’s right arm. O-Khan hit a gutwrench throw for a two count. He used a head-and-arm choke on the mat. O-Khan sat on Yano’s back in the corner.
O-Khan missed a charge and ran into the exposed buckle. Yano hit a throw into a double down. Yano hit a slingshot into the exposed buckle.
O-Khan used the iron claw to get a near fall. Yano sent O-Khan to the outside and tied his ponytail around the barricade. O-Khan produced a pair of scissors from his boot and cut himself free.
O-Khan teased stabbing Yano with the scissors. Yano avoided him and hit a low blow while the ref was down. Yano hit a tackle and rolled O-Khan up for the pin.
Yano advances to the quarterfinals and faces the winner of the next match on Tuesday, March 16.
New Japan Cup second round match: EVIL (w/Dick Togo) defeated Jeff Cobb (23:08)
Cobb was very good here and this was one of EVIL’s better efforts of late. The usual Bullet Club shenanigans took away from what could have been a fun fight between two powerhouses.
EVIL stalled for the first minute. He teased that he was afraid of Cobb’s power. EVIL used a distraction from Togo to hit a kick. Cobb no-sold and sent EVIL outside. Cobb sent EVIL into Togo, then hit Togo with a right hand.
Back inside, Cobb hit a dropkick and a couple of right hands for a near fall. Togo tripped Cobb from the floor, allowing EVIL to take over. EVIL sent Cobb into the barricade. Ring announcer Abe took a bump. EVIL hit his baseball swing with a chair.
EVIL worked on Cobb for a bit in the ring, then sent him back outside. Abe took another bump as Cobb took a whip into the barricade. Togo exposed a buckle and EVIL whipped Cobb into it.
Cobb came back with right hands. He avoided a ref-assisted mid kick and hit an impressive throw. Cobb hit a superplex for a two count. Cobb avoided a misdirection lariat. Cobb hit a lariat, but EVIL got his knees up on a standing moonsault attempt.
EVIL hit a lariat, then used a scorpion deathlock. Cobb powered his way to the ropes for a break. EVIL hit Darkness Falls for a two count. Cobb avoided a whip into the exposed buckle and hit a superkick. Cobb hit a powerslam for a near fall.
Togo jumped on the apron. EVIL ran into Togo. Cobb hit a German and a standing moonsault for two. Cobb hit a spin cycle and got a visual pinfall, but referee Red Shoes took a bump from EVIL’s feet as Cobb spun EVIL around.
Togo jumped in as Cobb teased another superplex. Cobb fought off Togo, then hit a double powerslam to both Togo and EVIL. Togo got sent outside. Cobb revived the ref. Cobb hit a powerbomb for a two count.
EVIL raked Cobb’s eyes and hit a lariat. Cobb blocked Everything is EVIL and hit a German. Both men ran into the exposed buckle.
Yujiro Takahashi appeared and jumped on the apron for a distraction. EVIL then hit Everything is EVIL and got the pin.
EVIL advances and faces Yano in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 16.
More matches have been announced for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 15.
Following the events of the Best of the Super Junior/World Tag League finals, Hiroshi Tanahashi will now face Great-O-Khan in a special singles match on January 4. Khan destroyed both Henare and Tanahashi following a tag team match, with O-Khan focusing on Tanahashi’s knee.
World Tag League winners Tama Tonga and Tanga Loga, the Guerillas of Destiny, will face Taichi and Zack Sabre Jr. for the IWGP Tag Team titles.
After he had won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament, Hiromu Takahashi challenged the winner of the following day’s Super J-Cup to a match. El Phantasmo defeated ACH to win the Super J-Cup back-to-back and accepted Takahashi’s challenge for January 4. Taiji Ishimori will be defending the IWGP Jr. title on January 5 against the winner.
SANADA and EVIL, meanwhile, will face each other on January 5. SANADA wildly attacked EVIL after Dick Togo choked out SANADA at ringside. The two ended up fighting all the way backstage.
Shingo Takagi and Jeff Cobb will meet for the NEVER title on January 5. Cobb pinned Shingo during the World Tag League, eliminating Shingo and SANADA from the tournament. Cobb attacked Shingo during the Budokan Hall finals show and held the NEVER title up high, indicating he was next for a title match.
