All Japan Pro Wrestling: New Year’s Eve 2025

We made it. I’m obviously late but this one should be worth it, we’re in Yoyogi National Gymnasium #2 in Tokyo Japan, we got 2700 fans in the building (which is pretty close to max capacity from what I gather). It’s a nice looking building with a really, really cool ceiling and we’re off to the races as we got a man in a suit running down the card. One thing that needs to be brought up is that All Japan, insteading of building one supercard, basically had a setup where they ran three different cards all headlined by different title matches to sorta stretch the show out, I’m not sure it’ll work, but if you wonder why we’re going to have some of the matches on the card, that is why.

Fuminori Abe, KURAMA, Naruki Doi & Seigo Tachibana vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Dan Tamura, Rising HAYATO & Ryo Inoue

Background: Big junior showcase to set up a few matches down the line. Abe is mostly a Big Japan junior but has had a lot of reps in All Japan, he’s sort of a scrappy striker guy, Naruki Doi is the vet of the division despite being a previous top-level dude in DragonGate and is now hanging out with the Saito Brothers as Mr. Saito, but can still dial the clock back at times, Seigo Tachibana is mostly a goofy wannabe Yakuza guy but sometimes he unleashes some heavy, heavy strikes and has had a long-running violent friendship with Abe, and…well I guess I gotta talk about KURAMA. So. KURAMA was known as Yasutaka Yano in NOAH and was one of their rising junior stars before he was released from his contract for allegedly assaulting a woman, he has made a public apology, apparently the charges have been dropped but the whole situation is icky (as is AJPW using guys like Oddyssey who has his own sorta dodgy thing that did result in dropped charges) KURAMA has his rabbit mask and spent some time in Mexico to learn some lucha skills but he has returned to Japan. Anyway, the other team is Junior champ Atsuki Aoyagi, who is very flippy and will be defending against KURAMA later on, his partners are bruising oversized junior Dan Tamura, and Aoyagi’s long-term goth pretty boy partner, Rising HAYATO, filling out that side is cocky striker Ryo Inoue, who is graduated enough from rookie status to have long hair and cool gear, but not enough that he doesn’t get routinely clobbered by vets.

The Match: KURAMA starts against Aoyagi, and the champ is VERY over. KURAMA powders out of a lockup just like he powdered out of legal charges (okay I’ll stop) before he does some slippery stuff and shows off his lucha techniques by slipping out a second lockup and gets an armbar with his legs while in guard. We get a headlock with KURAMA turning it into a hairpull and then more evasions turn into a headscissors and a dropkick as they’re definitely putting over that KURAMA is too slick for Aoyagi. Ryo and Abe tag in and we get a quick kick from Ryo before Abe goes into the ropes and then slaps Inoue, who responds with kicks and more kicks, and guess what, more kicks! Fuminori gets a slap, a snapmare, and a big windup to a kick before they both standstill and sorta bass mouth each other and it’s a tag to HAYATO and Seigo who lockup with HAYATO getting a headlock, but Seigo pulls the hair (lotta hairpulling!) and then do a shoulderblock war with Tachibana talking a lot before they do a whip sequence with HAYATO getting his boot up to block a charge and a fancy headscissors sets up a fakeout dive into a taunt by our goth twink hero…but KURAMA gets him in the back and then Aoyagi runs in only to get knocked outside and then whipped into the barricade and tortured by the bunny-masked psycho. Mr. Saito now feels the need to run in but HAYATO foils the double when Seigo accidentally boots Doi, but Seigo gets a Manhattan drop and a boot and brings in KURAMA to drop Rising HAYATO with a back elbow and a hesitation leg drop before Saito comes in and HAYATO is our goth in peril as he gets stomped in the corner and his arm is twisted, but HAYATO slips out and gets a rope-run back elbow and brings in Tamura who gets a shoulder and a brainbuster for a cover and then tries a fireman’s carry but Doi slips out for a neckbreaker and a flip senton and bring in Abe to wipe out the apron and we get a double-team that Dan foils and Abe wipes out Naruki…but Fuminori gets a few kicks to remain in control but NOW Dan gets the fireman’s carry slam and bring in Aoyagi with a missile dropkick, but KURAMA quickly comes in and foils all of the champs offense and drops him with a dropkick and a two-handed bulldog before setting up a backdrop driver that Aoyagi fights out of. They trade shots, KURAMA gets a hip-toss slam, Aoyagi pops up with a cyclone kick and in comes Inoue! He clears the apron and brings in everybody to bludgeon KURAMA and Ryo gets a 2 off a kick before its broken up and it’s breaking loose in Tokyo! Double pescado from Aoyagi and HAYATO and it’s back to RYo and KURAMA, Inoue misses a kick and KURAMA gets a single-knee facebreaker and then foils a HAYATO/Atsuki double team before diving on everybody and bringing Ryo back in for something but Inoue slips free and gets a kick flurry…but when KURAMA falls back he gets a low blow and then takes over with his own strikes and gets an one-armed spinning neckbreaker for 2 and then a double-arm suplex into a neckbreaker for 3.

