All Japan Pro Wrestling: Launch Commemoration Series 2025 – 10.22.25

So we’re back in Korakuen Hall with 1300 people with a pretty big main-event and then some other stuff, let’s get to it!

Yuma Aoyagi vs. Shota Kofuji

Background: So Yuma Aoyagi is a two-time Triple Crown champion and a perennial upper-card threat that is both a babyface and also kind of a massive trolling jerk who doesn’t take things seriously. Shota is the greenest of greenhorn rookie pin-eaters in the company.

The Match: After some taunting, Shota wins a lockup and chops Yuma out of the break. A second attempt and Yuma wins but Shota reverses into the ropes and gets a chop and Aoyagi is just sorta baffled now. Yuma does some big-man stuff with a few shoulderbocks before Shota gets some armdrags and a dropkick and Aoyagi is just hurt and confused. Shota tries a bodyslam but Yuma easily reverses and then kicks him and is just peeved as he stomps the rookie around before Kofuji pops up with a slap and then they slug it out before Yuma gets a slam and a legdrop and then another slam into some elbow drops as the vet is just bullying Shota before he cranks in a camel clutch. Shota finally makes the ropes, and gets a few chops against Yuma before the vet gets a piledriver for 2.8. Aoyagi tries a corner charge that Shota foils with a dropkick and then a corner charge before they brawl for a spell before Kofuji gets a missile dropkick and then tries for a fisherman’s suplex but Yuma reverses into a sleeper. Shota reaches the ropes but Aoyagi is VERY reluctant to break the ropes and works the jeers for a bit before he tries a suplex, Shota reverses and then gets an armdrag and finally lands the fisherman’s suplex for 2. Yuma gets a brainbuster, but a second attempt gets a flurry of pin attempts before Aoyagi gets a pair of kitchen sink knees for a 2 count, then a brainbuster for 2.9, and a diving elbow for 3.

**¼

Okay, this was just Yuma getting lazy and tested before he busted out his actual offense and put the rookie down. I can’t think about every Shota match that this should be Taishin but that’s a different bit of sorrow in my life. Kofuji is a good whitebread geek and Yuma is good as the arrogant but charming star who is getting tested past his position. This worked for me.

Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato, Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Naruki Doi) & Yuko Miyamoto vs. Hokuto Omori, Kuma Arashi, Takashi & Tokyo Yankees (Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana)

Background: Total random multi-man match, though chunky brawler Tamura has teamed with journeyman vet Sato in various stables, and the Saitos are of course names as well, Yuko is just a crusty journeyman vet with a TV title in his background. The opposing team is MMA wannabe Hokuto Omori, bear-enthusiast barbarian Kuma Arashi, testicular torturer Takashi, and the total goofball team of KTJ and Seigo. This match should probably be excessively silly.

The Match: Hot start with Hokuto’s team jumping Saito’s team and them brawling outside. We get Kuroshio trying to mock Jun’s ponytail before getting slugged down and they all just punch each other a little bit.Back in the ring and it’s Kuma versus Naruki who do stuff at 10% speed while brawling happens…and then Tokyo Yankees help out Kuma stomp on Doi. We get Takashi almost throat-thrusting his partner while Doi and Kuma continue to work at a glacial pace with very basic stuff (Doi tries a slam but Kuma is JUST TOO FAT). A senton and Arashi tags in Seigo but Doi brings in Jun who just demolishes Tachibana with a shoulder and a stomp while he UNLEASHES THE HAIR! The ex-champ just works the punk over a bit in the corner before Sato comes in to stomp the wannabe Yakuza down and then goes for a kneebar. Yuko then comes in for a double-team but misses a back handspring elbow and that lets Takashi tag in who just throat thrusts everybody before Jun gets a goozle, Takashi breaks, Saito chops, but Takashi takes a bump and low blows Jun at the same time. Yuko and KTJ in now and we get jacket punches and then KTJ goes inside-out with a triangle moonsault. Kuroshio goes up again but Yuko runs the ropes so KTJ lands crotch-first on the top rope and then a handspring rebounds Kuroshio off the rope in a total Looney Tunes spot. Tamura in now with plain physicality but KTJ gets a sleeper and Seigo an elbow and now they’re all going after the isolated rookie. Tamura gets placed on the top rope…and instead of loading up the superplex, Omori just tosses him off the top, gets a corner elbow and a 2-count as it’s broken up. Hokuto tells Kuma to leave instead of continuing the double-team and Omori gets a forearm and sets up something, but Tamura gets a Samoan drop…and Hokuto totally no-sells it, pops back up, throws another elbow, a rolling elbow and a dragon suplex for 2.8. Muso Issen (cross-legged fisherman’s driver) is an academic 3 for Omori.

