Inexplicably, ROH decided to have the GYV defend their STRONG Openweight Tag Titles three days before this show. Don’t ask me.

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) vs. MxM Collection (Mansoor & Mason Madden)

The Grizzled Young Veterans have been champions since 11.8.2024 and this is their first defense. MxM double teamed Drake until Gibson trips Mansoor when he hits the ropes. Although Mansoor takes out GIbson with a punch, Drake blindsides him with a suicide dive. Mansoor was then beaten down by the champs until he cut off Gibson’s punches with an atomic drop/spinebuster combo. Madden big boots Drake and side kicks Gibson upon tagging in. He tags Mansoor back in after dropping Gibson with a Boss Man Slam, and then chokeslams him into a German suplex from Mansoor. Gibson saves his partner from being pinned. Gibson pulls Madden to the floor and sends him crashing into the steel steps. Gibson chokes Mansoor with his scarf behind referee Bryce Remsburg’s back and pulls him down to the mat with it. GYV wipe out Mansoor with Grit Your Teeth (a leg sweep/lariat combo) for the pin at 6:31. Pretty dang good for a nothing defense. The charisma of the challengers did most of the heavy lifting, but GYV were game for their shenanigans. **¾

Long Beach, CA – 12.15.2024

Commentary is provided by Walker Stewart & Veda Scott.

Many of these matches were set up last month at Fighting Spirit Unleashed, so if you haven’t already, I recommend giving my review of that show a read before continuing on.

Kickoff Match
Matt Vandagriff vs. Zane Jay

This match is billed as a “STRONG Survivor Match”, pitting prospects from the NJPW Academy against one another on a bigger, more visible stage. This is the eighth STRONG Survivor Match, and Vandagriff has won the previous seven. This is the first rematch of the STRONG Survivor series, as Vandagriff defeated Jay at “Windy City Riot.” Since then, Jay spent a stint in the Noge Dojo, which he shows with his newly shaved head and by going for the Boston Crab early.his was an easy, well told story the crowd sunk their teeth into. Jay had control most of the time they were in the ring and fought for the Boston Crab, while Vandagriff had control outside of the ring and was looking for Bloody Sunday. The crowd was genuinely pumped for Jay when he pulled off the upset, finally submitting Vandagriff to the Boston Crab when he attempted it for the third time at 13:22. Vandagriff’s STRONG Survivor run was a mixed bag, but he did very well in this, and I hope if this is to continue that Jay is given more matches like this to shine.. **¾

Mina Shirakawa vs. Johnnie Robbie

This is Robbie’s first NJPW match since last year’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed, due to a neck stinger that kept her out for most of 2024. Robbie and Shirakawa keep up with one another at a quick pace. Robbie lands a slingshot one-footed stomp to the stomach to Shirakawa on the apron to take advantage. She drives Shirakawa’s neck into the back of her shin for two. Shirakawa side steps an attack off the ropes and surprises Robbie with a springboard enzuigiri. Shirakawa gets two with a reverse DDT and ends a forearm strike exchange by dropkicking Robbie’s knee out from under her. Shirakawa does more damage to Robbie’s knees and left leg. Robbie cuts her off with an exploder and fisherman’s suplex for two. Shirakawa locks in a figure four until Robbie makes it to the ropes. Shiarakawa ducks Robbie’s backfist and delivers one of her own. A flying Sling Blade gets her an extremely close nearfall. Robbie schoolboys and rolls up Shirakawa to try and sneak in a quick pin. Shirakawa cuts her off with a rolling elbow and then puts Robbie away with the Glamorous Driver at 7:40. It’s nice seeing Robbie back and healthy, as I thought she showed a lot of promise last year. She and Shirakawa had terrific chemistry, and I especially liked that when Robbie sensed the end was near for her, she desperately went for pins in the hopes of avoiding the downfall. Shirakawa being so beloved makes these matches even more enjoyable. Let’s hope this division finally gets some focus in 2025. **¾

NJPW STRONG Openweight Tag Team Championship
Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) vs. The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs)

