When NJPW returns to California this December, Mercedes Mone will be in action.
The NJPW Strong Women’s Champion is among the wrestlers that have been confirmed for NJPW Strong Style Evolved 2024, which is being held in Long Beach on Sunday, December 15. The event will take place from Walter Pyramid on the campus of Long Beach State University.
In addition to Mone, NJPW is advertising that Tetsuya Naito, Gabe Kidd, Shingo Takagi, Zack Sabre Jr., Hiromu Takahashi, Tomohiro Ishii, Shota Umino, Konosuke Takeshita, Hechicero, and more will be competing at the show. Tickets are going on sale today (October 11) at noon Pacific time.
Tickets on sale TOMORROW, noon Pacific for Strong Style Evolved 12/15!
Mone won the NJPW Strong Women’s Championship this June and also currently holds the AEW TBS title. She’s made two successful defenses of the Strong belt, defeating Momo Watanabe and Emi Sakura.
The next challenger for Mone’s Strong Women’s Championship will be determined in a four-way match at NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed in Lowell, Massachusetts this November. AEW wrestler Anna Jay is the first participant confirmed for the number one contender’s bout.
Here are spoilers from tonight’s NJPW Strong: Strong Style Evolved tapings in St. Petersburg, Florida at the St. Petersburg Coliseum.
The DKC defeated Kevin Knight
Hikuleo defeated Andy Brown
Buddy Matthews defeated Yuya Uemura
JR Kratos and Black Tiger defeated Wheeler Yuta and Rocky Romero. After the match, Kratos badmouthed Alex Coughlin. This brought Coughlin out and the two brawled.
Big Damo defeated John Skyler
Finjuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) defeated JONAH and Shane Haste of TDMK by disqualification after Haste used a steel chair. Finjuice were able to recover and ran TDMK off. Finjuice then issued a challenge to TDMK for a six man tag match (Finlay, Brogan Finlay, and Robinson vs. JONAH, Haste, and Bad Dude Tito) at Windy City Riot on April 16.
Filthy Tom Lawlor defeated Clark Connors to retain the Strong Openweight Championship. After the match, Lawlor announced that he’s going to take a vacation since he gets to choose who he faces for the championship. Fred Rosser came out and said he was the next challenger. Lawlor told him no.
Mascara Dorada defeated TJP
Josh Alexander defeated Karl Fredericks. AEW’s QT Marshall, Aaron Solo, and Nick Comoroto came out in an attempt to recruit Fredericks. After Fredericks turned them down, the group attacked Fredericks until Connors and Uemura ran down to make the save. Fredericks challenged Marshall to a match in Chicago.
Swerve Strickland defeated Blake Christian
Jay Lethal defeated Ren Narita
Fred Rosser and Eddie Kingston defeated Fred Yehi and Daniel Garcia. Kingston kept trying to attack Garcia, continuing their AEW storyline.
Jay White defeated Chris Sabin. White won with the bladerunner. After the match, White talked about the Bullet Club situation, with the Guerrillas of Destiny and Jado recently being kicked out of the group. White invited Hikuelo to stay in the group. Hikuleo said he was still in the Bullet Club, but didn’t want to be associated with White. The show ended with the two parting ways.
NJPW will next hold Strong tapings on April 1 with their Lonestar Shootout event at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas, Texas.
Big Damo, formerly Killian Dain in WWE NXT, will make his NJPW debut at Strong Style Evolved.
Damo will take on John Skyler at the show.
Damo’s debut was one of four new matches announced today for the Sunday, March 20 event in St. Petersburg, Florida.
Impact Wrestling’s Josh Alexander will face Karl Fredericks. In tag team action, Juice Robinson and David Finlay will take on JONAH and Shane Haste. Also announced, Kevin Knight will face The DKC, plus Hikuleo will take on Andy Brown.
Strong Style Evolved will be taped for NJPW Strong.
