All Japan Pro Wrestling: Fierce Battle! Summer Action Wars August 17th 2024

Okay so I know I’m doing the NOAH deal but this show has title matches and I need a break from that (and yes I’ll get to Stardom soon, relax). So here we are with 2,000 plus in Arena Tachikawa Tachihi and well, let’s get into it.

Fuminori Abe (c) vs. Seigo Tachibana – GAORA TV Championship

Background: Abe beat the heck out of Seigo for the TV title and this is the rematch. The belt means almost nothing, but these two tiny violent guys are here and willing to break themselves and their opponents in half for a title. Let’s get it.

The Match: Quick lockup but they just spam some headlock takeovers and a stardown as they mutually agreed to go out of the ring and brawl. Brainbuster on the mats by Abe but Seigo comes back with a kick and they wander into the crowd forehead to forehead and screaming at each other. They actually fight through the halls of the arena and go up the stairs to the mezzanine and do a big running shoulderblock battle among the fans. Cute spot. Now after about like…2 minutes of brawling they tease a countout but both guys make it back in the ring. More comedy as Abe hits a punch out of a headlock and Seigo complains about it and Fuminori mimes that it was a slap and then slaps Seigo. Enzuigiri by Abe next and maybe both guys are blown up by their sprint outside but they’re definitely taking their time here with lots of space between moves. They seem to have gotten their breath back cause Abe does some snapmares into shoot kicks and Seigo even begs for another one and Abe does a whole routine before hitting it. Seigo responds with a STO though and a Manhattan Drop before tossing Abe out and following with a flip dive. Back in and Seigo fires up the crowd before going to the top rope but this much hotdogging let’s Abe recover and meet him up top and after a bit of schtick Abe gets the superplex, but Seigo gets a brainbuster and they trade strikes and it’s a double down. More strikes and Abe gets a bridging back suplex for a nearfall and then a Manji-Gatame…that Seigo reverses into the B-Driver for 2. They slap it out as they rise to their feet and get a nice spot as Seigo chases Abe after a whip and Abe ducks through the ropes and comes back with the baseball punch but Seigo sees it coming and gets a German and then a Spear for 2.9. Seigo rolls through an Abe rana and gets the Hammer and Anvil running elbow strike for 2.9. And Seigo goes for a second one and Abe gets a schoolboy into a bridge and that’s 3!

**¼

Man, I really did not like a lot of this match. I get that you gotta mix things up, but the dumb comedy spots in the middle threw me off. I like dumb comedy but it felt inappropriate and it really threw the match off. The final sequence was quite good though and raises it a quarter star for me. If you want to do comedy, step it up from this, but I’d rather that both guys just do the “we will pinball our bodies off each other” stuff. Disappointing to say the least.

Post-match Abe taunts Seigo with the belt and then they both cut promos that gets a fair amount of laughter from the crowd, and they leave holding the belt together so they’re…a team now? Okay no idea.

Saito Brothers (Mr. Saito and Senor Saito) vs. Hikaru Sato & Masashi Takeda vs. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Shotaro Ashino

Background: So the Saito Family are Naruki Doi as Mr. Saito and deathmatch ‘legend’ MAZADA as Senor Saito in a mask. Sato (not Saito!) is the unsettling looking old MMA junior guy with a bad undercut whose gear has shifted to board shorts that along with the bare feet make it look like he’s coming back from the pool and Takeda is a legit deathmatch legend whose body looks like baked hamburger meat. Kuroshio we of course know and with Shotaro with him we got a bit of a superstar pairing, a dream team. Naruki Doi is also Junior Heavyweight Champion right now.