The Grizzled Young Veterans have been champions since 11.8.2024 and this is their second defense. The WCWC wear the straps from last month’s strap match on their necks like they’re a badge of honor. They waste no time attacking Drake’s left knee. From the apron, Gibson clobbers Nelson in the nose and then tags himself in. Nelson makes him pay with a crossface before he and Isaacs attack his midsection. Isaacs impresses by squatting with Drake ten times while holding him in a cradle. GYV have enough of the WCWC’s nonsense and pick up the aggression against Isaacs. The crowd is especially angry at Gibson when he digs his fingers into Isaacs’ eyes. Isaacs gets the chance to tag in Nelson after he suplexes Drake across the ring. After chopping up the GYV repeatedly he takes them down with a double crossbody. Drake enzuigiri’s Nelson to the corner where Isaacs tags himself back in. He unloads with clotheslines onto the GYV. Gibson enzuigiri’s Isaacs into a Complete Shot and Koji Clutch from Drake. Gibson prevents Nelson from making the save by putting in the London Dungeon. Isaacs ends up muscling up Drake and tossing him into Gibson and Nelson. The WCWC takes out Drake with a powerslam/Falcon Arrow combination. Their Shooty McGee variant only gets two on Gibson. Drake shoves Nelson to the floor when climbs to the top rope. Gibson fails to pin Isaacs with a schoolboy and gets Superman punched. Drake pulls Isaacs down using his scarf around his neck. As the GYV set up for Grit Your Teeth, Nelson trips Gibson from the floor. Isaacs schoolboys Drake and holds his tights to get the pin and the titles at 12:43. Finally, the flag bearers of the division actually get the title belts. I had a feeling the ROH match came about so GYV could have one successful defense before dropping them and I’m glad I was right. The GYV go out on a high note with the best of their three title bouts, with a level of intensity and crowd engagement the other three matches lacked. I’m really looking forward to the WCWC’s reign and hope it gets them back to Japan. **¼

The WCWC’s celebration is interrupted by Rocky Romero. As the Vice President of NJPW of Amaerica, he congratulates Isaacs and Nelson on the victory, saying to see them bring home the titles after four long years of busting their ass is truly amazing, especially as he is a West Coast man himself. As a wrestler, he wants to issue a challenge to the WCWC for “Battle In The Valley” for the titles, with YOH as his partner. The WCWC accept with a handshake, but just as Romero is exiting the ring, Isaacs sneak attacks him with a German suplex! The WCWC hold the titles over him

KUSHIDA vs. Clark Connors vs. Kosei Fujita vs. TJP

This is a preview match for the four-way IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team title match at Wrestle Kingdom 19. A four-way with the other set of partners will take place on December 22nd in Korakuen Hall. KUSHIDA is one-half of the current champions, Connors and TJP are former champions, and Fujita won the 2024 Super Junior Tag League. Connors gets beaten up by everyone for trying to introduce a chair into the bout from the start. KUSHIDA goes after Connors’ arm on the floor while TJP attacks Fujita’s back inside of the ring. Connors back elbows TJP to cut off his facewash kick attempt to Fujita and gives Fujita his own side slam. Connors Irish whips TJP to the corner so hard that the momentum sends him tumbling to the outside. TJP rolls through a powerslam into a cradle and KUSHIDA breaks up the hold. Fujita springboard dropkicks TJP and KUSHIDA simultaneously. Connors spears TJP off of the apron and to the floor. KUSHIDA then hip toss dropkicks Connors to the floor with him and delivers a tornado DDT. In the ring, KUSHIDA attacks Fujita’s taped up shoulder. TJP gives KUSHIDA his own tornado DDT. KUSHIDA evades the Mamba Splash and Magistral cradles TJP, which Connors breaks up. Connors side steps a back handspring from KUSHIDA and pounces him to the apron. Connors snap slams TJP, but TJP leaps over a Gore and double stomps Connors’ back. TJP puts both him and Fujita and Connors in a double Pinoy Stretch which gets broken up, and everyone is knocked down with simultaneous clotheslines. TJP uses a Mamba Splash to break a Hoverboard Lock from KUSHIDA onto Connors. Fujita trips Connors into the Special. While Fujita is busy with Connors, TJP pins KUSHIDA with a Mouse Trap pin at 10:24. This was a super fun, fast-faced match that definitely got me even more amped for the WK match. But did TJP of all people really need to win? The crowd’s groans and boos when he won says it all. That bummer aside, this was a blast. ***¾

Lio Rush vs. Hechicero

Rush has trouble getting the better of Hechicero, and it isn’t helpful that the crowd is very behind Hechicero. When Rush tries a kick from the apron, Hechicero traps Rush’s leg in the bottom rope and snaps it. He then takes him out with a flying clothesline back in the ring and puts him in a Lighting Lock Delta where he twists on Rush’s ankle. Hechicero then spins Rush around in a hammerlock before giving him a backbreaker. The crowd does not like that Rush fights Hechicero off of the middle rope with a forearm smash. Rush’s right knee buckles, but he recovers with a combination of strikes. Rush roundhouse kicks Hechicero after kicking his leg out. He back handspring kicks Hechicero to the floor and follows him out with a suicide dive. Rush gets two with the Come Up. Hechicero ankle picks Rush in mid-air when Rush leapfrogs over him. Rush and Hechicero victory roll one another and Rush then schoolboys Hechicero into a tornado enzuigiri. Hechicero shotgun dropkicks Rush to the corner. A knee strike and headscissors driver follow, giving Hechicero the pin at 11:29. Another fun match that the crowd elevated with their love for one of the participants. They played up their size differences, while also showcasing that they were fairly equally matched both on the mat and in the air. The match ended a bit abruptly, but I like that it was with a move you wouldn’t necessarily expect to end a match either. I hope Hechicero finds his way onto more STRONG shows as well as the Wrestle Dynasty card. ***¼

