Tag: all-japan

All-Japan continued the Royal Road Tournament today in Toyama.

Today’s event was held at Kurobe Sports Center in Toyama and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 524.

There were last-minute changes to the card due to Go Shiozaki being pulled off the event. Hip. Also out tomorrow. Status uncertain beyond that.

Match 1: Ren Ayabe & Hokuto Omori beat Toyama Black Ramen Men 1 & 2. Ayabe pinned both.

Match 2: Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher & Yasutaka Yano beat Kento Miyahara, Rising Hayato & Shota Kofuji. Thatcher pinned Kofuji.

Match 3: Jun & Rei Saito & Seiki Yoshioka beat Dan Tamura, Yuma Aoyagi & Yuma Anzai. Yoshioka pinned Tamura with La Magistral.

Royal Road Round 1:
Match 4: Daisuke Sekimoto beat Shotaro Ashino.
Match 5: Xyon beat Odyssey.
Main Event: Ryuki Honda beat Kumaarashi.
As a result, Sekimoto will face the Jun Saito-Yuma Aoyagi winner in the Quarterfinals, Xyon will face Shiozaki in the Quarterfinals (if Shiozaki can compete, if not it’ll be a free pass to the Semifinals for Xyon) and Honda will face Miyahara in the Quarterfinals.

The next event is tomorrow at Kissey Culture Hall in Nagano with the final Round 1 matches (Jun Saito-Yuma Aoyagi and Rei Saito-Yuma Anzai). There will be no live broadcast. On demand later in the day.

Had to come up with a bad Go pun that I hadn’t used before…All-Japan has just announced that Go Shiozaki has to Go to the bench for now due to injury. Hip. Out at least the next 2 events on Saturday & Sunday. Status uncertain beyond that. If he can’t return by next Thursday it could jeopardize his Royal Road participation as that would be his Quarterfinals match against either Xyon or Odyssey.

More as it becomes available.

All-Japan kicked off the 13th Royal Road Tournament today in Tokyo, the annual fall single-elimination tournament.

Tofay’s event was held at Shinagawa Stellar Ball in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. This was also or will be a (taped) GAORA SPORTS broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 775, a legit sellout.

Before the results, fan prediction poll time! The promotion held a vote for fans to see who they thought would win (but likely won’t). Their pick is…Yuma Aoyagi! Will they get it right after wrongly picking Hokuto Omori in the Zennichi Jr. Festival? Stay tuned!

Match 1: Dan Tamura, Seigo Tachibana & Hokuto Omori beat MUSASHI, Daisuke Sekimoto & Yuya Aoki. Tachibana pinned MUSASHI after Yankee Hammer.

Match 2: Xyon, Odyssey & Shotaro Ashino beat Ryuki Honda, Kumaarashi & Yasutaka Yano. Odyssey pinned Yano after Journey’s End.

Match 3: Yuma Aoyagi, Yuma Anzai & Shota Kofuji beat Jun & Rei Saito & Rising Hayato. Aoyagi pinned Hayato.

Royal Road Round 1:
Match 4: Timothy Thatcher beat Hideki Suzuki by submission.
Match 5: Kento Miyahara beat Hyo Ogawa.
Main Event: Go Shiozaki beat Ren Ayabe.
As a result, Thatcher will face the Rei Saito-Yuma Anzai winner in the Quarterfinals, Miyahara will face the Ryuki Honda-Kumaarashi winner in the Quarterfinals and Shiozaki will face the Xyon-Odyssey winner in the Quarterfinals.

The next event is Saturday at Kurobe City General Sports Center in Toyama. There will be no live broadcast. On demand later that day or Sunday.

Today Japan time as of this post (9/7), marks the one year anniversary of the death of Taishin Nagao, a highly touted rookie in All-Japan who died months after being hit by one of the company’s buses in a tragic accident before an event. The promotion announced two events to honor his memory today: First, at the 9/22 Korakuen Hall event a 10 bell salute will be held and a flower stand will be installed for fans attending the event to leave flowers in his memory. Second, the planned 10/28 event at Windmill Kushiro Super Arena in Hokkaido will now be a memorial event for Nagao as that event will be in his hometown.

