Phrederic Reviews AJPW

We have over 700 in Sanjo City Welfare Hall which is a big room but has a marvelous set up mustard brown curtains across from the hard cam and boy that’s just a particularly wonderful shade of ugly.

MUSASHI, Ryo Inoue, Shota Kofuji & Shotaro Ashino vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Hokuto Omori, Rising HAYATO & Ryuki Honda

Background: Okay so this is one of those grab bag matches where I have to figure out if anybody has history with each other. MUSASHI and Ryo are established juniors, Shota is the rookie junior, and Shotaro is out of the tournament but a semi-heavyweight midcarder tag guy who will suplex your socks off. Atsuki and HAYATO are established partners in the junior division, Hokuto is a jerky joke midcard heel (kinda? I think?) and Honda is in the tournament as a high energy brawler. No particular heat or history other than folks in the same division wanting other folks titles or to set up their own title hunts.

Back for more CC action as we’re in Saitama’s Kasukabe Furei Cube with over 400 fans. It’s another weirdly boxy building but that is how puro rolls.

MUSASHI, Ryo Inoue & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Rising HAYATO & Shota Kofuji

Background: MUSASHI and Seiki were friends, rivals, and friends again, and they’re teaming with fellow junior (though far younger) Ryo Inoue who shares their love of crisp kicks and taunting. On the other side are the more babyface juniors of flippy Atsuki, goth pretty boy HAYATO, and the only rookie in AJPW, Shota Kofuji.

Welcome back to more CC action as we’re in Tokyo’s Shinjuku FACE with over 500 in this tiny club. It’s a cool venue and the crowd is just right on the ring. Once again Jun Saito is hurt with an eye injury so his scheduled match is forfeited, so instead…

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shota Kofuji

Background: Daisuke is down an opponentt, so he’s going to be brutalizing the young boy of All Japan. Sekimoto is a squat slab of beef while Shota is a handsome young man who loses a lot.

We have over 750 in Osaka’s Umeda Sky Building Stella Hall and we have some bad news, an injury to Jun’s orbital bone has rendered him incapable of competing in the tournament so the scheduled Madoka match is forfeited to Kikuta.

MUSASHI & Saito Brothers (Naruki Doi & Rei Saito) vs. Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori & Takashi) & XYON

Background: So I imagine that part of this is based around Jun’s injury, so we have sorta second-place acts in Hokuto-Gun (who aren’t in this tournament and have sorta stopped mattering but are I guess theoretically potentially credible heavyweights when they aren’t comedy goofs) and then tournament participant XYON and then we have junior journeyman MUSASHI and then Rei and his lil buddy, Mr. Saito, Naruki Doi (who is a very credible DG legend whose career I am probably massively downplaying whenever I talk about him). This is a totally random grab bag of guys that don’t really make sense facing each other, but I guess it’s Saito’s vs. Hokuto-Gun and also two tournament guys and their sorta jokey/less credible partners.

Welcome back to Night 2 of the Champion Carnival, we’re in beautiful Nagoya and we’re almost 900 strong in Kinjofuto Arena. It’s a pretty stripped down arena set here with nobody in the bleachers across the hard camera  and two basic entrance ways for the wrestlers.

Hiroki Murase, Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori & Jack Kennedy), Ryo Inoue & Shotaro Ashino vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Kengo Mashimo, Rising HAYATO, Seiki Yoshioka & Shota Kofuji

Welcome to the Champion Carnival, the oldest singles tournament in the history of pro wrestling, it’s a round robin format with two blocks, you get points, and then the winners of each face off. I’ll introduce the guys as we go but the winner gets glory and a shot at the Triple Crown champion…plus the champ is in the tournament and those that get wins on him usually get shots too. It’s a big deal, and we’re starting in Korakuen with almost 1200 in the building.

We start with a brief sizzle reel and a rundown of the card and some footage of the press conferences, but the name on the marquee says WRESTLING and that’s what we get to!

Seigo Tachibana, Seiki Yoshioka & Shota Kofuji vs. Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato & Hokuto Omori

Background: The midcard/juniors of All Japan. Quick breakdown, Seigo is a sorta comedy brawler guy with a Yakuza-ish gimmick, Seiki is fast and vicious and has recently turned back babyface (maybe), Shota is the new guy and ergo loses a lot. Dan Tamura is a chunky power brawler that’s right on the verge between junior and heavyweight, Hikaru is a veteran shooter type who loses a lot, and Hokuto Omori is…a guy that I’m never sure what AJPW wants to do with, is a stable boss, but all of his wrestlers are more credible than him, sometimes he’s a goof in a general suit taking comedy bumps, sometimes he’s a serious KO artist with a mastery of pins and reversals. Seigo is the current junior champ and Tamura has been chasing him with a few pins in tag matches.

