NJPW Strong
Episode 13
Road to SHOWDOWN
#njpwstrong
Original Air Date: October 30, 2020
Event Date: ?
(uploaded to NJPW World)
City: Port Hueneme, CA (unconfirmed)
Venue: Oceanview Pavilion (empty arena) (unconfirmed)
Series: Road to Showdown
Commentary (English): Kevin Kelly, Alex Koslov
Ring Announcer: Adnan Kureishy (ringside)
Intro Video
Ring Area
Kevin Kelly and Alex Koslov welcome us tonight’s show.
Match 1
The Riegel Twins vs The DKC & Clark Connors
(referee: Nick Bonanno)
Result: Sterling Riegel pins The DKC after an assisted spike DDT
Time: 10:06
Match Thoughts
Good match. It was a little surprising that Connors and The DKC were able to control the ring for a much longer time than the Riegel Twins were considering that the Riegels are an established tag team and, you know, twin brothers, but I think a lot of that credit goes to Clark Connors (with some of the credit going to the fact that the Riegels haven’t been teaming for about half a year). Connors was completely in charge of his team, and he was directing traffic all the way through the match. Logan Riegel got isolated for a while, but towards the end of the match he and his brother Sterling started to get their tag team continuity together. The final segments of the match were dominated by the Riegel Twins, and that led to a nice finish.
Backstage
The Rigel Twins say they haven’t missed a beat after six months apart from each other in the ring.
Match 2
Blake Christian vs Karl Fredericks
(referee: Justin Borden)
Result: Karl Fredericks wins via submission with a half crab
Time: 5:56
Match Thoughts
Good match. Christian was able to use his speed and agility to get in some strong offense early in the match, but Fredericks came back late in the match using his size and strength. The match itself was fairly short, but both guys looked good. This was a strong performance for Fredericks in particular though. The way the match went made it feel like Fredericks was dominant.
Backstage
Karl Fredericks says NJPW Strong is his show.
Intermission
The ring is cleaned and sanitized during a brief intermission.
Match 3
Hikuleo & Guerrillas of Destiny & KENTA vs Misterioso & Alex Zayne & PJ Black & David Finlay
(referee: Jeremy Marcus)
Result: Hikuleo pins Misterioso after Gunslinger
Time: 9:33
Match Thoughts
Good match. It got chaotic at times as you might expect, but for the most part it was a nice series of one on one encounters. I think the best part of the match was when David Finlay and KENTA came together in the ring. They have a little bit of a rivalry going on here on Strong, so the most intrigue for this match was between them. The finish of the match involved Hikuleo and Misterioso, and even though Hikuleo was made to look strong, the finish itself seemed a little off. Other than the actual finish though, I enjoyed this match.
Show Impressions
This was a pretty good show. The big multi-man tag matches on Strong are fun, but the better matches tend to be the one on one matches. That was the case tonight, though the main event did a good job of once again showing that Bullet Club is the dominant force in NJPW Strong.
Match of the Night
Blake Christian vs Karl Fredericks
It was the shortest match tonight, but I thought it had the best overall action.
Official Results: https://www.njpw1972.com/tornament/83603?showResult=1