All Japan Pro Wrestling: Fierce Battle! Summer Action Wars September 1st 2024

Okay, now I’m returning to my true love, hope I didn’t miss anything HUGE in my favorite promotion! We’re starting back with a big show that has title matches and all that junk on it, we’re in Fukuoka and have a crowd of one thousand here. And you may ask yourself, yes this show is months old, and who cares about All Japan anyway? And y’know what, you might be right, but I care, and I will feed the content mill to the best of my ability!

MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka (c) vs. Fuminori Abe & Seigo Tachibana – All Asia Tag Team Championships

Background: MUSASHI and Seiki are whitebread babyface juniors defending the…not junior tag-title belt in terms of size, but in terms of importance. The All Asia belts are less prestigious and won by sillier acts than the World Tag Team Titles and MUSASHI and Seiki are a perfectly fine midcard team of two athletic guys facing the smaller but less high-flying team of Abe and Seigo who had a fierce rivalry over the GAORA TV Title. Seigo is in a yellow suit with no undershirt and Abe has black trunks. MUSASHI is in his white and black woodblock style pants and Seiki is wearing sparkly silver pants.

The Match: We start with Abe and MUSASHI and both are playing to the crowd here. Lockup and some standing switches as they fight for wrist control with Abe doing some acrobatics but MUSASHI just blocking it and they reset…and Abe throws the first strike and they do some running stuff out of the corners and MUSASHI gets an armdrag and headscissors to get control and in comes Seigo and Seiki. Tachibana is playing the goof and flexing and posing for the crowd and Seiki mocks it a little bit before they lockup and Seigo takes Seiki to the ropes and gets a shot out of the break but Yoshioka goes REALLY fast and kicks Seigo’s head off and clears the apron so him and MUSASHI can double the challenger. Double elbow and a double bulldog…but Seigo runs in while they pose and he gets boos for that! The challengers do a comedy spot where they keep whipping Seigo into Seiki’s boot and then Yoshioka gets a tornado DDT/kick to isolate Tachibana and they choke him in the corner while doubling him. Seigo fights back with some forearms but MUSASHI chops him down with ferocity and jaws with Fuminori on the outside. MUSASHI keeps the heelish offense up but misses a charge and gets forearmed and then STO’d and we get Abe in! Low dropkick, kick Seiki off the apron, spinning kick in the corner, soccer kick to the back! Okay these aren’t impressive sounding but he does them well. Abe ducks a desperation enzuigiri from MUSASHI and wags his finger…so he immediately eats an exploder and in comes Seiki. D’oh! Yoshioka gets his high octane stuff and finishes with a soccer kick to the chest to set up a…Michinoku Driver? Huh, that’s new for him. They slug it out and Seiki cuts off the wind-up punch with an enzuigiri but walks into a high dropkick from Abe and we have a double-down to a double-tag. Seigo gets the Manhattan drop and the big boot before firing off some forearms and a brainbuster on MUSASHI. MUSASHI ducks the lariat and gets his own combo and they fight over a brainbuster before MUSASHI zigs and takes Seigo down with a cloverleaf…and Abe runs in and it’s breaking down in Fukuoka as Seiki runs in to take out Abe, now the champs double-team Seigo again but he’s aniki-ing up and knocks them outside for his somersault plancha and Seigo sends MUSASHI back in for a double-brainbuster with Abe’s help, but it only gets 2.7. Seigo and MUSASHI slug it out again and Tachibana actually wins and sets up a B-Driver for 1-2-superkick from Seiki. And it’s all breaking down again and Abe accidentally tags Seigo with the wind-up punch. Champions get a double low thrust kick on Tachibana, Seiki Asai moonsaults Abe, and MUSASHI gets the frog splash for 2.9. But MUSASHI doesn’t hesitate and gets his cradle Emerald Flowsion and Seiki is making sure Abe can’t interfere, 1-2-3 and the champs retain.

**¾

I think that the early comedy bits hurt what was actually a solid juniors tag-match. I actually do enjoy bits of Seigo, he’s a fine comedy act and a decent serious wrestler, but the two parts mix and it can get really awkward sometimes. Seiki and MUSASHI are a rock solid undercard tag-team, they were kind of working heel but overall they showcased that teamwork and being together is more powerful than a thrown together squad of guys who were out-teamed. Not a bad story and a fine match that could have been with a bit of editing.

