NJPW Strong: Collision Tour Ep. 42 Review

Ladies and gentlemen, tonight NJPW Strong will have Filthy Tom Lawlor face off against Chris Dickinson for the Strong Heavyweight Title. I am expecting to get wowed by this match, but we will see how it plays out. Let’s go.

1st Match Opens:

NJPW Strong: Clark Connors v. AJZ

Summary: AJZ got beaten by Romero in his last match. Let’s see how he does with Connors tonight. AJZ struts his stuff in a bright gold vest and shiny blue trunks. Connors and AJZ size each other up. They engage in chain wrestling, and Connors gives AJZ several takedowns. AJZ is thrown outside. Connors chops him to pieces. Connors uses a top apron double axe handle.  AJZ lures Connors in and hits him with a springboard DDT.  AJZ uses his advantage to smack Connors around and put him in a neck submission. Connors gets leverage by hip tossing AJZ and goes for the spear, but AJZ pops him up and hits him with a crossbody. Connors will not give up control, as he puts AJZ in a series of snap suplexes. AJZ stops the momentum with a frontplex and then struts like Disco Inferno. AJZ goes for some very snug strikes. Connors fights out of a death valley driver and whips AJZ into a pounce. AJZ is tackled in the corner and Connors hits a beautiful over-the-head throw. AJZ goes for another DVD, but Connors elbows him in the face. AJZ retaliates with a springboard knee strike. AJZ tries a third DVD, but Connors reverses it into a power slam. Connors hits the spear and the back suplex, and it’s all over.

Positives: AJZ has a good move set when it comes to strong grapples and throws. Connors continues to impress with his overhead tosses.

Negatives: I wonder what AJZ was trying to do with his DVD that was so easy to counter. Chain wrestling is not the best choice for either Connors or AJZ

Winner: Clark Connors via the spear and back suplex

Grade: B-

This has been my favorite opening match in the four episodes I have reviewed. AJZ is a promising heel that might be a good minion for a heel stable or the favorite punching bag for promising babyfaces.

NJPW Strong: El Phantasmo v. Wheeler Yuta

Summary: Wheeler Yuta comes out looking like Bane. When he takes off his mask, however, he looks like someone’s violin teacher (it’s the hair). El Phantasmo trips on his way to the ring and tries to punch the cameraman. Phantasmo is a troll, pretending to get the invisible audience psyched up. The match starts with the classic tie-up. Both men jockey for position. Yuta shows competence, countering Phantasmo’s moves. A mix of headlocks puts Phantasmo in control. Wheeler Yuta tries a weak standing rana, but Phantasmo cartwheels out of it. Phantasmo does a monkey flip, but Yuta flips out of it. Phantasmo stays outside the ring to an 18 count. The match goes back to limb twisting. Phantasmo jumps on the ropes and bites on the fingers of Yuta. He continues to lap around the ropes. Phantasmo follows up with a moonsault, crossbody, and another moonsault. Yuta escapes a back suplex, frog hops over Phantasmo, spins him around, and ends the sequence with an Olympic Slam. Yuta hits a crossbody for the 2-count. Wheeler goes for another top rope crossbody. He keeps wringing his fingers as if he broke something. Phantasmo reverses a hold into a spinning neckbreaker. Yuta stops him from jumping off the turnbuckle. El Phantasmo hits a thunder kiss splash. Only a 2-count. Yuta avoids a superkick and hits a German suplex for two. Phantasmo bites the fingers again. Phantasmo KO’s Yuta with a superkick.

Positives: When Phantasmo goes for the high-risk moves he makes the match way more fun. The ropewalk spot was cool.

Negatives: Kelly and Koslov get into an annoying debate about El Phantasmo. They are not Tony Schiavone and Bobby “The Brain” Heenan. The tie-up game goes a little bit longer than I hoped. A lot of time is wasted with Phantasmo’s annoying hijinks.

Winner: El Phantasmo via the Sudden Death (superkick)

Grade: C+

The match started slow and the commentary was nails on a chalkboard. The redemption was in the back-and-forth near the end. Yuta did not look as good as he could in that match, but he had some good offense.

El Phantasmo is backstage. He says he has the most deadly finishing move in New Japan professional wrestling. He has the best finisher in the history of pro wrestling according to him. 

The next event will be called Ignition on the Collision Tour.

We see a recap that built up to this main event.

NJPW Strong: Chris Dickinson v. Tom Lawlor (Strong Championship)

Summary: Here we go. The first title defense in Strong history. Chris Dickinson dresses like someone’s dad going to a Limp Bizkit concert. Tom Lawlor comes out on the shoulders of Kratos. The match starts with kicks and strikes. Lawlor and Dickinson tussle around the ground. Both men struggle to grab limbs and put them into submission holds. Both men get on their feet and Dickinson tries to get into a striking match. Finally, Lawlor hits a UFC takedown on Dickinson and combos it into a triangle choke. Dickinson goes for a shotgun dropkick and sends Lawlor to the floor with a clothesline. Dickinson punishes Lawlor with a dragon screw leg whip from the apron. Lawlor uses the ropes for a neck breaker. Lawlor catches Dickinson’s clothesline and gives him a spinebuster. Lawlor gets Dickinson into a figure four until Dickinson reverses it. More slaps and forearms are exchanged. Lawlor goes for the rear-naked choke. Dickinson goes for a superplex and sends Lawlor to the mat. More corner clotheslines from Dickinson. Dickinson hits a DVD. Kratos and Limelight try to distract the ref. Brody King comes to the ring and knocks out Kratos. Dickinson hits a brainbuster on Lawlor. Only a 2-count. Dickinson hits a second dragon screw and an enziguri for a 2-count. Dickinson hits a raw German suplex that looked brutal. Lawlor hits a scoop tombstone driver for a 2-count. More hard chops and palm strikes. Lawlor interrupts with an exploder and an Olympic Slam. Lawlor goes for another rear-naked chokehold. Dickinson goes for the back suplex and tries to hit a clothesline. Another sleeper is applied to Chris Dickinson, but Lawlor turns it into a suplex for a three count.

Positives: Both men persevered through the entire match. The near falls were exciting. The deadlift German suplex from Dickinson looked great.

Negatives: 5 minutes into it and both men stick to the ground submissions. This match is all about Filthy Tom’s love of ground wrestling.

Winner: Tom Lawlor via a Sleeper Suplex (retains the title) (22-minute match, marking the longest match in NJPW Strong history)

Grade: C+

Tom Lawlor prefers a match that is filled with momentum stealing submissions. It forces the match to stay on the ground. Usually, the submissions are the appetizer before the entree of slams and intense knockouts, but the action stayed on the submissions. Dickinson gave his all near the end of the match, but I could definitely tell that NJPW Strong was holding out for a more worthy opponent.

Post-show Note: Every match had at least one back suplex and the commentators and wrestlers played it off as a match-ending takedown. That was a weird choice.

After the match: Lawlor begins to hoot and holler, but Karl Fredericks interrupts to congratulate him and hint at a title shot.