Suwama vs. Hayato Tamura – Royal Road (Round 2)
In the same vein as Tamura’s opening round scrap with Jun Saito, which means protein-heavy and loaded with chunky lariats. After working that previous match on equal footing, the GLEAT man was thrown in the babyface underdog role for this one. And he did well, showing enough fire to not let himself be swallowed whole by Wammer’s Kaiju vibe. No wheels were reinvented, but both guys hit hard and dropped each other right on their head. Sometimes, not much else is needed. Here’s to more Hayato Tamura in All Japan, as he has all the tools to fill the current Zeus-sized hole in the company. ***1/2
Satoshi Kojima vs. Takuya Nomura – Royal Road (Round 2)
Very pleasant back and forth that saw Nomura rile up Kojima with his usual serving of piss and vinegar. The signature spot thievery is always fun, but it was the gnarly ring-side slug-fest that brought the action up a notch. Even in his current geriatric state, Kojima still excels at portraying strength across a wrestling ring and he put that skill to good use here. Meanwhile, BJW’s Nomura may no longer have the spotlight of his tag run with Kento, but he remains a welcome addition to any AJPW tournament. ***1/2
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Dan Tamura – Royal Road (Round 2)
The best Beast Mode Shuji Ishikawa performance since his instant classic murder of Yuma Anzai last year. Truly an ass kicking for the ages with a perfectly cast Daniel Tamura as Ishikawa’s latest victim. Dan always thrives in classic underdog settings and this was the ideal platform for him to show his growth. Backed by the loudest Shin Kiba crowd of the year, Tamura fired off some of his greatest comebacks yet – including a few legit-shocking power moves on Big Shuj’s giant frame.
Ishikawa brought out such heavy artillery that the mere act of surviving him for 14 minutes felt miraculous. Not only did he continue Kotaro Suzuki’s stomach destruction subplot from the first round, but he unleashed the rarely-seen LAWNDART OF DEATH and segued into an impossibly-nasty Backdrop driver/Giant knee combination. Viscerally-great stuff from bell to bell and another massive step up the ladder for Tamura, even in defeat. ****
Kento Miyahara vs. Ryuki Honda – Royal Road (Round 2)
Coming off a stellar main event with Yuma Aoyagi and a World Tag challenge that shattered all expectations, Honda keeps adding to his Wrestler of the Month resumé by nailing the quintessential Kento Miyahara Banger. This had everything you could possibly want from a Kento match, except this time the tables were turned and most of the crowd was pulling for the Gungnir Goofball.
High-energy and high-impact action all over the place, Honda once again found the optimal balance between character moments and straight-up powerhousing. The recent inclusion of Nagata moves to his arsenal has added serious depth to the back end of his matches. Look no further than the huge drama they were able to generate off the Nagata Lock II and the expertly-timed Exploder later on.
For every would-be main eventer in modern AJPW, one of the biggest hurdles is finding a way to match Miyahara’s larger-than-life aura. The former Nextream guys all approached this problem in different ways, but Honda may have solved the riddle faster than all of them. Something clicked over the last few months and the Playground Terror now feels like a fully-realized character that can convincingly take down an Ace or two. ****
