NJPW recently announced, via their official NJPW Global Twitter account and via a press release, that reigning IWGP Jr. Tag Team Champions Catch 2/2 (Francesco Akira and TJP) will put their championships on the line against Clark Connors and Dan Moloney on the first night of their STRONG Independence Day Event on Tuesday, July 4th and NJPW STRONG Openweight Champion KENTA will put his championship on the line against All Elite Wrestling's Eddie Kingston on night two of their STRONG Independence Day Event on Wednesday, July 5th. Both the July 4th and July 5th show will take place from inside Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
You can check out the announcement below, along with the full press release:
The first matches are official for NJPW STRONG's Independence Day in Korakuen Hall July 4 & 5!
Night 1: Catch 2/2 vs Dan Moloney and Clark Connors for the IWGP Jr. Tag Team Championships!
Night 2
KENTA vs Eddie Kingston for the STRONG gold!https://t.co/PuCaFBTLCH#njpwSTRONG pic.twitter.com/sdtQtqxwhc— NJPW Global (@njpwglobal) June 5, 2023
In the wake of challenges issued in US and Japan, title matches have been made official for Independence Day, as NJPW STRONG makes the trip to Korakuen Hall for two nights of incredible action July 4 & 5!
After Catch 2/2 regained the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championships at Dominion, Clark Connors would stare down the new champions from the entrance ramp. Misdirecting Francesco Akira and TJP’s attention, he opened the door for Dan Moloney to attack them from behind. Mere weeks after coming to NJPW as part of the United Empire, the Drilla turned his back on the group to align himself with BULLET CLUB, and challenge for the tag titles. During Best of the Super Jr., Connors and Moloney engaged in a wild and brutal brawl that seemingly turned heads and earned respect from David Finlay and Gedo. Perfectly fitting the savage mindset pervading the group, Connors and Moloney will be intimidating power junior challengers to the new champs, but can they come away with the gold July 4?
On July 5, the STRONG Openweight Championship will be on the line when Eddie Kingston challenges KENTA. The Mad King will be making a long overdue Korakuen Hall debut for Independence Day, and he’s set his sights on KENTA. Yet after the BULLET CLUB member showed that he was willing to throw Hikuleo off bleachers in order to claim the STRONG Openweight gold, what lengths is he willing to go to to keep his title on home turf?
The list of international talent doing battle on both Independence Day nights has also been updated as follows!
The DKC
Rocky Romero
Alex Zayne
Tom Lawlor
JR Kratos
Royce Isaacs
Jorel Nelson
Bad Dude Tito
TJP
Francesco Akira
Clark Connors
Alex Coughlin
Gabriel Kidd
Dan Moloney
Lance Archer
Eddie Kingston
Stay tuned for more updates about this unique two day event!
