Tag: all-japan pro wrestling

All-Japan ran a standalone event today in Chiba.

Today’s event was held at AQUASTUDIO in Chiba and will be available on demand on AJPW.TV at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 442.

Match 1: Hideki Suzuki beat Taishin Nagao.

Match 2: Hokuto Omori & Kumaarashi beat Yuma Aoyagi & Seigo Tachibana. Omori pinned Tachibana.

Match 4: Cyrus beat Fuminori Abe.

Match 4: Suwama, Ryuji Hijikata & Andy Wu beat MUSASHI, HiroshI Yamato & Seiki Yoshioka. Suwama pinned MUSASHI after a backdrop.

Match 5: Jun & Rei Saito beat Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura. Jun Saito pinned Tamura after Psycho Break.

Main Event: Yuma Anzai, Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe beat Kento Miyahara, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Ryo Inoue. Anzai pinned Inoue after Gimlet.

The next event is The Reeve Presents “Zennichi New Year’s Eve 2024”, the final event of the year, on 12/31 at Yoyogi National Stadium Gym 2 in Tokyo. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin on 12/30 at 9 PM PT/midnight ET. This will also be a Samurai! TV broadcast in Japan.

Some All-Japan news with the World’s Strongest Tag League in the books:

The Davey Boy Smith Jr.-Jun Saito Triple Crown match expected for 12/31 is now official. 12/31 will also have All-Asia Tag Team Champions MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka vs. Kento Miyahara & Ryo Inoue for the titles. With regards to the tag league, the Saitos winning marked the first time in All-Japan history the All-Japan World Tag Team Champions going into the tournament won it.

A press conference was also held today regarding a personnel change-Suwama, who had been Senior Managing Executive Officer of All-Japan Pro Wrestling (as his full real name, Kohei Suwama), will step down from the position and become Non-Executive Director (basically a pert-time position) effective January 1, 2025 and also become the president of Evolution Pro Wrestling. He will remain a member of All-Japan but his participation will be cut back to 1-2 events per month. Suwama, now 48, has been with All-Japan for over 20 years since debuting in 2003 at 27 so this is taking a small step back but it sounds like Evolution & All-Japan have formed a good working relationship and will continue to work together (Evolution is a women’s promotion). Over the past year or so he’s mostly been part of a comedy team of sorts with Hideki Suzuki, who splits his time between All-Japan, Pro Wrestling NOAH and working as a freelancer (and posting cat photos on the socials). The press conference can be watched on YouTube.

Evolution’s next event is Saturday and will have Dan Tamura participation.

All-Japan wraps up the World’s Strongest Tag League today with the Semifinals and Finals. The Semifinals will lead off the event as Block A & B winners face the opposite block runners-up. First up will be Block B winners Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Block A runners-up Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai. The second Semifinal will be Block A winners and sole unbeatens so far Jun & Rei Saito vs. Block B runners-up Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe. The winners will meet in the Finals in the main event and the eventual champions will get a potential rematch with the Saitos for the All-Japan World Tag Team Championship. Unless, of course, the Saitos win as they are the current champions. There will also be a GAORA TV Championship match before the main event.

Today’s event will be held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched LIVE on AJPW.TV in Japanese. Atsuki Aoyagi, who is currently out due to injury, will be a special guest on commentary. It will also be available at a later date (12/19) on GAORA SPORTS in Japan. The event is a legit advance sellout including standing room. There will be an intermission after the 4th match. The GAORA SPORTS broadcast is scheduled for a total of 3 1/2 hours so whether or not that includes intermission and other happenings is hard to day, but with 3 matches being no time limit I think it’s safe to predict the running time will be close to 3 hours, so if you plan to watch today’s New Japan event live you may need to split-screen at the beginning of that.

Today’s lineup:
World’s Strongest Tag League Semifinals:
Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai
Jun & Rei Saito vs. Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe
Ryo Inoue, Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo vs. Shotaro Ashino, Dan Tamura & Taishin Nagao
Makoto Oishi, Mike D. Vecchio & Senor Saito vs. MUSASHI, Seiki Yoshioka & Kuroshio TOKYO Japan
Intermission
Hokuro Omori, Kumaarashi, Cyrus, Hartley Jackson & Jack Kennedy vs. Suwama, Yuma Aoyagi, Hideki Suzuki, Fuminori Abe & Hikaru Sato
GAORA TV Champion Seigo Tachibana vs. Yuko Miyamoto for the title
World’s Strongest Tag League Finals

Refresh this page occasionally for the latest results.

