NJPW will be airing a new show, NJPW Strong, on Friday nights starting next month.
The company made the announcement last night after uploading the latest episode of Lion’s Break Collision. No details were made concerning what kind of content will be on the program, but it will air on Friday nights at 10 p.m ET. starting on August 7 on NJPW World.
More details are expected to be announced soon, according to the short video that NJPW Global shared on social media.
During the month of July, NJPW has been airing Lion’s Break Collision on Friday evenings, which features NJPW talent from the United States. These shows were taped at the LA Dojo without a crowd due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The shows that aired over the last month built to a singles match between Karl Fredericks, who has graduated from the young lion system, and Jeff Cobb. Their match, which aired on July 24, saw Jeff Cobb pick up the victory.
Clips from last week aired at the beginning of the show, including Tom Lawlor submitting Rocky Romero in Lawlor’s debut match and Jeff Cobb ambushing Karl Fredericks after his tag team win.
Tom Lawlor defeated Alex Coughlin
Solid grappling from both in this. Lawlor is so good at adapting modern jiu-jitsu technique for pro wrestling. Coughlin looked great here too and showed more fire than usual.
Lawlor took most of the offense in this one. He slammed Coughlin with an exploder suplex midway through. Coughlin returned the offense with hard chops and elbows, but Lawlor had an answer for everything, either a counter-hold or strike. He later put down Lawlor with a bridging fall-away slam for two. About a half-minute later, Coughlin looked to lock on a Russian tie hold, but Lawlor reversed it into a brutal leg cradle pin to put Coughlin away. Good stuff.
After the match, Coughlin got in Lawlor’s face. In a backstage interview, Lawlor called Coughlin a piece of trash. “You just met your daddy tonight, young boy!” Lawlor finished by saying Coughlin got the spanking he deserved.
Misterioso defeated Danny Limelight
Quick bout. Both of these guys are talented, but the flashy aerial style they do really suffers without a crowd. There was a point in the match where Limelight did a crazy tornillo dive, but with the dubbed commentary they missed the call, and without the crowd, it was just silence for an otherwise spectacular spot. Fans would have freaked for it, I imagine. Misterioso put Limelight away with a backcracker for the win. The match clocked in at just under five minutes.
TJP & Clark Connors defeated Rust Taylor & Rocky Romero
Top-tier stuff. TJP and Rust Taylor started the match off for their teams. A knuckle-lock tie-up quickly led to a lightning-fast sequence of pinning attempts, escapes, and counter-escapes. Kevin Kelly described it as “silky smooth wrestling,” which is accurate. It was a different kind of technical wrestling match compared to Lawlor vs. Coughlin from earlier, which had more of a connection to MMA in style.
Connors and Romero charged at each other a couple minutes into the match. Connors was fiery in this, he and Rocky have great chemistry together. Connors locked Romero into a Boston crab and wouldn’t let go.
Taylor came into the ring and laid in some hard low kicks but Connors wouldn’t break the hold. “It’s like kicking a cement wall!” Kelly exclaimed. Taylor and Romero double-teamed Connors until he planted Romero with a snap powerslam out of nowhere. He tagged out to TJP who sprung into the ring with a flying forearm. Connors and TJP laid Taylor out with a beautiful doomsday blockbuster into a jackknife pinning combo for two.
Connors accidentally crashed into partner TJP, which allowed Romero to make the save. Connors quickly took Romero out with a hard spear and both spilled out onto the floor. In the ring, Taylor transitioned from a standing wrist lock into his signature Gaea lock on TJP. This guy needs to get in the ring with Zack Sabre Jr. immediately, for the sake of all New Japan fans.
Taylor went for a Brazilian kick but TJP blocked and countered with a dragon screw leg whip. He then hit Detonation on Taylor for the win. Romero and Taylor argued afterwards while TJP and Connors celebrated in the ring. Really good match.
Romero was in the middle of complaining about his month-long losing streak when Rust Taylor stormed into the frame. He shouted at Rocky and blamed him for losing. He claimed Romero left him alone with TJP and Connors, which is why they lost, according to Taylor. Romero big leagued him, calling him a chump then walked off set. Simple and effective. TJP talked about being undefeated on Collision and praised Connors in the next promo.
Jeff Cobb defeated Karl Fredericks
After three weeks of waiting, the two charged at each other as soon as the bell rang. They unloaded on each other and it was awesome. Fans would have exploded.
These two have a unique chemistry together, not all unlike Keith Lee and Dominic Dijakovic in a way. These two are built for a long rivalry.
This month’s shows have done an excellent job at developing Karl Fredericks’ persona. On commentary, Kelly and Gino Gambino described Fredericks as the “cool kid” in school, the alpha dude.
The same goes for Jeff Cobb. He was great and this, and while he usually is, he also looked more comfortable in the ring than usual, more confident, maybe. He was more emotive with his face and accentuated simple power moves, like a shoulder block or a back elbow, making them look and feel massive. He didn’t even use a suplex until towards the end of the match, when he spiked Fredericks with a swinging back suplex that made Karl look like a real life pendulum.
Cobb slowed things down halfway through, locking on a tight chin lock for a while. The two blasted each other with more hard chops and elbows. Cobb hit Fredericks so hard that his cool earring flew out of the ring.