**¼

…okay, so that was mostly silly stuff, but Hokuto ending the match by being totally serious, refusing to do his prior comedy stuff and just murdering Tamura is a VERY interesting note.

Baka No Jidai (Fuminori Abe, Hideki Suzuki & Kengo Mashimo) vs. HAVOC (Oddyssey, Shotaro Ashino & XYON)

Background: Baka No Jidai were prior tag team champions, HAVOC are current champions by beating Baka…just a six-man to continue the feud with Abe (a Big Japan junior) and Shotaro to fill out into a six-man.

The Match: Feisty, squat, technicians Shotaro and Kengo start with some frenetic grappling and some standing switches before Kengo breaks in the ropes, early anklelock tease from Shotaro and Mashimo goes for Shotaro’s injured elbow and they do some reversals/dodges and tag out to Hideki and XYON who have had history. Suzuki once knocking out XYON for a win and XYON getting his own back to get the title, they’re both beefy brawlers who aren’t really power guys but have size, XYON also has speed, and Hideki has technique. XYON taunts and calls for a test of strength and gets immediately wrapped up by Hideki and taken down…so XYON kips up and throws some strikes, floats over from a corner charge and gets a hard whip to the corner for 2. Oddyssey tags in now and just demolishes Hideki in the corner and gyrates. Hideki suckers in the odd one for a hanging headscissors choke and then tries a sleeper with a nose tweak before tagging in Abe. The fired up junior striker tries for a whip but uh…Oddyssey might be three times his size, a corkscrew kick lands though and the Odd-one just lifts Fuminori in the air before Baka No Jidai run in and target the big man…who just shrugs it all off and picks up Abe for a rack…and Kengo and Hideki eventually free their partner but Oddyssey rebounds off a whip and gets a double clothesline and in comes XYON to run wild before HAVOC all pose as a trio in the ring. Abe tries to come back against all three but a (sloppy) German suplex/necbkreaker by Shotaro and XYON sets up a Oddyssey second-rope splash for 3.

**½

Okay, I was expecting a longer finishing sequence but yeah, HAVOC are the dudes right now.

Post-match HAVOC taunt and pose to cheers from the crowd.

Naoya Nomura & Ryuki Honda vs. Ren Ayabe & Talos

Background: As with most stuff Naoya, he’s been gone so long that he has very little history with these people that debuted after his absence. But Naoya is a black-trunked straightforward butt-whooper with relentless energy, Honda is an energetic brawler with some cheating spots and a goofy squad. They’re opposing the VERY TALL team of Ren Ayabe and Talos. Ren is an athletic, tall, arrogant and stoic guy who was in a team with Ryuki. Talos is a gigantic Gaijin who was in Hokuto-Gun for half a second but is now working with Ren for the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League…and apparently Naoya/Honda are too.

