Date: March 18th, 2014
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Announced Attendance: 1,153
We return again to All Japan, I got in an “All Japan” mood this week, hence all the reviews for the promotion. This event has two more title fights, as the All Asia Tag Team Championship and the Triple Crown are up for grabs. All the other big wrestlers are here as well in various singles and tag matches. Here is the full card:
– Masao Inoue and Kenichiro Arai vs. SUSHI and Menso~re Oyaji
– Osamu Nishimura and Kotaro Nasu vs. Takao Omori and Kazuhiro Tamura
– Mitsuya Nagai and Minamino vs. Yutaka Yoshie and Shigehiro Irie
– Joe Doering vs. KENSO
– All Asia Tag Team Championship: Jun Akiyama and Kanemaru vs. Ishii and Takao Soma
– Atsushi Aoki and Ryuji Hijikata vs. Ultimo Dragon and Tomato
– Go Shiozaki and Kotaro Suzuki vs. Suwama and Hikaru Sato
– All Japan Triple Crown Championship: Akebono vs. Kento Miyahara
Masao Inoue and Kenichiro Arai vs. SUSHI and Menso~re Oyaji
Arai and SUSHI start things off but Arai goes out to the apron and tags in Inoue. Inoue and SUSHI circle each other, tie-up, side headlock by Inoue, SUSHI Irish whips out of it but Inoue shoulderblocks him down. Inoue goes off the ropes but SUSHI hits a hiptoss, side headlock takedown by Inoue reversed into a headscissors by SUSHI and he dropkicks Inoue out of the ring. Inoue gets a running start to do a dive but decides not to when Inoue moves. SUSHI punches back Arai and tags in Oyaji, Irish whip to Inoue and they hit a double face crusher. Inoue tags in Arai, Oyaji kicks Arai in the midsection and gets a drink. Rope walk by Oyaji but Arai blocks the shot and spits the drink into Oyaji’s face. Arai grabs Oyaji by the legs and gives him the Giant Swing. SUSHI comes in the ring and drops Arai with a lariat, but Arai cuts off Oyaji when he goes to make a tag. Arai goes off the ropes but Oyaji catches him with a dropkick and tags in SUSHI. SUSHI punches Arai into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, SUSHI flips out to the apron and he punches Arai back. Swandive missile dropkick by SUSHI, Inoue comes in the ring and Irish whips SUSHI, reversed, and SUSHI hits a heel kick onto Inoue. SUSHI grabs Arai and gives him a snap suplex. SUSHI goes up to the top turnbuckle but Arai rolls out of the way of the diving headbutt. Eye rake by Arai and he hits a DDT. Arai tags in Inoue, Irish whip by Inoue to the corner but SUSHI kicks him when he charges in. Jawbreaker by SUSHI and he hits a superkick. SUSHI tags in Oyaji, Oyaji goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick onto Inoue. Oyaji picks up Inoue as SUSHI comes back in the ring, Irish whip to the corner and they both hit repeated running strikes in the corner. Double vertical suplex to Inoue, both SUSHI and Oyaji go up to different top turnbuckles as SUSHI hits a diving headbutt and Oyaji hits a diving doublestomp. Cover by Oyaji but Arai breaks it up. Oyaji picks up Inoue and goes for a Shiranui but Inoue blocks it. Kick by Oyaji and a second one, then a third sends Inoue to the mat. Cover, but Arai breaks it up again. SUSHI throws Arai out of the ring, Oyaji picks up Inoue and goes for the Shiranui again but Inoue pushes him off. Enzigieri by Oyaji and he goes for a sunset flip, but Inoue rolls through it and cradles Oyaji for the three count. Your winners: Masao Inoue and Kenichiro Arai
Match Thoughts: A decent opener but nothing exciting. Arai didn’t really do much, not sure what the point was of having the Dragon Gate wrestler on the card and put him in a meaningless short opener. Oyaji got a better chance to shine here than the last match I reviewed with him from last month, but again here is useless ‘ol Inoue pinning a young wrestler which is something I can do without. But the action was at least smooth and it was inoffensive. Score: 5.0
Osamu Nishimura and Kotaro Nasu vs. Takao Omori and Kazuhiro Tamura
Nishimura and Omori start things off. Tie-up, Nishimura gets Omori into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up again, waistlock by Omori, reversed into a wristlock by Nishimura, Nishimura gets Omori to the mat but Omori applies a headscissors. Omori gets out of the headscissors after a handstand but again he gives a clean break. Tie-up, Nishimura pushes Omori back into the corner and Omori tags in Tamura. Tamura kicks Nishimura in the leg but Nishimura catches the next one and trips Tamura up. Nishimura tags in Nasu, and Nasu trades kicks with Tamura. Nasu gets the better of the exchange, he picks up Tamura, scoop slam, and he hits an elbow drop. Cover, but Tamura quickly kicks out. Nasu picks up