The Match: KTJ takes his entrance to new heights by crawling up a basketball hoop to get to the balcony and dancing with the fans and teases jumping over the ledge so Shotaro comes out to catch him…but Kuro fakes him out and goes down the stairs instead. Cute. Senor, Hikaru, and Shotaro start…with a double kneebar on Senor Saito. And then HIkaru stomps on Ashino a bit. Senor Saito gets an eyepoke on Shotaro though and in comes Doi for some double-teams but Sato gets an anklelock on Naruki and Takeda comes in…to eat a belly-to-belly from Shotaro? They do an “everybody gets a neckscissors” spot next and it gets broken up when Takeda tries to stab Kuroshio with literal scissors. Doi and Shotaro work a chinlock while I think brawling happens around the ring that the camera does not catch. Senor Saito comes in and we get some choking on Shotaro and a pretty disturbing visual of him foaming at the mouth while getting choked with a rope. Senor follows up with a knee drop to the groin on Shotaro and this is crawling. Ashino finally decides to hit uppercuts on everybody to liven it up. Karelin lift on Senor Saito into a suplex! Kuroshio comes in with a diving crossbody, but he takes so long to set it up everybody walks away and he crashes and burns. They do a four-man suplex on Kuroshio…but the Saito Brothers immediately go for pins instead in a double cross. Doi and Takeda do a sequence and then he grabs the scissors but Kuroshio breaks it up and get some dropkicks as this is a total mess. KTJ at least saves us a little bit when he gets “stabbed” in the gut with the scissors and does a full theatrical production where he mimes like he’s dying. We then learn that he was saved by having a framed picture of Yuma Aoyagi in his jacket and he uses that to knock everybody down but Doi rolls him up for 3.

¼*

Terrible, but a bit of the Kuroshio comedy landed for me at the end.

Hokuto-gun (Hartley Jackson, Jack Kennedy & Kuma Arashi) vs. ELPIDA (Ren Ayabe, Rising HAYATO & Ryuki Honda)

Background: So Hokuto Omori’s stable of freaks and weirdos is now Hokuto-Gun in a move that I’m pretty sure I called! Anyway they’re facing the cool young babyface stable of ELPIDA. Hartley is a burly Australian with a Hannibal mask and a jean vest, Jack Kennedy is a curly haired American, and Kuma is a bulky Japanese dude with a bear gimmick. Rey is tall and gangly, Rising HAYATO has tattoos and is in incredible shape, and Ryuki has red hair, some heft to him, and a silver skull mask.

The Match: Kuma and Ryuki start and Arashi is starting off with his tremendously irritating howl. Big lockup to start and Kuma wins and then howls again and Ryuki is seemingly possessed by my spirit cause he immediately goes over and clocks Kuma in the face. And then Kuma howls again and gets clocked again. Excellent. Shoulderblock war and Kuma wins and he howls again, consarnit. Ryuki gets a drop toehold into a rope choke while HAYATO adds a dropkick from the outside. Kuma just kinda shrugs it off though and we get Hartley and HAYATO next and the big guy immediately swallows up HAYATO with a headlock. International and Jackson gets a shoulder and then snatches the junior out of the air but HAYATO slips out the back and low-bridges Jackson to set up the feint dive. Back in and Hartley gets a dropkick of his own on HAYATO and lets us know that Jackson is Number One. Now comes in Kennedy for a weak shoulder and then a chop and that’s apparently it as Kuma is in with a body slam and a jumping senton. Hokuto-Gun rotate through on HAYATO some more. HAYATO finally gets a couple dropkicks to shut down Kennedy and in comes Ryuki with a corner clothesline and a spinebuster that Kennedy doesn’t give him anything on. Awkward sequence follows and Kennedy gets a lariat out of a strike exchange and in comes Hartley with a bulldog and a senton. They meet for a clothesline battle and we do a double down as both land a clean shot. Double-tag and it’s Ayabe tagging in for the first time against Kuma and we get a big boot from the tall boy and then some clunky elbows. A pretty impressive spot as Kuma gets Ren up for a rack and then tosses him at the ELPIDA stablemates. Double shoulder on Ren and then all of Hokuto-Gun hit offense on him, with the highlight being an absolutely putrid elbow drop from Jack Kennedy. Kuma howls again and that raises Ryuki from the head to fly in with a shoulder on him and that sets up a springboard dropkick from HAYATO and a big boot from Ayabe. Pescado by HAYATO and a Final Vent on Kuma sets up Ren’s Death Roulette and that’s 3 for ELPIDA.

