Text and photos exclusively by Tokio Tsukada / Copyright & Courtesy: ALL Japan PRO WRESTLING
At the All Japan Pro Wrestling event in Ota Ward on August 29, champion Kento Miyahara fended off a challenge from Yuma Anzai in the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship match, Miyahara successfully defended his title for the ninth time.
The two, who had engaged in fierce battles in their preliminary matches, once again showed their determination to outdo each other on this day.
When Anzai landed a slap as he pulled away, Miyahara attempted to immobilize him with a classic toe hold and leg lock. Anzai retaliated with an elbow strike as he pulled away, but Miyahara countered with a dropkick.
During the brawl outside the ring, Miyahara unleashed a barrage of headbutts and landed a front high kick, but Anzai refused to back down, using the fence to launch a swan-dive elbow strike. He then pinned Miyahara to the apron and rained down a flurry of knee strikes.
Back in the ring, Anzai maintained the offensive, locking in a sleeper hold and unleashing a barrage of knee strikes.
He also landed a series of attacks, including a spear-style jumping elbow and a front suplex. Miyahara countered with a barrage of his signature low dropkicks, but Anzai immediately subdued him with a combination of knee uppercut and double-arm suplex. Although Miyahara was sent crashing to the outside, he fought back by landing a front high kick on Anzai’s right leg as Anzai aimed for a dive from the apron to the outside. Miyahara then executed a piledriver on the apron.
Cheered on by chants of “Anzai,” Anzai barely made it back to the ring at a count of nine. Without hesitation, Miyahara landed a front kick to the face and stomped on Anzai, gloating over her victory. Anzai also pinned Miyahara to the corner with a jumping knee and counterattacked with an avalanche-style double-arm suplex. Miyahara caught Anzai’s “Gamushara”( helter-skelter) move and returned the favor with a brainbuster. She hit Anzai with a “Blackout” and followed up with a lariat, but Anzai caught it, spun around, and fluidly transitioned into a face lock.
Miyahara managed to escape to the ropes, nullifying Anzai’s jumping knee, and then slammed in a lariat. Anzai caught the subsequent “Blackout” and unleashed a barrage of jumping knees. Miyahara also stopped the “Gimlet” and immediately countered with a “Standing Blackout,” then went for the “Shutdown,” but Anzai blocked it and hurled him with a back drop. Anzai drove a jumping knee into the back of Miyahara’s head, but Miyahara fought back relentlessly with a “Standing Blackout.” He fired off a flurry of “Blackouts” before exploding into a “Shutdown Suplex Hold.”
Anzai managed to kick out at the very last second, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Though he collapsed for a moment, he stopped the second Shutdown attempt and countered with a rare short-range lariat. He went all out with a jumping knee and a Gimlet, but this time Miyahara kicked out at the very last second. Even so, Anzai unleashed a frantic attack but couldn’t get the Gimlet in.
Miyahara stopped Anzai’s momentum with a Stand Blackout, dodged Anzai’s lariat, and unleashed a Shutdown Suplex Hold. Anzai, completely spent, heard the three-count.
After a fierce battle, Miyahara successfully defended his Triple Crown title for the ninth time. Upon being awarded the belt, he addressed Anzai—who had already left the ring—over the microphone:
“Yuma Anzai! Fighting you made this the best summer ever. And I declare to everyone: Starting today, All Japan is going to have two new top stars. Yuma Anzai, you’re the coolest guy in the world and the one with the coolest flair. Next time, I’m looking forward to seeing you in this ring, with this belt on the line, no matter the situation.”
The crowd responded with a massive chorus of “Anzai!” chants.
“I beat Yuma Anzai. Did you see the match today between Yuma Anzai and me for this belt? This is the battle between the two top aces, Kento Miyahara and Yuma Anzai,” Miyahara declared proudly.
“Today, I achieved my ninth consecutive defense. Do you know how many defenses are the record? I’m right on the verge of breaking it,” he said, setting his sights on breaking the record.“I’m sitting out the Kings Road Tournament. It’s fine because I’m the champion, right?” he continued, surprising the crowd.
However, encouraged by the roaring chants of “Kento!” he declared, “Does the Royal Road Tournament really need a champion? Of course it does. It can’t even start without me!” The arena erupted in cheers.
Finally, he asked, “The Royal Road Tournament starts on September 9—is everyone ready!?” Then he shouted, “One last thing! I want to ask everyone here! Is All Japan Pro Wrestling the best!?” When the audience responded with shouts of “The best!”, the “Best Man” wrapped up by declaring, “Ota Ward, you’re the best.”
Upon returning to the backstage area, Miyahara said right away:
“I won. I’ve overcome the biggest challenge of all: Yuma Anzai. Just as I said in the ring, Yuma Anzai is not the future. He’s not the next ace candidate after Kento Miyahara. I proved it in the ring today —he proved it himself. It would be disrespectful for me to even call him ‘that guy’ anymore. Two great aces have been born. Looking back at the history of All Japan Pro Wrestling, have there ever been two top aces? There’s always been just one per era. One every ten years. Yuma Anzai was said to be that one, too—the successor to Kento Miyahara. But apparently, that’s not the case. Do you know why? It’s because Kento Miyahara is such a superstar that historical data from All Japan Pro Wrestling’s past is no longer a valid reference. And that was proven today—not just by Kento Miyahara, but also by Yuma Anzai’s power. He always says this. I probably realized it after fighting him today, but I don’t think he’s interested in what other promotions of his generation are doing—that sort of thing just doesn’t matter to him. That’s what I thought when I looked into his eyes. It’s precisely because he’s that kind of guy that he’s the talk of the nation right now. It seems he doesn’t live his life on such a small scale. That’s how I live my life, too. Yuma Anzai might even be a step ahead in that mindset. After all, he’s the hottest topic in Japan right now. That wasn’t just proven here in Tokyo—it was proven during this month’s Western Japan tour as well. Whenever Yuma Anzai stepped out from behind the curtain, a murmur of excitement rippled through every venue. In all my years as a pro wrestler, I’ve never seen a man like that. I’ve never even felt that way about the legends. That man is living in the present. He isn’t just the future of All Japan Pro Wrestling. Let me say this one last time. Starting today, Kento Miyahara and Yuma Anzai are the two new top stars. That’s right—in September, All Japan Pro Wrestling will once again captivate the whole of Japan with bright, fun, and intense wrestling. We’ll achieve V9. Now, on to the Kings Road Tournament. September 9th—I’m roaring, “Who’s my opponent?”
Meanwhile, Anzai, who suffered a narrow defeat, said, “Damn, damn… I couldn’t beat Kento Miyahara. I fell short of the Triple Crown belt. When my mind went blank during the match, I could hear so many cheers. Thank you all so much. Yet, I’m truly sorry I couldn’t deliver the result.I’m not the kind of guy who’d be satisfied with being one of the ‘two top aces’ like Kento Miyahara said. I don’t like talking about the future, but even if it takes a little time, I’ll reach the very top of All Japan Pro Wrestling as fast as I can and with everything I’ve got, so please keep watching me until then. In the end, I’ll definitely make everyone smile and be happy. Please keep watching me from now on. Thank you very much.”
The Flawless Ace, Kento Miyahara, and the World’s Coolest Man, Yuma Anzai
As long as these two top aces are here, All Japan is in good hands.
