NJPW Strong is a professional wrestling television program produced by the Japanese professional wrestling promotion NJPW American sub-brand New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America (NJoA) and airs worldwide on NJPW's streaming service NJPW World. The show debuted on August 7, 2020 and served as a flagship program for NJPW's American talent and NJPW's U.S. Young Lions.
History[]
Background[]
In November 2014, NJPW and AXS TV made a deal for AXS to broadcast a new series, called NJPW World Pro Wrestling, which would air weekly on Friday evenings starting in January 2015. This was the first time NJPW has aired on an American television network since its formation in 1972. However, on December 27, NJPW ended its television deal with AXS TV.
In April 2017, NJPW went public with their plan of an American expansion, which included establishing a subsidiary and running extended tours in the United States with California as the base, while also establishing a dojo for training Americans in Los Angeles, run by Rocky Romero. The full-scale running of the American market was set to launch in 2018. According to NJPW owner Takaaki Kidani, the plan was a direct response to WWE taking four wrestlers, including AJ Styles and Shinsuke Nakamura, from NJPW in January 2016. On May 12, 2017, during the third night of the War of the Worlds tour, co-produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and Ring of Honor (ROH), NJPW United States Ambassador George Carroll announced the creation of the IWGP United States Championship. The following day, NJPW revealed the title's official name as the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. On July 2, Takaaki Kidani announced that NJPW would be opening an office in Los Angeles before the end of 2017, and a dojo to be inaugurated at the start of 2018.
The first NJPW shows to be held in the United States was the G1 Special in USA on July 1 and 2, which was a success, with tickets and meet-and-greets selling out within 2 hours after being available for purchase. Afterwards, NJPW held "Strong Style Saturday" at the newly-opened NJPW LA Dojo, where they announced that Katsuyori Shibata would be serving as head trainer for the newly established dojo. In addition to the opening of the NJPW Dojo in the United States, on July 6, 2018, it was announced a developmental branch in the United States the Lion's Break Project a counterpart of the Lion's Gate Project shows in Japan, which would feature NJPW Young Lions trained in the USA dojo. On October 21, 2019, NJPW announced the creation of its American subsidiary named New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America, based in California, with the goal of expanding in the American market. On June 19, 2020, NJPW held a weekly series called Lion's Break Collision that aired throughout the month of July, with the series airing on NJPW's internet streaming service NJPW World and digital network FITE TV worldwide. Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States, the shows were held in closed doors without a live audience, with only essential personnel in the arena.
Establishment and COVID-19 Pandemic[]
On July 31, during an online press conference, NJPW of America CEO Takami Obari announced a new weekly series NJPW Strong, which would air on Fridays at 10 pm ET on NJPW's streaming service NJPW World, starting on August 7, with the inaugural New Japan Cup USA tournament, the American version of the New Japan Cup, featuring the NJPW's American talent and NJPW's U.S. Young Lions, with the winner receiving an opportunity for the IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship. On August 1, NJPW announced that Juice Robinson would miss the tapings of the New Japan Cup USA, due to a leg injury. The premiere episode of the event was held on August 7 and broadcasted live from NJPW's L.A. Dojo on NJPW World. The event was held behind closed doors with essential staff and personnel due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the United States. On August 19, it was announced that NJPW Strong would also air on FITE TV in conjunction with NJPW World. On August 30, 2021, it was announced that Strong will be moving to Saturday nights, starting on September 18, 2021.
Reformat[]
On January 6, 2023, Hiroshi Tanahashi announced on his blog that the January tapings would be the last, and that 'overseas events' would be announced in a different form in the future. On January 30, it was announced that Strong would be reformated to a new dual model between Strong Live and Strong On Demand, with the NJPW of America pay-per-views events airing live belonging to the Strong Live category, with matches from the pay-per-view events being later split on demand between a four-parter back-to-back episodes in the Strong On Demand category, with NJPW affirming to be a budget friendly option to the overseas audience to connect with the US-based events.
Special episodes[]
NJPW Strong usually branded 3-4 episodes at a time as special events to mimic the normal touring schedule of the main promotion. Prior to September 2021, other episodes before these events were mainly branded as "Road to" shows.
