Our NJPW Strong Style Evolved results for tonight include Mercedes Moné defending the NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship against Hazuki. Plus, Gabe Kidd will defend the NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship against Ryohei Oiwa. Konosuke Takeshita, Jack Perry, Zack Sabre Jr, and other stars will also compete.
- NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship: Mercedes Moné (c) vs. Hazuki
- Los Ingobernables De Japon (Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji) vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Jack Perry
- TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr, Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste) vs. Shota Umino, Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor
- NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship: Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Ryohei Oiwa
- Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Titan) vs. United Empire (Templario & Jakob Austin Young)
- Lio Rush vs. Hechicero
- Clark Connors vs. KUSHIDA vs. Kosei Fujita vs. TJP
- NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
- Mina Shirakawa vs. Johnnie Robbie
- Kickoff Match: STRONG Survivor: Matt Vandagriff vs. Zane Jay
NJPW Strong Style Evolved Results
Kickoff Match: STRONG Survivor: Matt Vandagriff vs. Zane Jay
Jay takes the fight to Vandagriff early on and takes control. Vandagriff rallies and sends Jay to the outside. He hits him with a dropkick. Back in the ring, Jay gains the upper hand again. Vandagriff hits him with a kick. He suplexes Jay. Jay fires up with a suplex. He keeps rolling with a flurry of offense. Jay sends Vandagriff to the outside with a dropkick. He vaults onto Jay Vandagriff with a slingshot splash.
Vandagriff responds with some kicks. Jay dumps him with a slam. Vandagriff sends Jay crashing off the top and down to the floor. He dives onto Jay at ringside. Vandagriff hits a frog splash for a two-count. He hits a buckle bomb and a running kick for another two-count. Jay rallies with a spinebuster and a diving elbow. Vandagriff superkicks him. Jay locks in a Boston Crab and makes Jay tap out.
Winner: Zane Jay
Vandagriff is clearly upset, but he shakes Jay’s hand.
Grade: B
Hard-fought match here, which helped the show begin with a strong start. This was a breakout showing for Jay, who previously faced Vandagriff at NJPW Windy City Riot.
The broadcast team previews the card.
Mina Shirakawa vs. Johnnie Robbie
Shirakawa and Robbie battle back and forth. Shirakawa gains the upper hand. Robbie responds with a suplex. Shirakawa locks in a Figure-Four, but Robbie reaches the ropes. She hits a diving Slingblade for a two-count. Robbie gets a two-count with a pin attempt.
Shirakawa rocks her with a shot to the face. She hits Robbie with the Glamorous Driver for the win.
Winner: Mina Shirakawa
Shirakawa briefly dances after the match.
Grade: B
Good showing for Shirakawa here. The outcome was never in doubt, as it seems likely that she’s getting built up for a title shot.
Grizzled Young Veterans Defend The Gold
NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) (c) vs. West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
The two teams square off before the bell. Nelson and Drake start the match. They battle for positioning. West Coast Wrecking Crew double-team Drake. Gibson tags in and takes control. He trades blows with Nelson. Nelson locks in a crossface. Isaacs grounds Gibson. He suplexes Gibson and maintains the advantage, but Drake tags in, and the champions take control.
Drake grounds Isaacs. Gibson maintains the advantage, but Isaacs rallies with a German suplex. Nelson rallies with a Spear and keeps rolling with some chops. He hits a crossbody to Drake and Gibson. Isaacs fires up with some lariats. He clotheslines Gibson over the ropes. Grizzled Young Veterans double-team Isaacs. Drake locks in a Koji Clutch, and Gibson stomps him. Isaacs powers his way out and slams Drake into Gibson. The match resets as the two teams square off and trade blows. Isaacs and Nelson double-team Drake with a Falcon Arrow/Powerbomb.
Isaacs slams Drake onto Nelson’s knees. Gibson rolls Isaacs up for a two-count. Isaacs nails him with a Superman Punch. Drake grabs Isaacs with his scarf. He tags in, but Nelson breaks up Grit Your Teeth, and Isaacs pins Drake for the win.
Winners and new NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Champions: West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
Rocky Romero comes out after the bell. He congratulates the duo on their win and highlights their hard work to reach this point. Romero says he wants to be their first challenger, and he was a partner across the pond. Romero names YOH as his partner and challenges them to a title match at NJPW Battle in the Valley. Romero starts to leave, but Isaacs slams him. West Coast Wrecking Crew stand over Romero.
