Jake Lee, TAJIRI & Francesco Akira vs. Zeus, Izanagi & UTAMARO
Here we are, back in Korakuen Hall with Puro Twitter’s favorite promotion All Japan Pro-Wrestling. There are worst ways to start a show than a match involving Jake, Akira and the big Z-Man. Save for TAJIRI inexplicably blowing an armdrag, this was competent professional wrestling all the way through. Quite enjoyed the speed/brute force dynamic between Zeus and the Italian Warrior Child. Sure wouldn’t mind a singles match between the two at some point. **1/2
Takao Omori, Carbell Ito & Alejandro vs. Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Rambo Kawamura
Last year, legendary mercenary Rambo Kawamura stepped in the AJPW ring to draw First Blood. Today, he’s finally back to draw… First Blood: Part 2. This was another nourishing serving of midcard action bolstered by Alejandro’s pretty high spots, Rambo’s machinegun fury and a completely unexpected ending stretch between Hikaru and Omori. In a match containing so many deep lore All Japan part-timers, Omori taking the fall was a real shocker. **1/2
Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato & Ryuki Honda vs. Yoshitatsu, Ryouji Sai & Chikara
Dug all of this. Honda getting the shit kicked out of him, Hashimoto disciples Sato and Sai rekindling their ZERO-ONE rivalry, Twin Towers just plain annihilating poor Chikara. These are things that happened in this match and it all ruled. I kept thinking about the recently departed Yusuke Okada for a lot of this. As much as I’m enjoying him in DDT right now, he would’ve been the perfect feisty youngster for All Japan to throw at a serial killer like Sato. ***
Kento Miyahara, Yuma Aoyagi, Rising HAYATO & Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Kuma Arashi, Koji Doi, Yusuke Kodama & Hokuto Omori
What the hell did we just witness? This felt like the best Kento midcard multiman tag in ages. Enfants Terribles’ sneak attack managed to successfully bypass all of the Kento comedy tropes and set a volatile mood that somehow stuck from bell to bell. Great performance from Omori, who was able to bring out some actual hatred from Miyahara and worked a convincing finale with Atsuki. No unnecessary WWE run-in shtick to get Enfants over as heels, just a proper scrap. ***
Jun Kasai © vs. Black Menso-re – Hardcore Match – GAORA TV Title
As random as it is, I’m digging this Kasai GAORA run. The hardcore tropes add some fun variety to the usual AJPW Korakuen card. This smoked the surprisingly fun Yoshitatsu match in every way and made Menso-re look like a tough little snake bastard. While there wasn’t much wheel reinvention, Kasai’s an old pro at laying out this type of match and let Menso-re kick out of a lot of nasty shit. The mask-ripping spot cranked up the sympathy-meter to the max, babyfacing the living hell out your favorite reptilian prankster in the process. Chef’s kiss to the entire sequence where a half-dead Menso-re stood up to Kasai’s stiff lariats in a last-ditch attempt at fighting spirit survival. ***1/4
BIG SHUJ GAORA CHALLENGE = BIG HYPE.
Koji Iwamoto © vs. Fuminori Abe – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title
A stone-cold show stealer if I ever saw one. Two Sportiva graduates going at it with the combustible aggression of long-time dojo frenemies and just lighting up the place. Iwamoto’s always been an extremely-reliable hand, but Abe straight up worked this match like one of the best wrestlers in the world. The guy has a completely unique mind for wrestling and adds so many exciting new twists to tired old tropes.
His technique was on full display here, what with the ode to Yoshiaki Fujiwara wakigatame into haragatame sequence, the always-jaw-dropping floating dragon screws and other assorted Onryo clutch trickery. While not as spectacular, Iwamoto stood his ground and came off as a champion’s champion. He didn’t take any shit and retaliated immediately whenever Abe overstepped his bounds with his dickishness.
Not a dull moment to be found. From the believable chain wrestling opening to the explosive ending stretch, everything landed right on the money. An ideal match for the COVID-era, the kind where you’re so absorbed by the heightened skill and execution that you forget about the lack of crowd response. Fucking great. ****
Suwama © vs. Shotaro Ashino – Triple Crown
Last year’s empty arena match between these two was the clear highlight of a pretty depressing period in the Puroresu calendar. Weirdly enough, the rematch in front of a packed Korakuen fell a few notches below. They cooked with a recipe similar to that first meeting: big hoss beefing, dueling leg work subplots and crunchy suplex action. However, unlike the first time, I never felt like Ashino even came close to pulling the upset on Big Wamster.
Ashino tried really hard to make the leg story work. His attacks were focused and he pulled all sorts of intricate cut-offs, always going back to the injury. Suwama’s usually pretty great at handling this type of storyline, but his selling was a bit lacking here. It’s kind of mind boggling that the neck work and subsequent Endgame near-submission in the Aoyagi match came off as more dangerous than Ashino’s ankle locks in this one.
Despite the faults, the Big Match Wama formula never fails to bring a solid baseline of satisfying ass whopping content. People were dropped on their head and some brutal lariats were thrown. Far from a disaster, but not exactly a star-making match for Ashino. ***1/2