Here is what is currently announced for both Wrestle Kingdom cards, which will take place on January 4 and 5 at the Tokyo Dome:
January 4:
Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP Tag Team titles
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
January 5:
Winner of Naito-Ibushi vs. Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
SANADA vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight title
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu-ELP winner for the IWGP Jr. title
Riegel came out with his twin brother, Sterling, in his corner. The DKC accompanied Connors to the ring tonight.
Riegel and Connors have had rivalry that’s simmering to a boil, a competitive matchup that really got going earlier this year in the semi-finals of Lion’s Break Crown tournament.
Connors used a sharp chop to the back against Riegel, and later snapped him over with a suplex not unlike the one Dynamite Kid would use.
Riegel made a comeback five minutes into the match with a snap suplex. He landed a slingblade to Connors, who was on the apron. When both were back in the ring, the pace kicked up a notch. The two traded lots of attempts at big moves, but it was only until Connors drilled Riegel with a spear that something connected. With under three minutes left in the match, Connors slapped on a Boston crab, which got Logan Riegel to tap almost immediately. Great stuff from both here.
Post-match, the DKC celebrated with Connors and mentioned that the two would “keep their roll goin’,” with DKC hopefully being next in line for a win.
Juice Robinson and ACH defeated Jordan Clearwater and Adrian Quest
Really good match for the amount of time it was given. It was short, but impressive. Clearwater and Robinson are really tall, and just about the same height, which is rare to see in NJPW these days in that they may be two of the tallest guys on the roster at the moment, excluding Hikuleo and regular NJPW guest, Brody King.
Robinson and Clearwater offered a nice exchange to a stalemate a few minutes in. ACH and Quest were in next, with the action feeling more explosive. I didn’t recognize Quest for a minute; he has a new blonde hairdo.
Robinson and ACH took control at around the five minute mark. Robinson was loud in his trash-talking, and Clearwater’s jaw jacking was effective as well. The Karl Anderson trainee made a hot tag a few moments later, clearing the ring. He and Robinson might turn out to be perfect rivals for one other down the road– both are tall, lean dudes who move with a lot more ease than others their size.
A few minutes later, ACH and Quest were going at it, with Quest going for a walk-up swinging DDT that ACH blocked. ACH sent Quest spinning full rotation. ACH then spiked Quest with a brainbuster that’d make Dean Malenko proud, which got him the three count, to boot.
What’s low-key notable about this was how great ACH was throughout. I didn’t notice him using much aerial offense in the ring lately, which is wild because if you’re reading this and are familiar with ACH, you know how good the guy is. Hoping he can make it to NJPW proper by next year to see some action.
Before the next match, a video package pumping up the main event came on featuring tonight’s team leaders, Jeff Cobb and “Filthy” Tom Lawlor. Cobb, who was wearing an awesome Stan Hansen shirt, explained that he wanted redemption from Rust Taylor for what happened after the match in last week’s episode, where Team Filthy went after Cobb.
Lawlor, in an equally awesome Street Fighter II: Turbo parody shirt that read “FILTHY FIGHTING: TURBO,” appeared and explained that since he came to NJPW, his goal was to make a name for himself. He said that he left undefeated at Lion’s Break Collision earlier in the year, and that now that he’s back, he was there to stake his claim and prove why he should be at the top of the proverbial food chain.
Cobb went on to explain how he was going to beat each one of the Team Filthy members, but also said he’d might as well beat them all up at once, like here, tonight.
Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Rust Taylor & Danny Limelight) defeated Jeff Cobb, Fred Rosser, Rocky Romero, PJ Black
Team Filthy slid to the floor as soon as Cobb’s team entered the ring. The team strategized for a second, then pulled a Nexus, surrounding or engulfing all four corners of the ring before the bell. Remember, Rosser and Black were actually part of the original Nexus team ten years ago.
Once we heard the ding, all eight men went at it, total bedlam for a few seconds until things the ref settled things down. Cobb and Danny Limelight were in first, but Rocky Romero tagged in quickly and went after him hard, revenge for Limelight’s sneak attack on last week’s episode. Romero hung Limelight in a stalling vertical suplex, then tagged out to PJ Black and passed Limelight off mid-plex. Black then passed Limelight on to Rosser, who finally planted Limelight back first against the canvas.