The full lineup:
NJPW Strong Style Evolved, Sunday, March 20 —
US of Jay open challenge: Jay White vs. TBA
NJPW Strong Openweight Championship: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) vs. Clark Connors
Jay Lethal vs. Ren Narita
Shane “Swerve” Strickland vs. Blake Christian
Buddy Matthews vs. Yuya Uemura
Mascara Dorada vs. TJP
Rocky Romero & Wheeler Yuta vs. JR Kratos & Black Tiger
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. JONAH & Shane Haste
Eddie Kingston & Fred Rosser vs. Fred Yehi & Daniel Garcia
Tonight’s episode started off with both Lio Rush and Rocky Romero’s pre-taped selfie promos hyping their main event later in the show. Their match was one of two New Japan Cup USA qualifying matches that aired tonight. The Cup will host eight entrants in total once all competitors are qualified. We’d know the first two participants of the tourney by the end of the show.
Karl Fredericks and Alex Coughlin defeated Clark Connors and Kevin Knight
The Young Lions were back in the ring with each other for the first time in months. Coughlin suffered a neck injury last year, so this was the first time we got to see him on the show this year. He recently appeared at both of Josh Barnett’s Bloodsport events before making his return appearance on Strong this week.
Even before the bell sounded, all four were talking trash with each other, all audible, for the most part. Connors seems to have a uniquely dynamic chemistry with both Fredericks and Coughlin.
The first match kicked off with Coughlin and a more recent Young Lion, Kevin Knight, and the two looked sharp together from the beginning, cycling through holds and submission attempts without hesitating. Coughlin was keen on proving that his neck injury was healed, making it a point to use holds that put pressure on his own neck, ones that forced him to bridge.
No matter what, this always felt like a competitive contest. There was never a doubt in my mind that what I was watching was ‘sport’ and not something else. The way all four come across in the ring, their intensity plus the crazy athleticism among each of them is notable, and it made me pay closer attention.
I forgot how high Fredericks could jump. He showed off a high leapfrog while in the ring with Connors, and it’s always impressive because of how tall Fredericks is. There looked to be a bit of miscommunication between the two on a powerslam spot, but it didn’t ruin the momentum of the match, fortunately.
Knight took a beating from both Fredericks and Coughlin by the time this was half-way through. Knight would sometimes explode with a return attack, like once when he used a diving shoulder tackle to a seat Coughlin—something I’d never seen before—plus, later, he landed a dropkick where Knight had to be close to six-feet in the air Keep an eye on Knight this year, as he’s sure to blow up once NJPW gives him the nod.
Towards the end of the match, Coughlin used a double gutwrench suplex on both Connors and Knight. Eat your heart out, Daisuke Sekimoto. Knight later locked on a Boston Crab on Fredericks until he grabbed the ropes for the break. The finish saw Fredericks locking in a sleeperhold to put Knight down, then hoisted him up for Manifest Destiny, Frederick’s impaler DDT finisher, and picked up the win for him and Coughlin.
Afterwards, the two cut a good promo that featured a fired-up Coughlin, who expressed his desire to get back into the ring after being out of commission for more than half a year.
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated The DKC to qualify for the New Japan USA Cup 2021
Filthy” Tom brought a long Indian club with him into the ring and swung it over his head a few times before the match. It’s the same piece of exercise equipment greats like Karl Gotch and the Iron Sheik used in their training,
One of the best things about this match was how it started: Instead of tying up, Lawlor kicked the DKC flush in the chest. I immediately thought to myself, “Why haven’t more wrestlers started their matches this way?”
Lawlor then boasted in the ring and asked for Kevin Kelly, who was on commentary. The momentary lapse allowed the DKC enough time to recover and get revenge on Lawlor for his “filthy” tactics. He landed a nice dropkick before the fight spilled out onto the floor.
Later, back in the ring, Lawlor took control on offense and it stayed that way for much of the match; the DKC would often try exploding back with bursts of offense, but the more experienced Lawlor was able to shut down anything DKC threw his way.
Lawlor spent time during the match working on the DKC’s arm. DKC answered back late with a Northern Lights suplex for two. DKC would continue to fight off submission attempts from Lawlor, and at points he’d come close to nearfalls via cradles or roll-up pins, but after Lawlor broke out the reverse bodyslam, the path to the finish was clear. He put the DKC down into a sitting position after locking him in a sleeper, then blasted him with a penalty kick for the win in a relatively short match, but a good one with a good story.
Lio Rush defeated Rocky Romero to qualify for the New Japan Cup USA 2021
Rush has had only a handful of matches with NJPW but already feels like a halfway seasoned regular of the show. His style really seems to suit the show so far.
