Three title matches headline as full card is set for Washington DC
The full card is now official for Capital Collision on April 15. Washington DC’s Entertainment and Sports Arena will see a stacked lineup on a busy weekend ahead of Collision in Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena Sunday.
Capital Collision, Saturday April 15 TICKETS
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Main event: STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships: Motor City Machineguns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) vs Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis) vs Dream Team (Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kazuchika Okada)
The main event of the evening will see Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin, the Motor City Machineguns seek their fourth defence in a highly competitive four way environment with Aussie Open and Kazuchika Okada and Hiroshi Tanahashi. After Multiverse United, the Guns made a direct appeal to Tanahashi for the Ace to challenge alongside his Dream team partner, and a man Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin have history with stretching back to his American excursion, in Kazuchika Okada. That challenge was interrupted however by Aussie Open. The first STRONG Openweight Tag Champions had their reign ended by MCMG, but lost their titles without being beaten in a three way match. Could a similar result see third champions crowned in what’s sure to be a spectacular main event?
7th Match: STRONG Openweight Championship: KENTA vs Eddie Edwards
Singles record: 3-1 KENTA
KENTA will defend the STRONG Openweight Championship for a second time in Washington DC, following up his tainted, but successful defence in LA against Minoru Suzuki with a battle opposite IMPACT Wrestling’s Eddie Edwards. Edwards saw an opportunity to challenge KENTA backstage at Multiverse United, having shared locker rooms and tour buses with the STRONG Champion during his days in NOAH in the early 2010s. That period of development for Edwards saw KENTA set as a clear senior and racking up a 3-1 record over Eddie, but it was Edwards that had the last, long lasting result, defeating KENTA in the 2013 Global League, and now bringing about a title claim a decade in the making.
Edwards was keen to express to KENTA that he is not ‘the young boy you knew’, a claim to which KENTA vehemently disagrees. One or the other will show their in ring superiority tonight, and that man will leave with the STRONG Openweight Championship.
6th Match: Los Ingobernables De Japon (Hiromu Takahashi & Tetsuya Naito) vs Just5Guys (Yoshinobu Kanemaru & SANADA)
Tag team action will see Tetsuya Naito and SANADA make their US return, wrestling in the States for the first time since 2019, but this time in opposite corners. During the New Japan Cup, it was against Naito that SANADA made his break from LIJ, defeating El Ingobernable with the Deadfall and joining Just5Guys. From there it was a hot hand of success for Cold Skull, one that won him the New Japan Cup and then the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship at Sakura Genesis.
What surprised most on a night of dramatic change April 8 was Hiromu Takahashi challenging the new champion- a challenge SANADA accepted on the condition Hiromu defends his IWGP Junior Heavyweight title against Yoshinobu Kanemaru first. The conversation about both titles, and all four men involved in this match has shifted dramatically in the last few days; what will Capital Collision bring?
5th Match: Tomohiro Ishii vs El Desperado
Singles record: 1-0 Ishii
Special singles match action will see El Desperado go up against Tomohiro Ishii. When Strong Style retained the NEVER Openweight 6 man Tag Team Championships opposite HOUSE OF TORTURE in Korakuen Hall on April 3, Narita was not shy in calling out Kazuchika Okada. With Minoru Suzuki’s enthusiastic approval, narita called out Okada to team with a pair of partners to come for the NEVER gold, while Desperado was left mulling over who he most wanted to face. This singles match may kill two birds with one stone when it comes to giving the masked man a fresh opponent, and inspiring an idea for a partner for the Rainmaker somewhere down the line. The last time these two faced was in the empty arena setting of the pandemic struck New Japan Cup in 2020; despite the lack of atmosphere, the fierce struggle was one to remember; now DC has perhaps a match of the year contender on their hands.
4th Match: NJPW World TV Championship: Zack Sabre Jr. vs Tom Lawlor
The NJPW World TV Championship is on the line when Zack Sabre Jr. pursues a fifth defence against Tom Lawlor. Whether against rising prospects in Japan and the US, or against established names like Tomohiro Ishii and now Lawlor, one cannot fault for a second Sabre’s status as a fighting champion, nor a thrilling choice of opponents. Lawlor and ZSJ tangled during the G1 Climax, and then again when Giulia and Syuri joined the fight at Hisotric X-Over. Will 15 minutes be enough to determine a clear victor in this first singles match between the two, as well as an answer to the enduring question of Boy George versus George Michael?
3rd Match: AR Fox vs David Finlay
Neither his interaction at Sakura Genesis with El Phantasmo, nor the presence of Switchblade Jay White in AEW this past week seem to have brought us any nearer closure when it comes to BULLET CLUB controversy of late. As David Finlay and Bloody Hands Gedo’s prospective leadership of BULLET CLUB seems to still be in question, the best way for the Rebel to lead will be by example, and that means producing results. As one of the world’s most gifted high fliers in AEW and ROH’s AR Fox makes his NJPW debut, will those results come tonight?
2nd Match: Fred Rosser vs Juice Robinson
At Battle in the Valley, Fred Rosser’s impressive reign as STRONG Openweight Champion came to an end after defeat to KENTA, but it was Rock hard Juice Robinson that deserved the credit. A surprise interference and loaded first to Rosser earned the wrath of Mr. No Days Off, as well as re-established the BULLET CLUB connections of Juice within New Japan Pro-Wrestling. When Jay White made a shocking appearance in AEW Dynamite last week, he would reunite with Juice, and raise further questions- despite White’s expulsion from NJPW, his finger prints will be in this match, and speculation is sure to follow. Can Rosser make good on his promise to punish Juice for his San Jose transgressions, and lay speculation to rest before it gets started?
1st Match: The DKC, Clark Connors, Lio Rush, Rocky Romero & Chuck Taylor vs Kevin Knight, Gabriel Kidd, Mike Bailey, Volador Jr. & KUSHIDA
Ten man tag team action will kick off the main card in DC, as Rocky Romero and Volador Jr.’s rivalry continues to brew. In a change to the original lineup, and with Tomohiro Ishii wrestling El Desperado later in the night, Rocky gives a Best Friend in Chuck Taylor the callup- could that make the difference opposite a spectacular team led by CMLL’s Skywalker?
Kickoff Match: TMDK (Bad Dude Tito & Shane Haste) vs West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)
Both the TMDK combo of Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito, and Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs of West Coast Wrecking Crew have had to come to terms with narrow defeats over the IMPACT and STRONG Tag team Championships in recent weeks. Tonight, an opportunity exists for one team to instantly put themselves right back in the tag team mix of whichever division they so choose- who comes away with an all important first win of the night?
