All Japan Pro Wrestling: 12th King’s Road Tournament 09.15.25

It’s the tournament finals and we’re in Korakuen with almost 1500 in the building (?!?). We start with a big ceremony with all the people out in remembrance and tribute to Taishin Nagao with Kento and Hideki Suzuki in the ring trying to keep it together. They have a picture of him and they deliver a 10-bell salute and Suwama (who I think had a part in training Taishin) is pretty clearly fighting back tears at ringside. Also XYON has a custom t-shirt of “RIP Nagao” on it with a drawing of Taishin (with angel wings) about to crossbody XYON and I’m not sure if that’s extremely inappropriate or supremely sweet. As somebody is cutting onions here. RIP Nagao, may he crossbody everybody in the great beyond.

We get a video running down the rest of the card and some sizzle reel stuff to hype it up, AJPW is very meat and potatoes with their presentation but I think the barebones stuff works.

Aoyagi Brothers (Atsuki Aoyagi and Yuma Aoyagi) (c) vs. MUSASHI and Seiki Yoshioka – All Asia Tag Team Championship

Background: The Aoyagi brothers have been TOTAL jerks to MUSASHI and Seiki, with Yuma repeatedly hitting Seiki’s finish on the juniors and overall just being a disrespectful punk. MUSASHI and Seiki had some friction as both are former junior champions (with Seiki beating MUSASHI and then losing to Atsuki) and Yoshioka kinda being annoyed MUSASHI was chasing singles gold instead of him but overall they’re pure babyfaces against the jock star duo of the prom king Aoyagis. Seiki is VERY fast and very ripped but also very small, while MUSASHI is a do-it-all journeyman junior vet guy. Yuma is a legit heavyweight who has held the Triple Crown a number of times and Atsuki is his very flippy junior brother.

The Match: MUSASHI and Atsuki start and after some serious eyeballing we get some wristlocks into some reversals and the junior sequence with Atsuki getting a dropkick to the vet. Double tag and the crowd is hot for Seiki and Yuma. The former TC champ wins the shoulderblock battle and stomps away but Seiki uses speed and gets a kick and his own stomps and the crowd is hot! Yoshioka brings in his partner and they get a stereo kick combo and a pose to massive applause. We go MUSASHI vs. Yuma now and the junior gouges the eyes repeatedly before Yuma gets a dropkick and then HE goes to the eyes and yaps at Seiki who is HOT on the apron. Atsuki comes in the brothers do some double-team stuff for a cover that Seiki breaks up…and Yuma gouges Seiki’s eyes who then rolls outside and repeatedly whips a Yuma cheer towel on the barricade. Okay I think the vibe is “serious blood feud resolution” and there’s a lot of comedy so far. Atsuki tags in to stomp at MUSASHI while Yuma does more comedy stuff with fakeout runs. Atsuki gets an apron choke and then Yuma goes to the eyes again while lil bro distracts the ref as we’re going back to heel business. MUSASHI gets a reversal to send Atsuki in to the apron but MUSASHI whiffs his enzuigiri…before landing his exploder and NOW he tags in Seiki. And Yoshioka wipes off Yuma on the apron and then explodes into a kick combo on Atsuki where he just whoops that man. Yuma finally trips Seiki up and tags in to set up the Crash Driver (Seiki’s finish that Yuma has been using against these guys) but Yoshioka slips out and gets dominated anyway with a corner charge and a diving crossbody…to set up another Crash Driver cause Yuma is that much of a jerk. Just SUCH a jerk. Seiki slips out again and we got a slugfest and Seiki then hits a kick combo and goes for a Rockstar Buster (Yuma’s move) before the heavyweight slips out and we slug it out until Seiki gets his comeback going…only to run into Yuma’s brainbuster. Double-tag and Atsuki and MUSASHI just trade shots, fancy reversal sequence is won by MUSASHI with a dropkick and we bring in Seiki only for Atsuki to foil the double-team another trip by Yuma loads up a moonsault to the outside by Atsuki to take out both guys and Yuma just hams it up and preens and poses…and then teases a moonsault before just hopping back inside to bludgeon MUSASHI. Atsuki gets the rolling fisherman suplexes only for Seiki to break it up…and then he’s tossed. MUSASHI tries to fight off the brothers and finally gets something going but Atsuki lands a handspring kick, Yuma gets a Rock Bottom and then a diving elbow before Atsuki gets a moonsault for 2.7. A followup 450 eats knees from MUSASHI and now Seiki flies in to deliver a Rockstar Buster to Atsuki (though he does a sorta delayed version before snapping down that looks FANTASTIC) and Yuma once again goes for a Crash Driver on Yoshioka that MUSASHI breaks. The vet juniors finally get some tandem offense to toss Yuma out and MUSASHI sets up his corner Emerald Flowsion on Atsuki, but the junior champ gets a million reversals to pinfalls and then a kick combo that messes MUSASHI up. Seiki runs in to help with an outside kick and we get a super frankensteiner by Seiki to set up a MUSASHI frog splash for 2.9, and then Seiki grabs Yuma while MUSASHI FINALLY gets his corner Emerald Flowsion for 3 and we got new champs.

