All Japan Pro Wrestling: World’s Strongest Tag Determination League 2025 November 22nd

Welcome all to the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League (or the Real Tag League but I prefer goofy ridiculous flowery Japanese direct translations), we are in Korakuen Hall, we have 1300 in attendance and we are going to have a great time!

We start with everybody in the ring with the big trophy and they’re all doing the whole ceremony, and as it ends some of the wrestlers jaw at each other, including Takashi kinda getting in the way of HAVOC and then backing off…which lets Takashi’s partner Kuroshio TOKYO Japan nail them all with a flip dive off the ringpost! And I guess this match is happening right now!

Takashi and Kuroshio TOKYO Japan [0] vs. HAVOC (XYON and Oddyssey) [0]- B Block

Background: So Takashi is a goofy old guy who likes punching people in the uh…lower groin region and kinda exists to be a whacky guy, his partner is the even more ridiculous Kuroshio TOKYO Japan who is a smaller guy who is always wearing a really loud blazer and has ridiculous entrances and tons of tricks and he’s kinda sorta this vibrant energetic clown. This team will be total madness. HAVOC are first of all, the tag-champions, two big scary gaijin, Oddyssey is the former Odyssey Jones of WWE/NXT, just a big massive guy with long hair and a singlet who is like…100+ pounds bigger than everybody else in the company, XYON was also a former NXT guy as Xyon Quinn and while he’s very, very big, he’s the ‘speed’ of the team as this jacked up Samoan-Australian former rugby star doesn’t know a million armbars, but he strikes hard and strikes fast.

The Match: As I said the refs are apparently cool with this so KTJ tosses XYON into the ring after the dive and tries to set up a double-team…but I guess the dive took out Takashi too and Kuro finds himself in the ring with a surly Samoan. Luckily Kuroshio can duck and dodge a few strikes and goes for some jacket punches but XYON snatches him for a fireman’s carry…that KTJ slips out of, grabs XYON, and calls for Takashi’s interference! And of course when the vet charges forward with a throat thrust he accidentally nails his partner. XYON menaces the vet and Takashi does big dramatic begging off faces…and evades a charge and starts on his throat thrusts! Until Takashi gets overzealous and thrusts a turnbuckle. XYON lands a strike flurry that knocks Takashi down…who in the process sends a foot flying between the uprights, so to speak. Oddyssey comes in next but even the big man is flummoxed by the two wiley vets combination striking and then a stereo gamengiri has them feeling good…until the Odd-one gets a double suplex and gyrates…but his hotdogging makes him miss a splash! Takashi/Kuroshio double-clothesline XYON out of the ring and then they…kidnap the man and run him up into the stands of Korakuen where they attack him and then run back to the ring to win by countout…well Kuroshio runs, Takashi lightly jogs back and makes sure to close the gates behind him. XYON sprints back and flies into the ring and both the Japanese guys look absolutely heartbroken. But they once again double-team the Aussie with strikes…until Oddyssey pops up behind them, they do the big goofy face fault, HAVOC gets stereo clotheslines, XYON whips KTJ into a black hole slam and XYON’s diving headbutt gets 3 on the jacket-clad man.

**½

Look it was basically a squash with some silly comedy in there. It didn’t overstay its welcome and it established that HAVOC are monsters but also maybe a BIT susceptible to veteran cunning, and that Kuroshio and Takashi are total goofballs.

Hokuto-Gun (Hokuto Omori and Kuma Arashi) [0] vs. HAVOC (Go Shiozaki and Shotaro Ashino) [0] – A Block

Background: The other half of HAVOC here, where the champs are all about unrelenting physical advantages, Go, while a bruising wrestler with a wicked array of strikes, is more of a cagey vet at this point as years of abuse in main-events around Japan have broken the man down. Leaving NOAH to once again explore All Japan (won the Triple Crown championship in his last run) he’s partnered with the squat Master of Suplex in Shotaro Ashino. Both guys are full of savvy and technique. Hokuto-Gun is of course the stable of Hokuto Omori, who has shed much of his silly heel mannerisms and is back to focusing on his deadly KO power and his wily collection of rollups and counters and reversals, his partner is Kuma Arashi, Kuma likes bears, and the burly fur-clad man loves sentons, and howling.

