The lineup is set for Saturday's NJPW STRONG.
New Japan Pro Wrestling has announced that the main event of their October 23 edition of STRONG will see Bullet Club's Hikuleo take on Juice Robinson in a Texas Bullrope Match. The two men have been feuding for a number of months, with matches spread across both New Japan and IMPACT Wrestling.
Furthermore, Will Ospreay and a mystery partner will take on Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors. Finally, Bullet Club's Chris Bey and El Phantasmo will face Robbie Eagles and Chris Dickinson.
From NJPW:
When Hikuleo demanded ‘competition’ for a singles match at Resurgence this past August, Juice Robinson was quick to step up, but what developed was more than just a spot on the LA Coliseum card. Juice’s quick flash pin on Hikuleo saw instant retaliation in the form of a post match chokeslam, and both men embarked on a two month feud that has spanned states and promotions.
Hikuleo would attack Juice backstage the next week on STRONG, sending him through a table, which led to a tables match at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Robinson was victorious, but things didn’t end there either, Hikuleo blasting Robinson’s ankle on IMPACT and battling FinJuice to a pinfall win and Victory Road. Now Juice will settle his issues with the Young Gun in an appropriate match style for its venue.
The Texas Bullrope match will see Robinson and Hikuleo joined via a bullrope, complete with cowbell, both of which able to be used as a weapon. With no disqualifications, this is going to be a violent battle that will finally determine a winner once and for all after months of bad blood.
Before fans hit DFW Texas for Autumn Attack, speculation was rampant over who would partner with Will Ospreay to take on the LA Dojo alumni duo of Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors. After last week, it seems like the answer is quite clear. TJP would join the United Empire after Fredericks’ main event with Ospreay, turning his back on two men that he’s mentored closely, Connors in particular. Answers and revenge will be on the mind of the Wild Rhino and the Alpha Wolf tonight against Ospreay and TJP… unless the Commonwealth Kingpin has yet another plan in mind.
After being thick as thieves on IMPACT in recent weeks, they ‘Bey-F-F’s of Chris Bey and El Phantasmo tag together as a duo for the first time this week as they take on Robbie Eagles and Chris Dickinson. The junior and heavyweight pairing of Eagles and Dickinson seems odd on the surface, but their all-rounder abilities for their weight classes, along with a knack for devastating submissions makes them an intriguing combination. Certainly Dickinson will provide adequate backup for Eagles as he continues a long campaign against El Phantasmo, but in the ring against two of the premiere junior heavyweights in North America, Eagles has a target on his back in the form of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in this one.
A pair of debuts in our opening match will see Will AllDay wrestle his first match in NJPW STRONG after coming through the Texas independent scene. Also, David Finlay’s younger brother Brogan will hit STRONG. The 18 year old younger Finlay is carrying on a wrestling tradition in his family, and will be stretched from his first match against representatives and graduates from both the Noge and LA systems.
Fightful will have results from NJPW STRONG on Saturday, October 23 following the conclusion of the event. You can find results from past NJPW STRONG events in Fightful's results section.
