NJPW Strong: Road to Ignition Ep. 45 Review

Welcome to another action packed episode of NJPW Strong. Last week’s main event left me a little dissatisfied, but tonight we will have Josh Alexander’s debut on the show. How will the Canadian walking weapon fare against the dojo’s best wrestlers?

NJPW Strong: Alex Coughlin v. Josh Alexander

Summary: Josh Alexander looks natural at Strong. Both men jockey for position. Alexander goes for a clothesline, but Coughlin no-sells it. Alexander catches Coughlin with a kick and battles him outside. Coughlin gets Alexander on the floor with a release German. Alexander tries to gain ground with an Irish whip, but Coughlin hits a deadlift gut wrench. Alexander hits the ankle lock submission. Coughlin reverses it into a half crab. Coughlin gets some steam and does a rollup to a German suplex bridge combo. Coughlin capitalizes with a Samoan drop into a bridge. Alexander sneaks in another ankle lock, Coughlin kicks out of it. Josh goes for his second under hook, but Coughlin reverse bridges it. Coughlin goes for the attack, but Alexander finally hits the under hook piledriver for the three.

Positives: Coughlin is not short on fantastic strength takedowns. His bridges and deadlifts are very impressive. Josh meshed well with the pace of the fight.

Negatives: I thought for sure Coughlin was going to get the win. This was his time to shine and instead of building up a homegrown wrestler with an impressive move set, they let the special guest from Impact get a win.

Winner: Josh Alexander via under hook piledriver

Grade: B-

What plans does NJPW have for Coughlin? I hope he doesn’t slip through their fingers.

Last week, Strong put a lot of pride on Fred Yehi’s debut in the main event, but I honestly think Josh Alexander is a better face to get behind. He carries himself like a young Kurt Angle.

NJPW Strong: Fred Rosser and Adrian Quest vs. Bateman and Barrett Brown

Summary: Two weeks ago, Barrett and Bateman did a great heel match against Quest. Tonight, Quest might get his revenge. Barrett and Quest go to war, but Barrett quickly tags Bateman. Quest squares off with Bateman. Quest hits a running rana and a dropkick. Rosser gets tagged in. Barrett tags in and goes for the head of Rosser. Rosser catches a leapfrog and slams Brown to the ground. Brown is saved by Bateman on the ring apron and kicks Rosser in the head. Bateman goes on the torture of Rosser. Brown is tagged in and continues the torture of Rosser. Rosser strikes his opponents like a caged animal.  He finally frees himself with a back suplex on Bateman. Quest is tagged in. Quest goes on the rampage against Barrett. Rosser helps nail Quest with a back suplex on the apron and Quest nails a standing shooting star press. Bateman breaks up the pin. Bateman throws Rosser out of the ring. Rosser eats a superkick from Brown. He is out. Barrett goes to torture Quest. Quest hits a satellite DDT. Bateman gets a blind tag, interrupts Quest’s turnbuckle climb, and hits a jumping piledriver on Quest for three.

Positives: Rosser and Quest went to war with Bateman and Barrett leading to a heel victory. This adds some great fuel to the fire between the Quest and Brown grudge match. I hope there is a satisfying ending.

Negatives: Bateman and Rosser were great tag partners, but we want to see Quest and Brown go at it.

Winner: Brown and Bateman via Bateman’s jumping piledriver.

Grade: B

Post-match: Rosser starts swinging on Bateman. A new grudge has developed. Rosser puts Bateman in a fireman’s carry, but Bateman escapes.

Backstage: Barrett and Bateman talk about how they twisted a knife in their tag opponents. They are a force to be reckoned with. Bateman welcomes a match with Rosser.

NJPW Commercial: Tetsuya Nito is in a weird commercial where he challenges a business exec to a clothes removing contest. It was a commercial for their new app. What???

Announcement: Kevin Kelly announces a tournament with all the tag-teams, also introducing The Good Brothers in their debut.

Two weeks ago, Kojima and Kratos got into a punching war after the bell. This will be Kojima’s chance to show the brute what a legend can do.

NJPW Strong: JR Kratos v. Satoshi Kojima

Summary: Kojima’s theme music sounds like a level from Megaman. The commentary speculate if Kojima’s signature lariat would be strong enough to win the match. Kratos overpowers Kojima from the start. Kratos grounds Kojima with a jumping shoulder tackle. Kratos takes control with strikes and elbows. Kratos hits a brutal gut wrench suplex for 2. Kratos hits a snap suplex that sends Kojima to the other side of the ring. Kojima stops a charge with a kick and machine gun chops. Kratos hits some chops of his own. Kojima dodges a corner charge and hits another volley of chops and forearms. Kratos is back on his feet and stops Kojima from going to the turnbuckle. Kratos tries to German Kratos off the ring apron, but Kojima turns it into a DDT. Kojima hits a successful elbow off the top. Only a 2 count. Kratos returns with a chokeslam sitout. Kratos hits a massive vertical suplex deadlift. Kojima fires back with three DDTs. Kratos no-sells it and knocks him clean with a lariat. Out of nowhere, Kojima hits his patented cutter. Kojima hits a very impressive snap suplex on the 300-pound behemoth. Kojima signals for the lariat, but Kratos breaks it with a knee. Kojima tries again and nails the lariat to end the match.

Positives: I loved the strong grapples and powerful takedowns by both men. Kojima proved that legends never die and Kratos looked awesome as the monster heel. That is the difference between American and Japanese legends. Japanese legends can still fight like the young guys.

Negatives:

Winner: Satoshi Kojima via the running lariat

Grade: B+

This is one of my favorite episodes of Strong. A solid show from beginning to end. My biggest gripe was Coughlin losing to Alexander. Two well-crafted stories gained some good heat, while Josh Alexander put on a good show. There is a lot to look forward to in future episodes. A tag tournament, a grudge match between Rosser and Bateman, and more chances to see “Filthy” Tom Lawlor defend his title against Karl Fredericks.