The babyface team manhandled Limelight in their corner for a few minutes until Lawlor found an opening to tag Limelight out, or tag himself in, where he and Rosser then got into it. The two faced off on the last episode of NJPW Strong, as well. Lawlor landed a draping German suplex, laying Rosser out before stripping down from his regular jean shorts to his smaller, tighter battle shorts.
He then tagged out to JR Kratos, new resident monster, as he brutalized Rosser with giant hammer strikes, suplexes and elbow drops before he tagged out to submission technician Rust Taylor. He immediately went to work on Rosser’s injured arm, locking him in a leg-hammerlock.
Team Filthy continued on working over Rosser, each member tagging in and out frequently and keeping Rosser in the blue corner before Rosser escaped, finally, and tagged out to ex-Nexus partner PJ Black. Black flew around the ring and tried hard to take out the much larger Kratos, as well as most of the other team. He looks good on offense almost always, especially this year.
The babyfaces were able to gain the upper hand a few minutes later, and at one point, Romero even had the team doing Forever Clotheslines in the corner on F4W’s “Filthy” Tom. Cobb landed his signature standing moonsault for two. Limelight made an appearance and beat on Romero for a few seconds until he was chased back out of the ring. Lawlor was able to lock on a rear naked choke, then went for a suplex but Romero reversed that into a surprise cradle for two. Lawlor was able to land the exploder suplex, eventually, then locked the sleeper hold back on, putting Romero out and picking up the win for his team.
Team Filthy looked dominant here. If booked the right way, these four could become something bigger than I think anyone would expect, though that’s to be seen down the road. After all, we don’t know what the plan is for Team Filthy going into 2021.
After the match, Lawlor and his cohorts (his words) celebrated their win backstage. Lawlor said he wanted to “clear the air” and explain that Team Filthy wasn’t exactly a faction, but simply the best damn fighters on the roster who got together to help each other achieve their NJPW goals. I mean, I think technically that may be considered a faction, but hey, who am I to question “Filthy” Tom? They’re not a fight team but a “fight dream,” according to Rust Taylor.
Final thoughts:
Another solid show from the NJPW Strong crew. The first bout between Connors and Riegel was great. The tag match was really good but again, short, and that’s not necessarily bad. Think of it as a possible preview of what could become NJPW’s future prime players, depending on whether ACH, Clearwater and Quest will make it Japan next year–Juice is already part of the main mix, living overseas now.
If you’re someone who has kept up with the current crop of episodes, anything post-Lion’s Break Crown, you’ll enjoy this episode because it felt like it focused more on building deeper characters. Team Filthy could be the start of something very interesting, cool but also fresh, a “real threat” as Kratos worded it in the backstage promo. But he’s right, because one thing NJPW Strong has lacked this year is a lingering presence of threat, not just a week here and there when KENTA and Jay White are scheduled to appear.
Team Filthy could fill the void if booked properly, and so far, so good. But that all depends on what the world looks like in 2021. All in all, yet another great episode of NJPW Strong.
NJPW has announced the lineup for Friday’s NJPW Strong. This week’s event is the first in a series of Road to Detonation shows.
In the main event, Jeff Cobb, Rocky Romero, PJ Black and Fred Rosser will face Team Filthy, comprised of Tom Lawlor, Rust Taylor, JR Kratos and Danny Limelight. Kratos and Taylor have aligned themselves with Lawlor, including during his NJPW Showdown match against Rosser.
Juice Robinson and ACH will tag against Adrian Quest and Jordan Clearwater. This will serve as a tune-up match for ACH before the Super-J Cup on December 12th. Clearwater is still in search of his first win on NJPW Strong.
In the opener, Clark Connors will face Logan Riegel. Connors has teamed with The DKC in taking on Logan and his brother Sterling in tag action on recent episodes of Strong. In two tag matches, the teams have traded victories.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World.
