Hokuto Omori & Rising HAYATO vs. Dan Tamura & Tatsuya Hanami
This felt like the most inspired All Japan young boy match in a while. 2AW rookie Hanami came in with an attitude problem and a bone to pick with dojo heart rob Hokuto Omori, constantly stirring shit up and disrupting the match. The interpromotional beefing clearly lit a fire under the three other kids as everyone seemed to be working even stiffer than usual and it made for a hell of a good time. HAYATO managed to steal the show with a hellacious missile dropkick to cut off Big Dan’s gutwrench suplex on Omori. **3/4
Kento Miyahara vs. Konaka = Pelhwan
Nothing less than triumph for highbrow performance art and pro-wrestling in general. Konaka’s an indie sleaze lifer with an Onryo-esque ghost gimmick that specializes in headstands and painful-looking Indian-style sitting tricks. Kento unleashed his inner-Ebessan by coming out with the exact same gimmick (shoutout to the announcer’s incredible ‘’MIYAHAAAAARAAA…Kento?’’ introduction) and mimicking Konaka’s shtick. Possibly the most satisfying Blackout finish of all time.
Izanagi vs. Black Menso-re vs. Yusuke Okada vs. Francesco Akira – 4-Way Match
I had no expectations for this considering 4-way matches tend to be pretty clusterfucky, but it all worked out pretty well. They kept things rather straight forward and it allowed for everyone to get over without too much 4-way convolution. Akira once again came off as a star thanks to a string of crowd-popping high spots including a legit-impressive sequence where he ran off the shoulders of two dudes to land a dropkick on a third. Some real X-Division Jet Li shit. Okada’s grumpy forearms were a nice counterbalance to Akira’s high flying – I have a feeling the next singles meeting between the two could be pretty special. ***
Yuma Aoyagi vs. UTAMARO
A bunch of acceptable midcard wrestling with Aoyagi milking a real life cold into comedy gold (him selling the runny-nose during a Boston crab segment was worth a star alone). UTAMARO has some good ideas, but the execution isn’t all there. The Okada-esque backslide into knee strike was nifty, but his pescado and springboard dropkick kinda look like shit. This was the first time Aoyagi was unleashing the Koki Kitahara-taught spin kick and that thing looks tremendous. I would bet a lot of money on him adding a leg slap to it sooner rather than later, because let’s not forget that we’re in 2020 and everything needs a leg slap. **1/2
Koji Iwamoto & TAJIRI vs. Isami Kodaka & Fuminori Abe
So much fun. Team BASARA lasering in on Iwamoto’s arm and Isami trying to outgrapple TAJIRI were two good ways to get this match off the ground and it only kept getting better from there thanks in part to the incredible chemistry between Abe and Iwamoto. Non-death match Isami usually doesn’t do much for me but he blended in nicely here. TAJIRI had his working boots on and I was very much into his Octopus War against Abe. You could tell these guys were having fun working each other. Iwamoto did what he does best and brought the explosiveness for the finish. ***
Naoya Nomura vs. Hideki ‘’Shrek’’ Sekine – Grappling Match
It’s Shrek time, motherfuckers. This was billed as a grappling match and folks, grappling was done. Under the watchful eye of special guest Shooter Referee Hikaru Sato, Nomura tried to take Sekine on the mat and ultimately failed BUT, the massive amount of crowd support for him was heartwarming and made the whole thing a worthwhile experiment.
Suwama & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Jake Lee & Ayato Yoshida
2020 started on the wrong foot for the Giants with that disappointing title win in Korakuen, but this was Suwama and Big Shuj back in top form, delivering the goods in a physical, story-driven belter of a match. The two main goals here were to get Suwama back in the title contender sphere and further cement Yoshida as potential player for All Japan. Both of these things were accomplished via the time-tested tropes of Southern tag team wrestling and flesh on flesh violence – a guaranteed good time for everyone involved.
Ayato was mostly paired with Ishikawa and the size difference instantly gave him underdog appeal. Some of his offense looked a bit clunky, but the fighting spirit and energy he brought to the table were undeniable. The more dramatic sections of the match were left to Jake and Big Wama, which is always a smart choice considering the fantastic chemistry between the two. Jake took a lifetime’s worth of punishment and Suwama came across as a total force of nature.
Other things I loved: the sandwich PK from JIN, Suwama dragging Jake all the way to the house show camera to talk shit about JIN right into it, that Cobra twist/Face claw combo from Ishikawa (100% the most powerful submission of all time). Great stuff. ****
