NJPW Strong Independence Day Night 1 Results – July 4, 2023 – Jun Kasai & El Desperado vs. Homicide & Jon Moxley

Jul 4, 2023

July 4, 2023
Tokyo, Japan – Korauken Hall
English Commentary: Ian Riccaboni and Chris Charlton
Results via Chick Fritts of F4WOnline.com

Quick Match Results

Pre-show: Oskar Leube, YOH, & Ryusuke Taguchi defeated Takahiro Katori, Dragon Libre, & Kengo via Direct Drive (pinfall 10:45)
Bad Dude Tito defeated The DKC via Tequilla Screwdriver (pinfall 7:29)
Team Filthy defeated Ryohei Oiwa, Alex Zayne, & Lance Archer via Pop The Trunk (pinfall 10:26)
“Filthy” Tom Lawlor defeated Kosei Fujita via NKOTB (pinfall 8:59)
Rocky Romero & Eddie Kingston defeated Gedo & KENTA via Uraken (pinfall 9:29)
Momo Kohgo & Willow Nightingale defeated Giulia & Theka via Babe With The Powerbomb (pinfall 9:54)
NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship – Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughin defeated Bishamon (c) via Hijacked Piledriver (pinfall 12:18)
IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney defeated Catch 2/2 (c) via Full Clip (pinfall 15:36)
Exciting Encounter Doomsday No DQ match – Jun Kasai & El Desperado defeated Homicide & Jon Moxley via Pinche Loco (pinfall 18:34)

Pre-Show
Oskar Leube, YOH, & Ryusuke Taguchi vs. Takahiro Katori, Dragon Libre, & Kengo

This was a fun-enough showcase of some unfamiliar freelancers. Even with all the fresh talent, the real standout was Leube.

The match opened with a series of one-on-one encounters, showcasing the independent talent against the NJPW regulars. Throughout the process, Leube gained multiple leads by utilizing his size. Eventually, the freelancers won a lead, but again, Leube was able to make the save. YOH finished the match by hitting Dragon with Direct Drive and pinning him.

Winner: Oskar Leube, YOH, & Ryusuke Taguchi via Pinfall.

The DKC vs Bad Dude Tito

The match opened with an athletic sequence that went back and forth for some time. Tito won out in the early portion by utilizing his power, landing suplexes, and slowing down the pace.

DKC launched a comeback, winning over a lot of the crowd, but in the end, Tito caught DKC with a Steiner Screwdriver to win the match in dominant fashion.

Winner: Bad Dude Tito via Pinfall.

Ryohei Oiwa, Alex Zayne, & Lance Archer vs. Team Filthy (West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson & Royce Isaacs) & JR Kratos)

This was a decent little match that will be memorable for the crimson mask that Kratos left with.

The early portion of this played out with the heel squad gaining an advantage by isolating their smaller opponents. This led to Archer growing desperate for a tag.

Once the tag came, the crowd erupted for Archer. He then teed off with Kratos, trading strikes that slowly escalated into powerful moves. Archer tried to close by choke, slamming Zayne into Kratos, but Kratos caught Zayne. This initiated a chaotic exchange between the teams. Once the fog faded, Nelson hit Oiwa with a springboard cutter and pinned him to win the match.

Winner: Team Filthy via Pinfall.

Kosei Fujita vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor

This was an excellent grappling-heavy match. Fujita is a star in the making, no doubt.

The match opened with a scramble on the mat for control. Lawlor, unsurprisingly, gained control early, working Fujita’s leg. Fujita held on, eating strikes and powering through moves, but failed to gain anything substantial for quite some time.

A sudden dropkick from Fujita turned the match around. Fujita continued the rally, forcing Lawlor to take the match back to the mat. Lawlor was able to buy time, saving him from an embarrassing defeat.

Lawlor hit a spear and a penalty kick, but Fujita kicked out. Lawlor then reversed a rolling choke attempt, but again, Fujta escaped. Finally, Lawlor hit Fujita with a knee to the back of the head to win the match.

Winner: “Filthy” Tom Lawlor via Pinfall.

Rocky Romero & Eddie Kingston vs. Gedo & KENTA

The match opened slow, with neither heel wanting to engage Kingston. The heels worked to isolate Rocky before throwing him to the floor. Kingston tried backing up Rocky outside the ring, but this is where Bullet Club thrives, allowing the domination to continue.

The tag to Kingston eventually came, and he took full advantage. After connecting with a barrage of chops, Kingston hit KENTA with an exploder suplex. KENTA responded with a DDT and a quick tag to Gedo.

Gedo tried turning the match around, but Kingston completely ignored his attack. KENTA hit the ring, leading to a quick brawl, but in the end, it came down to Kingston and Gedo once more. Kingston hit Gedo with the spinning back fist and won the match.

Winner: Rocky Romero & Eddie Kingston via Pinfall.

Momo Kohgo & Willow Nightingale vs. Giulia & Theka

This was all-round a fantastic match. Willow is a total star, and it seems like New Japan understands this.