The DKC and Clark Connors defeated The Riegel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel)
Logan Riegel and Clark Connors were in first and chain wrestled for the first couple of minutes. The DKC and twin brother Sterling Riegel were next and kicked up the pace, introducing some high spots. The DKC landed a frankensteiner “outta knowhere” early on before the Riegel Twins strategically divided the ring and double-teamed DKC right up until the five-minute mark.
DKC rolled to the red corner and tagged out to a fiery Clark Connors, who lit Logan up with sharp chops in the corner before drilling him with a spear for a close two. Connors went for a Boston Crab, but Riegel reversed it and threw Connors with a slingshot German suplex before tagging out to brother Sterling, knocking DKC from the apron, preventing Connors from tagging back out. DKC eventually made the save, and he and Connors were able to pull off a springboard Doomsday Device for a near-fall.
The last moments saw Connors break up the Riegels’ finish after body-checking Sterling out of the ring. DKC returned the attack with a crucifix bomb before diving to the floor onto Logan. Connors finally locked in the crab submission and got Loganl to tap for the win. What an opener.
Rust Taylor defeated Rocky Romero via submission
Taylor went after Romero’s left arm early on. That’s been his M.O. over the past few weeks. Taylor, the submission tactician using specific body parts as targets, usually the left arm and shoulder. While he’s much taller than Romero, he “worked small,” in a smooth way so that we didn’t notice the size difference that much and gave Rocky more of a chance in the fight.
Taylor controlled most of the offense in the opening minutes. Romero eventually fired up, ripped a few strikes and spiked Taylor with a swinging DDT for a two count. Romero landed a falling knee drop from the top rope, driving his knee right into Taylor’s bicep. Romero went for Sliced Bread #2, but Taylor countered and whipped him into the ropes. Romero answered with an O’Connor roll, but Taylor reversed that with a sleeper hold on the ground. Rocky countered that into an arm lock until Taylor made his way to the ropes.
The action continued to pick up, lots of strikes and nearfalls. Romero landed Sliced Bread for a close two-count, but Taylor again transitioned to the back, grapevining Romero’s legs. He then locked Romero into an innovative-looking submission lock — a modified crucifix choke w/ leglock, something Zack Sabre would whip out in one of his matches. Rocky tapped, and Taylor won in what Kevin Kelly called an upset. Great stuff from both.
“Road to DETONATION” was announced for NJPW Strong next week.
Jeff Cobb defeated JR Kratos
The giants of Northern California finally collided on NJPW TV tonight. Cobb landed a middle dropkick early on, but Kratos later responded with an attack so quickly executed you’d think Kratos was 175 lbs, which he very much is not.
And that’s the story of the match: two monsters crashing into each other the same way the junior heavyweights do. It was a nice technical match, on par with a top-tier singles match you’d see on NJPW’s main roster.
Kratos looked dominant at times in this, especially early on, but really this was a back-and-forth dogfight from bell to bell. Cobb used a snap German suplex on Kratos late in the match, but Kratos no-sold it, forcing Cobb to sneak a schoolboy rollup pin for a surprise two-count. Cobb finally deadlifted Kratos up into a Tour of the Islands and planted him back-first to the mat for the win. This was great.
Right after the match, Rust Taylor attacked Cobb. Fred Rosser and Rocky Romero made the save. F4W’s own “Filthy” Tom Lawlor appeared to back up his fellow Team Filthy commandos. In the middle of the chaos, Danny Limelight showed up, first appearing to side with Romero. However, it was a swerve, as Limelight took out Romero with a lariat. It wasn’t clear whether or not Limelight had joined Team Filthy. PJ Black came to the ring and cleared out the ring with a steel chair.
Before the main event, they aired a really good promo package between Finlay and KENTA that was made up of recent NJPW Strong footage. There was also new interview footage between the two, both giving their thoughts on the other opponent in more of a realistic way, similar to how MMA promotions approach these segments, or how 2020 ROH might do it.
