The Lion’s Break Crown tournament continues in the first two matches of the current New Japan Strong tour.
The marquee match of the event showcases New Japan of America (NJoA) regular Misterioso, former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion David Finlay, former NEVER Openeweight Champion Jeff Cobb, and former eight-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion Rocky Romero face the Bullet Club team of recent New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) Noge Dojo graduate Hikuleo, “Crown Jewel” Chase Owens, former NEVER Openweight Champion and New Japan Cup USA 2020 winner Kenta, and former IWGP Heavyweight Champion “Switchblade” Jay White.
In what should be a festive tag team match, the Bullet Club group should have the advantage due to being used to working with one another. Yet, the tag team expertise of Rocky Romero could help his team take the day.
The headline match sees TJP and recent NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo graduate “Alpha Wolf” Karl Fredericks against the conspiracy theorist Flip Gordon and Brody King.
This could end up being a stiff challenge for Flip Gordon and Brody King who are looking to earn a permanent place within NJPW to go along with their Ring of Honor (ROH) commitments.
The second Lion’s Break Crown Semi-Final match of the nights sees tournament favorite NJPW LA Dojo Young Lion Clar Connors take on Logo Riegel.
During the opening round, Riegel was able to defeat The DKC, while Connors bested Jordan Clearwater. With pressure starting to mount, Connors is likely feeling more pressure being a LA Dojo student.
With Riegel having momentum, can he grab the upset from Connors?
In the opening semi-final match of the Lion’s Break tournament sees a contest which could foreshadow a future Best of the Super Junior (BOSJ) tournament match.
Danny Limelight defeated Barret Brown in a solid contest from both competitors, while Blake Christian defeated Adrian Quest in the opening round.
This should be a fast-paced contest where the wrestler who makes the fewest mistakes advances to the finals.
UPDATE: Match analysis can be found here.