Giulia and Willow opened the match with a grappling sequence. Perhaps surprisingly, Willow maintained the upper hand throughout, constantly outpowering Giulia.

A double tag allowed Thekla to turn the match around. With Giulia’s help, Thekla isolated Momo, building to an eventual hot tag. Willow continued dominating Giulia.

Thekla was able to secure a submission on Willow, forcing Momo to hit the ring.This led to a brief period of chaos that allowed Willow to retake the lead. Willow climbed to the top rope, but Thekla met her there, landing a superplex. Giulia followed up with a top rope dropkick, setting up Thekla with a dive to the floor.

It didn’t take long for Willow to bounce back. After dropping Thekla, Willow climbed to the top again and threw Momo into their opponents. Willow then hit Thekla with a nasty senton, a driver, and a powerbomb to win the match.

Winner: Momo Kohgo & Willow Nightingale via Pinfall.

After the match, Giulia and Willow had a brief staredown.

NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship
Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughin vs. Bishamon (YOSHI-HASHI & Hirooki Goto) (c)

This was another great match. The Wardog team feels ruthless instead of petty in cheating, a welcome change to the stale Bullet Club formula. Kidd and Coughlin had something to prove, and boy, did they ever.

Before the match could even begin, The Wardogs attacked the champions. They then beat down Bishamon outside the ring, establishing a nearly uncontested lead early on.

After an extended period of YH isolation, Goto was able to tag in. Goto and Kidd traded strong blows long enough for YH to recover. YH then tagged in and chopped down Kidd in the corner. Goto helped YH set up Shoto, but Kidd evaded the finish. This bought Coughlin enough time to drop YH with a chair. The Wardogs then hit Goto with a double chokeslam, making YH an easy pick. Kidd and Coughlin hit YH with a double muscle buster and a piledriver before pinning him to win the NJPW Strong tag titles.

Winner: Gabe Kidd & Alex Coughin via Pinfall to become the new NJPW Strong Openweight Tag Team Champions.

After the match, the Wardogs continued the attack on Bishamon, setting up a favorable environment for tomorrow’s rematch.

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship
Clark Connors & Drilla Moloney vs. Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira & TJP) (c)

Another example of the “Wardog style” working well.

Similar to the previous match, Bullet Club started the match by rushing the champions and taking the fight to the floor. The fight continued deep into the crowd, climbing the stairs of Korakuen. To fight back, Akira lept from the stairs into the Bullet Club, putting them on the back foot.

In the ring, Catch-22 were more in their element. They kept the challengers on the back foot until Bullet Club isolated TJP. Akira was quick to back TJP up, landing a tandem facebuster and an impressive dive for a nearfall.

The Bullet Club team tried to finish TJP, but Akira pulled TJP out of harm’s way. The Wardogs cleared the ring of Akira and hit TJP with a spear from the top rope to win the match and the junior belts.

Winner: Clark Connors & Dan Moloney via Pinfall to become the new IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions.

Exciting Encounter Doomsday No DQ Match
Jun Kasai & El Desperado vs. Homicide & Jon Moxley

Unsurprisingly, this was a violent, bloody war. It’s certainly deserving of a deathmatch label.

As soon as the match began, the fight spilled to the floor. It was chaos from the start. The men used kendo sticks, spikes, and trash can lids all in the early minutes, with neither team gaining a clear lead.

As the match wandered its way toward the ring, Moxley stabbed Kasai with a fork. Between the ropes, Kasai returned the favor, cutting Homicide with a butcher’s knife and prepping a fork-covered board. Kasia’s prop backfired as Homicide delivered a backdrop that sent Kasia crashing into his own contraption. Moxley also dropped Desperado into the board before grabbing a fork that he drove into the face of Desperado. By this point, this match was a bloody mess.

Moxley dropped Desperado with a piledriver, but Desperado kicked out at one. Moxley then left Homicide to take care of Desperado after hitting an awkward dive to the floor. Homicide continued to use forks, this time between Desperado’s legs, setting up Moxley for a figure four attempt.

Kasai started a rally, dropping Moxley with a suplex before slicing his face with the butcher’s knife. Kasai then grabbed a razorblade cross that he set up in the corner. Moxley avoided the attack from Kasai, driving him into the crucifix instead.

After Kasai survived a razorblade cross, a curb stomp, and a cutter, Moxley tagged into Homicide. Homicide failed to hit the cop killer, setting Desperado up for a rally. Desperado struck Homicide with a trashcan but failed to close.

Kasai turned his attention to Moxley, driving a fist full of stakes into his head. This cleared the ring of Kasai and Moxley, leaving Homicide free to attempt cop killer again. Desperado avoided the move before hitting Homicide with a low blow. The low blow was followed with a pair of pinche locos, with the second landing on a trash can. Desperado then pinned Homicide to win the match.

Winner: Jun Kasai & El Desperado via Pinfall.

Desperado and Kasai cut a show-ending promo to a massive ovation. An English “This is awesome chant” broke out after teasing a potential World Tag tease from the pair.