Okay we’re back with more All Japan with 1750 in Ésforta Arena Hachiōji. It’s the last big title setup before the Champion Carnival but it’s a big crowd with the junior tag tournament ending here and some other important things as well.

We start with the sizzle reel of the card and we cut to a pretty unflattering shot of empty seats as All Japan still has no idea how to produce a show that looks good on camera but god bless ‘em anyway.

Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai vs. Hokuto Omori & Yuma Aoyagi

Background: So Ryuki and Yuma are pretty established as partners and allies and were all in a stable together that never really got resolved in a way that I found satisfying, but they have history and are friends and have teamed and feuded a ton, Ryuki is a goofball brawler and Anzai is a guy who has already won it big and is going to clearly be the future stud of the company. Hokuto is a goof of a very different degree and has his stable of giant monsters and sometimes is a serious MMA killer and is mostly a giant silly comedy dude. Yuma has returned after a scandal and paid his penance and is a real-deal main-event stud ace…but is taking his lumps right now after a traffic incident, insane starpower for an opening match but there’s reasons here.

Hello and welcome to another scintillating All Japan showcase as we have a big show in Korakuen Hall with some major events happening here, or rather just some matches and a tag title match to end us off. It’s almost 1300 in Korakuen here as AJPW continues their relative hot streak.

Hideki Suzuki vs. Yuma Aoyagi

Background: So, Yuma is a big star in the company who got into some legal issues involving running a red light with a suspended license and he was suspended for months and is going to miss multiple tournaments. This is his return match against Hideki, who behind the scenes in management and on screen is a pretty credible upper midcard guy/shooter dude. This was originally a totally dark match exhibition deal as they tried not to promote Yuma after his scandal, but he’s been a good boy so far and I guess they’re putting it up.

After a pretty slogging series of shows in the post-holiday doldrums, we’re back with another kind of big show as we’re in Tokyo’s Ota City General Gymnasium for a crowd of 2200 and a few title matches (along with the All Japan junior tag festival!).

Ryuki Honda vs. Hokuto Omori

Background: Battle of the somewhat shorter, slightly hefty, charismatic brawlers that are always on the cusp of maybe breaking out but seem undercut by their comedic instincts. Ryuki is a high-energy lariat throwing loudmouth, always a bit overmatched physically he has a permanent reckless underdog vibe and a “won’t back down from anyone” demeanor when he’s at his most serious (and in my opinion, effective) but all-too often relies on his comedy cheating spots and can oftentimes phone it in with low energy/total goofball output. Perhaps the least consistent All Japan semi-regular, I’ve seen him have classics and totally poop the bed in the same tournament. Hokuto Omori is a Saturday morning cartoon villain with his ridiculous costume and a cavalcade of comedy heel bumps/spots (regularly being powerbombed by his own partner in tag matches) but when focused and serious he dials up his MMA background and is portrayed as a nefarious KO artist and conniving counter wrestler, and then sometimes he does cheap gay-panic spots and loses like a total goof. I’ll be honest, no idea what to expect from this match!

The Match: We start with a lockup that goes Ryuki’s way and we get a clean break. Hokuto reverses a second lockup and blows a kiss as a break…so Honda goes kick wham headlock into a shoulderblock as they seem to be going less goofy. Hokuto responds with a forearm that has Honda powder and we brawl outside for a spell with Ryuki whipping Omori barricade to barricade before getting his 1-2-3-4 choke on the outside. The ref glares at Honda to get this back inside and Ryuki obliges, following with a back elbow and then a chinlock to remain in control. Omori elbows out before Honda tries for a brainbuster but Omori slips out the back, Hokuto then blocks a big boot from Ryuki and adds a DDT to gain control. A corner charge, a few elbow strikes and a cutter get 2 for Omori but Honda fights off another whip and when Omori finally pulls it off Ryuki turns it into a spinebuster for a double down. Honda is up first and gets a corner clothesline and poses while Omori sucks wind on the mat, Honda finally picks him up and throws shots and Omori fires back with his own elbows, but he whiffs a corner charge and eats a Ryuki German. DRAMATIC NO-SELL and Hokuto pops up for his own German, but Honda responds with the DRAMATIC NO-SELL of his own and we a get cross counter with simultaneous elbows to the jaw. Honda gets a lariat and Omori falls back and rebounds with a discus forearm and we have another double-down. Slugfest follows and Hokuto wins with another discus forearm and then a sliding forearm for 2 before getting a Dragon Suplex for 2.9. Hokuto goes up for a frog splash but there’s no water in the pool and Honda gets a spear for 2.8. Ryuki calls for the lariat and then lands it for 2.9, but keeps on the heat with a Final Vent (single-arm chokebomb) out of the corner for 3.