Hokuto-Gun (Hartley Jackson & Jack Kennedy) vs. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Shotaro Ashino

Background: More tag action as Hokuto-Gun (Hokuto Omori’s stable of freaks and monsters) takes on the ramshackle babyface squad of eternal goofball Kuroshio TOKYO Japan of the supreme sartorial sense, and well-coiffed chunky suplex machine, Shotaro Ashino.

The Match: Kuroshio does the elaborate crowd entrance and dances while Shotaro looks mostly confused. And we get a pretty funny spot where Kuroshio goes through merch…that’s all for other people and he looks super upset until he finds the ONE fan with a KTJ cheer towel and he gets super happy. Very cute. Jackson and Shotaro start and both do some circling before one fan goes crazy supporting Jackson and Kuroshio disrupts it. We FINALLY get contact with a lockup to a standstill and then Shotaro gets a headlock but bounces off with the shoulder. Hartley comes back with his own shoulder, knocks down Shotaro and taunts. Ashino, then trips up Jackson and gets the shoulder and we jaw some more before Kuroshio steps in against Jack Kennedy. And KTJ continues to just mean-mug the super loud Hartley Jackson fan. We FINALLY again get contact and Kennedy knocks down Kuroshio a few times only for the jacket-wearing man to kip-up out of them and land the hidden punch and then ducks a few clotheslines and continue to run the ropes even after Jack stopped throwing them. Yes, this is pure comedy. Anyway, KTJ gets knocked out of the ring, starts selling his butt for some reason, and we get some super light brawling in the crowd. Finally back in the ring with Jack Kennedy and Kuroshio and the American gets a bodyslam and then KTJ takes a ridiculous spinning bump out of the corner and eats a senton from Hartley. Kuroshio slips out of the fireman’s carry though and in comes Shotaro for a slugfest that he wins with some uppercuts and then a Karelin lift on Hartley. Shotaro tries to follow up with a German but Hartley gets a terrible Russian legswep and tags in Kennedy to do some running avalanches and then a blockbuster slam for 2. Hartley in and Hokuto-Gun gets a double shoulder but KTJ breaks up the double brainbuster and does some double teams on the gaijin and then Kuroshio calls in Shotaro for a dosey doe double avalanche…but they hotdog too much and Hokuto-Gun get double brainbusters. We isolate on Kennedy and Shotaro and Ashino gets a release German and then an ankle lock and Kennedy tries to roll through but Ashino get the grapevine and Jack taps.

*

Argh that was…not good. I don’t HATE comedy matches, but this was just too much and it was basically no wrestling. It doesn’t help that Kuroshio wasn’t trying at all to take it seriously and Kennedy and Jackson are not very good. I dunno, Kuroshio’s entrance was fun but this was lazy house show junk.

Hokuto-Gun (Cyrus, Hokuto Omori & Kuma Arashi) vs. Baka No Jidai (Hideki Suzuki, Hikaru Sato & Yuko Miyamoto)

Background: So now more time to talk about Hokuto-Gun. Hokuto Omori is their leader, and he’s this sort of lumpen guy with floppy hair dressed like a Generalissimo, he has a MMA background and has had a number of midcard gimmicks, but this is the one they’re sticking with right now. He has a number of goons, but currently he’s teaming with Cyrus, a big singlet clad bald American with ugly tattoos and heterochromia who just powerbombs the heck out of people and brutalizes ringboys, and Kuma Arashi, who is a barbarian-clad Japanese dude with a mohawk and an annoying taunt. Their opponents are a new stable, as the old Evolution group seems to have turned into Baka No Jidai (AKA Age of Fools) as we have Billy Robinson’s last protege, Hideki Suzuki, and MMA midcarder and pin-eater, Hikaru Sato, also new to me Yuko Miyamoto, a small deathmatch guy of some acclaim. Most terrifyingly, Hikaru is in his creepy sweater and small trunks that make him look like an absolute pervert.

