I get Fumi Saito’s thoughts on Kazuchika Okada leaving New Japan Pro Wrestling and he offered his insight on the dynamics and relationships behind the scenes in the company and speculates on the future of “The Rainmaker.”
Also, who can step up and fill the void left by his absence?
We then remember Fumi’s friend Killer Khan. We go from Khan’s start in sumo, how he got his name, breaking Andre The Giant’s leg, his relationships with Hulk Hogan and Riki Choshu, and much more.
The Pacific Rim Pro Wrestling Podcast is back with a look at the life of Adrian Adonis from a unique perspective: his friendship with co-host Fumi Saito.
Website subscribers can listen by scrolling down.
Fumi talks about how they met in the AWA, Adonis’ success in Japan and the last trip to Tokyo where Adonis told Fumi he was getting back into shape for a comeback, just weeks before his tragic death. Plus, we discuss how this very podcast helped Adonis’ oldest daughter learn about her father.
Also, we remember Shinya Hashimoto, one of NJPW’s original “Three Musketeers,” Kiyoko Kimura, and the new Japanese wrestling promotions coming to the United States.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor appeared at the top of the show, interrupting announcers Kevin Kelly & Ale Koslov. He, Danny Limelight & Bobby Fish would take on Homicide, Eddie Kingston and David Finlay in a six-man tag later in the show. He complained about Homicide and the fact that he’s just a street fighter who doesn’t have balls. He’d go on to challenge Homicide to a “Filthy Rules” no-disqualification match at Battle in the Valley on February 17th.
Mascara Dorada defeated Che Cabrera
Good opener. Dorado wore new sci-fi-looking shoulderpads to the ring. He did some of his signature rope-running springboard attacks early. Cabrera, who looks a lot like Jim Powers, was solid in this as well. He laid Dorada out with a neck screw off the ropes. Dorada would go on to win the match with a rope-walk springboard elbow drop.
Homicide, Eddie Kingston & David Finlay defeated Bobby Fish, “Filthy” Tom Lawlor & Danny Limelight
Finlay and Fish started things off for their teams. Good matchup. Later, Eddie Kingston threw a chair in the ring while Team Filthy was posing. There was some chaos outside the ring, with Kingston, Limelight and the ring bell all a part of it. Kingston and Homicide made the match feel like anything could happen during it.
Kingston was officially back in the match later on and chopped up both Lawlor and Limelight in the corner. He’d use a nodowa-otoshi chokeslam followed by a stretch plum submission—The Royal Road Combo.
Lawlor responded later with a big Takeshi Rikio-style uranage. Finlay took Limelight out at the end with a perfect Trash Panda, where Danny Limelight’s headband flew off when he hit the mat. Good stuff.
Fish went after Finlay just after the three-count.
Team Filthy took it to Finlay until Kingston and Homicide were in the ring with chairs. Fans were really hot for Kingston and chanted “EDD-IE! EDD-IE!” over and over.
Jay White rolled into the ring while Kingston’s back was still turned, but Kingston quickly noticed and raised a chair at him. White backed off and rolled out of the ring. He then unfolded a chair and told Kingston he was using a chair “how it’s supposed to be used.” and sat down onto it.
White jaw-jacked a bit until giving Kingston the mic. Kingston insisted that White back up his talk of being the best in NJPW and the father of NJPW Strong and fight Kingston, right there. White declined and attempted to leave. Kingston then mentioned Battle in the Valley as a possible date for a match, and White eventually agreed. He said it was still “his era.” It is now official that the two will square off on February 17 in San Jose at NJPW’s Battle in the Valley.
Jeff Cobb defeated Bad Dude Tito
This was pretty much everything you’d want from these two in a match that had to be under ten minutes. Big guys doing wild big guy stuff. They traded shoulder blocks early on, a lot of them. Cobb would finally take Tito down with a jumping shoulder block.
Tito hoisted Cobb with a Blue Thunder bomb. Cobb did a Swing Cycle spinning backdrop suplex and followed it with a standing moonsault. He’d eventually put Tito away with the Tour of the Islands.
Final thoughts:
Good episode with two official announcements for Battle in the Valley in Kingston vs. White and Tom Lawlor vs. Homicide in a Filthy Rules match. The six-man tag was a good brawl and the final match was solid and will probably be better next time.
Tonight saw the final set of matches from the NJPW Strong: Nemesis taping in Hollywood, California.
While Ian Riccaboni and Alex Koslov ran down tonight’s lineup at the top of the show, Christopher Daniels showed up as he was scheduled to face The DKC on tonight’s episode. Daniels told the announce team that he didn’t need any friends at the LA Dojo and didn’t care that everyone was upset with his recent actions toward members of the LA Dojo.
He then addressed DKC, saying that the Young Lion would finally be in the ring with someone who could teach him something, though the sad part would be that DKC would also learn how little he truly knows. After saying “class is in session,” Daniels then put his shades back on and walked away.
Kenny King defeated Gregory Sharpe
This was a good opener. Sharpe has appeared on recent episodes of Strong and often teams with Jakob Austin Young. King and Sharpe locked up early, but King quickly rolled out onto the apron and did the lackadaisical Los Ingobernables pose, just like his teammate Rush in La Faccion.
Later, Sharpe hit a really nice diving bodypress off the top rope for two. When Sharpe would attempt another aerial attack from the top, King threw a short dropkick to the ropes, wobbling Sharpe off balance causing him to slip and fall. King looked to the crowd and pointed to his head, the universal wrestling gesture for “I’m smart.” King hit a vertical suplex and floated over immediately to follow up with some ground and pound which was nice.
Sharpe came back with a pounce, but instead of shoulder tackling King, he threw a dropkick instead. (Pounce kick?) He then put Sharpe down with a German suplex for a count of two.
King answered with a release Dragon Suplex followed by a capoeira-style kick to Sharpe’s head followed by a nice standing spinebuster for a two count.
When King went to the top for an attack, Sharpe ran up the ropes and gutwrench superplexed King back into the ring. He landed a short, but sharp, running basement dropkick for a close near fall. King would finally put Sharpe away with a picture-perfect Royal Flush for the win. Again, this was a solid opener where both King and Sharpe looked good.
Christopher Daniels defeated The DKC
The DKC was defending the honor of the LA Dojo and was fired up as he waited for the bell to ring. Daniels gestured for DKC to calm down. They would lock up and trade a few holds before Daniels took DKC to the mat and slapped him in the back of the head with no respect whatsoever for the Young Lion.
One of Daniels’ most impressive skills is to take a fairly conservative or fundamental wrestling sequence and make it look not only compelling and smooth, but also completely in his style. The subtle technique he uses is as masterful as it is invisible.
He took DKC down hard with an exploder suplex for two. He would use a few hurricanranas to counter back with, the second one coming off the top rope. He then hit a somersault dive right onto Daniels after coming off the ropes. I don’t believe I’ve seen someone do that in the ring before. He then did DKC FIRE, where he laid Daniels across his knee and proceeded to give him multiple knife-edged chops into the neck. He slammed Daniels to the mat and dropped one more falling chop onto him before taking him out with a diving single-leg “Liu Kang” kick.
When DKC went back to the ropes for another flying attack, Daniels knocked him off. He then landed the double-jump moonsault to score the victory.
Afterwards, he gave The DKC a piledriver for good measure, got in his face, and talked some more smack before leaving. The crowd started chanting “One more time!” at Daniels after the piledriver. It’s weird that Daniels would literally tell off the crowd during the match and still treated him as a babyface.
Tama Tonga, Hikuleo, David Finlay & Alan Angels defeated Bullet Club (Jay White & El Phantasmo) & West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson w/ Bobby Fish)
This was your typical fast-paced, all-action NJPW multi-man tag match. The Bullet Club guys got star treatment from the crowd. White & Tonga looked good together when they were in. WCWC was able to show off a lot of cool double-team spots. Finlay & Angels looked great. Hikuleo put El Phantasmo down with a massive chokeslam. Phantasmo did a lot of his goofing off spots. He did the cartwheel back rake he does in most of his matches which Riccaboni called a “dermal strike.” Tama Tonga would pick up the win for his team after taking Jorel Nelson out with a Gun Stun for the win.
Final thoughts:
This was a solid and kind of eclectic episode of Strong. The more I see Gregory Sharpe on the show, the more I enjoy him and imagine he has tons of potential. Christopher Daniels working with top rookies has also become one of my favorite things to keep tabs on. He’s masterful and he knows how to make younger wrestlers feel important and interesting, but in an organic way, not at all forced. Credit to both he and DKC.
