NJPW STRONG finalized the card for its first event in 2022 as the last few matches have been announced for The New Beginning USA 2022, including an Openweight Championship match. Read up on what was previously announced for the show here (part 1) and here (part 2)
The New Beginning USA 2022 Final Card Announcements
Tom Lawlor (c) vs. Taylor Rust
‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor defended the STRONG Openweight Championship six times in a previous year, with the last match taking place at Detonation in December. After defeating Fred Rosser for a second time, Lawlor was faced by a former member of Team Filthy, Taylor Rust. What looked like a welcome back party for a Rust turned into a heated confrontation when Rust floored Lawlor with a Perfect Circle and put himself in a title challenger position. Now the former teammates will clash in a championship bout.
Gabriel Kidd vs. Fred Rosser
As it was mentioned earlier, Rosser comes into 2022 after a second loss to STRONG Openweight Champion, Tom Lawlor. Kidd was making a buzz around himself until the meeting with Eddie Kingston in Hollywood. After this loss, Mad King made a promise to Kidd that they will meet again if the Briton could rack up some wins against top-tier opposition. The matchup with Rosser could be the start of the road to a rematch for Kidd.
Karl Fredericks vs. Ethan HD
This will be a debut for a DEFY representative, Ethan HD, who is 16 years veteran. He gets his chance to make the most of it by facing the top STRONG competitor, Fredericks.
Hikuleo vs. Cody Chhun
Another representative of DEFY promotion, Cody Chhun also will make his STRONG debut. Still not yet 25 years old, Chhun is a five years veteran, who also appeared on AEW Dark. In his debut, he will face Bullet Club powerhouse, Hikuleo.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can rewatch all 2021 NJPW events and plenty more tremendous wrestling content from New Japan Pro-Wrestling on NJPWWorld.com; The King of Sports Streaming.