The Match: Baka no Jidai get jumped during the entrance but load up a powerbomb triplet anyway before getting backdropped out. The ring is cleared and we have Cyrus vs. Hideki, and Suzuki actually is kinda mobile here, sticking and moving before a running single-leg dropkick by Cyrus takes him down. The big guy kinda meanders for a bit before bringing in Kuma to double Hideki…and Suzuki then no sells it all and does some chops and taunts before getting knocked down anyway. All of Hokuto-Gun come in and pose on Hideki who is back to selling like he’s dead in between moves. Kuma gets a big rack on Suzuki and slams in and then Hokuto-Gun all do running corner offense on the guy before tossing Hideki into a RKO (called as such!) by Omori. But Hideki gets a Flatliner and tags in Sato, and man, the sexy sweater and tiny trunks and bare feet is just a gross look. It all gets broken up again and we get heel miscommunication on the run-in and the faces clear the ring and then the faces mess up by trying a piledriver and a German at the same time and Hideki yells at them and tags in…only to get backdropped out of his own powerbomb attempt. Hokuto unleashes some of his patented KO elbows but Hideki gets a sleeper…and then Kuma breaks that up by sentoning both of them. It all breaks down again as Cyrus attacks Hideki and Kuma is crying over murdering his boss, but then revives Hokuto by stomping on him. Anyway, Cyrus has Hideki over his shoulder and Omori finally revives to get a pretty cool double-team cutter…if Hideki didn’t take the wimpiest bump ever, landing on his feet before collapsing. Terrible. It doesn’t finish and Hokuto-Gun do their taunts and load up Hideki for a tower of doom…but Baka no Jidai grab Hideki’s ankles and Omori ends up powerbombed instead and then Suzuki gets a spinning lariat and a backdrop driver for 3.

*¾

Better than the last match, but the awkward comedy continues. I already don’t like the vibes of Baka no Jidai as a very DDT dumb comedy deal. I do enjoy the silliness of Hokuto-Gun and Suzuki using Suwama’s finishes to win a match is a cute tribute.

Dan Tamura & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. ELPIDA (Rising HAYATO & Yuma Anzai)

Background: ELPIDA are the hot young babyface stable, they like punk rock and are the sexy rebels of the youth and the future and hope. Yuma Anzai is their leader of sorts, a tall, somewhat gangly amateur wrestler with a nice coif and a starter jacket, the former Triple Crown champion he’s now in his first match in the midcard in the while, his partner is tattooed bleached blonde goth pretty boy Rising HAYATO, a high-flying junior that is almost heavyweight sized. Their opponents are tall, vitamin-riddled Davey Boy Smith Jr. who is just well, he looks like his dad but more goofy somehow, and Dan Tamura, he’s a junior but he doesn’t tan and looks like he loves chicken wings, he’s a hard-hitting devil though and does big boy spots despite his size.

The Match: The two juniors start with a lockup and Tamura easily wins and grinds in a headlock. A shoulderblock and another headlock have Tamura firmly in control. HAYATO finally gets some space with a chop, then a cazadora into an armdrag sets up a flying headscissors and we tease a dive before HAYATO does the backflip taunt and we get Yuma and Davey Boy in. We actually get a shoulderblock war that Yuma wins with a dropkick…but DBSJ just brainbusters him and stomps him out. Tamura gets in and he’s…working over Yuma’s kidneys? Davey Boy with a grounded headscissors on Anzai as we keep the heat segment going. Davey chops away and gets a scoop powerslam for 2. More slow beatings continue but Yuma gets his feet up against a corner charge and gets a missile dropkick and in comes HAYATO! Repeated low dropkicks stagger DBSJ and he gets a corner dropkick and a bulldog for 2 before the big kickout sends HAYATO flying and then a backdrop driver puts him down. Davey crawls to the corner and in comes Tamura to smash HAYATO in the corner and follow with a brainbuster. HAYATO gets a thrust kick and a leg lariat and that stuns Dan enough to bring in Yuma. Big belly-to-belly on Tamura and then ELPIDA load up a double-team elbow into a HAYATO codebreaker and an Anzai double-arm suplex. But Davey is in to toss HAYATO and now the un-teamed team clobber Anzai…but Yuma ducks a lariat that drops Tamura and HAYATO flies in with a springboard dropkick on the Canadian and follows up with a crazy plancha. Back to Dan and Yuma, and Anzai sets up the Gimlet but Tamura slips out and clubbers Anzai. Yuma blocks a lariat with the jumping knee, gets a second knee to knock down Tamura and the Gimlet is academic.

**½

Well this improved! I still don’t find Davey Boy all that interesting, but building a match around Yuma and HAYATO’s excellent hot-tag skills isn’t a bad idea by any means. Don’t love Yuma selling that much but Tamura actually looked credible against him.