The main event was good too, though if you watch the show regularly, you knew what to expect. I thought the most interesting takeaway was how good White & Tonga looked together in the ring during the match and wonder if we’ll see another match between them next year.
Next week kicks off NJPW’s last set of tapings for the year at Nemesis in Hollywood, California.
Tonight’s episode of NJPW Strong saw the last set of New Japan’s Autumn Action tour tapings from Las Vegas, Nevada. This week had a nice variety of styles packed into this 55-minute episode.
Ari Daivari defeated Kevin Knight
This was a good opener. Daivari (fka Ariya Daivari) appeared at the top of the show with announcers Ian Riccaboni & Alex Koslov, bragging about coming into his trust fund recently and explaining that he is scouting for new talent to recruit into his Trustbusters group in AEW.
Daivari plays the classic heel role better than anyone else who has come through NJPW Strong in recent years. He’s not reinventing the wheel, but his timing and delivery in the ring plus his relentless dickishness toward the crowd played perfectly. Knight was just the right type of high impact aerial babyface Daivari needed to create a nicely balanced dynamic.
The crowd was enthusiastic in getting behind Knight, and loud and boisterous whenever Daivari insulted them or did something that went against the rules.
Knight is pretty brilliant as a flyer. I continue to believe he has the highest vertical leap dropkick in the business at the moment. He also landed an impressive springboard bodypress and a leg lariat that had such hangtime it made Knight look like he hung in the air for a split second. You can bet the house on this guy.
Toward the end of this, Daivari went to the floor to grab the ring bell, presumably to smash Knight in the face. The referee immediately ripped it from Daivari’s hands and handed it back to the ring announcer. Daivari then whipped Knight into the corner and almost crashed into the referee, but Knight stopped himself last second.
The ref ducked, so no contact was made. When the ref wasn’t looking, though, still crouched in a defensive position, Daivari “trust busted” Knight’s nether regions and scored a pinfall victory after the referee missed the low blow.
Alex Zayne & Mistico defeated Blake Christian & Mascara Dorada
Mistico and Dorada had a fast, flashy exchange before Christian and Zayne had an even flashier and more hard-hitting exchange. Christian landed a handspring tumbleweed kick and a springboard lariat on Zayne who answered back with a basement dropkick to Christian’s back.
Mistico tagged in and peppered Christian with stomps before catching him with a low superkick while Christian was seated in the corner. Dorada tagged in later and came off the top with a diving hurricanrana that Riccaboni called smooth as butter which was absolutely the right call.
Dorada’s silky smooth way of moving around the ring is distinct and very easy to notice. He quickly hopped back onto the second rope, almost tap dancing from one side to the other, before flying back off with another diving hurricanrana that sent Mistico to the floor. Within seconds, Dorada crashed onto Mistico with a tope con giro.
Back in the ring, Dorada traded a springboard splash for a Mistico springboard bodypress. Both tagged out, leading to Christian landing a springboard 450 splash onto Zayne. He landed a rolling cutter before going to the top, but Mistico would catch Christian on the top rope Spanish Fly for the win.
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“They’ll all bend a knee to the K-I-N-G.”
Impact Wrestling’s Kenny King appeared in a backstage vignette, saying he was going to bring “pizazz, flash and style” to NJPW Strong and that he’ll take on anyone in New Japan, be it someone from the LA Dojo or one of NJPW’s top stars.
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Tomohiro Ishii defeated Tom Lawlor
This was the first bout ever between these two.
Former Strong Openweight champion Lawlor went in on for a double-leg takedown, but “Tom” Ishii dropped his weight across Lawlor’s back with a heavy sprawl, then locked on a waistlock from behind. Lawlor used a Kimura grip to break the hold, and the two traded standing switches before they were forced to break when they were on the ropes.
Lawlor and Ishii next had a contest of wills via Greco-Roman knuckle lock, testing each other’s upper-body strength. The smaller, more compact Ishii would slam his chest into Lawlor, taking him to his knees. Lawlor broke the hold with a boot to the stomach. He tried knocking Ishii off his feet with a running shoulder block and another takedown attempt, but the “Stone Pitbull” wouldn’t budge. They traded hard forearm shots next with Ishii ordering Lawlor to come at him harder and harder.
Lawlor locked on an achilles hold momentarily, neutralizing Ishii to the mat. He caught Ishii with a few hard low kicks to the back. This seemed to have charged Ishii up, because he responded immediately with a vertical suplex. He caught Lawlor with a quarter-side suplex next.
The two traded even more shots in the corner, primarily chops (legal) and closed fist jabs (illegal). Ishii exploded from the corner to catch Lawlor with a big lariat, again shifting the momentum of the match.
When Ishii attempted a superplex from the top rope, Lawlor slipped out of Ishii’s grasp and planted him with a one-armed uranage slam. He blasted Ishii with running knees and elbows and went for a tornado guillotine choke, but Ishii blocked it and set him atop the ropes again, catching Lawlor with a jumping vertical headbutt before finally sticking the superplex he initially went for. Ishii earned a close near fall from this.
Lawlor responded with a flurry of rolling elbows with the last one connecting against the back of Ishii’s head. Lawlor went for an Inoki-esque enzuigiri kick but Ishii blocked it with his forearm, then dashing at Lawlor with a basement lariat. Lawlor ducked out of the way, then quickly locked him into a stretch muffler submission. Lawlor would transition to a standing sleeper before spiking him with a TTD for two.
When Lawlor went for a penalty kick, Ishii caught it and stood up. Lawlor then caught Ishii with the aforementioned Inoki-esque enzuigiri to the back of Ishii’s head, taking him back to his knees. “Filthy” Tom fired up and went for a wrist-clutch knee strike, but Ishii blocked that, launching Lawlor with a release German suplex.
They traded even more elbows with each other. Just before the 15-minute call sounded, Ishii was able to lay Lawlor out with a big power bomb. When Ishii came running out of the corner with a lariat, Lawlor caught him mid-stride and threw him with an exploder suplex. Ishii ate the pain, clenched his fist and shouted in the air before turning Lawlor inside out with a running Riki lariat and pinning him.
Final thoughts:
The opener was short & sweet and offered a nice dose of “orthodox” North American-style pro wrestling. The tag team match had enough aerial action for an entire show, and it felt like a quick breath of air before the main event — a fantastic 15+ minute brawl between two tough guys.
If you can only watch just one match from tonight’s episode, the main event is worth your time, especially if you enjoyed Ishii vs. Ren Narita from earlier in the week.
Tonight saw the next set of matches from NJPW Strong’s Autumn Attack tapings in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ian Riccaboni and Alex Koslov were running down tonight’s card when Young Lion Kevin Knight appeared, albeit briefly. He wanted to let both STRONG Tag Team champions Aussie Open and Team Filthy know that he was going to be scouting their match tonight, because Knight and his tag team partner, The DKC, are looking to challenge for the tag titles in the near future.
Doc Gallows defeated Che Cabrera
“Wild Rhino” Clark Connors was on commentary for a few of tonight’s matches.
Cabrera’s nickname is “Latino Meat” and the crowd sounded to have had a good time chanting “Beat That Meat!” at Gallows, who pinned Cabrera in a little over five minutes with an Anarchy Suplex.
STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship match: Aussie Open (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) (c) defeated Team Filthy (JR Kratos & Danny Limelight)
This was really good.
When Kratos and Davis were in together early on, we had a mini-hoss battle on our hands. Davis is deceptively big and is about the same height as Kratos, actually. They crashed into each other with shoulder blocks. Team Filthy later stood over Davis and posed with “The Filthy Flex.”
Kratos later held Fletcher in a stalling suplex before slamming him into the mat. Limelight tagged in and worked Fletcher over for a bit, at one point connecting with a flying lariat into the corner.
Davis and Kratos went at it again later in the match. Both traded forearms and palm strikes. Kratos tossed Davis with a big release German suplex; Davis answered back with a flying harpoon elbow smash in the corner to a seated Kratos.
Aussie Open attempted to hoist Kratos up for Coriolis, their double-team finisher, but they weren’t able to get Kratos in the air. Limelight broke up the hold, and Kratos connected with a jumping back enzuigiri to Davis’ head. Limelight then bounced off the middle rope and caught Fletcher with a springboard Canadian Destroyer, or the Puerto Rican Destroyer, as Riccaboni called it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one before, it looked wild. Kratos immediately dashed off the apron onto the floor, somersaulting onto Davis. We’ll call this spot the “Liger XXL.”
