{"id":8404,"date":"2014-04-12T12:49:55","date_gmt":"2014-04-12T16:49:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/?p=8404"},"modified":"2014-04-12T12:49:55","modified_gmt":"2014-04-12T16:49:55","slug":"fighting-spirit-review-all-japan-excite-series-2014-on-2814","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/reviews\/fighting-spirit-review-all-japan-excite-series-2014-on-2814\/","title":{"rendered":"Fighting Spirit Review: All Japan “EXCITE SERIES 2014” on 2\/8\/14"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Date:\u00a0 February 8th, 2014
\nLocation:\u00a0 Osaka, Japan
\nAnnounced Attendance:\u00a0 791<\/strong><\/p>\n

And we are on to Day 2 of the Jr. Battle of Glory.\u00a0 Day 1 was a bit of a disappointment to me, so here is to hoping that Day 2 brings the goods.\u00a0 This event also has an All Japan World Tag Team Championship match in the main event with some quality wrestlers, so the potential is there for All Japan to bounce back from the show a few days ago.\u00a0 The second match was missing from where I got the event, not sure if it wasn\u2019t taped or just wasn\u2019t put up but it wasn\u2019t a tournament match so I wasn\u2019t worried about it.\u00a0 Here are the matches I will be reviewing:<\/p>\n

–\u00a0Jr. Battle of Glory – Block B:\u00a0<\/em>Takao Soma vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru
\n– Atsushi Aoki vs. Keisuke Ishii
\n– KENSO and Mitsuya Nagai vs. Ryuji Hijikata and SUSHI
\n–\u00a0Jr. Battle of Glory – Block B:<\/em>\u00a0Hikaru Sato vs. Masaaki Mochizuki
\n– Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie, and Shigehiro Irie vs. Go Shiozaki, Kento Miyahara, and Kaji Tomato
\n–\u00a0Jr. Battle of Glory – Block A:<\/em>\u00a0Kotaro Suzuki vs. Ultimo Dragon
\n–\u00a0All Japan World Tag Team Championship:<\/em>\u00a0Suwama and Joe Doering vs. Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get straight to it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Takao Soma vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is part of the Jr. Battle of Glory.\u00a0 Tie-up to start, Soma pushes Kanemaru into the ropes and he gives a clean break.\u00a0 Tie-up again, side headlock by Kanemaru, Soma Irish whips out of it but Kanemaru shoulderblocks him down.\u00a0 Kanemaru goes off the ropes but Soma catches him with a dropkick.\u00a0 Kanemaru returns to his feet, club to the back by Soma and he kicks Kanemaru into the corner.\u00a0 Irish whip, reversed, but Soma kicks Kanemaru when he charges in.\u00a0 Soma goes for a missile dropkick but Kanemaru side steps it and throws Soma out of the ring.\u00a0 Kanemaru goes out after him and throws Soma into the guard rail.\u00a0 He throws Soma into the guard rail again before removing part of the mat at ringside.\u00a0 Kanemaru picks up Soma and scoop slams him on the cement floor.\u00a0 Kanemaru gets back into the ring with Soma slowly following, kicks to the back by Kanemaru and he slams Soma in front of the corner.\u00a0 Kanemaru picks up Soma, Irish whip, and he hits a back bodydrop.\u00a0 Crab hold by Kanemaru but Soma gets a hand in the ropes.\u00a0 Cover by Kanemaru but Soma kicks out.\u00a0 Kanemaru picks up Soma, elbow by Soma but Kanemaru elbows him back.\u00a0 Irish whip by Kanemaru, reversed, and Soma hits an elbow smash.\u00a0 Kanemaru gets up in the corner, Soma charges him but Kanemaru moves.<\/p>\n

