Brody King Vs Chris Dickinson is, for me, the most intriguing pairing at this point. Chris Dickinson is part of Team Filthy, although has been having some issues with his teammates of late. On the last episode of NJPW Strong, Team Filthy (Dickinson, Tom Lawlor, and JR Kratos) beat King and The Riegel Twins in six-man tag team action. After the match, Lawlor tried to get Dickinson to continue Team Filthy’s attack, but Dickinson walked away.
However, in Ring of Honor, the new incarnation of Violence Unlimited made their presence felt at the 19th Anniversary Show – with Chris Dickinson joining Brody King alongside Tony Deppen and Homicide. NJPW have a working relationship with ROH and have acknowledged the new stable on commentary.
All this adds the extra sauce to what was already a pretty damned saucy match! These two pull no punches, and will (if given the chance) stand and batter each other until one of them falls down and can’t get back up. This is the true definition of a Hoss Fight.
King defeated an ex-teammate in Bateman to qualify, so won’t let the friendship with Dickinson faze him.
Dickinson, who beat Blake Christian to qualify, has made no attempts to hide how much NJPW means to him, and the chance of progressing to face Lawlor in the final might be that extra kick he needs. I have a feeling the Dirty Daddy is taking this one.
Prediction: Chris Dickinson
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t tournaments supposed to be a random draw for the brackets? Whose bright idea was it to let Hikuleo choose his opponent? Both men qualified on the same night with Hikuleo defeating Jordan Clearwater, and Rosser getting past JR Kratos. After Rosser’s match, Hikuleo attacked him, and called his shot – he wanted a rematch against Rosser in the New Japan Cup USA tournament.
These two met back on episode 28 of NJPW Strong after beating each other up in six-man tag team action throughout January. Rosser was victorious in the one-on-one match, but only because he had a handful of Hikuelo’s hair to assist him with the pin via a backslide. This, understandably, got the Young Gun incensed.
Hikuleo is out for revenge. I’ve never pissed off anyone who stands 6’ 8” and weighs 264lbs, but I can’t imagine it will be something that goes unpunished. Rosser’s in for a hard time, but will not go down easily. The wily veteran has what it takes to pull another victory out of the bag.
Prediction: Fred Rosser
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor, who defeated The DKC in the qualifying round, will be out for a measure of revenge in this match. Ren Narita, who tapped out Misterioso to qualify, picked up a victory over Team Filthy member Chris Dickinson on episode 29. While Lawlor has mocked Dickinson for this, you can tell there’s a damaged sense of pride at one of Lawlor’s hand-picked team being defeated by someone on excursion.
Narita meanwhile will be looking to build on his momentum from recent weeks. As well as Dickinson and Misterioso, Narita also holds a singles victory over Bateman, leaving him 3-1 so far on NJPW Strong.
Both men are fairly evenly matched, with maybe a slight edge going to Narita in terms of fundamental wrestling, and Lawlor in strikes and martial arts-style grappling. This is potentially the least-anticipated match of the round but has the opportunity to be a stand out between two incredibly talented wrestlers.
Ultimately, I think Lawlor has this one. He has proved he’ll do whatever it takes to win, and I think Narita’s relative inexperience will see him fall short.
Prediction: Tom Lawlor (with shenanigans)
The final match at this stage is intriguing.
Lio Rush is a newcomer to NJPW Strong, with only two matches under his belt. His first was a defeat to El Phantasmo. His second saw him come through qualifying in a tough match against Rocky Romero.
Clark Connors, in contrast, has been around NJPW Strong since the beginning. He qualified by beating TJP, in what some might consider an upset. He does have NJPW tournament experience, with varying success. He was eliminated in the first round of the Super J Cup 2020 (by Chris Bey), but back in October 2020, he won the inaugural Lion’s Break Crown – defeating Danny Limelight in the final.
Connors recently graduated from Young Lion status and will be aiming to make 2021 his breakout year. What better way of doing that than by putting in a strong showing in the New Japan Cup USA? Rush will want to prove himself inside an NJPW ring and will want to add another title belt to his growing collection.
Both have an excellent shot at progressing, but Connors hunger to prove he’s the face of NJPW Strong gives him the edge.
Prediction: Clark Connors
So, where does that leave us? Well, if my predictions are any good, and we follow some obvious story-telling, then we have the potential for the following:
Semi-Finals
- Clark Connors Vs Chris Dickinson
A technical masterclass between the two, with Connors coming close on multiple occasions. Ultimately, Dickinson proves too much and scrapes through.
- Tom Lawlor Vs Fred Rosser
Hard-hitting chain wrestling with bursts of brawling. Hikuleo provides a distraction, costing Rosser the match.
Final:
- Chris Dickinson Vs Tom Lawlor
The obvious storyline sees the two members of Team Filthy face each other in the final.
By this point, Lawlor will have added to the mockery of Dickinson by mentioning that he could defeat Narita when the Dirty Daddy couldn’t. Team Filthy stand with Lawlor at ringside and try to get involved. Brody King comes out to even the odds, and Dickinson picks up the win.
Predicted winner: Chris Dickinson
You can imagine it, can’t you? That shiny new NJPW Strong Openweight Championship belt around the waist of Chris Dickinson? It’s almost like it was made for him to carry.
That said… if Lawlor suffers the same fate as his stablemate and falls to Ren Narita, the whole thing changes… Narita Vs Connors in the final, with Connors taking the title? It’s a possibility. It leaves the Team Filthy implosion / Violence Unlimited introduction in the undercard and pushes a true NJPW story of a Young Lion graduating and winning his first title.
There’s a reason I don’t book wrestling shows – I can think of too many possibilities! For now, I’ll stick with my original prediction.
NEW JAPAN CUP USA WINNER & 1st EVER NJPW STRONG CHAMPION: “DIRTY DADDY” CHRIS DICKINSON