Satoshi Kojima challenged KENTA to face him at Wrestle Kingdom 15 for the IWGP United States Championship right to challenge certificate. Kojima issued the challenge at today’s Road to Tokyo Dome event.
KENTA had been set to defend his briefcase against Juice Robinson on night one of Wrestle Kingdom on January 4th. NJPW announced today that Robinson has suffered a fractured orbital bone and will be unable to compete.
Kojima and KENTA were on opposite sides of a tag match at today’s event. KENTA and Jay White defeated Kojima and Toa Henare after White pinned Henare with a Blade Runner.
Kojima stated that after 30 years in the business, “I’m going for it,” and asked if KENTA would accept a challenge from a 50 year-old man. KENTA attempted to hit Kojima with his briefcase. Instead, Kojima ducked the shot and hit a cutter. Kojima then went for a lariat, but Jay White made the save, pulling KENTA out of the ring.
Wrestle Kingdom 15 will be held over two nights on January 4th and January 5th, 2021. Both shows will air live on NJPW World at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
Here are the current lineups:
January 4 —
IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
KENTA vs. ? for the IWGP United States Championship right to challenge certificate
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Guerillas of Destiny
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
New Japan Rambo
January 5 —
IWGP Heavyweight Championship & IWGP Intercontinental Championship: Winner of Naito-Ibushi vs. Jay White
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Hiromu-ELP winner
SANADA vs. EVIL
NEVER Openweight Championship: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championships: El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru (c)vs. Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi
Juice Robinson is off Wrestle Kingdom 15 following an injury on a recent Road to Tokyo Dome show.
NJPW’s website announced this morning that as a result of a fractured orbital bone, Robinson will not be able to compete on both this morning’s Road to Tokyo Dome event or Wrestle Kingdom 15 next month. The company had just confirmed during today’s press conference that the match was scheduled for January 4. Robinson did not attend the event due to the injury.
The company’s website stated that “further announcements on the status of KENTA’s Tokyo Dome opponent will be made in due course.”
Robinson last competed in the main event of the Road to Wrestle Kingdom card on December 22. He teamed with Kota Ibushi and SHO in a losing effort against Jay White, KENTA, and Gedo.
Robinson was originally scheduled to compete this morning in a tag match with Toa Henare, facing KENTA and Jay White. Satoshi Kojima will replace Robinson on the card.
The full cards for both nights of Wrestle Kingdom 15 have been announced.
NJPW has added a King of Pro Wrestling Ranbo that will take place on January 4. There will be 22 entrants. The final four participants will move on to January 5, where they will compete in a 4-way match. The winner of that match will be the KOPW champion to kick off 2021.The 2020 champion will be determined this morning when Bad Luck Fale and Toru Yano will face against one another in a bodyslam or last corner pad match at the final Road to Tokyo Dome event of the tour.
Additionally, based on challenges made during this week’s Road to Tokyo Dome tour, KENTA will defend his IWGP US title briefcase against Juice Robinson. That match has been made for January 4.
The full cards for Wrestle Kingdom 15 are as follows:
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
KENTA vs. Juice Robinson for the IWGP US title contract briefcase
Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Guerillas of Destiny for the IWGP Tag Team titles
Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
King of Pro Wrestling Ranbo
January 5:
Winner of Naito-Ibushi vs. Jay White for the IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental titles
Taiji Ishimori vs. Hiromu-ELP winner for the IWGP Jr. title
SANADA vs. EVIL
Shingo Takagi vs. Jeff Cobb for the NEVER Openweight title
El Desperado & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team titles
4-way match for the KOPW title
Dark match featuring Stardom talent
NJPW’s New Year Dash!! event will take place on January 6 at Tokyo Dome City Hall
KENTA will defend his right to challenge contract for the IWGP United States Championship against Juice Robinson at Wrestle Kingdom 15.
KENTA said during today’s Road to Tokyo Dome show that he accepted Robinson’s challenge for the match. Robinson proposed the bout in backstage comments after yesterday’s Road to Tokyo Dome show.
KENTA had originally stated in post-match comments both yesterday and today that he does not want the match with Robinson, and is only interested in facing the United States Champion, Jon Moxley.
KENTA clarified in his backstage promo today that he sees the match with Robinson as an opportunity to face the fans in a match, according to NJPW commentator Chris Charlton’s translation.
Moxley won the U.S. title for a second time on the first night of Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 4th of this year, beating Lance Archer. Archer had won the title after Moxley had been stripped for not being able to defend the title in 2019 due to travel issues related to a typhoon.
Moxley has managed two successful defenses during his current reign with the title. He defeated Robinson on night two of Wrestle Kingdom 14 on January 5th, then beat Minoru Suzuki at The New Beginning in Osaka on February 9th.