Kick to the stomach by Soma and he hits a double stomp to Kanemaru\u2019s back followed by a DDT.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Soma goes up to the top turnbuckle but Kanemaru punches him while he is up there and throws him off.\u00a0 Running kick by Kanemaru and he hits a lariat in the corner.\u00a0 Scoop slam by Kanemaru in front of the corner and he hits a split-legged moonsault.\u00a0 Cover, but Soma kicks out.\u00a0 Kanemaru picks up Soma and goes for a suplex but Soma lands on his feet and hits a hurricanrana for a two count.\u00a0 Kanemaru goes off the ropes but Soma kicks him twice in the head.\u00a0 Cover, but again it gets two.\u00a0 Soma goes up to the top turnbuckle and hits a missile dropkick.\u00a0 Cover, but Kanemaru gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Soma gets Kanemaru on his shoulders and hits the Schwein, cover, but it gets another two count.\u00a0 Soma picks up Kanemaru but Kanemaru gets away and the two trade elbows.\u00a0 Uppercut by Kanemaru but Soma hits an enzigieri, he goes for another hurricanrana but Kanemaru powerbombs him.\u00a0 Kanemaru goes up to the second turnbuckle and hits the Touch Out, cover, but Soma kicks out.\u00a0 Kanemaru picks up Soma and drops him with a brainbuster, cover, but it also gets two.\u00a0 Kanemaru goes for a second one but Soma sneaks in an inside cradle for a two count.\u00a0 Lariat by Kanemaru, he picks up Soma and hits the Touch Out.\u00a0 Cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Yoshinobu Kanemaru<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 A decent opener.\u00a0 I liked that Soma just ran through all of his moves at one point, sometimes that doesn\u2019t work as it reeks of having no creativity, but against a \u2018better\u2019 foe that could finish him at any time it made sense he would just start throwing bombs instead of going for limb work.\u00a0 Kanemaru gave him a lot and it really was feasible that Kanemaru could lose, these things do happen in tournaments and that last inside cradle would have been a realistic ending as well.\u00a0 Too short to be amazing or anything, but a solid way to start the show.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Atsushi Aoki vs. Keisuke Ishii<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Ishii gets a single leg takedown to start the match and applies a kneelock.\u00a0 Aoki gets out of it and applies a crossface, but Ishii gets to the ropes to force a break.\u00a0 Stomp to the back by Aoki, he picks up Ishii and throws him into the corner.\u00a0 Irish whip by Aoki, he gets a running start and hits a lariat in the corner.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Aoki picks up Ishii and goes for a suplex but Ishii lands on his feet and hits a missile dropkick.\u00a0 Ishii picks up Aoki, Irish whip, and Ishii hits an armdrag followed by a senton.\u00a0 Cover, but Aoki kicks out.\u00a0 Ishii picks up Aoki but Aoki hits an uppercut, headscissors takedown by Ishii and he keeps the hold applied on the mat.\u00a0 Aoki gets out of it and applies a crab hold, but Ishii makes it to the ropes.\u00a0 Back up Ishii hits a somersault kick to the back by Aoki followed by a German suplex hold, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Ishii waits for Aoki to get up and goes for a heel kick but Aoki moves out of the way and hits a lariat.\u00a0 Aoki goes off the ropes but Ishii hits him in the stomach and hits an enzigieri.\u00a0 Ishii goes off the ropes but he is pulled out of the ring by Nagai.\u00a0 KENSO throws Ishii into the guard rail and then Nagai throws him into the ring post. \u00a0Aoki looks on from inside the ring while the referee calls for the bell, declaring the match a No Contest.<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 Kind of a waste, the point was that Aoki was invited to join KENSO\u2019s Dark KingDom (he declined), but the match really wasn\u2019t bad up to that point.\u00a0 Ishii was getting some good offense in and while Aoki was doing better it was a far more even match-up than I was expecting.\u00a0 Maybe the two will get a chance to have a real match together at some point so we can see what they can do.\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

