All Japan Pro Wrestling 1/3/2024 New Year Giant Series 2024 Day 2
Black Menso-re, Dan Tamura, Rising HAYATO & Ryo Inoue vs. Fuminori Abe, Hikaru Sato, Koji Iwamoto & Naruki Doi
Menso dropkicks him and goesto pose by Doi kicks him from behind. Sato kicks Menso in the back and Abe gets in. Abe and Sato kick Menso in the back. Abe blocks Menso's kung fu move then slaps him. Menso step up enzugiri's him and Ryo gets in. Ryo hits chest kicks on Abe then slaps him.
Ryo PK's him for 2. Abe spin kicks him in the gut then back kicks him. Koji shoulders Ryo over then Ryo gamengiri's him. Abe punches Doi on accident then Ryo enzugiri's him. Rising springboard plancha's outside then Ryo buzzsaw kicks Koji for 2. Koji germans Ryo then cradle shocks him for 2. Dan and Koji trade forearms. Dan hits lariats on him then Koji lariats him down. Koji hip throws Ryo and wins it.
It was a quick match that only went 8 minutes long. There wasn't enough time to do much at all here.
Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana vs. Hokuto Omori & Minoru Suzuki
Jiro goofs around during his entrance like usual. Suzuki gets tired of it and kicks him off the apron. Suzuki forearms him in the stands. Jiro tries jacket punches, gets nowhere and is slapped. Suzuki single leg crabs Jiro on the steps and Seigo bangs Omori's head off the West sign. Suzuki uses a chair on Jiro then grabs a fan's phone and takes a shot of him beating up Jiro.
Suzuki finds Jiro again and Jiro tries to lock the rail gate so he can't get to him. Jiro's scared and Suzuki puts his arm around him and walks with him. Suzuki bangs Jiro's head off the apron. Suzuki hits chair shots til the ref takes it away and Jiro tries failed jacket punches. Jiro makes some headway then is punched in the gut. Suzuki forearms him over outside.
Jiro plays games trying to get back in the ring then Omori throws Jiro in. Suzuki telegraphs a chop on Jiro. Jiro puts his jacket on backwards to block chops so Suzuki chops him in the back. Omori hits shots on Jiro then Jiro chinlocks him. Jiro taunts Suzuki then Omori back drops Jiro. Omori chokes Jiro with a towel then forearms him over.
Seigo hits forearms on Omori, atomic drops him and face kicks him. Seigo taunts Suzuki while putting Omori in the indian deathlock then is face kicked. Seigo then falls over and makes the hold on Omori worse. Omori and Seigo trade forearms. Omori germans him then hits a jumping cutter. Suzuki face kicks Seigo then PK's him.
Suzuki runs into Jiro's jacket punch then Omori is forearmed over. Seigo and Jiro fight over who gets to do the dive like usual and Suzuki interrupts. Jiro and Seigo try to get Suzuki to do their dance but he just knocks them over. Suzuki takes a double headbutt and as he sells it, they do their dance with him. Seigo suplexes Suzuki for 2 then face kicks him. Suzuki gotch style piledrivers Seigo and wins it.
It was all comedy but it was well done and made sense. I thought it was very entertaining.
Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai vs. Atsuki Aoyagi & Yuma Aoyagi
Honda and AA lock up. AA rolls out of a wristlock and headlock takeovers him. He hits a headscissors and they stand off. The two Yuma's go at it. Anzai hits a dropkick. Anzai is kicked in the corner then AA is pulled off the buckles outside. AA is sent into the rails and Anzai bangs Yuma Aoyagi's head off the sign.
AA's head is banged off the post. AA hits forearms on Anzai then Anzai forearms him over. Anzai crabs AA and AA rope breaks. AA and Honda trade forearms then Honda does his count with the ref spot on both Aoyagi brothers. Honda back elbows AA for 2.
AA handspring back enzugiri's Honda. Yuma Aoyagi flying forearms Honda and he top rope crossbodies him for 2. Honda spinebusters him then Anzai tags in. Anzai belly to belly suplexes Yuma Aoyagi then takes an elbow drop. They trade forearms and Anzai takes a dropkick. AA and Honda trade forearms and AA flips out of an irish whip. AA 2nd rope armdrags him then dropkicks him.
AA tornado ddt's Honda then does his 2nd rope moonsault outside. We hit 10 minutes. Honda takes a corksrew kick and a dropkick. AA standing moonsaults Honda for 2. Yuma Aoyagi counts along with the ref, of course counting the 3 count. AA is popped up into a Honda spear. Yuma Aoyagi hits a rock bottom then Anzai hits a flying knee on Yuma Aoyagi. AA superkicks Honda then corkscrew kicks him. Honda lariats AA twice for 2 then running one-arm powerbombs him for the win.