Los Ingobernables de Japón (Hiromu Takahashi & Titán) vs. United Empire (Jakob Austin Young & Templario)

Young joined the United Empire back in September during the Road To Destruction tour. He was a staple of the STRONG shows in late 2022, but this is his first U.S. event since last year’s Fighting Spirit Unleashed pre-show. Templario was recently recruited into the group by TJP, who is in the United Empire’s corner for this contest. Tanahashi comes into this match after winning the 2024 World Tag League tournament with Tetsuya Naito one week prior. It didn’t matter that the United Empire sneak attacked Titán to start, Takahashi took them both out on his own, including two running crossbodys to each of them on the floor. Templario’s momentum ends when Takahashi hits the ropes and he kicks Takahashi in the back. Young enzuigiri’s Takahashi and Templario quickly knocks Titán off of the apron. The United Empire attacks Takahashi’s left leg until he escapes Jacobs Ladder and gives Young a Falcon Arrow. Titán tags in and spikes Templario with a tornado DDT. He pulls Templario to the floor using a bodyscissors and then lands a Asai moonsault. Templario catches Titán charging at him and muscles him up into a gutbuster for two. Young assists Titán with a wheelbarrow suplex to Titán. Takahashi sends Young back first into the guardrails. He then sneaks into the ring and superkicks Templario. Takahashi and Titán wipe out Young with kicks and double superkick Templario to the corner. Titán Mizlines Templario, and then Takahashi assists him with a top rope splash for two. Templario rolls out of a curb stomp trajectory. Templario powerbombs Titán onto his knees for the pin at 10:34. Definitely wise for Templario’s first match as a United Empire member to be a victorious one. It was also nice for Young to get his first win as a roster member against a non-Young Lion on a U.S. show. To no surprise, Templario and Titán were the best combo, but everyone worked well together. Getting CMLL roster members more ingrained in New Japan is cool with me. ***¼

NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship
Gabe Kidd vs. Ryohei Oiwa

Kidd has been champion since 5.11.2024 and this is his fifth defense. Oiwa pinned Kidd during their World Tag League match on November 19th. Oiwa steadfastly holds onto a side headlock for a few minutes. It takes Kidd backdropping him over the top rope and to the floor to finally escape it. Kidd also lays out Oiwa with a clothesline on the floor for good measure. The two of them engage in a forearm and chop exchange that ends with Oiwa ducking a haymaker and German suplexing Kidd. He also gives Kidd a Saito suplex and deadlift German suplex for two. Kidd avoids The Grip and hits a rebound lariat for two. Open hand strikes and clotheslines from both men lead to Oiwa schoolboy pinning Kidd for a close nearfall. Oiwa surprises Kidd with a Doctor Bomb, but before the referee can make a count, Clark Connors pulls the referee out of the ring. Connors gets in a couple chair shots to the back before Kosei Fujita literally pulls Connors backstage. Oiwa kicks out of a Southpaw lariat and also a Saito suplex. Oiwa counters the Mad Man Bomb. Kidd open hand strikes Oiwa to block The Grip again and gives him a piledriver. The Mad Man Bomb then gets Kidd the pin at 13:00. This was a bit of a disappointment. Oiwa and Kidd worked hard and hit each other hard but it didn’t resonate with the crowd. The interference was also superfluous. Perhaps they wanted to give Oiwa an excuse for losing but still a bummer. Overall it was good but not as good as I had hoped. ***¼

Kidd then turns his attention to his match with Kenny Omega at Wrestle Dynasty. He says Omega is going to wish diverticulitis killed him off after he’s done with him in the Tokyo Dome. He says after he retires Omega in the Tokyo Dome, he invites Tomohiro Ishii to come and get his STRONG Openweight Title on January 11th in San Jose.

