{"id":10565,"date":"2021-04-02T21:00:21","date_gmt":"2021-04-03T03:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?p=10565"},"modified":"2021-04-11T08:51:59","modified_gmt":"2021-04-11T14:51:59","slug":"njpw-strong-episode-34-road-to-the-new-japan-cup-2021-usa-recap-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/njpw-strong-episode-34-road-to-the-new-japan-cup-2021-usa-recap-review\/","title":{"rendered":"NJPW Strong (Episode 34: Road to New Japan Cup USA 2021) Recap &#038; Review"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>NJPW Strong<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-10566\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/STRONGrtNJCUSA-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/STRONGrtNJCUSA-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/STRONGrtNJCUSA-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/STRONGrtNJCUSA-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/STRONGrtNJCUSA-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/STRONGrtNJCUSA.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>Episode 34<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Road to New Japan Cup USA 2021<\/strong><br \/>\n#njpwstrong<\/p>\n<p><strong>Original Air Date: April 2, 2021<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Event Date: ?<\/strong><br \/>\n(uploaded to NJPW World)<\/p>\n<p><strong>City: <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=port-hueneme-ca\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Port Hueneme<\/span><\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=california\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">CA<\/span><\/a><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Venue: <a href=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/?tag=oceanview-pavilion\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">Oceanview Pavilion<\/span><\/a><\/strong> (empty arena)<br \/>\n<strong>Series: The New Japan Cup USA 2021<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Commentary<\/strong> (English)<strong>: Kevin Kelly, Alex Koslov<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Ring Announcer: Adnan Kureishy<\/strong> (ringside)<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Ring Area<\/em><\/span><br \/>\nKevin Kelly and Alex Koslov welcome us to The Road to New Japan Cup USA 2021 and tell us about tonight&#8217;s matches.<\/p>\n<p>After going over tonight&#8217;s show, referees bring the New Japan Cup USA trophy to the ring. Kevin Kelly explains that the winner of the tournament will gain possession of the cup, but they won&#8217;t be a contender for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Title like last year&#8217;s winner was. Instead, the winner of this year&#8217;s tournament will be the first NJPW Strong Openweight Champion. The Strong Openweight Title is displayed in the ring.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 1<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Kevin Knight vs Rocky Romero<\/strong><br \/>\n(referee: Chad Rico)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69e60379379c4','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69e60379379c4\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69e60379379c4\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Rocky Romero wins via submission with the Diablo Armbar<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 8:39<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nGood match. Kevin Knight was very aggressive (as most young lions tend to be), and he managed to get quite a lot of offense on Romero. Romero didn&#8217;t seem to have too much trouble absorbing the punishment and waiting for his moments to strike back, but Knight&#8217;s offense looked very strong regardless. The finish was well done and not unexpected, and both men came away from this match looking good.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 2<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Misterioso &amp; &#8220;The Golden Boy&#8221; Jordan Clearwater vs Alex Coughlin &amp; TJP<\/strong><br \/>\n(referee: Justin Borden)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69e6037937ade','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69e6037937ade\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69e6037937ade\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: TJP pins Jordan Clearwater after the Mamba Splash<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 13:56<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nVery good match. TJP and Alex Coughlin make a great team. Coughlin was aggressive and used his strength to dominate his opponents, and TJP used his speed and technique to keep his opponents off-balance. It was a great combination that Clearwater and Misterioso could never really handle. The match wasn&#8217;t completely one-sided, but Coughlin and TJP did seem to come out on top of most of the exchanges. This was fun.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Backstage<\/em><\/span><br \/>\nVia video chat, Kevin Kelly speaks with Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, and Chris Dickinson. Team Filthy doesn&#8217;t really seem to want to talk though&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Intermission<\/em><\/span><br \/>\nThe ring is cleaned and disinfected during a brief intermission.