Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue vs. Ryohei Oiwa, Kosei Fujita & Oleg Boltin
Good evening my fellow beasts. We have returned to Korakuen Hall for the latest chapter in the interpromotional opera between All Japan and the Little Noojies. While not as spectacular as the previous matches, this one still gave us a blood-pumping finish between Inoue and Fujita – Dangerous R inching ever closer to that elusive win. In other news, this was my introduction to Boltin, a man who might be the true heir to Manabu Nakanishi – an Olympian brickhouse with charmingly bad mobility. ***1/4
Satoshi Kojima, Yoshitatsu, Rising HAYATO & Oji Shiiba vs. Toru Yano, Black Menso-re, Kotaro Suzuki & Mitsuya Nagai
The very definition of a Fire Pro randomizer match. Your favorite undercard warriors partied with New Japan’s BIGGEST STARS and the result was two stars worth of wrestling. Shoutout to the sweet opening from HAYATO and Kotaro. **1/4
Shuji Ishikawa, Ren Ayabe & Oskar Leube vs. KONO, Jun Saito & Toshizo
United by their unfair height advantage, Triple Towers 2.0 (minus Kohei Sato) attempted to stop a Voodoo Murder from taking place. What could’ve been throwaway midcard filler quickly turned into a mini-banger of sorts when Big Shuj and Jun Saito started slapping the ever-loving shit out of each other. Both Saito Brothers clearly share the same passion for pissing off the Shoojster. Not the smartest hobby in terms of cranial health, but a big win for all Zen Nihon Freaks. ***
Ryuki Honda vs. Yuma Anzai
High-energy match that pit Honda’s goofball powerhousing against Anzai’s superhuman comebacks. Simple and effective were the adjectives of the day, Honda controlling most of the action by making the boy wonder fight from underneath. I have reason to believe the bizarre relationship between Honda and Referee Kanbayashi is part of a long-term psy-op to create the next generation’s Kyohei Wada (a sociopath).
There was a solid sense of escalation as the match went on, Honda and Anzai both completely unafraid to drop each other right on their god damned heads. Reminder: Anzai has been wrestling for less than a year and now has a chance to make AJPW history in his first Triple Crown challenge. ***1/4
Kento Miyahara & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Minoru Suzuki & Hokuto Omori
Chaotic romp that went all over Korakuen and explored a variety of Kento dynamics. The interactions with Suzuki were obviously golden, but it was his ring time with Hokuto that most intrigued. Going beyond his usual level of generosity, it seemed Miyahara was actively trying to get something out of the young Chef’s Kisser. A few high-level performances against the Ace would be a good way for Omori to make everyone forget his middling Carnival run. Kento being forced to break out the extremely rare SNAKE LIMIT~! felt significant. ***1/4
Naruki Doi © vs. Atsuki Aoyagi – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title
Doi’s beloved reign of terror comes to an end as we enter the next phase of Atsuki’s junior ace story. The tiny evil man from Dragon Gate came in with a point to prove and gave the current crop of juniors some of their best matches ever. This one expanded on the first Doi/Atsuki meeting from February, adding new layers of heel/babyface architecture and big match twists.
It was a match that went out of its way to address my criticisms of the first Atsuki title reign. Seasoned slimeball Naruki Doi seemingly sat down with this high-flying cutie-pie and waxed lyrical about the benefits of selling in professional wrestling. Less laser-focused on getting his shit in, Aoyagi was more considerate in his comebacks and even practiced the ancient technique known as Selling The Neck.
The ending stretch delivered the blockbuster content that their first match only hinted at. Next-level counters and rare high spots (ATSUKI SPANISH FLY!) were thrown in the Big Match Blender, resulting in a nutritious wrestling beverage. Hopefully, Atsuki will keep applying Doi’s STRUCTUAL TEACHINGS to his second reign as champion. Looking forward to it! ****
Kenoh & Manabu Soya © vs. Suwama & Rei Saito – AJPW Tag Team Titles
There’s a real sea change theme running through this show, as we go from the end of the Doi junior reign to the final chapter of Voodoo Murders Suwama. The match made sure to hit every landmark of the controversial Voodoo Era, from the crowd exploration to the Wada/Voodoo rivalry and other powder-based shenaniganz.
Depending on your level of tolerance for voodoo murdering, there was solid tag wrestling to be found under the multiple layers of tomfoolery. Kenoh and Suwama are a very, very good pairing. Both share a similar taste for comedic character moments while knowing exactly when to turn up to workrate. The menacing TARU promo and subsequent bodybag angle were the perfect conclusion for Wammer’s latest heel experiment. ***1/4
Yuji Nagata © vs. T-Hawk – Triple Crown
Hastily pieced together as a result of Ashino’s post Carnival injury, Nagata/T-Hawk didn’t feel like a juicy Triple Crown pairing when it was announced. It doesn’t have the natural back story of Nagata/Ashino and can’t offer the tasty Hometown Boy/Invader Champ dynamic due to the Hawkster’s GLEAT allegiance.
Thanks to the power of straight-up Good Wrestling, this oddball match-up somehow turned into a highlight of old man Nagata’s TC run. Both guys wrestled like this mattered and made the absolute best of a bad situation. It wasn’t the long-awaited Ashino coronation moment, but it was a banger nonetheless.
At 102 years of age (rough estimate), Nagata still managed to tap into the vicious energy of his 2007-2008 matches with Tanahashi. The man was pissed off and went after T-Hawk’s arm like the world’s oldest shark. Being an extremely competent wrestler, the Hawkman bounced off Nagata’s cranky schtick in all the best ways – juggling babyface fire with hard-hitting, chop-based saltiness.
The sheer tightness of the climactic moments was baffling. Considering the state of Nagata, you’d think T-Hawk’s rapid-fire bomb-throwing would not have worked here. AND YET! We got Black Tiger Bombs, Superplexes and a charming subplot of T-Hawk shouting out the sidelined Ashino. It all kicked major ass and felt emblematic of this entire Nagata run, turning a vaguely-puzzling situation (2023 Triple Crown Champion Yuji Nagata) into undeniably great pro-wrestling. ****1/4
