All Japan Pro Wrestling 8/27/2023 10th Oudou Tournament Final Day

All Japan Pro Wrestling 8/27/2023 10th Oudou Tournament Final Day

 

Aigle Blanc & Ren Ayabe vs. Konaka Pale One & Ryo Inoue

Blanc side headlocks Ryo then Blanc headlock takeovers him with the ropes. They trade armdrags then Blanc does a flip. they miss various kicks then stand off. Konaka and Ren get in and Konaka wants a test of strength. Of course Ren is much taller and teases him about it. Konaka gut punches him and a grabs a waist lock but is just swung around. Ren shoulders Konaka over.

Ren forearms him in the corner then slams him. Blanc suplexes Konaka for 2 then suplexes him. Ren elbows Konaka over the back of the head then forearms him down. Konaka running neckbreakers him and tags in Ryo. Ryo hits forearms on Ren then hits chest kicks. Ren forearms him down.

Ryo 2nd rope dropkicks Ren then Ren takes corner attacks. Konaka ddt's Ren and Ryo 2nd rope elbows Ren for 2. Ren suplexes Ryo then Konaka dragon screws Blanc. Konaka spinning toe holds him but is rolled up. Blanc reverse dragon screws Ryo the spinning neckbrekers Konaka. Blanc 2nd rope moonsaults Ryo outside then 450's Konaka for the win.

It was a short opening match. You could kind of guess what this was going to be as Konaka is a comedy guy and there was no way the juniors were getting anything significant on Ren. 

Royal Road Tournament 2023 Semi Final Match - Suwama vs. Ryuki Honda

Honda hits forearms on Suwama. Honda knocks him over with a shoulder then clubs his back. Honda is whipped into the rails then lariated over them. Suwama bullies him with kicks then Honda hits forearms. Suwama double chops him down then hits corner lariats. Suwama ddt's him then corner lariats and belly to belly suplexes him.

Honda spears him out of the corner then Honda corner lariats him. Honda hits a spinebuster for 2 then Suwama suplexes him. Suwama lariats him for 2. They trade forearms and Honda goes down. They trade more forearms then Suwama headbutts him.

Suwama misses a corner lariat then is speared for 2. Suwama forearm flurries him and drops him. Honda counters Suwama's backdrop then fireman's carry takeovers him for 2. Honda hits a forearm combo then takes double chops. Honda germans him then hits a lariat for 2. Honda then lariats him for a close 2 count. Honda running one arm bombs him and wins it.

This is a case where you put someone over without really putting them over. This was short and rushed. Yeah, Honda won, but it was clear from the start that this was not going long because it was in the 2nd match and the final match of the tournament was going to be going on last. If you want to see these two mail it in and have a very quick version of the match they should have had, this is for you.

Royal Road Tournament 2023 Semi Final Match - Satoshi Kojima vs. Shuji Ishikawa

They shoulder battle to start. Koji stomps his foot then shoulders him over. Shuji shoulders him over and then they trade chops outside. Koji's head is banged off the apron then he is sent into the rails. Shuji apron double stomps Koji on the floor.

Shuji stands on Koji's stomach in the ring then body scissors him. Shuji 2nd rope double stomps him. Koji running forearms him then hits machine gun chops. Koji running forearms him then is lariated in the corner. Shuji hits a forearm flurry on him and sits up top. Koji lariats him to the floor and throws him back in.

Koji forearm flurries him and then hits a ddt. Shuji backdrops him and lariats him against the ropes. They trade forearms and Koji suplexes him. Koji hits a cutter then Shuji dragon suplexes him. Shuji running knees him for 2 then fire thunder drivers him for 2. Shuji kamigoye's him and Koji blocks his running knee. Koji lariats him then sliding lariats him for 2. Koji hits a running lariat and wins it.

It was rushed and they just didn't have the time for a lot of selling or some kind of epic match. They put out a lot more effort than I had expected but I didn't really enjoy this one much.

Hokuto Omori & Naoki Tanizaki vs. BULK Orchestra (Hayato Tamura & KAZMA SAKAMOTO)

Omori and Kazma get in and do basic stuff. Naoki tries to shoulder battle with Tamura then flying lariats him. Naoki takes lariats against the ropes then takes a double stomp and splash for 2. Naoki takes a double shoulder then Tamura delay suplexes Naoki. Naoki forearms Kazma then Kazma knees him. Naoki hits a straight punch to the face then Kazma enzugiri's him.

Tamura and Omori trade forearms. Omori flatliners him for 2 then Tamura shoulders him over. Tamura top rope shoulders Omori then Omori takes a combo enzugiri and lariat. Tamura running lariats Omori. Tamura takes an enzugiri and running knee in the corner. Omori blows a backbreaker spot and Naoki top rope knees Tamura for 2 while he's in the backbreaker position.

Omori cutters Tamura then Tamura running lariats him. Omori jumps at him and takes a german. Tamura then release germans him for 2. Tamura then jackhammers Omori and wins it.

It wasn't good as expected and the smaller guys really didn't have much of a chance against the bigger guys.

G-INFINITY Title Match - Voodoo Murders (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) (c) vs. Black Generation International (Hartley Jackson & Kotaro Suzuki)

Hartley and Rei start us off. They test strength and shoulder battle. Rei shoulders him over then Hartley shoulders him over. Rei takes a double back elbow and Suzuki works his arm. Everyone goes outside and Suzuki goes into the rails. Suzuki hits forearms on Rei and gets nowhere then Rei chops him.