Tamura and tags in Nishimura, and Nishimura hits an uppercut. Nishimura picks up Tamura and hits a second uppercut. Butterfly lock by Nishimura and he hits a suplex, cover, but it gets a two count. Nishimura picks up Tamura and puts him in the corner so he can hit an uppercut. Irish whip by Nishimura but Tamura rebounds off the corner with a cannonball. Tamura tags in Omori, Omori hits a lariat onto Nishimura followed by a heel kick. Omori picks up Nishimura but Nishimura hits an uppercut. Omori comes back with an uppercut of his own as they trade blows, Omori goes off the ropes but Nishimura catches him with a Cobra Twist. Omori hiptosses out of it, kicks to the leg by Nishimura and he hits a dragon screw leg whip. Spinning toe hold by Nishimura and he applies the figure four leglock. Omori rolls to the ropes to force the break and Nishimura tags in Nasu. Kicks to the chest by Nasu as he kicks Omori into the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a running elbow strike. Snapmare by Nasu and he kicks Omori in the back. Cover, but it gets a two count. Nasu goes for a backdrop suplex but Omori elbows out of it and the two trade blows. Omori goes off the ropes and hits a big boot followed by the full nelson slam. Cover, but Nishimura breaks it up. Tamura runs in and throws Nishimura out of the ring, Tamura then goes up to the top turnbuckle and while Omori holds Nasu, Tamura hits a missile dropkick. Cover by Omori but it gets a two count. Tamura picks up Nasu, Irish whip, and Omori hits the Axe Bomber. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Takao Omori and Kazuhiro Tamura
Match Thoughts: I didn’t know that Tamura was even still wrestling and Nasu I had never seen before. Looks like both come from STYLE-E (which I also didn’t know was still around), why they were in this particular match I am not sure. Anyway the match was pretty average, Tamura still seems to be pretty good and got some chances to show off but for the most part this match was pretty by-the-numbers. Omori didn’t really fit in since he had been higher on the card previously, and Nishimura has never been Mr. Excitement. Nothing bad, just pedestrian. Score: 4.5
Mitsuya Nagai and Takeshi Minamino vs. Yutaka Yoshie and Shigehiro Irie
Nagai and Minamino attack their opponents before the bell rings, isolating Yoshie in the ring. Elbows by Nagai, double Irish whip but Yoshie hits a double lariat. Yoshie picks up Minamino, Irish whip, and Yoshie hits a body press followed by an elbow drop. Cover, but it gets a two count. Yoshie tags in Irie, elbows by Irie but Minamino chops him back. Straight right hand by Minamino and he throws Irie out of the ring. Nagai goes outside the ring also and he throws Irie into the guard rail and then the ring post. Nagai picks up Irie and throws him chest-first into the guard rail as Minamino comes outside the ring as well. Nagai slides Irie back into the ring, Minamino waits for Irie to get up and hits a series of punches. Nagai comes in the ring, they pick up Irie, double Irish whip to the corner and both connect with running strikes. Jumping kick by Minamino, cover, but Irie gets a shoulder up. Minamino picks up Irie and tags in Nagai, Nagai goes for a vertical suplex but Irie blocks it. Vertical suplex by Irie and he makes the tag to Yoshie. Yoshie knocks Minamino off the apron, he picks up Nagai, Irish whip to the corner and both he and Irie attack Nagai. Snapmare by Irie and Yoshie hits the rolling senton, cover, but Nagai gets a shoulder up. Irie picks up Nagai, he goes off the ropes and hits a lariat. Yoshie then goes off the ropes and hits a body press, cover, but Minamino breaks it up. Irie throws Minamino out of the ring, Yoshie picks up Nagai and slams him to the mat. Yoshie goes off the ropes but Minamino hits Yoshie from the floor with a chair. Nagai then gets the chair and he hits Yoshie with it, but Yoshie absorbs the blow. The referee gets the chair from him, allowing Minamino to hit a low blow on Yoshie from behind. Capture suplex by Nagai to Yoshie, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the Hyper Knee Kuga. Cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Mitsuya Nagai and Takeshi Minamino
Match Thoughts: While still not a great match, at least in this match the wrestlers showed a bit of emotion and made it seem like they were trying to tell some type of story. I was surprised of the pair that Yoshie was the one pinned, not that a few chair shots and a Hyper Knee Kuga is a bad way to go but Irie was sitting right there. This was a short match that was a bit clipped on top of that so they didn’t really get a chance to get things going before the match was over. But I did like Minamino and Nagai’s tactics against their larger opponents and it had its entertaining moments. Score: 6.0
