The October 30, 2020 episode of New Japan Strong introduced the New Japan of America (NJoA) Showdown tour. The ‘Road to‘ events will lead to a tour finale, in the same vein as the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) tours that take place in Japan.
October 30 Road to New Japan Showdown Analysis
The marquee match of the event saw the Bullet Club team of six-time former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions, two-thirds of three NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champions Guerrillas of Destiny (Tama Tonga/Tanga Loa), former NEVER Openweight Champion and New Japan Cup USA 2020 winner Kenta, and NJPW Noge Dojo graduate “Young Gun” Hikuleo face former IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champion David Finlay (w/Juice Robinson as FinJuice), Misterioso, PJ Black, and junior heavyweight Alex Zayne.
The competitive match saw David Finlay attempt to make an impression against Kenta, whose IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship opportunity Finlay covets. However, Finlay was unable to gain the fall over Kenta; in fact, the Bullet Club team grabbed the pinfall victory at the 9 minutes and 33 seconds mark after Hikuleo used his Gunslinger technique on Misterioso.
During the post-match comments, Finlay made a formal challenge towards Kenta for a shot at his IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship opportunity. That match will likely take place during the New Japan Showdown tour finale event.
The headline match saw NJPW Los Angeles (LA) Dojo graduate “Alpha Wolf” Karl Fredericks face the junior heavyweight “All Heart” Blake Christian.
Christian showed that he has the potential to be a future player in the NJPW junior heavyweight division, but Fredericks relied on NJPW Dojo training to batter his smaller opponent with rough strikes.
Fredericks would gain the submission fall at the 5 minutes and 56 seconds mark with an Elevated Single Crab to continue his momentum after singles victories over Misterioso and ACH in recent weeks.
The opening match saw NJPW LA Dojo Young Lion and Lion’s Break Crown 2020 tournament winner Clark Connors team with The DKC against The Riegel Twins (Logan/Sterling Riegel).
While Sterling Riegel was making his debut on New Japan Strong, he and Logan were original fixtures on New Japan of America events with Misterioso and Barret Brown before New Japan Strong was a weekly event.
Connors presented a stiff challenge for the tag team, but they would eventually be able to neutralize him and hit The DKC with a Double Spike DDT, gaining the fall at the 10 minutes mark.
The Riegel Twins could find themselves as a stalwart team within NJPW’s junior heavyweight tag team division in the future.
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!
