Chris Dickinson and Tom Lawlor team up as part of an elimination match main event as they prepare for their Strong Openweight title match later this month…
Quick Results
Rocky Romero pinned AJZ in 10:56 (**¾)
Lio Rush & Fred Rosser pinned El Phantasmo & Hikuleo in 9:53 (***)
Chris Dickinson won an elimination match in 18:36 (***½)
We’re back at over an hour in run time for this week’s edition of Strong, as we’re greeted by the voices of Alex Koslov and Kevin Kelly over a clip reel to build up today’s card.
AJZ vs. Rocky Romero
It’s a debut for AJZ, who has worked a lot for OVW in the past 18 months… and has also recently debuted for AAW. He’s getting the Rocky tryout here, and looks to be in phenomenal shape.
AJZ takes down Rocky early on with waistlocks, but there’s a rope break as Kevin Kelly walks Alex Koslov through AJZ’s name… Rocky’s effortlessly lifted into the corner by AJZ, but comes back with a side headlock that restrained AJZ for a spell. Eventually it’s pushed off as we break into shoulder tackles, only for AJZ’s drop down to… get him right back in a side headlock. After breaking free, AJZ nails Rocky with a pop-up forearm before some mounted punches on the mat had Romero in trouble. AJZ stays on Rocky with body blows in the corner, but Rocky returns with a flying knee drop to AJZ’s left arm. A floatover and a dropkick has AJZ back in it, but it’s only enough for a two-count ahead of a cravat.
Rocky kicks out at one after getting rolled to the mat as AJZ stayed on him, but Rocky chops back and threw AJZ into the ropes… only for AJZ to respond with a slingshot DDT for a near-fall. Rocky escapes a suplex and begins to work the arm again, then took AJZ back between the ropes for a missile dropkick.
A Shiranui from Rocky’s blocked as AJZ returned with a pumphandle powerslam. The pair trade right hands, but AJZ edges out with a bicycle knee. Down comes the knee pad as AJZ prepared for a springboard flying knee, but Rocky ducks it and pulls AJZ into a cross armbar… which is bitten out of. Someone’s watched his Yujiro tapes. From there, AJZ hits a front suplex for a two-count, before Rocky slipped out of a Fireman’s carry to get the win with a backslide. AJZ took a lot more of this than I expected, and while he is relatively inexperienced, there is something there behind the facial expressions that look designed to play to the back of the room. **¾
Bullet Club (El Phantasmo & Hikuleo) vs. Fred Rosser & Lio Rush
We’ve a mash-up of feuds here as we prepare for Hikuleo vs. Rosser next week.
After some messing around with tags, it’s ELP and Rosser who start, with the latter being aggressive early, looking to take ELP off the apron. Hikuleo stops it as Lio Rush knocks Phantasmo to the floor for a tope con giro.
Back inside, a backbreaker from Rosser gets a two-count on ELP, before Rush tagged in. The pace quickens briefly, with Rosser then returning for a clothesline after a blind tag. A legdrop rocks ELP for a two-count, while Phantasmo then got hurled across the ring. Rush is back to knock Hikuleo off the apron before some double-teaming left ELP down for Rosser’s sit-down splash. A trip from Hikuleo distracts Rosser as the double-teaming goes the other way, with Rosser in the wrong corner. It leads to ELP crotching Rosser in the ring post, before Hikuleo just stomped Rosser in the lower back as he tried to crawl across the ring. Hikuleo’s powerslam nearly wins it, but an errant chop catches ELP… who then ran into an overhead belly-to-belly.
ELP can’t stop a tag out as Lio Rush comes in with clotheslines and a handspring back elbow for a near-fall. Phantasmo blocks a springboard stunner, but can’t avoid a standing Spanish Fly as Rosser returns to pancake ELP with Rush… but Hikuleo breaks up the pin as he and Rosser get into a hockey fight. Rush tags himself in as those two brawl to the back, which leaves ELP on his own as he tries to set up Rush for the CR2… but a jack-knife counter gets Rush a near-fall. Another CR2 is attempted but Rush counters with a ‘rana, before ELP set up for Sudden Death. It misses as Rush hits the springboard stunner in the end for the win. A nice little sprint of a match, with Hikuleo flipping up the timekeeper’s table afterwards as the decision was announced. I chuckled at the panic. ***
There’s a good post-match interview as Rosser and Rush’s exasperation shone through. If you’d told me that the former Darren Young was going to be an all-round, solid highlight of these shows when they started a year ago, I’d probably have laughed.