Four-Way Action At NJPW Strong Style Evolved
Clark Connors vs. KUSHIDA vs. Kosei Fujita vs. TJP
Connors gets a chair, but the other competitors gang up on him. Fuijita and TJP go back and forth. Connors takes control. He drills TJP with some stiff shots. Connors sends TJP into the corner. He sends him to the corner again, and TJP spills to the outside. Connors grounds KUSHIDA. TJP rallies, and Connors goes for a slam, but TJP turns it into a pin attempt. Fujita slams Connors onto TJP.
Fujita hits a springboard dropkick. KUSHIDA dropkicks Connors. KUSHIDA keeps rolling with a DDT on the floor. TJP takes control. KUSHIDA gets a two-count with a pin attempt. Connors slams TJP. TJP traps Fujita and Clarks in a submission hold, but KUSHIDA breaks it up. Fujita goes for the Hoverboard Lock on KUSHIDA. All four men are down after lariats.
Connors sends Fujita to the outside. KUSHIDA locks in the Hoverboard Lock, but TJP breaks it up with a splash. TJP and Fujita both go for pins, but TJP’s pin gets counted, and he is declared the winner.
Winner: TJP
The four competitors square off after the bell as tensions are high ahead of their tag title match at NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 19.
Lio Rush vs. Hechicero
Rush and Hechicero feel each other out early on. They’re evenly matched early on. Romero plays to the crowd, as does Hechicero. They go back and forth and trade fast-paced offense. Hechicero sends Rush to the outside with a kick. Strong goes for a takedown, but Hechicero lands on his feet. Hechicero kicks him. Rush responds with a kick of his own. Both men are down after they kick each other on the apron.
Hechicero dives off the top and gets a two-count on Rush. He locks in a submission, but Rush reaches the ropes. Hechicero continues to control the action. He drops Rush with a backbreaker. Rush rallies and dives onto Hechicero. Rush hits the Rebound.
Hechicero answers with an elbow drop. Rush stacks Hechicero up and gets a two-count. He gets another two-count with a pin attempt and kicks Hechicero. Hechicero rocks Rush with a kick and slams him for the win.
Winner: Hechicero
Los Ingobernables De Japon Battles United Empire
Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Titan) vs. United Empire (Templario & Jakob Austin Young) (with TJP)
Templario and Young double-team Takahashi. Takahashi quickly fires up and hits some crossbodies at ringside. Titan maintains the upper hand and grounds Young. Templario continues to control the match and targets Takahashi’s leg. Young and Templario double-team Takahashi. Takahashi rallies with a Falcon Arrow.
Titan tags in and takes control with a flurry of offense. He sends Templario to the outside. Titan hits a springboard moonsault to the outside.
Templario drops Titan with a gut-buster. Takahashi rocks Templario with a superkick. LIJ double-team Templario. Takahashi slams Templario. Titan hits a splash. Templario rallies and pins Titan with a powerbomb backbreaker.
Winners: United Empire (Templario & Jakob Austin Young) (with TJP)
United Empire celebrates after the match.
Gabe Kidd Defends The Gold At NJPW Strong Style Evolved
NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship: Gabe Kidd (c) vs. Ryohei Oiwa
Kidd rocks Oiwa with a shot to the face and chops him. He drills Oiwa with more chops. Oiwa takes Kidd to the mat and grounds him. The match spills to the outside, and Kidd drops Oiwa with a lariat. Oiwa gets back in the ring, and Kidd continues to control the action. Oiwa responds with a shot to the face. They trade blows. Oiwa dumps Kidd with a German suplex and plants him with another suplex. He gets a two-count with a bridging German suplex.
Kidd levels Oiwa with a rebound lariat. He drops Oiwa with a Brainbuster. They trade lariats and shots to the face. Oiwa gets a two-count with a pin attempt. Oiwa catches Kidd with a Doctor Bomb. Clark Connors pulls the referee out of the ring to break up the pin. Connors gets a chair and hits Oiwa. Kosei Fujita runs in and dropkicks Connors. They brawl to the back. Kidd and Oiwa hit each other with lariats. Kidd tosses Oiwa with a back-drop. Oiwa answers with a lariat.
Kidd drops Oiwa with a shot to the face and spikes him with a piledriver for a two-count. He hits the Mad Man Bomb for the win.
Winner and still NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion: Gabe Kidd
[Updating]