The promotion once again extended its condolences to Nagao’s family and sent prayers for the repose of his soul.

All-Japan wrapped up their August today with a major event including the Zennichi Jr. Festival Finals.

Today’s event was held at Ebara Wave Arena Ota/Ota City General Gym in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. This also was or will be a (taped at a later date) GAORA SPORTS broadcast in Japan.

The announced paid attendance was 3068.

Match 1: Shota Kofuji beat Senor Saito. The first career single victory for Kofuji!

Match 2: Yuma Aoyagi, Shotaro Ashino, Ryuki Honda & Hyo Ogawa beat Hideki Suzuki, Ren Ayabe. Kumaarashi & Daisuke Sekimoto. Aoyagi pinned Ayabe.

Match 3: Riisng Hayato, MUSASHI, Hokuto Omotri, Yasutaka Yano & Mochizuki Junior (Dragon Gate) beat Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate), Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer), Seigo Tachibana, Yuya Aoki & Leon De Oro. Yano pinned Mochizuki. Afterwards, Yano issued a GAORA TV Championship challenge to Mochizuki. Accepted. More to come.

Match 4: Go Shiozaki beat Suwama.

Match 5: All-Japan World Tag Team Champions Jun & Rei Saito beat Xyon & Odyssey to retain the titles. Jun Saito pinned Xyon after Yagiyama Cyclone. V2 for the Saitos/champs.

Match 6: Zennichi Jr. Festival Finals: Seiki Yoshioka beat Dan Tamura to win the tournament. As a result, Yoshioka will probably get a rematch for the All-Japan World Junior Heavyweight Championship in the near future. Additionally, MUSASHI & Tachibana got involved and teased a match between the sides for the vacant All-Asia Tag Team Championship.

Main Event: All-Japan Triple Crown Champion Kento Moyahara beat Yuma Anzai to retain the Triple Crown. V9 for Miyahara. This went over 37 minutes. Next up: The Royal Road Tournament winner.

After the event, it was announced that, following the recent death of Dory Funk Jr., Stan Hansen has been re-appointed as PWF President (the PWF-Pacific Wrestling Federation-is the governing body and rulemaker for All-Japan).. Hansen will be the 5th PWF President and previously was the 2nd, previously stepping down from the position in 2007. Funk was President until his death, which left the position vacant.

The next event is the 13th Royal Road Tournament starting on 9/9 at Shinagawa Stellar Ball in Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Tokyo. This is a single-elimination bracket format event. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET. This will also be a GAORA SPORTS broadcast in Japan.

In other news, the promotion also announced the annual World’s Strongest/Real World Tag League for November & December. It will run 11/15-12/6. More as it becomes available.

UPDATE: Yoshioka-Tamura for the Junior Heavyweight title is now official. That (re)match will happen on 10/3 at Gyoda Green Arena Main Arena in Saitama.

As far as the All-Asia title is concerned, the match to crown new champions will be MUSASHI & Yoshioka vs. Tamura & Tachibana. That match will happen on 10/11 at Sendai Sun Plaza in Sendai. The Saitos will also defend the Al-Japan World Tag Team Championship on 10/11 but challengers are TBA.

All-Japan continued the Zennichi Jr. Festival today in Hiroshima with the last day of Block B.

Today’s event was held at Hiroshima Industrial Hall East Exhibition Hall in Hiroshima and will be available on demand on AJPW.TV later today. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 418.

Match 1: Jun & Rei Saito & Yuko Miyamoto beat Shotaro Ashino, Takeshi Okada & Imabari Towel Mascaras. Rei Saito pinned Mascaras after Yagiyama Cyclone.

Match 2: Yuma Aoyagi, Yasutaka Yano & Leon De Oro beat Hideki Suzuki, MUSASHI & GuC (Dragon Gate). Aoyagi pinned MUSASHI after The Fool.

Match 3: Yuma Anzai, Go Shiozaki, Ren Ayabe & Seiki Yoshioka beat Kento Miyahara, Ryuki Honda, Kumaarashi & Seigo Tachibana. Anzai pinned Tachibana after Gumshala.

