STRONG Preview: Texas Bullrope Main Event 【NJoA】
Autumn Attack continues on STRONG
This week’s NJPW STRONG sees the third of four nights of Autumn Attack action from Texas, and an appropriate Texas Bullrope main event.
Watch Saturdays at 8/7c on NJPW World!
Or watch on FITE!
Main event: Texas Bullrope Match: Juice Robinson vs Hikuleo
Singles record: 1-0 Robinson
When Hikuleo demanded ‘competition’ for a singles match at Resurgence this past August, Juice Robinson was quick to step up, but what developed was more than just a spot on the LA Coliseum card. Juice’s quick flash pin on Hikuleo saw instant retaliation in the form of a post match chokeslam, and both men embarked on a two month feud that has spanned states and promotions.
Hikuleo would attack Juice backstage the next week on STRONG, sending him through a table, which led to a tables match at Fighting Spirit Unleashed. Robinson was victorious, but things didn’t end there either, Hikuleo blasting Robinson’s ankle on IMPACT and battling FinJuice to a pinfall win and Victory Road. Now Juice will settle his issues with the Young Gun in an appropriate match style for its venue.
The Texas Bullrope match will see Robinson and Hikuleo joined via a bullrope, complete with cowbell, both of which able to be used as a weapon. With no disqualifications, this is going to be a violent battle that will finally determine a winner once and for all after months of bad blood.
3rd Match: LA Dojo (Clark Connors & Karl Fredericks) vs United Empire (Will Ospreay & ???)
Before fans hit DFW Texas for Autumn Attack, speculation was rampant over who would partner with Will Ospreay to take on the LA Dojo alumni duo of Karl Fredericks and Clark Connors. After last week, it seems like the answer is quite clear. TJP would join the United Empire after Fredericks’ main event with Ospreay, turning his back on two men that he’s mentored closely, Connors in particular. Answers and revenge will be on the mind of the Wild Rhino and the Alpha Wolf tonight against Ospreay and TJP… unless the Commonwealth Kingpin has yet another plan in mind.
2nd Match: Chris Dickinson & Robbie Eagles vs BULLET CLUB (El Phantasmo & Chris Bey)
After being thick as thieves on IMPACT in recent weeks, they ‘Bey-F-F’s of Chris Bey and El Phantasmo tag together as a duo for the first time this week as they take on Robbie Eagles and Chris Dickinson. The junior and heavyweight pairing of Eagles and Dickinson seems odd on the surface, but their all-rounder abilities for their weight classes, along with a knack for devastating submissions makes them an intriguing combination. Certainly Dickinson will provide adequate backup for Eagles as he continues a long campaign against El Phantasmo, but in the ring against two of the premiere junior heavyweights in North America, Eagles has a target on his back in the form of the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship in this one.
1st Match: David Finlay, Brogan Finlay, Will AllDay, Wheeler Yuta & Fred Yehi vs Ryusuke Taguchi, Ren Narita, Alex Coughlin, The DKC & Kevin Knight
A pair of debuts in our opening match will see Will AllDay wrestle his first match in NJPW STRONG after coming through the Texas independent scene. Also, David Finlay’s younger brother Brogan will hit STRONG. The 18 year old younger Finlay is carrying on a wrestling tradition in his family, and will be stretched from his first match against representatives and graduates from both the Noge and LA systems.
