Strong Style Evolved UK

Promotional poster for the event, featuring various NJPW and RevPro wrestlers

**Strong Style Evolved UK** was a two-day professional wrestling event co-promoted by the British Revolution Pro Wrestling (RevPro) and Japanese New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) promotions. The event two nights took place on June 30 at the Planet Ice Arena and on July 1, 2018 at the Altrincham Ice Dome. The event was themed around CHAOS against Suzuki-gun. This first night was headlined by Suzuki-gun (Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.) defending the Undisputed British Tag Team Championship against CHAOS (Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii). The second night was headlined by Tomohiro Ishii defending the British Heavyweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki. The event's name refers to the Japanese Strong style.

## Production

### Background

On March 25, 2018, following the success of the Strong Style Evolved, New Japan Pro Wrestling and Revolution Pro Wrestling announced another version of the event, this time being held in the United Kingdom named "Strong Style Evolved UK", which would take place in two nights, the first on June 30 at the Milton Keynes Ice Arena in Milton Keynes, England and the second night on July 1 at Altrincham Arena in Manchester, England. On July 18, 2015, NJPW announced the "New IWGP Conception", a global expansion strategy centered on their international partnerships with Revolution Pro Wrestling. NJPW had previously partnered with Revolution Pro Wrestling for the 2015 Uprising event, while also co-producing the Global Wars UK. Tickets for the shows were on put on pre-sale on March 27 and 29, with a form having to be filled in order to get tickets. This also led to being put on sale meet-and-greets.

On May 3, it was announced that Kazuchika Okada would be part of the event. RevPro also announced that the first night of the event almost sold out, only being left the £18.70 tickets. RevPro later announced other NJPW wrestlers for the event that are British Heavyweight Champion Tomohiro Ishii, Taiji Ishimori, one-half of the Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki, Toru Yano, Yuji Nagata, Will Ospreay, Taichi, IWGP United States Heavyweight Champion Jay White, Shota Umino, one-half of the Undisputed British Tag Team Champions Zack Sabre Jr. and Takashi Iizuka.

The two shows would air live through NJPW's and RevPro's internet streaming site, New Japan Pro Wrestling World and RPW on Demand, and would feature English commentary covered by Kevin Kelly, two days after the event was taped. On June 12, RevPro announced the full card for both nights. On June 29, it was announced the first night sold out, leading RevPro to announce it would be making more seats available on the day on the show, while the second night almost sold out with 27 tickets left. Jay White was supposed to face Chris Brookes in the second night of the event, but Brookes had to pull out of the match, due to injury, he was replaced by Kyle Fletcher.

### Storylines

Strong Style Evolved UK featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portray villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches.

    The CHAOS and Suzuki-gun angle resulted in Strong Style Evolved UK featuring prominent matches between the two stables such as Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr. defending the Undisputed British Tag Team Championship against Kazuchika Okada and Tomohiro Ishii in the main event of the first night and Ishii defending the British Heavyweight Championship against Suzuki in the main event of the second night. On March 21, 2018, Zack Sabre Jr. defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi in the finals of the 2018 New Japan Cup, and become the number one for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. This led to Sabre becoming the second gaijin to win the tournament after Giant Bernard in 2006. The following day, NJPW officially announced the match between Okada and Sabre as the main event of Sakura Genesis, while also announcing that Sabre and Okada would face in a prelude match at Strong Style Evolved, with Okada teaming with his CHAOS stablemate Tomohiro Ishii and Sabre with his Suzuki-gun stablemate and co-holder of the Undisputed British Tag Team Championship Minoru Suzuki, which Sabre and Suzuki won. On March 23 in a press-conference Sabre stated that aimed to be the first British IWGP Heavyweight Champion and that he wanted to defend the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in England, if he defeated Okada at the event.