Moxley has not been able to defend the title since due to pandemic-related travel restrictions. Still, it is noteworthy that NJPW made the decision not to strip Moxley this time, when they stripped him under similar circumstances just last year.
Robinson is a two-time IWGP U.S. Champion himself and will now face KENTA for the right to challenge Moxley, the man who ended Robinson’s second reign with the title at the Best of the Super Jrs. 26 final in June 2019.
KENTA, Jay White and Gedo defeated Robinson, Kota Ibushi and SHO in the main event of today’s show at Korakuen Hall.
Wrestle Kingdom 15 will be held over two nights on January 4th and January 5th, 2021. Both shows will air live on NJPW World at 3 a.m. Eastern time.
Here are the lineups so far:
Unspecified night —
IWGP U.S. Championship right to challenge contract match: KENTA vs. Juice Robinson
Wrestle Kingdom 15 night one, January 4th —
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental double title match: Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Kota Ibushi
IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match: Taichi & Zack Sabre Jr. (c) vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Kazuchika Okada vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Great-O-Khan
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship number one contender’s match: Hiromu Takahashi vs. El Phantasmo
Wrestle Kingdom night two, January 5th —
IWGP Heavyweight & Intercontinental double title match: Tetsuya Naito or Kota Ibushi vs. Jay White
NEVER Openweight Championship match: Shingo Takagi (c) vs. Jeff Cobb
EVIL vs. SANADA
IWGP Jr. Heavyweight Championship match: Taiji Ishimori (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi or El Phantasmo
Rocky Romero defeated Danny Limelight via submission
The mentor-mentee program between these two has been boiling slowly over the past few months, and this seems to act as the blow-off match.
Romero went after Limelight before the bell sounded. They let their hands go early, exchanging hard open hand strikes. Romero went for his patented Forever Clotheslines in the corner early, but Limelight moved out of the way, then threw him out of the ring and started working Rocky‘s left arm. That’s been a subtle angle Romero has milked over the summer into these current episodes, the injured left arm and his opponents consistently targeting it.
Romero mounted a comeback with another lariat out of the corner, then a springboard dropkick to Limelight as he was draped over the second rope.
Limelight answered, using a front suplex off the ropes, then turning the hold into a modified key lock once they hit the mat. Romero made it to the ropes for a break. Rocky used sliced bread a for close two count.
Moments later, Romero used a falcon arrow directly into an armbar for the submission victory.
Good match. Rocky iced his arm in the ring afterwards.
Jeff Cobb defeated Rust Taylor
Rust Taylor just signed with WWE NXT. Cobb is scheduled to wrestle Shingo Takagi for the NEVER Openweight Championship at Wrestle Kingdom 15.
This started off with a bit of standing chain wrestling and some flashy stuff from Taylor. Cobb eventually out-muscled Taylor and slammed into the mat. Just before Cobb tried a standing moonsault, Taylor blocked it and locked in a modified armbar/triangle thing. Taylor continued going after Cobb’s left arm from there.
Cobb used his gachi-muchi power again, muscling out with a swinging back suplex and standing moonsault.
Taylor responded by going after Cobb’s arm once again, keeping him on the mat, neutralized. Taylor threw a flurry of European uppercuts late in this, but ultimately it wasn’t enough, as Cobb planted Taylor with Tour of the Islands just a few moments later to win this one.
Another solid match.
Fred Rosser and PJ Black defeated Team Filthy (JR Kratos & “Filthy” Tom Lawlor)
Kratos looks massive. He reminded me of Steve Williams with the red and white color scheme tonight.
Kratos and Rosser were in first, but it wasn’t long before Black had tagged in and took a beating from Team Filthy. Kratos dragged Black to his team’s corner and tagged in Lawlor, who worked Black over for a few minutes. When Black tried a leapfrog, Tom countered, locking in an ankle lock after taking Black out of the air.
Black later reversed the momentum, escaping out of Lawlor’s German suplex attempt and somehow found a way to tag out to Rosser, who proceeded to clean house. He knocked Kratos off the apron to the floor, then launched himself and Lawlor from the ring to the floor with a lariat.
Rosser then jumped off the apron, launching himself at Lawlor on the floor. Go Fred. After a few more moments of brawling and chaos outside the ring, Rosser and “Filthy” Tom threw down and had a hot exchange, the final sprint of this match.
Rosser and Black began double-teaming Kratos. Lawlor tried making the save but accidentally got knocked to the floor by his partner. That fatal flaw led to a Black landing a springboard 450 splash on Kratos for the win.
Rosser and Lawlor’s mini-feud continues on NJPW Strong continues.