The Match: Talos and Naoya start, Talos is tall and big and arrogant and Nomura slaps him and tries a flurry of strikes but is shut down instantly and we get a double-tag where former partners Honda and Ren stare each other down before the big monster lockup that Ren wins, disrupts the hair in the break, shoulderblock battle goes towards Ayabe, Ryuki with a drop toehold and the corner choke with the count. I’ve seen this routine probably 25 times by now but hey, it’s what they do. Naoya comes in but Ren shrugs it off and brings in Talos to set up a double boot-choke in the corner before the ref breaks and now Talos chokes Ryuki on the ropes, gets a big forearm, and chokes some more. Ren in and he gets a big slam while Honda yells and sells before a quick tag brings Talos back in to run Honda into the corner and get some clotheslines before his own slam. Honda flops to the corner and brings in Naoya with a pair of dropkicks but a whip goes nowhere until he gets a missile dropkick…and a corner charge gets caught into a slam by Talos and Ren comes in to beat down Naoya and get his hooking clothesline into a Yakuza kick for 2. Death Roulette attempt is reversed by Naoya into a superman forearm and then a tag to Honda who bludgeons Ren in the corner…before getting booted down. Ren with a Yakuza kick, Talos with a corner clothesline, and then a Hart Attack with a big boot for 2.5 has Ren mildly peeved. Ryuki blasts off a shot and brings in Naoya for some rapid doubles but Ren just swats down his opponents before getting cornered again by his faster foes. A double-spear gets 2.7 for Honda and the redhead tries for Final Vent but Ayabe shuts it down with another boot but another Death Roulette attempt is shut down and Naoya flies in to get a double brainbuster. They try the double-spear on Talos who stuffs it and gets a double chokeslam instead. Ayabe gets a full-nelson slam on Honda for 2.9 and then a third Death Roulette lands for 3.

***

These guys are too big for their feisty opponents, it got a BIT repetitive but they got over their advantage like none other and it really worked. They just shrugged stuff off as two big giant guys should.

Yuma Anzai vs. Ryo Inoue

Background: Yuma is a former Triple Crown champion and a big athletic prodigy who works like Jumbo with perfect hair. Ryo is a scrappy junior who has never won anything but is trying to test himself against big heavyweights as a sorta kick-happy KENTA ripoff.

The Match: Standing grappling as Ryo is fearless in trying to oppose Yuma who is just way bigger, stronger, and more skilled. But Ryo wraps up Yuma in the ropes, gets a dirty break with a kick and then ANOTHER kick to stagger the heavyweight. More kicks to a downed Yuma before Anzai fires back and we have a slugfest that Anzai wins with a dropkick. Ryo fires back and tries to slug it out again but Yuma drops him with a back elbow for 2. Corner charge, slam, cover, crab. Ryo makes the ropes and Yuma puts in an “okay I guess I’ll stick around for the next 30” before they struggle for holds and Ryo gets a crisp jump kick and gets a chant as he fires up for another jump kick for 2 and then a rolling hold into a calf-slice and Anzai breaks. They slug it out and Anzai is disgusted as Ryo is matching him with blows. Ryo ducks a charge and unleashes a some kicks before Yuma shrugs it all off and suplexes the junior out of the corner for 2 and then gets a butterfly suplex for 2 as well. Gimlet attempt is foiled as Ryo gets a series of strikes for 2.99. Lifting facebuster gets 2.8 and Ryo sets up the cutthroat suplex that Anzai tries to slip out of before the junior gets a cross-legged kneebar for massive tension. Yuma finally makes the ropes out of desperation. Ryo whiffs a buzzsaw kick and Yuma gets a knee to the back and a Dragon suplex for 2. Ryo tries a fancy rollup but Yuma turns that into a German for 2.8. A pair of jumping knees get 2.97 for Yuma but the ace just snatches Inoue for a gimlet and that’s 3.

***½

Both guys are on a run. We know Yuma is winning, we know that Ryo is gonna bust his but to try to contend. And well…here they are. Remarkable poise from a guy as young as Yuma working as the crusty vet. And Ryo knows how to do the fiery youngster regardless.

MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka (c) vs. Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO – All Asia Tag Team Championship

Background: So MUSASHI and Seiki won the belts from Aoyagi and big brother Yuma, so Atsuki is returning to his regular junior partner HAYATO to get a crack. These guys are also all feuding over the junior title, with all of them having held the belt in the last year and a half. MUSASHI is the most well-rounded of the four, Seiki is the fastest with the best strikes, Aoyagi is the flippiest, and HAYATO is probably the slickest with the most lucha-inspired stuff.

