Phrederic Reviews AJPW — page 2

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.

So we’re in with the conclusion of the Royal Road tournament and all the business that’s happened there, we’ve got a number of title matches and we’re here in Tokyo in Arena Tachikawa Tachihi with 1750 fans in attendance in a pretty decently sized building.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Fuminori Abe, Seiki Yoshioka & Shotaro Ashino vs. Ren Ayabe, Rising HAYATO, Ryo Inoue & Shota Kofuji

Background: Okay I am unsure of why this match is happening or the alignments are taking place as is. We have a pretty crazy mix of talent here but sometimes it just is like this. Feels like a “get everybody on the card” deal. DBSJ is a former Triple Crown champ and a credible upper midcard babyface, Abe is a Big Japan junior who is credible as a heavy striker with some title success in AJPW, Seiki is a credible midcard junior and secondary champ, Ashino is a guy who has big accolades but never wins against the big threats in important situations. Ren is a rising tweener guy, HAYATO is a credible midcard junior babyface who teams with bigger stars, Ryo is a scrappy rookie who looks like he’ll eventually make the leap but hasn’t yet and Shota is the bottom of the totem pole as a sacrificial lamb rookie babyface.

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

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

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

Hey we’re back for more stuff as I hope to be more regular but I know that’s a dirty lie and we’re in Tokyo’s Shinkiba 1stRing which is a venue I love but it’s also tiny, tiny, with a hair over 300 here.

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Ryo Inoue

Background: I guess this is Ryo’s gimmick as guy who is beat up by bigger and more important dude. Sekimoto is progressing in the tournament and is a guy as wide as he is tall and a very respected vet. Ryo is a scrappy rookie who is trying to figure it out and is actually quite solid, but uh, we know where this is going.

So we’re back with the King’s Road Tournament as we’re going through the 1st round matches. We’re in Matsue’s Kunibiki Messe Main Exhibition Hall with 450 people in the crowd.

I suppose before I continue I want to say a few words about Taishin Nagao and his tragic passing, it feels cliche to talk up somebody’s talent, but he was talented and promising and I feel like when we just focus on the sorrow and tragedy of a person’s passing we forget that they had other things in their life as well. He was an exciting young babyface with a ton of potential and I hope that within the condolences and tributes we remember that he had that spark as well. I am not going to speak on blame, but I certainly hope companies take better precautions to make sure awful things like this don’t happen in the future. Rest in power Taishin.

Now, back to some less grim topics.

XYON vs. Ryo Inoue

Background: XYON is a part of the new Havoc stable and a big, physically dominant Samoan, Ryo is a scrappy, arrogant rookie who bites off more than he can chew and gets put into the dirt for it. XYON has his pants, Ryo has his leather jacket and fight shorts.

So we’re in Korakuen again, with a pretty underwhelming crowd (not even 1k) but still, here we are. The King’s Road tournament is basically AJPW’s version of the New Japan Cup, single elimination for a title match and generally the winners are more of a free for all (which figures as a single elimination tournament is going to be more flukey than a round-robin *coughs at American football*).

Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue vs. Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO

Background: Dan is a chunky bruising junior, Ryo is a cocky overconfident kick devil rookie junior. Atsuki is the champ, HAYATO is his buddy and a former champ and they’ve had a ton of success together in the past, but recently have been split by HAYATO’s new stable (that might not exist anymore as Yuma Anzai is MIA) and Atsuki has gotten closer with his bro and the sorta tweener verse he exists in. That said, Atsuki and HAYATO are basically pure babyfaces, and Tamura and Inoue are comfortable playing the heel in that setup.

So I know I’m reviewing Marigold but we just had a pretty big AJPW show pop up so I gotta throw some love your way for that. We got almost 1600 in Matsumoto, Nagano, Japan, which considering it’s population is less than 250k is pretty dang impressive for All Japan in the Air Water Arena. The crowd is lively and they’re all active as we start the show.

EDIT: Due to formatting issues I’m reposting this, the initial commentary section (I read and appreciate all of you guys!) is right here.

