Tom Lawlor is targeting the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship.
Tom Lawlor's AEW in-ring debut was set for AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door 2023, but it was called off when his opponent, Adam Cole, was unable to compete due to illness.
In an interview with Adrian Hernandez of The Bet Las Vegas & The Sporting Tribune ahead of NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Lawlor reflected on the situation noted that he still hasn't had a match on AEW programming.
"I mean I haven’t gotten a match with Adam Cole. I haven’t been back on AEW TV. I haven’t got a match there against anybody. So it sucks, right. I was set up for what would have been the biggest opportunity of my pro wrestling career in front of thousands of people live, in front of maybe a 100,000 people on pay-per-view. Instead, I got to go out there and wrestle, but it was a dark match. Nobody saw it. I got the win. Very disappointing. It all came together last minute, so it was whirlwind anyways, but then to have it end kind of like that was just a kick in the nuts," Lawlor said,
Lawlor then turned his attention to the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship that he previously held. He took a shot at the reigning champion, Eddie Kingston, for only defending the gold in AEW. Lawlor then stated that he hopes Tony Khan will man up and book the match, as he believes he deserves it.
"I’m a fan of AEW, I’m a fan of all pro wrestling. what I really want is that New Japan STRONG Title back. I keep seeing it on AEW TV around the waist of Eddie Kingston, who only shows up on AEW TV now. He just had a feud over the ROH Title with a guy who, he was fighting because that guy left the independent scene high and dry, didn’t finish up his commitments. Now, Eddie Kingston takes himself off the road and is just defending that belt in AEW. It makes me sick. What I did, when I was the champ, was I increased my schedule. I started wrestling more places. It’s sad to see what that title’s become. Hopefully, Tony Khan is gonna man up and give me the match that I deserve. I also haven’t gotten any credit for Adam Cole’s injury. He had an injured leg? That’s exactly what I attacked when I went after him, and he hasn’t been the same sense. Where’s my credit? I get none," Lawlor said.
After Kingston won the ROH World Championship, he stated that he is no longer working independent dates. More information is available here.
Lawlor previously joked that Cole ducked him at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door. Check out his comments here.
At NJPW Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Lawlor beat Gabe Kidd, and Kingston retained his title against Henare. Click here to catch up on our coverage of the show.
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