**½

Well, KURAMA looks like a killer (eugh) and it was mostly just a fast-paced flurry of stuff that let guys hit their character beats and establish that KURAMA has the champs number.

New Year’s Eve Rumble

Background: So uh…these are sorta mystery events where guys enter and then get eliminated and it’s all very silly, and to keep some sense of narrative in this assuredly very silly match, I’m going to describe people as they enter instead of doing it here.

The Match: So we start with Aizawa NO. 1, who is a very silly junior with a ridiculous butterfly mask and robe and a bottle of champagne and he’s most known as one of the comedy goofs in Hokuto-Gun as their most disposable member, he pops the champagne as he enters the ring and now we have Kikutaro who is a pretty famous Japanese indie comedy guy who has a silly mask and…I don’t really know what he is other than a famous goof. Aizawa offers a handshake, Kikutaro accepts and gets kicked low, but Kikutaro does a shoulderblock and then foils a dropdown and hits an elbow drop. Kikutaro chops away at Aizawa’s head, and Jack Kennedy, the big dorky white dude in Hokuto-Gun comes out, and his theme is apparently “Jack Kennedy, Kennedy, Kennedy!” just repeatedly. He chops Kikutaro, slams him and daps up Aizawa. Next up is Hikaru Sato, who is both a comedy guy but he also is a filler in tag tournaments and junior matches as a shooter vet guy, he shows up, takes his gi belt off, and whips the Hokuto-Gun guys. Senor Saito is up next, and he’s a death match guy now as a comedy vet jobber guy he squares up with Kennedy who lariats him immediately and they all pin him. While Kengo Mashimo makes his entrance we get Sato tossing Kennedy…with Aizawa’s help! What a betrayal! So we get Kengo throwing kicks at everybody until Kikutaro catches his leg and it’s dragonscrew time! And a dragonscrew on Sato, and then a dragonscrew on Aizawa before he locks in a figure four but Kengo and Sato just cover both of them and both are eliminated. And now we get Kuroshio TOKYO Japan to run out and do his elaborate entrance through the crowd while Sato and Kengo throw forearms in the ring. Takashi now runs out with his fingers in throat-thrusting position and he does laps around the ring while both Kengo and Sato have a double elimination…and then Kengo throat thrusts Hikaru anyway and runs into the barricade. KTJ has yet to make it to the ring, but out next is Aja Kong! Coming out to Electric Eye, heck yeah! Aja and Takashi have a show down but we have our final entrant as making her way to the ring is Dump Matsumoto…being carried by Kikutaro, Kennedy, and Aizawa No. 1. Meanwhile Takashi has been eliminated to little fanfare. We get a big dramatic showdown with Kong and Dump and KTJ interrupts to make his appearance in the match. Dump tries to cane Kuroshio but whiffs and blasts Aja, Dump gets the cane shot on KTJ and Aja gets an uraken…but KTJ falls on Kong and pins her…and rolls over so Dump can fall and pin him.

*½

Well it was better than the last time they tried this by actually having eliminations. This is just a sorta goof fest but whatever.