The beginning of the match was similar to Rush’s match against El Phantasmo a few weeks back in that both matches started at a much slower pace than anticipated. The first five minutes of that match and tonight’s match with Rush and Romero were similarly paced, methodical and measured but with bursts of athleticism peppered throughout. Rush showed lots of flare and flash in his wrestling, but it never felt out of place or overdone.He and Romero complemented each other well tonight.
Romero looked to be in control of things. He targeted Rush’s arm throughout, tenderizing it with a hard dropkick from the second rope at one point, then later applying an arm lock on the same arm. Towards the end, when Romero went for his repeated forever clotheslines in the corner, Rush was able to withstand the blows, hop to the second rope and dive into Romero with a flying clothesline of his own. When Rush called for his finish, Romero was able to block it and turn Rush inside out with sliced bread for two. Romero cradled Rush for two, then Rush rolled back over, reversing the cradle and pinning Romero for three. Lio Rush wins and advances to the first round of the New Japan Cup USA 2021.
Final thoughts:
Everything on tonight’s show was great, but the first match had the most intensity and a lot of unanticipated excitement. I look forward to seeing more “Filthy” Tom in NJPW, too. Lio Rush seems like he’ll be appearing more for New Japan of America as well, as he too is slated for more appearances starting with the Cup shows.
Next week features Fred Rosser vs. JR Kratos in another New Japan Cup USA qualifying match.
Despite not being able to wrestle at the show, Rey Mysterio appeared at Strong Style Evolved last night and promised to still make his in-ring debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Mysterio apologized to the fans after his bicep injury kept him from facing Jushin Thunder Liger, but he said that doesn’t mean the match won’t happen at some point. He gave his word that he will come back when he’s healthy and wrestle in an NJPW ring, calling it something that’s on his bucket list.
Will Ospreay got on the mic after defeating Liger and issued a challenge for Mysterio to face him in an IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship match. While he was doing that, Marty Scurll attacked Ospreay with his umbrella. Mysterio tried to make the save, but Scurll ripped his mask off. Liger then came back in and ran Scurll off.
Mysterio and Ospreay have faced each other once before, with Ospreay defeating him in What Culture Pro Wrestling’s (now Defiant Wrestling) World Cup last summer. Mysterio vs. Liger was supposed to be their second meeting after Liger got the win at Starrcade 1996.
Mysterio has been out of action since suffering a grade one partially torn left bicep during a match for Northeast Wrestling on March 2nd. He was scheduled to go to Birmingham, Alabama last week to have the injury evaluated by WWE doctors ahead of a potential return to the company.
Wrestling Observer Live with yours truly today, riding solo for the Mothership Edition of the show.
We talk all about tonight’s New Japan Pro Wrestling Strong Style Evolved and the company’s big American adventure weekend, the week that was Daniel Bryan, plus your calls, tweets, and more.
As the kids say, it’s a a fun show as always, so check it out~!
New Japan Pro Wrestling returns to the United States tonight with Strong Style Evolved at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.
In the main event, Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi team against The Young Bucks. The match was set up when The Young Bucks moved up to heavyweight and took exception to Omega calling his Golden Lovers duo with Ibushi the best tag team in the world. The Bullet Club’s in-fighting will also continue earlier in the night, with Cody Rhodes & Marty Scurll taking on Guerrillas of Destiny.
The semi-main event features Jay White defending his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Hangman Page. IWGP Heavyweight Champion Kazuchika Okada and Zack Sabre Jr., who are set to face off at Sakura Genesis on April 1st, will be on opposite sides of a tag match. Okada will be teaming with Tomohiro Ishii to take on Sabre & Minoru Suzuki.
With Rey Mysterio missing the show due to his bicep injury, Will Ospreay is taking his place against Jushin Thunder Liger.
There are nine matches on the Strong Style Evolved card in total. The show airs live on AXS TV at 8 p.m. Eastern and will be live on New Japan World everywhere except the United States.
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Per Dave Meltzer, the main event has been changed from a 30 minute time limit to a 60 minute time limit. This breaks from tradition as NJPW only does 60 minute time limits for title maches.
Roppongi 3K ran wild on Kazarian in the early going. Kaz appeared to tweak his knee coming off the middle rope. He sold it for a minute, but continued working. Daniels hit an Asai moonsault to the floor, and Sky hit a springboard cutter as his team firmly took over.