Hideki Suzuki vs. Ryo Inoue

Background: Hideki is a big bully babyface shooter guy (though he’s VERY heelish) and Ryo is a cocky young junior rookie type who has a lot of KENTA/Kawada in him as a swaggering undersized dude. Definitely playing him up as a sort of hardrock punk rock guy with a leather jacket with patches and long hair. Hideki is dressed in black trunks with a big “CATCH” written on the back with the proper, boring haircut. Don’t think there’s any particular beef other than Suzuki is a smug jerk who likes beating up rookies (but is a face now?) and Ryo picks fights he can’t win.

So this is the big payoff for the Carnival as we got a ton of title matches and such. We’re in Sendai here with a respectable 2200 in Sendai Sun Plaza Hall.

Takashi vs. Hideki Suzuki

Background: So I am unaware of any specific heat here other than Hideki being a Baka no Jidai guy who lost the AJPW TV Trios belt to Takashi’s Hokuto-Gun but that’s a very unimportant title, Hideki beat Takashi in the Carnival but overall it’s two guys that are kinda dirty cheats going at it. Hideki is a legit martial artist while Yoshida is full-on penis kicks and eye gouges. Oh, Takashi recently won the totally worthless AJPW TV Six-Man titles from Suzuki’s Baka no Jidai, so some revenge I guess is in order?

We got 2280 in Ota Ward General Gymnasium and that’s a nice looking venue for the Carnival finals.

Shota Kofuji vs. Taishin Nagao

Background: So Shota is a rookie from OSW and Taishin of course is AJPW’s one current rookie (yeesh). Just a young lions match, or young…whatever AJPW calls them.

So we’re still in Hokkaido for this one at the same kinda ballroom venue, larger crowd too with 600+ in attendance.

MUSASHI, Rising HAYATO & Tomoya vs. Aigle Blanc, Shotaro Ashino & XYON

Background: Regular sorta trios setup, MUSASHI and Hayato (feuding over MUSASHI’s juniors title) are teammates here and they’re with local guy Tomoya who is this old beefy dude. Aigle, Shotaro, and XYON are done with tournament matches and obviously not moving onto the finals.

We’re in Sapporo in the APA Hotel & Resort and we got 500+ people in what appears to be a beige conference room that has zero acoustic controls as this room is echoing as all getup. There is a very cool chandelier made of extended square prisms. Oh, and no ring barricade.

Hideki Suzuki, MUSASHI & Tomoya vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Rising HAYATO & Taishin Nagao

Background: So Hideki won the A-Block, MUSASHI is junior champ, and Tomoya is uh…some old local guy, bald and in good shape. Atsuki and HAYATO are both juniors and former partners, though now they’re kind of part of opposite crews, Taishin is the AJPW young boy, very small but has something going with his fiery comebacks.

Back in Korakuen Hall with almost 1200 people in attendance we have some big matches booked. Oh and we have comms tonight!

Aigle Blanc, Mike D Vecchio & XYON vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Taishin Nagao & Yuma Aoyagi

Background: Aigle, Mike, and XYON are all ‘outsiders’ and in the Carnival though all three have no future matches together. Atsuki and Yuma are brothers and Taishin is a rookie, also Nagao and Atsuki are both juniors. Aigle and Mike are junior-esque but in the heavyweight division and more credible.

The Match: Atsuki and Aigle start and it’s very fast as they do a junior sequence to applause. Standstill and Atsuki stands his own and in comes Yuma and Mike. Yuma immediately heels it up with a handshake offer into a kick but MIke gets a springboard armdrag before his dive attempt gets cut off…and Mike just knocks down Yuma regardless. I will say that Aoyagi is showing tons of butt in this carnival. Mike tags in Aigle who gets his fancy kicks and then a headscissors takedown. Yuma is sent into the corner and now XYON tags in to deliver some methodical strikes. Aoyagi with an attempted comeback but XYON gets a spinning elbow for 2, Yuma finally gets a Rock Bottom and then in comes Taishin with a flurry of dropkicks that XYON totally no-sells until Nagao gets a missile dropkick out of the corner and now the Aoyagis help triple-team XYON. But Atsuki and Yuma’s missile dropkicks are shut down and Taishin gets a diving crossbody…that gets snatched out of the air and turned into a spinning Samoan drop. And now XYON’s teammates show up with their own dives and a pair of topes. Back in and they kinda botch a corner charge but Taishin gets a schoolboy and then a sunset flip but XYON just obliterates the young boy with a pump kick for 2.9. The running high-shoulder seals it for XYON afterwards.