Joe Doering vs. KENSO
KENSO attacks Doering before the bell rings and punches him down in the corner. KENSO goes off the ropes but Doering knocks him down with a shoulderblock. KENSO rolls out of the ring but Doering goes out after him and they trade blows out on the floor. Doering attempts to Irish whip KENSO into the guard rail but KENSO reverses it. KENSO gets a chair and hits Doering in the stomach and ten in the back with it. KENSO hits Doering with a bottle of water and piles up some chairs on the ground. He then grabs Doering and tries to suplex him onto the chairs, but Doering blocks it. Doering picks up KENSO in a vertical suplex position and then rotates around so he can suplex KENSO on the chairs. Nagai and Minamino get involved and attack Doering, throwing him repeatedly into the guard rail. Nagai throws Doering into the ring post before sliding him back in the ring for KENSO. KENSO has unwrapped one of the turnbuckles in the meantime but Doering chops him in the chest. Doering and KENSO trade chops, Doering goes off the ropes but KENSO catches him with a lariat. Doering gets back up but KENSO shoves Doering into the referee. This brings Nagai and Minamino into the ring but Doering hits a crossbody onto both of them. KENSO comes back over and throws Doering into the exposed turnbuckle. Lariat by KENSO, cover, and a slowly recovering referee counts a two count. KENSO picks up Doering but Doering puts KENSO on his shoulders and hits the Death Valley Bomb. Cover, but KENSO gets a shoulder up. Doering picks up KENSO and nails the Revolution Bomb, cover, but the referee is pulled out of the ring by Nagai and thrown into the guard rail. This leads the referee to call for the DQ. Your winner: Joe Doering
Match Thoughts: This match was mostly just done to continue showing Dark KingDom’s evil ways, since KENSO had no real chance of winning. That was evident since even with two friends and weapons he still was out cold about to be pinned five minutes into the match. This was probably setting up a Suwama/Doering vs. Dark KingDom title defense down the road. Doering did look good though, I really like him rotating around on the suplex to send Kanemaru into the chairs, it was a well-done spot. Score: 5.5
(c) Jun Akiyama and Kanemaru vs. Keisuke Ishii and Takao Soma
This match is for the All Asia Tag Team Championship. Kanemaru and Soma start things off. Tie-up, side headlock by Kanemaru, Soma Irish whips out of it but Kanemaru shoulderblocks him down. Soma gets back up, Kanemaru goes off the ropes but Soma delivers a dropkick. Soma tags in Ishii, wristlock by Kanemaru, reversed by Ishii but Kanemaru hits a single leg takedown. Headscissors by Ishii, Kanemaru gets out of it but Ishii hits an armdrag followed by a dropkick. Ishii goes off the ropes, armdrag by Kanemaru but Ishii returns to his feet and hits a hurricanrana. Enzigieri by Ishii as Soma comes in the ring, double Irish whip to Kanemaru and they hit a face crusher/DDT combination. Double dropkick to Kanemaru, cover by Ishii but it gets a two count. Ishii goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kanemaru side-steps the missile dropkick. Akiyama comes in the ring and hits a running knee onto Ishii. Kanemaru then goes up top and delivers the Deep Impact, cover, but Soma breaks it up. Akiyama picks up Ishii and hits an exploder, then Kanemaru comes off the top turnbuckle with a body press. Cover, but Ishii barely gets a shoulder up. Kanemaru picks up Ishii and goes for a brainbuster but Ishii reverses it with an inside cradle for a two count. School boy by Ishii but that gets a two count as well, he then tries a backslide but that also gets two. Kanemaru dropkicks Ishii and Ishii falls out of the ring, Akiyama grabs Ishii and throws him into the guard rail. Akiyama rolls Ishii back in the ring and Kanemaru tags in Akiyama. Akiyama picks up Ishii and hits a scoop slam, he then grabs Ishii by the legs and applies a crab hold. Ishii gets to the ropes to force a break, Akiyama picks up Ishii but Ishii elbows him. Headbutt by Akiyama as Ishii keeps fighting back, he goes off the ropes but Akiyama catches him with a lariat. Akiyama picks up Ishii and goes for a suplex, but Ishii lands on his feet and kicks Akiyama back. Missile dropkick by Ishii and he makes the tag to Soma. Soma kicks Akiyama in the stomach, Irish whip, reversed, but Soma kicks Akiyama back and hits a doublestomp onto his back. DDT by Soma, cover, but it gets a two count.
