A Look at AJPW's Champion's Night ~ From The Land Of Triple Crown Unification Flight To The 50th Anniversary

A Look at AJPW's Champion's Night ~ From The Land Of Triple Crown Unification Flight To The 50th Anniversary

June 24, 2021

By Ryan Porzl

On June 26th, All Japan Pro Wrestling will present their Champion's Night event at Ota City General Gymnasium, a venue where they previously unified the NWA International Heavyweight Championship, the NWA United National Championship, and the PWF World Heavyweight Championship into the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, All Japan's current top prize back on April 18, 1989. The event will feature four title matches, a different style fight, a memorial match paying tribute to one of All Japan and wrestling's all time greats, and more. Being an All Japan fan and with not enough people talking about it, I figure I go through all the matches, their background, and my thoughts on them along with who I think will win. By the way, if anyone is interested in this show or current All Japan, AJPW.tv offers current shows at around 900 yen and about ten dollars after taxes. It doesn't have the classic 80s and 90s stuff but still has some gems going back to the early 2000s.

Jun Saito vs. Rei Saito- The Saito Brothers are twins who formerly did sumo and made their debuts back on June 9th losing to Takao Omori and Ryuki Honda. Originally, they were set to face Shotaro Ashino and Honda before the card was shuffled around a week before.

Not much to say here. This should be an ok and simple match as the Saitos are very green so they won't take many chances or risks especially since this will be their fourth match. Rookie matches can be fun as you watch wrestlers attempt to grow. I believe Jun is the older brother so I'll go with him.

Shotaro Ashino and Ryuki Honda vs. Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi- There is some history here as Ashino, Arashi, and Doi were members of Enfant Terribles. Ashino is best known for his time in Wrestle-1 where he was a former 2 time Wrestle-1 Champion among other honors. He jumped to All Japan as a freelancer last year after Wrestle-1 ended and has had several title shots at the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship and World Tag Team Championships. Ashino is currently a man without a country as he previously led the stable Enfant Terribles before getting kicked out and the group being spun off into Total Eclipse in February. Honda was a Wrestle-1 trainee who officially signed with All Japan in January and is still in the young lion/rookie phase. Doi and Arashi are also best known for their time in Wrestle-1 where they were a tag team (back when Arashi was known as Kumagoro) having held the W-1 Tag Titles on three occasions together as well as the 2017 W-1 Tag League. They did break up in Wrestle-1 when Arashi turned on Doi to join Enfant Terribles. Doi eventually joined the stable when after they joined All Japan as freelancers but eventually, they, along with Yusuke Kodama and Hokuto Omori betrayed Ashino and aligned with Jake Lee and TAJIRI to form Total Eclipse. Originally, Ashino and Honda were supposed to face the Saito Brothers while Doi and Arashi were set to challenge Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi for the World Tag Team Championship.

This could be a sleeper match if given time as Ashino, Doi, and Arashi know each other well given their times in All Japan and previously W-1 while all three are in the primes of their career and Honda is a promising rookie. Plus, there is a story here as Ashino would likely want to get revenge on two men who stabbed him in the back. Doi and Arashi have also been a tag team on and off for years so they should bring the goods. Honda is a rookie but he's solid and should do a good job in the underdog position. The booking of this match can also be fun as Ashino can bring his suplexes while Doi and Arashi play the bully heels especially against Honda. Obviously, Doi and Arashi will win here as Honda is a rookie so he's perfect to take the fall but also, you got Doi and Arashi were scheduled to challenge for the World Tag Team Championship at this show before the card was changed due to Suwama backing out due to COVID and I do believe they'll get their title shot in July. Given all that, Ashino and Honda will have their moments but Doi and Arashi will look strong and get the win to set up their future Tag Team Championship match.

