All-Japan wraps up the 9th Royal Road Tournament today with a Saturday matinee, featuring the tournament Semifinals and Finals. The tournament has seen a late shakeup because Naoya Nomura reached the Semifinals but is now out due to coronavirus, and it was decided that because he lost to Nomura, Takao Omori gets a second chance and is in the semifinals despite that. The biggest loser here is Jake Lee, who probably thought maybe he’d get a free pass to the Finals and was preparing for Nomura, but now gets Omori instead. A handful of multi-man tag matches make up the undercard between the tournament matches.
Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on AJPW.TV. Since it’s a Korakuen event there should be Japanese commentary.
Today’s lineup:
Royal Road Semifinals:
Jake Lee vs. Takao Omori
Yuji Nagata (New Japan Pro Wrestling) vs. Kento Miyahata
Shuji Ishikawa, Renji Ayabe & Ryo Inoue vs. Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI & Cyrus
Yuma & Atsuki Aoyagi & Hokuto Omori vs. Takuya Nomura, Rising Hayato & Uji Shiiba
Black Menso-re, Sushi & Andy Woo vs. Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Rocky Kawamura 2
Suwama, Toshizo, KONO & TARU vs. Shotaro Ashino, Tatsuki Honda, Yusuke Kodama & Seigo Tachibana
Royal Road Finals: Lee/Omori vs. Nagata/Miyahara
Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.
Updates below will begin at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT.
10:30 PM ET UPDATE: Live results start now.
We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. This is a live Samurai! TV simulcast.
The paid attendance will be announced after the event but they are using the normal full-capacity layout, or close to it. The bleachers on the commentary table side look about half full. Depending on the hard-camera side crowd, I’m guessing it’ll be around 550. I didn’t catch the name but your commentary tonight is a one-man team.
The matches should begin in a few minutes after the opening video.
Match 1: Black Menso-re, Sushi & Andy Woo vs. Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Rocky Kawamura 2. 15 minute time limit
Result: Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Rocky Karamura 2 beat Black Menso-re, Sushi & Andy Woo. Tamura pinned Sushi.
Menso-re joins commentary.
Match 2: Royal Road Tournament Semifinals: Jake Lee vs. Takao Omori. No time limit
Result: Jake Lee beat Takao Omori. As a result, Lee advances to the Finals in the main event. But Lee was favoring his left knee, which may have been injured.
Match 3: Royal Road Tournament Semifinals: Yuji Nagata (New Japan Pro Wrestling) vs. Kento Miyahara. No time limit
Result: Kento Miyahara beat Yuji Nagata. As a result, Miyahara advances to the Finals and will face Lee.
Quick break for ring cleaning.
Match 4: Shuji Ishikawa, Renji Ayabe & Ryo Inoue vs. Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI & Cyrus. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yoshitatsu, TAJIRI & Cyrus beat Shuji Ishikawa, Renji Ayabe & Ryo Inoue. Cyrus pinned Inoue.
Match 5: Suwama, Toshizo, KONO & TARU vs. Shotaro Ashino, Tatsuki Honda, Yusuke Kodama & Seigo Tachibana. 30 minute time limit
Result: Suwama, Toshizo, KONO & TARU beat Shotaro Ashino, Tatsuki Honda, Yusuke Kodama & Seigo Tachinaba. Suwama pinned Kodama after a backdrop.
6 matches are announced for the All-Japan 50th Anniversary Event on 9/18 at Nippon Budokan, including Suwama vs. TBA (today’s main event winner) for the Triple Crown and Tiger Mask 4 vs. Atsuki Aoyagi for the All-Japan World Jr. heavyweight Championship.
Match 6: Yuma & Atsuki Aoyagi & Hokuto Omori vs. Takuya Nomura, Rising Hayato & Uji Shiiba. 30 minute time limit
Result: Yuma & Atsuki Aoyagi & Hokuto Omori beat Takuya Nomura, Rising Hayato & Uji Shiiba. Atsuki Aoyagi beat Shiiba with a front neck lock.
Atsuki Aoyagi joins commentary.
Main Event: Royal Road Tournament Finals: Jake Lee vs. Kento Miyahara. No time limit
Result: Kento Miyahara beat Jake Lee to win the tournament. As a result, Miyahara will face Suwama for the Triple Crown on 9/18.
The next event is 9/10 at Mima City Park Udatsu Arena in Tokushima.
UPDATE: The announced paid attendance was 820. Good number on paper.