Soma goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick, cover, but again it gets two. Soma picks up Akiyama and tries to put him up his shoulders, but Akiyama blocks it. Elbows by Soma and he hits an enzigieri, he goes off the ropes but Akiyama catches him with a jumping knee and tags in Kanemaru. Kanemaru charges Soma but Soma kicks him back, Soma goes off the ropes but Kanemaru dropkicks him in the knee. Kanemaru goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits the diving crossbody for a two count. Kanemaru picks up Soma, he slams him in front of the corner and hits the split-legged moonsault. Cover, but it also gets two. Kanemaru picks up Soma and goes for a suplex but Soma lands on his feet, kick by Kanemaru and he goes up to the top turnbuckle but Soma recovers and hurricanranas him down to the mat. Soma tags in Ishii, Ishii goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick. He then knocks Akiyama off the apron before picking up Kanemaru in the corner, Irish whip, reversed, and Ishii hits a release German suplex. Ishii waits for Kanemaru to get up but Kanemaru hits a superkick. Kanemaru goes for a brainbuster but Ishii reverses it into a suplex of his own, Soma comes in the ring but Kanemaru fights them both off. Double jumping kicks by Soma and Ishii and Ishii hits a heel kick onto Kanemaru. Cover, but Akiyama breaks it up. Ishii picks up Kanemaru and hits a trio of backflip kicks, he picks him up again and hits the tiger suplex hold for a two count. Soma goes back into the ring, Ishii picks up Kanemaru and they throw him into the corner. Soma puts Kanemaru on his shoulders as Ishii goes up to the top turnbuckle, but Kanemaru slides off. Akiyama hits a backdrop suplex onto Soma while Kanemaru hits a superplex on Ishii. Running knee to the back of the head by Akiyama to Ishii and Kanemaru hits a backdrop suplex. Cover, but it gets a two count. Kanemaru picks up Ishii and hits a brainbuster, cover, but Soma breaks it up. Akiyama hits a lariat onto Soma and then hits an exploder, while Kanemaru drops Ishii with the Touch Out. Cover, and he picks up the three count: Your winners and still champions: Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru
Match Thoughts: It may have just been the really smart card placement but I really loved this match. It is so rare these days to have wrestlers just going all-out from start to finish. The ‘feeling out’ process lasted about a minute and it was a sprint from there. Just bombs being thrown everywhere, and what it did was make the All Asia Tag Team Championship (of all things) seem really important. Soma and Ishii were holding back nothing trying to beat the veteran All Japan team, and a few times they almost succeeded. There is really nothing bad I can think about to say about the match, there wasn’t really a structure per se but they weren’t really trying to have one, it was chaotic by design. A breath of fresh air on an otherwise more ‘slow paced’ card so far, and a really fun match. Score: 8.0
Atsushi Aoki and Ryuji Hijikata vs. Ultimo Dragon and Kaji Tomato
Hijikata and Tomato start things off. Tie-up, Tomato pushes Hijikata into the ropes and he gives a clean break. Tie-up again, this time Hijikata gets Tomato into the ropes and he slaps Tomato before backing off. Kick by Tomato and he clubs Hijikata in the back, Hijikata drives him back and Tomato tags in Ultimo Dragon. Aoki asks for the tag and Hijikata obliges, Aoki and Ultimo Dragon tie-up, wristlock by Aoki but Ultimo Dragon flips out of it and hits an armdrag. Kick by Aoki and he locks knuckles with Ultimo Dragon, pushing Ultimo Dragon to the mat. Ultimo Dragon muscles back up and rolls out of it to reverse the lock. Headstand headscissors by Ultimo Dragon but Aoki pushes him off, Ultimo Dragon drives Aoki back and tags in Tomato. Double Irish whip to Aoki and they hit a double elbow. Tomato picks up Aoki and throws him into the corner, Irish whip, and he hit a running shoulderblock. Jumping elbow by Tomato, snapmare, and he dropkicks Aoki in the face. Cover, but it gets a two count. Tomato picks up Aoki, he goes off the ropes but Aoki catches him with a dropkick. Aoki knocks Ultimo Dragon off the apron which makes Ultimo Dragon angry, Ultimo Dragon gets in the ring and brawls with Aoki into the ropes. Hijikata then comes in the ring and drops Tomato with a brainbuster.
