Francesco Akira vs. Rising HAYATO
With HAYATO’s involvement in Nextream 2.0 and the result of this match, I’m afraid he’s about to pass Akira in the Zen Nihon food chain. Which is unfortunate considering how much better the Italian Warrior Child is to the Ehime Pro ACE. The talent gap was obvious throughout the whole match: Akira coming up with all of the best stuff and keeping things structured, HAYATO struggling with basic timing and throwing too many 1999 WWF punches. I cannot smell what this kid is cooking. **1/4
Yoshitatsu & Ryuki Honda vs. Takao Omori & Black Menso-re
A lot better than you’d expect thanks to a spirited performance from current Trial Series Protagonist Ryuki Honda. This lad has the basics down and knows how to project feisty young heavyweight energy. Big time Shin Kiba reactions for both his manhandling of Menso-re and him taking the fight to THE WILD ONE Takao Omori. Everyone else put in a decent bit of effort and that’s all I need from these fine midcard citizens. **1/2
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Kuma Arashi
Dug all of this, including Arashi inadvertently spoiling the Jake/Enfants unit name with his new gear. I’ve been clamoring for a singles match between these two ever since the Enfants/Giants tag title match from last year. There weren’t a lot of stakes here, but considering their spot on the card, they had a very satisfying hoss fight. Kuma stayed in control for about 80% of the match and him overpowering Big Shuj will never not be impressive. They ran into each other with extra-proteinic lariats and did all the juicy heavyweight tropes that YOU need. Liked how they approached the finish, with Kuma laying a beatdown on Shuj after taking the loss to regain his heat. ***
Kento Miyahara, Yuma Aoyagi & Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Zeus, Shigehiro Irie & Izanagi
Probably well-aware that all the buzz for tonight would go towards the main event, these gentlemen thought long and hard about how to steal the show. The solution they came up with? Having Yuma and Zeus basically fucking SHOOT ON EACH OTHER. These two were at each other’s throats right off the bat and it added this insane tension to the entire match. Pissed Off Zeus is a scary sight and you could hear the gasps of horror in Shin Kiba 1st Ring every time he got his hands on someone.
Absolutely monstrous performance from the Z-Man: punking out Atsuki, firing off what might’ve been the stiffest machinegun chops of all time and committing a literal murder on Yuma for the finish as payback for his bravado. The Kento/Irie segments hinted at a lot of potential too, but the spotlight for the tag title match will clearly be on Zeus/Yuma and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do. One of the best AJPW preview tags in a long, long time. ***1/2
Suwama, Shotaro Ashino, Koji Iwamoto, Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura vs. Jake Lee, Koji Doi, Hokuto Omori, Yusuke Kodama & TAJIRI – Elimination Match
Coming off the wildest All Japan angle in years, this had a lot to live up to. It didn’t fully hold together as a 30-minute wrestling match, but there were a lot of captivating stories being told.
WHAT WORKED
- The Total Eclipse reveal with all members slowly coming out in new gear was masterful. It immediately gave the match a big time feel. Cool new looks for everyone.
- Anything involving Ashino was bang on. The injured ribs story, Sato not wanting to work with him, all the tension with his former Enfant Terribles buddies. High-quality babyfacing process.
- DARKSIDE JAKE LEE leaning into the heelishness was good stuff. His interactions with former BFF Iwamoto were well handled and they match clearly peaked with their brilliant slap spot.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK
- I get that TAJIRI likely masterminded this entire saga and really wanted put his signature on the whole thing by inserting himself into it, but his presence here was just jarring. The comedic heel stooging felt completely tone-deaf in the middle of a multi-layered backstabbing opera. Starting the match with him was the wrong move.
- Way too long. The drawn out pace couldn’t sustain the initial tension, which is a shame because bits and pieces of the match were undeniably great. This type of length might’ve worked with a pre-COVID crowd, but here they would’ve benefitted from keeping it tighter.
***