KENTA defeated Brody King to retain the right to challenge for the IWGP U.S. Championship
A slick promo package aired for this beforehand.
KENTA talked trash at King when both had made it to the ring, before the match.
KENTA tried avoiding King early on, holding himself between the ropes until the much larger King would back off. King simply went to the corner and dragged KENTA back to the middle to fight. King dwarves KENTA, which made for a pretty unique visual.
KENTA threw big kicks early. King ate them without wincing, then went after KENTA. King slowed the pace and punished him with a neck lock and some hard chops.
KENTA played chickensh*t heel perfectly throughout this. He tried escaping the ring a few times until he could find King distracted enough to catch him out of nowhere, using a stun gun from the apron to the floor.
KENTA’s chicanery opened up a chance for him to step in and dictate the pace for a little while. He used dozens of low kicks and one dragon screw leg whip in an attempt at chopping King down to the mat from the bottom up.
Later, King answered back with a huge jumping lariat, but he he couldn’t make the pin because of his knee. KENTA would throw on in a figure four leglock on King, who screamed in pain before he was able to grab the ropes, forcing KENTA to break the hold.
The two were soon on the apron next, where KENTA blocked a chokeslam attempt from King, then spiked King with the “Greed Killer,” his signature draping DDT. This earned him a two-count. He and King exchanged hard strikes until King planted KENTA with a sudden black hole slam, followed up with a big piledriver for two.
KENTA blocked King’s Gonzo Bomb finisher, but accidentally shoved King into the referee in the process. The ref lay dazed in the corner while KENTA spiked King with a DDT, then went to the floor to grab his IWGP US title briefcase. He brought it into the ring and smashed King in the head with it twice.
KENTA then blasted King with a penalty kick. KENTA lifted King into a fireman’s carry, then planted a knee in his face, a picture-perfect Go2Sleep to put King away. KENTA wins, and in doing so, he keeps his right to challenge for the IWGP US title.
**********
Afterwards, KENTA grabbed a microphone and shouted “Where are you Jon Moxley? I don’t wanna waste time anymore. I’m ready to fight anytime anywhere. Jon Moxley, I’m coming for you.”
Final thoughts —
A solid episode of NJPW Strong, with KENTA and Brody King delivering what could arguably be considered as a G1-level match. This was on par with KENTA’s main events on Strong with Jeff Cobb earlier in the year.
The only real weak point in this week’s show is the fact that it looks so obviously taped, similar to what we saw in some of last week’s episode. That can’t be helped, of course, because of the nature of how things are in 2020 at the moment. That nitpick aside, this was yet one more solid hour of pro wrestling.
The subtle angles between Danny Limelight and Rocky Romero and “Filthy” Tom and Fred Rosser were interesting, but the main event between KENTA and ROH’s Brody King was the clear standout.
The winners for both the World Tag League and the Best of the Super Juniors have been decided.
Hiromu Takahashi has won the Best of the Super Juniors tournament for the second time, defeating El Desperado in the tournament finals. It was a fierce back and forth match; at one point, Desperado’s mask had been ripped so much that he took it off and continued fighting. But after two time bombs, Hiromu pinned Desperado to win the tournament.
After the match, Hiromu praised Desperado, saying there was plenty more still to come. He told Desperado that he won this time, but he will see him again.
Hiromu said that before he faces Ishimori, there is something that he needs to do. He says he wants the winner of the Super J Cup tournament that takes place this weekend.
He thanked the fans, saying he loves the Jr. heavyweight division and NJPW.
In the semi-main event, The Guerillas of Destiny defeated FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) thanks to interference from both Jado and KENTA. Jado, who was repeatedly ejected from the arena only to return anyway, distracted the referee long enough to allow KENTA to come into the ring and strike Juice Robinson with his US title contract briefcase. This allowed Tanga Loa to pin Robinson following an assisted powerbomb off the top rope.
This marks the first time the team has won the trophies. Previously, they made it to the finals in 2016, 17, and 18, but lost all three times.
NJPW has announced the full lineups for the Detonation editions of NJPW Strong, airing on December 11th and December 18th.
KENTA will defend his IWGP United States right to challenge contract against Brody King in the main event of night two. KENTA has successfully defended the right to challenge briefcase on three prior occasions this year, defeating Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jeff Cobb and David Finlay.
PJ Black and Fred Rosser vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor and JR Kratos, Jeff Cobb vs. Rust Taylor, plus Rocky Romero vs. Danny Limelight round out the night two card.
Night one’s main event will feature “Switchblade” Jay White vs. Karl Fredericks. White illegally threw Fredericks out from the elimination match main event on last week’s Strong to set up this match.