KENSO and Mitsuya Nagai vs. Ryuji Hijikata and SUSHI<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>KENSO and Nagai naturally attack their opponents before the match starts and throw them out of the ring.\u00a0 They battle on the outside with KENSO slapping people and Nagai throwing them into guard rails, KENSO gets in the ring and sails out onto SUSHI with a pescado.\u00a0 Nagai rolls SUSHI into the ring and he applies a reverse chinlock.\u00a0 Elbow to the head by Nagai, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0\u00a0 Nagai picks up SUSHI and throws him into the corner before tagging in KENSO.\u00a0 KENSO pushes SUSHI into the neutral corner and slaps him in the face.\u00a0 Another slap by KENSO, he puts SUSHI onto the top turnbuckle and tries to take off his mask.\u00a0 KENSO pulls SUSHI back down as SUSHI tries to get his mask back on, KENSO picks up SUSHI, Irish whip to the corner but SUSHI flips himself out to the apron.\u00a0 SUSHI goes for a swandive move but KENSO hits him before he can jump off.\u00a0 Nagai knocks SUSHI back into the ring, KENSO picks up him, Irish whip, and KENSO hits a lariat.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Nagai is tagged in, he picks up SUSHI and applies an abdominal stretch.\u00a0 Hijikata comes in and breaks up the hold, Nagai tags in KENSO and KENSO cuts off SUSHI before he can tag Hijikata.\u00a0 Slap by KENSO to SUSHI, he stomps him and gives SUSHI another slap.\u00a0 They trade blows which KENSO gets the better of but SUSHI returns to his feet and they go at it again.<\/p>\n