Aoki goes back to Tomato, he puts him onto the top rope but then goes after Ultimo Dragon again. Aoki throws Ultimo Dragon into the guard rail on the floor while Hijikata kicks Tomato off of the top rope back into the ring. Back in the ring Aoki grabs Tomato and hits a couple headbutts. Irish whip by Aoki but Tomato kicks him when he charges in, Aoki goes off the ropes but Tomato hits a springboard dropkick. Tomato tags in Ultimo Dragon, and Ultimo Dragon delivers a kick combination to Aoki. Dropkick by Ultimo Dragon and he hits a back bodydrop. Ultimo Dragon waits for Aoki to get up and kicks him some more, back kick by Ultimo Dragon and he goes for the Asai DDT but Aoki pushes him off. Aoki applies an armbar but Tomato breaks it up. Aoki headbutts Tomato out of the ring, he goes off the ropes but Ultimo Dragon catches him with a back kick. Ultimo Dragon goes off the ropes, Aoki hits a lariat but Tomato comes off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick. Aoki tags in Hijikata, Hijikata kicks Tomato out of the ring and then hits a Fisherman Buster onto Ultimo Dragon for a two count. Hijikata knees Ultimo Dragon to the mat and then hits a high kick, cover, but Tomato breaks it up. Aoki throws Tomato out of the ring and then picks up Ultimo Dragon, Hijikata goes for a suplex but Ultimo Dragon lands on his feet. Ultimo Dragon goes for the Asai Moonsault, Hijikata gets out of it but Ultimo Dragon rolls him up with La Magistral and picks up the three count. Your winners: Ultimo Dragon and Kaji Tomato
Match Thoughts: A stark contrast to the last match as this one was more slow paced. The point here was that Aoki really doesn’t like Ultimo Dragon as he took as many shots as he could at him during and after the match. Aoki naturally wants another title shot after he failed to beat Ultimo Dragon for the belt back in January. The other two really didn’t have much stake in what was going on and were just fodder, although Tomato’s fast paced style did bring a little zip to the match. Overall it was fine, it was just more of a storyline match then one made to stand on its own legs. Score: 5.0
Go Shiozaki and Kotaro Suzuki vs. Suwama and Hikaru Sato
Sato and Suzuki start things off. They circle each other to start, Suzuki goes for a single leg but Sato blocks it and applies an armbar. Sato takes Suzuki to the mat with the hold, Suzuki struggles back up as Sato applies a wristlock but Suzuki elbows out of it. Sato elbows him back and hits a double leg takedown before applying a cross kneelock. Suzuki rolls to the ropes and gets a foot in them to force a break. Back up, kicks to the leg by Sato, Irish whip, reversed, and Suzuki hits a dropkick. Suzuki goes off the ropes but Sato kicks him in the chest, Sato goes for the PK but Suzuki ducks it. Suzuki returns to his feet and tags in Shiozaki as Sato tags in Suwama. Suwama pushes Shiozaki into the corner, Shiozaki switches positions with him but he gives a clean break. Tie-up, Shiozaki gets Suwama in the corner again and mounts him on the turnbuckles, but Suwama grabs Shiozaki and pulls him into the ropes. Takedown by Shiozaki, he goes to punch Suwama but instead lets him up. Tie-up, side headlock by Shiozaki, Suwama Irish whips out of it and they collide with neither man going down. Suwama goes off the ropes and shoulderblocks Shiozaki to the mat. Shiozaki gets back up, he pushes Suwama back into the corner and tags in Suzuki. Suzuki elbows Suwama, Irish whip, and Suzuki delivers a dropkick. Reverse chinlock by Suzuki and he elbows Suwama in the face. More elbows by Suzuki but Suwama chops him to the mat. Suwama picks up Suzuki and hits a body slam. Suwama tags in Sato, and Sato kicks Suzuki in the back. Reverse chinlock by Sato and Suwama stomps on Suzuki while he is in the hold. This brings in Shiozaki, and he trades blows with Suwama while Sato chokes Shiozaki in the corner with his boot. Suwama and Shiozaki spill to the outside and battle around the ring, with Suwama throwing Shiozaki into the guard rail. Back in the ring, Sato has Suzuki in a reverse chinlock as Suwama takes Shiozaki up into the crowd. Sato picks up Suzuki and knocks him into the corner while Suwama slams Shiozaki’s head into a column up in the stands. They come back to ringside while in the ring Sato snapmares Suzuki and kicks him in the back. Cover, but it gets a two count. Sato picks up Suzuki and they trade elbows, while Shiozaki comes back over and grabs Suwama, throwing him into the railing. They battle some more at ringside before the referee finally gets them to stop. In the ring Sato throws Suzuki into the corner and tags in Suwama. Suzuki elbows Suwama but Suwama rakes him in the eyes. Irish whip by Suwama and he hits a lariat, cover, but it gets a two count.