Jumbo Tsuruta Memorial Match: Masanobu Fuchi, Shiro Koshinaka, Masahiko Takasugi, and Ryuji Hijikata vs. SUSHI, Shinichi Nakano, Osamu Nishimura, and Chikara- This is a tribute match for Jumbo Tsuruta. Tsuruta is one of the all time greats in both All Japan and pro wrestling in general. He worked in All Japan from 1973-1999 while serving as the company's ace or top star from 1984-1992. He was a former AWA World Heavyweight Champion, the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, and first ever World Tag Team Champion with Yoshiaki Yatsu. Tsuruta passed away in 2000 due to complications from either a kidney or liver transplant. Fuchi has been with All Japan for most of the last 50 years since turning pro in 1974 and had multiple runs as World Junior Heavyweight Champion and All Asia Tag Team Champion (All Japan's secondary midcard tag title) while having the longevity record as World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Originally trained by All Japan, Koshinaka is best known for his run in New Japan on and off from the 1980s-2000s where he was a multiple time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and IWGP Tag Team Champion as well as the inaugural champion in 1986. Takasugi turned pro in 1977 and worked for All Japan from 1982-1986 as himself and as Ultra Seven while later working as a journeyman for various promotions. Hijikata is a freelancer who competed in All Japan on and off during the 2000s and 2010s where he's a former World Junior Heavyweight Champion and two time Jr. Tag League winner. SUSHI previously worked in All Japan during the 2010s where he had two runs as GAORA TV Champion and is probably remembered by American fans for his TNA run as Kiyoshi. Nakano is a former All Japan wrestler from the 80s where he enjoyed two runs as All Asia Tag Team Champion and one as World Junior Heavyweight Champion. He later worked for Genichiro Tenryu's promotions like SWS and WAR. Nishimura is best known for his work in New Japan from the late 90s to mid 00s enjoying two runs as IWGP Tag Team Champion and the 2003 G1 Tag League while later making appearances for All Japan on and off from the late 2000s to 2010s. Chikara is the grandson of "The Father of Japanese Wrestling" Rikidozan and the son of former AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion Mitsuo Momota. He's currently one of DDT's KO-D Eight Man Tag Team Champions.

This is, unquestionably, the weakest match on the card as most of the guys here are in their 50s and 60s with Chikara being the youngest at 39. This is likely going to be a comedy match given that's all most of these guys can do. Maybe Nishimura/SUSHI and Hijikata will get together and do some cool stuff but nothing more. I'm sure the audience will enjoy it as the Japanese wrestling fans usually have enjoyed old timer comedy matches for decades and I know many still enjoy Fuchi's comedy stuff. I see the Fuchi/Koshinaka/Takasugi/Hijikata team getting the win with Chikara eating the pinfall.

3 Way Tag: Atsuki Aoyagi and Rising HAYATO vs. Hikaru Sato and Dan Tamura vs. Tatsuhito Takaiwa and SUGI- This is under "first pin or submission wins" instead of elimination. Aoyagi and HAYATO are stablemates in Kento Miyahara's NEXTREAM stable. Sato and Tamura are stablemates in Suwama's Evolution stable and won the Jr. Tag Battle of Glory back in December. Takaiwa and SUGI aren't a regular team but both are coming off runs in Pro Wrestling ZERO1 where they each enjoyed success as Junior Heavyweight Champion and Lightweight Tag Team Champion while Takaiwa had a successful run in New Japan during the late 90s to early 00s as a singles and tag team with Shinjiro Otani. There is some history to this match as all six participants entered the 2021 Jr. Battle of Glory tournament earlier this year with SUGI beating Aoyagi in the first round while Takaiwa beat Tamura in the first round.

This has the potential to be a really fun match. Aoyagi, HAYATO, and Tamura are in that transition where they're not young lion/rookie anymore but not stars either. They still take the falls in tag matches but have gotten their own unique look and move set. All three are also showing great potential so I expect them to bring it. Sato may stick out a bit as he's not really a fast high flyer but more of a strikes and submissions guy which can still bring something different to the table as he tries to ground the flyers. SUGI is one of the best flyer's in the world today and many who haven't seen him will likely be in for a treat. The only potential weakness in this match is Takaiwa as he's was a very good talent but is pushing 50 so I'm not sure what he'll bring but I'm sure he has enough for this match. This match has a perfect blend of young up and coming wrestlers with experienced veterans so everybody is bringing something. This one is hard to predict. I want to say Sato and Tamura win but if they want to use this match to potentially lead to a title shot at the All Asia Tag Team Championship then they could go with the other two teams preferably Takaiwa and SUGI who are fresh challengers as Aoyagi and HAYATO challenged earlier this year and Sato and Tamura just challenged last month. However, I could see the next match potentially leading to an All Asia Tag Team Championship match but it's also possible Takaiwa and SUGI could also win to set them up as challengers for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Still, I'll go the safe pick and pick Sato and Tamura to win.