***¾

So I started bothered by Yuma being a total comedy goof and not taking these guys serious…but that’s been the feud. A heavyweight that’s sorta bullied some junior journeyman and at the end he didn’t game plan enough and he lost a title off of it. I do think that personally if Seiki had landed the Crash Driver on Yuma I’d have gone 4 stars, but I understand not having a former two-time Triple Crown champ eat a pin from a mid-30s junior who will never be an ace for All Japan. Still, really fun match where heel arrogance got played up and man, I know Seiki is always just gonna be Seiki-level, but that dude was just HOPPING on the apron and I totally bought he could absolutely clobber a dude twice his size he was that irked and ornery.

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Kento Miyahara – Royal Road Tournament Semi-Finals

Background: Daisuke is the ace of Big Japan, Kento is the ace of All Japan. Both are faces, both definitely favor the simpler side of wrestling, Daisuke is a jacked up dude who has a neck the size of a tire while Kento is a preening peacock with a killer knee strike and a deadly suplex.

The Match: We start big with Sekimoto just bullrushing Kento around the ring, tossing him into the corner and then landing a brainbuster, a senton and a jumping splash for 2.7 as Miyahara powders outside, clearly not used to this very non-AJPW start. The man from Big Japan follows and just clobbers Kento ringside. Daisuke slows it down a bit and is just chopping away at Miyahara. Back inside and we get Sekimoto with a crab. Kento gets the ropes and Daisuke with another chop but Kento gets his rolling dodge into the double dropkick but his back still hurts so he can’t pose. This lets Sekimoto snatch Kento for a body slam and then a top-rope splash but Miyahara rolls away and goes for the Blackout, but Daisuke catches it! Headbutt! Another Blackout but Sekimoto just sorta pushes through and gets a massive lariat! Seikimoto with a German but Kento slips out with a victory roll and gets the 3!

***¼

Well that was a VERY fun sprint. I get working so short given Kento having a match later in the show, but it’s fun to see him break from the long-form style and a guy just throwing bombs at him. Also funny that I think Kento got approximately 10% of the offense in the match and pulled it off. Daisuke is really great and I like he can do the AJPW stuff but also feels like a threat outside of what people are used to. Fun and good! And we also establish that Kento can win with more than just his Shutdown German.

Ryuki Honda vs. Ren Ayabe – Royal Road Tournament Semi-Finals

Background: This is a rematch of last years Royal Road finals where Ren won. These guys are friends, rivals, tag-partners, and sorta opposites in a lot of ways. Ryuki is a pudgy brawler who is wild and erratic and highly emotional. Ren is a lean, very tall athlete who is stoic and smug and avoids direct smash-mouth conflict so he can cooly dominate.

The Match: Lockup, Ren wins, and musses the hair in the ropes. Second lockup, Ren wins, Ryuki reverses and taunts Ayabe before throwing a forearm, shoulderblock battle follows and Ren wins that too. Ren controls some more, Ryuki gets a flurry of forearms before Ayabe drops him with a clean right and then tosses Honda. More abuse continues until Ayabe misses a Yakuza kick against the barricade and Honda goes to work on the leg. Honda back in and Ayabe follows and we get Ryuki’s counting choke on the ropes. Honda sets up a brainbuster but Ayabe reverses into a slam and we got a double-down. Ayabe is up first, now he lands the yakuza kick, hooking clothesline, calls for the Death Roulette but can’t land it and settles for a boot, Ryuki tries to speed it up but his spear gets stuffed and Ren lands a full-nelson slam. Ren sets up another corner boot but Honda ducks and almost turns it into the Final Vent but Ren slips out and gets a dropkick, Death Roulette attempt number 2 but Honda turns that into a brainbuster. Ryuki lariat is blocked with a boot, but a followup attempt lands and we get the FInal Vent for 3.

**¾

Just sorta the abridged version of Their Match. Ren dominates, Ryuki does a fiery comeback and then one of them wins. Honda is now headed into his second straight Royal Road finals.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Naruki Doi & Seigo Tachibana vs. Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori & Kuma Arashi), Ryo Inoue & Shota Kofuji

Background: Man I don’t even know where to begin with this. Just a strange mix of heels and faces in no real alignment or order here. I assume that KTJ and Seigo will do some silliness with Hokuto-Gun at least.