TMDK (Zack Sabre Jr., Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) vs. Shota Umino & Dirty Work (Fred Rosser & Tom Lawlor)

This is a preview bout for the Wrestle Kingdom 19 main event, where Sabre will defend his IWGP World Heavyweight championship against Umino. Big Teets plants Rosser with a spinebuster to give TMDK the upper hand. Things break down at one point, resulting in Sabre having Umino in the Cobra Twist on the floor where Tito is choking Lawlor with his foot on another part of the floor. Rosser and Haste continue to fight inside of the ring where Rosser puts down Haste with the Gut Check. Umino makes his way back to the apron and tags in. He shows no fear throwing repeated forearms to Tito, despite them having no effect. He ends up using Haste to take him down, and then also dropkicks Haste. Haste retaliates with a dropkick of his own and tags out to Sabre. Umino is triple teamed in the corner. Sabre looks for a cross armbreaker as his partners deal with Dirty Work on the floor. Dirty Work does end up fighting free and coming to Umino’s rescue before taking the fight back to the floor. Umino takes down Sabre with a tornado DDT. They exit the ring, leaving Lawlor with Tito. Tito fends off a sleeper hold. Lawlor tackles Tito and sends him to Rosser for a powerslam. Lawlor follows that up with a diving forearm smash to Tito for two. Rosser backdrops Haste onto the ring apron. Umino backslides Sabre into an uppercut. Sabre counters the Death Rider with the Zack Driver. Lawlor puts Tito in a Guillotine Choke. Tito counters that into a Steiner Screwdriver for the pin at 16:45. The crowd was very into Tito, so having him get the pin for TMDK was the right call. This just lacked a certain flow and cohesion and felt quite long. Nothing really stood out aside from Tito’s popularity Tito. I am very glad Dirty Work got to engage with some of the real New Japan roster but this was not their best outing. Sabre and Umino’s post match interaction got the fans attention at least but I don’t think it got the fans much more into their WK contest. ***

Los Ingobernables de Japón (Shingo Takagi & Yota Tsuji) vs. Jack Perry & Konosuke Takeshita

Takagi and Takeshita are facing each other at Wrestle Kingdom 19 with their respective singles titles on the line (Takagi’s NEVER Openweight Championship and Takeshita’s AEW International Championship) and Tsuji and Perry are facing each other the following night at Wrestle Dynasty. Perry refuses to start with Tsuji, so Takagi and Takeshita engage. Takeshita ends their opening exchange with his signature diving clothesline. Takagi shoulder blobkcs him twice, but has to nurse his taped up elbow after. Tsuji charges for Perry as soon as he tags in but Perry jumps to the floor. Perry pulls Tsuji to the floor when Tsuji hits the ropes and throws him into the barricades twice. Additionally, Takeshita throws Takagi between the ring apron and the barricades a few times and then into the ring post. Perry now insists on being the legal man against Tsuji in the ring. Tsuji cuts him off with a backbreaker. Takeshita then tags himself in to kick away at Takagi after blasting him with an elbow strike. Takagi does block the Power Drive Knee and kicks Takeshita to the corner, but Perry blind tags in and keeps Takagi isolated. Takagi DDT’s Perry, bringing in Tsuji who finally gets his hands on Perry. Perry double thrusts Tsuji into his throat. Tsuji cuts him off with a backbreaker and a curb stomp for two. Tsuji ducks Takeshita’s clothesline and dazes him with a superkick. Takagi tags back in and unloads with clotheslines, jabs, and chops on Takeshita in the corner before suplexing him out into the middle of the ring. Takeshita counters the Noshigami with a forward roll and then reverses back into a wheelbarrow suplex. He Blue Thunder Bombs Takagi for two. Takeshita and Takagi wipe each other out with lariats. Tsuji headbutts Perry but misses the Marlowe Crash. Perry pulls the referee in the way to halt Tsuji and also deliver a low blow. The Glass Jaw gets Perry the pin on Tsuji at 17:44. This match left me dying to see Takagi vs. Takeshita and wanting to see Tsuji beat the piss out of Perry – mission accomplished. Seriously, Takagi and Takeshita are gonna steal Wrestle Kingdom and I am all about it. The crowd was also back on their game for this one which helped. If I were nitpicking, I think you could’ve shaved off a minute in the final Takagi/Takeshita interaction, but this was a great match overall. ****

After the match, Hiromu Takahashi comes to Shingo’s aid as Perry and Takeshita beat down Shingo. The Young Bucks then appear and take out Hiromu with double superkicks and the EVP Trigger. They help Perry up to his feet and he leaves the ring. Matthew Jackson calls himself and Nicholas the most decorated tag team in New Japan history. He recalls the time they had a match of the year candidate with Kenny Omega and Kota Ibushi in this building. Nicholas calls them injury prone. The Bucks say they’re going to put the IWGP Tag Team Titles one more time around their waist one more time before they retire at Wrestle Dynasty.