The Match: Go starts for HAVOC and Hokuto starts for his team. Shiozaki is having a blast playing to the crowd here we get a lockup and Omori wins and gives the clean break but blows a kiss. This however just sorta baffles Go who is like “what’s this guys deal?” with Shotaro as HAVOC are not taking any of this seriously. Hokuto is still offering a hand and Go is just super reluctant. And then Shiozaki accepts, Hokuto is so pleased and Go lariats him down. Kuma flies in to shoulder Go and then Shotaro takes Arashi out and HAVOC start the double-teaming on Omori with Shotaro whipping Go at Hokuto and some machinegun chops. Ashino comes in now with a chinlock and then a Karelin lift suplex. More abuse but Hokuto gets a sliding dropkick to the leg and a DDT and in comes Kuma with a pair of big slams and then a shoulder block on both HAVOC guys. Torture rack on Shotaro and he hurls Ashino at Go and howls. Kuma is still feeling it with a senton on Shotaro getting 2 and the big man tries a charge but Shotaro ducks, uppercut, release German and in comes Go with an overhead chop for 2 and the former-GHC champ goes for a Fisherman’s something but Kuma is JUST TOO FAT. Go tries his leaping shoulder off the ropes but Kuma shrugs it off and responds with a big fat dropkick and brings back in Hokuto who demands that handshake from Go and just beats him when Shiozaki doesn’t oblige. Hokuto-Gun then do some double-teams with Kuma slamming Omori on Go for 2, and a whip into a Hokuto RKO (called as such by commentary) and a Kuma senton gets broken up by Shotaro. Hokuto-Gun place Go on the top rope and they set up an assisted superplex (with Kuma powerbombing Omori) for 2.8. Interesting that goofy Hokuto would always have that blow up in his face. Omori follows with a frog splash that eats knees and Kuma runs in to put Go in an over-the-shoulder rack before Ashino saves his partner. Shotaro then rope-a-dopes Kuma and makes him senton Hokuto. A Go lariat takes out Kuma and HAVOC get a backdrop driver/diving chop combo that Kuma breaks up, and a Go Flasher gets 2.9. Go actually is hyped now and he removes his arm sleeve and that sets up a Gowan Lariat for 3.

**¾

So mostly set to establish that Hokuto has some of his earlier goofiness but now a bit more successful, him fighting for Go’s respect is a good beat. Kuma is the same guy he always was and will be and that’s fine. HAVOC’s vibe of “two crusty vets who are beat up but still smart and can dig deep if they have to” is nice and after years of Go being the serious babyface geek in NOAH, I like him having so much fun in AJPW.

Dan Tamura, Ryo Inoue, and Shota Kofuji vs. Jun Saito, MUSASHI, and Seiki Yoshioka

Background: Okay, so Dan, Ryo, and Shota are three variants of rookies (okay, maybe they’re ‘rookies’). Dan has had success as a craggy junior, Ryo is currently on a run of getting singles matches with (and getting demolished by) established stars, and Shota is the current pretty boy scrappy rookie junior who gets showcases where he gets demolished. Their opponents are in the tag league and are the All Asia champions in MUSASHI and Seiki (though they’re juniors themselves) and Jun, who is well…the former TC champ and the former tag league winner. His partner is still hurt so he’s on the outside looking in here. Those three rookies might be in trouble is all I’m saying.

