Yoshitatsu & Osamu Nishimura vs. Ren Ayabe & Black Menso-re
Korakuen Hall. Ever heard of it? BIG NISH returned to the mecca of pro-wrestling and immediately reminded us of his genius, countering Ayabe’s Giant Baba-inspired offense by taking out his legs with Inoki kicks. This man’s brain operates on a higher plane. Not unlike the AJPW TV production team, who spent the entire match experimenting with the audio levels to create an avantgarde soundscape. Inspiring. **1/2
Jun Saito, Rei Saito & Toshizo vs. T-Hawk, Kaz Hayashi & Jack Cartwheel
Jack Cartwheel is a man who boldly created an entire fight style around the concept of cartwheels. You have to respect the commitment. This was a successful debut for him, as the All Japan faithful are rarely exposed to such wild gymnastics and ate up his schtick with two spoons. The whole match was a fun time, the GLEAT guest stars adjusting well to the forward-thinking climate of the AJPW undercard. ***
Shuji Ishikawa & Yuma Anzai vs. Hideki Suzuki & Koji Iwamoto
On any given day, Hideki’s subversive approach will either produce wrestling greatness or annoy the shit out of me (see last week’s song and dance with Suwama). There is no in between. Thankfully, his contributions here fell in that first bucket. The slug-fest with former BJW mate Ishikawa was predictably tasty, but it was his interactions with Anzai that stole the show. Suzuki’s uncooperative gimmick posed a fresh new challenge and the boy wonder rose to the occasion, embracing the double-arm suplex struggle and snug forearms. Good stuff. ***1/2
Kento Miyahara, Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO vs. Minoru Suzuki, Naruki Doi & Hokuto Omori
Proper Korakuen party vibes, complete with a top 5 Kento entrance and hilarious RAW is ZEN NIHON post-match angle. The babyfaces were cheered, the heels were booed and all was well and good. This half-hateful half-comedic feud with Kento is a good place to be for Hokuto, considering the current reality of Honda/Anzai bypassing him as viable main eventers. ***1/4
Suwama, Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue vs. Yukio Naya, Yuya Koroku & Rukiya
Shoutout to my man Referee Matsui. With disruptive shit-starter Yusuke Okada nowhere to be found, this didn’t reach the same level of chaos as the first AJPW/DDT tag, but it had more wrasslin’ to sink your teeth into so the math worked out. They built the action around three solid plot threads – Suwama treating Naya as a Big Deal, Koroku being a crafty Worker of the Arm and Dan continuing to explore the concept of toxic masculinity. This interpromotional feud opens up a world of possibilities and I’m here for it. ***1/4
El Lindaman © vs. Hikaru Sato – AJPW Jr. Heavyweight Title
Puzzling result aside, I was shocked by how much I enjoyed this. Hikaru’s last attempt at winning junior gold was against Atsuki back in January – a match that didn’t make the best use of his strengths. This one however was worked as a full-on Wrestler vs. Shooter showdown, Linda backed into a corner for most of the action and having to fight for his life.
Even in defeat, Sato looked more dangerous than he has in a long time – cutting down every comeback attempt and just smoking the outsider with submissions. Lindaman proved to be a much better fit for this kind of match than Atsuki, as he kept selling his ass off and had to carefully pick his spots instead of shoving a routine down Sato’s throat. ***3/4
Yuma Aoyagi © vs. Ryuki Honda – Triple Crown
If last week’s Shin Kiba preview tag cast doubt on Yuma’s attitude vis a vis the Honda/Anzai generational uprising, then this match did everything to rectify the situation. Not only was this a career high for both Aoyagi and Honda, but it was one of the best All Japan matches of the year full-stop.
Mama Aoyagi’s Baby Boy found the perfect tone here, wrestling like a credible Triple Crown champion without completely sacrificing the charm that made him a fan favorite in the first place. It felt like his most complete Top Guy performance yet, both in terms of character work and Big Match construction.
This fully-realized version of Yuma was the optimal dance partner for Honda, a dog collar enthusiast who’s been delivering an endless string of breakout matches for the past two months. Like Yuma, the challenger was able to find the right balance between comedic bits and no-bullshit, high-intensity main event wrestling.
The match expanded on their already-rocking Royal Road outing in every possible way, adding new layers of creativity (Aoyagi guardrail legdrop), vintage Zen Nihon brain damage (apron Rockstar Buster) and cinematic greatness (Honda walking into the forearms ala Shinjiro Otani). It was the rare but always-welcome case of a modern AJPW main event reaching absurd heights without any help from Kento Miyahara.
All Japan deciding to book this match right after the Kento/Anzai banger is no coincidence. Now that business has been settled with the New Japan Dads, we’re officially entering a post-Nextream era where yesterday’s rising stars are turning into the veteran enemies of the new generation. Yuma Aoyagi might only be 27 years old, but this match proved he’s the right man for the job. ****1/2