Updates below will begin at 6:30 PM PT/9:30 PM ET.

6:25 PM PT UPDATE: Live updates begin now.

We are LIVE from Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. Commentary will begin when the matches do with our host whose name I will hopefully catch, along with Kagehiro Osano and special guest Atsuki Aoyagi.

The paid attendance will be announced after the event. It’s a legit advance sellout including standing room so the actual number will depend on the setup but 1500+ is virtually guaranteed. (UPDATE: The announced paid attendance, a legit advance sellout, was 1517)

The matches should begin in 10-15 minutes.

The matches begin at 6:33 PM PT/9:33 PM ET.

Match 1: World’s Strongest Tag League Semifinals: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai. No time limit
Result: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai. Miyahara pinned Anzai with a shurdown suplex hold. As a result, Miyahara & Smith advance to the Finals, where they will face the winners of the next match in the main event.

Match 2: World’s Strongest Tag League Semifinals: Jun & Rei Saito (now clean-shaven, no more goatee) vs. Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe. No time limit
Result: Jun & Rei Saito beat Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe. .Rei Saito pinned Ayabe after BBQ Bomb. As a result, the Saitos advance to the Finals and will face Miyahara & Smith in the main event.

Match 3: Ryo Inoue, Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo vs. Shotaro Ashino, Dan Tamura & Taishin Nagao. 30 minute time limit
Result: Ryo Inoue, Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo beat Shotaro Ashino, Dan Tamura & Taishin Nagao. Sekimoto beat Nagao with a Boston crab.

Match 4: Makoto Oishi, Mike D. Vecchio & Senor Saito vs. MUSASHI, Seiki Yoshioka & Kuroshio TOKYO Japan. 30 minute time limit
Result: :Makoto Oishi, Mike D. Vecchio & Senor Saito beat MUSASHI, Seiki Yoshioka & Kuroshio TOKYO Japan. Vecchio pinned MUSASHI after a moonsault press. This may be Vecchio’s last appearance for now with the tour over and he got a great ovation from the crowd to wrap up his All-Japan debut.

After a brief video, Atsuki Aoyagi leaves commentary to hit the ring for the announcement-he will return to action on 12/31. And did some flips & cartwheels to show he apparently is 100% healthy again. He then returned to commentary.

Intermission. Updates will resume after the break.

The matches resume at 7:50 PM PT/10:50 PM ET.

Announced for 12/31 is Dan Tamura vs. Daisuke Sekimoto (corrected, not Taishin Nagao) then announced for 1/2 is Nagao vs. Suwama and a battle royal. On 1/3 is Yuma Anzai vs. Shotaro Ashino.

Match 5: Hokuro Omori, Kumaarashi, Cyrus, Hartley Jackson & Jack Kennedy vs. Suwama, Yuma Aoyagi, Hideki Suzuki, Fuminori Abe & Hikaru Sato. 30 minute time limit. And apparently Daisuke Sekimoto is one of the “ring boys” for this match…
Result: Suwama, Yuma Aoyagi, Hideki Suzuki, Fuminori Abe & Hikaru Sato beat Hokuro Omori, Kumaarashi, Cyrus, Hartley Jackson & Jack Kennedy. Aoyagi beat Kumaarashi with a modified guillotine choke. Afterwards, Aoyagi with microphone. Challenge issued for the All-Japan 6-Man Tag Team Championship with Abe & Sato as his partners. Accepted by Omori as Suzuki & Suwama left doing their usual odd couple bickering. Then more comedy as the challengers-to-be stole the belts before taking off.

Match 6: GAORA TV Champion Seigo Tachibana vs. Yuko Miyamoto for the title. 1 Hour time limit
Result: Yuko Miyamoto beat GAORA TV Champion Seigo Tachibana to win the title. Miyamoto becomes the 28th GAORA TV Champion.

