Singles main event sees Ren Narita in action against ROH’s disturbing representative
Lion’s Break Contender has kicked off 2021 on NJPW STRONG with matches highlighting the shape of things to come through the year. With new and returning faces looking to make their mark on the year, nothing represents the concept better than our lineup this coming Friday night.
Watch NJPW STRONG Fridays at 10e/9c on NJPW World!
Main event: Ren Narita vs Bateman
The main event Friday sees a pair of high profile Friday night debuts indeed as Ren Narita continues his American excursion on NJPW STRONG. We last saw Narita in action at Super J-Cup 2020, where he tagged with the debuting Kevin Knight against Hikuleo and KENTA, but now he will have the spotlight to himself, and a lot of eyes on him to gauge how well he’s progressed against the brooding Bateman.
An 18 year veteran of the American scene, Bateman hits the cerulean blue for only the second time in his career tonight, having previously competed at New Beginning USA in 2019. The intervening two years has seen Bateman’s dark nature and pronounced mean streak only continue to deepen. What mark will he make at Lion’s break Contender?
2nd Match: Brody king vs JR Kratos
Second on the card Friday night will be the very definition of a super heavyweight hoss fight. Brody King stood opposite Team Filthy’s powerful bruiser two weeks ago on NJPW STRONG and the results were brutal and violent enough. Now one on one, there are no teammates to intervene and stop the two biggest bulls on Friday nights from locking horns.
1st Match: Kevin Knight & Jordan Clearwater vs The Riegel Twins (Logan & Sterling Riegel)
Kicking the action off Friday, Kevin Knight continues his journey in NJPW, teaming with the returning Jordan Clearwater to face the Riegel Twins. The Riegels want to build on the promise they showed through 2020 by staying victorious through 2021. Clearwater had a difficult 2020, his debut showings in NJPW all being winless. Can he get results by teaming with another young star with a lot of potential in Knight?
