Black Menso-re vs. Oji Shiiba
Greetings. We are inside the Ota City General Gymnasium – All Japan’s new home for Big Shows. Good ol’ Oji and the reptilian prankster Black Menso-re kicked off the card with a bit of wrestling. There was an arm subplot and a few sparkling babyface comebacks from Shiiba – a man who finally obtained a decent haircut ahead of his greatest adventure yet: the Junior Tag League. **1/4
Takao Omori, Yoshitatsu & Mitsuya Nagai vs. Satoshi Kojima, Hiroyoshi Tenzan & Yutaka Yoshie
If you were looking for mobility and youth, you came to the wrong freaking match. Kojima revealed himself as the first Champ Carnival mystery entrant and celebrated the occasion by having an Ode to Mid-2000’s Japanese wrasslin’ 6-man tag. The Mongolian chops were a much-needed distraction, since I spent most of the match worrying about Tenzan’s imminent death. **1/2
Hikaru Sato vs. Rising HAYATO
Four pleasant minutes that showcased HAYATO’s non-binary flippery and Sato’s veteran craft. These guys are clearly capable of delivering in a lengthier setting, but this did the trick as an undercard palette cleanser. In related news, I wouldn’t be against HAYATO turning his earring removal bit into a drawn-out Tetsuya Naito-style pre-match ritual. **3/4
Atsuki Aoyagi vs. Dan Tamura
Atsuki and the Danster last met in the finals of last year’s JBOG and had a pretty rad match. They had another one here, putting their naturally-contrasting styles to good use in front of a decidedly pro-Tamura crowd. Since the Evolution boys had been slightly phased out in 2022 to make room for Atsuki/HAYATO elevation, these pre-tag league matches are proving to be a solid re-heating operation. Dan worked the match with a chip on his shoulder – supplying urgency, fighting spirit and a god damned Powerbomb to remind YOU of his capacity to deliver three and a half stars of wrestling. ***1/2
Minoru Suzuki & Hokuto Omori vs. Jun Saito & Rei Saito
AJPW TV imploded at several points during this match, making it difficult to accurately assess the wrestling from a purely scientific perspective. We did get a glimpse at the comically-rare layout technique known as Babyface In Peril Minoru Suzuki, which fed into a cool hot tag run from Hokuto and an even better finish with MiSu pulling an actual miracle out of his hat.
Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda vs. Suwama & KONO
Ever since their lukewarm first meeting (the Voodoo Murders Tag Title Win Controversy), these teams have been getting better and better at working together. They had a super fun sports entertainment odyssey during the RWTL and now THIS – a 9-minute burner that ended with Ashino in a literal body bag. All action, bullshit-free and full of tasty Wama/Ashino moments – including two disgusting lariats and Ashino’s sweet headlock takedown-into-ankle lock counter to the Backdrop. ***1/4
Kento Miyahara, Yuma Anzai & Ryo Inoue vs. Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada
Total party of a wrestling match where all your favorite tropes were invited. Interpromotional tension, Kensuke Office revival drama, beloved young wrestler revealing a mind-blowing new esthetic (Toshiaki Kawada x Dennis Rodman) – they threw it all in the cauldron and prepared a god damned feast for the Ota-ku faithful. It was a match that made a strong case for simplicity in wrestling, as everyone stuck to the basics but cranked up the hatred and intensity to great effect.
While most eyes were on Kento/Kitamiya (they killed it), the youngsters took the opportunity to kick large amounts of ass. Anzai keeps validating his superpush by working like a complete freak of wrestling and Inoue oozed similar Big Match Readiness through all the ending stretch. Loved all of this. ****
Yuma Aoyagi & Naoya Nomura© vs. Kenoh & Manabu Soya – AJPW Tag Team Titles
Thanks to the exotic streaming technology offered by All Japan TV, I’m watching this show almost two weeks after it took place. In my future timeline, we just learnt of a Naoya Nomura injury that will keep him out for the rest of the year. My investment in the current Nomuyagi run and the extremely-high quality of this match made for a bittersweet experience, knowing it’d be Naoya’s last performance of 2023.
Complicated space/time continuum feelings aside, this thing ruled. Just the right dosage of dickishness and energetic workrate, Kongo leaning into their invader heel roles and turning the champions into glorious babyface heroes. Kenoh and Yuma took the tantalizing chemistry of their Muto Dome encounter to new levels, giving YOU a wide array of fast-paced, personality-driven set pieces.
The last few minutes came together with jaw-dropping ARCHITECTURAL MINUTIAE. In the middle of a Nomura/Soya beef rampage, Kongo somehow strung up the wildest, most Wrestling Reviewer-Baiting burst of offense you’ve ever seen (Soya legsweep into Out Of Nowhere Kenoh Foot Stomp TO THE BAD LEG!?!), eventually setting up my favorite move in all of wrestling: the Manabu Soya Jumping DDT of Muscular Death.
The premature end of the latest Nomuyagi Era stings, but I have high hopes for this Kongo tag run. If this match and their terrific GHC tag challenge from a few days earlier proved one thing, it’s that Kenoh and Soya have big ol’ tag team wrestling brains. ****1/4
Yuji Nagata © vs. Shuji Ishikawa – Triple Crown
Like Nagata’s title win shocker against Kento, this solidly exceeded expectations. The Kento match did a better job hiding Nagata’s age-related weaknesses, but this still totally worked as a bomb-fest main event. They pulled out the classic Big Shuj Triple Crown Challenge layout, the one where the Shoojster nukes a smaller human for 25 healthy minutes of wrestling.
Throwing the 54-year-old Nagata in this formula was both the match’s selling point and – at times – its undoing. On the one hand, there’s clear babyface value in a ravaged old guy surviving all the shit that life throws at him. On the other Less Positive Hand, some of Nagata’s comebacks were so weak-looking that the Old David vs. Goliath illusion nearly collapsed.
Thankfully, both dudes seemed to figure out the match’s faults as they went and fixed everything for the ending stretch. Ishikawa started taking ridiculous bumps for Nagata’s suplexes and the old man finally laid his shit in. It made for a Triple Crown-worthy climax, complete with Kento having the time of his life on commentary. Take these stars. ALL FOUR OF THEM. ****
