SUGI vs. Atsuki Aoyagi – Junior Battle of Glory Round 1 (AJPW 6/2/2021)
You know Aoyagi’s been waiting for an opportunity like this. A match exclusively made of flips and a real fun one at that. I was happy to see SUGI in AJPW, as he has one of the more unique auras on the Japanese indies. The guy has zero personality, but the quiet/mysterious vibe coupled with perfect execution on the most high-difficulty aerial shit makes for a compelling mix. The fact that Aoyagi hung in there so effortlessly with him bodes well for Nextream’s blessed high-flyer. Big shoutout to Atsuki stealing the FISHERMAN’S EXPRESS from the GOAT Ryo Saito. ***1/4
Tatsuhito Takaiwa vs. Dan Tamura – Junior Battle of Glory Round 1 (AJPW 6/2/2021)
This was probably Dan’s biggest singles showcase since his title shot against Iwamoto last year and he sure made the most of it. Both guys meshed well – old man Takaiwa’s grumpy power style a natural fit for the Evolution youngster. Having Big Dad Suwama on commentary to pop for Dan’s comebacks added another layer of fun here, especially when the lariats and Powerbombs started pouring. ***1/4
Hikaru Sato vs. Hokuto Omori – Junior Battle of Glory Round 1 (AJPW 6/2/2021)
Ever since hooking up with Enfants Terribles (and now Total Eclipse), Hokuto’s been honing his character work and heel tricks. This match gave him a a safe space from the screwy TAJIRI layouts and cheap shot finishes – the opportunity to try something new. Sato dragged the kid kicking and screaming right into a wild Shin Kiba slug-fest. The kind of match that would’ve benefitted from a vocal crowd, but still worked thanks to the intensity. Omori struck a neat balance between stepping up his bravado and clearly acknowledging his sempai as the superior striker, spending a lot of the match dead on his feet and selling. Hopefully Hokuto gets more shots at singles wrestling this year, as there’s a limit to what he can accomplish in 6-mans and this clearly showed that he’s capable of more. ***1/2
El Lindaman vs. Rising HAYATO – Junior Battle of Glory Round 1 (AJPW 6/2/2021)
Linda tried his best to pull a big main event out of HAYATO here, but I’m still not convinced. Not that this was anywhere near bad or anything, but HAYATO works a lot better for me in a tag format with Atsuki Aoyagi, where some of his weaknesses can be hidden. He has the moves down (holy shit @ that springboard plancha), but some of the in-between stuff still feels a bit clunky. Lindaman remains a total pro though and made this thing work. From the crowd interactions to the various subplot insertions (bits of leg work, continuous judo throw attempts) – this scamp knows what he’s doing. To be fair, the crowd reacted well to young Rising, so I might be too hard on him. ***1/4
Hikaru Sato vs. Fuminori Abe – Junior Battle of Glory Round 2 (AJPW 6/3/2021)
RECEIPTS: The Movie. Aka. the 9-minute banger you wanted these guys to have. Could’ve done with a bit less of the ‘’let’s wait around for the other guy’s soccer kick’’ schtick, but everything else was pure gold. They were basically shooting on each other for half the match, Abe disrupting every submission attempt and strike exchange with his signature shoot headbutts. Loved how the bitchy slap fights escalated into full on SKULL PUNCHES – just non-stop crankiness from both dudes. Abe is basically Fujiwara on coke at this point, living in his own world of uncooperative wrasslin’ assholery. Not every wrestler can thrive in this kind of setting, but Sato was right there with him every step of the way. A good time for all fans of high testosterone ass whippings. ***3/4
Francesco Akira vs. El Lindaman – Junior Battle of Glory Finals (AJPW 6/3/2021)
I seem to be in the minority here, but I liked this way more than Akira’s eventual title win against Iwamoto. They went for a similar structure as the Ota-ku match, Linda turning the Italian Warrior Child into a super babyface by bombarding him with big moves right off the bat. Like the Iwamoto match, Akira leaned into his natural good boy charisma and rallied the crowd behind him with solid emoting and well-placed, high-flying comebacks. (Please note that I will give an extra star to anyone who can pull off a good-looking Quebrada)
The second half proved to be the difference maker, as the ending stretch came together much more cohesively than that pesky title win I keep going back to. There seemed to be more confidence behind everything Akira did and Lindaman made sure to make all of his late-match offense look like a million bucks. Both guys bumped their asses off, had some angsty forearm exchanges and brought the big match counters. I mean, Linda even had me buying the Yukata (Oscutter) as a proper death move. No small feat. My favorite Akira match since that banger with Susumu Yokosuka from a year ago! ****
Jun Akiyama vs. Yusuke Okada (DDT 6/26/2021)
Probably Akiyama’s grumpiest performance since joining DDT and I would not have had it any other way. These two explored their father/son dynamic in properly violent fashion, Okada eating a king-sized ass kicking and fighting for every scrap of offense. You knew it was going to be a rough day for Yusuke when Uncle Jun started denying him the most basic arm wringer attempts early on. Akiyama was almost Tenryu-esque in his geriatric brutality here, just kicking the ever-loving shit out of his All Japan pupil for YOUR viewing pleasure. Obviously, Okada knows how to use this kind of tense setting to his advantage and turned in a predictably-great underdog performance. BIG POP for Akiyama’s insta-wakigatame counter to the Sudden Death. What a year this man is having. ***1/2
HARASHIMA & Yuji Okabayashi © vs. Konosuke Takeshita & Shunma Katsumata – KO-D Tag Tam Titles (DDT 6/26/2021)
It took a while for this to escape the clutches of Shunma and Okabayashi’s philosophical PISSARI/NEPOWER confrontation, but I had a pretty good time once it did. Katsumata in the Ricky Morton role is a guaranteed recipe for success and Smile Pissari seemed eager to beat the shit out of this little rascal. WHO WOULDN’T BE! From there, the action progressed nicely with Sauna Club gradually gaining the upper hand with their double team trickery. I love when Takeshita goes up against hoss monsters – his exchanges with Okabayashi rivaling his recent beefy throwdowns with Hino. The ending stretch delivered the goods, both in terms of car crash double-teams and fun upsets. In 2021, Katsumata now has clean wins over both Jun Akiyama and HARASHIMA. NEPOWER! ***1/2