Jun slams and elbow drops Suzuki. Suzuki cradles him and takes a boot to the face. Rei splashes Suzuki then side slams him for 2. Suzuki trips Rey into the ropes then Hartley gets in. He and Rei hit slow lariats on each other and Rei catches his crossbody. Rei slams him. Hartley russian legsweeps him. Suzuki handspring back elbows Jun off the ropes then takes a knee to the gut. Suzuki suplexes Jun then Jun is suplexed again and takes sentons.

Hartley corner splashes Jun then lariats him for 2. Jun running facekicks him on the ropes then Hartley crossbodies him. Hartley falcon arrows Jun for 2. Rei comes in and chokeslams Hartley. Suzuki hits shots on Rei then Rei slams him on Hartley. Hartley takes a double chokeslam then Rei top rope crossbodies Hartley. Hartley cradles Jun for 2 then Jun chokeslams Hartley for the win.

There was some good stuff here but they didn't really have the time to build it up nor did they get the most out of it. Suzuki was also the odd man out here as the only non-heavy.

Astronauts (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura), Evolution (Dan Tamura & Hikaru Sato) & Yuji Nagata vs. Zennichi Shin Jidai (Atsuki Aoyagi, Kento Miyahara, Rising HAYATO & Yuma Aoyagi) & Yoshitatsu

Both teams do group huddles and Atsuki starts us off against Nomura. Nomura shoulders him over then they evade each others moves before standing off. Rising and Abe go at it and Rising headscissors him out. Abe slaps him and then hits a nice dropkick. Abe whips him into the ropes and ends up doing a cartwheel off of it somehow. Everyone then starts fighting with Kento and Sato going up into the stands for forearms.

Everyone is paired off outside and Kento's head is banged off a chair. Yuji is sent into a giant door on the side  then Yoshi is sent into the rails. Yuma and Nomura fight on the stage and Yuma is left laying. Back in the ring, Abe facekicks Kento off the apron. Abe running kicks Rising then Dan slams Atsuki.

Yuji works Atsuki's arm. Atsuki hits forearms on Sato then is spin kicked in the gut. Atsuki is popped up and dropkicks him off of it. Kento gets in and running facekicks Sato then hits dropkicks. Dan running shoulders Kento over then Kento pump kicks him. Yuma facekicks then dropkicks Dan.

Dan and Yuma trade running corner moves then forearm each other. Dan hits a nasty lariat then Yuma rock bottoms him. Dan hits a big suplex. Yoshi and Yuji go at it. They trade forearms and yuji hits kicks. Yoshi double chops him then superkicks him. Yoshi fisherman suplexes Yuji for 2 then Yuji exploders him. Yuji's tam clears their opponents off the apron and Yoshi takes running corner moves from the other team.

Kento and Yoshi go for a sandwich move on Yuji but end up nailing each other. Dan double lariats boht of them. Rising leg lariats Dan then Sato enzugiri's Rising. Yuma fights off Abe and Nomura with forearms 1v2 then takes a double kick from both. Abe avoids Atsuki's dropkick then takes a handspring back enzugiri. Atsuki 2nd rope moonsaults onto everyone outside.

Yoshi and Yuji go at it with kicks then Yoshi flatliners him into a koji clutch. Yuji running knees Yoshi then suplexes him. Yuji crossfaces Yoshi then chokes Yoshi with his own arm out of the crossface. Yuji submits him.

It was very fast paced and rushed. There was just not enough time for everyone to get a lot in and people were coming in and out quick. The outside brawling was hard to follow as there were 5 different pairings but only one camera to see it with.

Royal Road Tournament 2023 Final Match - Satoshi Kojima vs. Ryuki Honda

Koji headlocks Honda then Honda side headlocks him. Honda takes him over and they stand off. Honda shoulders him over then Koji hiptosses him. Koji then shoulders him over. Koji machine gun chops him in the corner then Honda lariats him in the corner.

Kojima is thrown out and they trade forearms outside.Honda is sent into the rails but bounces off and shoulders him over. Koji goes into the post then the rails. Koji's head is banged off the apron then Honda pulls him arm around the ropes. Honda then counts with the ref when the ref tries to break it.

Honda rams Koji's shoulder into the buckles. They trade forearms and Honda fujiwara armbars him. Koji hits machine gun chops in the corner then running forearms him. Koji top rope elbow drops him then hit forearms. Koji ddt's him then ddt's him on the apron.

Honda spears him when they are back in the ring. Honda corner lariats him then hits a spinebuster for 2. Koji hits a cutter on him and Honda fujiwara armbars him off the lariat attempt. Koji suplexes him then superplexes him. Honda no sells it and lariats him.

They trade forearms and Honda lariats him. They each lariat each other at the same time and Koji wins that one. Honda exploders him then hits a big lariat for 2. Honda running lariats him then Kojima hits a big lariat. Koji running lariats him and picks up the win.

It was good but not a classic. It didn't feel like they had the time to really do a classic with less than 20 minutes to work with. They did keep up a quick pace all throughout. They didn't do anything crazy here or anything super special and just had the match you would expect them to have on any given day. Lots of lariats and chops here.

Overall thoughts: The tournament matches were okay but certainly not classics. The final didn't get enough time at all and the non-tournament matches weren't that great. They did not go all out here for the big show and it was not as good of a show as it could have been.