Zeus, Izanagi, Shigehiro Irie, and UTAMARO vs. CIMA, T-Hawk, El Lindaman, and Issei Onitzuka- The is a battle between stables as Zeus, Izanagi, Irie, and UTAMARO are Purple Haze while CIMA, T-Hawk, Lindaman, and Onizuka are part of Strong Hearts and are representing the GLEAT promotion. Zeus and Izanagi are the current All Asia Tag Team Champions which are All Japan's midcard tag titles. Both are currently under contract to All Japan while having had history in Osaka Pro Wrestling. Zeus is also a former Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and the 2020 Champion Carnival winner. Irie and UTAMARO are freelancers with Irie being known for his work in DDT while UTAMARO worked for Wrestling New Classics and Wrestle-1 before going freelance. The Strong Hearts guys (except Onitzuka) are best known for their work in Dragon Gate with CIMA being their former ace or top star. CIMA is coming off losing All Japan's World Junior Heavyweight Championship on June 9th to Koji Iwamoto. Prior to signing with GLEAT, they worked for Oriental Wrestling Entertainment where Onitzuka started while also making appearances for AEW in America.

Another match that should be fun as the Strong Hearts guys are fun to watch being fast juniors while Purple Haze have different styles as Izanagi is a fast junior while Zeus and Irie are big guys who are quite agile and UTAMARO is a solid wrestler. Not only can this be fun but there's definitely a chance to see various things as Izanagi could have a nice junior heavyweight contest while Zeus and, to some extent, Irie could have some fun "big guy/little guy" encounters and UTAMARO could have some good moments as well. Best of all, with the exception Izanagi and CIMA, everyone is under 40 and in their primes or approaching it (I have to admit I don't know much about Onitzuka) while Izanagi and CIMA can still go. This one can be hard to predict cause I can easily see Zeus dispatch Onitzuka but I feel the Strong Hearts will win for two reasons. One as a show of good will since CIMA dropped the Junior Title a few weeks ago and the second is it could also set up a future All Asia Tag Title match.

Road To Royal Road Strong Style ~ Different Martial Arts Fight 3rd: Yoshitatsu vs. Yosuke Nishijima- A Different Martial Arts fight is a combination of pro wrestling, kickboxing, and MMA with rounds and one minute breaks but still predetermined. New Japan did these type of matches many times during the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Yoshitatsu is perhaps most known to people for his runs in New Japan and WWE during the 2000s to 2010s. He's been competing for All Japan since 2018 where he enjoyed a World Tag Team Championship reign with current ace/top star Kento Miyahara and a run with the GAORA TV Championship where he holds the longest reign at 587 days. Nishijima is a boxer who has also done kickboxing and some MMA with PRIDE Fighting Championships.

This is definitely not for everybody as this isn't a wrestling match but more a predetermined fight. The idea right now is Yoshitatsu is doing these "fights" with either legit boxers and kickboxers or wrestlers with a martial art or grappling background. These type of matches are alright but fixed martial arts fights aren't usually the most exciting. I'm not sure what All Japan is planning with these other than to maybe reinvent Yoshitatsu. Not much to say about Nishijima as he's a legit boxer and not a pro wrestler. I don't know much about him except for his brief failed run in MMA for PRIDE back around 2006. Along with the Jumbo memorial match, this will likely be one of the weaker moments of this show. The plus side is the results are obvious as Yoshitatsu will likely pull out the win especially since this angle is supposed to further him while Nishijima is a one and done.

AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Championship: Takao Omori, Black Menso~re, and Carbell Ito (c) vs. TAJIRI, Hakuto Omori, and Yusuke Kodama- This is for the AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Championship. Takao, Menso, and Carbell became the inaugural champions back on December 13th and made one successful title defense so far (title matches aren't common on Japanese wrestling) which was against Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura, and Konaka = Pehlwan back on February 21st. TAJIRI. Hokuto, and Kodama are members of the Total Eclipse stable. Takao is best known for his runs in All Japan, NOAH, and ZERO1 while having made trips to New Japan. Longtime WWE fans may remember him for his brief appearance in the 1996 Royal Rumble. Menso is also known for his work in All Japan and indy promotions with this gimmick as well as Menso~re Oyaji and as himself which is Yohei Nakajima where he enjoyed four runs as GAORA TV Champion. I don't know anything about Carbell but I think he's based off a sponsor. Most fans probably know TAJIRI from his runs in ECW and WWE during the 90s and 00s while having worked a variety of Japanese promotions. Hokuto is an up and comer who's spent his young career in All Japan. Kodama was trained by TAJIRI and worked for Wrestling New Classics and Wrestle-1 before becoming a freelancer and spends time in All Japan. 

This is an interesting match because you got six wrestlers at different points in their careers so this could go any way but it still should be a solid match. Takao and TAJIRI are in their 50s and past their primes but can still put on solid performances especially in a six man tag. Hokuto is inexperienced but has potential. Kodama is in the prime of his career so he should be one of the highlights. Menso is also in his prime but a comedy character so he'll have some good moments while mixing in some silliness. Carbell is the only one I'm not too familiar with but I think he's based off a sponsor. There is a story here as Hokuto has been a general nuisance towards Menso during the Champion Carnival tour including getting wins by cheating. The plus side is a lot of the competitors have weaknesses but in a six man tag team environment, that should mask most of them and each has something to make up what someone else lacks. Given Takao, Menso, and Carbell haven't done much as champs and they're kind of a weird pairing, I could see Hokuto, TAJIRI, and Kodama winning especially since it elevates Hokuto by giving him his first title and it gives Total Eclipse a belt while also elevating the Six Man Title. I could see Menso maybe getting his revenge so I wouldn't be surprised if champs retained but I'm going with new champions.

AJPW GAORA TV Championship: Shuji Ishikawa (c) vs. Yuko Miyamoto- This is for the AJPW GAORA TV Championship. Ishikawa won the title on March 17th from Jun Kasai and has made no title defenses yet. He's currently in his first reign. Originally trained in DDT, Ishikawa enjoyed success there and Big Japan where he won his share of titles. Since 2015, Ishikawa has appeared for All Japan first as a freelancer and then as an official wrestler where he enjoyed one run as Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion and the 2017 Champion Carnival while enjoying his biggest run as part of Violent Giants with Suwama winning the World Tag Team Championship four times and two World's Strongest Tag League wins (2017 and 2019). Miyamoto is part of the Dark Pro Wrestling 666 promotion while having enjoyed success in All Japan, Big Japan, DDT, and ZERO1 including enjoying two reigns with the All Asia Tag Team Championships. 

This should be another fun one as both guys have had their share of deathmatches but can wrestle. Not sure if plunder will get involved but it might. Ishikawa is going on 46 but he's still a solid hand and can still put on good matches when needed. Miyamoto is another good talent so I expect him to bring the goods and he's still in his prime. Whether weapons are involved or not, this might be a size vs. speed type match given Ishikawa has a size and power advantage. Given Ishikawa hasn't made any successful title defenses and just won the title three months ago, I have to go with him. I feel he'll hold the title for awhile especially since his team with Suwama ended and All Japan seems to be moving him out of the main event.

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship: Koji Iwamoto (c) vs. Francesco Akira- This is for the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Iwamoto won the title on June 9th from CIMA. This is his fourth reign and he made no successful title defenses yet. Akira earned this title shot by winning the 2021 Jr. Battle of Glory tournament. Originally spending his first four years in the independent circuit, Iwamoto has been with All Japan since 2016 and has enjoyed reigns as World Junior Heavyweight Champion and All Asia Tag Team Champion along with winning All Japan's Jr. Battle of Glory and Jr. Tag Battle of Glory tournaments. He's largely been the ace of All Japan's junior division since 2019 following the death of Atsushi Aoki in a motorcycle accident. Akira is an Italian wrestler who's been competing for All Japan since 2019 and is slowly climbing the ranks. Should he win the Jr. Title, he would be the first Italian All Japan World Junior Heavyweight Champion.