Limelight landed a frog splash back in the ring but only scored a count of two. The crowd ate this up and were chanting “This-is-awe-some!” by this point in the match.
Fletcher took Limelight out with a 360 tombstone piledriver. Aussie Open then used a creative double-team power offense to neutralize Kratos. Davis & Fletcher then locked the double-pumphandle clutch on Limelight and finally put him away with Coriolis; Aussie Open retains. Again, really good stuff from both teams.
STRONG Openweight Championship match: Fred Rosser (c) and Chris Dickinson wrestled to a count-out
Rosser was fired up before the match got underway. He even attacked Dickinson before the bell rang while he was still wearing his STRONG Openweight championship belt. Dickinson was able to throw Rosser with a release German suplex, which halted Rosser’s sudden onslaught. Dickinson was away from NJPW for a few months and is now a bitter, nasty heel, which turned out to be the perfect complement to Rosser’s no-BS-tough-guy approach. Dickinson paintbrushed Rosser’s head while he was down and smack-talked him as he tried getting up. Dickinson threw a hard kick into Rosser’s chest; Rosser ate it and went back for seconds. He threw elbows from the right and left side. He finally took Dickinson down with a running shoulder tackle.
Rosser tried backdropping Dickinson onto the apron, but Dickinson blocked the move, then caught Rosser with a running, diving lariat from the apron onto the floor.
Back in the ring, Rosser slapped on the cross-face chicken wing, but Dickinson countered it with a backdrop suplex. Dickinson connected with a big axe bomber for another two.
Rosser would answer back later with a running powerslam from out of the corner, reminiscent of the late, great Davey Boy Smith’s finish. He tried locking in the chicken wing STF next, the submission hold that won him the title from “Filthy” Tom Lawlor, but he couldn’t fully clamp down on it. Dickinson was able to inch his way to the bottom rope for a break.
Rosser returned to the ring apron and dropped Dickinson back-first onto it. Dickinson fought through the pain, flipped Rosser the double bird, kicked him in the chest, then took him over the guardrail with a big lariat. The two landed in the front row on the side of the commentator’s table.
Both collected themselves after a few moments, though it was Rosser who’d be back on the attack first; he put his arms through the guardrail and grabbed Dickinson by the face and began yanking on it. Bar room brawl stuff. He landed more shots with Dickinson still against the guard, proof that the champ is willing to “go there” regardless of his opponent. Both men prevented one another from re-entering the ring, eventually causing the referee to call for a twenty count and ending the match via double count out. The crowd let out a loud “Boooo!”
The two continued going at it at ringside, enough that the ring staff had to break the two up. Rosser tried strangling Dickinson with a green video cable. Dickinson attempted to grab Rosser’s title belt. Ring security would pull them apart, but they’d go right back at it a number of times. Rosser went back into the ring to pose for the crowd, but again Dickinson went after Rosser. He even looked to have bit Rosser’s leg or boot while the two were being pulled apart.
This was great. It was short, but that’s fine because these two are clearly building to a rematch. Both Rosser and Dickinson have distinct kinds of charisma and powerful presences. They could end up being perfect rivals down the road.
Final thoughts:
This was one of the better episodes of Strong in a few weeks. Both title matches are well worth going out of your way to see this week.
Next week sees Rocky Romero vs. Shingo Takagi in the main event.
Ren Narita and Chris Dickinson went to a time limit draw (15:00)
The crowd chanted “Welcome back!” at Dickinson, who was returning to the ring after an injury at Battle in the Valley in November last year.
Narita and Dickinson grappled in the center of the ring early on. Dickinson went for a double wrist lock but Narita countered and applied one of his own. Dickinson made it to the ropes for a break. They’d trade hard slaps later. Dickinson hit a suplex with a float-over lateral press for two. He used a front suplex on Narita next.
This was a slower paced match. The two would eventually end up trading holds on the mat again, Dickinson mostly with the advantage, holding Narita in top position.
Narita unloaded a flurry of kicks. Dickinson responded with hard chops in the blue corner. He used a shoulder lock on Narita until Narita grabbed the ropes for a break.
From here, Narita would maintain the advantage on offense for a bit. He tied Dickinson into a figure-four leglock until Dickinson broke the hold when he made it to the ropes. Narita continued laying in hard front kicks into Dickinson’s chest. Dickinson then threw hard chops of his own. He took Narita down with a go-behind ankle pick, then slammed Narita back down with a German suplex. The ring announcer made a “two minutes left” call while both were flat on the mat. Once the ring announcer made that call, I got the feeling combined with the overall slower pace of this match that we were getting a draw.
Dickinson drilled Narita with a vertical drop brainbuster for two. He locked in an STF, but Narita made it to the ropes. Narita countered with a sleeper into a cobra twist, but Dickinson hip-tossed him off. Thirty seconds left. Dickinson threw a few hard kicks. Narita caught one. 15 seconds left. Narita locked Dickinson in the cobra twist again, but the time limit was up: Narita and Dickinson wrestled to a time limit draw.
LA Dojo (Clark Connors and Karl Fredericks) with Yuya Uemura defeated The Factory (Aaron Solow and Nick Comoroto) with QT Marshall
Fans booed the hell out of the Factory. QT Marshall kept interfering. Solo used a quick rollup on Fredericks early. Connors and Comoroto jaw-jacked at each other next. Comoroto tried rag-dolling Connors, but Connors was able to take the larger man down with a shoulder block. Comoroto responded, slamming Connors in the center of the ring before working him over in the corner. QT Marshall would sporadically interfere and help work Connors over. Comoroto used a slingshot elbow on Connors, launching himself over the top rope and into the ring before pressing Connors over his head a few times. Connors broke things up and was eventually able to make it to the red corner to tag Fredericks back in. He landed a Stinger splash on Solo in the corner. Marshall laid out Fredericks while he was on the floor behind the ref’s back. The Factory scored a close two before Connors broke up the pin.
Connors and Solo traded elbows before Connors laid Solo out with a snap powerslam. Marshall stood on the apron and started shouting, but Yuya Uemura appeared and dragged him from the apron to the floor. The crowd enjoyed that. Fredericks reappeared and landed with a plancha from the ring. Connors in the ring used a spear and a spinning blue thunder bomb on Solow for the win.
Afterwards, QT Marshall got on the mic. The crowd chanted “shut the f*ck up.” On the broadcast, Marshall’s dialogue was almost inaudible because the crowd was so loud in drowning Marshall out. The crowd started chanting “asshole” at him. Marshall challenged Fredericks to a singles match at NJPW’s Philadelphia show. Fredericks grabbed the mic and asked the crowd if they wanted to see him beat Marshall’s ass in Philly. The crowd obliged.
United Empire (Great O-Khan, Aaron Henare & TJP) defeated Brody King, Taylor Rust & Mascara Dorada
O-Khan was pretty popular with the Hollywood crowd. Dorada was as well and got a nice response when they announced his name before the match got underway.
Taylor Rust and Aaaron Henare were in first. This was Henare’s NJPW Strong debut. Rust caught Henare with a high dropkick before Dorada and TJP were tagged in. They had a fast exchange, trading chops and headscissors. TJP raked at Dorada’s mask, trying to rip it off. The crowd did not approve.
The other four in the match started brawling at ringside while Dorada and TJP kept it going inside the ring. O-Khan came off the apron with a double ax-handle before back in the ring. He tagged in and sat on Dorada’s head while he was in the corner, shoving his ass into the back of Dorada’s head as he posed with his arms crossed.
TJP continued working over Dorada, dropping a knee at one point. He kept ripping at Dorada’s mask. Dorada was able to walk the ropes and take TJP out with a no-hands springboard dropkick before tagging out to King, who went wild on United Empire. King and O-Khan got into it next. They’re roughly the same size, which made for a good visual. King took out both O-Khan and Henare with a double lariat.
O-Khan locked the Claw onto King before Dorada appeared to break it up. Rust tried locking TJP in an ankle lock, but Henare broke it up, so Rust locked Henare in a modified Rings of Saturn-type stretch. TJP broke that up. Henare landed a spinning sit-out sidewalk slam on Rust, setting Rust up for TJP’s Mamba Splash off the top rope, but only got two before Dorada broke the pin.