Tama Tonga vs. ACH, a six-man with Juice Robinson, David Finlay and Misterioso vs. Tanga Loa, Chase Owens and Hikuleo, plus a rubber match with Clark Connors and The DKC vs. Sterling Riegel and Logan Riegel will also take place on the 11th.
Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World and is available on demand shortly after airing.
Here are the full cards:
Detonation night one – Friday, December 11th —
Jay White vs. Karl Fredericks
Tama Tonga vs. ACH
Juice Robinson, David Finlay & Misterioso vs. Tanga Loa, Chase Owens & Hikuleo
Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Sterling Riegel & Logan Riegel
Detonation night two – Friday, December 18th —
IWGP United States right to challenge contract match: KENTA vs. Brody King
Sterling Riegel (w/ Logan Riegel) defeated The DKC (w/ Clark Connors)
These two kicked off the match with what looked more like modern jiu-jitsu than pro wrestling, really smooth chain grappling with DKC even transitioning in and out of knee-on-belly position, something rarely (if ever) seen on a Friday night pro wrestling show. Sterling Riegel, twin brother of tag partner Logan, looked excellent in this, as did DKC.
After a few more minutes of mat wrestling, Riegel landed a tope suicida to the floor onto DKC, followed up with a nice missile dropkick back inside the ring. From here, Riegel clearly had an upper hand and went after pins with more aggression. He later went for a moonsault off the top rope but DKC moved out of the way, with Riegel landing on his feet. He sold his knee like he popped it on the way down. The DKC took advantage and landed a high roundhouse kick, then followed up with karate strikes for a two-count of his own.
WIth under three minutes left to go in this ten-minute bout, Riegel went for an elbow drop off the second rope. DKC caught him as he hit the mat and locked on an armlock. He transitioned from there into a submission hold that looked like a combination between an STF and a Cobra Clutch. When DKC moved to adjust the angle of his hold, Riegel cradled him into a pin and scored the sudden three-count.
Afterwards, both Riegel Twins got into the ring when DKC started jaw-jacking after the finish. Clark Connors was in quickly to back up his recent tag partner, but things de-escalated from there. I imagine we’ll see a tag match between the four of these guys soon.
The twins celebrated Sterling’s win backstage.They said it was the first singles match Sterling had in six months, and that even though they respect both Connors and the DKC, they were simply not as good as the Riegel Twins because they’re not a “real” tag team. They told the two to bring their A-game before the end of the segment. Good opener.
Alex Zayne defeated Blake Christian
Earlier this week, WWE announced that Alex Zayne (and NJPW Strong alumni Rust Taylor) will soon report to their Performance Center.
A full on stunt show from the bell. Kevin Kelly said that these two are actually best friends outside of the ring from their time together in GCW. Christian did a tope dragonrana, though it didn’t do much damage because Zayne had Christian locked in a chinlock inside the ring 30 seconds later. Christian fired back later with kicks and a basement dropkick into Zayne’s head. It felt like I was watching this in fast-forward.
Zayne botched an attempted twisting sunset flip that looked rough. Christian’s offense is really impressive, he’s comparable to Rey Fenix, but again, there were some mistimed spots that just didn’t cut it at times, really killing the momentum. They tried hard to keep the pace at 110 miles per hour but it wasn’t sustainable and that was clear. Zayne did a shooting star knee drop on Chistian for two. He finished off best friend Christian minutes later with a pump-handle Liger Bomb. Innovative ideas in this for sure, but all around but quite bad.
After the match, Zayne said the following, literally: “I finally found my footing here in New Japan.” I’m not sure why New Japan decided to air any of this.
Brody King, David Finlay, Juice Robinson, ACH, & Karl Fredericks defeated Bullet Club (KENTA, Jay White, Tanga Loa, Tama Tonga, & Hikuleo) in an elimination match
If a wrestler was pinned, submitted or thrown over the top rope, they would be eliminated.
Brody King, who is scheduled to wrestle Rush for the ROH World Heavyweight title at Final Battle at the end of this month, and Hikuleo, the big boys of their teams, were about to kick the match off for their respective teams when Bullet Club jumped in and ambushed King. Chaos ensued from here, with all eight men going at it until the babyface team eliminated Hikuleo by dumping him over the top rope.
Whenever David Finlay and Jay White were in the ring together, they were noticeably very tight. Same for Finlay and Tama Tonga.
We are in December now and guys like KENTA and Tama Tonga have entirely different haircuts, so while this was a solid match and everything, the fact that it’s so obviously dated now cheapened this as a “new” show. It’d be nice if commentary explained the situation and not be forced to ignore the obvious.
