Yoshitatsu & Rising HAYATO vs. Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura
Unveiling HAYATO’s new E-Boy gimmick at Shin Kiba 1st RING with Allowed Cheering was a stroke of genius. 10/10 crowd reactions. It sure didn’t hurt that young Rising wrestled his ass off and looked like a million bucks. Him and Dan are an eternally-great pairing with a pleasing power/speed dynamic. The new character feels very Dragon Gate/DDT and I’m not sure how far it’ll go in crusty old AJPW, but I badly want it to work. ***
Izanagi vs. Black Menso-re vs. TAJIRI – 3-Way Match
These psychopaths tried to break Menso-re’s SHA hand!? What is this – the Snyderverse? *3/4
Yuma Aoyagi & Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Ryuki Honda & Yusuke Kodama
The Shin Kiba magic at it again. Loud-ass ring. Loud-ass clap crowd. These guys could’ve coasted off Yuma’s sunglasses trolling, but instead they went out and wrestled professionally. That’s right. Atsuki seems to be practicing classic Sayama spots (corner backflip into TIGER SPIN~!) – a very cool way to spice up his upcoming junior title match with his feline disciple. ***
Minoru & Toshizo © vs. Takao Omori & Ryo Inoue – All-Asia Tag-Team Titles
This had been delayed due to a Minoru COVID scare, but now here we are. Knee deep into the three-star jungle thanks to some fine performances from these All-Asia tag warriors. Inoue took center stage and excelled at the two tasks that were asked of him – getting his ass kicked and making a spirited comeback before losing.
If you’re familiar with Toshizo/Ryuji Hijikata’s back catalogue, you know this man’s an expert at beating the piss out of youngsters. Him and Minoru once again pulled a solid heel act without overdosing on shenaniganz. Old man Omori was there to provide moral support and the occasional chop. Bless him. ***1/4
Jake Lee, Shuji Ishikawa & Hokuto Omori vs. Suwama, TARU & KONO
Were you expecting some kind of wrestling match? Here’s a sweet-ass angle instead. Complaining is not allowed. This was essentially the birth of the new sekigun/home army – the Aoyagi Bros coming to the aid of Big Shuj and the former Total Eclipses to generate massive babyface heat. Despite being allowed to cheer, the crowd had been extremely reserved up to this point and here they just let loose. Beautiful.
Kento Miyahara vs. Cyrus – Royal Road Tournament (Round 2)
Cyrus/Big Shuj was a fairly-solid tournament introduction for Cyrus, but this accomplished the same thing in less time. Big ol’ monster rampage with Kento getting thrown around for 7 minutes of fun. The big man’s offense looked better than ever – what with that apron Powerbomb of white-hot death. They also wisely went out of their way to make their new gaijin brute look strong in defeat – Miyahara barely sneaking away with the pin. ***1/4
Yuji Nagata vs. Shotaro Ashino – Royal Road Tournament (Round 2)
Ashino built this thing up on social media as a full-on revenge match for Nagata denying him entry into the New Japan Dojo many years ago. A compelling back story that came through loud and clear in the way these guys wrestled. The ‘physicality’ and ‘hatred’ boxes of the wrestling reviewer’s checklist were very much checked. Shit was tense.
Beyond beating the shit out of each other, Nagata and Ashino revealed themselves to be a pretty great stylistic match. Both leaned into their submission game and rolled out a nifty Arm vs. Leg subplot that should please all true Wrestling Observers across the world. The crowd let it rip during the ending stretch – a sign of a job well done. One of the better matches of the tournament so far. ***3/4
