Text and photos exclusively by Tokio Tsukada / Copyright & Courtesy: ALL Japan PRO WRESTLING
All Japan Pro Wrestling held “Summer Action Series 2026” at a packed, sold-out Korakuen Hall amid the sweltering heat of a clear, sunny day in Tokyo following the end of the rainy season.
In the preliminary match for the Triple Crown Championship to be held in Kobe on the 25th, champion Kento Miyahara teamed up with Kuma Arashi to face challenger Ren Ayabe, teaming up with Ryuki Honda in a tag match.
Miyahara and Ayabe started the match. Miyahara landed a kick, followed by Ayabe with a Jordan Tackle; Miyahara then punished Ayabe with a dropkick. Outside the ring, Miyahara unleashed a barrage of attacks on Ayabe, slamming him into the steel posts and ring guardrails and delivering a headbutt. Just past the 5-minute mark, Kumaarashi attempted a Blockbuster following an Argentine Backbreaker, but was bounced off at a count of two. Honda then dodged a lariat, moved behind Ayabe, and hit a flying German suplex. The focus then shifted to the showdown between Miyahara and Ayabe. Ayabe unleashed a big boot.
Just past the 10-minute mark, Miyahara struck with a dropkick, and Kuma Arashi followed with a senton. Ayabe landed a knee strike, but Kumaarashi cut off her attempt at the Iron Maiden. Ayabe unleashed a flurry of punches, and finally, at 12 minutes and 13 seconds, Ayabe pinned the Triple Crown champion with his secret weapon, the Dragon Suplex, for the three-count.
The victorious Ayabe, looking down at the downed Miyahara, says
“Kento Miyahara, you get it now, don’t you? No matter how much you study my moves or try to counter them, it’s all meaningless. On the 25th in Kobe, I’m going to take your Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship from you.”
He declared, vowing to claim the belt.
Backstage as well:
“Kento Miyahara, you get it now, don’t you? You felt it in your bones. You must have learned the hard way that studying my moves, devising countermeasures, and memorizing them is completely pointless. After the preliminary bout in Shinkiba Tokyo coming on the 22nd, Ren Ayabe will finally claim the Triple Crown in Kobe on the 25th. He boasts that he’ll show everyone that ‘big is justice’—and that it’s despair.
Miyahara, who suffered an unexpected defeat at the hands of the challenger, said, “What on earth was that final move? A flying Dragon Suplex? He’s never done a move like that before. What other moves does he even have? Does he even have any? Has he ever even attempted a Dragon Suplex? My mind went completely blank. My calculations are starting to go haywire. They’ve completely gone haywire!”
As he clutched his head.
In the main event for the World Tag Team Championship, the defending champions, the Saito Brothers—Jun Saito and Rei Saito—defeated the challengers, Daisuke Sekimoto and Kengo Mashimo, successfully defending their titles for the first time.
Jun and Sekimoto started the match. Jun had the upper hand in the brawl, but then tagged in Rei and Mashimo. They herded the challengers outside the ring and attacked them with the ring posts. Just past the 5-minute mark, they returned to the ring; Jun hit Mashimo with a headbutt, and Mashimo locked in an ankle lock. Sekimoto hit Jun with a headbutt and applied a reverse crab hold. Rei came in and cornered them with a reverse horizontal swing. Mashimo locked in an armbar on Jun, but Rei broke it up. Jun hit Mashimo with a Brainbuster, but Sekimoto broke that up as well. Sekimoto delivered a lariat, and Mashimo countered with a high kick, but was bounced off at a count of two. Mashimo attempts an armbar, but Rei hits an Ice Bite, followed by Jun’s Dying Light. Finally, at exactly 19 minutes, Rei and Jun team up for a combined Cyclone, followed by a single-leg crab hold, to defeat Mashimo.
Victorious Jun vowed a rematch, saying,
“Kengo Mashimo, Daisuke Sekimoto—you guys were tough. You two were strong, but we’ve been a tag team since birth. We never lose in the ring. I’m looking forward to facing you again.”
His younger brother Rei called Sekimoto and Mashimo into the ring, saying:
“It’s ice cream time. Sekimoto, Mashimo, come on up here. There’s plenty of ice cream here. Actually, Jun and I were planning to just chow down on it ourselves, but you two were so strong—it was a blast. I’ll share some with you,”
He said, handing it to them. However, just as Sekimoto took it out of the bag, he dropped it. He managed to pick it up and eat it.
Jun smiled, holding his belt, and said:
“Ice cream tastes better when we eat it together.”
Rei added:
“Thanks, you two. You can head home now. OK, after ice cream, I want a cold beer. I’d love to play DOOM with everyone right away, but that’s not possible just yet. We’re going to call out our next challengers ourselves: the tag teams we haven’t faced yet—Zion and Odyssey. You guys want to see the Saito Brothers take on HAVOC, right? The venue is Ota Ward Tokyo—it’s a midsummer big match,” he announced, setting up a match against the two members of HAVOC on August 29 at EBARA WAVE Arena Ota Ward, TOKYO. He handed the belt to Jun, but the ice cream gave him a sharp, throbbing headache. However, he managed to pull himself together and wrapped things up with “3, 2, 1, DOOM.”
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