Post-match Dump Matsumoto grabs a mic and threatens horrible violence on everybody…or love maybe? I don’t speak Japanese. Alright it seems babyface-y.

And then they carry her to the back, as is her right!

Baka No Jidai (Hideki Suzuki & Yuko Miyamoto) vs. Ryuki Honda & Shota Kofuji

Background; Baka No Jidai are a group of shooters that are also kinda goofballs, Hideki is their leader and has some credibility from being The Last Protege of Billy Robinson, while Yuko is a former death match guy turned, you guessed it, a junior vet JTTS/cardfiller dude (All Japan has a LOT of those guys). Ryuki is a rising star who has won some gold and gotten some big upsets in tournaments but is yet to really land the big singles title/tournament win, he’s a high-energy brawler, Shota is the young boy of the company, well-built and blonde, he’s athletic but loses a lot.

The Match: Ryuki and Hideki start and sorta feint at each other for a while before Honda immediately gets a drop toehold and teases the rope choke before both sorta roll around the ring in evasive maneuvers before Ryuki gets island Yuko breaks it up and wer get a double-tag. Shota actually goes fast and gets a back elbow before going for a slam that Miyamoto stuffs and slugs away into his own slam and elbow drop for 2 and then a chinlock brings in Hideki to really ramp up the energy with some liver shots in the corner, and then some stomps from Mr. Excitement! More strikes and then Yuko comes in with a boot choke. Guys, this is the New Year’s show. Shota gets a boot up and a rolling dropkick to set up a hot tag and Ryuki runs wild with shoulders and corner clotheslines and his rope choke but Hideki runs in to break it up but Honda tosses him and Yuko chokes Ryuki…but Shota breaks that up and Yuko tosses him, lariats Ryuki down and gets a standing moonsault kneedrop to bring in Suzuki to…slug away. Honda drops him and goes for the rope choke again and Suzuki evades by powdering and both do combat rolls on the floor in pursuit and they go in and out of the ring again. And I’ve realized that no kneepad style, and black trunks with white trim just look really, really too close to briefs for Hideki here. Ryuki FINALLY catches Hideki and gets the rope choke as Shota cuts off Yuko and commentary is cracking up. I’m glad somebody is amused. After the choke Honda tags in Shota for real who slugs away at the vet and gets a missile dropkick before Honda comes in to double-team Suzuki with corner attacks and an assisted missile dropkick from Kofuji for 2. Shota tries a manji-gatame but Yuko breaks that up and cuts off an interfering Honda with a handspring back elbow before Shota dropkicks Yuko out of the ring. We get some suplex reversals from Hideki and Shota before Suzuki catches the rookie for a fireman’s carry roll and then…a Pedigree as Shota blocks the double-arm suplex. Ha! Now Hideki gets the full butterfly suplex and that’s 3.

*¾

Okay, the last little stretch saved it a bit, but man that was just way too goofy for most of it. This is a big holiday show and you’re doing extended bits about a spot and guys doing rolls? Shota of course always busts his buns and him fighting hard and then getting slaughtered was solid, but Honda was WAY too goofy that match, and his antics sometimes work for me. Blegh. The rookie should not be the best guy in a match.

Daisuke Sekimoto & Titans Of Calamity (Ren Ayabe & Talos) vs. Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori, Cyrus & Kuma Arashi) vs. HAVOC (Oddyssey, Shotaro Ashino & XYON)

Background: Oh lord. So the Titans of Calamity won the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League against the champs, HAVOC, and Hokuto-Gun are also here for some reason. Daisuke is a human cube of meat and the ace of Big Japan, The Titans are VERY tall and chokeslam people. Cyrus is a big fat American, and Hokuto is a sorta goofy sometimes not leader of an ambiguously heelish and sometimes not stable of monsters with bear enthusiast Kuma Arashi. Lastly we have HAVOC, who are two foreigners in big-man Oddyssey and medium-man XYON (who is a Samoan-Australian former rugby star and Roman Reigns impersonator) with native Japanese Master of Suplex Shotaro, they were kinda heels for a bit but they’re all so happy and energetic about whooping butt the fans have turned them face. You got all that. This is I guess a meat off/monster mash sorta deal but a triple threat in All Japan feels like a recipe for…something…different.