YOH was able to make a tag to Romero, who fired up and shifted the momentum. Romero hit a springboard legdrop. SHO and YOH were sent outside, and Sky hit an awesome tope con hilo to the floor.
The teams traded nearfalls, before SHO and YOH hit Sky with the 3K, and SHO pinned Sky. A good opener.
JUICE ROBINSON & DAVID FINLAY DEFEATED HIROOKI GOTO & GEDO
Juice and Goto started off, and traded forearms, shoulder blocks, and elbow strikes. Goto came away from the sequence with a bloody mouth. Gedo and Goto worked over Juice, who responded by hitting his trademark jabs. Gedo and Juice traded thumbs to the eye, before tagging in their partners.
Finlay ran wild momentarily, but Goto cut him off. All four men jumpd into the ring as the match broke down, before Juice sent Goto outside. Juice landed a plancha on Goto, while Finlay hit Gedo with a cutter, and scored the pinfall.
DAVEY BOY SMITH, JR. & LANCE ARCHER DEFEATED CHUCK TAYLOR & TORU YANO
This match was built around Smith and Archer working over Taylor, while Yano played chicken and did his trademark comedy spots.
Smith and Archer jumped Taylor and Yano before the bell, and dominated the first several minutes of the match. Smith hit an impressive deadlift german on Taylor, and Archer did the Spoiler/Undertaker ropewalk spot.
Taylor was able to escape the Hart Attack clothesline, and made a hot tag to Yano. Yano hit an inverted atomic drop, but Archer no-sold it. Yano was sent outside, and tricked Archer and Smith into running into each other, allowing Taylor to hit a tope. Yano teased one of his own, but just untied the turnbuckle pad instead.
Archer charged into the exposed buckles, and Taylor scored a nearfall. Taylor hit a piledriver on Archer and went for the pin, but Smith broke it up. Smith took Yano outside, while Archer and Taylor traded nearfalls off an Archer chokeslam spot.
The finish saw Smith jump back in the ring, and aided Archer in hitting the Killer Bomb for the pinfall win. Smith and Archer are a good team, and Taylor looked good here.
CODY & MARTY SCURLL VDEFEATED TAMA TONGA & TANGA LOA
Cody and Marty did boo/yay spots with the mic. This was not a pro-Cody crowd. “F*** you, Cody” chants. Cody said that there would be no match, as the Bullet Club were friends. Tanga Loa grabbed the mic and said that they would not deny the crowd their match, and that if he and Tonga were on a team, it would NOT be Team Cody.
The teams traded offense, before Cody and Scurll took over. Scurll teased the chicken wing, but Cody stole his spotlight and tagged himself in. He went for Cross Rhodes on Loa, but Loa reversed and hit one of his own.
Cody hit a disaster kick and went to the top, but Tonga cut him off and hit a superplex. Tonga went to the top, but Scurll cut him off and hit a superplex. Loa hit a superplex on Scurll, and Tonga, Loa, and Scurll rolled ouside. Cody teased Omega’s terminator dive, but Loa cut him off and hit a spear.
Loan and Tonga briefly took over, but Cody recovered and hit Cross Rhodes on Loa for the pin.
I know the idea here was to sell chaos and the match was just a backdrop for the Bullet Club dissent angle that is going on, but it felt like the finish came out of nowhere. Not that it matters, as Cody got a megastar reaction, and this had the most heat of anything on the show to this point.
Tana and Naito started off. SANADA jumped in for the immediate double team, but Tana used a headscissors to escape. Lee and Takahashi tagged in and traded dozens of palm strikes to the chest, which got a great reaction. Takahashi went for a flying headscissors, but Lee used a handspring to avoid taking a bump, and hit a tope on Takahashi.
Taguchi orchestrated his train attack into the corenr on Takahashi, with everyone on the team hitting splashes or clotheslines in the corner consecutively, punctuated by Taguchi’s hip attack. KUSHIDA tagged in, but the LIJ team jumped in and cut him off. They used a quick succession of tags to gain the advantage, with the highlight being SANADA tying KUSHIDA up with the paradise lock.
