Tag: ajpw

The second-oldest active promotion in Japan, just about 6 months behind New Japan Pro Wrestling, All-Japan Pro Wrestling held their 50th Anniversary Commemoration Event today. It’s been a tumultuous 2000s for the promotion as it’s struggled mightily the last 20+ years between the death of founder Giant Baba (a legendary Hall of Fame wrestler), the mass defection at the end of the 1990s led by top wrestler Mitsuharu Misawa to form Pro Wrestling NOAH, ownership turmoil and disagreements/mismanagement between owner Motoko Baba (Giant Baba’s widow) and subsequent presidents/executives including Keiji Muto & Jun Akiyama and more, but with support from longtime TV partner GAORA TV and others the promotion has managed to survive. This has been an event several months in the making and it brought the past, present and future of the promotion together.

Today’s event was held at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo and will be available on demand on AJPWTV in Japanese worldwide beginning Thursday at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET. The live broadcast was exclusively on TV Asahi in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 4780. With capacity limits presumably still in place and at 50% in all likelihood, this is probably at least a super full house, meaning over 90% full. But based on the layout of the venue, there’s a chance this was a legit sellout based on same-day ticket sales. Keiji Muto was a special guest on commentary.

Match 1: Rising Hayato & Ryo Inoue beat Yusuke Kodama & Oji Shiiba. Hayato pinned Shiiba after Shimatani Driver.

Match 2: TAJIRI, Yoshitatsu, Mitsuya Nagai & ATM beat Black Menso-re, Andy Wu, Izanagi & Sushi. Nagai beat Sushi with a Stretch Plum.

Match 3: Saito Brothers Triumphal Match: Jun & Rei Saito & Cyrus beat Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato & Yukio Naya (DDT). Rei Saito pinned Ishikawa after a diving body press.

Match 4: Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura beat All-Asia Tag Team Champions Minoru & Todhizo to win the titles. Sato & Tamura become the 114th All-Asia Tag Team Champions. Tamura pinned Toshizo after Death Valley Bomb.

Match 5: Minoru Suzuki beat Hokuto Omori.

Match 6: Yuma Anzai Debut Match: Yuji Nagata (New Japan Pro Wrestling) beat Yuma Anzai.

Match 7: Yuma Aoyagi beat Christopher Daniels (All Elite Wrestling).

Match 8: All-Japan 50th Anniversary Match: Masanobu Fuchi, Atsushi Onita & Shiro Koshinaka beat The Great Kojika, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Masao Inoue. Fuchi pinned Inoue after a backdrop.

Match 9: All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda beat Takao Omori & Manabu Soya (Pro Wrestling NOAH) to retain the titles. Ashino pinned Omori after Final Vent. V2 for the champs.

Match 10: Atsuki Aoyagi beat All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Tiger Mask (New Japan Pro Wrestling) to win the title. Aoyagi becomes the 63rd All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion.

Match 11: Naoya Nomura beat Jake Lee. As a result, Nomura will face the main event winner tomorrow for the All-Japan Triple Crown.

Main Event: Kento Miyahara beat Triple Crown Champion Suwama to win the Triple Crown. Miyahara becomes the 68th Triple Crown Champion.

The next event is tomorrow at Korakuen Hall. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin TONIGHT at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT.

All-Japan wrapped up the Road to 50th Anniversary tour today with the final event before their 50th Anniversary event this weekend.

Today’s event was held at Hodogaya Public Hall in Yokohama and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 255.

Match 1: Rising Hayato beat Izanagi & Black Menso-re in a 3-way by pinning both.

Match 2: Cyrus beat Yoshitatsu.

Match 3: Jake Lee, Hokuto Omori, Yuma & Atsuki Aoyagi beat Shotaro Ashino, Ryuki Honda, Yusuke Kodama & Seigo Tachibana. Lee pinned Tachibana after D4C.

Match 4: Yuji Nagata (New Japan Pro Wrestling), HIkaru Sato & Dan Tamura beat Shuji Ishikawa, Takao Omori & Ryo Inoue. Tamura pinned Inoue after Death Valley Bomb.

Match 5: Minoru Suzuki beat TAJIRI.

Main Event: Suwama & Black Tiger beat Kento Miyahara & Tiger Mask (New Japan Pro Wrestling) by ref stoppage. Suwama beat Miyahara with a backdrop.

The next event is the All-Japan Pro Wrestling 50th Anniversary Event Sunday at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo. The live broadcast will be exclusively on TV Asahi and available on Japan only. It will be available worldwide on demand on AJPW.TV beginning Thursday at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.

All-Japan continued the Road to Nippon Budokan tour with the second of 3 events on the short tour leading up to their 50th Anniversary event, which is now just one week away.

Today’s event was held at Yonago Industrial Gym Sub-Arena in Tottori and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 350.

Match 1: Dan Tamura beat Ryo Inoue by submission.

Match 2: Izanagi vs. Black Menso-re went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 3: Yoshitatsu & TAJIRI beat Rauza (?) & ALL Mighty Inoue. Yoshitatsu pinned Rauza after Fantasy.

Match 4: Cyrus beat Hokuto Omori.

Match 5: Takao Omori, Jake Lee & Shuji Ishikawa beat Shotaro Ashino, Tatsuki Honda & Seigo Tachibana. Omori pinned Honda after Ax Bomber.

Match 6: Suwama beat Hikaru Sato by ref stoppage.

Main Event: Kento Miyahara & Tiger Mask (New Japan Pro Wrestling) beat Atsuki & Ryo Aoyagi. Miyahara beat Ryo Aoyagi with a chicken wing.

The tour-ender is Thursday at Hodogaya Public Hall in Yokohama. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

All-Japan kicked off the Road to Nippon Budokan tour today, a short series that will lead to the promotion’s 50th Anniversary event next weekend.