Naruki Doi (c) vs. Ryo Inoue – AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship

Background: Doi is a DragonGate vet that has glommed onto the Saito Brothers tag-team as Mr. Saito. He’s a very tan, lean guy who is a solid, workmanlike junior heel a bit past his prime. Ryo is a rising star who has recently figured out his presentation by being a shaggy haired, sunglass wearing, leather jacket rocking bad boy who has more than a little KENTA in his game.

The Match: Ryo explodes out of the corner to start with a leg lariat and stomps away at Doi and them stomps him out in the corner before the ref pulls him off. Inoue shoves the ref off and continues the abuse with a hesitation dropkick and a bridging brainbuster for 2 and Naruki powders while Ryo struts. Eventually, the rookie heads outside and boots Naruki outside as well before coming back in to continue stomping on the vet and even landing a headbutt. Inoue styles too much and goes for a springboard kick out of the corner and Doi dumps him over the top and he spills the floor. Doi now goes on the offensive with a whip into the barricade and a Yakuza kick to follow. Back in and now Doi plays to the crowd’s boos and gets his usual stuff to work the kid over. Some restholds, a few pin attempts and facewashes keep things nice and even-keeled until Ryo reverses a whip and gets a boot and a missile dropkick out of the corner. Doi with his own attempt at the same sequence gets kicked out of the air by Inoue who loads up a cut-throat backdrop driver but Doi goes the eyes and hits a low DDT to show his veteran wiles. We reset to a slugfest with Doi throwing some wicked chops but Inoue gets a rolling sole butt…only for Doi to load up his fireman’s carry drop into the Bakatare Sliding Kick…but that whiffs, Ryo with a dragonwhip, Doi with a brainbuster, another whiffed Bakatare and Ryo gets a spinning heel kick and we have a double down before Ryo uncorks shoot kicks to the chest and three gamengiris and another rolling sole butt for 2.6 and then a Go 2 Sleep for 2.9. Well…that was an easy show of his influence. Another attempt at the cutthroat backdrop driver but Doi slips out and gets an inside cradle for a very near 2 count. Doi avoids a blind charge, gets a cannonball in the corner, brainbuster and the Bakatare lands for 2.7, but Doi ain’t shocked and he lands a double-rebound Bakatare Sliding Kick and this one gets 3.

**¾

Good story with Doi managing to outlast the more athletic rookie with know-how and just straight up cheating, Ryo has a lot of promise as well even if the KENTA cosplay is really, really blatant. Still, a very solid juniors match with just a bit of bloat in the heat segment.

Post match, Hikaru Sato comes out in the pervert sweater and I guess challenges for the belt. Lord help us.

The Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) (c) vs. ELPIDA (Ren Ayabe & Ryuki Honda) – AJPW World Tag Team Championship

Background: So the Saito Brothers are erstwhile heels but mostly beloved big cheating brawling monsters with long wild hair and a variety of classic 80s power offense and some more newfangled stuff. They’re fantastic and I love them to death. Jun is slightly taller, leaner, and has a carefully groomed goatee, Rei is wider and has untamed hair and a bushy beard. Their opponents are ELPIDA (the hot young new babyface stable of the future)’s other members. Ren is tall and lean and has a purple coat and I’m 50% convinced he’s pushed cause he looks like a taller Okada, Ryuki is a chubby brawler with a bit of a street-punk edge, he has red hair in a sorta fauxhawk and is a tenacious babyface despite being kind of rude and disrespectful.