KENSO grabs SUSHI and goes for a suplex but SUSHI blocks it.\u00a0 Slap by KENSO and he goes for another suplex, but SUSHI blocks it and hits a suplex of his own.\u00a0 SUSHI makes the hot tag to Hijikata, Hijikata kicks Nagai off the apron, throws KENSO into the corner and delivers a high kick.\u00a0 Single arm suplex by Hijikata and he kicks KENSO in the back.\u00a0 Cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Hijikata picks up KENSO, snapmare, he goes off the ropes but Nagai knees him from the apron.\u00a0 Nagai then comes in the ring, he picks up Hijikata and hits an elbow strike in the corner.\u00a0 Big boot by KENSO, cover, but SUSHI breaks it up.\u00a0 KENSO goes up to the top turnbuckle but Hijikata recovers and joins KENSO up top.\u00a0 Superplex by Hijikata and SUSHI hits a diving headbutt onto KENSO.\u00a0 Cover by Hijikata, but Nagai breaks it up.\u00a0 SUSHI throws Nagai out of the ring, Hijikata picks up KENSO and hits the Fisherman Buster.\u00a0 Cover, but KENSO kicks out.\u00a0 Hijikata picks up KENSO again but KENSO fights back and they trade kicks.\u00a0 KENSO takes off his belt and chokes Hijikata with it before hitting a brainbuster.\u00a0 Cover, but Hijikata kicks out at two.\u00a0 Hagakure by KENSO, cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 KENSO and Mitsuya Nagai<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0 This was a Dark KingDom match through and through.\u00a0 Each tag match I have seen with them follows the same basic pattern, with the only difference occasionally being the ending.\u00a0 KENSO is an interesting character as his offense is predictable but he does his character so well that it is hard to hate on him too much.\u00a0 Nagai seems like an odd pairing with him though and the Jr. Heavyweight team just seemed really overmatched.\u00a0 Not what I would consider a bad match as it did its goal in giving KingDom a win, but certainly nothing overly interesting.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 5.5<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hikaru Sato vs. Masaaki Mochizuki<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is part of the Jr. Battle of Glory.\u00a0 Sato slaps Mochizuki to start the match and Mochizuki slaps Sato back, sending him to the mat.\u00a0 Sato gets back up and slaps Mochizuki but again it is Mochizuki\u2019s slap that is the more effective one.\u00a0 Another slap by Sato but Mochizuki returns fire, kick by Sato and a snapmare, and he kicks Mochizuki in the back.\u00a0 Sato then sits down so that Mochizuki can kick him in the back as well.\u00a0 Kicks to the leg by Mochizuki and Sato rolls out of the ring.\u00a0 Sato returns after a moment, kicks to the leg by Mochizuki but Sato catches one and applies a cross kneelock.\u00a0 Mochizuki gets out of the hold and stomps on Sato, he picks him up and\u00a0 hits a kneebreaker before kicking Sato in the leg.\u00a0 Stomp to the leg by Mochizuki, he picks up Sato and goes for an Irish whip, but Sato blocks it.\u00a0 Mochizuki finally gets the Irish whip, reversed, but Mochizuki kicks Sato as he charges in.\u00a0 Mochizuki goes off the ropes and hits a big boot, Sato then goes off the ropes and does a big boot as well.\u00a0 Both wrestlers go off the ropes and kick each other, they trade more kicks until a high kick by Sato sends Mochizuki to the mat.\u00a0 Kicks to the chest by Sato, Irish whip, and Sato connects with a running kick in the corner.\u00a0 Suplex by Sato, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Sato applies a cross armbreaker but Mochizuki is by the ropes and forces a break.\u00a0 Kick to the arm by Sato but Mochizuki fires back with kicks to the leg and they trade shots.\u00a0 Slap by Mochizuki but Sato ducks the second one and goes for the arm.\u00a0 Mochizuki kicks Sato back but Sato hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Cover by Sato, but it gets two.\u00a0 Sato goes off the ropes and kicks Mochizuki in the chest.\u00a0 He kicks Mochizuki a second time, and a third, but Mochizuki ducks the fourth and hits a leg sweep.\u00a0 Kicks by Mochizuki, cover, but Sato get a shoulder up and applies the cross armbreaker.\u00a0 Mochizuki blocks Sato from fully locking it in and rolls through it, applying an ankle hold.\u00a0 Sato rolls through the ankle hold and goes back to the arm.\u00a0 Mochizuki rolls out of that and re-applies the ankle hold, but Sato gets back and up and elbows out of the hold.\u00a0 Kick combination by Mochizuki ending with the Shin Saikyou High Kick, cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winner:\u00a0 Masaaki Mochizuki<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Didn\u2019t really like this one.\u00a0 First of all I don\u2019t mind strike battles but sitting down and letting your opponent kick you in the back is stupid.\u00a0 The strategy was also all over the place\u2026 Mochizuki targets the leg upper leg while, he stops, Sato stops selling it, Mochizuki out of nowhere starts applying ankle holds and then wins with a kick to the head.\u00a0 It was just really random.\u00a0 Sato definitely got some good offense in but it also lacked focus.\u00a0 Just an odd match and it just never seemed to click.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 3.5<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Akebono, Yoshie, and Irie vs. Go Shiozaki, Miyahara, and Tomato<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>Akebono and Shiozaki start things off.\u00a0 They jockey for position to start, slap by Akebono but Shiozaki hits him back.\u00a0 Shiozaki applies a side headlock, Akebono Irish whips out of it and hits a shoulderblock, but Shiozaki responses with a leg sweep.\u00a0 Akebono tags in Yoshie and Shiozaki tags in Miyahara.\u00a0 Miyahara and Yoshie circle each other, tie-up, but Yoshie pushes Miyahara off.\u00a0 Side headlock by Miyahara, Yoshie Irish whips out of it and they collide with neither man going down.\u00a0 Miyahara goes off the ropes and hits a jumping elbow but Yoshie responds with a shoulderblock, sending Miyahara to the mat.\u00a0 Miyahara gets back up, tie-up, Yoshie pushes Miyahara into the corner and he tags in Irie.\u00a0 Tomato is tagged in as well, tie-up, side headlock by Irie, Tomato Irish whips out of it but Irie shoulderblocks him down.\u00a0 Irie goes off the ropes, knee by Tomato and an Irish whip, and Tomato hits a springboard dropkick.\u00a0 Tomato tags in Shiozaki, and Shiozaki elbows Irie in the back of the head.\u00a0 Irie elbows Shiozaki back, chops by Shiozaki and he throws Irie out of the ring. Miyahara greets him out there and he throws Irie into the guard rail before slamming him out on the floor.\u00a0 Akebono lumbers over while Miyahara grabs Irie and throws him to Shiozaki, who chops Irie in the chest.\u00a0 Shiozaki now grabs Irie and slams him into the apron and the ring post.\u00a0 Shiozaki gets back in the ring and Irie follows, and Shiozaki knees Irie in the back of the head.\u00a0 Shiozaki picks up Irie, Irish whip, and Shiozaki delivers a dropkick.\u00a0 Back up, chop to the face by Shiozaki, Irish whip, but Irie headbutts Shiozaki.\u00a0 This gives him time to tag in Yoshie, Yoshie picks up Shiozaki, Irish whip to the corner but Shiozaki falls to the mat.\u00a0 Running splash by Yoshie and he hits the running hip attack.\u00a0 Yoshie picks up Shiozaki, snapmare, and he hits a rolling senton.\u00a0 Cover, but it only gets two.<\/p>\n