The Match: We got Shotaro, Daisuke, and Kuma starting as I guess “beefy short Japanese dudes” are the way to begin. Sekimoto and Ashino boot Kuma and toss him outside as they do a standoff and just slug away and both go for suplexes but they settle for just forearms and Kuma runs back in for a crossbody and a howl. We now get a triple tag as the ‘speedsters’ come in with Ren, Hokuto, and XYON. XYON and Ayabe do a stare down while Omori is like “hey what about me” and he blows a double kiss and gets elbowed down while XYON and Ren trade shots and XYON tries a fireman’s slam but Ren boots him down only for Hokuto to get a low dropkick and a DDT to Ren before XYON lands a strike combo, a float-over and gets his twisting whip into the corner. We get the staredown and now it’s the super-heavyweight tag as all the big guys in the corner want in. So we get Oddyssey, Cyrus, and Talos and Jab is very intrigued and doesn’t know why. Talos does the too small gesture and we get a TRIPLE SHOULDERBLOCK WAR! We get a ton of pushing and shoving and everybody runs in and it’s breaking loose in Yoyogi as we all brawl ringside! And we go into the crowd as everybody is beating up everybody! Takashi tries to throat thrust Oddyssey but gets booted. It’s bedlam, mayhem, chaos, pandemonium, panic, hullabaloo, riot, destruction, devastation, unrest! We finally reset back to the three big guys who just trade strikes in a circle. The Odd-one takes over with a flurry before Cyrus and Talos double-team him and get knees and a whip into a double shoulderblock before they face off and slug away. Talos goes for a tag with control of Cyrus, but the Hokuto-Gun man shoves Jack into Ayabe and then evades an Oddyssey charge while Shotaro runs in to get demolished and Cyrus the Destroyer is feeling it! And he tags in his Hokuto-Gun buddies to double-team a gassed Oddyssey in the corner and they trip up the HAVOC man before Cyrus lands his rolling corner senton. Kuma with a second-rope senton, Hokuto with a second-rope frog splash and Ren runs in to break it up. Odyssey and Ayabe trade blows but the tall Japanese man gets a shotgun dropkick and tries a double-team with Omori but Oddyssey gets a double lariat and brings in XYON who starts with some forearms but Ren boots him and hits his hooking clothesline but Shotaro is in with a low-bridge to sen Ayabe outside. Sekimoto is in and him and Shotaro trade uppercuts before Daisuke shoulders Ashino down and then gets a backdrop suplex on Hokuto. Titans of Calamity come in with the spinebuster/goozle combo on Hokuto but Kuma breaks the count before being tossed. Ren tries Death Roulette but that gets broken up by XYON and him and Omori trade shots before we get an Omori/Kuma flatliner/bulldog combo on the Samoan. And Kuma slams his boss onto Harley Cameron’s ex before Seikmoto runs in with a lariat, Shotaro suplexes Daisuke, Ren boots Shotaro, and XYON/Hokuto get a double clothesline to set Ayabe outside before Cyrus and Talos knock those guys down and get the staredown and trade headbutts and Oddyssey runs in to clothesline all three of them outside. We’re back to Shotaro, Hokuto, and XYON, and Omori and Ashino trade eye rakes before XYON gets a fireman’s carry toss into a German suplex on Hokuto. Shotaro hits a baseball slide to stop the interference and XYON goes up for a diving headbutt (from 3/4ths of the ring away) on Hokuto for 3.

***

Okay that impressed! A sorta heavyweight sprint that kept up a crazy pace from the fact that they had 9 dudes in there with all various skills, the showdowns were fun and creative. Legitimately shocked at how much I enjoyed that!

Intermission time!