ACH continued to impress as he has on each of his appearances on NJPW Strong. He and Jay White were impressive together for the short amount of time they wrestled each other in this match. Later, Karl Fredericks tagged in and cleaned house. He always comes off like a focal point of any of these tag matches he’s in. He almost eliminated KENTA from the match, but KENTA skinned the cat, pulled himself back into the ring, then got himself eliminated after Jay White jumped in and held the top rope down, eliminating Fredericks. On commentary, they blamed the referee for not seeing Jay White, the illegal man at the time, but then what about when the babyfaces all teamed up on Hikuleo early on?
Tama Tonga eliminated Juice Robinson by throwing him over the top rope. ACH quickly eliminated Tama Tonga, but moments later Tonga pulled ACH from the apron to the floor, eliminating him. The two went at it on the floor afterwards. Finlay eliminated Jay White next, but then Tonga Loa eliminated Finlay. Rapid fire eliminations here. King blasted Loa with a lariat, and later another one, knocking Loa to the floor and out of the match. KENTA tried sneaking up on King from behind, but the big man was too quick for that.
KENTA backed off, then slapped King in the face, followed up with a series of yakuza kicks. But it didn’t do anything to King, who spiked KENTA with a Gonzo Bomb, winning the match for his team in emphatic fashion. It sounds like he and KENTA will square off for a match in the future, possibly with KENTA’s briefcase for the IWGP US title on the line.
Final thoughts:
Not a bad show in the grand scheme of things, but definitely the weakest episode of NJPW Strong so far. The first match between the DKC and Sterling Riegel was the best match on the show, and while the elimination match was good, it isn’t unlike what we’ve seen in recent episodes. NJPW has recorded so far in advance iit shows, and that cheapens the show. The Zayne vs. Christian match was not good, but if you’re a fan of them, you’d enjoy it as Blake Christian did some amazing stuff. Still, it was very off-brand for Strong.
We also need to address Alex Koslov’s commentary. Kevin Kelly’s carry-job on announcing has been unreal. When Koslov misread Sterling Riegel’s name as “Riegel Sterling,” it didn’t sound like a joke, and if it was, it was the most apathetic delivery on NJPW World ever. Kevin Kelly swooped in and brilliantly saved his ass, blaming the flub on the fact that Koslov “speaks more than three languages”. Kozlov is clearly the weak link on the show, and it showed not even five minutes into tonight’s episode.
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.
NJPW has released the full lineups for both Showdown episodes of Strong.
KENTA will defend the IWGP United States Right to Challenge briefcase against David Finlay in the main event of New Japan Showdown night two on Friday, November 20. The bout will be a rematch of the New Japan Cup USA finals, won by KENTA on the August 21 episode of Strong.
KENTA is coming off a successful defense of the briefcase against Hiroshi Tanahashi at Power Struggle on November 7.
The November 13 main event is Tama Tonga vs. PJ Black. This will be Tonga’s first singles match since the New Japan Cup USA tournament. Tonga lost a tournament match to Finlay on the August 14 edition of Strong.
Other highlights from the cards include “Filthy” Tom Lawlor taking on Fred Rosser on night one.
NJPW Strong airs Fridays at 10 p.m. Eastern time on NJPW World.
Here are the full cards:
New Japan Showdown on NJPW Strong, Friday, November 13 —
Tama Tonga vs. PJ Black
Jay White, Tanga Loa & Chase Owens vs. Juice Robinson, Brody King & Karl Fredericks
Tom Lawlor vs. Fred Rosser
ACH & Blake Christian vs. Alex Zayne & Adrian Quest
New Japan Showdown on NJPW Strong, November 20 —
IWGP US Heavyweight Right to Challenge contract match: KENTA vs. David Finlay
Jeff Cobb vs. JR Kratos
Rocky Romero vs. Rust Taylor
Clark Connors & The DKC vs. Sterling Riegel & Logan Riegel
The Riegel Twins (Sterling & Logan Riegel) defeated Clark Connors and The DKC
Great match. This was Sterling Riegel’s NJPW Strong debut. His twin brother, Logan, took part in NJPW’s recent Lion’s Break Crown tournament. On commentary, Kevin Kelly explained that Sterling Riegel was on excursion in the U.K. earlier this year, which was why we didn’t see him on NJPW Strong earlier.
The DKC and the clean-shaven Logan Riegel (it’s the only way to tell them apart) kicked off the match. DKC is really explosive and fluid in the ring. He and Logan had a good back-and-forth on the mat early on.
Connors continuously fought off the twins’ double-team offense midway through this. He rallied back and used a pounce to send one of the Rigel twins flying, one that’d surely make Monty Brown proud. He tagged back out to the DKC later on, who grounded Sterling with a side headlock in the middle of the ring.