THe Match: Seigo and Ryo start with some wristlock stuff before Inoue get a headlock and a shoulder and just kicks Seigo down when Tachibana does is goof routine, Seigo finally gets his own shoulder and he takes the opportunity to actually get serious before the rookie squirms away and we tag in Kuroshio and Hokuto. And we do a total comedy scene where KTJ gags after Omori blows him a kiss. And then Kuroshio finally responds by just kissing Omori and we got a pier-sixer with everybody teeing off on Omori and we end with a big delayed brainbuster on Hokuto by Davey and a moonsault by Kuroshio for 2.9 as Omori’s crew breaks it up. Now Davey is in to hit a delayed slam on Hokuto, another sets up a nearfall. Omori tries to reverse an uppercut into a backslide but settles for a cutter instead, and as he’s about ready to tag we get the Tokyo Yankees running in and then a double-cutter finally lets Omori tag in Kuma who gets a big slam on Davey and then a jumping senton. Kuma with a rack on the big Canadian but Smith gets a sleeper out of that and then a Russian legsweep lets Davey tag in Naruki…who tries a slam on Kuma but he’s JUST TOO FAT and he crushes the junior. In comes Shota with a missile dropkick and now everybody bludgeons Doi in the corner. And they set up the assisted Superplex and they accidentally powerbomb Hokuto…so now we’re trying a bit where they do the same thing with Shota…and he gets accidentally powerbombed as well. Davey then runs in and then does a double-Irish whip on Seigo and Kuroshio to get them to do a stereo tope and we finally reset to Shota and Naruki with the rookie hitting a dropkick but then his brainbuster gets reversed and Doi gets a crab. Shota fights to the ropes twice but Doi drags him back in both times and the rookie finally taps.

**½

Hey I was expecting the comedy to be way more obnoxious and mostly they did a bog-standard house show tag. It was fine.

And we get the announcement of the 2025 World’s Strongest Tag Determination League:

A Block:

Baka no Jidai (Hideki Suzuki and Kengo Mashimo)

HAVOC (XYON and Oddyssey)

Hokuto-Gun (Hokuto Omori and Kuma Arashi)

Moo-chan & Se-chan (MUSASHI and Seiki Yoshioka)

Best of the Bulldogs (Kento Miyahara and Davey Boy Smith Jr.)

Dekai wa Seigi (Ren Ayabe and Talos)

And no B block so far!

Baka No Jidai (Hideki Suzuki, Hikaru Sato & Kengo Mashimo) vs. HAVOC (Oddyssey, Shotaro Ashino & Xyon)

Background: HAVOC is a recent stable of Shotaro and some big scary gaijin monsters, they’re coming for the gold and Hideki and Kengo happen to hold it right now. Hideki and Shotaro have also went at each other before and also teamed at various points as well.

The Match: HAVOC play rock paper scissors (or whatever it’s called in Japan) to determine who is first and we have Oddyssey and Kengo starting. The Odd One just tosses Kengo out of a lockup the Assasin teases a test of strength but just kicks away at the big mans legs and tries a single-leg but gets thrown around so Kengo goes the eyes…and Oddyssey just shoulders him down regardless and then does his “rolls over his opponent” spot. Kengo and Sato both run in to hit some double-team kicks on Oddyseey but he just runs over them and in comes Shotaro to throw uppercuts. Kengo foils Shotaro’s interference with a kick though and we get a double-tag to Hideki and XYON. Both men trade forearms and they trade more strikes, and both guys just sorta howl and no-sell and throw more strikes. XYON finally falls to his knees and Shotaro extends a hand but the Aussie waves him off, returns to his feet and unleashes a strike flurry on Suzuki. And just more of them trading elbows in the middle of the ring and finally Hideki lands an elbow and collapses on XYON for 3.

**

Well…it was unique? Suzuki matches are always…unique in that he’s this sort of different sort of worker, he’s a dude who is supposed to be this Real Fighter so he doesn’t sell or work like anybody else. I do like elements of this but ultimately I don’t think XYON is that sorta guy.

Post-match XYON and Suzuki hug it out.

Dan Tamura, Naoya Nomura & Suwama vs. Jun Saito, Rising HAYATO & Yuma Anzai

Background: So kind of a homecoming. Naoya of course just made his return and hasn’t face a LOT of these guys since his injury, Tamura has been around for a while as a rookie and is sorta Suwama’s protege, Suwama is a big deal in All Japan as the ace before Kento and also as Anzai’s trainer/mentor/idol. Jun of course is the champion and the face of a new generation, HAYATO and Anzai are tag-partners and Yuma is the prospective NEXT ace of All Japan who is back after 3 months away (though it’s unknown if he was hurt, burnt out, or I dunno, getting married). I believe this is the first time Anzai and Nomura have ever faced each other.