Yoshie picks up Shiozaki and goes for a scoop slam but Shiozaki gets out of it and hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Lariat by Shiozaki but Yoshie comes back with one of his own and both wrestlers are down.\u00a0 Yoshie rolls to his corner and tags in Irie while Tomato is also tagged in, Irish whip by Tomato, reversed, and Tomato hits a jumping forearm strike.\u00a0 Tomato charges Irie in the corner but Irie catches him as he jumps in and hits a vertical suplex.\u00a0 Cover, but Tomato kicks out.\u00a0 Irie picks up Tomato and hits an elbow, Irish whip from the corner and he hits a running lariat.\u00a0 Irie goes off the ropes but Tomato catches him with an inside cradle for a two count.\u00a0 Enzigieri by Tomato and he tags in Miyahara.\u00a0 Irish whip by Miyahara from the corner but Irie shoulder blocks him as he charges in.\u00a0 Atomic drop by Miyahara followed by a Northern Lights Suplex, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Miyahara picks up Irie but Irie elbows him off.\u00a0 The two trade elbows, Irish whip by Irie but Miyahara dropkicks him in the knee and then in the head.\u00a0 Tomato and Shiozaki run in the ring to knock Akebono and Yoshie off the apron, while in the ring Miyahara hits a jumping knee in the corner.\u00a0 Sit-down powerbomb by Miyahara to Irie, cover, but Yoshie comes in to break it up.\u00a0 Miyahara picks up Irie and goes for a German suplex but Irie grabs the ropes to block it.\u00a0 Miyahara kicks his arm off but Yoshie comes in the ring and hits a body splash to Miyahara.\u00a0 Irie tags in Akebono, Irish whip by Akebono to the corner and he smashes Miyahara.\u00a0 Elbow drop by Akebono, cover, but it gets two.\u00a0 Akebono goes off the ropes but Miyahara rolls out of the way of the body press and kicks Akebono twice in the head.\u00a0 He goes off the ropes but Akebono catches him with a lariat.\u00a0 Body Press by Akebono, cover, but Shiozaki breaks it up.\u00a0 Yoshie and Shiozaki trade strikes as Shiozaki hits Akebono s well, but Akebono knocks him back.\u00a0 Akebono picks up Miyahara and throws him in the corner with Shiozaki, and he splashes both of them.\u00a0 Akebono picks up Miyahara and hits the Yokozuna Impact, cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners:\u00a0 Akebono, Yutaka Yoshie, and Shigehiro Irie<\/strong><\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>A perfectly acceptable six man tag match but nothing that will rock your world.\u00a0 The wrestlers played their roles well and I liked that Irie continues to get respect from some of the bigger stars as Shiozaki really sold the headbutt.\u00a0 This is literally the best use for Akebono, he wasn\u2019t in the ring much but he always left an impact when he did.\u00a0 Tomato was an after-thought here and wasn\u2019t needed at all.\u00a0 Definitely had a few fun parts within it so not a bad match overall even if it wasn\u2019t really memorable.\u00a0\u00a0Score:\u00a0 6.0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kotaro Suzuki vs. Ultimo Dragon<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is part of the Jr. Battle of Glory.\u00a0 They lock knuckles to start the match, Suzuki pushes Ultimo Dragon to his knees but Ultimo Dragon rolls through it and hits a spinning headscissors. Ultimo Dragon hits a second handstand headscissors but Suzuki gets a foot on the ropes. Both men return to their feet, tie-up, side headlock by Suzuki, Ultimo Dragon Irish whips out of it but Suzuki shoulderblocks him down. Back kick by Ultimo Dragon but Suzuki rolls through the snapmare, he goes for a back bodydrop but Ultimo Dragon lands on his feet and both wrestlers miss dropkicks. Knees by Ultimo Dragon, Irish whip, and Ultimo Dragon hits a back elbow. Cover, but it gets a two count. Elbow drop to the back by Ultimo Dragon and he twists up Suzuki to apply a submission hold. Ultimo Dragon slams Suzuki’s knee into the mat, he grabs his leg and does it a second time. Ultimo Dragon applies an ankle hold but Suzuki gets to the ropes to force a break. Ultimo Dragon picks up Suzuki and applies a hammerlock, rolling Suzuki to the mat and applies a headscissors. Suzuki gets a foot on the ropes to get out of the hold and he rolls out of the ring, Ultimo Dragon goes out to the apron and tries to kick Suzuki back but Suzuki grabs his leg and pulls Ultimo Dragon to the floor. Suzuki grabs Ultimo Dragon and Irish whips him into the guard rail. Elbows to the chest by Suzuki and he slides Ultimo Dragon into the ring. Suzuki picks up Ultimo Dragon and he kicks Ultimo Dragon into the corner. Suzuki picks up Ultimo Dragon, snapmare, and Suzuki hits a senton. Cover, but it gets two.<\/p>\n

