Zeus & Izanagi vs. Alejandro & Francesco Akira
I had pretty high hopes for this considering the people involved, but it wasn’t all that memorable. Zeus and Akira are usually great together, but they might’ve had an off night here. The big highlights all came from Alejandro and I need to reiterate how much I’d love to see this guy become a permanent fixture in AJPW. I’ll always have a soft spot for masked babyface high flyers. **1/4
Yoshitatsu, Osamu Nishimura & Baliyan Akki vs. Takao Omori, Black Menso-re & Ryuji Hijikata
Very happy to see sleazebag legend Seigo Tachibana back at ring-side to second his mentor. Yoshitatsu slapping him after the match felt positively Inoki-esque. Yoshi is nothing less than the new Antonio Inoki. You heard it here first. The match was pretty much what you’d expect from a second match on an All Japan Korakuen card. That being said, I’ll never say no to Nishimura and Hijikata doing a bit of grappling. Grown man shit. **1/4
Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura vs. Hokuto Omori & Yusuke Kodama vs. Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO – All-Asia Tag Team Title Next Challenger Decision 3-Way Match
A fun clusterfuck with the right team winning and immediately brightening up my day. The Nextream kids (especially Atsuki) once again stole the show with their aerial babyfacing. Pretty excited by the idea of the both of them getting thrown around by Zeus. The finish came together really well and I popped huge for the crucifix/superkick combo. **1/2
Shuji Ishikawa & Ryuki Honda vs. Jun Kasai & Tomoya Hirata
This was some wild shit! Last time I saw FREEDOMS’ Hirata, he was fumbling around on a Ganbare undercard. He clearly leveled up his chunky young boy confidence since then and looked great scrapping with Team AJPW here. The interpromotional setting lit a fire under Honda as well – the kid obviously eager to impress Big Shuj Sempai. Kasai avoiding Ishikawa early on, causing the big man to take out his frustrations on Hirata was a pretty neat story. Also, this thing kind of turned into a hardcore match by the end and they did a really cool DQ finish!? AN ADVENTURE. ***
Jake Lee, Koji Iwamoto & TAJIRI vs. Shotaro Ashino, Kuma Arashi & Koji Doi
Oh my god. There was a wrestling match here, but it doesn’t really matter because I only want to talk about the double turn insanity. This angle is the ballsiest thing All Japan have done in ages and the execution was 100% world class. I can still hear the fangirls gasping in utter shock as Enfants Terribles laid the smackdown on Ashino.
The acting from everyone involved was right on the money and it made for a completely heartbreaking moment. They had been building up to this for the past few shows, but the real stroke of genius here was DARK JAKE LEE taking over Enfants. The twist that no one saw coming and the coolest possible hook for the FORMER Gentleman Warrior going into this year’s Champion Carnival. Chef’s kiss to all of this. **3/4
Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi © vs. Daisuke Sekimoto & Abdullah Kobayashi – AJPW Tag Team Titles
I’ve been spending the last few weeks talking shit about the wonky Nextream/Muscle N’ Fat program, so of course they go out there and have this absurdly fun match. I must now repent for my sins by giving this a good star rating. This is how the world works. I’m not sure if the crowd had excess energy from the Ashino/Jake shocker or what, but the mood for this match was off the charts. Big time interpromotional clapping heat.
A lot of the focus went on Kento/Abby and clearly their Shin Kiba singles debacle gave them a clear idea of what not to do. Honestly, heelish Miyahara slapping Kobayashi’s bleeding corpse around and working the cut was pretty great. BIG MEMPHIS ENERGY. Everything flew well and they even packed in a sweet Strong BJ stacked German suplex spot. Better than it had any right to be. ***1/2
Suwama © vs. Kohei Sato – Triple Crown
Big Wama and Kento are polar opposites when it comes to the professional wrestling, yet both guys operate with a clear-cut formula for big title matches. In both cases, the key to getting the most out of the formula is for the challenger to shake things up with his own personality. This is what I felt was missing here. Kohei was a fine opponent, but he didn’t add enough to the Big Wama Formula to bring the match to another level.
They ran through the classic structure: snug mat opening, hints of limb work, gradual escalation into striking and suplex devastation. And it was all rock-solid and believable, but I would’ve taken more of Sato beating the shit out of the champ. Because those moments were great! The vicious forearms and headbutts during the ending stretch felt properly dangerous and added new wrinkles to usual Suwama finale.
If you’re into lumpy heavyweight wrestling with lariats and head drops, Baseline Wama matches still do the trick, but clearly these guys have a better one in them. ***1/2