| Episode | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New Japan Cup USA | August 7–August 21, 2020 | Featured the inaugural New Japan Cup USA tournament. |
| Fighting Spirit Unleashed | September 4–September 11, 2020 | Featured an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate match. |
| Lion's Break Crown | September 18, 2020–October 9, 2020 | Featured the Lion's Break Crown tournament. |
| NEVER | October 16–October 23, 2020 | Featured heavyweight vs. junior heavyweight matches. |
| New Japan Showdown | November 13, 2020–November 20, 2020 | Featured an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship challenge rights certificate match. |
| Detonation | December 11, 2020–December 18, 2020 | |
| Lion's Break Contender | January 22, 2021–January 29, 2021 | |
| The New Beginning in USA | February 19–26, 2021 | Featured an IWGP United States Heavyweight Championship match. |
| Strong Style Evolved | March 19–26, 2021 | Featured qualifying matches for the New Japan Cup USA tournament. |
| New Japan Cup USA | April 9, 2021–April 23, 2021 | Featured the inaugural Strong Openweight Championship tournament. |
| LA Dojo Showcase | April 30, 2021 | Featured NJoA L.A Dojo young lions. |
| Collision 2021 | March 7–14, 2021 | |
| Ignition | June 18–25, 2021 | Featured a Strong Openweight Championship match. |
| Fireworks Frenzy | July 2, 2021 | |
| Tag Team Turbulence | July 16–30, 2021 | Featured the Tag Team Turbulence tournament. |
| Fighting Spirit Unleashed (2021) | August 16, 2021 | First NJPW Strong show with fans after COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. |
| Summer Struggle USA | August 20–27, 2021 | |
| BBQ Brawl | September 3, 2021 | |
| LA Dojo Showcase 2 | September 10, 2021 | Featured NJoA L.A Dojo young lions. |
| Autumn Attack | September 25–26, 2021 | First NJPW Strong show with fans outside of Thunder Studios. |
| New Japan Showdown (2021) | October 16–17, 2021 | |
| Detonation (2021) | November 15. 2021 | Featured a Strong Openweight Championship match. |
| Nemesis | January 8, 2022 - January 29, 2022 | Featured an US-of-Jay Open Challenge and an Alex Coughlin Open Challenge Series. |
| The New Beginning in USA (2022) | February 5, 2022 - February 26, 2022 | Featured a Strong Openweight Championship match. |
| Rivals | March 5, 2022 - March 26, 2022 | Featured an US-of-Jay Open Challenge. |
| Strong Style Evolved (2022) | April 2, 2022 - April 30, 2022 | Featured a Strong Openweight Championship match and an US-of-Jay Open Challenge. |
| Lonestar Shootout | May 7, 2022 | |
| Mutiny | May 14, 2022 - May 28, 2022 | Featured an US-of-Jay Open Challenge. |
| Collision 2022 | June 11, 2022 - June 25, 2022 | |
| United Empire: Rising | July 2, 2022 | Featured all members of the United Empire stable. |
| Ignition (2022) | June 19, 2022 - July 30, 2022 | Featured the inaugural Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship tournament. |
| Music City Mayhem | July 30, 2022 | Featured multiple cross-promotion matches and the return of Alex Shelley and the debut of FTR. |
| High Alert | August 13, 2022 - September 3, 2022 | Featured the finals of the inaugural Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship tournament. |
| Fighting Spirit Unleashed (2022) | September 10, 2022 - October 1, 2022 | |
| Autumn Action | October 8, 2022 - October 29, 2022 | |
| New Japan Showdown (2022) | November 5, 2022 - November 26, 2022 | |
| Detonation (2022) | December 3, 2022 - December 24, 2022 | |
| Nemesis (2023) | January 7, 2023 - January 28, 2023 | Final episode of Strong. |
Four-parter episodes[]
Since January 2023, NJPW Strong was rebranded with the NJPW of America pay-per-views events being split between four-parter back-to-back episodes in the Strong Live and Strong On Demand categories.
The following list are the four-parter episodes currently available under the Strong On Demand category at NJPW World.
Roster[]
The wrestlers featured on NJPW Strong took part in scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers are portrayed as heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match.
Commentators[]
| Language | Commentators | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Hiroshi Tanahashi and Katsuyori Shibata | August 7, 2020 – October 24, 2020 November 28, 2020 – December 18, 2020 January 8, 2021 – April 30, 2021 May 21, 2021 – August 20, 2021 September 25, 2021 - October 2, 2021 November 6, 2021 - November 13, 2021 November 20, 2021 - January 8, 2022 January 22, 2022 - June 25, 2022 July 16, 2022 – August 27, 2022 October 29, 2022 - November 5, 2022 November 26, 2022 - December 17, 2022 January 8, 2023 - January 28, 2023 |
| Katsuyori Shibata, Hirooki Goto, and Shigeki Kiyono | October 31, 2020 – November 21, 2020 | |
| Togi Makabe and Shigeki Kiyono | May 7, 2021 – May 14, 2021 | |
| Satoshi Kojima and Shigeki Kiyono | August 27, 2021 - September 18, 2021 | |
| Yuji Nagata and Shigeki Kiyono | October 9, 2021 - October 30, 2021 July 2, 2022 - July 9, 2022 September 3, 2022 September 24, 2022 - October 1, 2022 October 1, 2022 - October 22, 2022 | |
| Katsuyori Shibata/Hiroshi Tanahashi, Yuji Nagata, and Shigeki Kiyono | September 10, 2022 - September 17, 2022 October 9, 2022 | |
| Takami Ohbari and Shigeki Kiyono | January 15, 2022 | |
| Hiroshi Tanahashi, Takami Ohbari and Shigeki Kiyono | November 12, 2022 - November 19, 2022 | |
| Katsuyori Shibata, Takami Ohbari and Shigeki Kiyono | December 24, 2022 | |
| English | Kevin Kelly and Alex Koslov | August 7, 2020 – October 2, 2021 December 4, 2021 - January 29, 2022 January 8, 2023 - January 28, 2023 |
| Alex Koslov and Matt Rehwoldt | October 9, 2021 - November 27, 2021 | |
| Ian Riccaboni and Alex Koslov | February 12, 2022 - March 26, 2022 May 13, 2022 - June 4, 2022 July 9, 2022 – December 24, 2022 | |
| Ian Riccaboni and Matt Rehwoldt | April 2, 2022 - April 30, 2022 June 11, 2022 - July 2, 2022 | |
| Kevin Kelly and Matt Rehwoldt | May 7, 2022 |
Ring announcers[]
| Language | Ring announcers | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| English | Adnan Kureishy | August 7, 2020 – January 28, 2023 |
| Japanese | Takuro Shibata |
See also[]
- New Japan Pro-Wrestling of America
- Lion's Break Project
- Lion's Break Collision
- G1 Special in San Francisco
- Strong Style Evolved