KENTA defeated David Finlay to keep the IWGP United States title briefcase
This was excellent.Finlay is definitely finding his groove as a fiery babyface. KENTA’s full-on heeling against Finlay’s accurate and compelling selling helped make the match
Slower paced from the start. Finlay looked stronger on the mat and looked to be frustrating KENTA, who had to resort to chicanery when he slid to the floor and snuck in a chairshot behind the ref’s back. This was early on in the match, so for the next chunk of the bout, KENTA tortured Finlay with hard low kicks and submission holds. He looked to squeeze Finlay blue with a crossface until Finlay made it to the bottom rope for a break.
KENTA shut Finlay down again minutes later, putting him out with a draping DDT, but not before telling off the referee. Finlay tried firing up again, but KENTA shut it down quickly. He landed a running boot in the corner, but Finlay powered up again and answered with an immediate back elbow in the opposite corner.
Moments later, KENTA threw the referee in front of Finlay, so the referee was KO’d on the apron. KENTA grabbed his red attaché case and went to smash Finlay with it, but Finlay countered and took him out with a stunner…but there was no ref. KENTA landed a low blow just before the referee revived himself, but it wasn’t enough to put Finlay down for three. It took KENTA landing the Go 2 Sleep to put him out.
Afterwards, KENTA told Finlay in a post-match promo: “You’re not on my level.”
Final thoughts: I think the slogan for this show can be “NJPW Strong Does No Wrong,” because I can’t think of a week this summer where they turned in a bad episode. This was a pinnacle episode for sure, with each match on tonight’s show being at least above-average, excellent at best. Pretty good ratio for one hour of wrestling.
The tag match early on was very good, but if you’ve been watching weekly, you could have guessed that one. Rust Taylor vs. Rocky Romero was good too, and if you need your technical wrestling fix for the week, this match is for you.
The last two matches are worth going out of your way to see as well. All-around solid show with a few simple, interesting angles to look forward to over the next few weeks.
First up was “Mr. No Days Off” Fred Rosser—formerly Darren Young of WWE—taking on Karl Anderson trainee Jordan Clearwater. These two complemented each other well, two solid heavyweights with a slight size disparity and similar styles in the ring; good old fashioned American heavyweight wrestling. Not much flash or martial arts influence.
Both impressed here. Clearwater landed a big neckbreaker to the floor on Rosser, but “Mr. No Days Off” later put the rookie away after a basement dropkick into Clearwater’s face, putting him down for the count.
Rosser cut a good promo afterwards, explaining that even though he can’t say much in Japanese, he’ll be able to say a lot more in the ring. Good opener.
Chase Owens defeated Danny Limelight
Limelight landed a diving frankensteiner, then a slingshot flatliner, shocking Owens and forcing him down to the floor to gather himself. Limelight kept up the pace and launched himself like a character in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater over the top rope to the floor with a corkscrew Fosbury flop.
Owens recovered quickly and went on offense from here. There was a spot they did where Owens yanked Limelight through the ropes to the floor and they landed at the same time. It looked really cool, or much cooler than my explanation.
Limelight came back at one point with a wild tight-rope walk to springboard flying double knees. Holy smokes. He used a lot of springboard action in this, taking Owens out with aerial offense and an array of kicks. In the end, Owens blocked a springboard attack from Limelight, then spiked him with the cradle piledriver for the win. Short, action-packed second match.
Owens cut a promo backstage afterwards and declared that since he’s now back in the W column, the rest of NJPW is on notice, and he specifically mentioned both Shingo Takagi and Tetsuya Naito before throwing up a “too sweet” gesture and exiting.
JR Kratos and Rust Taylor defeated Rocky Romero and Jeff Cobb
Romero and the returning Rust Taylor faced off first. They went at it for about five minutes on the mat. Taylor looked excellent. After a few minutes, Romero tagged out to Cobb. Rocky teased body slamming his partner onto Taylor, but while he struggled, Taylor rolled away and tagged out to the debuting JR Kratos.
For those who haven’t seen him before, Kratos is a wrestler from Sacramento, who has wrestled for a variety of promotions up and down the West Coast, as well as taking part in the first two of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport events.
Cobb and Kratos had a staredown that fans would have eaten up if there were any in attendance. Kratos actually made Cobb look kind of small in comparison. Kratos got the better of their initial exchanges, which led to him and Taylor working over Cobb for the next part of the match. Taylor continued working Cobb’s arm, while Kratos periodically came in to keep his team with the advantage in the match.