Main Event: World’s Strongest Tag League Finals: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Jun & Rei Saito. No time limit
Result: Jun & Rei Saito beat Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. to win the tournament. Jun Saito pinned Miyahara after a chokeslam. A perfect run for the Saitos as they didn’t lose a single match. Since this means no All-Japan World Tag Team Championship shot for the winners as the Saitos hold the belt, Jun Saito instead called Smith back out to issue a Triple Crown challenge. Accepted for 1/31. Afterwards, the Saitos finished their in-ring celebration to end the show. (Correction: 12/31 if it happens as mentioned, not 1/31)

The next event is 12/15 at AQUASTUDIO in Chiba. There will be no live broadcast.

All-Japan finished up the preliminary round of the World’s Strongest Tag League today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. You can also watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube

The announced paid attendance was 339, a legit advance sellout.

Match 1: Jun & Rei Saito beat Seigo Tachibana & Taishin Nagao by ref stoppage. Rei Saito beat Nagao with a bearhug.

Match 2: Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe beat Yuma Aoyagi & Ryo Inoue. Honda pinned Inoue after Final Vent.

World’s Strongest Tag League:
Match 3: Block A: MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka beat Dhotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura. MUSASHI pinned Tamura after Top Of The Second Class.
Match 4: Block B: Hikru Sato & Yuko Miyamoto beat Suwama & Hideki Suzuki by countout. Suwama counted out.
Match 5: Block A: Makoto Oishi & Mike D. Vecchip beat Hokuto Onori & Kumaarashi. Oishi pinned Onori.
Match 6: Block A: Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai beat Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo. Anzai pinned Mashimo after Gimlet.
Main Event: Block B: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Cyrus & Hartley Jackson. Smith pinned Jackson after Bulldog Bomb.
As a result, the Saitos win Block A and Hayato/Anzai finish 2nd, Smith/Miyahara win Block B and Honda/Ayabe finish 2nd. Those 4 teams advance to the Semifinals.

Final Standings:
Block A:
1-Saitos, 6-0, 12 pts
2-Hayato/Anzai, 4-2, 8 pts
3-Sekimoto/Mashimo, 3-2-1, 7 pts
4-Omori/Kunaarashi, 3-3, 6 pts
5-Omori/D’Vecchio, 2-4, 4 pts
6-MUsashi/Yoshioka, 1-4-1, 2 pts
7-Ashino/Tamura, 1-5, 2 pts

Block B:
1-Miyahara/Smith, 5-1, 10 pts
2-Honda/Ayabe, 4-2, 8 pts
3-Suwama/Suzuki, 3-3, 6 pts
4-Aoyagi/Abe, 3-3, 6 pts
5-Cyrus/Jackson, 3-3, 6 pts
6-Sato/Miyamoto, 2-4, 4 pts
7-Kuroshio TOKYO Japan/Tachibana, 1-5, 2 pts

The Semifinals and Finals are Sunday at Korakuen Ball in Tokyo. The event is a legit advance sellout with only standing room tickets available. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin Saturday at 6:30 PM PT/9:30 PM ET. This will also be a GAORA TV broadcast in Japan.

All-Japan ran the penultimate day of the World’s Strongest Tag League preliminary round today in Tottori.

Today’s event was held at Yonago Convention Center Big Ship in Tottori and will be available on demand on AJPW.TV at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 465.

Match 1: Rising Hayato, Yuma Anzai & Mike D. Vecchio beat Kento Miayahra, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Ryo Inoue. Anzai pinned Inoue after Gimlet.

Match 2: MUSASHI & Lowther beat Seiki Yoshioka & ALL Mighty Inoue. MUSASHI pinned Inoue after Estrella Futuro.

World’s Strongest Tag League:
Match 3: Block B: Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe beat Hikaru Sato & Yuko Miyamoto. Ayabe pinned Sato after Des Roulette.
Match 4: Block B: Yuma Aoyagi & Fuminori Abe beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana. Abe pinned Tachibana.
Match 5: Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo beat Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura. Sekimoto pinned Tamura after Big Bang Catastrophe.
Match 6: Block B: Suwama & Hideki Suzuki beat Cyrus & Hartley Jackson by ref stoppage (technical submission). Suwama beat Jackson with a vise sleeper.
Main Event: Block A: Jun & Rei Saito beat Hokuto Omori & Kumaarashi. Rei Saito pinned Omori after BBQ Bomb.