**¾

The junior version of an All Japan heavyweight epic, all the long delayed reversal sequences, feeling out process, and even selling moments truncated and edited down, still, despite it not having the same pizzazz, these two did put a brisk pace in, plenty of effort, and even in the YouTube shorts version, it’s a formula that works for me. I also appreciate both of them really dialing down the comedy (not like I hate comedy) but I do think in terms of “two young bulls jostling for position” being more serious and focused sells the significance of a mostly…okay, completely pointless undercard singles match.

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.

Okay, so tournament finals for the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League…and we got 1300 in Korakuen, we got big dudes, we got little dudes, the crowd is either electric or banana and we’re off to the races!

Well we’re off to the gentle strolls as Rei Saito is here to an entrance after a long-time away with injury and the crowd is hot as he cuts a promo. Given the lack of tape or slings on him, I think he might be healthy here! Hurrah! If there is one Rei Saito fan, I am one, if there are no Rei Saito fans, I am dead. I miss the big lug and so does All Japan.

Hikaru Sato, MUSASHI, Seigo Tachibana & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Rising HAYATO, Ryo Inoue & Shota Kofuji

Background: Oh boy this is…a match. So MUSASHI and Seiki are coming off a run in the tag tournament that didn’t go great for them, but they had some scrappy wins and as juniors in a heayvweight tournament they did well! They are also the All-Asia tag champs which is sort of an openweight thing, anyway, scrappy champs. Sato is also junior-sized but has a nasty shooter edge to him but is mostly a JTTS. The final member is comedy goof Tachibana who does a Yakuza boss ripoff thing despite being 5’4” and often eats a lot of silly comedy wrestling pratfalls. Atsuki and HAYATO are a real-deal team of juniors, Atsuki is junior champ, they’ve held Seiki and MUSASHI’s belts before, they’ve all been butting heads about who is the man in that division. Ryo is a guy who has just graduated total rookie status and is a long-haired kick-devil who is definitely borrowing some undersized bravado from KENTA and Kawada. Shota is…well he’s the new young guy. Kofuji is a blonde, handsome young fellow who gets beat up a lot.

Welcome back as we have over 600 in Nagaoya’s Port Messe 2nd Exhibition Hall…and man Japan has a lot of these exhibition halls. This is the last show before the finals and all the block matches will be done here.

Atsuki Aoyagi, Ryo Inoue & Shota Kofuji vs. Hokuto-gun (Jack Kennedy & Takashi) & Hiroki Murase

Background: So Atsuki is one half of the All-Asia champs, Ryo is a guy who is still basically a pushover rookie but has at least real gear and a personality now, Shota is the current young boy, they’re facing Hokuto-Gun’s gooniest members in lumbering gaijin Jack Kennedy and lumbering veteran Takashi, and with them is Hiroki Murase, who from what I gather was part of some All Japan stables in the past (Purple Haze with Zeus!) but hasn’t worked much recently, he does seem heavyweight sized and is, and this is the weirdest part, seems to be…dressed like Cody Rhodes? Well…huh, he has a jacket with epaulets and a red, white, and blue color scheme.

We got a bit over 900 in Osaka’s IDION Arena #2 as we’re basically in the final stretch here.

Titans Of Calamity (Ren Ayabe & Talos), Shota Kofuji & Yuma Anzai vs. Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori & Kuma Arashi), Ryo Inoue & Seigo Tachibana

Background: So it’s technically two teams on both sides, though at this point Hokuto-Gun have been eliminated and Titans are tied for their block. Filling them out are contender Yuma (though he’s out of the tournament for different reasons) and young boy Shota and then the slightly above young boy Ryo and sorta midcard goof Seigo (though he can get serious as needed).

