Seigo Tachibana vs. Ryo Inoue
Consider this wrestling show OPENED. Forearms were thrown angrily and a young man submitted to a Boston crab. What else do you need from this life? **
Yoshitatsu & Carbell Ito vs. Takao Omori & SUSHI
Every time Carbell gets booked in a random Korakuen Hall undercard tag, he goes out there and wrestles like Hiroshi Tanahashi at the freakin’ Tokyo Dome. Sling blades, High Fly Flows to the floor – this man is the Ace. Never underestimate the power of sponsorship-based part-time wrestlers. **
Izanagi & Black Menso-re vs. Minoru & Toshizo
Pretty solid reintroduction of the Voodoo Murders juniors aka. Team BattlARTS. I will sell my soul to TARU if it means we get frequent Minoru guest spots in AJPW. All Japan’s masked goofballs were good opponents here – getting their eyes raked like absolute pros and providing an acceptable amount of babyface energy. **1/2
Yuma Aoyagi, Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO vs. Ryuki Honda, Hokuto Omori & Yusuke Kodama
I’m still picking my jaw from off the floor after the finish these maniacs put together. AJPW’s youth movement is firing on all cylinders right now and this All Asia tag program is the perfect showcase. Fast-paced, high-energy wrasslin’ with everyone looking like stars. As much as I love the laid back ‘mom n’ pop’ vibe in AJPW, these kids are clearly itching to take it in another direction and I will NOT say no to them. ***
Jake Lee vs. TAJIRI
Considering the post-match angle and apparent demise of Total Eclipse, this seemed heavy on symbolism. The Dark Gentleman Jake Lee facing his Creator and the likely mastermind behind his heel turn before moving to a new chapter. Perhaps? They kept it strictly mat-based – Jake putting that BJJ training to good use and busting out some neat takedowns. **1/2
Shotaro Ashino, Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura vs. Suwama, TARU & KONO
Is there a more powerful being in the universe than Heel Suwama? Seems unlikely. Voodoo Murders are officially back and ready to terrorize your favorite Japanese wrestling promotion. These fellas are a controversial bunch – what with all the cheating and antics. Also, a poor woman seems to get whipped by TARU in their entrance theme? By gawd.
That being said, they came off as killers here and I am willing to Let It Play Out ™. There are a few ways to use this demonic version of Wama to elevate both Ashino and his former Evolution pals. Speaking of, Dan and Hikaru worked this thing like consummate babyfaces. They want justice and they deserve it, god damnit. ***
Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato © vs. Koji Doi & Kuma Arashi – AJPW Tag Team Titles
What this lacked in drama, it made up for in dumb meathead fun. DoiKuma put a real Jackass spin on the usual Twin Towers structure, spending a large portion of the match attempting some of the most ill-advised double-teams known to man. Bless them.
While ‘’Dudes rock’’ is certainly the name of the game when it comes to Kuma and Doi, it never felt like they came close to picking up the gold here. Which is a shame, because they’ve been putting in the work – especially Koomz. You had your car crash spots and a hefty supply of beefy striking, but the ending stretch could’ve used some more offense from the challengers. Still an extremely adequate wrestling match. ***1/2
Kento Miyahara © vs. T-Hawk – Triple Crown
Let me take you on a journey through time. The year was 2019 and everything was chill. COVID was not a thing and smaller Japanese wrestling companies were regularly packing Korakuen Hall. They did especially good numbers in early January, benefitting from the NJPW tourist influx of Wrestling Kingdom season.
That year, two WK season bangers became the talk of the town: Miyahara/KAI in AJPW and T-Hawk/Shotaro Ashino in WRESTLE-1. Both matches were considered revelatory, introducing unsuspecting Super J-Cast listeners to the wacky world of non-NJPW Puroresu. I also vaguely remember Chad T-Hawk vs. Virgin Kento memes circulating on Twitter. Simpler times.
Three years later, Kento and the Hawkster are back in a Korakuen main event – facing each other. Cue thunder sound effect in the background. This wasn’t their first match together (see: Oudou Tournament 2021), but it was the first time they met in a high-stakes Triple Crown context. To no one’s surprise: they killed it.
There are a few ways to approach a Big Kento Match when you’re his opponent: lean into the built-in history (Yuma), work some limbs (Jake) or simply go full workate (Zeus). T-Hawk went for the third option. The GLEAT man put in a monster performance that simultaneously matched Kento’s legendary-hard-to-match-intensity and reeled in the crowd thanks to Shingo Takagi-sized babyface theatrics (MADAMADA!).
Another major highlight here was T-Hawk’s freakish ability to set-up routine spots in exciting new ways. A lot of Kento’s classic formula was turned upside and it made for some wild, unpredictable shit. Everything coalesced into one of the craziest dick-measuring contests of the year, both dudes coming up with some of the most elaborate ways to no-sell each other. Tremendous. ****1/4
