New NJPW Strong Openweight Champion Crowned
And NEW...
Fred Rosser is your new NJPW Strong Openweight Champion.
In a brutal, bloody war, Rosser defeated 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor in the main event of last night's Strong outing from Philadelphia's 2300 Arena. That bout and show were taped back on 15 May, with the 2300 Arena also famously known as the ECW Arena.
Featuring the brilliant pairing of Ian Riccaboni and Matt Rehwoldt on commentary, Rosser picked up the win after forcing Lawlor to tap out to a Chicken Wing STF. That brings Filthy Tom's reign as the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion to a close at an impressive 397 days.
CONGRATULATIONS to the second ever STRONG Openweight Champion, @realfredrosser!A match for the ages on #njpwSTRONG! pic.twitter.com/MIBIElH9tu
Advertisement— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) June 26, 2022
For Fred Rosser, this marks his first piece of NJPW gold and also his first major singles title. Going into this match, the stipulation was that the former Darren Young would have to leave New Japan Pro-Wrestling completely if he lost to Lawlor.
Elsewhere on this Philly show, Minoru Suzuki bested Tony Deppen, and David Finlay beat Danny Limelight. Of course, Suzuki will be in action a little later today, with him set to team with Chris Jericho and Sammy Guevarra to take on Eddie Kingston, Wheeler Yuta and Shota Umino at tonight's AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.