Suzuki picks up Ultimo Dragon and elbows him against the ropes, Irish whip by Suzuki and he goes for a handspring elbow strike but Ultimo Dragon dropkicks him in the back. Irish whip by Ultimo Dragon but Suzuki kicks him, Suzuki goes for a vertical suplex but Ultimo Dragon blocks it. Vertical suplex by Suzuki and he hits a jumping knee in the corner. Diving knee drop by Suzuki from the corner, cover, but it gets a two count. Waistlock by Suzuki, Ultimo Dragon elbows out of it but Suzuki hits a Tiger Feint Kick. La Magistral by Suzuki but it gets a two count. Suzuki picks up Ultimo Dragon and goes for the Blue Destiny buy Ultimo Dragon hits an armdrag to get out of it. Suzuki goes up to the top turnbuckle but Ultimo Dragon dropkicks Suzuki. Kicks by Ultimo Dragon, Irish whip, and he hits a dropkick followed by a back bodydrop. Ultimo Dragon waits for Suzuki to get up and delivers a kick combination, he goes for the Asai DDT but Suzuki gets in a small package for a two count. Sunset flip by Suzuki but that gets a two count as well. Victory roll by Ultimo Dragon, but Suzuki kicks out. Hurricanrana by Ultimo Dragon, but it gets a two count. Ultimo Dragon goes off the ropes but Suzuki punches him back and hits a series of elbows. Cover, but it gets two. Suzuki goes off the ropes and elbows Ultimo Dragon but Ultimo Dragon dropkicks him in the knee and hits La Magistral for a two count. Roaring elbow by Suzuki, cover, but Ultimo Dragon kicks out at two. Suzuki picks up Ultimo Dragon and hits a Tiger Suplex, cover, and he picks up the three count. Your winner: Kotaro Suzuki<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:\u00a0<\/strong>A really good match that seemed to end somewhat suddenly. Even though the match had enough time on paper, it felt like it could have used another ten minutes as there didn’t seem to be a lot of real damage done in the match. They went from the opening submissions to mid-level offense straight to quick pins. It was almost like 20% of the match was missing. But what they did was fine, Ultimo Dragon is a veteran and controlled the mat game and Suzuki timed his comebacks well. I am sure these guys have had or will have a longer match that maybe will feel more complete.\u00a0Score: 6.5<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(c) Suwama and Joe Doering vs. Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori<\/strong><\/h4>\n

