All Japan Pro Wrestling New Year Wars 2022 1/23/2022

All Japan Pro Wrestling New Year Wars 2022 1/23/2022

 Triple Crown Tournament Semi-Final - Kento Miyahara vs Suwama

Kento cheapshot facekicks Suwama early and gets pounded on for it. They trade forearms on the floor and Suwama takes a headbutt. Kento tries to whip Suwama into the rails, but he gets out and goes into the ring. Kento follows and gets nailed with a surprise lariat. Kento hits some nice forearms then is DDT'd.

Suwama hits a big belly to belly but takes dropkicks to the knee and the side of the head soon after. They fight on the apron and Kento DDT's Suwama on the apron. Suwama hits a capture suplex then some chops and a lariat for 2. Suwama then hits a big powerbomb for 2.

Suwama tries for a back drop but gets a pumping knee instead, then hits the backdrop. Kento rolls him up out of nowhere on the pin attempt and wins it.

This was not very good. There was no real story to it, neither guy seemed to have fire or intensity to try and win it, it was a little slow and the crowd couldn't cheer. It was also only about 11 minutes, which isn't a lot of time.

Triple Crown Title Tournament Semi Finals - Ryuki Honda vs Shotaro Ashino

Honda hits some nice forearms early and backs up Ashino, then he slaps him over the head and gets his face pushed. They trade euro's for forearms and Ashino downs Honda. Ashino hits a nice Karelin's lift. Ashino puts on a version of the calf crusher and then turns it into something like an STF which Honda hits the ropes for. Honda hits a nice northern lights suplex for 2.

Ashino hits a hard slap and a german suplex then Honda comes back with a spinebuster. Honda no sells a release german then spears him, before taking a release german and another german for 2. Ashino hits a hard lariat then takes a lariat to the face. Honda hits a one handed powerbomb out of nowhere and wins  it in an upset.

This wasn't too good. Just too much of "your move, my move" when they should have focused more on the striking and hate instead. 

All Asia Tag Team Title Match - TOTAL ECLIPSE (Hokuto Omori & Yusuke Kodama) (c) vs  Devil Murasaki & Izanagi

Everyone brawls and goes outside to start. Kodama and Izanagi trade chest slaps. Devil trips Kodama and then drags him under the ring. Kodama then gets pulled from the apron and tied to the rails outside. Omori ends up having his wrists tied together while under the ring. Omori still has his wrists tied as Devil chokes him.

Devil and Iza mock Kodama as he is tied up outside then Kodama gets free. Kodama hits a handspring back elbow and takes out Iza. He then helps Omori get free and Omori hits a DDT/Reverse STO combo. Devil low blows Omori right in front of the ref and somehow he doesn't see it then Devil iron claws Omori. Kodama and Iza got to the back and they end up in the standing section up high where Iza is tied to the rail.

Omori hits a cutter for on Devil then does a falcon arrow variation to win it.

Could have been a little shorter, which I did not think I would say. This would have been better with a crowd. I'm not sure how Omori and Kodama weren't counted out.

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title - SUGI (C) vs Rising HAYATO

Rising dropkicks him to start at the bell. They botch a lucha sequence then Sugi botches a springboard hurricanrana. This match is a disaster already 1 minute in. Sugi then does a nice flip dive on him. Rising gets thrown into the rails and he springboards with a dropkick off them then does a springboard plancha to the outside.

Sugi does a hiptoss into a cartwheel dropkick ala Kushida. They trade shots and Rising takes a dropkick to the face. Rising throws Sugi into the ropes and dropkicks him in the face then hits a springboard dropkick. Rising then hits another springboard dropkick then Sugi tilt-a-whirl ddt's Rising.

Rising superkicks him on the apron then does an apron falcon arrow. Rising then senton atomico's Sugi on the floor and hits a springboard legdrop. Sugi then does an unusual backflip armdrag off the top and runs the top rope into a dropkick. They then botch a springboard hurricanrana and Sugi hits a springboard 450 for the win.

This was a spotfest with tons of botches and it's a shame since this is one of the bigger matches Rising has gotten to do.

Triple Crown Title Tournament Final - Ryuki Honda vs Kento Miyahara

Slow start here and they go out early with Honda choking him with his foot. Honda gets picked up an ddropped throat first on a rail. Kento then gets picked up out there and thrown into the post. Honda then hooks Kento's head against the rail and pulls on it.

Kento misses a dropkick and is put into an STF variation. Honda misses a move and Kent comes back with a dropkick. Honda then piledrivers Kento on the apron. They trade shots and headbutts on the 2nd rope and Kento german suplexes Honda from it for a hard landing.

Kento german's him again but he doesn't sell it and spinebusters him instead. They trade forearms then Ryo puts his foot on the back of Kento's head and stomps it down. Honda runs into a step kick then takes a step knee to the back of the head. Honda hit a big forearm combo then a lariat for 2.

Kento hit a step knee for 2 but Honda came back with lariats for 2. Honda then hit his one arm powerbomb for another 2. Kento escaped another powerbomb attempt and hit another pump knee. Kento then won it with a slow deadlift straightjacket suplex.

This was longer than it should have been and it just didn't feel convincing that Honda won win this one. He looked a little better in the later part of the match than in the first part of the match but he didn't really show the fire and personality you would want here.

Overall thoughts: Of what I saw, it was a tough show. The crowd couldn't cheer and a lot of the matches were slower and really didn't fit that kind of crowd.