Suwama picks up Suzuki and goes for the backdrop suplex but Suzuki lands on his feet. Big boot by Suwama and he goes for a suplex, but Suzuki reverses it into a suplex of his own and tags in Shiozaki. Shiozaki charges Suwama but Suwama kicks him back, Elbows by Suwama, Irish whip, but Shiozaki hits a jumping shoulderblock. Kick to the head by Shiozaki, cover, but it gets a two count. Shiozaki charges Suwama in the corner and hits a running chop followed by a brainbuster. Cover, but it gets two. Shiozaki kicks Sato on the apron, he then grabs Suwama and goes for a lariat but Suwama blocks it. Suwama goes for a capture suplex but Shiozaki elbows out of it and they trade blows. Chop by Shiozaki and they then trade chops and try to lariat each other before Suwama finally hits a powerslam. Suwama tags in Sato, Sato picks up Shiozaki and hits a kick combination. Irish whip by Sato, reversed, but Sato kicks Shiozaki in the corner. More kicks by Sato but Shiozaki blocks one and hits a chop. Shiozaki tags in Suzuki, Irish whip by Suzuki to Sato but Suzuki hits the handspring elbow strike. Jumping knee in the corner by Suzuki and he hits the diving knee off the top turnbuckle for a two count cover. Irish whip to the corner by Suzuki, reversed, but Suzuki rebounds out of the corner with an elbow strike onto Sato. Dragon screw leg whip by Suzuki, Shiozaki comes in the ring and they pick up Sato, but Sato fights them off. Suzuki goes off the ropes and hits an elbow while Shiozaki hits a superkick, cover, but Suwama breaks it up. Suzuki picks up Sato and goes off the ropes but Sato catches him with a cross armbreaker takedown. Suzuki is by the ropes and quickly gets a foot on them, as Suwama comes into the ring. Suwama picks up Suzuki and throws him at Sato, who kicks Suzuki in the chest. Release German suplex by Suwama to Suzuki and Sato follows with a running kick, cover, but Suzuki gets a shoulder up. Kicks by Sato and he hits a suplex, cover, but again it gets a two count. Cross armbreaker by Sato but Suzuki quickly gets out of it, Suzuki goes for a Tiger Driver but Suwama comes in and breaks it up. Irish whip by Suwama to the corner but Suzuki moves when Sato charges in, then Shiozaki comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving shoulderblock to Suwama. Shiozaki picks up Sato while Suzuki hits a springboard uppercut, cover, but Suwama breaks it up. Shiozaki grabs Sato and goes for the Tiger Driver but Sato gets out of it. Sato goes for the arm but Suzuki delivers an elbow combination, cover, but Sato kicks out. Suzuki picks up Sato and nails the Tiger Driver, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Go Shiozaki and Kotaro Suzuki
Match Thoughts: This match was mostly about Suwama and Shiozaki, who apparently hate each other (they brawled after the match as well). The middle part of the match dragged in a way as Sato and Suzuki were obviously just killing time while Suwama and Shiozaki brawled around the ring. Once order was restored things got better again and the ‘hate’ did add a lot to the match. Passion in wrestling is very rarely a bad thing. It took some time to really get going but once it did it was an entertaining match. Score: 6.5
(c) Akebono vs. Kento Miyahara
This match is for the All Japan Triple Crown Championship. Miyahara dropkicks Akebono to start the match and then dropkicks him in the knee twice. Running dropkick by Miyahara and Akebono reels into the corner, elbows by Miyahara but Akebono pushes him away. Tie-up, Akebono pushes Miyahara into the ropes and gives a clean break, but Miyahara hits an elbow then a big boot. Side headlock by Miyahara, Akebono Irish whips out of it and hits a lariat followed by an elbow drop. Akebono stands on Miyahara near the ropes, and Miyahara rolls out of the ring. Akebono goes out after Miyahara, and Irish whips him into the guard rail. Akebono goes for a running splash but Miyahara moves out of the way. Miyahara kicks Akebono’s arm while it is in the railing and then slams his arm into the ring post. Miyahara rolls Akebono back into the ring before turning himself, and he stomps Akebono in the arm repeatedly. Miyahara charges Akebono but Akebono hits a running body block. Akebono picks up Miyahara while Miyahara is on the apron and goes for a chokeslam, but Miyahara elbows out of it. Akebono clubs Miyahara and lariats him off of the apron down to the floor. Miyahara eventually gets back into the ring and Akebono hits a body avalanche in the corner. Elbow drop by Akebono, cover, but it gets a two count.
