Category must-read list NEWS TICKER NJPW TV review TV review

Author: ProWrestling.net staff Colin McGuire (@McGMondays)

NJPW Strong was recorded at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from October 16th to 17th, and aired at New Japan World on November 13, 2021

The show opened with a video of Chris Dickinson, which was refreshing. He calls Suzuki the Trail Blazers, and his game with him will be the game Dickinson dreams of. Dickinson said his game may prove that Dickinson belongs to him, he said. Dickinson said he didn't care about Suzuki's achievements. Dickinson then said he would "f-Suzuki up"...

McGuire's Musings: When Strong started the episode like this, I really liked it. They did something similar to Fred Ross not long ago, and it worked very well. First, it adds new wrinkles to everything, and second, it warms up the match that deserves more heat. Suzuki vs. Dickinson is a perfect example and deserves some extra highlights.

The broadcast team consisting of Alex Koslov and Matt Rehwoldt checked in to start the show and ran the cards. This is the second night of New Japan Showdown 2021. The second introductory video package was then broadcast...

1. Ariya Daivari vs. Alex Zayne. Rehwoldt mentioned how he called Daivari's many games in WWE, my goodness, the flashback of 205 Live almost made me unplug the computer. The two locked up to start the game, but Davari controlled the game with a wrist lock. Zayne eventually fought back against Daivari, but Daivari fought back. The two subsequently had some misunderstandings, which caused Zayne to fall and lock his head due to two counts.

Davari fought hard and finally kicked Zahn in the head. Daivari tied Zayne up and made a series of marks on Zayne's chest. Daivari dropped his dangling leg in two counts. Davari hit more chops in the corner, then worked on Zahn's arms and back. Daivari hit a full Nelson DDT, counting twice. Before Zayne tried to fight back, Daivari made a neck submission. Everything ends with a double clothesline.

Standing again, Zayne punched and the clothesline. Zayne kicked a few times and his leg fell. Zyane then hit the second rope and placed Daivari on the second rope. Zayne ran into a boot, but this only caused the two to exchange stamps. Daivari grabbed Zayne with a neck breaker and hammer lock DDT and counted twice. Davari tried to set up Zahn for his hammerlock lasso, but Zahn fought back and threw Davari outside. Zahn hit the springboard moonsault.

Back on the ring, Zayne dropped an unexplainable Grand Slam, even with Excalibur vocabulary. Before climbing to the top of the magic carpet tour, Daivari landed with Super Kick and his hammer lock lasso. However, Daivari missed and Zayne hit Taco Driver for the final victory.

Alex Zayne defeated Ariya Daivari by hitting the ball in 10 minutes and 48 seconds.

After the game, Zahn stretched out his hand, Davari first resisted, but in the end the two shook hands and made peace. In the background, Daivari cut a promotional video saying that things did not develop in the way he hoped. Davari said he was upset because people had been staring at him in the locker room. He said he realized it was because he had worked at WWE. Davari said he was just a product of the environment. Davari said he wanted to change, he wanted to prove that he could change. He said that the NJPW environment can help start this change in Daivari.

McGuire's Musings: I don't know what else to say, I can't emphasize it enough, this is by no means disrespectful to Alex Zayne. But Alex Zahn's outing in Philadelphia didn't go well. If I remember correctly, his game against Will Ospreay had a very obvious flaw. I guess this flaw caused the game to appear in the YouTube series, not on Strong. And there is an early dead spot, Daivari must adjust his position to ensure Zayne enters the next sequence. So, everyone likes Alex Zahn, but, man, it might be better for him in Philadelphia. In any case, the game went smoothly. Good enough, as some might say. I still don't understand why AEW didn't let Daivari use his rugs on Rampage, but I would also say that I was digging for this revival for Daivari, and he reinvented himself in a low-key manner. When I saw this game for the first time, I wanted to get more, and then when I saw it on TV, I wanted to get more, but both times made me want more.