<\/strong>This match is for the All Japan World Tag Team Championship.\u00a0 Omori and Suwama start things off, Omori pushes Omori into the ropes and he gives a clean break.\u00a0 Waistlock by Suwama but Omori reverses it into an armbar, Suwama pushes Omori into the ropes and chops him in the chest.\u00a0 Omori chops him back and they trade blows back and forth, Suwama pushes Omori into the ropes and he tags in Doering.\u00a0 Doering punches Omori in the corner and applies a front facelock, but Omori pushes back to his corner and tags in Akiyama.\u00a0 Akiyama and Doering trade elbows, drop toehold by Akiyama and he applies a facelock but Doering gets to the ropes.\u00a0 Akiyama and Doering tie-up, Doering pushes Akiyama into the corner and knees him in the midsection.\u00a0 Doering tags in Suwama, Akiyama fights them off but they Irish whip Akiyama and hit a double shoulderblock.\u00a0 Suwama picks up Akiyama and kicks him in the stomach before hitting a belly to belly suplex.\u00a0 Suwama goes out to the floor and pulls Akiyama out with him, throwing Akiyama into the railing. Suwama charges Akiyama but Akiyama hits a drop toehold, sending Suwama into the guard rail.\u00a0 Omori and Doering come over and start fighting as well, and Akiyama throws Suwama into the guard rail before sliding him back into the ring.\u00a0 Akiyama then gets on the apron and hits a knee drop onto the back of Suwama\u2019 s head.\u00a0 Akiyama picks up Suwama and knees him in the back of the head before throwing him back into the ring.\u00a0 Cover by Akiyama, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Akiyama tags in Omori, and Omori chop Suwama in the chest.\u00a0 More strikes by Omori and he hits a piledriver.\u00a0 Cover, but Doering breaks it up.\u00a0 Omori picks up Suwama and punches him into the corner, Akiyama comes in the ring too, double Irish whip by Suwama avoids Omori\u2019s kick and hits a shoulderblock to Akiyama.<\/p>\n

Capture suplex by Suwama to Omori and he tags in Doering, Doering punches Omori in the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a lariat.\u00a0 Another lariat by Doering and he hits an elbow drop for a two count cover.\u00a0 Doering picks up Omori and hits a delayed suplex, cover, but again it gets two.\u00a0 Doering grabs Suwama and goes for a powerbomb but Omori reverses it with a back bodydrop.\u00a0 They both go off the ropes and lariat each other twice, but Omori then hits a backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Omori tags in Akiyama, Akiyama Irish whips Doering into the corner and hits a jumping knee.\u00a0 Running knee strike by Akiyama, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Akiyama goes for an exploder but Doering elbows him off.\u00a0 Irish whip by Akiyama, reversed, but Akiyama kicks Doering back and hits a knee off the second turnbuckle.\u00a0 Akiyama goes up to the top turnbuckle but Doering has recovered and joins him.\u00a0 Superplex by Doering and he tags in Suwama.\u00a0 Suwama kicks Akiyama in the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a lariat.\u00a0 Running shoulder powerslam by Suwama, cover, but it gets a two count.\u00a0 Suwama goes for the Last Ride but\u00a0 Akiyama blocks it, they trade elbows and chops, Irish whip by Suwama, reversed, Suwama goes for a shoulderblock but Akiyama hits a knee.\u00a0 Exploder by Akiyama but Suwama is up and hits a German suplex.\u00a0 Akiyama comes back with another exploder and a sliding knee strike.\u00a0 Akiyama tags in Omori, Omori goes off the ropes but Suwama kicks him in the face.\u00a0 Full nelson slam by Omori, cover, but it only gets a two count.\u00a0 Omori picks up Suwama and hits him into the corner, Irish whip, reversed, but Omori kicks Suwama back.\u00a0 Omori goes off the ropes but Suwama boots him in the face, Suwama goes off the ropes but Omori returns the favor.\u00a0 Omori chops Suwama, Irish whip, reversed, but Doering lariats Omori from the apron.\u00a0 Doering pulls Omori out of the ring with him and stomps him in the chest, until Akiyama comes around and stops him.<\/p>\n