The Match: We start with Ren and Hokuto, lockup goes Ayabe’s way and he does the teased dirty break and then taunts Omori who dropkicks the knee and gets an elbow before being shouldered down and it’s a tag to Talos and Seigo. Tachibana tries to shake the hand but that irks Talos and they do a comedy spot where Tachibana is so short Talos’ strikes go over his head before the gaijin boots him down, takes him into the corner and brings in Shota to strike away and dropkick Tachibana. Seigo gets a high elbow though and brings in Kuma Arashi for a slam and senton. Kofuji in the corner and Omori beats him down and goes for the eyes. Shota with the desperate dropkick and in comes Ren with a body avalanche and slam before and arrogant cover gets 2. Hokuto breaks out of the full nelson and hits a DDT before bringing in Kuma for a standing senton and then a second-rope senton and a rack but Ayabe slips out and gets a flying clothesline before bringing in Yuma, jumping forearm, flying knee, belly-to-belly out of the corner but a whip sequence leads to Anzai eating a dropkick from the big guy and in comes Inoue to pepper Yuma with kicks in the corner. Hesitation dropkick and Seigo and Hokuto-Gun clear out the apron and all hit body presses on Anzai before Ryo gets a running kick for 2. Tachibana teases a dive but the Titans cut it off on the apron and Shota adds a missile dropkick on Hokuto-Gun before, Ryo boots Kofuji outside and we’ve reset to Yuma and Inoue. Slugfest is won by Ryo who gets a Buzzsaw kick for 2.7 before Yuma comes back with two flying knees for 2.8 and then the Gimlet gets 3.

We’re in Hiroshima’s Industrial Hall’s East Exhibition Hall and this show is sponsored by Hiraoka & Co., Ltd. so you know it’s gonna be a good one. We got about 500+ people in the seats and this room has a VERY low ceiling.

Kengo Mashimo vs. Shota Kofuji

Background: Kengo is “The Assassin” an armtwisting, headkicking stocky sadist, Shota is the resident young boy of All Japan whose mission in life is to get slaughtered by crusty vets.

The Match: We get some standing grappling until Kengo takes it to the mat and he wraps up Kofuji and manipulates the arm before we get a headlock takeover headscissors kip-up. Kengo teases a test of strength before going back to the arm and then another takedown ends in a mount and a quick cover. Shota backs Kengo into the corner and the vet gives a little head not of respect and Shota follows this up by breaking Mashimo’s grip and taking him down with a keylock attempt and then both trade kneebar attempts before Kengo throws a stomp and a headlock, Shota tries to shoot him off but is locked up. Shota finally slips free and we get a rope-running sequence with some shoulderblock jostling and Kofuji finally gets a dropkick to stun Mashimo. Boots in the corner and a rolling dropkick get a cover for the rookie and Kengo finally cranks in an armbar that has Shota scrambling to the ropes. Kofuji does some running and a forearm drops Kengo and the rookie follows with a middle-rope dropkick and a bridging Fisherman’s. Shota spams a few rollups for increasingly close counts…but he goes for a schoolboy and Kengo transitions into an armbar and Kofuji has to tap.

Back with some more World’s Strongest Tag Determination league and we’re in Fukuoka Island City Forum with about 600 fans in the building.

Go Shiozaki vs. Shota Kofuji

Background: Go is a vet who is erstwhile part of a heel faction in HAVOC, but they’re so fun and goofy the fans cheer them regardless, Shota is the young guy of All Japan right now and it’s his lot in life to get bludgeoned by veterans.

The Match: Go stretches and warms up (as he should) before a lockup on the smaller rookie. We get some armlock business into a standing switch and then Go reversing some armbars and it’s all peaceful (relatively) so far before Shota armdrags to escape and we get a reset. Go takes the rookie down and works the knee with simple stuff until Kofuji gets a floatover, an armdrag, and a dropkick and Go powders. Shota actually gets a bit going when Shiozaki comes back inside, but he goes up and Go chops him down and then goes back to the leg and cranks in a single-leg crab. Shota gets the ropes and tries some forearms but the vet cranks the leg in the ropes before Kofuji makes space with a rolling dropkick, and some slaps to the thigh (to recirculate the blood!) sets up a second-rope dropkick for a cover. Shota tries for his fisherman’s buster and after a bit of a fight lands it for another cover. Shota goes up, but his bad leg delays his climb and Go slams him off the top and goes back to the crab, pretty high-angle and Shota breaks again, Go finally breaks out some chops as they slug it out. Kofuji blocks a lariat with a manji-gatame but Go powers out and gets a short-range lariat for 2, a fisherman’s buster for 2.7 and then a kneebreaker before he cranks in a Prison Lock (?!?) and then cranks in a butterfly and Shota taps. Well that’s a fun submission!

We’re back with more World’s Strongest Tag Determination League action as I’m once again hideously late! But I will finish this before the New Year’s shows! I believe! We are in Kumamoto City Food Exchange Hall (fantastic name, zero notes) and we’ve got nearly 380 people! Wooo!