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match 3<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>&#8220;Dirty Daddy&#8221; Chris Dickinson &amp; &#8220;Filthy&#8221; Tom Lawlor &amp; &#8220;The Most Feared&#8221; JR Kratos vs The Riegel Twins &amp; Brody King<\/strong><br \/>\n(referee: Jeremy Marcus)<\/p>\n<!-- Content Reveal v2.3.1 -->\n<div class=\"scrhead\" onmouseover=\"document.body.style.cursor='pointer'\" onmouseout=\"document.body.style.cursor='default'\" onclick=\"acr_swap_display('ran_69e6037937b1a','0','','')\">\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-content\/plugins\/simple-content-reveal\/images\/image1.gif\" class=\"scrimg\" id=\"scrimg_ran_69e6037937b1a\" alt=\"Reveal content\" title=\"Reveal content\"\/>');<\/script> Show\/Hide Results\n<\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<div style=\"display: none\" class=\"scrdiv\" id=\"scrdiv_ran_69e6037937b1a\">');<\/script>\n<\/p>\n<p><strong>Result: Chris Dickson wins via KO on Sterling Riegel with a forearm to the chin<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>Time: 10:43<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">document.writeln('<\/div>');<\/script>\n<!-- End of Content Reveal -->\n\n<p><strong>Match Thoughts<\/strong><br \/>\nVery good match. The action went back and forth somewhat throughout the match, but Team Filthy was definitely more dominant. Sterling Riegel got isolated early in the match, but he and his brother Logan did manage to use some double teams to keep themselves in the fight. The action picked when Brody King got tagged in, but Team Filthy did a good job of keeping Brody from getting on too much of a roll. Late in the match, JR Kratos turned into a monster and attacked all three of his opponents, and that began the end of Brody King&#8217;s team. Team Filthy had a strong performance tonight (and the Riegel Twins had a brutally tough night, especially with some of the shots thrown by Kratos and Dickinson).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><em>Ring Area<\/em><\/span><br \/>\nAfter the match, Tom Lawlor tells Chris Dickinson to break Sterling Riegel&#8217;s arm. Dickinson is reluctant to attack Riegel whom he just knocked out. After thinking about it, Dickinson refuses to attack Sterling. JR Kratos apparently doesn&#8217;t have any problem attacking someone who can&#8217;t defend himself, and he stomps on Sterling&#8217;s outstretched arm. Team Filthy leaves as Logan Riegel Brody King, and staff members check on Sterling. Kevin Kelly and Alex Kozlov wonder if Sterling&#8217;s arm is broken as the show ends.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Show Impressions<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\nThis was a fun show. I think it did a pretty nice job of setting up the New Japan Cup 2021 USA, mostly with the announcement of the new NJPW Strong Openweight Championship. The stkes have been raised, and I&#8217;m looking forward to the tournament.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Match of the Night<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>Misterioso &amp; Jordan Clearwater vs Alex Coughlin &amp; TJP<\/strong><br \/>\nAll of tonight&#8217;s matches were enjoyable, but I had the most fun with this one. I&#8217;d like to see TJP and Coughlin team up more.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Official Results: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.njpw1972.com\/tornament\/94360?showResult=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"color: #800080;\">https:\/\/www.njpw1972.com\/tornament\/94360?showResult=1<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new championship is revealed as the prize for the winner of the New japan Cup USA 2021, and three fun matches make this an entertaining episode of NJPW Strong!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":10000,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[620,297,6635],"tags":[6565,2934,235,2532,1555,7029,6923,6564,6678,6898,6641,637,6931,6650,6592,7032,7033,577,576,6567,6568,6869,7031,714,6868,6636,7030,1332,6594],"class_list":["post-10565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-njpw","category-show-results","category-strong","tag-adnan-kureishy","tag-alex-coughlin","tag-alex-koslov","tag-brody-king","tag-california","tag-chad-rico","tag-chris-dickinson","tag-jeremy-marcus","tag-jordan-clearwater","tag-jr-kratos","tag-justin-borden","tag-kevin-kelly","tag-kevin-knight","tag-logan-riegel","tag-misterioso","tag-new-japan-cup-usa","tag-new-japan-cup-usa-2021","tag-new-japan-pro-wrestling","tag-njpw","tag-oceanview-pavilion","tag-port-hueneme-ca","tag-riegel-twins","tag-road-to-new-japan-cup-usa-2021","tag-rocky-romero","tag-sterling-riegel","tag-strong","tag-team-filthy","tag-tjp","tag-tom-lawlor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10565"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10575,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10565\/revisions\/10575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10000"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cnjradio.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}