By Colin McGuire, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@McGMondays)
NJPW Strong
Taped July 24, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina at Grady Cole Center
Streamed September 3, 2022 on New Japan World
Ian Riccaboni checked in with Alex Koslov on commentary to run down the card. We are on the High Alert Tour and this is the fourth and final week of it.
1. John Skyler vs. Lucky Ali. The two locked up and Ali worked Skyler’s arm before Skyler came back with a side head-lock. Before long, Ali came back with an arm-drag and worked Skyler’s arm with a high double wrist lock. Skyler ran Ali into the corner and hit a series of chops. Ali came right back and flipped Skyler into a corner. Ali then hit a neck-breaker and went back to Skyler’s arm.
Skyler hit Ali in the back with a knee, which forced Ali to the outside. Skyler ran Ali into the apron. Back in the ring, Skyler landed a Senton for a one-count. Skyler hit a chop on Ali’s chest. Ali came back with a chop of his own. Ali followed that up with an uppercut, but Skyler fought back and landed a Fisherman’s Suplex for a two-count. Ali hit a back elbow, but Skyler cut him off with a knee.
Skyler landed a power-bomb and right right into an STF. Ali made it to the ropes for a break and the crowd was firmly behind Ali, who landed a back elbow to gain control. Ali launched Skyler into the ropes and hit an elbow to the back of Skyler. Ali landed a leg drop for a two-count. With Skyler on the apron, Ali hit a knee to the head and signaled a piledriver, but Skyler got out of it and speared Ali on the apron before spearing Ali in the ring.
Skyler put Ali on the second rope, but Ali fought back and hit a splash. Skyler tried a slingshot spear, but Ali kicked him. From there, the two went to the top rope and Skyler hit a driver from the top rope to get the win.
John Skyler defeated Lucky Ali via pinfall in 10:51.
McGuire’s Musings: This was a very good opening bout and it had a lot more back-and-forth than I anticipated. Ali had that crowd’s full support, but Skyler appears on Impact regularly and Impact and NJPW have a working agreement, so the result wasn’t ever in much doubt. Still, Ali did all he could to convince me and everyone else that he had a real shot here and it worked. In fact, it got to the point where I thought Ali might pull it out toward the end, with all the counters he showed, but turns out, it was not to be. Still, at nearly 11 minutes, the match went longer than I thought it would and in this case, that was a good thing because the two worked hard and created enough suspense to leave the finish in doubt. Of the High Alert tour opening matches, this might be the best.
2. Eddie Kingston vs. Jake Something. The two locked up to begin the match and Something pushed Kingston, which fired Kingston up. Something threw Kingston down and Kingston got right up to hit a bunch of chops. Something landed a series of clotheslines and Kingston rolled to the apron. Something kept control with a lariat. Each time Kingston tried to fire up, something cut him off. The crowd chanted “Eddie” and Something mocked them.
Something choke-slammed Kingston for a two-count. Something roughed Kingston up a bit, but Kingston hit an eye-poke to even things out. The poke didn’t quite matter because Something came back with a series of lariats. Kingston countered with an enziguri and a lariat of his own that sent Something to the ground. Back on their feet, Kingston hit his machine gun chops. Something came right back with a forearm and a falcon arrow for a two-count.
Things slowed down when Kingston kicked Something’s leg. Kingston landed a DDT for a two-count. Kingston went for a lariat, but Something ducked and hit a Spiccoli Driver for a two-count. The action spilled to the outside, where Something landed a splash. Back inside the ring, Something went for a power-bomb, but Something couldn’t get Kingston up. As a result, Kingston landed a series of suplexes before hitting a back fist for the win.
Eddie Kingston defeated Jake Something via pinfall in 8:37.
McGuire’s Musings: Jake something got a lot of shine here and good on him for it. In fact, good on Kingston for giving it to him, too. The match wasn’t much more than Something beating Kingston up until Kingston fired up, landed a couple suplexes and hit his signature back fist. Until then, though, Something looked dominant. He also didn’t mind playing the bad guy, mildly mocking the crowd for being into Kingston. I dug it. Something is athletic, has a good look and can wrestle; why he’s not in one of the bigger companies is beyond me. That said, his work over the last few months in New Japan has been very good and here’s hoping it gets him some big-time looks. As for Kingston … he’s over no matter where he goes. This was no exception. It wasn’t a mat classic, but it got the job done and if Eddie’s gimmick is being the working/every man, you wouldn’t want to see a match any other way.
3. Fred Rosser vs. Fred Yehi for the Strong Openweight Championship. Yehi took Rosser down by shooting for the knee. Rosser came back and kicked Yehi. The two exchanged chops. Rosser landed a leg drop for a one-count. Rosser hit a body-slam and raked Yehi’s eyes. Yehi returned the favor and took Rosser down. Yehi worked Rosser’s arm. In a corner, Yehi hit some double-knees on Rosser. Yehi worked a head-scissors until Rosser got to the ropes for a break. Yehi pummeled Rosser in a corner.
Yehi sank in an abdominal stretch. Rosser fought his way out, but Yehi went right back to it. Ultimately, Rosser worked his way out, but Yehi hit a back fist and went right into a rear naked choke. Rosser made it to the ropes for a break, but Yehi landed a chop to stay the aggressor. Yehi went for a kick, but Rosser moved and took Yehi down. Rosser stomped a mud hole in Yehi. Rosser lifted Yehi, but Yehi wiggled out and elbowed Rosser’s head a bunch of times. Rosser came back with a spinning elbow and tried for the STF, but Yehi wouldn’t allow it. Back on their feet, Yehi lured Rosser in and took him down. Rosser got up and hit a Sidewinding slam for the win.
Fred Rosser defeated Fred Yehi via pinfall in 8:20.
After the match, Rosser grabbed a mic and said Yehi put a whooping on him. Rosser said wrestling is so much fun for him. Rosser said he could go back to WWE and try AEW, but NJPW is his home. Rosser said he’s the people’s champion of New Japan Strong. Rosser said he’s going to be a fighting champion. Rosser asked who’s next. TJP’s music hit and TJP made his way to the ring. Rosser said TJP knew many years ago that Rosser wanted to be part of the New Japan Strong family. Rosser said it started with a DM on Twitter.
The two shook hands and TJP said it was good to see Rosser. TJP said they aren’t sharing the ring; Rosser is renting the ring. TJP said Rosser is renting the ring from him. TJP said it’s a ring he helped build and he’s the public enemy. TJP said he’d take Rosser up on his offer for an open challenge. Rosser said they could do it right here and right now. TJP said they could, but he’d rather do it in a place he calls home – Los Angeles. Rosser accepted.
McGuire’s Musings: That finish came out of nowhere. My goodness. Yehi beat up on Rosser for eight minutes and then Rosser landed a slam and that was it. If Jake Something looked like a beast against Eddie Kingston, Fred Yehi looked like a giant against Fred Rosser. The matches were laid out almost identically. That said, Yehi’s never looked better and man, when he reminds everyone that he can wrestle … he sure does a good job of proving his point. Rosser, meanwhile, as a fighting champion will be fun to watch. NJPW likes long title reigns, so I’m settled in and on cruise control when watching these matches early into his run. If anything, Yehi walked away from this bout with the better end of the stick because Rosser made him look like a million bucks.
Moving forward, TJP vs. Rosser ought to be a very good match. And speaking of very good, this was a very good way to close out the High Alert tour. It might have been the most solid card of the four we got out of North Carolina. The next batch of tapings comes from California, where the crowds are louder and the venues look prettier, so I’m excited to see what we get. As always, I’ll have more to say in my weekly NJPW Strong audio review for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
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