The marquee match of the pilot episode of New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Strong saw the final opening match of the New Japan Cup USA Tournament. Former six-time IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Tama Tonga took on Brody King.
Since Evil won the IWGP Heavyweight and IWGP Intercontinental ‘Double Championship’ at Dominion Tama Tonga has stirred the pot within Bullet Club regarding Evil being the leader, and has publicly critiqued both Jay White and Kenta for not being congratulatory towards the alleged new leader of Bullet Club.
The match saw Tama Tonga debut his freshly shaved look in the ring, which was in contrast to the intimidating gruff look of Brody King who was able to impose his will on Tama during several points throughout the match.
However, Tama’s counter-attacking style allowed him to find several openings and eventually defeat Brody with the Gun Stun at the 7 minute and 14-second mark.
Tama will go on to face David Finlay on next week’s episode of NJPW Strong in the semi-final round of the tournament. A match that will callback to the Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga/Tanga Loa) [G.O.D.] and FinJuice (David Finlay/Juice Robinson) matches from the 2019 World Tag League and Wrestle Kingdom 14.
G.O.D. was able to win during World Tag Leauge, but FinJuice won the IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Championship from G.O.D. at Wrestle Kingdom 14.
However, the two have never met one another in a singles match in their 61 matches with one another going into their New Japan Cup USA 2020 Tournament match.
Both operate best when countering, therefore the strategy utilized by each will likely determine who will go on to the tournament finals.
Remember to stay up to date with the latest news on TheOvertimer. Don’t forget to visit YouTube
and Gamestingr for great videos, news, and gameplay!