Tag: new japan strong

NJPW Strong results: Tomohiro Ishii vs. Big Damo

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight saw the final installment from NJPW Strong’s Mutiny tapings in Hollywood, California.

KEITA and Yuya Uemura defeated Kevin Blackwood and Lucas Riley

Uemura and Blackwood started things off. Uemura was quick on the turnaround off the first lock-up, spinning out of Blackwood’s hands and taking him over with a flying mare—and got a pop for it. It’s a sequence many of us have seen ad nauseam, but this crowd was here for Uemura and whatever he did.

Moments later, the crowd heated up when he landed a shoulderblock, then a deep Steamboat-style arm drag. They went back and forth with Blackwood scoring a hip toss.

Blackwood returned Uemura’s attack with some kicks until KEITA and Riley were in next. Keita landed a big modified backbreaker which received a loud response from the crowd. Blackwood tagged in and landed a low dropkick to KEITA’s head while Riley held him upside down. Riley then hit KEITA with a low dropkick to the back of his head.

KEITA tried tagging out, but Blackwood pulled him back and landed a German suplex for two. KEITA came back with a jawbreaker and an upkick to tag Uemura back in. The crowd came alive for his return to the ring. He took Blackwood out with a flying forearm smash that’d make Tito Santana proud. This kid is on another level right now. Blackwood used a big roundhouse kick to counter, knocking Uemura down to the mat. 

KEITA and Uemura double-teamed Riley after KEITA threw Blackwood to the floor.

Before the finish, each wrestler seemed to have gotten a few of their last licks in. KEITA took out Blackwood. Riley took out KEITA. Then, finally, it was Uemura who would take out Riley, landing a Frankensteiner for the win. This was a good opener, but I need to mention that Uemura is special. Now might be the best time to hop on the bandwagon because he is hitting his stride in 2022.

Afterward, Blackwood and Riley cut a promo backstage where Riley explained that it was all right and that the second time would be better. When he attempted to confer with Blackwood, he was met with frustration and contempt. Blackwood blamed Riley for the loss. He then said that he was still 1–0 in NJPW and reiterated that it was Riley who had lost the match not himself. 

Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Chris Bey) defeated Alex Zayne and Christopher Daniels

Zayne and Bey were in first and had a quick, creative exchange. Zayne did a standing corkscrew senton for two.

Daniels, at 51, is still looking real fit for his age. Bey would tag out to El Phantasmo. He would later jump off the ropes and rake Daniels’ back with his fingernails. Bey did a superfluous backrake spot of his own, too. They used a combo that saw ELP earn a two after landing on Daniels with a standing moonsault.

Daniels later used an STO, finally freeing himself up from Bey. He tagged out to a fresh Zayne who landed a few punches before a standing Harlem Hangover/Harlem sidekick combo for two. 

Bey and Daniels fell out of the ring. Zayne went for a shooting star press, but missed. He landed on his feet and rolled out of the way, but Phantasmo laid him out with the C4 for two. He then put Zayne out for good with his Sudden Impact superkick which Zayne took a Fatu-style spinning bump for.

Tomohiro Ishii defeated Big Damo

The story is that these two had a match seven years ago in RevPro out of the UK where Damo actually took the victory.

The two locked up, but Damo immediately shoved Ishii into the red corner. Both elbowed and shouldered the hell out of each other next. Damo had the advantage early on, though Ishii constantly barked at him to bring more of it on.

There were a few hecklers in the crowd who ganged up on Damo and told him to shave his back. Damo handled them well, at one point telling them off before giving the hecklers a full, proud view of his back, arms outstretched.

While this was a good moment, the ringside trolls at the show wouldn’t let up, regardless of what was going on which definitely hurt the vibe of the main event as a whole. Thankfully, much of it was inaudible on the recording. In a different setting, this match could have been much better.

Ishii tried to come back, whipping Damo into the corner and crashing into him with a corner lariat. Ishii unloaded his version of Genichiro Tenryu’s goo punch–chop sequence in the corner; jab, chop, jab chop. 

Damo countered the attack later with a running crossbody block and a jump kick to Ishii’s face after trading more blows. Tomohiro Ishii: perpetual underdog.

Ishii survived a fisherman’s superplex, standing up almost immediately after landing on the mat. He fired up which the crowd fed on. Damo missed another jump kick and Ishii then put the big man down with a vertical suplex. 

Damo hit a huge John Woo dropkick before using a slingshot senton into the ring. He pinned Ishii for two as the ten-minute announcement sounded over the house PA.

When Damo went for a Vader Bomb, Ishii moved out of the way and Damo crashed into the mat face down. He elbowed Ishii who responded with headbutts and a hard headbutt of his own. He took Damo out with a running lariat for two. Later, he scored a sliding lariat for two before putting Damo away for good with a big vertical drop brainbuster for the win in a little over 13 minutes. 