Zennichi Jr. Festival Block B:
Match 4: Dan Tamura beat Shota Kofuji.
Match 5: Naruki Doi beat Masaaki Mochizuki.
Main Event: Hokuto Omori beat Yuya Aoki.
As a result, Mozhizuki & Tamura tied for the lead at 3-1-1, 7 pts, but there was no tiebreaker because their head-to-head result was a draw. Which led to…
Impromptu tiebreaker match: Dan Tamura beat Masaaki Mochizuki. As a result, Tamura wins Block B and will advance to the Fibals to face Seiki Yoshioka.

The Final is Saturday at Ebara Wave Arena Ota (Ota City General Gym) in Tokyo. Live streaming on AJPW.TV will begin Friday at 10 PM PT/1 AM ET. This will also be a GAORA SPORTS broadcast in Japan (likely taped at a later date).

All-Japan continued the Zennichi Jr. Festival today in Ehime. With the last day of Block A.

Today’s event was held at Matsuyama City Community Center in Ehime and will be available on demand on AJPW.TV later today. There was no live broadcast.

The announced paid attendance was 402.

Match 1: Hideki Suzuki, Hokuto Omori & GuC (Dragon Gate) beat Yuma Aoyagi, Masaaki Mochizuki (Dragon Gate) & Imabari Towel Mascaras. Suzuki pinned Mascaras after a double arm suplex.

Match 2: Jun & Rei Saito & Yuko Miyamoto beat Shotaro Ashino, Kumaarashi & Yuya Aoki. Rei Saito pinned Kumaarashi after Saito Iginari Smash (a double chokeslam).

Match 3: Kento Miyahara, Ryuki Honda & Dan Tamura beat Yuma Anzai, Ren Ayabe & Shota Kofuji. Honda pinned Kofuji after Final Vent.

Match 4: Go Shiozaki beat Yasutaka Yano.

Zennichi Jr. Festival Block A:
Match 5: MUSASHI vs. Leon De Oro went to a double countout. No points.
Main Event: Seiki Yoshioka beat Seigo Tachibana.
As a result, Yoshioka wins Block A and advances to the Finals.

The next event is tomorrow at Hiroshima Industrial Hall East Exhibition Hall in Hiroshima with the last day of Block B. There will be no live broadcast. On demand later that day.

UPDATE: Today’s event is now available on demand.

After an unplanned day off due to yesterday’s Kumamoto event being cancelled following last month’s earthquake (several wrestlers did visit the area to assist with relief efforts and lift residents’ spirits), All-Japan resumed the Zennichi Jr. Festival today in Fukuoka.

Today’s event was held at Locally Produced Kurume (?) in Fukuoka and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. (There was no live broadcast)

The announced paid attendance was 539.

Before the event began, Ryo Inoue, who is currently out due to injury, made an appearance to greet the hometown fans.

Match 1: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block A: Seiki Yoshioka beat Yasutaku Yano.

Match 2: Hideki Suzuki beat Jiro Shinbashi (Dragon Gate). Shinbashi was and will be the replacement for the absent Rising Hayato over the next couple events.

Match 3: Jun & Rei Saito & Naruki Doi (Independent/Freelancer) beat Yuma Aoyagi, Yuko Miyamoto & Aizawa No. 1. Rei Saito pinned 1 after a hip drop.

Match 4: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block A: Leon De Oro beat Seigo Tachibana.

Match 5: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block B: Masaaki Mochizuki beat Yuya Aoki.

Main Event: Yuma Anzai, Go Shiozaki, Ren Ayabe & Shota Kofuji beat Kento Miyahara, Ryuki Honda, MUSASHI & Kumaarashi. Anzai pinned Kumaarashi after Gumshala (a running knee strike).