The Match: We get Ryuki instigating before the match as Ren tries to calm him down. Ayabe and Rei start and we have the battle of giants and we of course start with the monster lockup that Rei wins but Ren reverses at the second to gain control in the ropes…and he teases a strike and just musses Rei’s hair instead. Saito responds with a rudimentary international into a shoulderblock stall and then a double-tag lets Jun and Ryuki uncork strikes on each other and Honda knocks the big guy down with a shoulder even. ELPIDA keep the advantage up with some double teams and quick tags. Ryuki gets his 5 count choke on the ropes and…are the Saitos playing babyface? Jun breaks free though and blocks a lariat and shoulders Ryuki down before tossing him and then Rei works him over on the outside and uh, maybe they aren’t playing babyface. Jun goes at the eyes and we get a double corner choke on Ryuki as the ref is definitely having trouble keeping this match together. Ryuki has a brief comeback but Rei headbutts him and it’s back to Jun to abuse Honda. A Jun brainbuster sets up a Yakuza kick that Ryuki dodges and a second attempt at it runs into Honda’s spear and we get a tag and Ren is a house…on extra high heat as he does his offense and lands his own Yakuza kick. They fight over a brainbuster and Jun wins and then Rei comes in with a bodyslam and a jumping splash for 2. We get the corner chops with the licked palm and Ren fires back with his own strikes but Rei ultimately wins. Corner avalanche for 2! All of Rei’s big fat heel offense warms my soul. Rei loads up a piledriver with all the theatrics but Ren gets the back body drop and his OWN bodyslam but Rei fires up for a backdrop side slam and we get a double down. Double tag and we get Ryuki fighting out of an immediate chokeslam and Jun stuffing Ryuki’s spear and getting his own in return. Saito Brothers get the double teams with some avalanches and then a double hiptoss and Rei powders to stomp on Ren while Jun works over Honda. Ryuki fights out of a brainbuster and lariats down Jun and now Ren is in for an ELPIDA double-team with a whip into a boot and then a jumping elbow drop. Ryuki gets the running lariat but Rei comes in with a shoulderblock, Ren boots down Rei and then Jun shoulders down Ayabe and it’s a quadruple down! Jun and Ryuki reset to a slugfest and they scream at each other between strikes. Ryuki finally gets a lariat to take out Jun though and that gets 2, and he immediately goes for Final Vent…but Rei pops in to do the goozle slap to Ryuki and Jun gets his own lariat. Double chokeslam for 2.8. Jun then poses, styles, and gets the delayed Jackhammer for 2.-Ren breaking it up. Ryuki is still basically dead here and can’t even make his feet until the ref cajoles him back to his senses. Jun goes for the Psycho Break but Ryuki armdrags out of it. Ren runs in for a dropkick to rebound Jun into another Ryuki lariat and that’s 2.9. Ryuki loads up the Final Vent again and Rei breaks it up at 2.999. And then takes out Ayabe with a crossbody and loads up the Pig Knuckle before Ayabe’s dropkick cuts that off. Now we’re back to Ryuki and Jun, and Honda loads up the Final Vent AGAIN and Jun slips out, lands some body shots but misses a lariat and gets German’d…but Jun does the no-sell and lands the reverse Bomaye and then a chokeslam for 2.7. Honda is selling wonderfully here, all bleary eyed and stumbling and he walks into the PSYCHO BREAAAAK for 3.

***½

A very good match for the main reason of Ren being mostly kept on the outskirts and Ryuki working it 2v1. I am unsure if I enjoy the Saito Brothers ironically or unironically but I really do love them and them having these big clunky tag matches is absolutely perfect for them. Ryuki is a stud as well, the right sort of chunky brawler who can do the wobble-leg sells and fight back as an underdog despite being a defiant punk jerk. Highly enjoyable.

Post-match the Saitos eat some local chocolates (or something) and cut some sort of growly promo. And they actually share some treats with their opponents and Ryuki looks so happy I laughed a bit. And Rei corpses while Ryuki pleads for more and Jun yells out DOOM!

Yuma Aoyagi (c) vs. Kento Miyahara – Triple Crown Championship

Background: Okay, so this is a lot. Kento is the ace of All Japan, the biggest star, the most accomplished, the most titles, all that stuff, but his time is maybe coming to an end (despite only being in his mid-30s) as the youth movement of All Japan is rising. Yuma Aoyagi is stuck in between. A ten year veteran in his second world title run, Aoyagi is trying to establish himself as the top dog in All Japan once and for all. I’ve used Hulk and Macho to compare them a lot in the past and it’s maybe not totally right, but it also isn’t Tanahashi vs. Okada either. It’s two guys, with Kento being more established but Yuma still being part of that generation in some ways over the rising stars of Anzai, Honda, and Ayabe beneath them. They’ve teamed frequently and won titles together but still it’s a battle of Kento’s relentless energy, arrogance, and presence before the cool, relaxed, and cerebral trickster vibes of Yuma. Major, major, major big-fight feel here between two guys that are credibly (IMO) top five wrestlers in the world. I know I’m watching this months after the fact but I’m still HYPED. As always, Yuma is in blue, and Kento is in red. And so are they in personality.