Standings:
Block A:
1-Saitos, 6-0, 12 pts (Advanced)
2-Sekimoto/Mashimo, 3-1-1, 7 pts
3-Omori/Kumaarashi, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Hayato/Anzai, 3-2, 6 pts
5-Oishi/Vecchio, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
6-Ashino/Tamura, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
7-MUSASHI/Yoshioka, 0-4-1, 1 pt (OUT)

Block B:
1-Miyahara/Smith, 4-1, 8 pts
2-Honda/Ayabe, 4-2, 8 pts
3-Suwama/Suzuki, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Cyrus/Jackson, 3-2, 6 pts
5-Aoyagi/Abe, 3-3, 6 pts (OUT)
6-Sato/Miyamoto, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
7-Kuroshio/Tachibana, 1-5, 2 pts (OUT)

The top 2 in each block advance to the Semifinals. Only the Saitos have done so, going a perfect 6-0. They are finished going to the final day. In Block A, If Sekimoto/Mashimo win their final match (Hayato/Anzai), they will advance. If Hayato/Anzai win, they advance only if Omori/Kumaarashi lose (Oishi/Vecchio). If Omori/Kuamarashi win, they need Hayato/Anzai to win to advance on tiebreakers. In Block B, Miyahara/Smith advance with a win or draw (Cyrus/Jackson). Suwama/Suzuki will advance with a win (Sato/Miyamoto) because of tiebreakers (they beat Honda/Ayabe & Cyrus/Jackson). Cyrus/Jackson must win and Suwama/Suzuki must lose or draw to advance.Honda/Ayabe advance is Suwama/Suzuki and Cyrus Jackson both lose or draw. They have the tiebreaker over Miyahara/Smith. A 4-way tie if it happens will be complicated.

The next event is Thursday at Shin-Kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 1;30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

All-Japan continued the World’s Strongest Tag League today in Osaka.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym 2 in Osaka and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 874.

Match 1: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Seigo Tachibana & Seiki Yoshioka beat Hokuto Omori, The Bodyguard (Independent/Freelancer) & Taishin Nagao. Yoshioka pinned Nagao.

Match 2: World’s Strongest Tag League Block B: Cyrus & Hartley Jackson beat Yuma Aoyagi & Fuminori Abe. Cyrus pinned Abe after a reverse splash.

Match 3: Rising Hayato, Yuma Anzai, Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe beat Suwama, Hideki Suzuki, MUSASHI & Ryo Inoue. Anzai pinned Inoue after Gimlet.

World’s Strongest Tag League:
Match 4; Block A: Jun & Rei Saito beat Dan Tamura & Shotaro Ashino. Jun Saito pinned Tamura after Psycho Break.
Match 5: Block A: Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo beat Makoto Oishi & Mike D. Vecchio. Mashimo pinned Oishi after a vertical drop brainbuster.
Main Event: Block B: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Hikaru Sato & Yuko Miyamoto. Miyahara pinned Sato with a shurdown suplex hold.

Standings:
Block A:
1-Saitos, 5-0, 10 pts (Advanced)
2-Omori/Kumaarashi, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Hayato/Anzai, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Seklimoto/Mashimo, 2-1-1, 5 pts
5-Ashino/Tamura, 1-3, 2 pts
6-Oishi/Vecchio, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
7-MUSASHI/Yoshioka, 0-4-1, 1 pt (OUT)

Block B:
1-Miyahara/Smith, 4-1, 8 pts
2-Cyrus/Jackson, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Honda/Ayabe, 3-2, 6 pts
4-Aoyagi/Abe, 2-3, 4 pts
5-Suwama/Hideki Suzuki, 2-2, 4 pts
6-Sato/Miyamoto, 1-3, 2 pts
7-Kuroshio/Tachibana, 1-4, 2 pts (OUT)
The top 2 in each block will advance to the Semifinals. As a result of today, the Sairos will advance in Block A and will win the block as long as they don’t lose their last match. The second spot is still up for grabs. Block B is wide open although Miyahara/Smith have the advantage for one of the spots. Their last match is Cyrus/Jackson.

