Buddy Matthews is back on NJPW Strong, as he faces Ren Narita in this week’s main event.
Quick Results
Fred Yehi, Keita & The DKC pinned Barrett Brown, Bateman & Misterioso in 10:05 (***)
Chris Bey pinned Blake Christian in 10:24 (***½)
Buddy Matthews pinned Ren Narita in 15:32 (***½)
We’re back to the Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles… Ian Riccaboni’s on the call alongside Alex Koslov, as they first run down today’s three matches.
Stray Dog Army (Barrett Brown, Bateman & Misterioso) vs. Fred Yehi, Keita & The DKC
The Stray Dog Army had a pretty vocal fanbase for their level on the card here…
Keita got in Misterioso’s face before the bell, while Yehi was making his return to Strong for the first time since a loss to Jay White in October. He starts a shoving match with Brown, but held onto the ropes as he was shot off, returning with some shoulder tackles and a Side Effect that caught Barrett out. Brown quickly returned with a cross-chop to the throat, then tagged in Bateman, who took a couple of forearms before returning fire. A side slam and a back senton puts Bateman ahead, only for Keita to return with a jawbreaker and a Money Clip kick as he tagged out to Yehi.
Yehi and Bateman trade waistlocks, with Yehi snapping in for a Koji Clutch that drew Brown in to kick it apart. Misterioso’s in for a powerslam before he backflipped in for a DDT to Yehi, who returns with a chop and a cravat as DKC tagged in. DKC countered a hiptoss and took Misterioso down with a brief armbar, following up with a springboard ‘rana to boot. A crossbody’s caught by Misterioso, who dumps DKC with a slam ahead of a stalling springboard senton, as the Stray Dog Army took over. Brown nearly won with a low dropkick, before a gnarly slam from Bateman added another near-fall. Bateman got carried away though and took a DKC backfist, prompting Misterioso and Brown to charge the ring to prevent a tag out.
Misterioso’s legal as DKC hits some headscissors and a dropkick to buy him time… Yehi tags in and lit up Brown with chops and German suplexes, while Misterioso took an Exploder. Yehi clears house as a Parade of Moves broke out, ending with Yehi taking out Bateman’s knee as all six men were left laying. An Asai moonsault from Misterioso on the outside clears out DKC and Keita, leaving Yehi on his own against Brown and Bateman. Yehi outfoxes them, as he pushed Bateman into a Brown knee, before a Fisherman suplex earned Yehi the big win. A solid trios match, with the Stray Dog Army looking a little shaky here. ***
Chris Bey vs. Blake Christian
All being well, this ought to be a cracker – the pair have met once before, on a Black Label Pro show in 2020. Since then Blake’s been signed and released by WWE, just to reiterate how insane their hiring and firing policy was…
Blake’s not been around since March 2021, where he was part of the New Japan Cup US qualifiers… a tie-up from Bey sees him grab a side headlock, clinging onto Blake’s hair as he went, before Blake finally pushed free and leapt back with a shoulder tackle. A monkey flip takes Bey down, as did a handspring enziguiri, before a dropkick sent Bey rolling outside. Bey sidesteps Blake’s baseball slide, but remained on the defensive before he caught Blake with a shotgun dropkick into the barriers. Christian’s taken into the barriers for a two-count, with a backbreaker getting a similar result for Bey, who began to stretch Blake on the mat with an abdominal stretch a la Razor.
Christian fights back out of the corner, wheelbarrowing Bey into a frog splash… but Bey got the knees up! A back suplex from Bey gets a near-fall, but Christian’s able to dropkick Bey into the bottom rope for a low 619. That’s followed with a step-up knee strike, before Bey boots Blake away… Bey tries to block another standing frog splash, only to get scooped up into a tiltawhirl lungblower as Blake finally hit the wheelbarrow frog splash for a near-fall. Blake looked for a hooking reverse Flatliner, but Bey blocked it, only to get sent into the corner as he caught Blake between the ropes for an elbow drop. A torture rack neckbreaker followed for a near-fall, before snap German suplexes from Blake looked to put him ahead. A ripcord Spanish Fly followed, then a springboard 450… but still Bey kicked out!
Another 450 from Christian’s stopped as Bey nearly wins with a roll-up, before Bey countered a springboard moonsault into an Art of Finesse cutter for the win. That finish was one of those “who took the offence?” moves until the pin happened, but this was a fun outing with Bey staying a step ahead here. ***½
Video promo time as Clark Connors tells us that the face of Strong ought to be someone who’s put in the work and knows the culture. He’s facing Tom Lawlor soon for the title, but next week we’ve an elimination teaser…
Ren Narita vs. Buddy Matthews
This was Buddy’s first match since he lost to Kazuchika Okada at Battle in the Valley last year…
Narita started by being taken into the ropes by Matthews, who broke a little sarcastically a la Okada. A hammerlock from Narita’s reversed as the pair went back-and-forth, before a side headlock on the mat had Matthews ahead. It’s quickly countered by Narita, but Matthews quickly gets back in control, only for Narita to get to freedom… so he could mock Matthews with a pat on the shoulder. A brief shoving match ensues as Narita grabbed another side headlock… he’s shoved off, then got thrown onto the apron, returning with a front kick before Matthews hit a draping DDT out of nowhere. On the outside, Matthews stings Narita with chops as he then took it back inside for a two-count, before throwing Ren back outside… so the Aussie could sit down a la Shibata.
Narita heads back inside, but got rocked with a back elbow as Matthews retained the advantage, punting Ren in the back. More of those kicks are asked for, and delivered, with Narita just absorbing them ahead of a returning paintbrushing slap to Buddy. Right hands wear down Matthews as he’s kicked into the corner, before an overhead belly-to-belly caught Matthews by surprise. A running back elbow and a half-hatch suplex gets Narita a near-fall, before the pair headed onto the apron to trade blows. Narita slips back inside to apply a sleeper, but it’s broken up as Matthews runs him into the corner pad… only for a charge through the ropes to get met with kicks and a suplex for a near-fall.
Matthews blocks a Cobra Twist, hiptossing Narita away ahead of a knee strike… but Ren rolled through into a half crab, then into a Figure Four, but a rope break saves Matthews in the end. Fighting out of the corner, a vile knee strike downs Narita, before a superplex attempt from Ren ended with him eating several Cheeky Nando’s. Matthews powerbombs Ren out of the corner, ragdolling him for a couple of two-counts, before a push-down curb stomp almost ended it. Narita narrowly kicked out, much to the delight of the LA crowd, but Matthews grounds Narita with a series of Danielson elbows to the neck… the ref forces a separation, but doesn’t immediately ring for the bell, as is usually the way. Matthews shoves the ref aside, then eventually waffled Ren with a knee strike as Murphy’s Law scored the pin. A hard-fought main event, but in the end Narita was out-classed as Matthews’ heavy hitting strikes left him flat out. ***½
New Japan Strong’s got a very high floor when it comes to their weekly shows – and while the way they set up and stretch out matches may not be for all, it’s still one of the best weekly TV wrestling products out there.