Now, before I continue I need to address the elephant in the room about Yuma Aoyagi, due to traffic violations (ran a red with an expired license) he has been suspended for 3 months and Double Yuma are going to forfeit ALL of their matches, big blow for Anzai who of course they have big plans for but uh…spoilers, we’ll get there, don’t worry. Anyway, while what Aoyagi did was rock stupid and I’m glad he’s being punished, I’m glad that a wrestling company is actually punishing somebody for their bad conduct, and while Yuma was a total moron, this is just regular rich jock stupid and not anything unforgivable, IMO. Anyway on with the show!

Davey Boy Smith Jr., HAVOC (Oddyssey & XYON) & Titans Of Calamity (Ren Ayabe & Talos) vs. Hokuto-gun (Hokuto Omori, Kuma Arashi & Takashi), Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana

Background: So with the Yuma Aoyagi suspension, methinks the card needed to be reshuffled a bit and well, that’s what we’re getting. So we got the team of the big guys with Davey, TAVOC, and the Titans all easily 6’3” and bigger, while Hokuto-Gun and friends is uh…I don’t think any of them are bigger than 5’10”.

Okay so we’re back (way too late, I’m sorry) for the second night of the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League. And you might ask me, why don’t I use Real World Tag League? And it’s simple, I love overly and badly translated terms for things, and World’s Strongest Tag Determination League is way cooler than Real World Tag League. Anywho we got 500 people in Numazu and it’s going to be a great time.

Yuma Anzai vs. Shota Kofuji

Background: Yuma is the star of the future, the ace of tomorrow and already a Triple Crown champ with other gold as well, this is his off-day so he’s testing out the new young boy of All Japan, the smaller, wrestler Kofuji is mostly just a sorta “he works hard and does dropkicks” guy compared to Yuma’s amateur stylings. Of late Yuma has been more aggressive and heelish as he’s paired with sorta perennial jerk Yuma Aoyagi.

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.

Welcome back! We’re about finishing up the regular run before the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League pops off and we’ve got 700+ in APA Hotel & Resort Sapporo in frosty Hokkaido (speaking of Sapporo and APA, are we getting a surprise JBL appearance?) which is actually not bad!

Dan Tamura, Yuma Anzai & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Jun Saito, Ryo Inoue & Ryuki Honda

Background: So, Dan and Ryo are the relative rookies of the group, but both are developing into something somewhat more credible, Tamura is a heavy brawler, Inoue is a slick kicker. Double Yuma are of course both former TC champions and tag champions and a bunch of stuff and will be a group in the World’s Strongest Tag Determination League, while Jun was the champ before Kento and a big-time tag guy with his (currently hurt) brother. Ryuki is kind of the man in the middle, he doesn’t have much success but he’s beaten some big names and isn’t a rookie so to speak (though he’s only 25 so younger than Tamura) so he could easily break out.

The Match: Before the match both teams warm up a bit with Honda and Aoyagi going increasingly excessive with the rolls to troll each other. Jun and Anzai start with the big lockup and Jun just demolishes Yuma and he RELEASES THE HAIR so Anzai gets a knee, Jun gets a shoulder, and Yuma gets a dropkick as they’re definitely keeping it simple with the crowd-pleasing stuff. Honda and Tamura come in and they just go at each other with shrieks and charging that Dan wins with a jumping shoulder and in comes Aoyagi for a double-team and then Yuma steals Ryuki’s rope choke a few times before posing to the crowd like the trolling jerk he is. Ryo is in, and he’s guy who has stepped up to heavyweights like Yuma before and he won’t back down as he kicks the former 2x champ and shrugs off forearms. Ryo drops Aoyagi and brings in Ryuki to turn the tables with his OWN rope choke back. Both trade forearms but Aoyagi gets a dropkick…and runs into a spear, and Honda tries to capitalize…only for Yuma to get a brainbuster and brings in the other Yuma as Saito gets a tag and both men just clobber each other before Saito eats a dropkick and a corner forearm to get a belly-to-belly for 2. Anzai tries a double-arm but Jun is JUST TOO BIG and backdrops out, gets a Yakuza kick, shouldercheck, and then a running elbow drop for 2. THey strike it out with Jun getting the advantage with a big boot and brings in Ryo for a breather. Inoue peppers Anzai with kicks but gets suplexed down and Yuma’s team run-in (with Aoyagi mocking their opponents in the process). Inoue fights back 3v1 and Tamura accidentally lariats Aoyagi and Inoue kicking down the others. Now it’s Anzai’s turn to get clobbered en masse before Ryo picks up the pieces with a 2 count off of a buzzsaw kick. Inoue can’t let his lifting reverse STO though and Double Yuma with a Double Dropkick sets up Tamura’s running lariat and the junior eats a Jumbo Knee from Anzai for 2 and a Gimlet is academic.

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.