Another really good match and an interesting one as it's a junior heavyweight match but it's more technical vs speed as Akira is a typical high flying and fast junior heavyweight while Iwamoto is more of a technical wrestler with a judo background. This match will likely see Akira trying to pick up the pace and use speed and high flying while Iwamoto will try to ground him and work him over with a slower pace. This is a hard match to predict as I would easily go with Iwamoto given he just won the Junior Title on June 9th and Akira is still an up and comer and him winning the Jr. Battle of Glory tournament could be enough for now. However, Iwamoto pinned Akira in a tag match at the recent show on June 20th and I don't know if they want him to have two straight wins over Akira for fear it could cut the legs out from under him. Not to mention, there is a part of me who feels Iwamoto will move up to heavyweight at some point. Originally, I was going with Iwamoto but I'll go out on a limb and say Akira wins the title.

AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Kento Miyahara vs. Jake Lee vs. Yuma Aoyagi- This is for the vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. The championship was vacant on June 20th after Suwama was diagnosed with COVID. Originally, the main event was supposed to be Suwama vs. Jake Lee before Suwama pulled out while Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi were scheduled to defend the AJPW World Tag Team Championship against Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi. This is not a three way. The rules here are a lottery will be done with two wrestlers starting off in a one-on-one while the third waits. The only way to win is for one wrestler to win two straight one-on-one matches. Many are comparing this with the finals of All Japan's 1997 Champion Carnival when Toshiaki Kawada, Mitsuharu Misawa, and Kenta Kobashi were tied on points and did something similar with Misawa and Kobashi starting out only to go to a draw then Kawada beat Misawa one-on-one and then Kawada beat Kobashi one-on-one to win the Carnival. Another comparison was when New Japan held their January 4, 2005 Tokyo Dome show and had a "dogfight" between Masahiro Chono, Riki Choshu, and Hiroyoshi Tenzan with Chono winning after beating Choshu one-on-one and then Tenzan one-on-one. Both Jake Lee and Yuma Aoyagi have spent their careers in All Japan having trained in the dojo and have had runs as All Asia and World Tag Team Champion. Kento Miyahara was trained by wrestling legends Kensuke Sasaki and Masa Saito and competed for Sasaki's Kensuke Office/Diamond Ring and briefly in Pro Wrestling NOAH before jumping to All Japan in 2014. Since 2016, Miyahara has been the promotion's ace or top star and a former four time Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion.

This should be the best match on the show as you have Miyahara, who is one of the best in the world and Lee and Aoyagi who are getting in the primes of their career. These three know each other as they've wrestled each other and were stablemates at one point (Miyahara and Aoyagi still are). Miyahara and Lee have had several classics already including this year's Champion Carnival where Lee beat Miyahara to win the tournament. Aoyagi has also had some great matches over the past year so regardless of which pairings we get, it should be a great match as they're not only talented but have great chemistry. As far as who will win, this could be tough. Originally, I would easily say Lee is winning since he was the only one scheduled for this match and I figured he was winning when Suwama was still in the match. Not to mention that Miyahara and Aoyagi are the current World Tag Team Champions so they don't need another title. That being said, Miyahara is the ace and he hasn't been champion since March 2020 so maybe All Japan feels enough time has passed for him to get another reign and with Suwama out, they may feel they need Miyahara back in the main event. I know Aoyagi isn't winning since he wasn't set for the match to begin with and I believe All Japan knows he's not ready for it yet and probably a year or two away from it. Still, I get the impression that All Japan has been spending recent months treating Lee and Aoyagi as their new pet projects as they try to get them to that next level. With that, I feel they'll stay the course and Lee takes the Triple Crown. How he'll do it is a mystery as I feel they may want Miyahara and Aoyagi to get a win each before losing or they could want to make Lee as strong as possible and have him win two in a row immediately.