ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
SUPER DELUXE SERIES 2021
SEPTEMBER 7, 2021
KORAKUEN HALL
TOKYO, JAPAN

Watch: AJPW.TV

FRANCESCO AKIRA DEF. RISING HAYATO (8:47)

While Akira has appearances on some of the other shows on this tour, this was his last appearance in Korakuen Hall before he returns to Europe. There were several Akira signs in the crowd to send him off which was nice to see. This was a pretty standard Jr. style opener. Akira controlled most of the match, while HAYATO got a control stretch and near falls of his own towards the latter half of the match. Akira won with the Yutaka (OsCutter). I generally enjoy matches that are a lot more back-and-forth, especially when it comes to Jr. matches, but this was all about showcasing Akira, and in that, it was mission accomplished. ***

TAKAO OMORI DEF. KIKUTARO (8:05)

Kikutaro was listed as X going into this match. Koji Iwamoto came down with COVID-19 and Shuji Ishikawa and Ryuki Honda were in contact with him so they were also kept off this show. So that’s how we got this match. This was Kikutaro’s first appearance in All Japan since December 2012. Lots of stalling here to start. Not something I love, but I will say that Omori plays a good straight man for Kikutaro’s comedy. Most of that comedy revolved around Kikutaro wanting to low blow Omori, the referee trying to stop him, but him finding an opportunity to do it anyway. Omori braved through getting hit in the balls a couple of times and finished off Kikutaro with the Axe Bomber. By the end I enjoyed this for what it was. I mean, it was better than Chase Owens vs. Toru Yano at least. **

BLACK MENSO~RE & KOHEI SATO DEF. (EVOLUTION) HIKARU SATO & DAN TAMURA (7:48)

This oddball team of Menso~re and Sato was also a result of wrestlers being kept off the show for COVID-19 related reasons. Evolution worked over Menso~re a whole bunch to start before Kohei Sato got the hot tag. This really wasn’t much until Tamura and Kohei Sato got into a stiff strike exchange that ended with Sato doing a headbutt. That then led to the Piledriver from Kohei Sato for the pin on Tamura. Fun ending aside, this was kind of disappointing given the talent involved. **¾

TOTAL ECLIPSE (JAKE LEE, TAJIRI, HOKUTO OMORI & YUSUKE KODAMA) DEF. YOSHITATSU, JUN SAITO, REI SAITO & RYOMA TSUKAMOTO (7:00)

The rookies, Tsukamoto and the Saito Twins, got a little shine here early on. But it wasn’t long before Total Eclipse gained the upper hand with some not so fair tactics. Later on, Tsukamoto even tried to go one-on-one against Lee, but the Triple Crown champ no-sold him. It was fun to see how plucky Tsukamoto is though. Kodama pinned Tsukamoto with the Mad Splash. In an eight-man tag that only goes seven minutes, it’s hard to make sweeping declarations about the work of each wrestler, but I thought Tsukamoto and the Saitos looked good in what they got in this match. **¾

ALL ASIA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
STRONG HEARTS (T-HAWK & EL LINDAMAN) DEF. PURPLE HAZE (ZEUS & IZANAGI) © (14:57)

Purple Haze got jumped at the bell for a change. But Strong Hearts’ momentum didn’t last long, as they actually ended up controlling a lot of the early portion of the match. The sequences between Inzanagi and El Lindaman were a lot of fun. And we also got some great chop exchanges between T-Hawk and Zeus. This match had a hot closing sequence with lots of reversals. While Zeus and Izanagi kept up, it was Strong Hearts that set the pace, as they are just incredible in that role, especially in closing stretches. They managed to neutralize Zeus and throw him to the outside, while T-Hawk pinned Izanagi with the Cerberus running knee. This was the result that I had hoped to see for a while now. Purple Haze had a great run with the All Asia tag titles, and were anchors of the midcard throughout it. But I am excited to see what Strong Hearts can do with these titles and I expect to see the titles defended in GLEAT. Also given the recent drama between GLEAT and ZERO1, it wouldn’t surprise me if All Japan and GLEAT collaborate even more moving forward. ***¾

PWF WORLD JR. HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
SUGI © DEF. ATSUKI AOYAGI (12:34)

This was definitely a SUGI match. There was a bunch of chain wrestling and reversals to start then the flying began only like a minute in. The match then slowed down for a bit while SUGI worked over Aoyagi, but not for long. After that it was a total spotfest, but I am cool with the All Japan’s Jr. title being that. It gives the card some variety. One spot that particularly stood out was SUGI’s springboard top rope Hurricanrana. Aoyagi also looked pretty good here. His flying is smooth and he has come a long way since I thought he was a bland rookie next to Hokuto Omori and Dan Tamura. Aoyagi missed a Firebird Splash from the top rope, then SUGI soon took control and won with the springboard Firebird Splash. I can see some not loving this match for the mindless style, but I liked it a great deal. After the match, Yusuke Kodama came out to challenge SUGI At first Kodama tried to show the Jr. champ respect and offered to shake his hand but then lariated him out of nowhere and hit a springboard DDT. If Kodama shows up to their match with his working boots on, instead of trying to pretend to be an emo kid, it could be a really good match. ***¾

WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
SUWAMA & SHOTARO ASHINO DEF. NEXTREAM (KENTO MIYAHARA & YUMA AOYAGI) © (25:09)

Ashino and Suwama tried to use their brute strength to dominate early on, but Nextream fought back using their guile and technical skills. Eventually, Aoyagi did end up getting worked over for a while. Aoyagi did mount a comeback, and the match came down to him against Ashino. They both went hard at each other. While Miyahara and Suwama would make appearances only to make saves. What I like about Aoyagi this year, is that he has gotten the End Game over as a credible submission that even the clap crowd seemed to buy it getting used in this match as a possible finish. Ashino escaped from the End Game, hit some suplexes then finished off Aoyagi with the T-Bone Suplex for the win and the World Tag titles. This was Ashino’s first title win in All Japan. This was a great tag match, though the stars here were really Aoyagi and Ashno. That’s hardly a surprise as they have also both been the workhorses of All Japan this year. With the fact that we are in the time of year where All Japan is already announcing dates for the Real World Tag League, I would expect the feud between these two teams to continue over the next few months and into early next year. That is something definitely to look forward to. ****¼

FINAL THOUGHTS

The midcard here wasn’t as strong as some of All Japan’s recent outings, but they had several wrestlers that couldn’t compete so that is understandable. All of the title matches, however, delivered. As inconsistent as All Japan’s booking can be, they really did set up some exciting stuff down the line. And those of us who have complained about Ashino’s booking can feel a little better now, at least for the next little while.