We got 700+ in Okayama here as this Carnival continues.

Dan Tamura, Hokuto Omori, Ryo Inoue & Shotaro Ashino vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Carbell Ito, Taishin Nagao & Yuma Aoyagi

Background: Dan is an oversized junior, Hokuto is in the Carnival as a ridiculous manipulator, Ryo is an arrogant kicky junior, Shotaro is in the tournament as an undersized suplex machine. Atsuki is the flippiest AJPW junior, Yuma is his big bro, a tournament guy with two reigns as Triple Crown champ and a laidback if disrespectful attitude. Taishin is the newest rookie and Carbell Ito who apparently is a 50 year old businessman who just decided to become a wrestler and here he is in a mask!

Back for more All Japan action as we’re in a pretty small venue, apparently 330 people in Takamatsu Symbol Tower, and this place looks like the secondary meeting room in a soulless corporate hellscape. Also seems we have one camera for this as we feel extra house-show style here.

Atsuki Aoyagi, Dan Tamura, Rising HAYATO & Taishin Nagao vs. Saito Brothers (Naruki Doi & Rei Saito), MUSASHI & Ryo Inoue

Background: So it’s rookies vs. vets (and also they have Ryo). Everybody is a junior except for Rei who y’know is in the Carnival so…uh oh. MUSASHI is also the junior champ and HAYATO is half of the secondary tag-title holders.

Hey we got MORE All Japan Champion Carnival action and I’m helplessly behind but I’m gonna make this word aside. We got 950 in Osaka’s Edion Arena #2 and we’re ready to rock.

Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue vs. Atsuki Aoyagi & MUSASHI

Background: Dan and Ryo are two young juniors who haven’t yet tasted gold, while Atsuki is a former junior champion and MUSASHI is the current champ. Dan is a bruiser, almost a tweener as he approaches heavyweight size, Ryo is small but feisty with an attitude and a kick heavy offense. Atsuki is one of the most athletic in the division with lots of handsprings, MUSASHI is old-school, has a deep toolkit and a sorta throwback traditional junior style.

As I desperately try to catch up with my All Japan reviews despite losing a weekend to karaoke and headbanging-related neck injuries, here we are in beautiful Nagoya in the gorgeous Port Messe Nagoya Exhibition Hall #2 with almost 900 folks in the building.

Aigle Blanc, Dan Tamura, Hideki Suzuki, Jack Kennedy & MUSASHI vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Mike D Vecchio, Rising HAYATO, Ryo Inoue & Ryuki Honda

Background: So we have Carnival participants Aigle, Hideki, Mike, and Ryuki, juniors Tan, MUSASHI (the champ!), Atsuki, HAYATO, Ryo, and also random large American goon Jack Kennedy who is a member of Hokuto-Gun. Last time we met, Atsuki pinned MUSASHI with HAYATO’s help and I have to imagine the junior champ is feeling a bit of a way.

