All Japan Pro Wrestling 2/19/2023 Excite Series 2023 Day 2 Pro-Wrestling Day MANIAx

All Japan Pro Wrestling 2/19/2023 Excite Series 2023 Day 2 Pro-Wrestling Day MANIAx

Master Wato, Ryusuke Taguchi & Yoshitatsu vs. Gungnir Of Anarchy (Masao Hanabatake, Ryuki Honda & Shotaro Ashino)

Ashino grabs Taguchi by the arm then Taguchi trips him. Taguchi hooks the leg then Ashino side headlocks him. Ashino shoulders him over and Taguchi butt bumps him. Taguchi sits on his face in the corner then Ashino takes him down and hits a karelin's lift suplex.

Masao backdrops Taguchi for 2 then chinlocks him. Honda boots Taguchi in the corner then puts his leg on him on the 2nd rope. Taguchi misses a hip attack then rolls into one on Honda. Yoshi hits kicks on Honda then tornado ddt's him. Honda spears Yoshi then Masao forearms Yoshi. They trade forearms and Masao sto's him for 2.

Yoshi russian legsweeps him then Wato gets in. Masao spinning forearms Wato and single leg dropkicks him. Wato dropkicks Masao the spin kicks him. Masao then takes a sandwich butt bump. Wato drivers Masao for 2 then wins it with a high german suplex.

It was short and mostly lighthearted, though not a comedy match.

Black Menso-re, Takao Omori & Toru Yano vs. Oskar Leube, Ren Ayabe & Shuji Ishikawa

Oskar and Omori go at it. They shoulder battle and trade shots. Oskar shoulders him over and Ren wants to fight Menso. Menso wants to no part of him, goes outside and grabs a step ladder. Ren kicks him off of the ladder and drops him with a single forearm.

Ren misses an elbow and Menso tries to tag in Yano, but Yano doesn't want in either. Ren slams Menso then all 3 opponents stand on Menso. Menso takes a triple gorilla press yhen Yano gets in. Yano takes off a turnbuckle pad then is shouldered over. Shuji goes into the exposed buckle then shoulders him over.

Yano does a horrible neckbreaker and Omori gets in. Omori facekicks and spinning heel kicks Shuji. They lariat battle and Shuji backbreakers him. Omori takes corner attacks then takes a double big boot. Menso takes a triple big boot then Omori takes a fire thunder driver from Shuji. Shuji gets a 2 count off of it then running knees Omori for the win.

This was exactly what it looked like - a one-sided match with Menso's team basically getting squashed.

Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima vs. Voodoo Murders (Jun Saito, Rei Saito & Suwama)

Taru's out with the VM's and the VM's are hit before this even starts. All 6 men fight outside and Yuto is sent into the rails. Kosei tries forearms on Jun and doesn't get very far. Jun drops him with a chest kick then shoulders him over. Kosei dropkicks Jun then Kosei is beat up in the corner. Oiwa and Yuto come in and Rei gets into it with Yuto.

Kosei takes a hard chop from Rei then Rei shoulders him over. Rei knocks his partners off the apron then machine gun chops Kosei. Rei running splashes Kosei, slams him then splashes him on the mat. Yuto gets tired of it and starts hitting his opponents before being pushed out. Kosei hits a nice dropkick on Rei then Oiwa forearms and chops Rei.

Oiwa slips on a dropkick on Rey then dropkicks him while he's on his knee. Oiwa dropkicks Rei in the corner. Oiwa tries to gutwrench Rei but can't then Rei just runs straight into him. Both seem out of it from that. Suwama sleepers Oiwa then Suwama takes running corner attacks. Suwama takes a double dropkick then Yuto hits forearms on Suwama. Suwama hits a super stiff lariat on Yuto then hits another stiff one.

Rei chokeslams Oiwa as all 6 men are in and Kosei dropkicks Jun. Jun facekicks Kosei and cobra clutch slams him. Suwama backdrops Yuto and wins it.

There were some legitimately real shots thrown here with these dudes laying into each other with full power at times. I was really surprised by it. It was a great as a viewer, but likely sucked to take. It was a mostly one sided match but the stiffness was off the charts here.

Shingo Takagi vs. Yuma Anzai

Yuma goes for a hammerlock and takes a headlock takeover. Yuma side headlock takeovers him and they trade forearms. Shingo shoulders him over then Yuma hits a dropkick. Yuma sits on top and is lariated down to the floor. Yuma is thrown into the rails then has his head banged off the apron.

Yuma is lifted and he is dropped face first on the apron. Shingo knee drops him on the back then ddt's him. Yuma hits forearms then is chopped down with one chop. Yuma suplexes him then running forearms him in the corner. Yuma hits a nice belly to belly suplex then top rope dropkicks him.