The Match: MUSASHI slaps Seiki to indicate that he’s starting, and HAYATO is on the other side. MUSASHI and HAYATO start with some standing switches and wristlockery that goes the vets way, but HAYATO uses agility to reverse and gets an overhand chop before we get the “simultaneous leaping roll/guy rolling backwards” deal and a float-over as they’re hitting all the standards. MUSASHI takes over with a flying headscissors but he waits for Rising to…rise to his feet (apologies) and now HAYATO just tags MUSASHI with a slap but Seiki runs in with some strikes and they go for Seiki holding HAYATO for a slap and that goes obviously wrong as HAYATO ducks…but so does Seiki and he then nails MUSASHI with a slap. Okay, much more slapstick than I expected in a heated match. Anyway, the young guys hit stereo pescados on the feuding partners and it’s back to HAYATO and MUSASHI in the ring and the young goth has ZERO issues stomping on a downed opponent. Aoyagi in for some stomping and then they kinda heel it up by choking MUSASHI on the ropes, then a double hip-toss into stereo dropkicks and Atsuki with a chinlock. MUSASHI makes the ropes and fires back with…yes…a chop, but Aoyagi returns and brings in HAYATO and they exchange strike, MUSAHI wins a rope-run exchange with a forearm and this match is…wonky. Seiki tags in and he goes REALLY fast before dropping HAYATO with a flying boot and when Atsuki runs in he counters the double with a tornado DDT/kick combo. HAYATO stuffs a whip and gets a front dropkick and brings in Aoyagi who uses some handsprings to gets space for a springboard armdrag and a dropkick before some rolling fisherman’s suplexes for 2. Aoyagi goes up for a moonsault but whiffs, and Yoshioka comes back with a kick combo…and eats a brainbuster for a double-down. HAYATO and MUSASHI in and HAYATO goes fast but whiffs the high elbow and MUSASHI gets his dropkick/stomp/dropkick combo. Seiki in with a knee to kick combo in the corner and then MUSASHI gets some kicks for 2. But HAYATO gets a tornado DDT between the ropes and cuts off Yoshioka with a leg lariat, Seiki tries the scissor kick but Aoyagi wipes Seiki out with a huge dropkick. This match is finding its rhythm now. The youngsters gets a the wheelbarrow facebuster/diving codebreaker combo into a back suplex/neckbreaker for 2.6. MUSAHI catches a superkick and they slug it out again before HAYATO misses a charge, gets a double jump kick from the vets, and Seiki’s super rana sets up a MUSASHI frog splash that Atsuki breaks up at 2.9. Seiki follows Aoyagi outside while MUSASHI loads up his weird emerald flowsion out of the corner that HAYATO turns into a victory roll for 2 and then Aoyagi gets a spin kick and they get a double fisherman’s suplex lift into a spinebuster that Seiki breaks up. HAYATO with the top-rope lionsault that whiffs (again) and Seiki runs in with a buzzsaw kick but Atsuki follows with a handspring reverse kick, but MUSASHI gets an enzuigiri and we reset to HAYATO and MUSASHI. The vet gets an exploder and a falcon arrow for 2.5…but HAYATO then tries for his wheelbarrow driver and MUSASHI flips out to set up a tombstone before HAYATO flips out and lands the driver…but MUSASHI reverses into a victory roll for 2.9. Both trade superkicks and MUSASHI gets a half-nelson facebuster, a thrust kick to the back of the head gets 2.8 as Aoyagi breaks it up AGAIN. Seiki gets a quebrada on Atsuki as MUSASHI gets a pair of frog splashes on HAYATO and that’s enough for…2.9. So MUSASHI sets up the goth in the corner with the emerald flowsion and that’s 3.

**¾

Okay a really weird, dodgy, bizarrely comic start kinda threw this off, but eventually it became a pretty good junior tag match (though some of the selling was wonky) both teams getting multiple breakups and them needing to finally take out the opposing person so one guy could win is a nice touch and shows that these teams are actually teams.

Post-match Hideki Suzuki and Shota Kofuji come out to challenge for the belts.

