Title vs career in main event
NJPW STRONG this week will see the third installment of Fred Rosser and Tom Lawlor’s deeply personal feud, with a clear winner finally determined, and either a new champion or an emotional departure.
Watch STRONG Saturdays at 8/7c on NJPW World!
Main event: STRONG Openweight Championship- Fred Rosser vs Tom lawlor
If Rosser loses he must leave NJPW STRONG
Singles record: 2-0 Lawlor
The City of Brotherly Love sees anything but in our main event this week, as the most deeply personal feud in NJPW STRONG history has Fred Rosser fighting for the STRONG Openweight Championship and his very career. Rosser and Lawlor have wrestled twice before, both times earning match of the year plaudits from the STRONG audience. Yet both times Rosser has lost, and the need for Mr. No Days Off to defeat Lawlor has been burning since 2020.
After coming agonizingly close to defeating his nemesis at the end of 2021 at Detonation, Rosser would repeatedly demand a rematch, but would be repeatedly turned away by the champion, who continued to rack up defences to his current V9 and one year plus position, making him by some distance the longest reigning champion in all of New japan Pro-Wrestling. Lawlor wants nothing more than to carry his STRONG gold into the G1 Climax 32 A Block this July, but after some consideration has given himself one last defence before he does so.
The Filthy oen would pile up obstacles in front of Rosser, demanding he face West Coast Wrecking Crew in a handicap match before forcing him through the indignity of having to shave his own head. Now the match is made, but on the condition that if Rosser loses, he must never wrestle on STRONG again. Mr. No Days Off cannot live with Saturday nights off, and having helped mould STRONG to where it is today just as much as Lawlor has, he won’t back down an inch. Can he finally overthrow the champion, or will Rosser be out of work?
2nd Match: Tony Deppen vs Minoru Suzuki
NJPW STRONG sees a first time ever singles meeting between two former ROH Television Champions in Minoru Suzuki and Tony Deppen this week. Deppen will enter this match as the underdog, but is an accomplished grappler and a determined striker. Will he be able to topple the King in the midst of a busy worldwide schedule of late?
1st Match: David Finlay vs Danny Limelight
The opening bout of the evening will see the Rebel David Finlay take on Team Filthy’s loudmouth Danny Limelight. Along with Limelight’s faction leader Tom Lawlor, Finlay will be making his G1 Climax debut on July 15, and doing so weeks after his partnership with Juice Robinson dissolved. As Finlay seeks to redefine himself as a singles competitor, will he score a key win tonight, or will Limelight back up his considerable ego?