The Match: Kento gets huge chants to start and Yuma blocks his ears in response. We get a lockup that Kento wins and gives the reluctant clean break on. They keep it very cautious with another lockup and Kento gets the wrist and does some armwork that Yuma fights like crazy against before we get a headscissors and we standstill again. Another lockup and this one Yuma wins and after teasing it does deliver a cheap shot in the ropes. Kento then get a drop toehold on the ropes but he misses a boot on the apron, Yuma flies in for a baseball slide but that misses Kento, and they brawl on the outside where Miyahara is whipped into the barricade…but Kento then drops Aoyagi neck first on the barricade in response and the Best of the Best is in control and unleashes some headbutts and of course posing. More headbutts, more whipping, but Miyahara, shockingly, hotdogs too much, gets tossed into the barricade himself and Yuma lands a springboard guillotine legdrop off the barricade. The turns have indeed tabled. We get Aoyagi sending Kento into the barricade with some more complex stuff than just Irish whips and Miyahara sells big while Yuma chokes Kento with a cheer towel he stole from a fan and then returns. Aoyagi does this a few more times with different fans towels, and even wipes his butt with it before returning it! That jerk! This temerity fires Kento up but Yuma keeps control with uppercuts and then a DDT on the ringside mats. Kento sells big while Yuma does Kento taunts in the middle of the ring. Kento rolls back in and Yuma just stomps on him in the corner, choking him a bit and then getting a neckbreaker and a chinlock. Yuma only breaks it for a leg drop, and then hits an honest to goodness People’s Elbow (called as such by commentary!) and then a piledriver for 2.6. Yuma keeps styling with a springboard reverse crossbody and then a diving crossbody that he transitions into his End Game choke but Kento eventually makes the ropes. Yuma goes back to stomping but Kento hits his comeback with the low dropkick and then the middle dropkick but he poses and immediately collapses (letting the crowds shower him with cheers) before starting his comeback in earnest by booting Yuma off the top turnbuckle. Kento goes back to the headbutts on the outside and then loads up his own piledriver on the ring apron that they battle over for a while before Yuma slips out and gets a backdrop suplex on the apron. Back in and Yuma unleashes a dropkick and a German suplex before Kento fires up with some strikes but he’s wobble-legged and leaning on the ropes while Yuma eggs him on. And Kento calls upon the power of the crowd to regain his strength! And gets dropped with an uppercut from Aoyagi. Kento finally unleashes the Blackout Knee but he walks into a Rock Bottom from Yuma (called as such by commentary) and Miyahara grabs a brainbuster in desperation and we get another double down. Kento is back up with two more Blackouts and now he goes for the Shutdown German, but Yuma breaks lands a monster elbow, a spin kick, and then the Rockstar Buster for 2.8. That doesn’t discourage Yuma though and he goes for The Fool, it lands, Kento is out…and he gets his shoulder up at 2.999, insane timing. Yuma is still not discouraged and he goes to the top rope with Kento to go for a super Rockstar Buster, but Kento gets a headbutt again, and slips out for a running powerbomb (?!) and then a running lariat for 2.7. Doing Kensuke proud there. Another Blackout attempt is blocked and Yuma gets an Air Raid Crash (?!) and then goes for the End Game again and then gets a quick cover out of it before climbing up for a diving elbow and then another End Game attempt, and this one seems to be working as Kento is fading. The ref checks the hand, it drops once, it drops twice, it doesn’t drop a third! Kento fights out! He’s throwing shots to the kidneys, Yuma goes for the springboard reverse crossbody again and Blackout! Another double down as both guys are pouring sweat. Miyahara is up and we get ANOTHER Blackout for 2.9. Aoyagi is out of it and we get Miyahara goes for the Shutdown German. Yuma slips out with a cazadora victory roll, then a rolling reverse Japanese cradle! 2.9! Aoyagi’s spin kick whiffs and we get another Shutdown attempt! The arms are locked but Yuma is still trying to make the ropes for a break, no luck and Kento hoists him up and drops him…for 2.9. Kento looks flabbergasted but he goes for another, Aoyagi breaks, Kento Blackout…is blocked and Aoyagi unleashes a monster lariat, Rockstar Buster attempted again but Kento jumps out and gets a desperat Blackout…and eats a spin kick, and another spin kick. Regular brainbuster for Yuma and he rolls through for a Rockstar Buster…for 2.8. Aoyagi knows what he has to do and one more The Fool finishes it.

****½

Okay so maybe these guys have amazing chemistry. They’ve teamed a ton of times and faced a ton of times and if there was a shot you could throw at this match it’s just that it’s kind of the match these two guys have together. But it’s just an incredible dynamic and the selling and pacing are incredible. A great match by two absolutely fantastic workers.

Anyway, this was a really fun card and I’m glad to be reviewing All Japan again!