KUSHIDA was able to tag Tana, who hit double dragon screws on BUSHI and Takahashi. SANADA tagged in and stopped Tana’s momentum by hitting a springboard dropkick. Tana tagged Taguchi, while SANADA tagged in Naito. Taguchi, Tana and KUSHIDA all attempted submissions at the same time, but Takahashi broke them up.
Things broke down into a four-way, which ended with Takahashi & Naito double-teaming Taguchi. While Takahashi fended off Taguchi’s team, Naito hit Destino for the win.
Before the next match, Rey Mysterio came out. He apologized for being hurt, and promised to wrestle in New Japan when healthy.
WILL OSPREAY DEFEATED JUSHIN “THUNDER” LIGER
Ospreay won with an Oscutter. They worked at Liger’s pace, which is about ten times slower than your typical Ospreay match, but Liger is about as great as you can be at 53 years old. This was fun.
Liger hit all of his trademarks including the Romero Special, the Shotei, the Frankensteiner, and multiple Liger Bombs. Ospreay sold a knee tweak for much of the match, perhaps to explain working at a slower pace.
After the match, Ospreay cut a promo. He thanked Liger, and challeged Rey to a future match, saying he needs to beat legends to create his own legacy.
As he talked, Scurll attacked from behind. Mysterio tried to make the save, but Scurll hit him and took hi mask off. Liger chased Scurll, and gave Rey his mask back. Rey and Liger posed together, and Rey and Ospreay shook hands, concluding the post-match festivities.
Okada and Sabre started, and worked to a stalemate. They tagged their partners, but continued going at it on the outside. Suzuki and Ishii also went outside, and Suzuki used a chair on Ishii right in front of the referee.
Ishii and Sabre double-teamed Ishii with armbars while Okada took the referee. Sabre worked over Ishii’s right leg, while the crowd did dueling chants for and against him. Suzuki tagged in and continued working on the right leg of Ishii.
Ishii made the hot tag to Okada, who ran wild on Sabre. Sabre grabbed a hold to stop Okada’s momentum, and regained control of the match with a modified octopus hold. Okada made the ropes, but abre quickly re-applied a standing octopus. Okada reversed into a tombstone attempt, but Sabre transitioned to a wristlock.
Okada tried to apply his Cobra Clutch, but Sabre slipped out. Okada went for the Rainmaker, but Sabre ducked. Sabre went for the double wristlock, but Okada slipped away. Both men tagged out, and Ishii and Suzuki traded chops, with Ishii getting the better of the exchange. They traded hard forearms in the center of the ring, with Suzuki getting the better of that one. Ishii fought back, leading to a double down.
Suzuki tagged Sabre, who scored a nearfall on Ishii. Suzuki took Okada to the floor and applied a sleeper, while Ishii got his second wind in the ring. Ishii hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. Sabre tried for a guillotine, but Ishii slipped out. Okada jumped in and hit his dropkick, leading to an Ishii nearfall on Sabre.
While Suzuki held Okada down in the corner, Sabre was able to apply his Orienteering with Napalm Death, a calf slicer/single-leg crab combo, and the referee called for the stoppage.
After the match, Sabre laid out Okada with an octopus hold, seven days before they meet for the IWGP title at Sakura Genesis. Standard, by the numbers booking here, but the crowd loved Suzuki and Ishii, and Okada was treated like the megastar he is.
They announced a North American return date, July 7 in San Francisco at the Cow Palace for a G1 Special show, Fighting Spirit Unleashed.
IWGP UNITED STATES CHAMPION JAY WHITE DEFEATED HANGMAN PAGE
The first few minutes of the bout saw them trading offense, with neither gaining a clear edge. That changed when Page clotheslined White with the middle rope, sending him to the floor. He whipped White into the guardrail, and threw him into the ring post.
Back inside, Page deadlifted white, then bridged into an unorthodox pinning suplex attempt. Page typically does at least one spot in every match that I’ve never seen before. White was able to stop Page with a lariat and a double sledge. White got a nearfall with a low suplex into the buckle pad, but started selling his lower back.
White went for the Kiwi Crusher, but Page turned it into a small package, scoring a nearfall. White hit a bridging german for a nearfall, and continued selling his back. Page countered with a draping DDT for a nearfall. Page went to the apron for a slingshot, but White cut him off. He tied Page in the ropes and chopped him hard, as the crowd got into the match for the first time.