NJPW STRONG Women’s Championship
Mercedes Moné vs. Hazuki

Moné has been champion since 6.30.2024 and this is her third defense. Moné goes for the Statement Maker early after a headscissors takedown, but Hazuki fights her way to the bottom rope to release the hold. She angrily kicks the barricade away as she recovers on the floor. When she gets back in the ring, she tosses Moné across the ring by her hair twice and chokes her on the bottom rope. Moné sweeps out Hazuki’s legs to block a facewash kick. She repeatedly knees Hazuki in the face, causing the back of Hazuki’s head to collide with the turnbuckle repeatedly. Hazuki catches her coming off of the ropes and drops her with a DDT. After a couple of slams, Hazuki once again chokes Moné on the bottom rope. Moné uses a chinbreaker to escape a hold and knees Hazuki in the chin to the corner. She double knees Hazuki in the corner and then plants her with a running Meteora for two. Hazuki catches Moné with a DDT on the apron through the ropes and then suicide dives onto her thrice, which makes the crowd go wild. When Moné crawls back into the ring, Hazuki wipes her out with a springboard dropkick. She then locks on a crossface. Moné maneuvers it into the Statement Maker, and Hazuki reverses it back into the crossface. Moné finally just gets into the ropes to end the interaction. Moné and Hazuki trade forearm strikes. When Hazuki asks Moné for one, Moné instead throws an open hand strike, leading to a straight up slap fight. Moné uses the rope to hop over Hazuki and then gives her the Three Amigos. Moné follows up with a frog splash for two. She puts Hazuki back in the Statement Maker. Hazuki gets them to their feet, but Moné pulls her face first into the corner using her legs. Hazuki however unloads with repeated forearm strikes to Moné as Moné is perched on the top turnbuckle. Hazuki lands a headbutt and brings Moné down with a superplex. She goes back to the crossface when Moné kicks out of the pin attempt. She transitions into the Rings of Saturn. Moné gets her foot on the bottom rope, but Hazuki holds on as long as she can before releasing the hold. Hazuki misses a super senton splash. Moné takes the opening to sunset bomb Hazuki into the corner. She blasts into Hazuki with double knees and then crushes her with a Meteora. Moné looks defeated when Hazuki kicks out right before three. Hazuki escapes the Moné Maker and sends the champion into the corner with a pump kick. Hazuki brings her out of the corner with a lungblower before successfully landing her top rope senton for another close nearfall. A diving Code Breaker has the same result. Moné escapes a slam and gives Hazuki a back cracker for two. Moné gives her two more back crackers and a powerbomb for two. Moné then pulls Hazuki up into the Moné Maker. The entire crowd was certain that was over and then Hazuki got her foot on the bottom rope. Hazuki then surprises Moné with a Magistral Cradle for two. Moné blocks a pump kick and drops her with another Moné Maker for the pin at

This was a match I truly had no expectations for. I am not familiar with Hazuki, and while Moné did have a good match in August, I was still not convinced that would be her norm in New Japan. Then these two came out here and had one of the best matches I’ve seen all year. The video that played before explaining that Hazuki had felt like a failure in STARDOM and didn’t want to blow yet another big opportunity set the stage for the match perfectly. She came at Moné with everything she had and dominated the champion for quite awhile. Moné looked off guard as she was caught wrestling Hazuki’s match, having to match her own intensity and outmaneuver her whenever she could. It took everything Moné had to keep Hazuki down, and then some. You could see Moné go from unconfident, to angry, and then to defiant as the ending stretch continued on, and the crowd was with them. You also had Moné returning to the building she was injured in during the inaugural STRONG Women’s Title tournament and successfully defending it. This was a star making match for Hazuki. This proved that Moné still has it. This is easily the best New Japan U.S. match this year. Wow. ****½

Moné mentions her injury in the tournament after the match, and then mentions she still wants to compete at Wrestle Dynasty. She asks who is ready to step up to challenge her at that event. Mina Shirakawa makes her way to the ring. She says Moné wants a lot of things, and everyone wants Mina, but Mina wants the STRONG Women’s Title at Wrestle Dynasty. Moné wants Mina to put her RevPro title on the line as well. Mina and her hold up their tiles, agreeing to the contest. They then both dance together. Great ending.

Definitely the best New Japan U.S. show this year, at least since Windy City Riot. Go out of your way to watch the main event, but there’s plenty of other really good stuff to check out too. I still think they should shorten these shows, but when you get main events that good it’s hard to complain.