A title match and more set for NJPW’s return to Washington D.C.
New Japan Pro-Wrestling announced the first number of matches for their NJPW STRONG show in Washington D.C., Capital Collision, via their Medium.com page. Four matches have been set including a STRONG Openweight championship match, two first-time singles bouts, and a rematch in an ongoing NJPW STRONG tag feud.
After Gabe Kidd’s first NJPW STRONG Openweight title defense against Ultimo Guerrero at NJPW and CMLL’s FantasticaMania U.S. show in early July, he made sure to call out Lio Rush in a post-match promo. Rush’s contractual obligations with New Japan are unclear after spending over a year in the promotion from late 2022 to late 2023, but recent appearances on previous NJPW STRONG events as well as appearances in AEW and ROH signal that his time in New Japan will likely continue. Kidd moves to his second defense after winning the gold from Eddie Kingston at NJPW STRONG’s RESURGENCE event in Ontario, California.
Just six days after facing CMLL star Hechicero at RevPro’s 12-Year anniversary event, Zack Sabre Jr. will face Titán in a first-time singles matchup. This is set to be Sabre’s second singles match after the conclusion of NJPW’s annual G1 Climax tournament.
Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs, the West Coast Wrecking Crew, will continue their ongoing feud with former Team Filthy stablemate, Tom Lawlor, and Fred Rosser. The newly-established “Dirty Work” tag team were defeated by Nelson and Isaacs at the aforementioned RESURGENCE event in Ontario, California in a first-time tag team matchup. Now, they meet again in a rematch that NJPW has labeled a grudge match.
In addition, STARDOM talent HANAKO will face Trish Adora in first-time one-on-one action. Trish Adora has been a staple of the NJPW STRONG brand after training in New Japan’s LA Dojo during the course of 2023. Furthermore, HANAKO will make an additional appearance at the upcoming NJPW Academy Showcase event on 8/3 as she continues an excursion in the United States.
A number of other talent have been announced for the event including NJPW President Hiroshi Tanahashi, IWGP World Heavyweight champion Tetsuya Naito, five-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight champion Hiromu Takahashi, and Tomohiro Ishii.
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