Dan Tamura vs. Black Menso-re
Greetings. We are back in Korakuen Hall with multiple cameras and life is good. Another thing that is good is this Dan Tamura push. All Japan have done such a stellar job building up Daniel throughout this tour that I wouldn’t be against him grabbing the junior belt from Doi. I also wouldn’t be against Doi keeping the title forever. Choices must be made. **1/4
Shotaro Ashino vs. Takao Omori – Champion Carnival (Block B)
A match that certainly did its job in giving Ashino an additional two points. There wasn’t much to write home about outside of Ashino’s super slick takedowns. Omori’s Carnival run has been largely harmless, but here I couldn’t help thinking about the Naoya Nomura banger stolen from us by the Wrestling Gods. **1/4
Yoshitatsu vs. Cyrus – Champion Carnival (Block A)
The questionable Cyrus Carnival booking continued in this mind-boggling match where the big man played babyface underdog against Yoshitatsu? Even as the world’s ultimate Yoshitatsu Respecter, I was deeply confused by this. *1/2
Suwama vs. Hokuto Omori – Champion Carnival (Block B)
Now that we’re seven shows deep in this tournament, it is time to reflect on the Heavyweight Hokuto experiment. While his matches have all been fine, he still hasn’t had that one breakout performance. The one that screams Future Star. The opening day match with a very generous Ishikawa came close, but not much happened since. Even here, you had to considerably suspend your disbelief to buy him trading shots with Wammer. The parts that worked best all involved Suwama going Full Murder on his ass. Thankfully, there were enough of those to land the match in the coveted Three Star Territory. ***
Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO vs. Ryo Inoue & Oji Shiiba – Junior Tag Battle of Glory
This kicked such an impossible amount of ass that I’m not sure where to begin. The boys went full Dragon Gate and packed a metric-ton of Cool Shit in 7 minutes. Beyond the jaw-dropping speed, this thing was so intricately plotted that I suspect we have a CIMA-level Tag Layout Genius hiding in the junior division. From the opening OG Shiiba rollup rampage to the back-to-back flippery of the ending stretch – everything just oozed creativity and high-level execution. The junior tag league might have a few more dramatic matches up its sleeve, but I doubt anything will top the pure unadulterated FUN of this match. ***3/4
Naruki Doi & Naoki Tanizaki vs. Kaito Ishida & Kotaro Suzuki – Junior Tag Battle of Glory
We go from a Dragon Gate tribute to an actual DG reunion between Doi and Ishida. Pretty great stuff all around, and only one mind blowing finish away from reaching the level of the previous match. Like Doi’s best AJPW outings, this brought equal parts personality and sprinty goodness. The former Dragon-system guys were working together like they never missed a beat and Kotaro fit in seamlessly like the true versatile pro that he is. Shoutout to Doi’s crucifix counter of Suzuki’s backspring elbow aka. the coolest spot of this entire tour. ***1/2
Yuma Aoyagi vs. Jun Saito – Champion Carnival (Block A)
The Saito Truthers WIN AGAIN. Just a super well-executed match that crushed all expectations. The Saito Squad’s second in command (Jun) was in charge for most of this and he did not bore. For the longest time, this very tall man seemed confused by the scientific concept known as the Control Segment, but the Carnival has helped him solve the equation.
Being in the ring with one of the best babyfaces in wrasslin’ sure didn’t hurt. Yuma made the middle-aged youngster look like a million bucks and kept Korakuen in the palm of his hands through selling, bumping and emoting. To cap it all off – a terrific ending stretch with tons of twists and turns culminating in Jun’s finish looking like pure white-hot death. ***1/2
Rei Saito vs. Yuma Anzai – Champion Carnival (Block B)
With every new match, Raymond Saito is looking more and more like the official heir to Suwama. A larger-than-life cryptid beast that goes beyond the ‘’feeling’’ of a killer and actually Kills People. This man ate the super rookie alive and it made for a hell of a scrap. The AJPW faithful usually latch on to Anzai’s natural babyface charisma, but here they were completely swept up by Rei’s wild monster energy.
There was a sense of palpable danger to everything Saito brought to the table. From the corner chop onslaught to the god damned Slap of Death – his offense felt straight out of the 80’s AJPW Monster Gaijin Playbook. Anzai’s life literally flashed before his eyes when he dodged that cross body. Let’s run this back for the Triple Crown in a few years. ***1/2
T-Hawk vs. Ryuki Honda – Champion Carnival (Block A)
The kind of match that Honda needed to have much earlier in this tournament. A bullshit-free, hard-hitting slobberknocker driven by a next-level T-Hawk performance. The G-REX champ electrified Korakuen with his enviable skill-set, blending crowd work with brutal strikes and laser-sharp execution. Dude was on.
Another great asset of the Hawkster is his ability to inject a wrestling match with pure SALT. The high levels of dickishness awakened the slumbering beast inside Honda and shit got real. Like in his last match with Yuma Aoyagi, this counting-obsessed weirdo left the nutshots at home and focused on what he does best – lariat-heavy beef consumption. Dug all of this! ***1/2
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Manabu Soya – Champion Carnival (Block B)
Two chunky dads beating the shit out of each other at their sons’ hockey game. One looks like Satanic Guy Fieri and the other is approximately 8 feet tall. If this sounds like your kind of vibe, then this match is for you. A proper Slug Festival that bounced between Soya’s jaw-dropping strength spots and Big Shuj’s nuke-throwing.
We know that these two can hit extremely hard, but as any true Wrestling Scientist will tell you – the devil is in the details. The pacing and selling turned this into a top-tier Carnival banger, Soya’s facials adding a ton of drama to Ishikawa’s crunchy structure. As the strikes and bombs grew in intensity, so did the finer points of Beef-Based Method Acting.
Soya keeps proving himself as an uber-reliable big match wrestler this year (see his matches with SANADA, Wagner Junior Junior + the World tag win against Nomuyagi) and this was another feather in his cap. Look no further than his glazed-eyed last nanosecond kickouts during the ending stretch if you want evidence of this man’s competence in high drama. ****
Kento Miyahara vs. Satoshi Kojima – Champion Carnival (Block A)
Satisfactory showdown between the New Ace of the Muto Era and the New Ace of the Akiyama Era. They packed as much lore as they packed good wrestling, Kento revisiting the heel approach of his Triple Crown scorcher with Nagata to pleasant results. Much like that match, the 50/50 Korakuen crowd added extra tension and weight to everything.
Kojima took the best bits from all his Carnival outings and remixed them with big match gravitas. Not only tiddy-flexing with effortless grace, but also overcoming his greatest nemesis: Old Age. They built up a fun arc for Koji, who went from Being Too Old For This Shit to convincingly taking down the biggest star in the company.
Both guys sold the hell out of the apron spots, leading to tasty drama in the second half. In Klassic Kento fashion, a lot was made from very little. Miyahara playing off the NJPW sympathizers, Kojima pounding his chest after his action hero comeback, the Kobashi/Hansen top-rope lariat tribute – all great pieces of a wholesome main event puzzle. ****
