Ariya Daivari Debut And More Announced For NJPW STRONG Showdown In Philadelphia
New bouts have been added to NJPW STRONG Showdown in Philadelphia.
NJPW announced that Ariya Daivari will make his NJPW STRONG debut on October 16 at Showdown in Philadelphia when he faces Alex Zayne. Plus, Will Ospreay teams with TJP to take on Ren Narta & Clark Connors.
Night two on October 17 will see Daivari team with Lio Rush to take on the Bullet Club duo of El Phantasmo & Chris Bey. Also added to night two is Wheeler YUTA & Fred Yehi squaring off against Jay White & Hikuleo.
NJPW also confirmed that Jake Atlas has been pulled from the event after announcing he would be stepping away from wrestling.
NIGHT ONE October 16: Will Ospreay & TJP team! Ariya Daivari debuts!
As revealed by both on social media this week, Autumn Attack tapings in DFW Texas saw TJP enlisted as the United Empire’s newest member. With Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis) recently recruited in the UK, the three new members join Ospreay, Jeff Cobb and Great-O-Khan to make a formidable faction in any territory and any division.
Yet TJP turned his back the LA Dojo graduates he had been mentoring to join the United Empire, and Clark Connors and Ren Narita both have questions they want answered by the Fil-Am Flash. On night one in Philadelphia, they seek those answers in tag team action opposite TJP and the ‘Real’ IWGP World Heavyweight Champion Ospreay.
Making his NJPW debut in Philadelphia will be Ariya Daivari. The WWE alum will be looking to make a mark on the cerulean blue, and will be wrestling his first NJPW STRONG match against a man returning to STRONG after his own WWE stint in Alex Zayne. 24 hours before Zayne is set to face Will Ospreay on night two of Showdown, could a strong showing put Daivari on the Commonwealth Kingpin’s radar?
Night TWO: October 17- BULLET CLUB Tag Team Action!
Following on from his debut with Alex Zayne the prior night, Daivari will team with Lio Rush to face the BULLET CLUB duo of El Phantasmo and Chris Bey. The ‘Bey-F-Fs’ formed an alliance on IMPACT Wrestling that was solidifed during Autumn Attack tapings in Texas this past weekend. With Lio Rush starting a campaign against BULLET CLUB including taking on Taiji Ishimori in Texas, this tag battle will be as heated as it is spectacular.
On the heavyweight BULLET CLUB front, Jay White and Hikuleo will be facing Wheeler Yuta and Fred Yehi. White wrestled Yehi this past week on STRONG in a singles match that saw Yehi push the Switchblade far harder than he would have normally liked. Meanwhile night one in Philly will see the NEVER Openweight Champion face Yuta’s partner, the Savageweight Fred Yehi in singles competition. How will Yehi and Yuta face in a tag team environment with White teaming up with BULLET CLUB’s huge Young Gun Hikuleo?
*After previously being announced for Showdown, Jake Atlas has since announced his retirement from professional wrestling, and will not be competing in Philadelphia. We apologise to fans who were looking forward to seeing Atlas wrestle, and appreciate your understanding and support of Atlas in his future endeavours.
Here is the current lineup for both nights of NJPW STRONG Showdown in Philadelphia.
NJPW STRONG Showdown in Philadelphia (10/16)
– Minoru Suzuki vs. Chris Dickinson
– Jay White vs. Fed Yehi
– Juice Robinson vs. El Phantasmo
– Will Ospreay & TJP vs. Ren Narta & Clark Connors
– Ariya Daivari vs. Alex Zayne
NJPW STRONG Showdown in Philadelphia (10/17)
– Will Ospreay vs. Alex Zayne
– Alex Coughlin vs. Jonathan Gresham
– Team Filthy (Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos, Royce Isaacs, Danny Limelight, & Jorel Nelson) vs. Ren Narita, Karl Fredericks, Fred Rosser, Rocky Romero & The DKC
– Street Fight: Jon Moxley & Eddie Kingston vs. Lance Archer & Minoru Suzuki
– Ariya Daivari & Lio Rush vs. El Phantasmo & Chris Bey
– Wheeler YUTA & Fred Yehi vs.Jay White & Hikuleo
Fightful will have coverage of both nights of NJPW STRONG Showdown in Philadelphia.