The Match: MUSASHI and Dan start with sorta pushing stuff and Dan picks the leg and the vet is NOT a fan and starts pulling some hair and they’re VERY aggro here. MUSASHI tags out and Seiki calms him down and Shota comes in for the rookies and Yoshioka and him go fast with some float-overs and quick covers…and Kofuji gets the advantage with a dropkick and MUSASHI loses his top and runs in to yell…and the tag-champs cut down the rookie before Ryo runs in for the 1v2 and he gets cut down two by the vets teamwork. Back to isolating on Shota but they falter at a whip spot as MUSASHI is now being a guy too angry to wrestle right and Seiki is clearly frustrated and they do a comedy deal where BOTH guys charge Shota who gets a double boot in the corner and then a missile dropkick and it’s Dan on Seiki and we get the middlewight with his bruising power stuff but Seiki uses speed and it’s super effective (err, the attribute, not the drug). And in comes Jun with a Yakuza kick on Tamura and then a delayed one-armed brainbuster for an arrogant cover and Jun UNLEASHES THE HAIR! Psycho Break attempted but Dan counters and manages a shoulder tackle before bringing in Ryo who is absolutely unafraid of the heavyweight and just peppers Jun with kicks in the corner and then wins a whip exchange and lands a hesitation dropkick. Inoue’s team clears the floor and then all three of them go for corner charges on the ex-champ and Ryo gets a PK for 2.5. Ryo tries his lifting Complete Shot and Jun stuffs it, lands the goozle but Ryo slips the chokeslam and gets more kicks and a big left-hand…before Jun gets a boot and a lariat but Ryo’s teammates break it up. MUSASHI and Seiki now run interference with some slicks doubles (Seiki gets his tornado DDT/jump kick combo) and then MUSASHI lands a big flip dive and we cut back to the ring where Jun chokeslams Ryo for 3.

**½

It was quick and well-paced. I don’t know how much “Ryo steps to guys who are gonna kill him and he dies” can last, but it’s a fun run. Not sure how to feel about MUSASHI is an angry hothead now when that feels outta nowhere, but he’s always needed a personality. Jun is still the man in situations like this.

Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe and Talos) [0] vs. Baka No Jidai (Hideki Suzuki & Kengo Mashimo) [0] – A Block

Background: So the Titans are very tall, it includes AJPW wrestler Ren (though he was from JTO initially) and outsider Talos. Both are tall, Ren is a smug jock who was a babyface in a now defunct (I think?) stable ELPIDA but is embracing his jerkdom with long-haired gaijin Talos. Their opponents are the big shooter vet Hideki and smaller outsider vet Kengo. Both like submissions but are not nearly as tall as the…very tall Titans of Calamity. Whom are tall.

The Match: Talos and Kengo start with Mashimo evading a lockup and then calling for a test of strength spot, Talos laughs and of course puts his arm up way out of Kengo’s reach…so Kengo decides to put his arm down, Talos cooperates and Kengo stomps the hand. Ha! Mashimo’s strikes are useless though and Talos tosses him around before running the smaller man over with shoulderblocks. Kengo desperately asks for a tag and Hideki reluctantly agrees while Ayabe tags in on the other side. Ren quickly wins a lockup and ties up Suzuki in the ropes before mussing the hair…so Hideki hits Ren in the liver which just irks Ayabe who powers Hideki around and brings in Talos to pinball the vet. The Titans set up a Hart Attack of all things but Kengo trips up Talos on the outside and Suzuki turns the bearhug into a guillotine choke. Kengo takes down Talos with a kneebar outside but Ren bulls Hideki into the corner…before the vet reverses and starts hammering the giant with elbows to the mid-section and the ref finally breaks it up…before they both start slapping each other and Suzuki hammers Ren’s liver some more and hits the Garvin stomp. Ren fights up and throws hands of his own but Hideki gets a kick that’s maybe a LITTLE low and the ref gets in his face and Hideki barks back and it’s Kengo time. The smaller man fires away kicks but scuttles away from Talos’ reach in the corner as Baka No Jidai cut the ring in half and slowly work over Ayabe. Hideki with an armwringer and more strikes before he tries for a slam…that Ayabe turns into a brainbuster. Talos is in and he gets a corner avalanche and then another before picking up Hideki…booting a charging Kengo down, and slamming Suzuki in Mashimo for 2. A double sidewalk slam follows as Talos is hitting ALL the big power stuff. The big gaijin pulls down the straps and tries a double chokeslam before the vets kick the giant down and get stereo gamengiris to set up a double-tag and it’s Ren…who cuts off Hideki before he can reach his corner. Ayabe with a yakuza kick and his hooking clothesline get 2. Full nelson slam is attempted by Suzuki gets a victory roll for 2.7 and then a series of jumping kicks and then an attempt at an exploder but when Ren fights out Hideki goes for a sleeper instead before Ren falls into the ropes. Talos is still tied up outside in a Kengo kneebar and Suzuki gets his hanging headscissors in the ropes, the ref breaks and Suzuki goes up (?!) and Ren just hammers away on Hideki before landing a massive superplex for 2.8. Ren tries the Death Roulette but Suuzki gets the sleeper again but Ayabe falls into the ropes and Talos finally breaks free from Kengo to set up Ren’s full-nelson slam, but now Kengo breaks and he’s getting pinballed by the Titans. The massive double chokeslam takes Kengo out, and now a double big-boot and the Hart Attack (okay Talos does more of a flying one-handed goozle) sets up Ren’s Death Roulette for 3.