The next event is tomorrow at Yonago Convention Center Big Ship in Tottori. There will be no live broadcast.

All-Japan has reported on the passing of Mighty Inoue, a former wrestler who joined the promotion in 1981 and became a referee after retiring in 1998. He was 75. The cause of death was ventricular fibrillation. Inoue was a former All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion and All-Asia Tag Team Champion and was a popular member of the Villain Shokai faction in his wrestling years.

I join All-Japan Pro Wrestling in expressing condolences to the family, friends & fans of Mighty Inoue.

All-Japan continued the World’s Strongest Tag League today in Saitama.

Today’s event was held at Tokorozawa Sakura Town Japan Pavilion in Saitama and will be available on demand on AJPW.TV tonight at 5 PM PT/8 PM ET. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 558.

Match 1: Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura beat Taishin Nagao & Mike D. Vecchio. Tamura pinned Nagao after a powerbomb.

Match 2: Jun & Rei Saito beat Yuma Aoyagi & Hikaru Sato. Jun Saito pinned Sato after a chokeslam.

Match 3: World’s Strongest Tag League Block B: Suwama & Hideki Suzuki beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana. Suwama pinned Tachibana after a backdrop.

Match 4: All-Japan 6-Man Tag Team Champions Hokuto Omori, Kumaarashi & Cyrus beat Ryo Inoue, Masayuki Kono (KONO) & Ryuji Hijikata to retain the titles. Kumaarashi pinned Inoue after a diving senton. V2 for the champs.

Match 5: World’s Strongest Tag League Block A: Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai beat MUSASHI & Seiki Yoshioka. Anzai pinned Yoshioka after Gimlet.

Main Event: World’s Strongest Tag League Block B: Ryuki Honda & Ren Ayabe beat Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. Honda pinned Miyaraha after Final Vent.

The next event is tomorrow at Nagoya International Convention Center Event Hall in Nagoya. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

All-Japan continued the World’s Strongest Tag League today in Tokyo.

Today’s event was held at Stellar Ball in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV.

The announced paid attendance was 715.

Match 1: Ryuki Honda, Ren Ayabe & MUSASHI beat Suwama, Cyrus & Ryo Inoue. MUSASHI pinned Inoue after Estrella Futuro.

World’s Strongest Tag League:
Match 2: Block B: Hikaru Sato & Yuko Miyamoto beat Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana. Miyamoto pinned Tachibana.
Match 3: Block A: Hokuto Omori & Kumaarashi beat Shotaro Ashino & Dan Tamura. Kumaarashi pinned Ashino after a diving senton.
Match 4: Block A: Rising Hayato & Yuma Anzai beat Makoto Oishi & Mike D. Vecchio. Anzai pinned Oishi after Gimlet.
Match 5: Block A: Jun & Rei Saito beat Daisuke Sekimoto & Kengo Mashimo. Rei Saito pinned Sekimoto after BBQ Bomb.
Main Event: Block B: Kento Miyahara & Davey Boy Smith Jr. beat Yuma Aoyagi & Fuminori Abe. Miyahara pinned Aoyagi with a shutdown suplex hold.

Standings-wise, the Saitos have all but clinched a Semifinals spot (the top 2 in each block advance) as they are 4-0, 8 points with 2 matches left so they just need to win one or have other results go their way. Omori & Kumaarashi are second at 4 points but have 3 matches left. Nobody is out of it but Yoshioka & MUSASHI can’t finish first now as they are on 1 point with 3 matches left. Block B is wide open, the top 4 all are on 4 points but Miyahara & Smith still have 4 matches left while most teams have 3, but Aoyagi & Abe are in trouble despite being on 4 points because they have only 2 matches left now.

The next event is Saturday at Tokorozawa Sakura Town Japan Pavilion in Saitama. There will be no live broadcast. It should be available on demand that evening.