Akebono goes for a second one but Miyahara rolls out of the way and dropkicks Akebono twice in the shoulder. Kick to the arm by Miyahara and he hits a jumping elbow strike in the corner. Miyahara hits a second elbow strike, he goes for German suplex but Akebono blocks it by not moving. Miyahara goes off the ropes and kicks Akebono in the arm, he goes for an armbar but Akebono gets his arm free. Miyahara goes off the ropes but Akebono catches him with a side slam. Miyahara gets up in the corner and Akebono hits him with a body avalanche. Body press by Akebono, cover, but Miyahara gets a shoulder up. Akebono picks up Miyahara and goes for the Yokozuna Impact, but Miyahara blocks it. Kick to the arm by Miyahara and he hits a jumping knee in the corner. Miyahara goes out to the apron and hits a swandive missile dropkick. Miyahara goes for a German suplex but Akebono drives him back into the corner. Akebono picks up Miyahara and goes for the Yokozuna Impact again, but Miyahara back bodydrops out of it and applies a cross armbreaker. Akebono gets to the ropes to force the break, Miyahara picks up Akebono but Akebono pushes him off. Superkick by Miyahara and he boots Akebono, but Akebono connects with a slap. Akebono picks up Miyahara and nails the Yokozuna Impact, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner and still champion: Akebono
Match Thoughts: For the record, Miyahara had no chance of winning this match. Also for the record, I have watched too many Akebono matches this year. I feel for the guy, he is giving 100%, but he is 44 years old and at least 300 pounds (probably a lot more). He was gassed and struggling a bit just three minutes into the match. And like Shiozaki, Miyahara had a sound strategy that he would abandon to try something stupid like a German suplex, which obviously wasn’t happening. I know it creates a neat looking spot as you hold your breath to see if he can do it, but for the match structure it didn’t make any sense as the arm work to a point was working. Anyway this was too short to be offensive, Akebono works better in small doses, but there were just too many holes in the logic for my personal taste. Score: 4.5
Final Thoughts:
Best Match: Jun Akiyama and Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs. Keisuke Ishii and Takao Soma. There is just something about these DDT wrestlers in All Japan that I am really enjoying. Not only are they fun to watch but they bring a new element out of the All Japan wrestlers as well. Akiyama gets to be his grumpy self and Kanemaru bumps around the ring for the younger DDT stars, all while they keep a very fast urgent pace from start to finish. A really fun match.
MVP: Keisuke Ishii. I thought that Ishii was the most exciting wrestler in the best match, so he gets the nod. I didn’t even know who Ishii was before this year, and now he has been in a handful of matches that I have really enjoyed. I haven’t really seen him in his ‘native’ setting so I don’t know if he is always so fun to watch or if it is just his action when against All Japan wrestlers. Either way he looked really good here just as he has all year for the promotion.
Overall: A solid event from start to finish. A lot of average to above average matches and no real stinkers, which is a plus, even though the Triple Crown match was disappointing. Luckily the other title match helped make up for it as it was definitely entertaining. This is a good event to watch to catch up on what is going on in All Japan as all the feuds are represented, but if you like longer more intricate matches this may not be the event for you. But definitely good overall with only the main event really holding it down.