When Mascara Dorada went for a dive to the floor, he accidentally crashed into his partner, King. TJP followed up with a dive of his own onto Dorada. In the ring, O-Khan and Henare did a double-team fireman’s carry-swinging neckbreaker type maneuver that didn’t look so hot, pinning Rust to win the match.
United Empire continued going after their opponents after the match. TJP finally ripped Mascara Dorada’s mask off, sending the crowd into a boo-frenzy. This also happened to mask the weak in-ring finish just moments earlier. TJP celebrated with Dorada’s mask in the ring as staff rushed Dorada backstage.
After this, Great O-Khan got on the mic and cut a promo in Japanese:
“That does for the Japanese peasants watching STRONG as well. Now you understand! This is Great O-Khan. Aaron Henare. TJP . . .”
The crowd chanted “shut the f*ck up!” at the group.
“Get it? The power of the United Empire!” The three posed in the ring before heading to the back.
Final thoughts:
This was a standard quality episode of NJPW Strong, with the draw at the top of the show being the most entertaining of the the three matches on tonight’s show.
The Factory angle is almost completely out of juice, and it sounds more like the crowd is booing the creative as opposed to booing the Factory themselves. The final bout was good, but what surprised me most was how over Great O-Khan was. It’s the pancake story that people love, isn’t it?
Bullet Club (Hikuleo & Chris Bey) Stray Dog Army (Bateman & Barrett Brown)
Brown and Bey were first for their teams. They locked up but neither could gain the upper hand. After a stalemate, Bey threw up the Too Sweet gesture and asked if Brown wanted in Bullet Club. Brown flipped him off instead. From here, they kicked their exchange into full gear, running the ropes, trading headscissors and chops.
Later, the two taller teammates, Bateman and Hikuleo, squared off. Bateman tried chopping Hikuleo down with elbows, but Hikuleo wouldn’t budge. He sent Bateman flying with a shoulder block. When the match spilled to the floor, Hikuleo hoisted Bateman up and dropped him throat-first into the guardrail with snake eyes.
Bey tagged himself in back in the ring. Hikuleo looked annoyed by that, continuing the storyline between Hikuleo and the Bullet Club.
Bey used a variety of submissions on Bateman, taking the taller Bateman off his feet and neutralizing him in the center of the ring. When the ten-minute call sounded, Bateman was able to slam Bey into the corner post, breaking a sleeper, and eventually tagged out to a fresh Barrett Brown, who cleaned house.
Hikuleo and Bateman got into it a few moments later. Chris Bey low bridged Bateman over the ropes onto the floor, then dived onto him with a tope con giro. In the ring, Brown tried coming off the top rope, but Hikuleo shut it down. He finished Brown off with a massive chokeslam to pick up the win for Bullet Club.
Bey tried celebrating with Hikuleo after the match, but the big man wasn’t having it as he was still sore over G.O.D.’s fresh removal from Bullet Club.
Christian went in for a double-leg early on, but JONAH peeled Christian off and placed him on the apron. Back in the ring, Christian tried flipping and weaving out of JONAH’s way in an attempt to find an opening or at least tire JONAH out, but to no avail. JONAH press slammed Christian, then dropped him onto the guardrail before throwing him back in the ring for more punishment.
Chrisitian came back and connected with a tornado DDT before diving onto JONAH with a Fosbury Flop to the floor. No luck on the Flop, though, since JONAH caught him mid-air. Christian did, however, get himself out of the pickle by using yet another swinging DDT on JONAH, this time onto the floor. Christian then scored a nearfall with a springboard 450. Christian flew off the ropes again, but this time JONAH caught him flush with a cross body-block. He then power bombed Christian onto the Lion Mark logo, then squashed him with the Bam Bam Bigelow-style diving splash for an emphatic finish, which woke up the crowd.
Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, Royce Isaacs & JR Kratos) defeated Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin and The DKC
“Why are they so small?!” Kevin Kelly exclaimed. He was referring to Team Filthy, who decided to wear tiny sombreros to the ring for this match. The Three Filthy Amigos.
Coughlin and Kratos got into each other’s faces during the ring announcements before the match. When things got underway, it looked as though Rosser and Isaacs would start the match off for their teams, but before they could lock up, JR Kratos dashed to the opposite corner and ambushed Coughlin. Rosser saw what happened, so instead of locking up with Isaacs, he enacted some tit for tat action and bashed “Filthy” Tom off the apron. The match immediately turned into a scene of bedlam, with bodies flying everywhere, both in and out of the ring.
When the match settled back into the ring, Coughlin laid Isaacs out with a gutwrench suplex. Coughlin tagged out to Rosser, who tenderized Isaacs with a series of forearms, but Isaacs returned fire with a capture suplex. He tagged Lawlor into the match next. Lawlor did the Filthy Strut before working Rosser over in the corner. Team Filthy would take turns beating on Rosser, each tagging in and out. Rosser was able to muscle out of the blue corner, lay Lawlor and Isaacs out with a double lariat, and finally tag out to the DKC.
DKC was fired up when he got back into the ring, but Kratos steamrolled him within seconds, total kibosh. He flattened the DKC with a lariat, and later launched him with a vertical suplex. Lawlor and Isaacs would come into the ring and Team Filthy posed over a dazed DKC.
Kratos tagged Lawlor in. His plan to take advantage of a helpless DKC backfired when Rosser decided to drag Lawlor out of the ring by his ankles. Rosser planted him with a falling backdrop on the apron after whipping him into the barricade outside the ring.
Back in the ring, Kratos and Coughlin finally had their chance to go at it one-on-one. Coughlin tried lifting Kratos in a fireman’s carry, but no dice. Their fight went onto the floor next, while the DKC chopped up a storm back in the ring. He likes to do a spot where he takes a prone opponent, lies them back-first across his knee, then proceeds to shout “DKC FIRE!” before furiously chopping the opponent in the throat with knife-edged karate chops. He did DKC Fire to both Lawlor and Isaacs, but earned only a two when he pinned Lawlor.
Lawlor came back and slammed the DKC into his team’s corner, but when he and Isaacs went for a double-team gutbuster type move, the DKC slipped out of Isaac’s clutch and Isaacs’ ended up coming face-down onto Lawlor’s knees. The DKC then took Lawlor out with a Liu Kang-style jump kick.
When the DKC went to the top rope, Lawlor climbed up from behind him and slapped on a sleeper. This gave Isaacs a chance to grab the DKC and take him out with a spinning avalanche powerslam for the win.
Right after the match, Fred Rosser got on the mic and said when he challenged Tom Lawlor in Florida for his STRONG Openweight championship, Lawlor just walked away “like a little bitch.” On this night in Texas, he demanded a shot at Lawlor’s title. Lawlor said that his answer again was “no.”
But then Lawlor said he was feeling generous. He asked if Rosser was “feeling ready for primetime,” a subtle dig at Rosser’s time in WWE as part of the Primetime Players tag team. He asked if Rosser would show up, or would he prove to Lawlor that he’s the same guy he was ten years ago. He then offered Rosser a shot at the STRONG Openweight title, with the caveat being he must beat both Royce Isaacs and Isaacs’ tag team partner, Jorel Nelson, in a handicap match at NJPW Strong: Mutiny in Hollywood. Lawlor said he wasn’t worried, though, because he believed that still, even after a handicap match, his answer to Rosser would be “no.”
Final thoughts:
Tonight’s NJPW Strong was solid fare, as usual. It was more focused on storytelling and prolonged angles, like the story between Hikuleo and Bullet Club and the continuation of the Fred Rosser vs. Team Filthy feud.
Next week sees the first episode from NJPW Strong’s Mutiny tapings from Hollywood.
Tonight featured the last content from the Strong Style Evolved 2022 tapings from St. Petersburg, Fla.
The DKC defeated Kevin Knight via submission
High quality opener. These Young Lions usually tag together which made the match more interesting; Ian Riccaboni even said they were “like brothers” on commentary. In many ways it was your prototypical NJPW Young Lion style match, but both DKC and Knight added their own distinct wrestling pizazz to make it stand apart from other NJPW rookie openers.
The bout became a much higher impact affair after a few minutes in. The crowd got into it as the match went on, especially towards the finish. Late in the match, the DKC fired up, shouted “DKC FIRE!!” and threw a number of knife-edged chops into Knight’s throat. Knight responded with a basement shoulder-tackle. DKC caught Knight with a flying jump kick off the ropes; it was more like a Bruce Lee type kick as opposed to the modern wrestling fare. It looked cool. He’d later tap Knight out with a crucifix Bomb that he turned into a modified crucifix/Koji clutch submission hold for the win.