**¼

They’re tall, they’re powerful! Having Ren do extended heat segments is just not his skillset. Hideki isn’t a crazy bumper here so the match got slow and stodgy, but when the Titans actually were rolling on offense they’re pretty fun.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Kento Miyahara [0] vs. Naoya Nomura & Ryuki Honda [0] – B Block

Background: So DBSJ and Kento were a team and finalists in last years tournament, and since then both have won the Triple Crown title (Kento is still champ and doing better than Smith’s zero successful defense reign). Their opponents are sorta shoulda-been Naoya Nomura (dude lost almost two years of his career with a knee injury and complications from his knee injury) and Honda is in the same class as Yuma Anzai but has yet to capture any major gold. Both Naoya and Honda are sorta hard-scrabble straight to the face punch ‘em in the jaw brawlers though Ryuki is a bit sillier and Naoya is more polished technically and has a deeper bag. Kento is in his red and gold outfit though he has a lot of black creeping in there, DBSJ has the blue and white tribute to his dad, Honda has red and silver with the dyed hair and the vest, while Naoya is super no-frills with black trunks and dark hair.

The Match: We start with Kento and Naoya who had most recently met in the Royal Road tournament but have had a ton of matches against each other before Nomura’s injury. Both dance around and set up the Greco-Roman knucklelock but don’t fully commit as we’re going Big Fight Feel here. We lockup and Naoya gets Miyahara in the ropes and we do a super delayed break before Nomura pops the champ and cranks in a headlock. We do the full headlock takeover headscissors kip-up deal into a staredown and we get a double-tag. Davey and Honda do a headlock deal before setting up a shoulderblock battle with Honda way over acting and Davey barely emoting at all…and then we get a Honda dropdown into a Davey Boy cartwheel evasion (?!?!) and he wins the shoulderblock battle and Kento clears the apron and starts beating down Honda. But the champ takes too long and Ryuki counters with his rope choke before senior ref Wada just shuts it all down (Wada has been reffing All Japan since the 70s and he’s delightfully non-plussed about tolerating cheating) and we brawl outside. Naoya clocks Kento in the jaw before tossing him back in for Honda to choke him some more before Naoya tags in and beats down the champ. Kento gets worked up trying to go at Honda (who is attacking him from the apron) and gets pulverized by Naoya’s elbows. Nomura then tries to take out Davey on the apron but that goes against him and the big Canadian tags in to wipe out his opponents with slams and then an inside cradle on Naoya for 2. Davey with a brainbuster and scoop powerslam and then sets up the backdrop driver but Naoya slips out and gets a superman punch and a spear (acknowledge him?) and brings in Honda with a pair of corner lariats and a spear for 2. Honda’s German suplex is cut-short with a Davey DDT and Kento comes in to deliver some boots and then his dropkick comb…and a pose. Davey then comes in for some doubling but Honda evades and brings in Naoya who helps with a double shoulder on Smith and a double brainbuster on Kento for 2. Ryuki calls for the lariat but Kento ducks and sets up the Shutdown German and Honda slips out, Blackout knee…is caught by Honda who then gets a fireman’s carry takeover into a cradle for 2.9. That was ABSURDLY close. Honda keeps on the gas with a spear and Nomura adds a diving splash! Double spear looks to finish but that’s only 2.8. Ryuki calls for the lariat again and lands it for 2.9. Honda goes for Final Vent but Miyahara slips free and gets the Blackout knee, Davey runs in with a Backdrop driver and Nomura gets an elbow flurry and then hits Maximum (his high-angle death valley driver) and revitalizes Honda for another lariat…and that runs straight into a Blackout, Honda stays on his feet to land some short-range lariats but Kento has the Shutdown German and that’s 3.