Doering throws Akiyama into the guard rail and then Suwama drops Akiyama with a DDT.\u00a0 Doering throws Omori back into the ring and goes in as well, double Irish whip to Omori and they hit a double dropkick.\u00a0 Cover by Suwama but it gets two.\u00a0 Suwama picks up Omori and hits a backdrop suplex, cover, but it also gets two as Akiyama breaks it up.\u00a0 Doering comes in and picks up Akiyama while Suwama picks up Omori, they go for stereo powerbombs but both are reversed as Omori hits the Axe Guillotine Driver and Akiyama applies a front facelock followed by a knee strike.\u00a0 Akiyama hits a jumping knee onto Suwama in the corner and Omori follows with a lariat.\u00a0 Omori puts Suwama onto the top turnbuckle and joins him, and Omori hits an avalanche backdrop suplex.\u00a0 Cover, but Doering breaks it up.\u00a0 Omori and Akiyama grab Doering, double Irish whip and they hit a double shoulderblock.\u00a0 Elbow by Omori onto Suwama in the corner and Akiyama hits a running knee strike.\u00a0 Axe Bomber by Omori, cover, but Suwama barely gets a shoulder up.\u00a0 Omori goes off the ropes but Suwama blocks the lariat, Irish whip by Omori but Suwama hits a lariat of his own.\u00a0 Doering comes in the ring, he puts Omori on his shoulders and hits the Death Valley Bomb.\u00a0 Omori gets up in the corner and Doering hits a running lariat.\u00a0 Doering helps up Suwama and Suwama hits a lariat in the corner as well.\u00a0 Doering picks up Omori and with Suwama they hit a double fallaway slam.\u00a0 Suwama drags Omori to the middle of the ring and hits an elbow drop.\u00a0 Cover, but Akiyama breaks it up.\u00a0 Suwama waits for Omori to get up and hits a lariat, but Omori absorbs the blow.\u00a0 Roaring lariat by Suwama, he goes off the ropes and hits one more.\u00a0 Backdrop suplex by Suwama, cover, but Omori kicks out.\u00a0 Suwama picks up Omori and drops him with the Last Ride, cover, and he picks up the three count.\u00a0 Your winners and still champions:\u00a0 Suwama and Jun Akiyama<\/p>\n

Match Thoughts:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0A good heavyweight slugfest that kept the action coming (although to be fair they clipped out stuff somewhere since the match I saw didn\u2019t match the overall match time).\u00a0 I like that the referee gives wrestlers some leeway in Japan, it is a title match after all\u2026 I don\u2019t want to see tons of weapons used or something but the tag rules were definitely lax which I think is fine.\u00a0 Suwama and Doering work together really well but Akiyama always seemed to be around to help Omori, even if ultimately Omori did get pinned.\u00a0 Suwama did a good job at appearing to be out and done until Doering came in to clear the ring\/help him up which really helped put over the damage that Omori was doing.\u00a0 Quality clubbin\u2019, it stopped well short of being a classic but was an entertaining match overall.\u00a0Score:\u00a0 7.5<\/span><\/p>\n

Final Thoughts:<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

Best Match:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Suwama and Joe Doering vs. Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The title match delivered about as well as it could and over-shadowed the Jr. Heavyweight matches.\u00a0 While the Jr. Heavyweights seem to be holding back, these four did not as they were hitting each other with everything that they had.\u00a0 They are all pretty familiar with each other at this point and it was a smooth and well-structured match from start to finish.\u00a0 A recommendation to check it out.<\/p>\n

MVP:\u00a0 Suwama.<\/strong>\u00a0 Between his general selling and convincing offense, Suwama came out of the main event looking the best.\u00a0 Suwama is still the ace of All Japan, I just seem to be the only one that remembers.\u00a0 Hopefully All Japan will remember at some point as well.<\/p>\n

Overall:<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 While I continue to be a bit disappointed with the tournament matches, they were better than the last event and the main event helped elevate the card as well.\u00a0 The Jr. Heavyweights in the tournament just seem to be holding back and I don\u2019t know why, this is their chance to shine and they simply aren\u2019t taking it.\u00a0 But almost all the matches on this card were above average and the main event was quality, so this wouldn\u2019t be the worse event to pick up.<\/p>\n

Grade: B-<\/strong><\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Featuring Suwama and Joe Doering vs. Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori, Ultimo Dragon vs. Kotaro Suzuki, plus Akebono, Go Shiozaki, KENSO, Kanemura, Mochizuki, and more<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":8417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[399,40],"tags":[285,233],"class_list":["post-8404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsreview","category-reviews","tag-all-japan","tag-puroresu"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8404","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8404"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8404\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8418,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8404\/revisions\/8418"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8404"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8404"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crazymax.org\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8404"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}