As for the match between him and Mascara Dorada, it was very good, albeit short. This was Dorada’s first time back in a NJPW ring in six years. The two complemented each other nicely and felt naturally in sync working together.
It was subtle, but on commentary, Riccaboni and Matt Rehwoldt talked about the history between these two. They didn’t mention it, but they are referring to WWE’s 2017 Cruiserweight Classic that TJP won, and Dorada (as Gran Metallik) was a part of.
Early on in the match, Mascara Dorada caught TJP with a perfectly timed Asai moonsault after TJP had slid onto the floor from the outside. His momentum was short-lived, though, as TJP would take back the reins, neutralizing Dorada in the ring with a hammerlock surfboard submission, then released the hold by falling backwards and snapping Dorada’s arm backwards. The crowd booed.
Dorada came back and in the end scored a pinfall on TJP after planting him with a spinning sit-out Death Valley Bomb.
TJP acted like a sore loser afterwards by unmasking Dorada, forcing him to throw a towel over his head to protect his identity. The crowd was heated as TJP left the ring with Dorada’s mask. I imagine we’ll see a rematch between these two down the road based on what we saw tonight.
Jay Lethal defeated Ren Narita
Retired NJPW referee Tiger Hattori joined the English broadcast team for this match.
When the bell sounded, Lethal took his time engaging Narita, instead choosing to please the crowd with his version of the Flair Strut mixed in with a couple of “Woos!” Narita didn’t look pleased. They started off with an extended exchange, going back and forth first on the mat, then running off the ropes. Lethal teased Lethal Injection, but Narita shoved Lethal away.
Ian Riccaboni put over Lethal on commentary as an unsung, underrated wrestler of the scene for years, and rightly so. I mention this because it also reminded me of how young Narita is and how he’s only been wrestling for five years. But he didn’t look out of place at all with a vet like Lethal. It’s almost as though Katsuyori Shibata fully transferred his wrestling spirit into Ren Narita’s body, and what we see now is simply that.
Speaking of Shibata-esque wrestling, Narita later caught Lethal with a few high roundhouse kicks to the chest. Lethal would recover and later attempted a springboard dropkick to Narita as Narita stood on the apron. Narita ducked, but Lethal caught him with a draping cutter which brought Narita back into the ring.
Lethal missed a diving elbow drop, allowing Narita to recover and plant Lethal with a front suplex. He earned himself a nearfall after hitting a nice bridging single-arm suplex. Narita then went for the Narita Special #3, a modified Texas Cloverhold, then transitioned from that into a figure-four leglock. Lethal was able to force the break, and when they separated, we could see Narita’s nose and/or mouth were bloodied up. The announcers weren’t quite sure what happened to cause it, and it wasn’t clear on screen, either.
Lethal used his Lethal Combination on Narita, then followed up with a deadlift brainbuster before connecting with Hail to the King, his Randy Savage-inspired diving elbow drop.
It was around the ten-minute mark when Lethal locked on his own figure four. When Narita got out of the hold, Lethal went for Lethal Injection, but Narita blocked it again, catching Lethal with a sleeper hold before transitioning into a cobra twist submission. The visual here was inadvertently amazing, with Narita’s face now pouring with blood down onto Lethal’s ribcage.
Lethal countered the hold, rolling Narita up for two. They exchanged roll-up pins before Lethal was finally able to catch Narita in rhythm with Lethal Injection and put him away for the victory in just over ten minutes.
Lethal offered Narita his hand after the match. Narita proudly accepted and shook Lethal’s hand while bowing. Both looked terrific in this.
Final thoughts:
This was a short and sweet episode of Strong, clocking in at under an hour with three very good matches that didn’t drag. This episode is the epitome of what we often call an “easy watch.”
The DKC vs. Kevin Knight is a great primer for those unfamiliar with the LA Dojo’s latest prospects. Mascara Dorada vs. TJP had natural chemistry and previewed what could become a longer rivalry down the road between the two. Jay Lethal vs. Ren Narita was one of those Strong matches that if it were in front of a different and/or bigger audience, it’d have torn the house down. Lethal is a pro’s pro, and Narita is something special, proving it all in about ten minutes with Lethal.
Tonight saw the second installment of the NJPW Strong: Strong Style Evolved 2022 tapings from Tampa, Fla., a giant-sized 90-minute edition.
Hikuleo defeated Andy Brown
Ian Riccaboni and Matt Rehwoldt were joined by retired New Japan referee Tiger Hattori on commentary for this match.
This was “Thicc Daddy” Andy Brown’s NJPW debut. He’s made a name for himself at Championship Wrestling from Atlanta and Championship Wrestling from Hollywood primarily.
Last month in Japan, Bullet Club turned on Hikuleo’s older brothers, Tama Tonga & Tonga Loa. Hikuleo is still technically a member of Bullet Club, and on commentary, the team discussed how Hikuleo is in a tough spot at the moment. Does he go with his brothers? Or does he stick with Bullet Club?
Hikuleo launched Brown into the corner ring pads before blasting him with chops and boots to the face while on the floor. Brown returned the attack, connecting with a running facewash dropkick and a senton. He connected with a flying elbow, but only earned a count of one for his troubles.
Hikuleo caught Brown with a pop-up punch and followed up with a snap powerslam that’d have made Buzz Sawyer proud. He then put Brown away with an emphatic chokeslam for the win.
Josh Alexander defeated Karl Fredericks
This was excellent. Ian Riccaboni was right when he described this as a kind of dream match. These two are roughly the same size, which is above average compared with the majority of wrestlers these days. Both have garnered positive buzz and acclaim among hardcore fans over the past year or so.
They tied up at first, though Alexander outwrestled Fredericks to the mat and took the early advantage. After a few minutes of back-and-forth on the mat, Fredericks was able to land a running kitchen sink knee to force Alexander out onto the floor. Fredericks then caught him with a running tope con giro that looked just like the one Great Sasuke does, the big difference being Fredericks is about a foot and a half taller than Sasuke.
Back in the ring, Fredericks laid in a few chops. Alexander rescinded with a hard running boot. Whenever Alexander took control on offense, he slowed the pace and kept Fredericks grounded. He trapped Fredericks in the corner and worked him over with chops and stomps.
Alexander laid in even more chops to Fredericks, who wouldn’t stay down. The more Alexander chopped, the more Fredericks would recover. He powered up and forced Alexander into the blue corner and began stomping away at Alexander’s face. He connected with a Shibata-style running dropkick to Alexander while he was seated in the same corner. He connected with a scissor elbow for two. Fredericks later put Alexander down with a big spinebuster, locking him in an STF before Alexander grabbed the ropes for a break.
As they stood on the apron, Alexander scooped Fredericks into a slam, then dropped him back-first onto the apron’s edge. Alexander then came off the ropes and took Fredericks to the floor with a low running cross body block.
After earning a two count after landing a diving headbutt from the top, Alexander tried locking in the ankle lock to put Fredericks away. Fredericks himself leveled up once again, and the two went into a heavy exchange of blows that ended with Fredericks going for a Pele kick. Alexander blocked it and attempted the ankle lock once more. Fredericks blocked that and later caught him with a high kick in the corner.
Fredericks did a wild-looking springboard double-stomp to Alexander who was draped across the other rope. After a few moments of respite, both were back to their feet. Fredericks went for quick pinning attempts but Alexander kept kicking out. Fredericks connected with a backbreaker and went for Manifest Destiny but Alexander blocked that, too. Alexander caught Fredericks with an elbow while he was coming off the ropes, then launched him with a release German suplex that he followed up with the C4 Spike (aka Jaydriller) for the win. Again, this was an excellent match, and it’s a great representation of the show’s current product.
After the match, QT Marshall came out with The Factory and tried recruiting Fredericks to become a member. They gave him a t-shirt, but Fredericks threw it back at Marshall, then attacked all three. He had some momentum until Nick Comoroto caught Fredericks with a slam and laid him out. The Factory put the boots to Fredericks until his LA Dojo comrades Clark Connors and Yuya Uemura came out and cleared the ring. Fredericks took the mic and said he wasn’t interested in joining the Factory, but he’d be interested in fighting them. He challenged The Factory to a match at Windy City Riot pay-per-view in Chicago next week, an LA Dojo vs. Factory six-man tag team match.