***½

Okay, so Honda was probably too silly for most of the match (though he dialed in at the end) and Davey is only ever so interesting, but Naoya and Kento have CHEMISTRY. Like…this is a feud that should last for a LOOOOONG time. The biggest goof versus the most serious guy. Definitely some comparisons to Tanahashi and Shibata here (which makes Aoyagi Okada in this metaphor…okay it might be collapsing). It’s not GREAT but I do think that this matchup could be with a bit more stakes and perhaps different character beats.

Post-match Kento cuts a blistering promo about something but man I still feel it!

Double Yuma (Yuma Anzai and Yuma Aoyagi) [0] vs. Atsuki Aoyagi and Rising HAYATO [0] – B Block

Background: So there is some spoiler stuff as I’m writing it weeks afterwards that I’ll get into my next (much faster) review, but as it is right now. Yuma Aoyagi got tired of teaming with his dorky junior brother, Atsuki Aoyagi, and is now teaming with fellow stud heavyweight Yuma Anzai. Atsuki of course is not taking this well, at all, and him and old friend/buddy Rising HAYATO (another junior though beefier than Atsuki) and wants revenge for his arrogant big bro being a jerk, making him THE BIGGEST BABYFACE ON PLANET EARTH (I might have two older brothers). Yuma Anzai is gonna be Anzai here for obvious reasons and he’s a prodigal amateur standout, athletic, clean-cut, with big parallels to prior AJPW aces in Suwama and Jumbo Tsuruta (Went to the same school as them in fact) Anzai was in a stable with HAYATO once upon a time and regularly teamed with him before ELPIDA kinda…fell apart. Yuma Aoygai is gonna be Aoyagi here, and he’s a two-time Triple Crown champ, former running buddy with Naoya and Kento (and has won titles with them!) and while he’s called The Fool, he’s also the Insidious Fighter, he’s clever if maybe way too arrogant and doesn’t have enough killer instinct, but he loves to trick, mock, and humiliate his opponents. Atsuki Aoyagi is gonna be Atsuki here and he’s a very flippy, very traditionally modern junior, handsprings, 450s, dropkicks, dives. Rising HAYATO (I can call him either, whew!) is a beefy goth junior who does some fakery but also has heavy chops and a good selection of moonsaults…he has more than a little in common with Jeff Hardy (but like, he can wrestle). Anyway, Atsuki is hungry for revenge, the Yuma’s are kinda natively heels here for creating a super-team and big-leaguing lil bro.

