Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura vs. Yusuke Okada & Black Menso-re
All Japan booking is so pleasantly logical. Case in point: this match. This could’ve been a casual throwaway opener, but instead, the two recent Evolution storylines (Tamura joining and Okada leaving) came to a head in a pretty big way. Tamura pretty much took Okada’s spot in the group and is now actually picking up wins, which gave way to an EXTRA SALTY performance from Yusuke in this match. Lots of hateful forearm exchanges, with Okada getting all up into everyone’s faces only to get his ass handed to him. Hikaru’s shocked reaction at Dan picking up the win so convincingly was money! PS – That lariat is coming along nicely. **1/2
Jake Lee, Takao Omori & Masanobu Fuchi vs. Yuma Aoyagi, Osamu Nishimura & Atsuki Aoyagi
THE NISH AND FUCHI… HAVE COME BACK… TO KORAKUEN HALL. It’s been too long. For some people in the COVID-era, going back to normal is being able to go to the restaurant or the movie theatre again. For me, it’s watching old man Fuchi trick a referee into believing he is throwing open hand slaps while secretly throwing closed fists. The Aoyagi brothers marking out for the European uppercut exchange between Nishimura and Omori = relatable. **1/4
Zeus & Izanagi vs. Yoshitatsu & Seigo Tachibana vs. TAJIRI & KAI – All-Asia Tag Team Titles #1 Contendership – 3-Way Match
Not sure how this turned out as well as it did, but I had an actually good time watching the Zen Nihon midcard warriors doing battle for a shot at the All-Asia tag straps. Judging by the fast pace and clever team spots, I assume TAJIRI had a big hand in laying this thing out. Giving Purple Haze the win was the right move here and I’m hoping they actually dethrone Yankee Two Kenju. The Osaka Express still rides, baby. **1/2
Kento Miyahara, Jiro Ikemen Kuroshio, Francesco Akira & Rising HAYATO vs. Shotaro Ashino, Kuma Arashi, Yusuke Kodama & Hokuto Omori
The direct continuation of the Enfants/Team Kento match from 2AW Square, with more time and more action. HAYATO’s now part of the faction and while he came off as a bumbling idiot during certain parts of the match, Kento’s annoyance with him at least made his incompetence funny. Meanwhile, Omori looked just plain badass taking the fight to the babyfaces. There’s a bit of a tonal inconsistency with Hokuto aggressively going after the Ace while Kento/Ikemen are clearly content with just fucking around, but I’m willing to see where this goes. Maybe Hokuto’s constant attacks will force Kento to get serious for the first time in months. Akira was born to be a babyface in peril and him getting obliterated by Kuma never gets old. ***
Susumu Yokosuka © vs. Koji Iwamoto – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title
NEW IWAMOTO GEAR ALERT! This really could’ve used a non-restrained crowd to reach its full potential and bring the appropriate closure to Susumu’s epic reign. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed it a lot, but I kept getting the nagging impression that it was missing an extra layer of drama to reach the next level. The first half of the match was a little dry: Susumu going after the lower back was very competent wrestling but didn’t have much to offer in terms of intensity. That being said, the second half was a proper BOMBS FEST and both guys absolutely worked their asses off. Poor Susumu got splattered into a million pieces with those STO’s on outside. As it is often the case with Iwamoto matches, the ending stretch was a real scorcher and that final judo throw might have been the most impressive version of that move I’ve ever seen. Happy for Koji. ***1/2
Suwama © vs. Shuji Ishikawa – Triple Crown
Man, I really wanted this to be a homerun, but 27 minutes was just way too long for this pairing. Looking at the recent long Suwama matches that delivered, they either had a guy who could bump his ass and fill time with character moments (Miyahara) or someone technically proficient to provide a compelling limb work structure (Ashino). Big Shuj couldn’t bring any of these things to the table here so all we were left with was a Very Long Suwama Match with restrained crowd reactions.
There were enough juicy beef moments to keep me hooked, but the match didn’t quite hold together as something memorable that I’d be down to rewatch. At least not on the level of these aforementioned matches with Kento and Ashino. I did like a bunch of individual spots: the Fire Thunder on the floor, the Big Shuj missile dropkick, Wama grunting like a monster while eating repeated forearms. By the end, the length had drained so much of my investment that all the near-falls felt more like overkill than excitement. I can’t completely bury a match where two giant dudes clobber each other with lariats, but it just didn’t feel like the right layout for these guys. ***1/4