Eddie Kingston and Fred Rosser defeated Fred Yehi and Daniel Garcia
Kingston got the loudest reaction I’ve heard so far on these Strong Style Evolved ‘22 tapings. There was an “EDD-IE!” chant before he even hit the ring. On commentary, they pushed Kingston’s current AEW program with Chris Jericho and tied the story to this match, explaining why Kingston stormed the ring and went after Daniel Garcia, a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society in AEW.
The match hadn’t officially started yet, and it wasn’t until the fisticuffs ceased that the bell rang. Yehi and Rosser were first for their teams. Yehi rained stomps down on Rosser. Rosser came back with a swinging neckbreaker. He and Kingston double-teamed Yehi before Kingston again ran after Garcia, taking him to the floor.
Back in the ring, Kingston flattened Yehi with an STO. Rosser continued working over Yehi in the ring while Kingston again went after Garia on the outside. Rosser got distracted for a second, which allowed Yehi to take advantage and go on the offensive, taking Rosser down before tagging out to Garcia, who began working over Rosser’s knee. He tripped him up with a dragon screw leg whip. Yehi came in and stomped the same knee. They two tried double-suplexing Rosser, who blocked it before finally tagging out to Kingston.
Yehi and Garcia were able to neutralize Kingston quickly with the double-team barrage. Kingston later powered back and did machine gun chops to Garcia in the corner. Whenever Kingston would gain the upper hand, Yehi and Garcia would return to the double-team approach.
Kingston was able to land a release butterfly suplex on Garcia and crawl his way back to the red corner to tag Rosser in. Rosser connected with a big powerslam and later a running powerslam on Yehi for two. Again, Garcia and Yehi would resort to double-teaming when they began losing momentum.
Later on, Yehi caught Rosser with a hard spinning backfist. He then went for a vertical suplex, but Rosser reversed it into an inside cradle. The finish came soon after, when Kingston took Yehi with a spinning backfist of his own before Rosser laid him out with a fireman’s carry gutbuster for the three-count. This was really good. Kingston and Rosser really complement each other and make a somewhat perfect brawler tag team.
U S of Jay Open Challenge: Jay White defeated Chris Sabin
This was an awesome main event.
So, Sabin was one of Jay White’s mentors while White lived in the US on an excursion from NJPW. He looks to be in the best physical shape of his career right now. He’s 40 but could pass for 30.
It was only a few minutes into the match when Sabin’s chest started bleeding from White’s chops. We’re talking not even two minutes. The two traded holds and Sabin eventually got the better of the exchange when he used an arm drag that knocked White off balance. As per usual, White then slid out to the floor for a breather; the “Keiji Muto” spot. He popped his head in between the ropes repeatedly to break the ring-out count, playing cutesy mind-games with his mentor.
White then walked around the corner of the ring and talked trash into the camera. While he wasn’t looking, Sabin darted out of the ring and took White out with a suicide dive through the ropes. He threw more chops before landing on White with a running cannonball off the apron. He used a side Russian leg sweep to slam White into the guardrail before earning a two-count for a beautiful cross body block off the ropes back in the ring.
Sabin took control for a bit until he went back to the top rope for an attack. White caught him with another hard chop, and Sabin fell to the floor. Sabin’s chest was purple by now.
White took control of the match from here. After dropping Sabin on the apron with a backdrop suplex and gourdbuster, he slowed Sabin’s momentum and held him firmly in the center of the mat, squeezing on a headlock for a while. Sabin kept fighting back but White would shut him down each time until Sabin was able to connect with a jumping enzuigiri kick to White’s face. Sabin then unloaded more strikes on White before catching him with a big missile dropkick.
The two traded DDTs. Sabin answered White’s DDT with a tornado DDT of his own and earned a two-count. The crowd started chanting “this is awesome.” Just over ten minutes had passed when White caught Sabin with a backdrop driver and followed it up with a Bladebuster for two. White began shouting at referee Jeremy Marcus, insinuating that Marcus was slow on the count.
White caught Sabin with a flatliner before folding him with a deadlift release German suplex. The fifteen-minute call sounded after White planted Sabin with a big uranage.
By this point, the crowd had gotten really into the match and were split between White and Sabin, with one side chanting “let’s go, Sabin!” and one chanting “let’s go, Switchblade!”
Sabin later removed his elbow pad, then decked White with a lariat, but when he went for the Cradle Shock, White reversed it into the Bladerunner for the three-count. This was high-level stuff.
Afterwards, White grabbed a microphone and explained that Bullet Club is cutting dead weight, and that the fans would soon learn who is really with Bullet Club and who is really against them. Before he could finish, Hikuleo’s music hit.
As mentioned earlier, Hikuleo is still technically a part of Bullet Club, but his older brothers seem to be the “dead weight” that was cut from the crew. according to Jay White.
White said he knew he was going to have to have this conversation at some point. He told Hikuleo that his brothers’ time with Bullet Club had expired, but his hasn’t. White also told him that he was the future of Bullet Club. He insisted Hikuleo just trust him and listen to him. White threw up the “too sweet” gesture.
Hikuleo agreed that he was the future of Bullet Club, and that Bullet Club was, indeed, “for life,” but before he reciprocated the “too sweet,” he asked White why the future couldn’t start “right here, right now.”
White grabbed the mic and said that if he had what it takes to lead Bullet Club and dominate the wrestling world, then he’d have to teach Hikuleo a lesson.
“I’ll open up those lungs for you and teach you how to breathe.” Before finishing, he told Hikuleo that it was still “his era.” He then exited to the back, leaving Hikuleo alone in the ring.
Final thoughts:
This was another great episode of Strong, and more substantial than usual due to the 90-minute format. White vs. Sabin and Alexander vs. Fredericks are excellent singles matches that are absolutely worth making time for. The tag match between Kingston and Rosser & Garcia and Yehi was a fun brawl, too, a somewhat old-school style one. Kingston and Rosser complement each other extremely well and come off as believable powerhouses together, and it’s clearly because of their ring style. No fanciness, no gloss, just fighting.
New Japan of America’s next event will be next week in Chicago for the Windy City Riot pay-per-view, which can be purchased on either FITE.tv or the NJPW World streaming app.
NJPW Strong: The New Beginning in USA 2022 continued from Seattle with Ian Riccaboni on commentary filling in for Kevin Kelly who is still in Japan doing English commentary for the Golden Series tour.
The Midnight Heat defeated Kevin Knight and The DKC
The Midnight Heat (Eddie Pearl & Ricky Gibson) are DEFY Wrestling’s current and longest reigning Tag Team champions. They’ve been active on the Pacific Northwest indie scene for the past couple years.
Gibson and Young Lion Knight started the match off, but as soon as Knight grabbed hold of Gibson for a wristlock, Gibson broke the hold and immediately tagged out to Pearl.
Once Pearl was in the ring, DKC began firing up on the apron and insisted Knight tag him in. He shouted “DK FIRE!” at Pearl upon entrance. How could anyone dislike this guy? His energy alone is infectious.
DKC took Pearl out with a hard karate chop to the chest, knocking him off his feet. Pearl rushed over to Gibson for consolation and hugged him around the waist. Gibson called for a timeout, but the ref did not oblige.
DKC and Pearl grappled on the mat with DKC getting the better of the exchange before tagging Knight back in. The LA Dojo duo double-teamed Pearl, laying him out with a double shoulder tackle. Gibson took a double hip toss from the Young Lions next. DKC chopped Pearl up some more with knife edge karate chops to the neck and chest.
The Midnight Heat made a quick and crafty comeback next, laying the DKC out with Back Sabbath, the team’s side Russian leg sweep/back cracker double team maneuver.
The Heat kept DKC in their corner and continued on with their double-team strategy, constantly tagging in and out while keeping DKC grounded and away from the red corner where a frustrated Knight waited for the tag.
Gibson held DKC in position as Pearl was coming off the ropes with a double axe handle, but DKC shoved Gibson into harm’s way, which led to Pearl accidentally taking out his partner. DKC saw his chance to tag out to Knight, but Pearl ran across the ring and decked Knight, knocking him off the apron to the floor, ruining any chance DKC might have had at tagging out.
Pearl caught DKC with a Bobby Eaton-esque right hand to the face. DKC then caught Pearl running off the ropes with a high leg lariat and finally tagged out to Knight. The crowd was getting louder in support of the Young Lions from here on out.
