NAGOYA ROCK CITY. Here we go.
Hikaru Sato vs. Ryo Inoue – Junior Battle of Glory
After the recent unveiling of Ryo Inoue’s Kawada makeover and subsequent string of dope matches – this sucked. I have no time for pseudo-MMA realism bullshit when the alternative (an actual wrestling match~!) is more interesting. Bad vibes.
Dan Tamura vs. Hokuto Omori – Junior Battle of Glory
If you’re a true Zen Nihon historian then you KNOW this was a rematch of the 2020 Asunaro Cup finals. These guys have both improved massively since that tournament and this was a timely reminder of how far they’ve come. No wheels were reinvented, but a well-constructed story was put forward with plenty of physicality. That’s all you need, bro. Hokuto’s doing a fine job milking his current losing streak arc and sold Tamura’s neck-based assault like a god damned pro. ***
Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Rising HAYATO – Junior Battle of Glory
A condensed version of their big Korakuen main event from October, both lads packing a whole lot of nifty high-flying content in the JBOG’s 10-minute time frame. They’re already adding new intricacies to some of their lucha-flavored sequences, which is a great sign for their rivalry. You may know this as the Dragon Gate Method aka. Rewarding The Long-Term Viewer. HAYATO’s last-nanosecond kickouts were a thing of beauty – just pure high-level big match execution. Already excited for their next meeting! ***1/2
Shuji Ishikawa, Cyrus & Black Menso-re vs. Yoshitatsu, Takao Omori & TAJIRI
The MONSTER INC. team of Big Shuj and Cyrus joined the undercard cinematic universe for some size-difference comedy and it was mostly harmless. **
Suwama & Masayuki Kono vs. Jun Saito & Rei Saito – Real World Tag League
Life is pain. This was the spiritual successor to Suwama and KONO’s match with Jake/Yuma – a ring-side clusterfuck that made the bold decision to discard everyone’s natural strengths in favor of the controversial concept known as Shenaniganz. Again, the Saitos don’t work in this cheating heel setting. There’s only so much choking and stomping that one can endure. *1/2
Jake Lee & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda – Real World Tag League
Not sure if a 30-minute draw was the right platform for these two teams. The match ended up in a pretty good place. VERY GOOD EVEN! But man did it take ages to get there. No one really had enough material to fill up that early Ashino In Peril section. An endless stream of chinlocks until we finally reached the end of the hot tag rainbow.
The second half had a lot more meat to it, with Jake and Yuma putting together their most convincing team performance of the tournament. Plenty of well laid-out bomb throwing before the clock ran out. Shoutout to Honda’s STRANGLE HOLD GAMMA~! This chunkster loves himself some Kensuke Sasaki. ***1/4
Kento Miyahara & Takuya Nomura vs. Yuji Nagata & Yuma Anzai – Real World Tag League
The kind of match that one might describe as fun for the whole family. They divided the action between Nagata/Nomura and Kento/Anzai, two pairings with powerful implications for the Internet nerd. The former radiated bizarro world dream match energy, while the latter gave us a glimpse at the probable Next Big Story in AJPW.
If they play their cards right, Kento/Anzai could very well be the Kento/Wama of the 2020’s – the next chapter in the All Japan ace succession story. Before we get there, this match added new layers to an EQUALLY important story. Yes, I’m referring to Takuya Nomura’s tortuous relationship with the Kento Clap Pattern. ***1/4
