This past week, New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) announced its return to live pro wrestling events following the COVID-19 lockdown, with the special event Together Project Special on Monday, June 15, followed by the postponed New Japan Cup kicking off on Tuesday, June 16. A new report from PWInsider‘s Mike Johnson states that NJPW’s new US venture, NJPW of America (NJoA) secretly taped a live event on a closed set with full health and social distance guidelines in Los Angeles, California on Saturday, a special using the LA Dojo called Lion’s Break Collision. While the report mentions that Jeff Cobb, TJP, and Rocky Romero will be joining a card featuring US Young Lions like Clark Connors, Alex Coughlin, and 2019 Young Lions Cup winner Karl Fredericks, as well as Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL)‘s Misterioso Jr. But while all of those men have worked for NJPW in the recent past, there was one name that came up making their New Japan debut, former Major League Wrestling (MLW) World Champion and UFC star “Filthy” Tom Lawlor.
Tom Lawlor transitioned from MMA fighter to fulltime pro wrestler in 2017, and apart from being a top star with MLW since his 2017 return, he’s also worked extensively with the likes of Absolute Intense Wrestling (AIW), Beyond Wrestling, Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW), Black Label Pro (BLP), and Game Changer Wrestling (GCW). He’s also a former BLP Heavyweight Champion and AIW Absolute Champion and is the current Prestige Champion with Prestige Wrestling in Oregon. He made his Mexico debut earlier this year with AAA Lucha Libre in a co-promoted show between AAA and MLW that aired on March 18, 2020, as part of MLW Fusion.
The report also stated that there were no further details known about when New Japan may air the event, presumably taped for addition to NJPW World. There’s also no word on the match line-up or who Lawlor faced on the card for NJPW. Interestingly, MLW sent out a press release on Friday, June 12 that stated that “a deal is done for the former MLW World Heavyweight Champion to represent MLW on an upcoming card promoted by an undisclosed Japanese promotion” that was “days away from happening”. So it would appear that we have found our answer.
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