Koji Iwamoto, Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Rising HAYATO & Yasutaka Oosega
With their chunkier counterparts getting all of the spotlight on this tour, the Zen Nihon juniors used this opening match slot to remind YOU of their relevance. All action all the time with everyone making the most of their performances.
Always cool to see Michinoku Pro’s Oosega catch a few bookings outside of the North Eastern territories. Dan added a new twist to his wild schoolboy/gutwrench suplex combo and this kid might have a fancier mind than we think. Dug the extended ending stretch between Hikaru and HAYATO – the Ehime lad looking sharp. ***
TAJIRI, Yusuke Kodama & Hokuto Omori vs. Takao Omori, Francesco Akira & Black Menso-re
Some real solid midcarding until the clunky belt shot finish. They built most of the match around Hokuto trolling Black Menso-re, so the eventual payoff of Menso-re getting revenge with a TENRYU-STYLE chop/eye-poke combo was pretty great. Elsewhere, TAJIRI and Akira put their chain wrestling-heavy dynamic to good use and Kodama did a sweet cartwheel at one point. **1/4
The Bodyguard & Izanagi vs. Yoshitatsu & Ryuki Honda
It ain’t an AJPW Osaka show without your pal The Bodyguard. The match was as basic as it gets, but they eventually milked the young boy in peril structure into a pretty decent ending stretch between Honda and Izanagi. Bodyguard has gone back to a non-Karaoke version of his theme song and it’s just not the same. I need those smooth vocals, baby. **
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Koji Doi – Champion Carnival
I was expecting more of a meat pounder than an arm work match but they eventually got where they needed to go and it was pretty rad. Layout uncertainty aside, Doi put in a strong performance and showed that he belonged in this tournament. Ishikawa sold a lot and let him control most of the match – a nice gesture from the Gentle Giant.
The ending stretch gave you the plate of beef that you ordered – both guys destroying each other with head-drops and fiery lariats. Sidenote: the new golden gear is looking good on Big Shuj. New colors worthy of YOUR GAORA TV CHAMPION. ***1/4
Suwama vs. Kohei Sato – Champion Carnival
A more compact version of their recent Triple Crown match, with Suwama doing a good job babyfacing Kohei by wrecking his back in the early sections of the match. Less filler matwork and more straight-up ass kicking. In the end, it was still somewhat of a baseline lumpy heavyweight match, but it was well laid out and both guys beat the shit out of each other.
The Sato comebacks felt properly vicious and made the guy look more dangerous than in his title challenge. Shoutout to the lung-perforating PK and the always-romantic shoot headbutt of skull-crushing tenderness. ***1/2
Shinjiro Otani vs. Yuma Aoyagi – Champion Carnival
BELIEVE S-ROAD~! This was the perfect Champ Carnival introduction for Otani and a world class performance from Yuma. A match oozing dickishness where both the crowd and Aoyagi got swept up by Otanimania. Despite severe hairline trauma and crippling Yakuza dept, Otani still performs like one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and established right off the bat that he is not to be fucked with.
Meanwhile, Aoyagi showed why he’s one of the guys to watch in 2021 All Japan. Revelling in the challenge, he threw the signature Otani attitude right back at the old man and stood up to him in face-ripping strike exchanges. Holy shit at the wheelchair-ready release Dragon suplex and hellacious lariat that led up to the finish. This Otani CC run will be one for the books. ***3/4
Jake Lee vs. Shotaro Ashino – Champion Carnival
In terms of pure storyline progression, this worked. The Dark Gentleman Jake Lee is evil now and he will CHEAT 2 WIN. Plus, the way they worked the ref bump was completely acceptable compared to the overbaked multi-run-in spots you’ll get elsewhere. Sure, I would’ve loved a longer match between these two, but I have a feeling we’ll get one fairly soon. **1/2
Kento Miyahara vs. Zeus – Champion Carnival
These two had a pretty high bar to clear considering they were in my MOTY last year. Spoiler alert: they didn’t top themselves, but a lesser Kento/Zeus match is still better than most matches.
The one big advantage this one had over prior entries in their stacked rivalry: Nikkan Lee on referee duty. With old man Wada nowhere to be found, Miyahara’s trolling options were a lot more limited, so the mandatory floor sequence felt more heelish than comedic.
They also smartly referenced that last meeting, with nods to the apron Air-Raid Crash and the Misawa facelock that drove Zeus to success in last year’s tournament. Cold hard cash for fans for the 2020 CC final. Outside of the fun callbacks and refreshing lack of Wada spots, this had what you want from a Kento/Zeus match. High-intensity throwdowns, deadly Blackout/lariat collisions and the Big Z-Man channeling the Power of Osaka to overcome the odds. ****
