The NJPW STRONG Openweight Title will be on the line on Saturday.
NJPW announced that Tom Lawlor will defend his STRONG Openweight Championship against Fred Rosser in the main event of the December 18 episode of NJPW STRONG. Lawlor is looking to make the sixth defense of his title.
Plus, Rocky Romero teams with FinJuice (Juice Robinson & David Finlay) to battle Team Filthy (JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs & Black Tiger) and LA Dojo standouts Kevin Knight & The DKC team against Jordan Clearwater & Brogan Finlay.
Main event: STRONG Openweight Championship: Tom Lawlor vs Fred Rosser
Tom Lawlor seeks to make his sixth defence of the STRONG Openweight Championship with his most personal encounter yet. Over one year ago Lawlor did battle with Fred Rosser in a match that defied all expectations to become the top voted match of the year with STRONGT viewers. Rosser has campaigned for a rematch ever since, and would definitively earn his shot against the Filthy One in Philadelphia.
There Rosser, caught in a rear naked choke, shifted his weight backward to trap Lawlor’s shoulders to the mat for a three count. It was the first pinfall loss Lawlor had ever experienced in a NJPW ring; the embarrassment was acute and the revenge was swift. Lawlor would hold Rosser down as his hair was cut and identity shorn. For a man like Rosser who wears his heart proudly on his sleeve, this was unforgivable, and Mr. No Days Off has devoted every day at work since to ending the reign of Filthy Tom. Will he do it Saturday night in Riverside?
Rocky Romero, Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs Team Filthy (JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs & Black Tiger)
Six man action in the second match of the evening will see fallout from Showdown in Philadelphia. There Rocky Romero would join Fred Rosser in ten man warfare with Team Filthy; Romero was closing in on victory when he was attacked by a figure from his past.
Some 15 years ago, Rocky was battling over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship under the Black Tiger mask; that night in Philadelphia, it was someone else under the same hood that attacked him with a kendo stick before landing a Tombstone piledriver. Tonight Rocky has solid backup in FinJuice as they take on three of Team Filthy’s best, including ‘Black Tiger’ himself.
LA Dojo (Kevin Knight & The DKC) vs Jordan Clearwater & Brogan Finlay
The La Dojo’s Kevin Knight and the DKC will kick off the night’s action as they take on Jordan Clearwater and Brogan Finlay. Finlay returns for his first NJPW match since Autumn Attack in Texas, while clearwater returns after action on NJPW XTRA in recent weeks. Can either score their first NJPW pinfall win over the Young Lions tonight?
Fightful will have results from NJPW STRONG following the conclusion of the event on Saturday. You can find past results from NJPW STRONG at Fightful's results section.