Go Shiozaki vs. Jun Saito

Background: Two former Triple Crown champions, both sorta power-brawler types though obviously Go has had far more acclaim and success than the relative rookie Jun Saito (Jun isn’t a young man, but he debuted in 2021! Go started in 2004) and while both haven’t quite met up as of yet, there is the idea that they are mirrors. Jun uses lariats, thought not as much as Go, and Jun also has a suplex variant finish, just like Go. Saito has the size advantage, but Shiozaki has experience and grit on his side. Go left NOAH after being kinda sent down the card after a series of injuries he acquired during a dominant babyface title run (which was great, great stuff) so this is sorta Go proving he still has the stuff against a dude who is in his relative prime. Jun of course was the prior champ and is itching to get his gold back, while Go is also thirsty to prove he’s still The Guy.

The Match: Big monster lockup to start with Jun winning and a delayed but clean break. Go grabs a headlock next and we shoot off for a shoulderblock that goes Jun’s way and we get the war with Shiozaki getting staggered and then goes for a headlock takeover and some bodyshots…but Jun is too powerful and runs through the vet with another shoulder and then slugs Go down and gets some kitchen sink knees…but he whiffs a boot into the ropes and Go wraps up the knee, gets some strikes, and goes outside to sweep the leg and chop at the knee and gets a dropkick against it and crank it on the ropes. Go stalks the younger man and gets another low kick and an elbow on it before getting a leg DDT. Jun tries to stretch the leg out and struggles to his feet before Go gets another low dropkick and kicks away, hyper-focused on the knee. Saito gets a forearm to setup a slug fest, and Go responds by…chopping the knee. Ha! Saito limps pretty well here as Go tries for his fisherman’s buster but Jun is too big and we get a whip into a shoulderblock…and Saito collapses as his leg gives out, Go now unleashes the machinegun chops in the corner. Jun looks totally out of sorts here as Go gets the downward chop for 2 and once again goes for the fisherman’s buster but Jun remains too big, Go goes for a rope-run but Jun cuts him off with an elbow and sells the leg before a Yakuza kick, a shoulder, and an elbow drop as his knee seems better now. Saito gets the arrogant cover/choke and UNLEASHES THE HAIR…and stretches out the leg. Goozle attempt is elbowed out of by Go who strikes away and both guys trade chops. Go zigs with some forearms but Jun gets a headbutt but whiffs a boot and Go gets a flying shoulder…and then collapses. Jun tries to pick him up, but Go is out of it and the ref checks on him and does a count but Jun goes and breaks the count and tries to pick him up and the ref goes back to the count and checks if Go has it…and SHIOZAKI OPENS HIS EYES! Go finally gets his senses back and gets up a bit, so Jun goes to pick him up again…which leads to Go getting a burning lariat for 2.8 and he smacks his cheeks and regains his bearings. Shiozaki follows that with the Go Flasher on Jun for 2.9. Go sets up his Limit Break finish but Jun elbows out before Shiozaki throws a spinning chop and sets up an avalanche backdrop driver before Jun elbows free and gets a super chokeslam for 2. Go gets to his feet and Jun gives him a spear for 2. Suplex attempt is blocked by Go and they trade lariats and Jun collapses and Go gets a strike flurry…but Jun gets his strike flurry and a Jackhammer gets 2.8 and Saito pops up for a Rider Kick and that’s 3.

***¼

Oof. Man, Go being an old man who can’t find his legs being beaten around by a (barely) younger stud shouldn’t hit so hard but yeah, this…this did it a bit for me. Shiozaki is still so good of a seller that him being brutalized like this worked. I do wish Jun remembered to sell the leg after the halfway point, but the emotional stuff with him being out and struggling to his feet and almost maybe getting that upset off before he got demolished by a monster in Jun is…sad, but poignant, but good. Jun having a really deep arsenal of offense that he can pull off in a row and just kill guys with is one of those booking/agenting things that doesn’t quite land in a lot of places, but that King’s Road stuff still comes off that Jun has like…4-5 credible finishing moves and there’s the idea that if he gets rolling he can slaughter anybody. I don’t know if Jun will ever be a good enough seller to be a true babyface, but he’s cool enough to be a quality tweener. Go…I love Go, and he’s awesome, but these “man Shiozaki is a broken warrior” matches will make me sad even if I think that is probably the point.

Post-match Go looks like he can barely move and he falls out of the ring and uh, man, I dunno if “Shiozaki is absolutely done and is just a sad old man clinging onto the big-time” is an angle I especially want to watch.

MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka (c) vs. Gaja Dokuro (ISHIN & Yoshiki Kato) (w/KAI) – All Asia Tag Team Championships

Background: So MUSASHI and Seiki are our sorta sometimes bickering, mostly close team of babyface veteran journeyman, both have had a lot of years in wrestling and they had a sort of faux breakup angle over the AJPW junior title both are mostly back to being best buds. MUSASHI is a sort of Jack of all Trades veteran technician junior, Seiki is a more innovative and athletic man who is very fast, and very ripped (bodybuilder in his off days). Gaja Dokuro, from DragonGate, which means Snake Skeleton or something in Japanese folklore (Yokai I believe is the term for such monsters to not totally weeb myself). They don’t seem to be anything unique when it comes to heel stables but they are outsiders who cheat. ISHIN is a guy with a bad goatee and a shoulder pad while Yoshiki is a chunky dude who seems to be the whiner/100% personality guy of the group. They’re accompanied by KAI who has had a pretty solid career (including a fair amount of success in AJPW).

The Match: We get Gaja Dokuro starting by ambushing both champs and tossing Seiki before MUSASHI speechifies and gets tossed. We brawl ringside before returning to the ring for Kato headlocking MUSASHI and both trading hairpulls and eyerakes before MUSASHI gets a flying headscissors. MUSASHI goes for the nose but ISHIN trips him up…but Seiki trips up Kato and we hit the champs isolating on Yoshiki with a double-team kick flurry and we get another ringside brutalizing with the champs now demolishing the outsiders with various illegal tactics. Back inside and MUSASHI gets a rope choke on Kato before landing some boots and the DragonGate man is selling big. Blatant choke by MUSASHI but he runs the ropes and is caught by ISHIN…but Kato runs and is caught by Seiki but Gaja Dokuro win the cheating battle and Yoshiki slams down MUSASHI and we get some doubles on him that are…kinda basic. Just double elbows and some posing/taunting. Seiki tries to break it up but gets tossed and MUSASHI is choked out in the corner. ISHIN in with a one-handed slam and a pose before the arrogant cover. More stomping, more choking. Yoshiki tags in and clears off the apron and chokes MUSASHI on the ropes (hey, gimmick infringement). And the heat is pretty solid here. Yoshiki gets a falling headbutt to the groin, and another for 2 as Seiki breaks it up. Gaja Dokuro take out MUSASHI with some double-strikes and then Kato gets a jumping splash for 2. A Yoshiki charge finally is foiled with MUSASHI getting a drop toehold and an enzuigiri and in comes Seiki. Yoshikoka eats a Kato boot but fires back with kicks and boy those sound…meaty. Step-up knee, and more kicks have Seiki feeling himself as he gets a PK for 2 on the DG man. Brainbuster attempt is foiled and Kato gets a DDT and a desperate tag to ISHIN who boots Seiki into the corner and here is MUSASHI, both guys trade chops…but MUSASHI decides to go for a blatant choke into a takedown instead for 2 and then gets a leg-trap cloverleaf while Seiki clears out the interfering Yoshiki…who slips free and breaks it up with an eyerake. But the champs get a double-team kick combo on the guy and ISHIN eats the MUSASHI stomp combo and then he lands his flip dive. The champs dial in on ISHIN with chops and kicks in the ring and then eats an enzuigiri into a scissor kick. ISHIN foils the next double and slams Seiki onto MUSASHI and Yoshiki runs in to pose and bluster and MUSASHI is isolated with a powerslam by ISHIN for 2 and then a cut-throat rack is slipped out of and MUSASHI and Seiki get ISHIN in the corner and they set up something…that Yoshiki breaks up. Kato eats a double superkick, and then ISHIN eats a double superkick out of a dive and then a double brainbuster and Seiki gets a swanton for 2, that’s broken up by Yoshiki. The champs continue their aggression with a super frankensteiner by Seiki into a frog splash by MUSASHI…but KAI grabs MUSASHI to stop it and while Yoshioka breaks that up Kato flummoxes the double and tosses Seiki. Superplex by Yoshiki on MUSASHI and Gaja Dokuro double-team Seiki with a dominator into a German into a lariat but MUSASHI flies back in to break that up. Big strike trade and Yoshiki gets a rebound German off the ropes but MUSASHI gets a big kick, ISHIN gets a DVD, Seiki with an enzuigiri, ISHIN with a lariat and then goes for the cutthroat torture rack facebuster but Yoshioka flips out of it and gets a buzzsaw to ISHIN for 2.9. Low thrust kick, and another buzzsaw…and KAI pulls the ref from the ring. MUSASHI gets the flip dive on KAI and we have the champs set up a frog splash but when Seiki goes for the Crash Driver Kato punches Seiki low to break it up…and then MUSASHI punches Yoshiki low in revenge. ISHIN goes at a distracted MUSASHI who is talking to the ref but Seiki flies in for a poison rana…and ISHIN vaults Seiki forward at MUSASHI who does a mule kick backwards and inadvertently kicks his own partner in the pistachios. MUSASHI stops to pose in satisfaction while ISHIN takes the chance to blast both of them with…a sign? Running lariat on Seiki and then the cutthroat torture rack facebuster on Seiki gets 3.