**

Well I wasn’t offended by the match and HAYATO taking a beating and then the faces coming back is going to be okay, but Hartley Jackson is the only one of Hokuto-Gun that doesn’t irritate me in some way. Just sort of a match.

MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka (c) vs. Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue – All Asia Tag Team Championship

Background: MUSASHI and Seiki are both athletic freelancers who wear a lot of silver and white. Tamura and Ryo are both young guys, Ryo likes kicks, Dan is a junior who works like a heavyweight with shoulders and lariats and powerbombs. Ryo’s hair is also super floppy now and he’s ramping up the KENTA energy.

The Match: MUSASHI and Dan start and the champ styles a bit and dodges out of some lockups and plays to the crowd before Tamura has enough and grabs the hair and does some brawling…but MUSASHI gets a drop toehold and plays to the crowd more and this irks the Tiny Giant (not his real name, but since AJPW stole from me for the super original Hokuto-Gun naming, they might take this too). Now comes in Ryo and Seiki and we’re going to get some speed and Ryo unleashes some kicks and then Seiki does and they start the rope-running…only to stop and do a measure “lets kick each other’s chest” spot. Ryo wins and gets a big boot and stunts around a bit and gets some elbow on Yoshioka but Seiki gets a leg lariat and brings in MUSASHI to get a kick flurry double-team on Inoue and they pose…before Dan comes in again like an ogre and grabs their hair and tosses them down and then tags in himself. Tamura just stomps out MUSASHI with the kick punchy but it’s pretty solid as MUSASHI fights back but is still slammed down by Tamura who keeps the stomping even when he tags in Ryo. Ryo gets his own slam and a strut before kicking Seiki off the apron and going back in on MUSASHI. More strutting and Ryo rope-a-dopes MUSASHI and gets more big kicks and uh…foot slaps? Just disrespectful movements in a kick-adjacent fashion but aren’t real kicks. MUSASHI finally fires up and unleashes some huge chops on the young guy and then stomps him out in the corner. MUSASHI tosses Ryo outside and whip him into the barricades and brings him back in. More stomps and an exploder and MUSASHI is firmly in control though irked. A few more exploders keep it up and MUSASHI angrily tags in Seiki…who tells his partner to calm down. Seiki gets a number of running shoot kicks to the back as Ryo is pretty beat up. Inoue finally ducks a kick and gets a rope run reversal into a jump kick and tags in Tamura who knocks everybody down with shoulders. Now Dan gets more kick punchy stuff on Seiki with Ryo’s help. A double-team rope-hung diving stomp gets a nearfall that MUSASHI breaks up. Chinlock on Seiki as Tamura is hitting all the highlights here. Powerbomb attempt is blocked by Seiki and the Tamura lariat is fought off as well and the champs get some double-team kicks but Ryo blocks Seiki going up and that delays him from the swanton long-enough for Tamura to roll away and get a lariat and a DVD. Now Tamura sets up the powerbomb and lands it with MUSASHI breaking it up but eating a high-kick from Ryo to take him out of the match. Tamura takes Seiki to the top rope and Yoshikoa slips out and goes for a super frankenstiener that goes off weirdly as Tamura just tumbles off the top, not bumping but not blocking either. Seiki gets a high kick and a swanton bomb anyway though and that’s 2.8 for the champs. Seiki gets a kick exchange but Tamura decapitates Seiki with a lariat and goes for a second…and Seiki hits La Mistica into a La Majistral and gets the 3!

***

Might be overstating this but after the mediocrity we got on the undercard a very competent tag-match with a lot of flair was good. You had youthful arrogance versus veteran cunning and jerkishness, and speed vs. power as well. Just well-done and Seiki is always a delight to watch…move in the ring.