Final thoughts:

The main event was good, but would have been better if it hadn’t gone on last at the Mutiny tapings which was a good four hours into the card. Fans sounded restless and it seemed to affect the match quality.

The opener between Uemura and KEITA vs. Blackwood and Riley had much better energy which makes sense since at the tapings, it was the second match of the night. Nitpicks aside, this was a solid episode to wrap the Mutiny tapings with. 

Next week kicks off NJPW Strong’s next “tour” titled Collision, which was taped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania last month.

NJPW Strong results: United Empire vs. TMDK

Posted on by Justin Knipper

Tonight saw the third week of tapings from NJPW Strong: Mutiny from Hollywood, California.

Stray Dog Army (Bateman, Misterioso & Barrett Brown) defeated Fred Yehi, Kevin Knight & The DKC

This was a good opener. The match itself felt like its main function was to prop up a future program between Yehi & Bateman. The teams scuffled and jaw-jacked during their ring introductions. Yehi and Bateman went right at each other.

Fans in attendance were catching on to Bateman’s bark. He barks at the crowd and, now, they bark back.

Knight and Misterioso kicked things off for their teams. They had a fast exchange up top. Knight did some flying around the ring, bouncing from rope to rope before arm-dragging Misterioso to the mat. The DKC and Barrett Brown were together next. They too had great chemistry and fire. The DKC asked Brown, “Do you wanna fight?!” and then traded chops.

He and Yehi had great fire whenever they were together during the match. When the bout spilled onto the floor, they again went at it. There were more than a few times in this match where the fight shifted to ringside instead of between the ropes.

Knight landed on Bateman with a pescado on the floor. Misterioso landed one of his own next, taking out Knight.

Back in the ring, The DKC caught Brown with a flying Liu Kang-style kick off the middle rope. The crowd began chanting “D-K-C!” He went for DKC Fire next, but Brown countered, shooting him into his team’s corner.

In the end, Misterioso caught the DKC with a guillotine leg drop off the second rope for the win. Stray Dog Army continued beating down Yehi’s team after the bell.

– A promo from Big Damo (fka WWE’s Killian Dain) aired next. He explained how Tomohiro Ishii had made his debut in England seven years ago with RevPro. He then explained that it was he who beat Ishii upon said debut, and in Damo’s backyard, to boot. He said that Ishii is now NJPW’s gatekeeper figure these days, so he wanted a shot at him on NJPW Strong because he’d beat Ishii just like he did in England seven years ago.

David Finlay defeated Blake Christian

They had a quick exchange before Finlay dipped out to the floor to regroup. Christian hit a low basement dropkick and later used a tope con giro to the floor before using a high crossbody block back in the ring, but only for a count of two.

At just over ten minutes in, Finlay scored a backdrop suplex for a two count. Christian countered with a big lariat. Finlay did a backdrop on the apron.

Finlay teased using his sheleighleigh on Christian. Christian did a 450 splash to a draped Finlay for a close two. Finlay caught Christian with a stunner coming off the ropes and then used the Trash Panda for the win. He again sort of teased using the sheleighleigh on Christian after they finished, but instead he shook Christian’s hand afterward.

Backstage, Finlay cut a promo comparing Christian to a young Will Ospreay before explaining that his next goal would be to win his first NJPW singles title. He said after being with the company for seven or eight years, it was time for a singles title win. He’s been a NJPW tag team champion, but hasn’t won singles gold yet. “I am coming; expect me.”

TMDK (JONAH, Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste) defeated United Empire (Jeff Cobb & Aussie Open)

All of United Empire came to the ring for the match, so Great O-Khan, Aaron Henare and TJP were at ringside.

Kyle Fletcher of Aussie Open and JONAH kicked the match off. They shoved each other before tying up. JONAH bullied Fletcher into the corner. Fletcher caught him with an enzuigiri, but when Fletcher was coming off the ropes for an attack, JONAH shoved him in mid-air. He flexed at Fletcher in the corner. Cobb tagged in next, which the crowd immediately responded to, but JONAH decided to tag out to Shane Haste instead. 

Haste did a haughty mock walk of Cobb with his chest and shoulders out and all. This amused Cobb, who would later use Haste’s back as a surfboard for a little cowabunga action. This also elicited what could have been Alex Koslov’s best line on commentary in the show’s history when he deadpanned the following: “Shane Haste was a good surfboard.”

Cobb held Haste in a vertical suplex and then tagged in Mark Davis while simultaneously passing Haste over to Davis. Remember, Haste is still hanging in the air upside down. This was a suplex transfer. Davis then tagged Fletcher in and suplex transferred Haste over to him. Fletcher let him down for a moment, then finally snap suplexed Haste onto the mat.