The Match: Aigle and Mike face off with a fast-paced grappling exhibition as they’re clearly familiar. They do their biz and MIke gets to show off his power and speed and they don’t let any of their jawdropping movement breathe and also these ropes are CRAZY loose. Blanc gets a rana out of the corner but gets caught on a crossbody and eats a press into a standing moonsault. Blanc tags in Hideki and Mike tags in Ryuki and Honda immediately tries to choke Suzuki on the ropes but the vet scrambles away until the red-haired menace captures him. Ryo then tags in to keep the abuse going but Hideki bullrushes to the corner and in comes MUSASHI to preen and pander and hotdog. Ryo stomps him down and bludgeons with axehandles and finally unleashes a KENTA-esque kick flurry before MUSASHI chops the youngster…only to get kicked to oblivion. Ryo does the Fargo Strut and Hideki pops in to…strut as well but then it’s all breaking down in Nagoya and Team Aigle all bludgeon Inoue in the corner. We reset to Ryo vs. Dan, and Inoue kicks Tamura down, tags in HAYATO who hits a Poetry in Motion off of Dan’s back and then he isolates the sturdy junior. Rope-run sequence where HAYATO takes down Tamura with a back elbow, he powders, Rising hits the fakeout dive into a pose and then gets the pescado and preens to the crowd. I’ve seen it like 50 times but it’s so smooth and fun. Back inside and Dan catches a HAYATO thrust kick, gets a standing lariat and then goes for a Samoan drop but the blonde slips out only to continue to catch a beating from the bruising junior. HAYATO runs into a lariat but reverses a brainbuster into a falcon arrow and we got a double-tag as Jack Kennedy and Ryuki Honda get a shoulderblock battle that Ryuki loses. The big American gets a corner charge for 2.7 (?!?!) and they fight over a brainbuster which ends in a stalemate and Ryuki spears Jack, but MUSASHI dropkicks Ryuki, Ryo kicks MUSASHI, and Aigle gets a springboard knee on Inoue. Whew that was quick! And we’re keeping at it as Atsuki flies in for a tilt-a-whirl DDT that gets turned into Blanc’s Whiplash neckbreaker. And then the Frenchman hits a flip dive on everybody outside before Mike gets an Asai moonsault and accidentally walks into a shot revealing they’re in a FAR bigger room than their crowd and you just see empty darkness in this aircraft hanger of a building behind him. Ouch. And speaking of ouch, we return to Jack Kennedy, and his more talented opponent Ryuki Honda. They run at each other in dramatic fashion and Jack wins for a 2.8 count. Ryuki finally comes back with a lariat and then another lariat for 2.5. And Honda keeps at it with a Final Vent for 3.

We’re back in Korakuen Hall where we have almost 1100 to watch some pro wrestling! Got some decently big matches here so here we go!

Takashi Yoshida [0] vs. XYON [2] – A Block Match

Background: Takashi is the former Cyber Kong of Dragon Gate  who is now a gi-clad cheating brawler and a member of the Hokuto-Gun stable of monsters. His opponent is former WWE wrestler XYON, an Australian of Samoan ancestry who dresses like a big scary biker. Oh and Takashi has a chisel with him, as one does.

We’re in Saitama for this edition of the Champion Carnival, with a bit less than 600 in the Tokorozawa Sakura Town Japan Pavilion, which is a dark building with a full-crown and I think I’ve seen Marigold or Stardom run shows here before.

Atsuki Aoyagi & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Ryo Inoue & Ryuji Hijikata

Background: So the Aoyagi Brothers are facing brash rookie Ryo Inoue and former Voodoo Murders member Ryuji who was once the masked TOSHIZO and is now just a buzzcut junior with purple trunks. How the mighty have fallen. Yuma is both the only heavyweight and former Triple Crown champion in this match so uh, I’m not expecting this to be very competitive.

We got almost 700 in Sanjo in the Niigata prefecture in the Sanjo City Welfare Hall and it looks…okay Japan kinda built 80% of their buildings in the same decade so it all KINDA looks the same but this one has a giant red curtain on the back at least.

Hideki Suzuki & Taishin Nagao vs. Hiroyuki Suzuki & Hokuto Omori

Background: So Hideki and Hokuto are both in the tournament thought not in the same block and Hideki’s Baka no Jidai stable of shooter-types who do some comedy stuff have faced Hokuto’s…Hokuto-Gun stable of big giant freak monsters. Their seconds are Taishin who is AJPW’s only true rookie at the moment, a short but spirited youngster in green trunks, and Hiroyuki, who is a local Niigata guy as AJPW always uses local dudes on their spot shows (I assume the locals provide ticket selling and training chances) and they then get a spot on the card in front of a larger crowd and some reps against bigger stars. Wrestling feudalism! Hideki is in purple here without kneepads in a look I just never love. Hokuto has the military dictator outfit and Hiroyuki has an undercut, a sorta cape deal, red, black, and yellow shorts, and a BIG OLE BELT so he must be the local champion. Interesting to showcase that but AJPW kinda exists between promotions.