Yuma hits a nice forearm then takes a back elbow and lariat. Shingo corner lariats him and slams him. Shingo then elbow drops him backwards off the top. Shingo suplexes him. Yuma forearms him on the ropes then is lariated on the ropes. Yuma germans him for 2 and they trade forearms.

Shingo headbutts him in the chest and sliding lariats him. Shingo running lariats him then hits another lariat. Shingo single leg crabs him and wins it.

It was a mostly one sided match with Shingo winning as expected. Yuma didn't get a ton in here.

Naoya Nomura & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Hokuto Omori & Minoru Suzuki

Omori and Yuma start us off. Yuma armdrags him then Omori armdrags him and they stand off. Nomura and Suzuki trade chest slaps and Suzuki drops him with a forearm. Nomura shoulders him over thne Suzuki heel hooks him. Suzuki dropkicks him in the knee and sends him into the rails outside. Omori and Yuma trade strikes outside as well.

Omori drops Nomura's knee on the mat. Nomura hits forearms on Suzuki then is kicked in the leg. Suzuki blocks Nomura's spear then suplexes him. Yuma facekicks Suzuki when he gets in and flying forearms him. They trade forearms and Yuma back body drops him. Suzuki hits a nice facekick then Omori flatliners Yuma for 2. Omori jumping cutters Yuma then Nomura slams Omori. Yuma top rope elbow drops Omori.

Yuma spinning superkicks Omori in the face then fisherman suplexes him for 2. Omori hits forearms on Yuma then Yuma puts him in a guillotine clutch. Yuma then wins via chokeout.

It wasn't that good. They didn't do anything too exciting during the first half and it was over before it really picked up in the second half.

Suzuki gets shots in on Yuma after.

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title Match - Atsuki Aoyagi (c) vs. Naruki Doi

They exchange basic holds to start then Atsuki dropkicks him.  Atsuki dropkicks him off the apron then 2nd rope connector moonsaults him. Doi slingshot elbow drops him and hits boots to the gut. Doi footchokes him then sits on his back and pulls his head back. Atsuki is popped up and dropkicks him out of it.

Atsuki 2nd rope armdrags him then dropkicks him. Doi cannonballs onto him then neckbreakers him. Atsuki standing moonsaults him then handspring enzugiri's him off the ropes. Atsuki misses a top rope moonsault and is ddt'd for 2. Doi dropkicks him on the ropes then is superkicked. Atsuki fisherman suplexes him then takes a fisherman buster.

They trade forearms and Atsuki superkicks him. Doi blocks Atsuki's roll-up attempt then Atsuki gets a 2 count on him. Atsuki does a la magistral variation for 2 then corkscrew kicks him. Atsuki doesa fisherman's suplex into a sitout bomb. Doi gets his knees up on Atsuki's 450, hits Doi Fives then baseball slides him for 2. Doi half-nelson sitout drivers him and wins it.

It was your usual juniors match and wasn't anything too interesting.

Triple Crown Title Match - Kento Miyahara (c) vs. Yuji Nagata

Yuji headlock takeovers him then Kento headscissors him. They facekick each other and stand off. Yuji kicks him in the back and armbars him, then won't let go. Kento pulls him out and headbutts him. Ken wraps his leg in the rail and kicks it.

Ken running facekicks him on the apron and they trade forearms there. Yuji bangs Ken's arm off his shoulder and Ken goes out. Yuji armbars him again and the ref has to pull him off. Yuji kicks him around and fujiwara armbars him.

Yuji hits forearms then Ken dropkicks him in the knee and side of the head. Ken piledrivers him on the apron then Yuji exploders him on the floor. Yuji running facekicks him then top rope exploders him. Kento no sells it then germans him. Yuji no sells it and germans him. Yuji hits exploders then Kento pumping knees him.

They trade forearms and Yuji koppo kicks him. Yuji goes for a step-up knee and is powerbombed. Kento hits pumping knees then Yuji armbars him. Kento hits a pumping knee then lariats him. Kento running lariats him for 2 then slow germans him for 2. Kento goes for a pumping knee and is kicked in the leg. Yuji wrist clutch exploders him for 2. Yuji high kicks him then backdrops him to win it.

They tried and definitely went with the usual main event formula. It worked to some degree though it wasn't a classic or super memorable. They matched up better than I had expected.

Overall thoughts: I saw all but one match. Most of the matches were one-sided affairs. The trios match with the Voodoo Murderers felt like a near shoot at times with how stiff they got. Suzuki's match was a big letdown and the juniors match was it was. They tried in the main and it was fine, but not a classic.