On April 1, at Sakura Genesis, Sabre unsuccessfully challenged Okada for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. Five days later, at Revolution Pro Wrestling's WrestleCon, Ishii defeated Sabre to win the British Heavyweight Championship, ending his 396 days reign as champion. On June 12, RevPro announced that Sabre and Suzuki would face Okada and Ishii in a rematch for the Undisputed British Tag Team Championship, while also announcing that Sabre and Okada would face in a rematch and Ishii would defend the British Heavyweight Championship against Suzuki in the main event of the second night. On June 9, at Dominion 6.9 in Osaka-jo Hall, Suzuki and Sabre defeated Ishii and his CHAOS stablemate Toru Yano. After the match, Suzuki went to attack Ishii into the backstage area.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Strong Style Evolved in UK Announcement . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-03-26). Retrieved on 2018-03-26. Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "SSEUKA1" defined multiple times with different content
2. ↑ New Japan Pro Wrestling UK tour: When are the shows? Where are the venues? And how can I buy tickets? . *Mirror.uk* (2018-03-26). Retrieved on 2018-03-26.
3. ↑ UK GET READY FOR 2 HUGE NIGHTS OF ACTION! . Retrieved on 2018-03-31.
4. ↑ 新日本プロレス３～５年後上場目指す  (in Japanese). *Daily Sports Online*. Kobe Shimbun (2015-07-18). Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
5. ↑ 木谷オーナーが「ファーム設立プラン」「21世紀のIWGP構想」、そして「新日本プロレスは株式上場を目指す」と宣言! 【7.18戦略発表会】  (in Japanese). *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2015-07-18). Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
6. ↑ Caldwell, James 2015-07-18. NJPW news: New Japan announces big int'l expansion plans, including expanded N. America partnerships & NXT-like program . *Pro Wrestling Torch*. Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
7. ↑ F4W Staff 2017-11-11. REVPRO GLOBAL WARS UK RESULTS: MINORU SUZUKI VS. MATT RIDDLE . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2017-01-05.
8. ↑ RevPro Global Wars UK . Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
9. ↑ RevPro/NJPW Global Wars UK 2016 - Tag 1 . Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
10. ↑ RevPro/NJPW Global Wars UK 2016 - Tag 2 . Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
11. ↑ RevPro/NJPW Global Wars 2017 - Tag 1 . Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
12. ↑ RevPro/NJPW Global Wars 2017 - Tag 2 . Retrieved on 2018-01-05.
13. ↑ NJPW Strong Style Evolved UK . *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2018-03-27). Retrieved on 2018-03-27.
14. ↑ Meets-and-greets information . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-06-13). Retrieved on 2018-06-13.
15. ↑ STRONG STYLE EVOLVED UK MEET & GREET INFO . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-06-06). Retrieved on 2018-06-06.
16. ↑ First Night Tickets information . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-06-13). Retrieved on 2018-06-13.
17. ↑ STRONG STYLE EVOLVED: ISHII IS COMING! . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-16). Retrieved on 2018-05-16.
18. ↑ STRONG STYLE EVOLVED: Taiji Ishimori . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-16). Retrieved on 2018-05-16.
19. ↑ SSE: MINORU SUZUKI IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
20. ↑ SSE: TORU YANOI IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
21. ↑ SSE: YUJI NAGATA IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
22. ↑ SSE: WILL OSPREAY IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
23. ↑ SSE: TAICHI IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
24. ↑ SSE: JAY WHITE IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
25. ↑ SSE: UMINO IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
26. ↑ SSE: ZACK SABRE JR IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
27. ↑ SSE: IS COMING TO MILTON KEYNES & MANCHESTER . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-05-22.
28. ↑ The voice of Strong Style Evolved UK will be KEVIN KELLY. . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-06-13). Retrieved on 2018-06-13.
29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 . *Revolution Pro Wrestling* (2018-05-22). Retrieved on 2018-06-29.
30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 30.2 30.3 REVOLUTION PRO REVEALS STRONG STYLE EVOLVED: UK LINEUP FEATURING NEW JAPAN STARS . *Pro Wrestling Insider* (2018-06-11). Retrieved on 2018-06-11.
31. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. CHRIS BROOKES goes on one with SWITCHBLADE #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester .
32. ↑ ZACK SABRE JR. VS. OKADA, ISHII VS. SUZUKI & MORE: REVOLUTION PRO & NEW JAPAN STRONG STYLE EVOLVED UK NIGHT TWO REPORT . *Pro Wrestling Insider* (2018-07-03). Retrieved on 2018-07-03.
33. ↑ Grabianowski, Ed. How Pro Wrestling Works . *HowStuffWorks, Inc.*. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on 2013-11-18. Retrieved on 2017-06-12.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 Rose, Bryan 2018-03-21. NEW JAPAN CUP FINALS LIVE RESULTS: HIROSHI TANAHASHI VS. ZACK SABRE JR. . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-03-21.
35. ↑ Huge matches made for Strong Style Evolved! White v Page for US Title! Mysterio v Liger! Golden Lovers v Young Bucks!! [la325 ]. *New Japan Pro-Wrestling* (2018-02-26). Retrieved on 2018-03-09.
36. ↑ NJPW Strong Style Evolved results: Young Bucks vs. Golden Lovers, Ospreay vs. Liger, and more . *Cage Side Seats* (2018-03-25). Retrieved on 2018-03-25.
37. ↑ Renner, Ethan 2018-03-31. NJPW SAKURA GENESIS LIVE RESULTS: KAZUCHIKA OKADA VS. ZACK SABRE JR. . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-04-01.
38. ↑ Greer, Jamie 2018-04-06. #AndNEW: Tomohiro Ishii Wins RevPro British Heavyweight Title . *Last Word on Pro Wrestling*. Retrieved on 2016-04-06.
39. ↑ Renner, Ethan 2018-06-09. NJPW Dominion live results: Okada vs. Omega, Naito vs. Jericho . *Wrestling Observer Newsletter*. Retrieved on 2018-06-09.
40. ↑ DOMINION 6.9 in OSAKA-JO HALL (June 9) - Post-match Interview [3rd match] on YouTube
41. ↑ NNJPW Strong Style Evolved Results from Milton Keynes, UK 6/30/18 . *Lords of Pain* (2018-06-30). Retrieved on 2018-06-30.
42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 RPW 『STRONG STYLE EVOLVED -UNITED KINGDOM- Night1』Full results . *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2018-07-02). Retrieved on 2018-07-02. Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; name "StrongTsyleEvolvedUKR2" defined multiple times with different content
43. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. To open proceeding's New Japan's Young Lion SHOTA UMINO will be in singles action. But against who? #SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes .
44. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. The Bullet Club combination of The Tokyo Pimp YUJIRO and The Bone Soldier TAIJI ISHIMORI go up against Aussie Open KYLE FLETCHER & MARK DAVIS #SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes .
45. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. Undisputed British Cruiserweight Champion DAVID STARR goes one on one with undisputed legend TIGER MASK. #SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes .
46. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. [https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1006235702215004160 SUZUKI GUN & CHAOS go toe to toe in a 6 man tag. IIZUKA, DESPERADO & TAICHI Vs SWITCHBLADE, YANO & GEDO