White went for the Blade Runner on the apron, but Page avoided it. White had to settle for a DDT on the apron, and he hit a gutwrench suplex on Page from the apron to the floor, which got the crowd chanting. They went up top and Page hit a swinging neckbreaker off the ropes to the mat.
They kneeled on the mat and traded forearm strikes, selling exhaustion. Both men got to their feet and continued trading. White suplexed Page over the top rope to the floor, then went outside and hit another suplex on the floor. White tossed Page inside, and hit another suplex, and then another.
White went for Blade Runner, but Page countered into a powerbomb. He followed with a piledriver for a nearfall. White rolled outside, and White followed him out, nailing a standing shooting star from the apron to the floor. Page then hit a moonsault from the post to the floor.
Page hit a lariat for a nearfall. Page went for the Rite of Passage, but White rolled through for a nearfall. White hit a half nelson suplex for a nearfall, and a Kiwi Crusher for a nearfall. White went for Blade Runner, but Page countered. He hit a superkick and went for the Right of Passage, but White countered into a Blade Runner, into a three count.
This was very good, even great at times, but the lack of heat hurt it. As I said, I appreciate Page’s creativity, but I think that both guys could do slightly less and get the same result that they’re hoping for, saving some wear and tear on their bodies.
After the match, David Finlay attacked White, and made a challenge for the title on April 24 at Korakuen Hall.
THE GOLDEN LOVERS DEFEATED THE YOUNG BUCKS
Matt and Ibushi started, but Matt demanded that Kenny tag in. He did, and Matt cheap-shotted Ibushi on the apron, then tagged out. Omega tagged out, leavig Nick and Ibushi the legal men. Ibushi delivered some kicks, but Omega started selling that he was conflicted, allowing the Bucks to take advantage of his kindness and take over the match.
Omega went for the terminator dive, but Matt hit a superkick. Matt pulled a table from under the ring, in a bit of foreshadowing. Nick hit a springboard dive from the top to the floor onto both Omega and Ibushi. While Omega sold on the floor, the Bucks used tandem offense inside. Ibushi countered, and hit a dive from the post to the floor on Nick. Ibushi’s offense was short-lived, as the Bucks regained control. Matt began selling his lower back.
Ibushi hit a desperation dropkick, and tagged in Kenny, who went to work on Matt’s back. The Lovers took over, and hit a succession of moonsaults for a nearfall. They hit stereo Golden Triangle moonsaults, the Cross Slash, in an insane spot. Ibushi worked over Matt’s back with kicks.
Matt was able to tag Nick, who shifted momentum to the Bucks with a bulldog on both of the Lovers. Nick hit a tope to the floor on Omega. Matt hit a blockbuster on Ibushi, and Nick covered for a nearfall. Both Bucks went to the top rope, but Ibushi shoved Nick to the floor. Omega and Ibushi hit a tandem superplex on Matt.
Omega and Ibushi teased the Golden Shower, but Nick cut them off and hit Omega with a suplex on the apron. The Bucks set up a table bridge from the apron to the guardrail. They teased an electric chair through the table, but Ibushi grabbed Matt from that position and hit a scary german suplex from the top rope into the ring.
Nick and Omega brawled outside, while Ibushi and Matt traded strikes in the ring. Omega jumped back inside and cut Matt off with a V-Trigger, but Ibushi hit a Last Ride for a nearfall. Matt rolled through into another V-Trigger, which got the Lovers another nearfall.
Omega whipped Nick over the barricade while Matt and Ibushi worked inside. Ibushi went for a standing moonsault, but Matt got the knees up. Omega jumped in for the save, but ate a superkick from Nick.
Nick hit a moonsault and a tornado DDT to the floor on Omega, while Matt applied the sharpshooter on Ibushi. Matt was forced to relinquish the hold after his back gave out, leading to a double down. Matt got to his feet and tagged Nick. They teased More Bang for Your Buck on Ibushi, but Matt splashed Omega through the table bridge instead.
With Omega out on the floor, Nick hit a splash onto a prone Ibushi, who was draped on the middle rope by Matt, leading to a nearfall. The crowd started dueling chants for the teams.
Ibushi ate stereo superkicks, but Omega made it back inside and briefly cut off Matt. The Bucks rebounded with superkicks, but Ibushi hit a bicycle kick on both men. All four men were down, and the crowd chanted “fight forever.”