Sterling tagged out to brother Logan who took it to Connors, laying him out on the floor after putting him down with a pescado. He landed a slingblade on Connors for a two. Back inside the ring. They knocked each other out moments later with double-clotheslines. Sterling did a diving double stomp after leapfrogging over his brother. The DKC shot back into the ring a few seconds later and the match quickly broke down into a festival of highspots.
The DKC followed things up with a modified falcon arrow for two. Connors came in from out of nowhere and took Sterling Riegel out with a spear, but Logan was able to take Connors down with a neckbreaker drop out of the corner. DKC made the save for Connors and took both twins out with big “karate chops,” as they were called, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Riegels down for long. Moments later, with Connors still neutralized outside the ring, they put the DKC down for a three count after an assisted modified spike DDT.
All action. The Riegel brothers are excellent and I imagine they can be big players going forward. Ideal and obvious junior heavyweight tag title contenders down the road.
Karl Fredericks defeated Blake Christian
Lots of action in this even though it was just six minutes long. Fredericks landed a nice low kick early on. Blake Christian landed a tope suicida within a minute or so into this. Fredericks shifted the momentum after blasting Christian in the back with two more stiff kicks. Christian answered later with a spinning gamengiri kick and a low-angle 619 while Fredericks hung on top of the bottom rope. He later put Fredericks down for a close two-count after he used a diving double-stomp to Fredericks, who was bent over.
By the time the five-minute call sounded, the two began trading bigger moves. Christian landed a big flying knee, but Fredericks put Christian down with a spinebuster. He transitioned to a single-leg crab from here, and when Christian wouldn’t tap, Fredericks readjusted, served up a few more stiff kicks, then torqued the hold back a few more inches until Christian tapped out.
After the match, Fredericks cut a promo backstage saying that NJPW Strong was his show and that Friday nights were his nights.
Bullet Club (KENTA, Tama Tonga, Tonga Loa & Hikuleo) defeated David Finlay, PJ Black, Alex Zayne & Misterioso
Tonga Loa and PJ Black were in together first. Black challenged Loa to a knuckle-lock test of strength, so Loa played along for a second, then kicked him in the gut and gave Black a shoulder block. Black took Loa out with a sweep and a high roundhouse kick, but Tama Tonga threw a sneaky knee behind the ref’s back to slow Black’s pace down.
Black then tagged out to Misterioso, who got a few licks in before the Guerillas of Destiny started double-teaming the resident luchador. He tagged out to Zayne, who took an awesome-looking chokeslam from Hikuleo who was standing on the ring apron. Have I mentioned how huge Hikuleo is? He towers over everyone on the show weekly, aside from Brody King.
KENTA popped in for a minute and blasted Zayne with a penalty kick to Zayne’s back. He and Tama Tonga traded off working over Zayne until the rookie fired a corkscrew spin kick at KENTA, which gave him time enough to roll to the red corner and tag out to Dave Finlay. Finlay’s been booked on a hot streak on the past few episodes of Strong; His mini-feud with KENTA on recent episodes has been good stuff.
PJ Black flew in and took a few Bullet Club members out with a big flying cross body block, but once the giant Hikuleo got involved, he dictated the pace, slowing things down after planting Finlay with a big snap powerslam. Eyes on Hikuleo in 2021.
Tama Tonga had Finlay in an ankle lock when Zayne flew in and took Tonga out with a springboard dropkick. Misterioso tagged in and tried doing a Johnny B. Badd-style top rope sunset flip on Hikuleo, which didn’t work. When he went for a cross body block next, Hikuleo caught him mid-air, but Misterioso looked like a big sandbag out there which made it look like Hikuleo was unintentionally struggling. The big man made it work, though, and he, somehow, deadlifted Misterioso into the Gunslinger for the pin. It looked good in the end. Solid main event.
PJ Black and Tama Tonga jaw-jacked after the match, with Tonga shoving Black before exiting the ring. KENTA talked lots of trash at Finlay, who has been terrific at making himself unlikeable this year. The program between those two continues while Black and Tonga will have a singles match on next week’s show.
Finlay challenged KENTA after the match in a backstage interview with his friends. He urged KENTA to put his briefcase on the line in a match against him. The stipulation would be that if Finlay wins the match, he wins the briefcase.
Final thoughts:
Tonight was a really good, pretty high-energy episode of Strong. It clocked in at around 42 minutes long, and it was pretty much nonstop action from top to bottom. The first match was a barnburner of an opener, especially since most of the fellows in the match are still new faces to most of the NJPW audience. I imagine we’ll see more of the identical Riegel Twins down the line.
