NJPW STRONG Tom Lawlor Fred Rosser
Image Credit: NJPW

STRONG Openweight Title Match Announced For 12/18 NJPW STRONG, Updated Card

Detonation” will continue on the December 18 episode of NJPW STRONG, and the card will be headlined by a heated rematch between Tom Lawlor and Fred Rosser.

NJPW has announced that Lawlor will put his STRONG Openweight Championship on the line against Rosser on Saturday’s show. Plus, Rocky Romero will team up with FinJuice (David Finlay and Juice Robinson) to take on JR Kratos, Black Tiger and Royce Isaacs of Team Filthy. Finally, The DKC and Kevin Knight will face Jordan Clearwater and Brogan Finlay.

The preview, via NJPW’s official website, is as follows:

Main event: STRONG Openweight Championship: Tom Lawlor vs Fred Rosser

Tom Lawlor seeks to make his sixth defence of the STRONG Openweight Championship with his most personal encounter yet. Over one year ago Lawlor did battle with Fred Rosser in a match that defied all expectations to become the top voted match of the year with STRONGT viewers. Rosser has campaigned for a rematch ever since, and would definitively earn his shot against the Filthy One in Philadelphia.

There Rosser, caught in a rear naked choke, shifted his weight backward to trap Lawlor’s shoulders to the mat for a three count. It was the first pinfall loss Lawlor had ever experienced in a NJPW ring; the embarrassment was acute and the revenge was swift. Lawlor would hold Rosser down as his hair was cut and identity shorn. For a man like Rosser who wears his heart proudly on his sleeve, this was unforgivable, and Mr. No Days Off has devoted every day at work since to ending the reign of Filthy Tom. Will he do it Saturday night in Riverside?

Rocky Romero, Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs Team Filthy (JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs & Black Tiger)

Six man action in the second match of the evening will see fallout from Showdown in Philadelphia. There Rocky Romero would join Fred Rosser in ten man warfare with Team Filthy; Romero was closing in on victory when he was attacked by a figure from his past.

Some 15 years ago, Rocky was battling over the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship under the Black Tiger mask; that night in Philadelphia, it was someone else under the same hood that attacked him with a kendo stick before landing a Tombstone piledriver. Tonight Rocky has solid backup in FinJuice as they take on three of Team Filthy’s best, including ‘Black Tiger’ himself.

LA Dojo (Kevin Knight & The DKC) vs Jordan Clearwater & Brogan Finlay

The La Dojo’s Kevin Knight and the DKC will kick off the night’s action as they take on Jordan Clearwater and Brogan Finlay. Finlay returns for his first NJPW match since Autumn Attack in Texas, while clearwater returns after action on NJPW XTRA in recent weeks. Can either score their first NJPW pinfall win over the Young Lions tonight?

NJPW STRONG airs Saturdays at 8 p.m. EST on NJPW World and FITE TV.

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