Knight cleaned house, taking Pearl out with a Stinger splash in the corner and landing a switch-around standing frog splash on Gibson for two. Pearl tried breaking up the pin with an elbow drop, but Knight moved out of the way so Pearl dropped the elbow on Gibson instead. The Midnight Heat were really good at playing the fool for the babyfaces and getting the crowd as into the match as possible.
Knight took Pearl out with a mega-high dropkick. I swear, this guy gets a half inch higher on his dropkicks every time I watch him. I urge anyone who hasn’t caught this guy throw a dropkick yet to do so now. Hops, he has.
The finish saw Knight attempt a sunset flip in the corner, but Gibson trapped his arm while holding the rope for leverage to score a dubious three-count on Knight as the referee didn’t see Gibson cheating. The crowd booed, but the Midnight Heat sure looked happy. This was a fun opener.
Fred Rosser defeated Gabriel Kidd
This match was great, but even I felt sore after watching it.
To say both Kidd and Ross were amped up for this might be an understatement. They jaw jacked at each other during the ring introductions before the bell sounded.
The two locked up after the bell sounded, but neither could gain the upper hand up front. Kidd muscled Rosser to the ropes. They traded shoulder tackles next though neither really budged. Kidd was able to take Rosser out with a backdrop early, but Rosser was up seconds after and laid Kidd out with a running lariat. Both rolled to opposite sides of the floor for a breather.
Back in the ring, the trash talk continued. They bashed each other with forearms and started exchanging stiff open hand strikes where you could see sweat flying off both of their bodies with each shot they threw.
They traded headbutts next before launching into what felt like a never-ending chop-for-chop sequence that had me wincing at times. The violence was relentless.
For those keeping tabs, this match felt like a marker for how far Rosser has strayed from the WWE in-ring style many of us were used to seeing from him. He’s shed pretty much all of what once was “Darren Young” in becoming who he is now: a really big, really tough, really mean dude.
They exchanged more hard strikes in the corner. Kidd got the better of the exchange, fell to the mat and sat cross-legged ala Katsuyori Shibata, his trainer, and shouted at Rosser to bring it on.
Rosser crawled to the center of the ring and sat across from Kidd, declaring the ring was “his house.” The two started slapping each other in the face while seated. Kidd looked to have bashed Rosser in the ear with one of the shots.
Back on their feet, Kidd boxed Rosser into the corner with more palm strikes. Kidd’s wrist tape started flying off. On commentary, Alex Koslov said this match would take years off their lives.
Rosser halted Kidd’s onslaught with pure power, hoisting Kidd into the air with a fireman’s carry and bringing him down with a gutbuster, stopping Kidd’s momentum. Rosser’s wrist tape began coming off, too, when he threw left and right lariats to Kidd’s back and chest. Kidd later answered with a big brainbuster.
Kidd went to the top rope for a moonsault, which looked beautiful, but no one was home as Rosser moved out of the way before Kidd crashed to the mat. He caught Kidd with another big running lariat and scored a near fall from it. Next was a running death valley bomb for another two count. He finally put Kidd down for good with an Emerald Frosion to pick up the hard-earned victory; strong style indeed.
Kidd got on the mic afterwards and, while pointing to the NJPW Lion mark logo, said that it was the reason why everyone had been brought together there. He thanked the crowd before declaring that New Japan was “the best professional wrestling company on the planet.” He thanked DEFY for allowing NJPW into their house and once again declared NJPW the best in the world, and in Japanese, to boot.
“U.S. of Jay” Open Challenge Series: Jay White (w/ Hikuleo) defeated Jay Lethal
White is everywhere these days. Outside of Strong, White has recently appeared on AEW Dynamite and Rampage, has made appearances with Bullet Club on Impact and was even featured on a recent “greatest hits” edition of NJPW on AXS TV which aired his match against Hiroshi Tanahashi for the IWGP Heavyweight title in Osaka in 2020.
White came out to the ring with Bullet Club cohort Hikuleo, who we saw on last week’s edition of NJPW Strong against Cody Chhun.
The next mystery opponent in White’s U.S. of Jay open challenge series turned out to be former ROH Champion and AEW roster member Lethal. The two actually faced off once before in ROH in 2017 when White was on excursion from NJPW with Lethal coming out victorious.
When the bell rang, White walked to the center of the ring and pointed at the NJPW lion mark and shouted that Lethal was now in his house, his territory. Lethal didn’t bite. The crowd was excited as the two circled each other. They didn’t touch for almost a minute or so before locking up.
The two mixed it up on the mat. They traded holds although anytime Lethal grabbed a hold, White would strong arm his way out or at least make things uncomfortable for Lethal as he held control. Fans were chanting “Let’s go, Jay!” but I’m not sure which Jay they were supporting.
Lethal later caught White with a Chris Jericho-style springboard dropkick that knocked White from the apron to the floor. White tried following up with a dive through the ropes, but Hikuleo stood in harm’s way and held his hand out, ordering Lethal to stay inside the ring.
After another exchange in the ring, White was able to catch and drill Lethal with a snap backdrop suplex. He taunted Lethal, mashing his face with his boot.
Lethal was later able to pull off a suicide dive through the ropes that he attempted earlier before rolling White back into the the ring. He went for Hail To The King, his own version of Randy Savage’s diving elbow drop, but White blocked it, using an inside cradle for two.
Lethal used a reverse fireman’s carry roll on White, which I hadn’t seen done before tonight. Imagine Finlay’s fireman’s carry roll but starting from the torture rack position. He connected with the diving elbow on his second try. White took Lethal down with a quick flatliner before planting him with a release german suplex. He used a Blade Buster on Lethal for two.
Later, White would go after Lethal’s knee, stomping at it and wrenching it over his own neck at one point. Lethal connected with a superkick moments later, but he grasped at his knee after landing it, so he wasn’t able to capitalize on the moment.
Lethal called for Lethal Injection, but White blocked it and went for a half-and-half suplex. Lethal blocked that and slapped on a figure four leg lock in the center of the ring. White would eventually make it to the ropes for a break.
They traded more chops next. Lethal wobbled on his injured knee. They traded forearms at a rapid pace until Lethal caught White with a cutter out of nowhere. He went for Lethal Injection, but White rolled out of the way and Lethal sold his knee as though it buckled after he’d bounced off the ropes.
White went for the Blade Runner, but Lethal escaped. He went for Lethal Injection once more, but White used a chop block as Lethal was bouncing off the ropes to take out his worn-out knee.
White spiked Lethal with two half-nelson suplexes before pinning Lethal with the Blade Runner to pick up the win. White is now 2–0 in his open challenge series.
In his post-match promo, he said that he and Lethal were now 1–1 and if they wanted to even the score, maybe they could run it back once more and lightly hinted at it happening in AEW. He said the U.S. of Jay challenge is still open and awaited any of the latest free agents in wrestling to step up and take him on. He finished with his usual Switchblade Era spiel before the show wrapped, capping another solid episode of Strong.
Final thoughts:
This was a top shelf episode of NJPW Strong. Each match had a distinct flavor, completely differing from one and other. The tag team opener was fun and intense, while Rosser vs. Kidd was one of the more violent matches in the show’s short history.
The main event, or the Battle of the Jays, was one of the best main events the show has had, as well. Because of how talented both Lethal and White are, they turned in a quality match that is as good (if not better) than much of NJPW proper’s upper-card. If they do have a rematch in AEW, I assure you they’ll tear the house down.
Next week sees NJPW Strong Openweight champion “Filthy” Tom Lawlor take on former Team Filthy member Taylor Rust.
Ahead of Thursday’s New Japan Strong Rivals TV taping in Hollywood, California, David Finlay spoke to me about numerous topics surrounding his career — the full interview of which can be seen on YouTube above.
Finlay discussed growing up in a family of wrestling, training with his dad Fit, life at the New Japan dojo, traveling the world, how the pandemic has changed things for him as a performer, working in the States on both NJPW Strong and Impact Wrestling, and whether or not he has interest in working with WWE.
Here’s a few highlights:
“Wrestling is pretty much synonymous with being a Finlay”
His father Dave “Fit” Finlay is known for his work in WWE and WCW and is both widely known and respected in the business.
When asked about what age he knew he would pursue the trade of his father, he recalls being two and telling people he would become a wrestler.