Omega nad Matt traded strikes as the show hit the four hour mark. Omega hit a dragon suplex, but didn’t get all of it. Matt rebounded with a piledriver. He removed his belt and started whipping Omega with it, Hollyood Hogan-style, but Omega grabbed the belt and tossed it away, choosing to attack Matt with two V-Triggers. He went for a third, but Matt countered with a spear.
Nick went for the Meltzer Driver, but Ibushi hit a Last Ride through a ringside table. Omega picked up Matt, and Ibushi hit a Meltzer Driver for a nearfall. Omega hit a powerbomb for a nearfall. As Omega sold exhaustion, Matt hit a superkick. Ibushi helped Omega up, and Omega hit another V-Trigger on Matt.
Omega picked Matt up for the One-Winged Angel, and reluctantly hit it on his former friend. He went for the pin, but Nick dove in to break it up. With Matt down, Nick jumped in and hit both Lovers with strikes. Ibushi cut him off, and sent him outside. Omega and Ibushi hit the Golden Trigger on Matt for the pin.
Omega cradled Matt’s head in his hands after he covered him, upset that he had to put his former Bullet Club mate down. He came to peace with his decision, and posed with Ibushi in celebration.
As the Golden Lovers left, Cody ran down to attack the Bucks. Omega and Ibushi ran back in to make the save before Cody could do any damage. Omega offered a handshake to Nick, and they embraced. Omega offered Matt his hand, but Matt refused, and rolled out of the ring.
Omega cut a promo after the match. He said that there are casualties in war. He’s upset that dissension between The Elite was one of those casualties, but he chooses to find the silver lining. The silver lining is that the Golden Lovers are back, and they’ll be back when New Japan returns in July. He promised to beat up Cody when they return, in a bigger and better building. Omega said he might have broken orbital bone, then finished his promo with a “Goodbye, and Goodnight, bang!”
This was an insane main event, capping a very good show.
Due to the bicep injury that he suffered earlier this month, Rey Mysterio will have to miss New Japan Pro Wrestling’s show in Long Beach on Sunday.
NJPW announced tonight that Mysterio’s match against Jushin Thunder Liger at Strong Style Evolved is officially off. It will instead be Liger vs. Will Ospreay.
Mysterio suffered a grade one partially torn left bicep in a match for Northeast Wrestling on March 2nd and wasn’t sure if he was going to be able to return in time for Strong Style Evolved. The match with Liger was going to be the first time he’s ever wrestled for NJPW.
Aside from Liger vs. Ospreay and Jay White’s IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship defense against Hangman Page, tag matches are the theme of the card. Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii will face Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki ahead of Sabre challenging for Okada’s IWGP Heavyweight title at Sakura Genesis on April 1st.
In addition to the Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. Young Bucks main event, the storyline of friction between the Bullet Club will continue with Cody & Marty Scurll vs. Guerrillas of Destiny as well.
The full card for Strong Style Evolved is listed below. It will take place at Walter Pyramid and will air live on AXS TV at 8 p.m. Eastern time:
Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi vs. The Young Bucks
IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White defending against Hangman Page
Kazuchika Okada & Tomohiro Ishii vs. Zack Sabre Jr. & Minoru Suzuki
Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Will Ospreay
Hiroshi Tanahashi, KUSHIDA, Ryusuke Taguchi & Dragon Lee vs. Tetsuya Naito, SANADA, BUSHI & Hiromu Takahashi
Cody & Marty Scurll vs. Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa
Chuck Taylor & Toru Yano vs. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Lance Archer
Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Hirooki Goto & Gedo
Rocky Romero, Sho & Yoh vs. Christopher Daniels, Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky
A match between Kenny Omega & Kota Ibushi and The Young Bucks appeared to be inevitable coming out of the NJPW/ROH Honor Rising tour, and now a date and location for it has been set.
Omega & Ibushi will face Matt & Nick Jackson at NJPW’s Strong Style Evolved show at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California on March 25th. The announcement comes after The Young Bucks confronted Omega & Ibushi at Honor Rising night two, with the Bucks taking exception to Omega calling himself and Ibushi the best tag team in the world.