Fredericks made a comeback, using a modified backbreaker and a hard right kick to lay Cobb out. Cobb got a bloody nose. Fredericks started firing machine gun elbows at Cobb, who was prone in the corner. Fredericks offered Cobb a back suplex of his own.
Cobb rallied back with a running uppercut. Fredericks returned the attack and locked in a Boston crab until Cobb grabbed the bottom rope for a break. The two traded more hard forearms and chops in the middle of the ring. They looked gassed.
Fredericks did a big dropkick but was a little early on the execution, so it looked funky. He did a rolling savate kick that Cobb intercepted and turned it into a snap German suplex. He went for Tour of the Islands next and almost dropped Fredericks, but saved the move, deadlifting Fredericks back up in the air and down onto the Lion Mark in the middle of the ring for the win.
Backstage, Cobb complimented Katsuyori Shibata on his training of the LA Dojo wrestlers. He said maybe he shouldn’t call Fredericks a Young Lion anymore because he’s “an alpha,” but an alpha only in his pond, not Cobb’s. He said tonight was step one and next time would be part two.
At the end of tonight’s broadcast, a new show called NJPW Strong was announced. It will air every Friday night starting August 7 on NJPW World.
Final thoughts: This is a top-shelf pro wrestling program. Tonight’s episode was the best show of the series so far. It was full of action for only one hour. The highlight was the main event, and while it wasn’t perfect, it had me looking forward to more of their matches in the future.
The show kicked off with a clip from last week’s episode of Lion’s Break Collision. They aired footage of Karl Fredericks and Jeff Cobb going at it after their tag match.
Kevin Kelly interviewed Jeff Cobb next via video call. Cobb said he didn’t really understand why Fredericks went after him but ultimately said there would be “retribution” for what happened on last week’s episode. This segment had a sporty, believable feel. It works.
Rust Taylor defeated DKC via submission
Solid match. DKC is an abbreviation of “Dylan Kyle Cox.” Rust Taylor has been in the business for sixteen years already, according to commentary. They mentioned later that Taylor was actually hand-picked to be part of the NJPW Dojo by Katsuyori Shibata. Taylor has a jiu-jitsu background as well.
Both wrestlers looked good in this, but it became a Rust Taylor showcase more than anything. The match itself was made up of impressive mat work. Taylor tapped DKC with a painful-looking hold called the Gaia Lock.
In his post-match promo, Taylor mentioned he didn’t care who he had to get through in NJPW, whether it’s Zack Sabre Jr., Okada, or even Katsuyori Shibata. He’d be a perfect match for ZSJ, so here’s hoping that happens sooner or later.
TJP defeated Danny Limelight
Really impressive match. Lots of flashy grappling between these two at the top. TJP is smoother than ever in the ring these days. We learned Danny Limelight was a former sergeant in the Marines. Limelight landed a gnarly quasi-Fosbury Flop over the top to the floor a few minutes in. TJP kept Limelight grounded with a series of non-traditional submissions. Limelight pulled off an impressive springboard flying forearm. He did some crazy rope-walking in this match.
TJP caught Limelight on the top rope and launched him off with a superplex, then floated over and spiked him with a brainbuster. He finished Limelight off with a frog splash for the win. Really good stuff for only ten minutes or so. TJP put Limelight over in his post-match promo and mentioned he would like a rematch.
Final thoughts:
This show is easy to watch. Simple structure, quality production, great action. I look forward to catching the next two episodes.
Next week on Lion’s Break Collision: Tom Lawler vs. Alex Coughlin and Misterioso vs. Danny Limelight.
NJPW has announced a new show featuring up and coming talent facing established stars starting in July.
The show will be called Lion’s Break Collision, and will start airing July 3rd at 10 pm Eastern, running at the same time WWE 205 Live airs on the WWE Network. The show is slated to air throughout the month.
The announcement noted that former MLW Heavyweight champion and radio host for this website Tom Lawlor will appear on the shows.
The card for the July 3 event will feature Alex Coughlin vs. Clark Connors and Jeff Cobb & Rocky Romero vs. TJP & Karl Fredericks. Other wrestlers scheduled to appear on the shows include Misterioso, Rust Taylor, Danny Limelight, and The DKC.
Lion’s Break is the name of shows under the NJPW banner that feature up and coming talent from NJPW’s LA Dojo. A show was slated for WrestleMania weekend featuring Hiroshi Tanahashi, The Guerillas of Destiny, and other NJPW talent, but the event was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Japan has reportedly taped matches featuring LA Dojo talent.
PWInsider is reporting that a TV taping was held Saturday called “Lion’s Break Collision”. Lion’s Break shows typically feature those training at NJPW’s LA Dojo. PWInsider listed Jeff Cobb, TJP, Rocky Romero, Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, Karl Fredericks, and Misterioso among those who worked the taping.
Another name that reportedly worked the tapings is Tom Lawlor, who is a frequent radio show guest on this website. He is also a former MLW World champion.
It isn’t known when this content will be aired. 9-10 matches were reportedly taped in front of a closed set that had social distancing requirements.
NJPW will return on Monday morning with a live show held in Japan, featuring a card that won’t be announced until start time. The New Japan Cup will be held the following day, running through July 11 at Osaka-jo Hall. The winner of the tournament will face IWGP Heavyweight and Intercontinental champion Tetsuya Naito for both titles at Dominion the following day, also at Osaka-jo Hall.