Post-match a funny bit as the champs embrace but Seiki tells MUSASHI to back off as he’s so beat up. And then Seigo and Abe come out, still holding the GAORA TV title and challenge for the belts. And I guess we’re on?

Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Kento Miyahara vs. Hokuto-gun (Cyrus & Hokuto Omori)

Background: So Kento (after rejecting his own independent streak and accepting his role as a rock solid pure AJPW guy) cut a wild promo calling for Davey Boy to join the company and now we’re getting them as a team. Their opposition is Hokuto-Gun which have taken over the role of heel goon stable after the Saito Brothers demonstrated too much charisma and got themselves over as bizarre goofball villains. Omori is the wormy leader of Hokuto-Gun, an ex-MMA guy who put on a jacket and is acting like a bizarre tyrant. Cyrus is a huge bald American who I unironically love.

The Match: Before the bell Omori cuts a promo (translated into English by Jack Kennedy) where Omori is like “you’re a big ugly foreigner, you should be with us” and Davey rejects him…so far…DUN DUN DUN. Cyrus and Davey start with a lockup that goes neutral and Cyrus even teases going for the leg before Davey puts on a facelock and Cyrus…does an armwringer? They slug it out a bit and Cyrus wins and gets some good clubbering going on and a bodyslam sets up a leg drop…that misses and Davey goes for his own leg drop…that misses. And we get a stardeown and then both guys tag out. Kento wins the lockup but Omori reverses it in the ropes and gives a clean break with a taunt in a very Jake Lee fashion. Hokuto takes down Kento regardless and Omori preens to Davey Boy before Miyahara delivers a big boot and DBSJ helps the Best of the Best deliver some double-teams…and then accidentally boots Davey in the face. Ruh roh. Omori beats on Kento a bit outside and then gets a chinlock back inside and Davey breaks it up. And then Davey accidentally stomps on Kento during an exchange. My goodness, we have drama here. Cyrus goes in to step on Kento who of course howls in pain most wonderfully. More Cyrus abuse on Kento including a gorgeous delayed brainbuster and Davey breaks it up again, successfully this time. Miyahara tries the regular comeback but Cyrus blocks the second dropkick and then shoulders down Miyahara…but misses a senton and in comes Davey. Some corner-punches from the Canadian and then a stanky leg stomp but Cyrus bursts out of the corner with the one-legged dropkick and Hokuto comes in with a missile dropkick…but now Kento gets the double dropkick a corner forearm and a Northern Lights Suplex before trying his Shutdown German that Hokuto breaks and then we get a ref bump. Davey accidentally clotheslines Kento and then the rest of Hokuto-Gun come in and brutalize Miyahara. Hokuto once again asks Davey to join his operation and DBSJ looks conflicted, I mean I assume, he’s not very good at emoting. Davey accepts the offer and gives the salute along with them as the ref has seemingly suffered a crippling injury as he’s still out. Hokuto continues to trash talk Kento but Davey Boy takes this chance to deliver a backdrop driver on Hokuto as he has betrayed his long-time stablemates! The travesty! The temerity! Backdrop driver on Cyrus! And then a powerbomb from Davey on Hokuto rolled into a Shutdown German and that’s 3.

**½

This is a weird match to review as it was basically just a cut-scene where they teased conflict and then the babyfaces brushed it off and won the day against the wormy heels. I’m not against wrestling as storytelling at all but as a match it could have been an email. But hey, it was a decently entertaining email.

Post-match Cyrus chucks stuff in the ring and is furious. Kento and Davey Boy cut promos post-match and I think they want the tag-titles and I think their team name might be XX Large and they both dance a little bit and pose. Also Davey Boy Smith Jr. sounds so much like Bret it’s uncanny. That Western Canadian accent is invincible.

Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) (c) vs. Hideki Suzuki & Suwama – AJPW World Tag Team Championships

Background: So Hideki and Suwama are actually the former champions, having captured the belts after the Saito Brothers relinquished the titles when Rei went down with a shoulder injury. Fitting the prior segment, Suwama and Hideki are whacky tag team partners who no longer hate each other and they’re vaguely in the same stable (I’m actually unsure if Evolution is still a thing but they sometimes wear the shirt). These are four big, nasty guys of various skillsets and they’ve battled a lot of times here. Generally the Saito Bros are portrayed as physically stronger but the crafty vets are well…crafty vets.

The Match: Rei and Suwama start and we get the monster lockup and they both fight back and forth before Suwama transitions to a headlock and we get the shoulderblock war with Suwama trying everything possible but being no match for Rei. Hideki is in next and he’s also no match in the shoulderblock department. Hideki gets stomped down but just squirms out and goes to his corner while Jun tags in. Lockup that Jun wins and we get a lot of posing in the ropes before Jun wins a shoulderblock exchange and then they trade hip toss attempts. Hideki goes for a test of strength but decides to just throw some uppercuts instead and locks in a cravate for a while but Jun breaks and grabs a facelock. Hideki slips out and goes back to the test of strength but reverses that into a keylock with some fancy footwork (and a kip-up of all things) but Jun gets back to his feet and gets the body slam. Rei shuffles in to knock Suwama off the apron and the brothers stomp on Hideki who does some tricky stuff and knocks the champs into each other before bringing in Suwama. They go for a double-team and when Jun reverses for a rope-run strike it’s Suwama who holds back Suzuki from their usual failed double-dropkick so instead Suwama can land a gut kick, Hideki can get an gamengiri, and Suwama finishes with a DDT (followed by a thumb’s up at their actual tag-chemistry) as they avoid their regular mishaps as a team. Clever spot there. Hideki gets a facelock and brings Jun to the corner so Suwama can do some slow clubbering. Suwama gets a belly-to-belly out of the corner and Suwama looks to finish with the powerbomb but Saito eventually backdrops out, and then Suzuki runs in and tries Suwama’s powerbomb but he’s immediately backdropped in a funny spot. Rei is in now and he does the lick chops on Suwama in the corner…and when Hideki interrupts we get double chops like a southern fry cook. More of Rei’s wild offense but Suwama dodges a lariat and gets a jumping shoulderblock and that lets Suzuki come back in, and he reverses a corner charge into a rope-hanging choke and attempts the manji-gatame but gets hiptossed out. Hideki comes back with a monkey flip but Rei gets a running crossbody Suzuki bumps way too early on and we have a double-down. Double tag and we get Jun and Suwama trading bombs. Hideki comes in for the advantage though and we get Suzuki repeatedly whipped at Jun to set up a weird comedy spot where Hideki can’st slam Jun so Suwama tries to suplex both of them (just a weird moment considering what part of the match we’re at). Now the Saitos hit double-teams as they do some corner avalanches, then Rei gets a running splash and Jun gets the big fat elbow drop. A Hideki run-in isolates us back to Jun and Suwama and the Saito Brother yells out “DOOM!” and they slug it out. Suwama comes back with a lariat though, Rei comes in with a shoulder on him and Hideki pops in for another gamengiri on Rei and he sets up Jun for a superplex. But Hideki can’t hit it so Suwama comes in for the powerbomb assist…and accidentally ends up attempting that on Hideki who has to rana out to save himself. And after Hideki finishes yelling at Suwama Jun comes off the top for a ‘diving’ (i.e. he hops down and falls on Suzuki) clothesline. And we get Rei in for the double chokeslam on Suwama, and then Rei gets the goozle slap on Hideki to set up a butt-ugly Bomaye from Jun. Pig Knuckle from Rei on Suwama sets up a Jackhammer by Jun on the same and that’s 3.