2. Rocky Romero and Fred Rosser played against Tom Lawlor and Danny Limelight. Romero and the spotlight started the game. After Limelight pulled Romero into the rope and slapped him, Romero returned with the armrest, but Lawlor pulled Limelight out of the ring. Back on the ring, Romero kicked Limelight in the head, who was hanging from the second rope. Lawler marked and knocked Romero into the corner. Lawler used a hammer to lock Romero's arm to work.

Lawler performed a creative ankle lock on Romero and marked it in the spotlight. The spotlight worked on Romero's lap and put a label on Lawler, who has been doing the same thing. Lawler sank in another pretzel leg submission, but Romero took a break on the rope. Romero came on, splashed and danced. Lawlor remarked and hit some forearms. Romero finally rolled outside, with the spotlight dancing on him.

At the same time, Rosser rushed into the ring and started slamming Lawlor, but Limelight attacked Rosser, his heels posing before kicking Rosser outside. Lawler then carried out a series of strikes on Romero in the ring. Lawler made another leg submission, but Romero countered his arm. Limelight ran in, only kicking Romero, and Rosser ran over and fell to Lawler. Romero finally got the hot label and Limelight walking stick.

Rother fought a bunch of strikes back and forth on Limelight. Rother was on the top rope, which led Rother to choose Razor's Edge, but Limelight fought back into a roll that required two counts. Limelight kicked, but Rosser fought back and picked up Rosser. Lawlor then ran in, Romero took care of Limelight, and Rosser hit an intestinal destroyer and kicked Lawlor in the face, almost falling.

Lawler locked Rosser's sleep, but Rosser leaned back on Rosser, which caused Rosser's fluke.

Rocky Romero and Fred Rother defeated Tom Lawler and Danny Limlet at 11:32.

After the game, Danny Limelight reached under the ring to get the scissors. Romero returned to the ring to help, but the rest of the dirty team ran in and killed Romero. West Coast Wrecking Crew and JR Kratos defeated everyone, and Lawlor killed Rosser. Lawler grabbed the scissors and cut Rother's hair. Lawler put Rother's hair in his mouth and ate, and the crowd responded: "You guy...!"

McGuire's meditation: Due to the post-match perspective, I think this will be the main event of the Strong series. The crowd at the scene was very enthusiastic about it, and had many reactions to Lawler eating Rother's hair. The game itself was very good, Romero played most of its role, and Rosser entered the game as a hero-even an official victory! – Only later was viciously attacked and eventually lost his back and forth. This sets up Rosser vs. Lawlor, which should be very good. Rosser has come this far, he is absolutely worthy of the main event scene of such a TV show.

3. "Switchblade" Jay White vs. Fred Yehai. Hattori to join the comment. The two began a series of chain actions, but Ye Hai dragged White to the ground, which slowed things down. Yehi rushed to his terminator immediately, and White rolled outside. In the ring, White kicked Ye Hai on the bottom corner. However, Ye Hai fought back, and White retreated to the rope to stop the momentum.

Ye Hai asked White to chop him, and White did so. repeatedly. White straightened and offered the same invitation, but White kicked Ye Hai and attacked Ye Hai. The action spread outside, and White drove Ye Hai onto the guardrail. Back on the ring, Ye Hai pounced on White and kicked him several times. Yehi went to chop, but White hit a suplex and brought Yehi to the top rope.

Back on the ring, White hit a suplex from abdomen to back and counted twice. White hit a slash and a slash block, knocking Yehi down. White locked his jaw. Yehi found a way and landed an Exploder to control it. Ye Hai knelt on White's chest. Yehi continued to kick and perform suplex, but White elbowed it out. As a result, Ye Hai cheated and sank as soon as his abdomen stretched out. White cast his eyes and got out of the predicament.

White hit a neck breaker and a DDT to control it. White landed a spinning suplex to make two counts. Yehi landed with a hard back fist and Yehi sank into a sleeper. Yehi hit the German Suplex. Yehi won a big win in a near-falling game. Yehi sank into Koji Clutch. White walked to the rope to take a break.

Both stood up, Yehi hit a seal, and then another one, but White landed a and a half Nelson suplex as a counterattack. Then White hit the Blade Runner, which was enough to win.

"Switchblade" Jay White defeated Fred Yehai by hitting the ball in 12 minutes and 47 seconds.

