That Scott Norton swag. Naturally, I had no idea who Michael Elgin was. When I realized he was from Toronto, I figured he was a talented local who had worked for ROH before. I see him get in the ring, and instantly was reminded of a tinier Scott Norton, especially with the balding power mullet. Then, holy shit, this guy is a contender in New Japan? He starts wrestling Watanabe, and the tough guy spots, strength challenges and power move set are all there. The crowd was madd stoked for the 30-count vertical suplex, too. Why does this dude not use a shoulderbreaker? Can he actually wrestle Scott Norton? I thirst for this.
Roderick Strong is for the homies. It's fitting that Strong's Decade stable is based on being an underappreciated mainstay, since he was one of the few talents on the card other than the elderly NJPW'ers that I had seen wrestle several times, and I was surprised for whatever reason he was still working for the company. Watching him put a novice Cedric Alexander over, you can see why they'd want him around. Strong is like a “glue guy” on a basketball team, maintaining solidarity and elevating his contemporaries. Like a true vet, he took the in-ring lead and walked Alexander through a well-paced match that was able to ignite a “This is awesome!” chant (one of three on the night I counted) just as it seemed to be slowing down. He sold the backbreaker battle angle, all the rest holds furthered the psychology of the rib injury and they did the steel chair suplex spot nastily enough at the end that Alexander's shoulder injury almost seemed like a shoot. It wouldn't be fair to say that Strong completely carried Alexander, though, since the offense he did get in was very stiff-looking and believable. I bought this man's kayfabe rage from the opening bell when he charged Strong and clotheslined him out of the ring. However, referring back our fashion tips earlier, it might be wise for Alexander to lose the 1990's style choker.