Karl Fredericks and Blake Christian had a heck of a six-minute match, which leads me to wonder how they’d do with double the time in their next bout. The main event was fun action, but also did a lot in the way of moving certain wrestlers to the forefront of fans’ minds’, particularly Dave Finlay, Hikuleo and Alex Zayne tonight. They’ve done a good job at establishing new faces of this experimental US brand. They’ve done it at a moderate pace, like with Finlay and KENTA, for example, where you don’t need much more context than a) Finlay’s on a roll while b) KENTA’s still in possession of the red “attaché case,” as it’s called.
On NJPW Strong: Road to New Japan Showdown next week, we’ll see Fred Rosser vs. Jordan Clearwater and Jeff Cobb and Rocky Romero vs. Rust Taylor and JR Kratos.
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).
Yuya Uemura and Yota Tsuji went to a time limit draw
Both men tried and failed to gain an upper hand in the early going, both upright and on the mat. An Uemura headlock and takedown allowed him to temporarily pull away, but Tsuji’s superior power permitted him a quick slam to reverse the match into his favor. Tsuji tried to maintain this lead with various strikes but fell victim to the headlock again.
The same gaining and loss of momentum played out once more, this time featuring a Tsuji back body drop before Uemura’s speed proved to be too much. Uemura locked in a deep Boston crab that forced Tsuji into the ropes.
Uemura then slowly tried to chop Tsuji into further weakness but was leveled with a spear. Tsuji locked in a Boston crab of his own, which after an extended struggle, forced Uemura into the ropes.
Uemura withstood Tsuji strikes and regained control with a forearm. Uemura tried two quick cradles, but was interrupted by the bell, signifying a time limit draw.
This was really strong. This was a match packed full of energy and passion, drama and theatrics.
G1 Climax 30 B Block: Hirooki Goto defeated Toru Yano
This set a record for the quickest match in G1 history.
Yano threw his towel in the face of Goto before being leveled with a lariat. Goto then folded Yano up, pinned him, and left victorious.
This match was over before it started. Goto wore a serious face of determination during his entrance that was still there during his exit.
G1 Climax 30 B Block: SANADA defeated Zack Sabre Jr.
Sabre followed the bell with a burst of energy. A scramble left both struggling for a pin in the opening minute. After they separated it was Sabre who gained control once the two met again.
Sabre worked SANADA on the mat, but SANADA trying for a pin scared Sabre back into standing. The standing only lasted long enough for Sabre to pull SANADA to the mat with an armbar. SANADA escaped the submission attempt, grabbing the arm of Sabre at the same time, but found himself in it again.
SANADA fought to his feet only to be dropped again by Sabre headscissors. SANADA worked his way free but Sabre immediately exited the ring, extinguishing any SANADA momentum.
Once the match continued, a test of strength led into Sabre strikes and a SANADA dropkick. Sabre again retreated to the outside.
While outside, Sabre was joined by SANADA who was stretched for his trouble. Once back in, Sabre tried to twist his leg to torque the arm of SANADA but fell after putting weight on his taped appendage. A SANADA dragon screw to the target leg made it clear Sabre was still hurting.
Sabre landed a few kicks but found himself tied up in the dragon sleeper. Sabre rolled free which triggered a sequence of pin attempts. SANADA was able to place Sabre in dragon sleeper position, land a rope assisted DDT, and connect with a moonsault.
SANADA then pinned Sabre, clean in the middle.
This match was good enough but at no point felt great. The technical displays from Sabre were par for the course, there was not enough emotion to make them anything more.
G1 Climax 30 B Block: EVIL defeated Juice Robinson
EVIL jumped an unsuspecting Robinson as soon as the bell sounded. Robinson fought free and landed a crossbody which he followed with a sequence of chops. Dick Togo grabbed the leg of Robinson to prevent any further offense. EVIL then distracted the referee, allowing Togo to beat down Robinson with no repercussion.
After Robinson was driven into the barricade EVIL traveled to the outside himself, creating a platter of chairs that he drove Robinson’s back into.
Back in the ring, EVIL locked in a single-leg Boston crab which left Robinson’s back in worse shape. Robinson tried to show signs of life but found himself falling victim to more of EVIL’s shenanigans. An eye rake and an unprotected turnbuckle shot allowed Robinson to fall further behind.
EVIL was caught by a Robinson kick on a rebound. Robinson unloaded strikes on EVIL before landing a huge spinebuster. Togo was also taken out by a Robinson crossbody leaving Robinson alone with EVIL.
A cannonball and a crossbody left Robinson with a near fall. EVIL freed himself from a full nelson and, with unwilling aid from the referee, landed a kick. EVIL was unable to follow up as Robinson avoided his attempt at a senton. Robinson lifted EVIL to the top rope and connected with a huge suplex.