***½

Look, I know I called this match ugly, clunky, slow, and awkward at parts, but at the end of this day this is kind of the perfect encapsulation of what makes AJPW heavyweight tags so fun. Just big clunky dudes doing strong character stuff (Saito Brothers are too big and strong, and they have unbeatable chemistry as brothers, Hideki and Suwama are much smarter wrestlers but ultimately their teamwork fell apart as both guys are singles wrestlers first and they flubbed a double-team that set up the Saito Brothers victory). And while the Saito Brothers have a certain clunkiness to their offense, it also fits their role as big ugly brawlers, and both guys are unique too. Jun is the ‘skillfull’ power wrestler with a few suplexes and a finesse-y knee strike, while Rei is a howling barbarian who just slams into guys with his bulk and chokes you and slaps the heck out of you. If you don’t like the AJPW style I could see people calling this match * and I wouldn’t disagree, but I love AJPW and I really had a ton of fun with this match.

Post-match Jun Saito tries to eat a cookie but Ryuki Honda sprints to the ring to steal it. I think that’s the next challenger with Ren as his partner. Funnily enough, despite ELPIDA being the hot, young, babyface faction, said cookie theft does get some boos from the crowd who do really love the Saito Brothers despite being cheating heel jerks. Funny moment as Ryuki has to pause his promo to drink water as the cookie gets stuck in his throat.

Yuma Anzai (c) vs. Yuma Aoyagi – Triple Crown Championship

Background: So both Yuma’s are young, both Yuma’s have had one Triple Crown win and both Yuma’s are in some way the future. Athletic six foot plus wrestlers who are surrounded by the screams of female fans, beyond that both guys are very different. Anzai is a super rookie in the second year of his career who won the title very early in his career, Aoyagi is a ten plus year vet who won the title a bit over a year ago, Aoyagi feels like part of the last generation but he’s also younger than 30 and probably has decades of wrestling left in his tank. The differences extend in the ring. Anzai is a symbol of the past in some ways, a tribute to Suwama and Jumbo, he’s an amateur standout who is a master of the suplex and the flying knee who has a few innovative power moves and a very established amateur background. Aoyagi is more of a pro wrestler, the Rockstar, the Fool, who plays the clown but has a wide variety of tricks, he has signature strikes, signature rollups, signature submissions, signature power moves, signature high-flying spots, he really can do it all and he does what his opponent can’t, mixing it up and wrestling a varied and diverse style. So this is also the contest of the straightforward amateur wrestler versus the tricky pro wrestler. Lots of interesting angles at work here and of course, they’ve never faced in a singles before, though they’ve had a number of tag matches as Aoyagi has teamed plenty of times with Kento against the young guns of Anzai and friends.