Standings:
Block A:
1-MUSASHI, 2-1-1, 5 pts
2-Tachibana, 2-1-1, 5 pts
3-Yoshioka, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Oro, 2-2, 4 pts
5-Hayato, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT-injured)
6-Yano, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT)

Block B:
1-Mochizuki, 3-0-1, 7 pts
2-Aoki, 3-1, 6 pts
3-Dan Tamura, 2-1-1, 5 pts
4-Hokuto Omori, 2-2, 4 pts (OUT)
5-Doi, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
6-Kofuji, 0-4, 0 pts (OUT)

The winners of each block advance to the Finals. In Block A, there are 2 matches left to decide it: MUSASHI-Oro and Tachibana-Yoshioka. If both MUSASHI & Tachibana win, they’ll have to figure out a tiebreaker because MUSASHI-Tachibana was a draw. If one wins and the other loses, the winner advances. If both matches to go a draw or there is a 3 or 4-way tie, they will have to figure out tiebreakers. In Block B, I said the other day it was Aoki’s to lose…he may have just lost it. That being said, Mochizuki still must beat Doi or draw to win. Aoki can still take it back with a win and Doi win. Tamura only still has a chance because he opened with a draw against Mochizuki. And, much to many fans’ disappointment, their pre-tournament pick to win it all, Omori, will not as he now can’t win the block. He can spoil it for Aoki though.

The next event is Tuesday at Matsuyama City Community Center in Ehime. There will be no live broadcast. On demand later that day or, at the latest, Wednesday.

All-Japan resumed the Zennichi Jr. Festival today in Nagasaki.

Today’s event was held at Dejima Messe Nagasaki in Nagasaki and can be watched on demand on AJPW.TV. (There was no live braodcast)

The announced paid attendance was 465.

Match 1: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block A: MUSASHI beat Yasutaka Yano.

Match 2: Go Shiozaki, Yuma Anzai, Ren Ayabe & Hokuto Omori beat Hideki Suzuki, Shotaro Ashino, Aizawa No. 1 & Carbell Ito. Shiozaki pinned 1 after a lariat.

Match 3: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block A: Leon De Oro beat Seiki Yoshioka.

Match 4: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block B: Masaaki Mochizuki beat Shota Kofuji.

Match 5: Yuma Anzai, Jun & Rei Saito beat Kento Miyahara, Ryuki Honda & Kuamarashi. Jun Saito pinned Honda after Dying Light.

Match 6: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block B: Dan Tamura beat Naruki Doi.

Main Event: Zennichi Jr. Festival Block A: Seigo Tachibana beat Rising Hayatp.

Injury Report: Hayato was apparently injured during the main event. Concussion. Out the rest of the tournament. His last 2 matches will be forfeits.

Standings:
Block A:
1-MUSASHI, 2-1-1, 5 pts
2-Tachibana, 2-0-1, 5 pts
3-Yano, 2-2, 4 pts
4-Hayato, 2-3, 4 pts (OUT)
5-Yoshioka, 1-2, 2 pts
6-Oro, 1-2, 2 pts

Block B:
1-Yuya Aoki, 3-0, 6 pts
2-Mochizuki, 2-0-1, 5 pts
3-Omori, 2-1, 4 pts
4-Tamura, 1-1-1, 3 pts
5-Doi, 1-3, 2 pts (OUT)
6-Kofuji, 0-4, 0 pts (OUT)
The winners of each block advance to the Finals. Block A standings take the Hayato injury withdrawal after today into account. Anyone can still win but it’s interesting because, if MUSASHI & Tachibana finish tied, their match was a draw so there may have to be a rematch. Block B is Aoki’s to lose, he still has Mochizuki & Omori.

The next event was to have been tomorrow at Grand Messe Kumamoto in Kumamoto, but that event was CANCELLED due to the venue being used for disaster relief efforts following the major earthquake a few weeks ago. Therefore, the next event will now be Sunday at Locally Produced Kurume (?) in Fukuoka. There will be no live broadcast. On demand shortly after the event (scheduled for 2 AM PT/5 AM ET).

All-Japan has just announced another injury to the roster, and for the second time recently it will have major implications for the Zennichi Jr. Festival-with Atsuki Aoyagi already sidelined due to injury, now his sometimes-partner Rising Hayato is out of action. Concussion. Apparently it happened during his match today against Seigo Tachibana. Out the rest of the tournament. His 2 remaining matches will be forfeit wins for MUSASHI and Yasutaka Yano. The rest of the tournament means he will be out at least a week but should be considered indefinitely, and with the Royal Road tournament next they’ll probably play it safe and keep him out through that, which would mean at least a month.

More as it becomes available.