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Which Current NJPW/Former NXT Star Is Steve Austin Very High On?

By Chris Featherstone
Published on: 15:28 PST, Jul 8, 2017

In its first independent American show in company history, New Japan Pro Wrestling’s G1 Special in USA was widely viewed to be a big success. The conclusion of the two-day event saw Kenny Omega, who vied for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship at both Wrestle Kingdom 11 and Dominion 6.11, win the tournament and become the inaugural champion.

Overall, NJPW decided to be quite conservative with their choice of venue. Understandably, since it was their first event of its kind, the company stayed under 2,500 with their attendance. However, there were competitors who wanted the company to go bold, and is actually encouraging them to look at bigger venues for future events. According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, newly crowned IWGP U.S. Champion Kenny Omega pitched the idea of a 20,000-seat arena in 2018. That would be nearly 10 times more than their attendance last weekend.

The event was so highly anticipated that even WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin decided to attend. During the latest Ross Report podcast, Austin shared his thoughts on the event, and who impressed him the most.

Austin was quick to laud Cody, as he competed in the main event of night one against IWGP Champion Kazuchika Okada. Winning the Ring of Honor World Championship at Best in the World, Cody continues to impress others and grow his stock. As a member of Bullet Club, but teasing a potential feud with Omega, it should be interesting how the following weeks progress.

Interestingly, another name that Austin mentioned was Juice Robinson, formerly known as CJ Parker in NXT. While in NXT, Robinson was a popular talent, but his/win loss record was not impressive. However, since joining New Japan, he has been in some high-profile matches, including facing Cody at Wrestle Kingdom 11. Moreover, since joining the newly formed Taguchi Japan in February, he had the opportunity at Dominion 6.11 to win his first championship for the company, the NEVER Openweight Six-Man Championship.

For Robinson, being called out as someone who has a bright future by a legend and hall of famer such as Steve Austin is certainly not something to take lightly. Hopefully, this can give him even more motivation to have a successful career in NJPW and pro wrestling in general.

[Featured Image by WWE]

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