***½

Well, that last little sequence was quite good. I’m not totally sold on Gaja Dokuro but I do like cheating and these guys cheat, and cheating is good! I don’t know if this needed to be nearly 25 minutes long, but it kept my attention, I got most of the characters, and MUSASHI losing cause he decided to cheat after a grimy match is good stuff. Seiki rules, BTW, and I think he should be a more regular junior contender.

Post-match Rising HAYATO and Atsuki Aoyagi come out and that’s our next challenge.

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

Background: The ace of today vs the ace of the future, Kento is the cocky, bold, and brash Best of the Best, Break Heart, he panders, scowls, throws tantrums, sells like he’s dying, and is the sorta irascible and moody superstar who the crowd both adores and also laughs when he gets his comedic comeuppance. Yuma is a throwback to an earlier era, he went to the same college as prior aces Suwama and Jumbo Tsuruta and has adopted some of the retro stylings, moves, and taunts. He’s an athletic marvel though still figuring out his identity outside of the shadow of the legacy he’s inheriting. This will be the third singles match between the two, with Kento winning the first, Yuma winning the second (a title defense) so now it’s Kento’s turn to defend against Anzai.

The Match: Big lockup goes Kento’s way and he almost gives a clean break before slapping Yuma. Greco-Roman knucklelock time and that goes the way of the experienced amateur before Kento gets an anklepick but Anzai turns that into an armbar attempt and more grappling has Yuma getting Kento in the ropes and he repays the slam with a forearm to the mush. Kento fires back with a boot and both guys powdering…but Anzai avoids getting whipped into the post and flies back in the ring with Kento following, and Anzai unleashes Kento’s low dropkick to the middle dropkick on Kento! A reversal of fortunes! And Anzai mocks Kento’s pose as the champ rolls outside. Anzai follows, stomps on Kento and starts bludgeoning him around the ring. Kento reverses a whip to send Yuma careening towards the barricade, but the challenger vaults over it and responds with a springboard forearm and then knees Kento a few times in the head. Anzai gets a few whips, Kento reverses again, and Anzai tries the springboard trick again and Kento catches him with a boot and goes crazy on the younger wrestler, unleashing a flurry of headbutts, throwing chairs at him, and then bouncing Yuma’s head off the post before MIyahara pauses to hit his taunt to an uproarious reaction. Kento rolls back outside and beats Anzai down with more headbutts, including a few to Yuma who is draped on the apron. Back inside and the ref is checking on Yuma who is selling like he’s basically dead and Kento boots him down as soon as Anzai gets to his knees before stepping on his neck. The ref checks on Yuma again before Kento fires off a high back elbow for a cover. Anzai tries to slug back but Kento drops him with one shot and the ref is checking on the guy again before Miyahara gets an arrogant cover and demands the ref count. Okay, Miyahara is being a marvelous jerk here. Kento tries for his low and middle dropkick, but Anzai catches him on the second and gets a pop-up knee and then a double-arm suplex and both guys are down. Anzai gets up first and gets a corner forearm into a belly-to-belly for 2. Both guys trade shots before Yuma sends Kento the apron with a dropkick and Anzai follows and teases a Dragon suplex onto the edge but Kento breaks free, gets a boot and goes for his apron piledriver, they struggle over that for a while before Miyahara finally lands it and Anzai collapses ringside while Miyahara sells inside the ring. Anzai immediately eats a boot when he rolls back inside and Kento insists the ref check on Yuma for the count. Yuma gets up before