New Japan Pro-Wrestling has announced the card for the March 19 episode of NJPW Strong.
Headlining the show will be a New Japan Cup USA qualifying bout pitting Brody King against Bateman. The other New Japan Cup USA qualifying bout will see Ren Narita battle Misterioso.
Plus, Alex Coughlin takes on Jeff Cobb in singles competition.
Tonight’s headlining New Japan Cup USA qualifier sees a battle of Ring of Honor representatives, with Brody King facing Bateman. The dark and twisted Bateman was a partner of Brody King’s in days gone by, but tonight sees the two face off one on one. Last year’s New Japan Cup USA saw King eliminated in the first round by Tama Tonga, but Big Bad Brody would go on to challenge eventual winner KENTA by the end of 2020. Now in 2021, he wants to show how far he’s progressed on Friday nights, but so too does Bateman.
Bateman had a tough debut on NJPW STRONG this year with a loss to Ren Narita, but the defeat only motivated him to greater acts of violence as the weeks have gone on. With a devious style, Bateman will bend any and all rules to his advantage to get one up on his opponent; can he do the same to Brody King to advance to the New Japan Cup?
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Friday’s other New Japan Cup USA qualifier will see Ren Narita take on Misterioso. Narita has done nothing but impress ever since he made his NJPW STRONG debut with a win over Bateman. Since then, having notched up another singles win over Chris Dickinson during New Beginning USA 2021, Narita has proven that he certainly belongs in the top flight on NJPW STRONG, and that no victory can be called an upset.
Yet Misterioso shouldn’t be denied. The heavyweight luchador has performed well when leading teams into tag warfare on NJPW STRONG, but ‘Big Papi Pump’s singles opportunities have been fairly sparse until tonight. Now he gets a huge chance to show his worth to the world in New Japan Cup; as long, that is, as he can get past the talented Narita.
Fightful will have full results from NJPW Strong following the conclusion of the event on Friday. You can find results from past NJPW Strong events at Fightful's results section.
