Card set for Texas Friday
The full card is now set for Lonestar Shootout on November 10 in the Curtis Culwell Center. A stacked lineup will see five championship matches, as well as a pair of additional first time ever singles encounters not to be missed!
November 10 Curtis Cullwell Center TICKETS
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Main event: NEVER Openweight Championship- Shingo Takagi vs Trent Beretta
Trent Beretta will challenge new NEVER Openweight Champion Shingo Takagi at Lonestar Shootout. An intense, hard fought main event worthy of the ‘BMF’ status of the NEVER title saw Shingo Takagi reunited with the gold for a third reign in Las Vegas Saturday night. Trent Beretta’s challenge was quite unexpected however. The Best Friends and CHAOS member does lay claim to a 24 hour NEVER Openweight 6 man Championship reign in 2018 together with his four times as IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion, but has never held NJPW singles gold, despite twice challenging for the IWGP United States Championship over the years. Might his third singles title challenge result in his first NEVER title?
9th Match: IWGP Women’s Championship- Mayu Watani vs Stephanie Vaquer
Mayu Iwatani puts the IWGP Women’s Championship on the line against Stephanie Vaquer. Having come up short in the STRONG Women’s Championship tournament back in may, Vaquer kept proving her worth in CMLL, and made a mark at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Calling her shot to STARDOM’s Icon, Vaquer now seeks to depose Iwatani in Texas.
8th Match: NJPW World TV Championship- Zack Sabre Jr. vs Mike Bailey
Singles record: 3-0 Sabre
As Zack Sabre Jr. continues his quest to reach 20 defences of the NJPW World TV Championship by the end of the year, he has quite the interesting opposition in Speedball Mike Bailey. Lonestar Shootout marks the first meeting for Bailey and Sabre since 2017, with Bailey never yet having gotten a win over the British submission master. As ZSJ and Bailey both look to recover from high profile singles losses against Will Ospreay, Sabre wants to reaffirm his status as one of the world’s best. Bailey meanwhile seeks to show at last he’s better than ZSJ, but can he do it in under 15 minutes, or will Sabre get to V16?
7th Match: Blackpool Combat Club (Wheeler Yuta & Jon Moxley) vs BULLET CLUB (David Finlay & KENTA)
Power Struggle on November 4 ended in controversial form, as David Finlay hit the ring to interrupt Will Ospreay and Jon Moxley’s face to face, smashing both the IWGP US and UK belts to pieces with a sledgehammer. Now, as talk of a new title in Finlay’s sick image of the world circles, Finlay and Moxley collide in tag action, while KENTA, who has his own previous with Mox, will gladly join in the action, as will the hard fighting BCC young gun Wheeler Yuta.
6th Match: STRONG Openweight Championship- Eddie Kingston vs Satoshi Kojima
Eddie Kingston survived HENARE in Las Vegas, with perhaps the hardest hitting match of the night at Fighting Spirit Unleashed ending with the Mad King’s hand raised. Stepping up next is the winner of the four way number one contender’s match at FSU, Satoshi Kojima. Kojima’s incredible year has seen him battle diverse competition across Japan and the US. Kojima has more than earned the respect and fandom of Kingston, but in his second career challenge, can he earn the STRONG title?
5th Match: Mistico vs TJP
For the first time ever one on one, Mistico takes on TJP. The Public Enemy has faced CMLL’s icon in Mexico’s 2023 Grand Prix, as well as in six man action alongside Rocky Romero and Kevin Knight in recent months, but each time has come up short. Now he faces Mistico in a singles environment for the first time ever, but can he get his first win over the masked master?
4th Match: STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championships- Guerrillas of Destiny (Hikuleo & El Phantasmo) vs West Coast Wrecking Crew (Royce Isaacs & Jorel Nelson)
Having survived the imposing challenge of Monster Sauce at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, Hikuleo and El Phantasmo face the West Coast Wrecking Crew in Texas. Royce Isaacs and Jorel Nelson have challenged Aussie Open and Motor City Machineguns for STRONG gold in the past, and came up achingly short each time. Could third time be lucky for WCWC with the STRONG titles on the line?
3rd Match: Kevin Knight, KUSHIDA, Tama Tonga & Tanga Loa vs BULLET CLUB (Alex Coughlin, Gabe Kidd, Clark Connors & Chase Owens)
Eight man tag action pits BULLET CLUB against Hontai. Tama Tonga first connected with the Intergalactic Jet Setters at Power Struggle, and the G.o.D connection to the junior heavyweight team continues tonight. Meanwhile, Gabe Kidd has already called his shot to face the winner of Eddie Kingston and Satoshi Kojima later tonight- doubly so if Eddie retains. What happens in this chaotic eight man collision?
2nd Match: Toru Yano vs Joey Janela
A mysterious message from one Joey Janela at Fighting Spirit Unleashed revealed plans to target Toru Yano at Lonestar Shootout. The unique Janela could just as easily be targeting Yano for his hardcore brawling past as he is the more fun loving side of the Master Producer- just what will this match bring?
1st Match: Mascara Dorada, Tiger Mask & Atlantis vs Hichicero, Rocky Romero & Ultimo Guerrero
A couple of weeks ago in las Vegas, Atlantis’ 40th career anniversary celebrations were upset by Rocky Romero with a bouquet of roses over the head of the living lucha legend. Tonight, six man action sees their issues continue, as Atlantis recruits old running buddy Tiger mask, and the young phenom, Mascara Dorada opposite Rocky and rudogreats Hechicero and Ultimo Guerrero.
Kickoff 2: Fred Rosser vs Tom Lawlor
It’s been a rocky year for Fred Rosser and Tom Lawlor. The first STRONG Openweight Champion Lawlor went from making his G12 debut in 2022 to having a more nondescript 2023, and with no titles to his name, dropped his last singles match to Gabe Kidd. For Rosser, his own STRONG Openweight title reign came to an end at the start of the year, and his most recent chance to get back in the title mix resulted in a four way loss to Satoshi Kojima at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Now, Rosser and Lawlor are not letting the year slide without resuming their multiple award winning rivalry, with big stakes sure to be on the line for whomever wins.
Kickoff 1: STRONG Survivor Match powered by NJPW Academy: Matt Vandergriff vs Barrett Brown
After coming out on top of his STRONG Survivor match in Vegas, Matt Vandagriff now faces Barrett Brown. Indie Texas vet Brown has been a big part of NJPW STRONG since its inception, and in his first match in a while for NJPW in the US, will be looking to put young Vandagriff firmly in his place.
