ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
EXCITE SERIES 2021
FEBRUARY 23, 2021
KORAKUEN HALL
TOKYO JAPAN

Watch: AJPW.TV

PURPLE HAZE (ZEUS & IZANAGI) DEF. FRANCESCO AKIRA & ALEJANDRO (6:14)

Purple Haze worked over Akira for a bit leading to a hot tag to Alejandro and some high spots like a Tope con Hilo. Alejandro looked really good here. Alejandro was in control for a while until Izanagi caught him in a modified Front Neck Lock for the submission. A solid opener. **3/4

TAKAO OMORI, BLACK MENSO~RE & RYUJI HIJIKATA DEF. YOSHITATSU, OSAMU NISHIMURA & BALIYAN AKKI (6:07)

Hijikata and Nishimura had a nice opening sequence of grappling and striking. The rest of the match was pretty standard stuff, however. Yoshitatsu got worked over for a bit, but powered through and hit the CBJ for the victory. This was passable. After the match, Yoshitatsu got back on the mic and Seigo Tachibana came out, making his return after missing several months with a broken foot, and still aligned with Yoshitatsu Kingdom. **1/2

ALL ASIA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDERS MATCH
NEXTREAM (ATSUKI AOYAGI & RISING HAYATO) DEF. & ENFANTS TERRIBLES (YUSUKE KODAMA & HOKUTO OMORI) & EVOLUTION (HIKARU SATO & DAN TAMURA) (6:10)

This had the three in a ring at a time format that I don’t love. I think only two in the ring at a time in a three-way tag can lead to more interesting storytelling with opposing teams making blind tags on each other. Evolution and Nextream took the match seriously, but Enfants were heeling it up right out of the gate. Lots of three-way cliche spots here like Sato putting Enfants in a submission at the same time and other trouble team moves. The match was a lot of spots and not a lot of focus, though the closing stretch between Aoyagi and Omori was not bad. Aoyagi got the win with a Crucifix aided by a kick from HAYATO on Omori. This could have been a lot more if given more time. ***

JUN KASAI & TOMOYA HIRATA DEF. SHUJI ISHIKAWA & RYUKI HONDA (9:27)

Hirata, to those unfamiliar, is a beefy boy from FREEDOMS. Though he does death matches there, he could also fit into a company like All Japan. Hirata and Honda started and did lots of fun shoulder block and clubbing each other spots. Honda became the whipping boy for a while before making the hot tag to Ishikawa. We also got treated to some more Hirata versus Honda later on in the match as well. The dastardly Kasai teased putting the skewers in referee Nikkan Lee but Ishikawa intervened but then he got the skewers. Honda survived a Reverse Tiger Driver but from Kasai and it looked like Honda was about to get pinned by a Pearl Harbour Splash but Ishikawa stormed the ring and then attacked Kasai with some spikes and then started wailing on him. Nikkan Lee tried to break it up, but Ishikawa pushed her over twice and then the match was disqualified. Hirata and Honda were great and despite the finish, it built to the Ishikawa versus Kasai deathmatch on 3/18 for the GAORA TV title pretty well. ***1/4

After this match, the 2021 Champion Carnival entrants were announced:

• SUWAMA
• Zeus
• Kento Miyahara
• Shuji Ishikawa
• Jake Lee
• Yuma Aoyagi
• Shotaro Ashino
• Koji Doi
• Kohei Sato
• Shinjiro Ohtani

This year’s Champion Carnival is only one block which is certainly interesting and a better choice than doing just two blocks of five. The lineup is definitely an upgrade from last year. Also announced was an Ota Ward Gym show for 5/16 which will be All Japan’s first show in a venue larger than Korakuen Hall since February 2019.

JAKE LEE, KOJI IWAMOTO & TAJIRI DEF. ENFANTS TERRIBLES (SHOTARO ASHINO, KUMA ARASHI & KOJI DOI) (9:11)

The early stuff in this match was fine but a little plodding. But things really picked up when he got an extended stretch of Ashino versus Lee that was really good. The match ended abruptly with a stiff Lee running Klknee to Ashino’s chest after a Lariat from Iwamoto. I’d give the match ***. But it was all to set up an angle where after some teases on recent shows, Enfants turned on Ashino. But the big surprise was Lee joining in on Enfants’ beatdown of Ashino. Iwamoto then tried to reason with Lee, but then Lee decked Iwamoto. Enfants would then leave with Lee. Looks like we have ourselves a new heel stable in All Japan. Lee as a heel will certainly be interesting and may be the jolt he needs to finally make him a true main eventer. The angle came off very well, and the silent crowd even gasped at the turn which is a good sign that it got over.

WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
NEXTREAM (KENTO MIYAHARA & YUMA AOYAGI) DEF. DAISUKE SEKIMOTO & ABDULLAH KOBAYASHI) (17:17)

This was really plodding. Aoyagi tried hard as he always does, but Miyahara mostly did his schtick. Kobayashi is well… Kobayashi. But Sekimoto is really showing the wear and tear these days, to the point where you can see it when he’s running the ropes. Kobayashi bled of course. Aoyagi managed to have some decent sequences with Sekimoto at least. Kobayashi got a near fall on Miyahara with a Top Rope Elbow Drop but Miyahara kicked out. Kobayashi went for another but Miyahara rolled out of the way. Aoyagi neutralized Sekimoto and Miyahara hit two Blackout Knees then just a standard German Suplex Hold for the win. I did not hate this but certainly the weakest tag title match in All Japan in quite some time, given some of the talent involved. At least Miyahara got his pin back after being pinned by Kobayashi in the Real World Tag League. This was the first defense for Nextream. ***

TRIPLE CROWN CHAMPIONSHIP
SUWAMA © DEF. KOHEI SATO (21:34)

Towa Iwasaki was one of Sato’s seconds which I hope leads to him in All Japan in the future. This started with a lot of grappling and holds, with SUWAMA initially targeting Sato’s left arm. Sato then went after SUWAMA’s left leg. The work was a little slow, but I thought it was still compelling as it made sense. My Voices of Wrestling colleague Thomas Fischbeck has always praised SUWAMA as underrated at selling. I definitely thought that was the case here. SUWAMA’s selling was awesome, even better than usual. Things picked up with lots of suplexes and some stiff strikes. SUWAMA was in control for quite a while in the closing stretch hitting lots of Lariats on Sato before then hitting a Backdrop Hold for the win. I actually enjoyed the slower parts early on and I thought it picked up in the middle well, but the ending stretch was not much to write home about. Sato should have had more offense in the closing stretch. It was not bad by any stretch but the weakest Triple Crown match in some time. It peaked just below high gear though at points I thought it might eventually get there. After the match, Yoshitatsu came out to challenge SUWAMA which deflated me. This was SUWAMA’s V6 defense, which surpassed his previous personal record of 5 defenses in a single Triple Crown reign. ***1/2

FINAL THOUGHTS

While I can’t say this was a great show, it was an eventful one. The Champion Carnival announcement and the Shotaro Ashino and Jake Lee double turn were exciting. The double turn was the best angle All Japan has done in a long time. The Yoshitatsu challenge is not exactly inspiring. He’s not even in the Champion Carnival which doesn’t help the building up the aura of the match. I thought Lee would challenge instead, but I’d now bet that SUWAMA versus Jake Lee is your Ota Ward Gym main event on 5/16 after Lee wins the Champion Carnival. There was some good long term booking for on this show, but frankly it would not shock me if they just decided to do another Miyahara versus SUWAMA match at Ota War Gym. It’s always one step forward, two steps back with All Japan booking these days, but there is a good path forward for them if they smarten up.