Four massive main events made for Fridays in May

May on NJPW STRONG will see Collision each Friday. After New Japan Cup USA 2021 saw the first STRONG Champion determined, the stars of STRONG are all colliding for personal pride and the right to be called a champion. 

Watch NJPW STRONG Fridays at 10/9c on NJPW World!

May 7- A US title preview!

Already announced for this Friday May 7, a huge tag team preview of May 12’s IWGP US Heavyweight Championship match between Yuji Nagata and Jon Moxley. Nagata brings his protege Ren Narita to the fight, but Chris Dickinson has a score to settle with the LA Dojo’s ‘exchange student’.

May 14- Elimination warfare!

May 14 will see an elimination tag team main event with a lot of combustible elements among its eight competitors, as Karl Fredericks, Brody king TJP and Clark Connors take on Danny Limelight, JR Kratos, Chris Dickinson and STRONG Openweight Champion Tom Lawlor. Over the last several months, Team Filthy have proven that very little can stop them when they’re on the same page. But are they on the same page? After Lawlor captured the STRONG Openweight Championship, Chris Dickinson immediately stepped up to challenge from within. This after the Dirty Daddy aligned himself with Brody King in Ring of Honor; an arrangement Dickinson maintains is purely a business deal, but is creating more than a small conflict of interests. 

Then there’s Clark Connors to look out for in this main event. This will be our first look at Connors since his incredible main event with karl Fredericks at the LA Dojo Showcase; a match that Connors stated post match represented his graduation once and for all from Young Lion status. The ‘wild rhino’ could well be a forever changed man come week two of Collision!

May 21: No DQ War!

Fred Rosser and Hikuleo have been at one another’s throats since their very first interaction on NJPW STRONG. With the young arrogant Hikuleo and BULLET CLUB representing everything Mr. No Days Off takes a stand against, it should come as no small wonder that two of the biggest men and hardest hitters would target one another as soon as they met in tag team action months ago. Their interactions would lead to a singles bout during New Beginning USA, a match that Rosser won, but with a rare desperation pull of the hair, bending the rules to try and turn the tide of a match that the Young Gun had dominated. 

Hikuleo was hungry for revenge, and demanded the two face off in the first round of New Japan Cup USA, a match Hikuleo won after brutally attacking his opponent on the outside of the ring before the bell even rang. It’s clear regular rules cannot settle the score between Hikuleo and Fred Rosser, so week three of Collision will see a no disqualification match to finally determine who the better man is on Friday nights. 

May 28: Dirty Daddy vs the Filthy One!

On winning New Japan Cup USA, Tom Lawlor was crowned the very first STRONG Openweight Champion. Lawlor was right to expect that his first challenger would make themselves known soon enough, but was stunned to learn that Chris Dickinson was stepping up from within Team Filthy. 

Dickinson has been extremely active in 2021, and not just on NJPW STRONG, where he quickly became a force to be reckoned with. His allegiance with Brody King on ROH appeared to create a conflict of interest with Tom Lawlor, whether or not the champion was openly vocal about it. Dickinson has insisted that he will go where the money and competition is, and that includes being in the main event of Collision with the STRONG gold on the line. Will Lawlor’s time at the top on Friday nights be brief? Or will the Filthy era continue? And win or lose, will Team Filthy ever be the same?