Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki vs. Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura vs. Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO – 3-Way Tag Match
The Tag Battlers of Glory got acquainted with each other in this fast and furious, three-star-studded affair. Pacing-wise, the action felt closer to Dragon Gate than traditional AJPW – everyone getting their shit in at high speed and linking together elaborate sequences. Obviously, former World-1 unit mates (Thank you Osano-san for this piece of LORE) Doi/Tanizaki felt right at home as the antagonists and built up that feel good ending like two consummate PROFESSIONALS of the squared circle. The Evolution boyz are back, baby. ***1/4
Kaito Ishida & Kotaro Suzuki vs. Ryo Inoue & Oji Shiiba – Junior Tag Battle of Glory
Inoue and OG Shiiba kicked off the tag tournament in the greatest possible way – revealing themselves as FOOTLOOSE 2.0. Abandoning all subtlety, Young Ryo is now deeply embedded in Toshiaki Kawada mythology in a way that warms my cold dead heart. As for the match, it accomplished everything it needed to in a very short amount of time. Team GLEAT/Black Generation came off as absolute killers while the Kyushu Alliance babyfaced their way into your spreadsheet. Look out for some mind-blowing cut-offs near the end of this thing. ***1/4
Takao Omori vs. Rei Saito – Champion Carnival (Block B)
For anyone worried about the Saitos’ inclusion in the Carnival – this match should’ve eased your fears. Less than 5 minutes of harmless, straight-to-the-point bomb-throwing. I suspect most of the Saito matches in the tournament will take this route. It is a Good Route. PS – My man Rei adopting the Joe Doering cross body is a thing of beauty. **1/4
Cyrus vs. Jun Saito – Champion Carnival (Block A)
The fire-based magic trick in Cyrus’ pre-match package was David Copperfield-level and should be studied by all aspiring wizards. In terms of fact-based ANALYSIS, I will say that Jun needs to start embracing his inner-beast if he wants to catch up to brother Rei. Gaijin fan favorite Cyrus has no issues unleashing his inner-beast and immediately reconnected with Korakuen thanks to his Vader-sized offense. **1/4
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Hokuto Omori – Champion Carnival (Block B)
At this point in the show, the Carnival teleported from Korakuen to a mysterious location known as UPSET CITY. The Shoojster and Hokuto ran back their recent Shinjuku FACE match, this time with a result showing AJPW’s commitment to the Heavyweight Hokuto push. They leaned into Ishikawa’s traditional David vs. Goliath-style layout, Omori proving to have an eye for the Little Things (great selling of the body-scissors, smart knee dropkick comebacks) and even trying out some new offense (the Koppou kick is a keeper). You could tell Ishikawa went out of his way to put over your favorite Chef’s Kisser, allowing himself to be suplexed and bumping all over. Exciting times ahead! ***1/2
T-Hawk vs. Yoshitatsu – Champion Carnival (Block A)
Pretty solid match where T-Hawk dazzled with his advanced technique while Tatsu tagged along in classic Yoshitatsu fashion. To fill up most of the layout, The Hawkster employed the ancestral art form known as Working The Leg and it made or a decent hook. The novelty of watching T-Hawk mix it up with Zen Nihon Warriors has worn off, but the guy will always be a welcome addition to any Japanese wrestling tournament. ***
Shotaro Ashino vs. Manabu Soya – Champion Carnival (Block B)
A match loaded with WRESTLE-1 history – Ashino and Soya reigniting their beefy chemistry to pleasant results. It was a more expeditive version of their previous matches, both having to work without much time and rushing through most of their offense. The Epic Factor wasn’t there, but Ashino and The Demon Dad Manabu Soya have some of the better-looking offense in wrestling, so the match still worked. Ashino over-selling Soya’s amazing deadlift suplex was my clear highlight. ***
Satoshi Kojima vs. Ryuki Honda – Champion Carnival (Block A)
We have entered a new stage of The Ryuki Honda Story, the beloved weirdo now sporting a mind-melting new haircut that harkens back to the glory days of Shuji Kondo and Yutaka Yoshie. The guy looks like such a star now that I’m not sure they should keep him as Ashino’s underling for too long. Considering Honda’s new presentation and the shock result, I really could’ve done without Wada turning himself into the main character for such a large chunk of the action. The rest of the match did the job as a lariat-based powerhouse showdown. ***
Suwama vs. Yuma Anzai – Champion Carnival (Block B)
There we have it – the first real banger of Champion Carnival season. Big Wama put on his working boots and had a killer match with the boy wonder. It was in the same mold as last year’s epic Anzai/Ishikawa slug-fest, the super rookie putting up miraculous resistance against one of the most dangerous guys in the company. The Wamster found the perfect balance between Voodoo Murdering and straight-forward beefing, giving Anzai just enough room to fight back with his freshly-mastered jumping knee.
They worked a brilliant sequence where Anzai stood up to numerous full-force Wammer lariats – a perfect encapsulation of the exciting story they’ve been telling with this kid. The way Anzai was booked going into the tournament and this show’s youth-centric push added so much drama to the last few minutes. An upset seemed legitimately plausible. ***3/4
Kento Miyahara vs. Yuma Aoyagi – Champion Carnival (Block A)
Mama Aoyagi’s Baby Boy’s finally done it. Not only did Yuma score his first singles win over Kento, but he did so in AJPW’s best match of the year (so far). These guys have been on a steady upwards trajectory for years now, every match improving on the last and adding new wrinkles to their New Age Jumbo/Misawa dynamic. Their Triple Crown match from February was already a tough act to follow and this somehow turned out better.
Miyahara main events can follow such a strict pattern that the joy often comes from the deviations. The deviations in this one were unreal. Everything felt fresh, vital and momentous – from the batshit opening sequence (Kento dodging the baseball slide dropkick to immediately setup Yuma’s calf branding) to the mid-section with Kento working extra aggressive and an ending stretch completely devoid of Shutdown struggles.
One might argue that they should’ve saved Yuma’s Big Moment for a bigger stage, but by the end of the match it just didn’t matter. They wrestled like this was the actual final of the tournament and one of the most important matches of the year. Kento went out guns blazing with some of the hardest Kensuke lariats he’s ever thrown and Aoyagi responded by blasting him with the Power of Friendship (Naoya Nomura’s Maximum). Fucking beautiful.
For so much of this rivalry, the lingering question has been: can Yuma come up to Kento’s level? Aoyagi’s performance here finally settled the debate as he looked every bit of Miyahara’s equal. There was a conviction to his work that screamed Future Triple Crown Champion. At this point, there’s no doubt in my mind. This is the man that should grab the belt from Nagata. ****3/4