“To be a Finlay is to be a wrestler. My great grandfather, my grandfather, my dad, my aunt was a referee, my great aunt was a referee, my grandmother was part of doing all the behind-the-scenes stuff, my sister is an amateur wrestler and two-time state champion in Georgia, my little brother (Brogan) who is on the show Thursday wrestles as well. Wrestling is pretty much synonymous with being a Finlay.”
Discovering himself while taking a year off in Africa
There was a short period of time after he graduated from high school where he questioned whether or not he really wanted to pursue a wrestling career or simply take part in it because he wanted to be “cool” like his dad. This led him to take a gap year and travel to Africa to do volunteer work.
“I took myself out of wrestling and away from it to see if I really wanted to do it. Before I knew it, before the year was up, I found a wrestling school in Cape Town and sure enough, I got back to it. So it’s 100% what I want to do in my life and I love every day of it.”
Training with Fit finlay vs. training in the New Japan Dojo
Fit has a reputation for being one of the toughest men in the business. David also not only trained with his own father, but also at the New Japan Dojo, so which was tougher?
“Training with my dad was easier because there was less squats. In the New Japan Dojo, I remember like day one in 2015. Jay White was a young boy, Juice (Robinson) hadn’t come yet, and Jay and I had met each other in England prior in my travels there. So, I had asked him, ‘Hey man, I’ve heard the horror stories about the squats. What’s the deal with it?’ He’s like, ‘I haven’t done more than 500.’ I’m thinking, ‘Alright, I have done 500, I can do that.’
But literally on day one, YOH was the dojo boss at the time, he looks over at me, the trainer says something and YOH goes ‘1000.’ You just start screaming and squatting and they are counting in Japanese and I don’t know any Japanese. I am just watching the clock tick by and after 45 minutes, we stop and start doing other things. The next day, we gotta do 1000 again.”
Although White never had to do 1000 squats according to Finlay, he believes he had to because of who his father was and that it was simply a test to see if he would run away.
Training at the New Japan dojo vs. the WWE Performance Center
Finlay says that since he was fifteen, his dad wanted him to go about things in a different way.
“My dad was like, ‘This is what you’re gonna do. Don’t go to the (WWE) PC right away. Don’t go to developmental. It’s a cookie cutter system. You’re gonna come out and there’s not gonna be much difference to you.’ So the plan was to go wrestle in England for a little bit, go wrestle in Japan for a little bit, and then go to the United States if I wanted to.”
He did just that, competing in England for about six months, then some work in the United States and then Japan.
“It’s also what I wanted to do. It sounded cool, it was different. I am a bit of a free spirit. I like to do things a different way than everyone else, so that was right up my alley. I did not fully understand how difficult it is for someone to get into New Japan until after that I was already in New Japan.”
Finlay added that he simply wanted to go somewhere where he could train and become the very best wrestler he can be. “I feel like I am still on that journey. The answer for that is still New Japan. I love it here.”
As a personal goal, he said would like to be better than his dad.
“When it’s all set and done, I wanna be the best Finlay that’s ever done it.”
Interest in WWE
Given that his father did spend several years with WWE, Finlay opened up about whether or not that is also of interest.
“From time to time, the thought pops into my head. Honestly, it’s never really been somewhere where I have been dying to go. If the opportunity presents itself, we’ll see, but I am happy where I am at. I am not on the road 24/7 and I actually have off time. There’s pros and cons with it, but right now I am happy and content. I love wrestling for New Japan. I love the schedule that I have and the freedom I have, so I currently have no desire to go anywhere else.”
Finlay and Juice Robinson take on JONAH and Bad Dude Tito Thursday in Hollywood.
LA Dojo trainee The DKC came into this match like a fireball. He lit TJP up with chops early on. DKC had a couple of very vocal supporters in the audience and was very over at the venue.
TJP slowed the match down once he took control on offense. He worked over DKC’s knees with a variety of leglocks. The DKC came back with a leg lariat and a flurry of knife-edged chops from all angles. He then used DK Fire on TJP, which is a signature spot of his where he bends his opponent across his knee, almost like a GTR, but then just starts chopping the opponent up.
The DKC is about chops and fire, and I can get behind that.
TJP made a late comeback in this and eventually laid the DKC out with a nice backdrop suplex. Actually, both were out on the mat after that. He’d later catch the DKC in mid-air with a dropkick, then put him away with a big Black Mamba frog splash. Good opener.
Bullet Club (Hikuleo & Chris Bey) defeated Jordan Clearwater and Keita Murray
Murray was subbing for Clark Connors, who had to miss the tapings after he contracted COVID-19.
Bullet Club was pretty popular with the Hollywood crowd. These two have been a semi-regular team lately, not just competing for NJPW Strong but also on IMPACT.
Murray and Bey kicked things off and had a short but sweet exchange. Clearwater and Murray would double-team Bey until Bey tagged out to Hikuleo. These two could be a money feud for Strong in 2022 and beyond.
Murray spiked Bey with a DDT. He and Clearwater double-teamed the larger Hikuleo, but eventually Bey snuck into the ring and took Murray out with a roundhouse kick to the head and a ripcord knee to put Murray away and pick up the win for BC.
Eddie Kingston defeated Gabriel Kidd
The crowd in Hollywood were chanting “ED-DIE! ED-DIE!” before Kingston even walked out. He felt like a big deal, which in turn made the match feel like a big chance for Kidd.
They locked up. Kingston forced Kidd into the corner, then missed an uraken spinning backfist when Kidd parried. Kingston gave Kidd the “this close” gesture.
The two exchanged hard chops and elbows next. Kidd was fired the hell up. He put Kingston on the mat with a big boot. The crowd began booing him. That’s how hot the crowd was for Kingston at the tapings.
Kingston poked Kidd in the eye, headbutted him, then bit him. Kidd threw a penalty kick into Kingston’s back, which apparently woke Kingston up because he immediately stood up and blasted Kidd in the face with two hard palm strikes. His singlet straps came down next. Business time.
They had another pretty insane exchange of strikes on their feet, and again Kingston laid Kidd out with palm strikes. I was actually in attendance for this and wanted to emphasize how physical and brutal, this was. It wasn’t over the top, just physical and very intense.
They traded machine gun chops in the corner. The crowed loved that. By around five minutes into the match it felt like these two had thrown at least 100 chops. Kidd took Kingston down with a hard European uppercut.
Before Kingston stood up, Kidd kicked him, then called him a “motherf*cker.” The crowd immediately began chanting “YOU F*CKED UP!”
The exchanged even more chops next. Both had red & purple chests. They traded really hard palm strikes. Kidd cursed at him again. Kingston responded with another eye poke. Kingston’s mouth was bleeding late in this.
Kidd earned a two count after a backdrop suplex. He next used an exploder suplex, which Kingston was immediately up from. Kingston threw Kidd with his own exploder. Kidd was also immediately back up from Kingston’s suplex.
If this were a video game, both wrestlers’ spirit meters would be flashing like crazy. Kidd plowed Kingston with a two hard lariats and a brainbuster, but he wasn’t able to make it back up to pin Kingston. The ref started a double countout.
Kingston stuck Kidd with a DDT. At the 10-minute mark, he earned a near fall after a sit-out power bomb. He’d connect with the uraken next but Kidd wouldn’t go down. Kidd launched Kingston with a German suplex. Kingston answered with a backdrop suplex of his own.
The crowd was hot for this as it came to a finish. They had yet another palm strike exchange before Kingston spiked Kidd onto his head with a half-nelson suplex before putting Kidd away with the uraken, which he’d attempted at the top of the match.
The crowd chanted for Kingston as he exited. Kidd was helped to the back by ring staff.
Final thoughts:
Good episode of Strong with an absolutely killer main event.
We’ve all seen tons of great wrestling of the past week, but I’d consider Kingston vs. Kidd must-see. Kidd is going to be a big, big deal in the future, while Kingston clearly is a big deal right now.
Next week sees the next installment of NJPW Strong: Nemesis from Hollywood.
It’s a Pacific Rim tradition when Fumi Saito and Dave Meltzer get together and give their overall thoughts on Wrestle Kingdom.
In talking about Wrestle Kingdom 16, we focus specifically on the main events and the Tanahashi-KENTA match. Is NJPW relying too much on Americanized tricks and shortcuts? Is that what the audience wants from New Japan?
We also talk about NOAH, Stardom, Strong Kobayashi and more. Just click below to listen.