Kratos, who did a short tour with AJPW earlier this year before the pandemic, looked like a monster here. As he should have. He threw a giant running lariat at Cobb in the corner and he bellowed like Colossus in the X-Men arcade game while doing it. After launching Cobb with a vertical suplex and squashing him back in the corner with a Stinger Splash, Taylor tagged back in and went back after the arm.
Cobb rallied back 10 minutes into the match with a massive German suplex, rocketing Taylor across the ring. He then tagged out to Romero, who went after Taylor, though Rust laid Romero out eventually with more technical arm-centric offense at one point. He landed something I’d call a “armcracker,” where he basically did a backcracker while Rocky was in a top wristlock.
Taylor eventually tagged out to Kratos again, immediately knocking Cobb off the apron, then walked over and planted Romero with another big vertical suplex for two.
The finish saw Romero throw a last-minute flurry of strikes, then attempted Sliced Bread, but Kratos blocked it and reversed into a sitout Death Valley Driver, the same one Shinsuke Nakamura does. He then put Romero away in emphatic style with a wheelbarrow suplex that launched Romero backwards into the air. Big win for both Taylor and Kratos, the latter in his debut, nonetheless.
Kratos and Cobb jawjacked with each other in the ring afterwards. Taylor then attacked Romero, locking on a wristlock, while Kratos beat down Cobb before the show ended.
Backstage, Cobb talked about how he used to know Kratos, how they had travelled 700-800 miles up and down the road together, but now that Kratos, the former “God of War” as he was called on the West Coast indies has arrived, Cobb is now “ready for war.”
Kevin Kelly said on commentary that though some may see this as an upset, he believes we have just begun to scratch the surface with Kratos in NJPW.
Final thoughts
”Road to Showdown” turned out to be one of the best episodes of NJPW Strong to date, with the tag team main event being a must-watch match this weekend. Next week’s episode features Fred Rosser vs “Filthy“ Tom Lawlor, Juice Robinson, Brody King & Karl Fredericks vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Tonga Loa & Chase Owens) and PJ Black vs. Tama Tonga.
Fine, slow-paced match. Misterioso caught Limelight when he went for a pescado to the floor and slammed him spine-first against the ring post on the floor.
Limelight skinned the cat, pulling himself from the rope back into the ring, and on his way up caught Misterioso with a headscissors and shifted the match momentum in his direction until Misterioso caught him with the MSR back cracker to put Limelight away in just over six minutes.
Hikuleo defeated TJP
Hikuleo used his abundant size and power to ragdoll TJP around early. TJP was able to slide out of his grasp a few times, at one point applying an Muta Lock on Hikuleo briefly; later, he locked on an octopus hold, but Hikuleo again powered out, then slammed him to the mat.
TJP used a big swinging DDT to spike Hikuleo midway through the match. TJP began unloading an arsenal of aerial moves Hikuleo’s way, though the youngest son of Haku always had an answer and returned TJP’s offense with power moves. He put TJP away with a snap power slam and the Gunslinger to win in dominant fashion.
This was a good match that did a great job at establishing him as the real deal. TJP was great and Hikuleo is looking better with each match.
PJ Black defeated Alex Zayne
This match felt like something we’d see on NXT, lots of high flying spots and loads of nearfalls for a ten-minute match. Very flashy.
Black offered a handshake, but Zayne went for a roundhouse kick from the bell. Fast-paced action between the two for a few minutes until Black began to slow the pace. Black used a roundhouse kick of his own to put Zayne down, but he couldn’t pick up more than a two count. Black, frustrated, began shouting. When he came off the top, Zayne caught him with a wild spinning kick.
It was about five or six minutes into the match when the two started trading wild-looking high spots, with Zayne using what was called a ‘Crunchwrap Supreme’, a modified pumphandle bomb, at one point. After a top rope hurricanrana, and a picture-perfect moonsault press, Black went for another pin but again, only got a two count. He used a Spanish Fly from the top for another near fall.