Today’s event was held at Mina City Park Udatsu Arena in Tokushima and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 605.

Match 1: Yoshitatsu beat Ryo Inoue.

Match 2: In a handicap match, Cyrus beat Black Menso-re & Izanagi in just 8 seconds. Which led to…
Rematch: In a handicap match, Cyrus beat Black Menso-re & Izanagi.

Match 3: TAJIRI vs. Hikaru Sato went to a 10 minute time limit draw.

Match 4: Takao Omori, Shuji Ishikawa & Atsuki Aoyagi beat Shotaro Ashino, Tatsuki Honda & Seigo Tachibana. Omori pinned Honda after Ax Bomber.

Match 5: Suwama beat Dan Tamura.

Main Event: Kento Miyahara, Rising Hayato & Tiger Mask (New Japan Pro Wrestling) beat Jake Lee, Ryo Aoyagi & Hokuto Omori. Miyahara pinned Omori with a shutdown suplex hold.

The next event is tomorrow at Yonago Industrial Gym Sub-Atena in Tottori. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

All-Japan has announced that Ren Ayabe is now off all events the next 2 weeks including the 50th Anniversary Event on 9/18. Pulmonary pneumothorax. He was to have teamed with Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato to face Jun & Rei Saito & Cyrus on 9/18. DDT Pro Wrestling’s Yukio Naya is the replacement.
The promotion has also announced that Keiji Muto, the former President of All-Japan before joining Pro Wrestling NOAH, will be a special guest on commentary for 9/18. The 9/18 event will be live on TV in Japan ONLY. If you are an AJPW.TV subscriber, it will be available on demand beginning on 9/22 at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET.

All-Japan has announced the AJPW.TV broadcast schedule for September, not including their weekly “Battle Library” series of classic matches replayed on Thursdays. The service costs 900 yen per month (about $6.56 US at this time). Here is the live/on demand event achedule for September:
9/10 (Mima City Park Udatsu Arena, Tokushima)-On Demand beginning the following day
9/11 (Yonago Industrial Gym Sub Arena)-LIVE at midnight PT/3 AM ET
9/15 (Hodogayo Public Hall)-LIVE at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET
9/18 (All-Japan 50th Anniversary Event, Nippon Budokan)-On Demand beginning on 9/22 at 3 AM PT/6 AM ET. LIVE ONLY IN JAPAN on TV Asahi
9/19 (Korakuen Hall)-LIVE on 9/18 at 7:30 PM PT/10:30 PM ET. POTENTIAL 9/18 SPOILERS!

Also, if you were not able to watch earlier this year, the joint Korakuen Hall 60th Anniversary/New Japan 50th Anniversary/All-Japan 50th Anniversary crossover event is now available on demand on AJPW.TV. Lots of muted audio because it’s an All-Japan broadcast and, since it’s on their service, the video is not necessarily HD quality like New Japan World offers (remember All-Japan’s service is subpar quality compared to New Japan World and WRESTLE UNIVERSE)

All-Japan has announced the full card for their 50th Anniversary Event on 9/18 at Nippon Budokan. All of the Big 3 will be there as New Japan will have both Yuji Nagata & Tiger Mask there, and former All-Japan star Manabu Soya, now with Pro Wrestling NOAH, will return to where he began his career. Even All Elite Wrestling & Impact Wrestling in the US will have a presence. The legendary Stan Hansen will also be in attendance as a special guest.

The full card for the event, which is subject ot change (match order TBA):
Yuma Anzai Debut Match: Yuma Anzai vs. Yuji Nagata
Rising Hayato & Ryo Inoue vs. Yusuke Kodama & Oji Shiiba
Black Menso-re, Izanagi, Andy Wu & SUSHI vs. TAJIRI, ATM, Yoshitatsu & Mitsuya Nagai
All-Japan 50th Anniversary Match: Masanobu Fuchi, Atsushi Onita & Shiro Koshinaka vs. The Great Kojika, Yoshiaki Yatsu & Masao Inoue. Kyohei Wada will be referee, Fumito Kihara the special ring announcer
Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato & Ren Ayabe vs. Jun & Rei Saito & Cyrus
Hokuto Omori vs. Minoru Suzuki
Yuma Aoyagi vs. Christopher Daniels
Jake Lee vs. Joe Doering
All-Asia Tag Team Champions after 9/10 GLEAT event (Minoru & toshizo or Soma Watanabe & Yu Iizuka) vs. Hikaru Sato & Dan Tamura for the titles
All-Japan World Jr. Heavyweight Champion Tiger Mask 4 vs. Atsuki Aoyagi for the title
All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda vs. Takao Omori & Manabu Soya for the titles
All-Japan Triple Crown Champion Suwama vs. Kento Miyahara for the Triple Crown. Stan Hansen will be a special witness

THe event will begin on 9/18 at 12:30 AM PT/3:30 AM ET. Broadcast plans for AJPW.TV should be announced in the next few days, but it likely will air on regular TV in Japan.

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.

All-Japan has announced a big unexpected Royal Road Tournament shake-up today: Naoya Nomura, who reached the Semifinals this weekend, is now out of the tournament. Coronavirus. He was to have faced Jake Lee in the Semifinals. It was decided that Takao Omori, who lost to Naoya Nomura in the Quarterfinals, will be the replacement and now advances to face Lee in the Semifinals. Omori was to have been in a 6-man tag and will now be replaced by Ryo Inoue, who will subsequently be replaced in another 6-man tag by Rocky Kawamura 2.

Saturday’s event will be streamed live on AJPW.TV and can be watched in the US on the service tomorrow at 10:30 PM ET/7:30 PM PT.