Haste came back with a running cannonball into the corner onto Fletcher. Bad Dude Tito was next and put the boots to Fletcher before tagging JONAH back into the match.

JONAH and Haste worked Fletcher over for a while. Fletcher eventually was able to counter and drop Haste with a brainbuster. He tagged out to Davis, a proverbial house of fire at this point, just past ten minutes in.

Bad Dude Tito took Davis out with a Buff Blockbuster. Aussie Open soon took out Tito with a few double-team combinations. Cobb landed a standing moonsault onto Tito. Haste later blasted Davis with a lariat after a wild back-and-forth between teams. Haste, Davis and the rest were all laid out. The crowd began chanting “NEW JA-PAN!”

Then, finally, Cobb and JONAH got in the ring together, the moment we’d all had been waiting for. They are almost mirror images of each other. The build, the hair, the singlets, the fact that on first glance we expect neither to wrestle the way they do.

They squared off and rammed into each other with shoulderblocks. Neither would go down. The crowd ate it up. The spot wrapped when they crashed into each other with running crossbody blocks. Their fight continued onto the floor, outside the ring and effectively out of the match.

Back in the ring, we saw Aussie Open put Bad Dude Tito away after more double-team work, finishing him with a double-Last of the Dragon-type maneuver.

Afterward, all of United Empire got into the ring together. Great O-Khan grabbed the mic and addressed the crowd in Japanese: “Bow down, peasants!” Now you understand what Aussie Open can do!” He referred to the team as United Empire’s “new assets.”

Final thoughts:

The main event is the go-to match on this week’s episode of NJPW Strong. Jeff Cobb and JONAH’s rivalry could be great down the road, as they teased here, plus Aussie Open were fantastic in their NJPW Strong debut. The match itself had a rapid-fire pace, similar to a “NJPW proper” tag match at Korakuen Hall.

Next week sees the final episode of NJPW Strong’s Mutiny series with Tomohiro Ishii taking on Big Damo in the main event. 

Filthy Four Daily: Tom Lawlor talks doom at hands of Fred Rosser, Smackdown, Capitol Collision

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

FILTHY FOUR DAILY with Bryan Alvarez and FORMER NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Tom’s demise at the hands of Fred Rosser, where he goes next, tons of thoughts on a good episode of Smackdown as well as New Japan Strong and Capitol Collision, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Figure Four Daily: Tom Lawlor talks Smackdown, New Japan Strong, WrestleMania Backlash

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Smackdown from Friday night, WWE WrestleMania Backlash from Sunday, New Japan Strong, a very big week for your STRONG OPENWEIGHT CHAMPION, and so much more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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NJPW Strong results: Team Filthy six-man tag

Posted on by Justin Knipper

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.

JONAH defeated Blake Christian

Speaking of JONAH, the “Top Dog” just recently left IMPACT Wrestling.

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.

Filthy Four Daily: Bryan and Tom Lawlor talk Defy, Stardom Cinderella, New Japan Strong, Smackdown

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Figure Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including a bunch of thoughts on Tom vs. Jon Moxley from Defy with backstage fun, Stardom Cinderella tournament, New Japan Strong, Smackdown and so much more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Filthy Four Daily: Smackdown with a countout in a lumberjack match, Strong and Stardom

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

FILTHY FOUR DAILY with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Smackdown from Friday, a fun edition of New Japan Strong, Stardom Cinderella tournament notes, an upcoming contest you can be a part of, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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F4D: Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor talk Smackdown with Roman and Nakamura, New Japan Strong, more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

FILTHY FOUR DAILY with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including a full recap of Smackdown this week, thoughts on New Japan Strong both this week and last week with Tom vs. Clark Connors, WHO WILL BEAT TOM FOR THE TITLE, and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Bryan and Filthy Tom Lawlor talk Smackdown, New Japan Strong, weekend Stardom preview

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Smackdown from Friday night as we inch closer to WrestleMania, New Japan Strong with some awesome pro-wrestling, Stardom preview for the weekend and so much more. A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Wrestling Observer Live: Interviews with Clark Connors and Dave Meltzer, news and more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including more on the death of Scott Hall, our weekly chat with Dave Meltzer talking the big stories in the new Observer up at wrestlingobserver.com, and then CLARK CONNORS joins us to talk his match with Filthy Tom Lawlor live this Sunday in St. Petersburg, FL! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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Filthy Four Daily: Smackdown with Ricochet main eventing, Strong with USofJay and tons more!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Smackdown from Friday night with Ricochet actually working a main event title match, New Japan Strong and tons more! A packed show as always so check it out~!

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F4D: Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor talk Smackdown, New Japan Strong and Stardom!

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Filthy Four Daily with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including Smackdown from Friday night, New Japan Strong with three more great matches, and Stardom’s PPV from this past weekend! A fun show as always so check it out~!

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