The Match: Both Aoyagi brothers start off fast with Yuma being aggressive and Atsuki throwing some armdrags before Anzai and HAYATO come in. The heavyweight gets a lockup but Rising reverses in the ropes…and gives a heavy chop before Anzai just dusts him in the chops with a forearm. Anzai dropkick and a slam keeps him in control but HAYATO gets a low-bridge and his teased dive before hitting an evasion and a taunt. Yuma tries an ambush but lil bro wipes him out with a missile dropkick and the juniors then get Anzai with a double dropkick Stereo planchas and everybody brawls outside for a spell before we’re back to HAYATO stomping and chopping Anzai and then Atsuki tags in to keep the kick punch going. Atsuki tries a slam but Anzai is too big, and then when running the ropes Yuma trips him up and brings him into the crowd to beat him up and bounce Atsuki’s head off the wall. Anzai and HAYATO brawl ringside while Yuma drags his little brother back and tosses him into the ring post. LIKE A JERK! And then into the barricade…LIKE A CAD! And then springboards off the ring barricade to deliver a diving leg drop to the back of Atsuki’s head and…okay that was very cool. Anyway Yuma tosses Atsuki back in for an easy 2 count cover by Anzai and Double Yuma are now in total control. Atsuki tries some desperate strikes but Yuma gets the slam and the arrogant cover to mock HAYATO. Yuma flips HAYATO the bird and gets a leg drop for 2 on his lil bro and he’s such a jerk here. Anzai in now and we get another easy cover for 2.5 as Atsuki is wearing down. Interesting to see Anzai play heel here as he’s just sort stoically abusing the smaller guy while Yuma takes deep pleasure in humiliating his younger brother. Back to the brother fight and Yuma just shuts down everything Atsuki tries and then gets a piledriver for 2.7 and a chinlock to just abuse him. Atsuki finally makes the ropes. Atsuki finally gets to use his speed to reverse a whip and gets a dropkick out of a pop-up and in comes HAYATO to hit a whisper in the wind off of Yuma’s back to wipe out Anzai on the apron. High back elbow, another kick to Anzai and Rising gets a corner charge and a bulldog for 2 on Yuma. Overhand chop…but Yuma with the kitchen sink knee and Anzai is now in to avenge himself. Jumping forearm smash in the corner…and then some ground and pound as Anzai is ticked off. Flying knee to HAYATO’s back gets 2.5 and the young ace is getting mean as he goes for a German before HAYATO gets more elbows and chops to stagger the heavyweight (Anzai’s left pec is notably red as HAYATO keeps slashing it). Angry Anzai gets a Daisuke Harada style lifting knee strike and then a butterfly suplex for 2.6. Anzai takes a moment before loading up the Gimlet…but HAYATO gets a rana for 2.9! HAYATO with a chop and a leg lariat, but Anzai gets a belly-to-belly…but his next suplex is reversed and we have a double-down into a double-tag. Atsuki uses a ton of evasion and speed to befuddle his bigger brother and a dropkick gets Yuma down. The fisherman’s bomb is foiled though and Yuma pulls off a Gory Bomb (?!?) and then goes to his End Game hammerlock guillotine. Atsuki makes the ropes and in comes Anzai but the young junior foils the double team and Atsuki gets a handspring kick and in comes HAYATO. Atsuki with a wheelbarrow facebuster with HAYATO’s diving codebreaker and then an Atsuki backdrop suplex with HAYATO’s jumping neckbreaker sets up Atsuki for a moonsault…that whiffs and Anzai gets a dropkick on Atsuki, HAYATO with a spinning heel kick on Anzai, Yuma with a dropkick on HAYATO, Yuma then a dropkick on Atsuki…but lil bro responds with a tilt-a-whirl DDT and we have a double-down. Both brothers slug it out with Atsuki getting the edge. Both do some run and gun stuff and Yuma gets a backdrop suplex for 2.7 and Anzai runs in to get a butterfly suplex and Yuma gets the diving elbow for 2 and then a brainbuster for 2.8. Rockstar Buster attempt is turned into an Atsuki schoolboy and then inside cradle and then a la magistral for 2.9. 540 kick and HAYATO runs in for a tornado DDT! Atsuki gets his rolling fisherman’s suplexes for 2.8! Atsuki with the moonsault but Anzai flies in, breaks the count and deadlifts Atsuki for a German, Jumbo knee wipes out an interfering HAYATO and a second destroys him. Jumbo knee to Atsuki and Anzai wraps up HAYATO outside and Yuma recovers enough for a running lariat…for 2.8. Yuma with a Rockstar Buster for 2.99 on Atsuki, but The Fool is slipped out of! Atsuki gets his own lariat, HAYATO and Anzai run in to brawl! Okay Anzai just kills him. But Atsuki gets a superkick on Anzai! HAYATO follows! Stereo superkicks! Double fisherman’s bomb! Now it’s Yuma on his own and HAYATO gets the B-Driver! They set Yuma up for…Atsuki hitting a Spanish Fly on HAYATO onto Yuma? Well that’s unique. HAYATO then gets another plancha on Anzai to keep him out of the match and Atsuki goes up again and here comes the 450 and the 1-2-3.

****¼

Well. My goodness. You had a LOT of history here, brother vs. brother, former stablemate, big vs. little, accomplished vs. not. Just a ton of dynamics and MAN did Atsuki and HAYATO pull of the underdog dynamic. And while boisterous, arrogant, overconfident, maybe even idiotic Yuma got in over his head and Anzai bailed him out repeatedly (seriously, despite the loss, Anzai came across as a total killer in the best way possible) and even still lil bro got his moment and pinned his jerkwad older brother clean a sa sheet! God is good! Okay I joke but I get along really well with my older siblings, but as the youngest I gotta cape. Really fun match for a ton of reasons and when it starts rolling for that last period it’s a total treat.

I once again continually apologize for my lateness, but my real job is shipping and receiving for a large retail enterprise and the holidays are absolutely brutal, should be smooth sailing further on and I look forward to treating you all this holiday season to my random AJPW musings. Happy holidays and may everybody here righteously pin their jerkwad big brothers with a beautiful 450 splash…of love.