Robinson was interrupted by the chair of Togo.
EVIL landed a lariat and a powerbomb once back in the driver’s seat. Robinson continued to struggle against EVIL’s advances, landing a big right hand.
The camera pulled away, revealing Togo distracting the referee. EVIL landed a low blow, Everything is EVIL, and pinned Robinson.
This match was hurt by the constant interference. Robinson, try as he may, couldn’t save a match stranded in Togo land.
G1 Climax 30 B Block: Tetsuya Naito defeated YOSHI-HASHI
YOSHI-HASHI gained early control on the mat but this was short-lived. A calm Naito taunted him in his typical fashion. YH landed a shoulder tackle and a rana, which left Naito on the outside. YH’s followup in the ring was over in moments. Naito landed an atomic drop and neckbreaker, his first display of offense thus far. Naito at this point had an extended offensive stint.
YH fought free with a float-over neckbreaker after a failed attempt at a Naito Destino. YH connected with a dropkick that sent Naito crashing to the outside. YH followed up with a diving somersault senton. YH’s offense was temporarily stopped after Naito turned a powerbomb attempt into a rana. YH’s grit pulled through as he landed the powerbomb after Naito ascended to the top rope.
Naito connected with a DDT to regain his footing. A knee to the back, Gloria, and a spinebuster followed. YH reversed a lariat attempt to reset the match.
A strike exchange allowed YH to pull ahead. YH drove the head of Naito into the mat and locked in a sleeper. From the sleeper, YH connected with a backbreaker and locked in the butterfly lock. Naito was in the hold for a long time before finding the bottom rope.
Once standing, Naito connected with multiple elbows to the head but was caught, by a YH headbutt. A dragon suplex and a lariat left YH with a near fall. YH hoisted Naito up, only for Naito to fall into a partial Destino. Naito tried for a second but YH connected with a bunker buster. The near fall that followed was exquisite.
Once standing, Naito hit a surprise enzuigiri. Naito had a short show of offense before landing Destino for the pinfall victory.
This match had me bite on a YH near fall over the double champion. Naito’s lack of credibility paid to YH nearly and believably led to a career-defining upset. Instead, we had a match that was way better than what could be expected.
G1 Climax 30 B Block: Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated KENTA
A collar-and-elbow tie-up in the opening sequence allowed KENTA to mess up the beautiful hair of Tanahashi and escape to the outside. Tanahashi interrupted the games of KENTA with a dropkick before dragging him back between the ropes.
KENTA turned his attention to the leg of Tanahashi with a chop block, boots, and a pair of slammings into the ring post. Tanahashi was held down by his leg in the middle of the ring before struggling into the bottom rope. A figure four from KENTA resulted in the same.
KENTA took the action outside where he drove the leg into the barricade. Back inside, KENTA delivered more of the same. Tanahashi, with pain across his face, began to fight to a standing position. Tanahashi would then land a dragon screw and a sunset flip, but a quick powerslam allowed KENTA to continue his offense.
KENTA locked in the figure four again. After Tanahashi found the bottom rope, an apron struggle would determine the next phase of momentum. Tanahashi was beating KENTA down when he was interrupted by a dropkick to his knee. Still on the apron, KENTA landed a leg whip, leaving Tanahashi stranded on the outside. Tanahashi just barely beat the referee’s count to return to the ring.
KENTA landed a double foot stomp that nearly scored the fall. KENTA locked in the figure four again. This time Tanahashi took to slapping at his opponent. KENTA became irate, dropped the hold, and hit forearms from full mount.
KENTA lifted Tanahashi to his feet and hit the ropes. Tanahashi caught KENTA on the rebound with a slingblade, resetting the match.
KENTA and Tanahashi began trading strikes. Tanahashi hit a dragon screw into the ropes. Another dragon screw, a cloverleaf, and a dropkick left Tanahashi ahead for the first time.
KENTA stopped Tanahashi by throwing him into the referee. With Tanahashi laying on top of the referee KENTA landed a splash. KENTA grabbed his briefcase and flattened Tanahashi. A drive-by kick and a running knee from KENTA landed just as the referee returned to consciousness. Tanahashi kicked out the pin attempt that followed.
KENTA began to strike Tanahashi before turning to the GTS. Tanahashi slipped free from the finish and landed a neck whip. Tanahashi connected with a sling blade before climbing for High Fly Flow.
Instead of trying for a pin on KENTA, Tanahashi locked in the cloverleaf submission in the middle of the ring. KENTA tapped out moments later.
This was a great outing from both men that played entirely to their strengths. KENTA was the perfect foe for the undeniable hero, Hiroshi Tanahashi. A fantastic way to close the show.
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.
