| Resurgence | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Mercedes Moné | |||
| Promotion | New Japan Pro-Wrestling | ||
| Brand(s) | NJPW Strong | ||
| Date | May 21, 2023 | ||
| City | Long Beach, California | ||
| Venue | Walter Pyramid | ||
| Event chronology | |||
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| Resurgence chronology | |||
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The 2023 Resurgence was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). It took place on May 21, 2023, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. It is the second Resurgence event.[1]
Ten matches were contested at the event, including two on the pre-show. In the main event, Willow Nightingale defeated Mercedes Moné to win the inaugural Strong Women's Championship. In other prominent matches, Juice Robinson defeated Fred Rosser in a Street Fight, Kenta defeated Hikuleo to win the Strong Openweight Championship, Blackpool Combat Club (Jon Moxley and Wheeler Yuta) and Shota Umino defeated Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero and Tomohiro Ishii) in a six-man tag team match, and Will Ospreay defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi. The event also saw appearances from Toni Storm, Eddie Kingston (via a video package) and Kyle Fletcher, who announced the vacation of both the IWGP Tag Team Championships and Strong Openweight Tag Team Championships on behalf of Aussie Open, due to Mark Davis's injury.
Production
Background
On March 9, 2023, NJPW announced that Resurgence will take place on May 22, 2023, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. This was the second Resurgence event, with the first being in August 2021.[1]
Storylines
The event featured several professional wrestling matches, which involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed heroes, villains, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines are produced on NJPW's events.[2]
On April 10, NJPW announced a four-man single-elimination tournament to determine the number one contender for Kenny Omega's IWGP United States Championship. At Resurgence, Hiroshi Tanahashi faced Will Ospreay in the semi-finals.[3]
On April 15, at Capital Collision, Fred Rosser was scheduled to face Juice Robinson. As Rosser made his way into the ring, it was revealed that he left a reserved seat at the attendance for Robinson's wife, Toni Storm. Before the match had begun, Robinson attacked Rosser, and continued to do so by using the reserved chair for Storm.[4] This led to Robinson's suspension.[5] On May 4, as the rest of event's card was unveiled, it was revealed that the two would face each other on Resurgence in a Street fight.[6]
On April 27, NJPW announced the creation of the Strong Women's Championship, the inaugural champion of which was crowned at the end of four-woman single-elimination tournament at Resurgence.[7] The tournament will feature representatives from NJPW partner companies All Elite Wrestling (AEW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), and Stardom.[7] The tournament participants are the former IWGP Women's Champion Mercedes Moné (NJPW), Momo Kohgo (Stardom), Stephanie Vaquer (CMLL), and Willow Nightingale (AEW).[7]
On May 1, NJPW announced that the former United States Champion Jon Moxley from AEW would be set to appear at the event, marking his first NJPW appearance since October 2022.[8] On May 4, it was revealed that Moxley would team with Shota Umino and Wheeler Yuta to take on Chaos (Kazuchika Okada, Rocky Romero and Tomohiro Ishii) in a six-man tag team match.[6]
Results
Inaugural Strong Women's Championship tournament
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| Mercedes Moné | Pin | ||||||||
| Stephanie Vaquer | 11:55 | ||||||||
| Mercedes Moné | 9:34 | ||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | Pin | ||||||||
| Momo Kohgo | 9:37 | ||||||||
| Willow Nightingale | Pin | ||||||||
References
- 1 2 Renner, Ethan (March 9, 2023). "NJPW Resurgence announced for Long Beach, California". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ↑ Grabianowski, Ed (13 January 2006). "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
- 1 2 Fritts, Chick (April 16, 2023). "NJPW Collision in Philadelphia live results: Aussie Open vs. Ishii & Lio Rush". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ↑ Fritts, Chick (April 15, 2023). "NJPW Capital Collision live results: Strong Tag Team title match". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- ↑ Jay, Ella (April 16, 2023). "Juice Robinson Suspended From NJPW, Fred Rosser Replaces Him In US Title Tournament". Wrestling Inc. Archived from the original on April 23, 2023. Retrieved May 6, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Resurgence (May 21) Full card, preview 【NJoA】". May 5, 2023. Archived from the original on May 5, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "AEW, CMLL, STARDOM, NJPW in one night tournament for STRONG Women's gold! 【NJoA】". New Japan Pro Wrestling. April 28, 2023. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ↑ "Jon Moxley set for action at Resurgence May 21! 【NJoA】". New Japan Pro Wrestling. May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
- ↑ "RESURGENCE | May 21, 2023". New Japan Pro-Wrestling. May 21, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
- ↑ Fritts, Chris (May 21, 2023). "NJPW Resurgence live results: Strong Women's title tournament Will Ospreay vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi is also set for the show". Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. Retrieved May 22, 2023.