Zayne used a shooting star kneedrop to Black, who was bent over. Alex Koslov on commentary also called this move the Crunchwrap Supreme, so I’m not sure what’s what. He put Zayne away with the Bad Habit for the win just after the ten-minute mark. Good flying match that would have been way better with a crowd, which would have ate this up, I imagine.
Jeff Cobb and David Finlay defeated Bullet Club (KENTA and Chase Owens)
This was great. Bullet Club ambushed Finlay and Cobb at the bell. They worked over Cobb for a bit until he was able to tag out to Finlay, who picked up a big win in last week’s 12-man elimination match.
Later, Owens clipped Jeff Cobb’s knee from behind and immediately tagged out to KENTA, who went right after Cobb’s knee. He and Owens switched on and off, keeping Cobb in the blue corner and always going back to the knee attacks. This more or less lasted until around five minutes into the match when Cobb was finally to tag out to Finlay.
Finlay tore through Bullet Club with a flurry of crisp offense. NJPW seems focused on rebranding him as a serious competitor, and he has looked better than ever on this show. He and KENTA were excellent together.
When Finlay tagged Cobb back in, Cobb laid in big elbows to Chase in the corner. KENTA hopped in from this point and the match began to spill out of control, bodies scattered in and outside the ring.
The last bit of this saw Finlay land a cool-looking swinging back cracker on Owens, but then Finlay ate a big high kick from KENTA. Cobb then stormed in and took KENTA out with a running lariat. He wasn’t able to make the cover, however, because he was holding his injured knee.
Owens snuck back in and blasted him with a high knee strike for a close count, but Finlay dove in to make the save. KENTA threw Finlay from the ring, leaving Owens and Cobb together inside. After a big forearm smash, Cobb planted Owens with Tour of the Islands for the emphatic win.
Final thoughts:
This was a good show with a great main event. That’s saying a lot when it’s airing during the G1 tournament, though half of the wrestlers in tonight’s match are currently in the G1, so take it for what it’s worth.
Next week’s edition of NJPW Strong: NEVER will feature Jay White vs. Rocky Romero and Brody King and Flip Gordon vs. Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa).
The participants and blocks for this year’s G1 Climax tournament has been announced.
The biggest news coming from the announcement is that several wrestlers who have been unable to travel to Japan due to COVID-19 restrictions have made it in for the tournament. The tour will be the first in months for the likes of Will Ospreay, Jeff Cobb, Jay White, KENTA, and Juice Robinson.
KENTA, Cobb, and White have been working shows for New Japan of America, namely the New Japan Strong shows that have aired over the summer.
It also cements several rematches from recent high profile feuds. EVIL and Tetsuya Naito, who just headlined Summer Struggle in Jingu, share the same block. Kazuchika Okada and Yujiro Takahashi are also in the same block and have been feuding for the last several months.
Here are the blocks and participants in this year’s tournament:
A Block:
Kota Ibushi
Tomohiro Ishii
Kazuchika Okada
Shingo Takagi
Yujiro Takahashi
Taichi
Minoru Suzuki
Jeff Cobb
Will Ospreay
Jay White
B Block:
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Hirooki Goto
Toru Yano
YOSHI-HASHI
SANADA
Tetsuya Naito
EVIL
Zack Sabre Jr.
Juice Robinson
KENTA
The G1 Climax tournament this year will start on September 19, with the finals taking place at Sumo Hall on October 18.
The full card for the second night of the Fighting Spirit Unleashed tour has been revealed.
Already announced is a match between KENTA and Jeff Cobb. KENTA’s IWGP United States title contract will be on the line. The match was set up when Cobb attacked KENTA after KENTA won the New Japan Cup USA tournament in August.
A tag team match, pitting David Finlay & PJ Black vs. The Guerillas of Destiny, has also been announced. Danny Limelight, who made his debut for NJPW of America back in July, will face Rocky Romero in a singles match.
A second tag team match was also announced, with ACH & TJP taking on the team of Logan Riegel & Adrian Quest.
The first night, which took place last week had Jay White defeating Flip Gordon in a singles match. Other results included Hikuleo defeating Brody King, Karl Fredericks defeating Misterioso, and Fred Rosser making his NJPW debut, teaming with Alex Zayne to defeat The DKC and Clark Connors.
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.