After the game, White grabbed the microphone. The crowd chanted for White. White shouted "Welcome to J's America". White said he had come a long way. White said he participated in the US J. Tour and he wrestled with people from Impact, AEW and Ring Of Honor. He called Wheeler Uta and Danny Garcia. White said he was opening the door of NJPW Strong, saying that he would accept anyone from any company. White claims to be the number one man in all professional wrestling circles and the one who single-handedly sold Madison Square Garden. White said he was a true belt collector. White said that before anyone objected to him, he had to deal with something first, and that was Ishii, which happened on the same night the episode aired. This is smart booking.

McGuire’s meditation: I don’t know, buddy. On many levels, there is Jay White, and everyone else. This game with Yehi was one of the first two games I recorded on the weekend. There is no doubt that the promotional video was my favorite that weekend, and it was broadcast perfectly on TV. White gave Yehi too much-I mean, so much-you can tell Yehi either get everyone's respect in the background or Yehi will be pushed soon. No matter which one is fact-or both-is no problem for me. This is a wonderful game. If you have 15 minutes, please consider this. If you have 20 minutes, please continue to wait for White's promotion. In addition, if this open challenge persists, let us succumb, because it may be very good for White to work with all these potential challengers.

4. Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson. Hattori also commented on this. The crowd chanted "Oh my God!" and the two felt each other. Dickinson reached for his leg and locked it, but Suzuki laughed at him. Dickinson made a head lock, but Suzuki came up with his own leg lock. This caused the two to stand up again.

The two underwent a strength test and then performed some mat wrestling. Suzuki made an armrest, but Dickinson stood up and carried Suzuki back into the corner. Back in the middle of the ring, Suzuki hit a heavy blow, and Dickinson shot back. The two made the scene of the hand-cutting transaction, and both of them laughed from time to time. Dickinson achieved better results when he carried Suzuki back to the corner, but Suzuki grabbed Dickinson's arm and used a wishbone breaker on the rope.

The movement spread outside, and Suzuki grabbed a chair. The referee grabbed the chair and took it away from him. Suzuki drove Dickinson into the ring column. When the referee was counting Dickinson, Suzuki stopped counting and shook the referee's wrist. Suzuki stepped back in an interesting place. Dickinson rolled back, but Suzuki made a series of arm submissions. Dickinson took a break on the rope.

Suzuki continued to work on Dickinson's arm. Dickinson finally tried to use the German Suplex to regain control. Dickinson hit a dragon spiral leg whip and then turned into STF. Suzuki took a break on the rope. Dickinson kicked Suzuki's leg a few times, then went to get another dragon screw, but Suzuki fought back and became a broken arm. Dickinson jumped onto the rope to rest. Suzuki kicked Dickinson, but Dickinson laughed, so Suzuki kicked again. Then again. Then again. Then again. Then again.

On his last attempt, Dickinson caught him and hit him. Then the two exchanged seals. That transaction became extremely intense. Dickinson sneered at some people, but how can you blame him. Suddenly, Dickinson hit a brain destroyer to get close to two counts. Dickinson kicked again, but Suzuki suffocated naked and fought back. Dickinson stood up again and tried to find a way to get out, and he did. As a result, Suzuki hit a bunch of forearms, but Dickinson shot back. In the end, Suzuki hit a series of marks and slaps, and of course the Gotch pile driver.

Minoru Suzuki defeated Chris Dickinson in 18 minutes and 58 seconds.

After the game, Suzuki picked up the microphone and called out Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston. Suzuki then pointed "f-you" at Moxley and Kingston. The show ended like this.

McGuire's Musings: This one is actually better than what I remember. Suzuki's post-match promotional video is very interesting. Dickinson looked great in failure and obviously/still respects Suzuki very much. This is an important main event on a card that I think three of the four games can be a major event. Suzuki clearly understands who he is and what he does, which is an extremely precious virtue. At the same time, Dickinson is the same thing—the opponent who will fight, fight, and fight until he can no longer fight. Went to watch this episode specially. This is a weekend full of professional wrestling, but the game here will stand out from all the great failed matches. NJPW Strong is still worth everyone's time and attention.

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