The Match: Circle and lockup won by Anzai and a clean break is given. Aoyagi reverses into a wristlock next and we some standing switches and then a headlock takeover/headscissors/kip-up spot. International and they trade armdrags and headscissors as it’s been very stale-matey so far. Another ropebreak leads to Aoyagi getting a dirty break and some more strikes before landing a dropkick which knocks Anzai outside. We get some whips against the barricade and Anzai vaults one after a few and tries to reverse into a springboard forearm but Aoyagi gets a high back elbow and then a guillotine legdrop off the barricade. Slugfest is won by Aoyagi on the outside and then the challenger works Anzai’s knee in the barricade as Aoyagi is going decently heelish here. Back in and the challenger keeps on Anzai’s knee with simple stuff. Anzai fights back a bit but is knocked down and Aoyagi gets a People’s Elbow (called as such by Japanese commentary) and the challenger is feeling it. Uppercuts in the corner set up more legwork as Aoyagi uses the ropes to expose Anzai’s knee and dropkicks it. Aoyagi counters a whip with a springboard reverse crossbody out of the corner but a charge is countered when Anzai backflips out of a clothesline and gets a double-arm suplex that knocks Aoyagi outside. Anzai limps to the mats as well and now it’s his turn to whip his opponent into the barricades. Anzai drapes Aoyagi off the apron and gets a few knee strikes and both guys crawl back in. Anzai at least is remembering to shake his knee out between moves but is still moving at a full clip when he gets a Stinger splash and the belly-to-belly out of the corner and then tries for the bizarre chinlock. Ropebreak and Aoyagi blocks an Anzai dropkick and lands one of his own. Flying forearm from Aoyagi sets up a diving crossbody and then an attempt at the End Game as it’s now back to Aoyagi. German attempt by Aoyagi is blocked, but Anzai is placed on the top rope anyway and knocked outside by the Fool’s dropkick. Aoyagi sets up a kneebreaker on the apron but Anzai reverses and we get the challenger eating a Dragon Suplex on the apron instead. Countout tease but Aoyagi slides back into the ring only to eat a corner forearm from Anzai only to respond with his own, and then hit a very Kento-esque low dropkick to remind us that Anzai’s knee is supposed to be hurt right now. Dragonscrew follows and a backdrop suplex from Aoyagi, and then both guys trade popping up with a German suplex but Anzai can’t make the cover. Both guys make their feet and we get a slugfest and Aoyagi is dropped. The ref checks on the challenger but Anzai shoves him away and goes at his downed challenger…who gets up and musters another dragonscrew. Ha, nice bit of goldbricking there. Rock Bottom for 2 by Aoyagi and a diving elbow for the same follows and Aoyagi goes for the End Game as Anzai kicks out, using his opponents momentum against him. The champ throws rabbit punches and eventually gets a Northern Light’s suplex to break, and then when Aoyagi goes for another reverse springboard crossbody Anzai unleashes a knee to cut it off and grabs a German to follow up on it for 2. Gimlet attempt by Anzai is avoided by Aoyagi who gets an Air Raid Crash (?!), a spin kick, and then a Rockstar Buster for 2.9. Aoyagi immediately keeps it up and lands The Fool but Anzai kicks out at 2.999! Wow, that was a sequence. A second attempt is stuffed and Anzai unleashes another jumping knee and then the Backdrop Driver for 2.99. Another Gimlet is attempted but Aoyagi slips out, but when he goes for the spin kick again Anzai ducks and picks him up and ALMOST gets it, but at least when Anzai slips out again Aoyagi manages to drop him into a knee strike and Aoyagi just crumples. Another jumping knee by Anzai gets 2.9 and Aoyagi is looking out of it. Gimlet attempt number 4 and Aoyagi reverses into a crucifix! Another Anzai knee and Aoyagi dodges and gets a rolling reverse cradle for 2.99! Aoyagi gets two spin kicks, a brainbuster, and the Rockstar Buster for 2.9, and Aoyagi keeps at it and another The Fool gets 3 and we have a new champ!

***¾

I’m sure people will share the finishing sequence and go MOTY or what have you, but this match kinda showcased pretty big problems I’ve had with Anzai’s title run the entire time. The guy is just not that versatile a performer, talented as he is. He just…did or could not sell the knee at all, and I don’t know if that’s cause he didn’t know how or didn’t want to mix up his offense and do new things as he worked with a bum leg, it just didn’t change anything he did and that puts a cap on matches for me. I don’t think that Anzai is a bust as a champion or anything like that or should never get the belt again, but so far he seems to have one match under his belt and that’s what he goes to time after time. Aoyagi is a much more diverse and versatile worker who can do way more varied stuff with a wider variety of opponents. I don’t see this as AJPW giving up on the future either, as Aoyagi is only 3.5 years older than Anzai. Beyond my questions about Anzai’s limited work, I think that establishing that it wasn’t just his generation alone and there were mountains for him to overcome (notice that Aoyagi never kicked out of a Gimlet) makes a title reign more interesting. I’m always worried about giving an Ace too long a reign too early in their career as they’ll overcome too much and leave you with no more stories left to tell. The right call for the match, even if the match was only very good and not great.

Post-match Aoyagi celebrates big and hugs people and then we have Kento coming out to challenge him (and Kento is in a suit now as I guess he’s changed post-match. Guess they’re not running away from the big matches…or scary thought here, they know Kento isn’t going to stick around with this new generation popping up and are running through the money matches early. Hope not.

Overall this was not a great show by any means with a pretty lame undercard and a somewhat disappointing main. But still, major moves were made and the future is now for All Japan.