Yes, I only learned it was spelled Gekiochikun when the New Japan Twitter account finally started sharing the adverts. That’s pretty cool
Elimination: Team Filthy (Chris Dickinson, Danny Limelight, JR Kratos & Tom Lawlor) vs. Brody King, Clark Connors, Karl Fredericks & TJP
Dickinson and Lawlor face off for the Strong Openweight title in two weeks, so it’s natural they team together, right? Dickinson came out by himself, which was instantly noted… despite everyone sharing fist-bumps. Meanwhile, Clark Connors got new music and gear as he’s now the “Wild Rhino”…
Fredericks and Lawlor start with some grappling, looking for leg locks early as Lawlor rolled Fredericks into a full nelson attempt. Headscissors from Fredericks on the mat are escaped, as tags bring us to TJP and Limelight, who up the pace as TJP trips Limelight in search of a TJP. An inside cradle counters that, before TJP rolled over Limelight for a low dropkick. Connors comes in for a double hiptoss and an elbow drop, before TJP whipped Connors into a spear on Limelight in the corner. A slam from TJP looked to lead to something, but TJP’s crotched on the top rope as Limelight brings him down with a ’rana as the ring filled ahead of a Doomsday Blockbuster by Limelight for a near-fall.
TJP flips Limelight over the top, but Danny skins the cat and came back with a springboard head stomp. A tornado DDT spikes Limelight as Brody King tags in to clear house, chopping Kratos into the corner. Limelight grabs onto Brody as he tried to cannonball Kratos… and that leads to the first elimination as Kratos tosses him over the top. Fredericks comes in but gets cornered as a gutwrench suplex from Kratos tossed him before Limelight’s popped up for a stomp on Fredericks for a near-fall. Limelight goes for the tornado DDT, but Fredericks propels him over the ropes to the floor for the next elimination as Lawlor tried to roll-up Fredericks for the win.
Karl has some of his own, and an inside cradle, but Lawlor kicks out at two before a uranage took the “Alpha Wolf” down. A double dropkick from Fredericks has Lawlor and Dickinson down, before he tried to clothesline Lawlor out… Dickinson makes the save, but Lawlor gets tossed anyway as he snuck back in, with Fredericks claiming the elimination. Dickinson dumps Fredericks with a back suplex, but gets caught in the corner with a series of right hands. Fredericks gets lifted over the top, with Limelight pulling him down behind the ref’s back – with nobody on Karl’s team seemingly noticing nor disputing the cheating. Kratos and Connors are in next, but TJP tags in to help as Connors spears Kratos.
TJP heads up top, but Connors is pushed into the corner to knock TJP down to the floor – and since TJP was legal, that’s him out. It’s Connors vs. Kratos and Dickinson now, and it didn’t look like Clark was long for this world as he ran into a powerslam. Kratos’ suplex is escaped before Connors low bridges him to the outside… We’re down to Dickinson and Connors as our final two, and they charge at each other to open with. Right hands wear both men down, as do roll-ups, before Clark ran into a back elbow. A brainbuster nearly puts Connors away, but Clark’s back in with a powerslam to tease the upset, only for Dickinson to take down Connors with a Dragon screw as he went for a submission with the STF.
Dickinson cranks away on the hold, but Connors drags himself to the ropes to force the break. An O’Connor roll’s blocked as Connors just hits a spear instead as Tom Lawlor’s left holding his hands at ringside. Clark heads up top, but gets caught with a chop as Dickinson searches for a superplex… Connors gets knocked onto the apron, and teases a superplex to the floor, but only manages to get Dickinson onto the apron as the pair trade right hands and chops. The pace of those strikes intensify, but Dickinson gets the last shot in, kicking Connors off the apron to win the match. A pretty good elimination match, with Dickinson being able to crow over his team mate Tom Lawlor’s early elimination… ***½
Post-match, Team Filthy celebrate… but Danny Limelight low blows Dickinson as the Dirty Daddy’s departure was defined. Yeah, I shoehorned in alliteration. Brody King makes the save, as the show goes off the air – giving fresh impetus to the title match in two weeks’ time.
With remote commentary, this set of tapings looks to be very much a “steak with little sizzle” show for the time being – which isn’t entirely a bad thing, as the roster on Strong continues to shine. My question though, as part of the States begins to open up, does Strong ever become a touring show, or do they keep it a behind-closed-doors product?