a 10 but has no legs and Kento is just paintbrushing the guy. Kento eventually gets fired up and gets some ground and pound and Anzai is just open-faced and dead-eyed as the champ has taken him to the woodshed. Kento gets a curbstomp of all things (!?) but that just leads to Yuma popping up and dropped Kento with a forearm and then another before setting up Kento for a superplex, Kento shoves Anzai off but the challenger pops up for a knee and lands the double-arm superplex but a followup is reversed into a Kento brainbuster for a double down. Kento is up first and gets a Blackout knee into the ropes and follows up with a lariat that Anzai backflips to evade and turns it into his kneeling crossface submission. Kento finally gets the ropes but the hold drained him and he can’t make his feet as Anzai has gotten a second wind. Anzai whips Kento set up his jumping knee, but Miyahara catches himself on the ropes to throw off Anzai’s timing and blasts him with a lariat. Kento stalks Yuma and goes for his Shutdown German but Yuma breaks free and now hits his jumping knee and follows with a bridging German for 2.8. Yuma immediately pulls Kento up and goes for the Gimlet (electric chair powerbomb) but Kento slips out and gets a Blackout knee. Another Blackout is attempted at a kneeling Yuma but the younger man catches it, and then we get a simultaneous jumping knee/Blackout collision. Yuma is up first and gets the jumping knee to the back of Kento’s head and then Yuma gets the Shutdown German for 2.9. Anzai goes for a running knee to a kneeling Miyahara who ducks and responds with a Blackout, and then another Blackout but we get the big dramatic All Japan no-sell and Anzai fires back with the Jumbo knee, a roar, and then another jumping knee and finally a Somato (double knee strike to a kneeling opponent, like the Meteora) and a running knee (like Regal’s knee trembler) for 2.9. Anzai rolls down the kneepad as Kento struggles to make his feet and Yuma goes for another flying knee…but Kento was goldbricking and drops Yuma with a Blackout! Another attempt at the Shutdown German has Yuma struggling to break the hold by biting the ropes (well he gets close) but he’s hoisted…only for him to break Kento’s grip and when Miyahara reapplies a backwards headbutt staggers the champ and the Jumbo knee with the exposed kneecap has Kento rubberlegged, Gimlet attempt #2 but Kento slips out again, so Yuma headbutts Kento and goes for another flying knee, Miyahara gets a dropdown to evade and it’s Shutdown German attempt number 3 and this one lands and that 3 is academic.

*****

So, I confess that I have in fact seen this match before, I watched it live at the end of a pretty busy New Year’s Eve and I wasn’t sure if I would love it as much on the rewatch/review when I was like…fully awake. And yeah, it’s awesome. The fastest 28 minute match of your life and the brilliance of it is that they basically do ZERO crazy stuff, it’s just timing, charisma, selling, intensity, and some clever counters/reversals. They have rest spots but they come naturally in the flow of the match and let them keep a pretty crazy pace, Kento remains the Best of the Best, and my goodness him and Anzai have crazy chemistry together. I can see people kvetching about so many knee strikes, but hey, All Japan is not about having huge arsenals of moves.

Post-match Kento grabs the mic, cuts a promo, and celebrates with confetti while the crowd goes nuts.

Everything after the intermission is all good to awesome! Everything before the intermission is…not that, though the 9-man tag was fun. Hopefully I’ll have the other All Japan holiday shows up soon, as the rest of them are a bit shorter.

Oh, and a link to the show if you want to watch it!

I reiterate that All Japan is like 6 bucks a month or something with the yen being so low. Thanks for reading and see you soon!