	1. SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes ].
47. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. Big time singles match signed as WALTER will collide with Blue Justice YUJI NAGATA #SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes .
48. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. CHRIS BROOKES & YOSHI-HASHI will collide. #SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes .
49. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. CHAOS VS SUZUKI GUN war continues when YOSHINOBU KANEMARU goes one on one with WILL OSPREAY. #SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes .
50. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. [https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1006252070880661507 Huge tag team championship main event takes centre stage as ZACK SABRE JR & MINORU SUZUKI go up against the combination of CHAOS team of KAZUCHIKA OKADA & TOMOHIRO ISHII

	1. SSEUK #Night1 #MiltonKeynes ].
51. ↑ RPW 『STRONG STYLE EVOLVED -UNITED KINGDOM- Night1』Full results . *New Japan Pro Wrestling* (2018-07-02). Retrieved on 2018-07-02.
52. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. To open proceedings NJPW LA Dojo Standout DAN DUGGAN goes up against the same man that will face Umino on Night 1 #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester .
53. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. Young Lion Vs Veteran as SHOTA UMINO goes up against familiar foe YUJI NAGATA. Will Manchester be Shota's coming out party? #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester .
54. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. 6 Man Tag Team action is happening!#SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester .
55. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. [https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1006265259995422723 YUJIRO goes one on one with WALTER
 #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester ].
56. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. [https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1006260131275923460 A Jr Heavyweight 4 way will see EL PHANTASMO, TAIJI ISHIMORI, DAVID STARR & TIGER MASK collide. Will we able to get David Starr to put his British Cruiserweight Gold on the line?
 #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester ].
57. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. CHRIS BROOKES goes on one with SWITCHBLADE #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester .
58. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. [https://twitter.com/RevProUK/status/1006267144592674818 A rematch from Sakura Genesis as ZACK SABRE JR goes on one on one with KAZUCHIKA OKADA this time on Sabres home turf!
 #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester ].
59. ↑ Revolution Pro Wrestling [@RevProUK] 2018-06-11. The Undisputed British Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when TOMOHIRO ISHII defends against MINORU SUZUKI #SSEUK #Night2 #Manchester .

## External links

* Strong Style Evolved UK Official Website