The Match: We start with Yuma and Suwama and they do the standing grappling into the ropes amateur routine, as they are wont to do. Headlock takeover, headscissors break, and they pause for applause. Suwama does look old here, but hey, he’s almost 50. HAYATO and Tamura next as the juniors do their sequence with wristlocks before HAYATO gets an overhand chop and a flying headscissors to put Tamura outside, but HAYATO fakes out on the dive and taunts. And Suwama just comes in to stomp out HAYATO to massive boos, we get a few staredowns and it’s back to Tamura chinlocking HAYATO before Nomura tags in, Naoya shrugs off HAYATO’s strikes and the heavyweight goes to work with his own rapidfire elbows. A slam and an elbow drop gets 2 and Naoya hammers away in the corner. HAYATO finally gets free and gets a dropkick and in comes Yuma with a flying forearm and a big belly-to-belly suplex and commentary is legit freaking out. Nomrua just hammers away with elbows but we get a massive Anzai dropkick but he whiffs the Jumbo Knee and Naoya just collides with a spear. Suwama back in and the vet lariats his protege down before getting the backdrop driver for 2.9. Another is fought out of, Anzai gets the knee but Suwama responds with a lariat and we get the double-tag. Jun is finally in and he goes at Tamura, Dan is fired up and gets chops and then a flying shoulder tackle to stagger the champ, but Saito is TOO BIG and boots Tamura down, Jun’s team runs in but their triple-teaming gets foiled by a double Tamura brainbuster and it’s breaking down in Tokyo as everybody flies in to do a move and then get wiped out. Back to Jun stalking a downed Tamura but Jun’s Psycho Break is countered and Tamura goes NUTS with close-range lariats, Jun with a goozle but Tamura breaks with a headbutt and then Saito gets one of his own (please don’t guys) and a chokeslam for 2.8. Delayed Jackhammer follows and that gets 3.

***

Kinda of a great teaser as opposed to a full-on match, but the reintroduction of Anzai, the Suwama stuff, Naoya getting his first chances at these new opponents, the future for AJPW is VERY bright.

Kento Miyahara vs. Ryuki Honda – Royal Road Tournament Finals

Background: Kento is the established ace, mutli-time champion, has a ton of records, Ryuki is still finding his place in the company and is strictly speaking a mid-card guy. But he has had big success at times against bigger names. Will Kento continue his domination? Or will Honda finally break through to the top?

The Match: Lockup and Kento wins, gives a clean break. Kento continues to outgrapple Honda but Ryuki howls like a lunatic and cranks in a headlock Kento shoots him off but eats a shoulderblock and powders, Honda goes wild on the outside and just throws Miyahara around and chokes him on the barricade and then just slaps Kento around. Kento finally reverses a charge and drops Ryuki throat-first onto the barricade and then mixes in some (very) worked headbutts. Back inside and Kento tries his double-dropkick combo but Ryuki catches him for a crab. Kento makes the ropes but falls victim to a corner clothesline. They go to the apron and Ryuki teases a German but Kento fights out and goes for a piledriver and after a struggle lands it, but both collapse outside. Kento gets up first and crawls inside, when Honda follows he eats a Blackout knee and Kento loads up a superplex but Honda fights it off until Miyahara finally lands it…and Honda does the big dramatic no-sell and spears down the best of the best. Ryuki charges again but Kento boots him down and Honda just won’t be stopped and gets up and slaps Kento around and then lands a killer right. Kento fires back with a slugfest but Honda looks more comfortable as he roars and howls and screams while trading shots. Ryuki with a German and a spear for 2.7. Kento slips a lariat and gets a victory roll out of a standing switch for 2.8 (the move he won his prior match with) and then gets a Blackout Knee and goes for the Shutdown German. Ryuki slips free and then gets a fireman’s carry takeover into a rolling cradle but he kinda slips it up and Kento kicks out at 2.9. Honda calls for the lariat and lands a brutal one that gets another 2.9. Honda goes for the Final Vent but Miyahara slips out and gets the Blackout Knee. Honda catches a boot into a Final Vent but Kento slips out again, but he can’t get anything as they’re just sprinting into a rope-run counters and Honda cuts his head off with a lariat (Miyahara going .9 Jannetty for it). Third attempt at the Final Vent gets 2.999 and Honda is now absolutely baffled and the crowd is electric. Ryuki calls for one last lariat but he gave Kento too much time and we see a Blackout knee and now a third attempt at the Shutdown German, Honda breaks free but Miyahara just immediately goes for it again and lands it for 3.

***½

Kinda the standard Kento heavyweight match with a game opponent. Honda still I think is missing SOMETHING as far as full packages are concerned but he’s a good fiery babyface with a super over finisher and he can throw one heck of a lariat. Going back to Kento makes sense as well, dude is their top guy and their biggest star and draw.

Post-match Kento gets a giant trophy and cuts a promo and out comes Jun and well, we know what’s coming.

Well, nothing truly great but a lot of good. Next up we got a pretty big show with some big title matches, that should be a good time.

Thanks for reading folks!