The Grizzled Young Veterans Capture NJPW Gold at Fighting Spirit Unleashed

The Grizzled Young Veterans are the new champions.

James Drake and Zack Gibson secured the titles on Friday at NJPW's Fighting Spirit Unleashed, defeating TMDK’s Shane Haste and Mikey Nicholls. The Grizzled Young Veterans claimed victory after Haste was choked out with a towel, followed by a decisive high-low combination.

TMDK had held the titles since June when they triumphed at Dominion, defeating Bishimon (Hirooki Goto & YOSHI-HASHI), Chase Owens & KENTA, and Hikuleo & El Phantasmo to capture both the Strong titles and the IWGP Tag Team Championships. However, they lost the Strong titles just days ago at Power Struggle, where the United Empire's Great-O-Khan and Henare claimed the belts.

The Grizzled Young Veterans made their AEW debut this past April, following a stint in TNA. Since then, they have primarily competed on AEW Collision and Ring of Honor. They also participated in a number one contenders match at NJPW’s Capital Collision in August, but were defeated by Hiroshi Tanahashi & Tomohiro Ishii in a three-way contest that also involved Bad Dude Tito and Robbie Eagles.

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— Ben Jordan Kerin Nov 08, 2024 03:48PM