Kento Miyahara (c) vs. Go Shiozaki – Triple Crown Championship

Background: So tons of history here. This is not Go’s first rodeo in AJPW, and has won the TC in the past and also BEATEN THE HECK out of Kento in the process. Shiozaki is back, older, more beat up, but he wants that gold. Also of course Go is long-term friends with Kento’s mega-rival Katsuhiko Nakajima so once again we have these AXIZ (that’s the name, don’t ask) jerks trying to take out the Best of the Best. Also for some reason Go is now dressed like a fashion designer with some thick-framed glasses, an earring, and a houndstooth blazer with a black turtleneck combo. After him wearing exclusively t-shirts in NOAH it’s a shift.

The Match: We get the big main-event staredown before the monster lockup that Shiozaki wins and gives a clean break on. Go goes for a wristlock next but Kento reverses and gets Go into the ropes and Kento teases a clean break but slaps Go and then boots him outside where they brawl ringside but Kento slips the whip into a barricade and rolls back inside to pose. Go smirks on the outside as he catches his breath and slowly gets back inside and now Go unleashes his chops, now Miyahara powders and he just sells the pain of every blow as Shiozaki dogwalks him outside and gets a running knee to Kento on the apron. Miyahara catches go on a charge though and hotshots him onto the barricade and then throws headbutts, and more headbutts, and MORE headbutts. Calm down Kento. We end up back inside and now it’s Go with elbows before a Kento boot shuts that down. Kento with more deliberate offense and it’s Go that quickens the pace with a jumping shoulderblock and then another chop to obliterate Kento. And now Shiozaki with the machinegun chops in the corner, and then a running chop before a lariat gets 2.6. Go goes for a Fisherman’s Buster but Kento stuffs it and drops Go on the apron but a lariat knocks Miyahara down anyway and Go pulls the champ to the apron. Go tries a brainbuster on the apron but Kento hooks his leg on the ropes to block before Go gets a headbutt of his own and then sets up an inside out superplex before Kento slips out and gets his apron piledriver. Go eventually stumbles to his feet and makes it back in but Kento immediately gets a Blackout knee and Go is down. The ref checks on the challenger and when Go makes his feet Kento fires off a Yakuza kick and then a superplex attempt but Go fights out and headbutts Kento down before pulling off what isn’t an inside out superplex but instead a sort of avalanche twisting neckbreaker off the top, picking the guy up and twisting while falling forward off the top. No cover as its a double-down but Go gets up first and they’re all wobble-legged as they trade strikes. Go fires himself up and unleashes some chops that absolutely stagger Kento. Shiozaki sets up the Go Flasher but Kento reverses into a brainbuster and gets a Blackout against the ropes, a second Blackout is attempted but Go LARIATS THE LEG! I do appreciate them both selling that. Another lariat and this time Kento blocks with a boot but a followup puts Kento down and now he gets the Go Flasher for 2.9. Go loads up the Burning Lariat but Kento ducks and goes for a schoolboy (?!) Blackout knee! And go looks unconscious here. Shutdown attempt but Go breaks, catches Kento’s boot, but eats a headbutt before Go fires back with a big lariat Go gets his Limit Break (wrist-clutch inverted scoop brainbuster) for 2.8 and Go gets a massive running lariat for 2.99. Go pulls his armsleeve off and goes for another lariat, but Kento gets a Blackout knee and goes for Shutdown German #2, and Go breaks, gets a spinning back chop, discus lariat/forearm but Kento with ANOTHER Blackout and another Shutdown and this gets 3.

****¼

Look Go isn’t quite the same Go as he was 5 years ago, but him and Kento have nutty chemistry today and just a guy who can beat the tar out of somebody and sell and has credible offense can honestly center Kento who sometimes gets a bit…noodle-y and goofy in main-events without a clear heel to go against. Really great stuff.

Post-match HAVOC help Go to the back as Kento cuts a promo on him and then Miyahara gets jumped by Hokuto Omori with a Dragon suplex and I assume that’s the next challenger.

Well, this show was mostly mediocre, but the main was good!