While confronting them, The Young Bucks also announced their move up to NJPW’s heavyweight tag team division. Omega asked if their comments were a challenge and mentioned it being a dream match. In his post-show remarks, Omega said he’s still best friends with the Bucks and would have wanted to speak with them in private about this, but Omega reiterated that he believes he and Ibushi are the best team in the world.
Jay White defending his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship against Hangman Page has also been confirmed for Strong Style Evolved. That match became apparent at Honor Rising night two as well, with Page pinning White in a six-man tag.
With the two additions to the card, there are now three matches official for Strong Style Evolved. Rey Mysterio vs. Jushin Thunder Liger was confirmed earlier this month when Mysterio appeared in a video at the New Beginning in Osaka and challenged Liger. The show will air live on AXS TV.
The first match for New Japan Pro Wrestling’s return to the United States appears to be confirmed, and it’s one that involves a big name from outside of the promotion.
A video where Rey Mysterio challenged Jushin Thunder Liger to face him at Strong Style Evolved in Long Beach aired on this morning’s New Beginning in Osaka show. Mysterio introduced himself, announced that he’d be wrestling in NJPW for the first time ever, and then issued the challenge to Liger.
Liger, who was doing commentary for the New Beginning show, accepted Mysterio’s challenge.
Mysterio called Liger one of the greatest junior heavyweight wrestlers ever, and Kevin Kelly and Don Callis hyped it up as a dream match. In their only other singles meeting, Liger defeated Mysterio at Starrcade 1996.
After making a surprise appearance in last month’s Royal Rumble, Mysterio spoke optimistically about returning to WWE. Dave Meltzer noted that Mysterio doesn’t have a contract with anyone, but he wrote Mysterio has commitments “all over the world” right now.
Strong Style Evolved will take place at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach on March 25th.
AXS TV officially announced that New Japan Pro Wrestling’s March 25th Strong Style Evolved show from Long Beach will air live on the station starting at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. local time.
The story was first reported in the Wrestling Observer a few weeks ago.
The show sold out in less than 20 minutes even with an issue with the website crashing. Thus far, only Kenny Omega, Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, and Hiroshi Tanahashi have been announced as appearing.
“New Japan Pro Wrestling’s popularity and ratings in the U.S. are at an all-time high,” said AXS TV Fights CEO Andrew Simon. “The G1 Special last summer sold out in a few hours, while Strong Style Evolved, in an arena twice the size, sold out in less than ten minutes. This second U.S. event is a great opportunity to further our relationship with NJPW and TV Asahi and we are looking forward to growing their strong style brand of wrestling in the states.”
Jim Ross and Josh Barnett will be calling the action.
The Kazuchika Okada vs. Tetsuya Naito IWGP Heavyweight title match from the Tokyo Dome will be replayed this coming Friday night on the station.
Even though there was an immediate site crash, leaving people who were in the process of ordering tickets shut down and having to reload from the start, costing them tickets they thought they had, it took only 20 minutes for the March 25th New Japan “Strong Style Evolved” show in Long Beach to sell out.
The company put close to 5,000 tickets on sale. The building has been set up for 5,300 fans and some tickets were held back, including many for the Japanese markets for fans there traveling over. Because so few are left, no tickets will be put on sale for the general public in Japan, and the only primary tickets left will be available to members of the New Japan fan club.
New Japan sold out immediately even though it’s the second time in the same market and the show is two weeks before WrestleMania. It also sold out without anything announced for the show. The lineup isn’t likely to be announced until all angles and match results that would relate to the show have taken place in Japan.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has officially announced ticket information for the March 25th Strong Style Evolved show in Long Beach, California at the Walter Pyramid, a 5,300-seat arena on the campus of Long Beach State University.
Tickets will go on sale on January 29th at 10 a.m. Pacific time. Information on where to get tickets hasn’t been announced.
No matches are yet announced for the show, and there likely won’t be any officially confirmed until after the February 10th New Beginning show in Osaka, if not later.
The first four rows will be priced at $200, with rows 5-12 at $150. Bleacher seats will be priced at $100, $80, and $50.
Most of the major stars of the promotion like Kazuchika Okada, Tetsuya Naito, Kenny Omega, and The Young Bucks are expected to be the headliners.
This will be the second straight year that NJPW has come to Long Beach. The Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center hosted two G1 Specials last July, which featured the tournament where Omega was crowned as the first IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion.