I'd give this one like an 8 out of 10. It wasn't their best possible match, but some of the pieces were there for that match at some point. They did do some of the bigger spots here and did get somewhat of a finishing stretch, but this was not designed to be an epic. It's good to see Atsuki being more in the mix with the top dogs because he's good enough and him being the brother of Yuma makes him a natural for that spot.
Miku Aono & Natsuki vs. Chika Goto & Kouki
The ActWresGirlZ crew did their dance before this started as usual to no reaction. Kouki and Miku start us off. They test do double knuckle lock and Miku dropkicks her. Kouki no sells it and lariats her then Miku kips up. Both tag out. Natsuki boots Goto then corner flying knees her. Natsuki double stomps her. Goto slams her and Kouki hits flying boots on Natsuki.
Kouki slams Natsuki then falling splashes her. Natsuki flying knees her then Miku hits a nice dropkick on Kouki. Miku dropkicks Goto in the corner then Goto atomic drops her. Miku is double gorilla pressed. Kouki and Goto almost run into each other then Miku lariats both.
Miku fisherman suplexes Goto. Miku gets hit while sitting on the top then Goto giant swings her. Kouki flying face kicks Miku for 2. Miku leg kicks her then kneebreakers her then Kouki does a nice powerslam. Miku lariats her on the ropes as does Kouki. Miku hits a stroke on her for 2 then top rope dropkicks her for 2.
Natsuki does a nice dropkick on Kouki then Kouki hits a dominator on her. Miku sliding lariats Kouki then double undherook suplexes her. Natsuki top rope double stomps Kouki for 2. Natsuki does a cuty special suplex on Kouki for 2 then Natsuk and Miku take bad stereo spinebusters. Kouki short arm lariats Natsuki then Natsuki knees her. Kouki backrops Natsuki, puttinbg her on her shoulder for it. Kouki top rope 180 splashes Natsuki and wins it.
The execution was not always there but I thought it was okay. The crowd didn't care just like they didn't yesterday. Natsuki loves to do flying moves and Goto/Kouki looked like giants compared to her. I like Miku and she reminds me of the 2000's joshi wrestlers.
Ren Ayabe & Shotaro Ashino vs. Jun Saito & Rei Saito
Jun and Ashino start us off. Jun mocks his height and Ashino taunts Rei. Jun shoulders him over then is taken down. Jun shoves him off and they stare down. Rei and Ren lock up. They shoulder battle and Ren face kicks him. Rei shoulders him over and chokes him in the corner. Rei slams Ren then Ren hits forearms on Jun. Jun drops him with a chest kick.
Jun stands on Ren's gut then Ren takes a double shoulder. Jun elbow drops him then Ren suplexes Jun. Ashino hits euros on Jun then sumo slap flurries him. Ashino running euros him then headbutts him. Ashino hits a running euro again then Jun spears him. Rei hits chops on Ashino in the corner and Ashino hits euros on him. Rei slaps him then takes forearms.
Rei slaps him again and takes more euros. Rei knocks him over with slaps then Ashino germans him. Ren forearms and neckbreakers Rei then face kics him. Rei double chops him then dropkicks him. Jun pushes Ren off the top then Ashino top rope dropkicks Rei. Ren then top rope dropkicks Rei.
Rei crossbodies Ren then Ren takes a double chokeslam. Rei top rope splashes Ren and wins it.
It only had about 12 minutes. Maybe on another day with more time and a main event slot, it could have been great. It was okay as a throaway match but they didn't try to take it to the next level. Ren's basically just a heavyweight body. He has little fire and he hits moves but they don't look that great.
Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Kento Miyahara vs. Hideki Suzuki & Suwama
I have my doubts about this one. Davey and Suzuki are two of the most boring wrestlers on earth. Suwama and Davey look up. Suwama side headlocks him and they shoulder battle. Daevy knocks him over and poses. Davey slams him then misses a legdrop. Suwama argues with Suzuki. Suzuki flips him off and Suwama tags him in. Kento gets in.
Kento and Suzuki lock up. Suzuki fujiwara armbars him then Kento wristlocks him. Suzuki puts him in an iron claw and Kento forearms him. Suzuki slaps him on the head and they trade forearms. Suzuki euros him then Kento face kicks him. Kento face kicks Suwama off the apron then Suwama is sent into the rails. Kento's head is banged off the post then Kento is thrown over the rails.
Kento's head is banged off the East sign in the stands. Suzuki pulls on Kento's mouth in the ring. Kento hits forearms on Suwama then is double chopped down. Kento is whipped into the ropes and holds on then Suzuki gets nothing on a dropkick. Suwama side slams Kento then crabs him.
Suzuki does the garvin stomp to Kento. Kento pump kicks Suzuki. Davey shoulders Suzuki over then suplexes him. Davey backdrops Suzuki then Suzuki hanging headscissors him over the top rope. Suwama flying shoulders him. Davey ducks a Suwama clothesline then lariats Suzuki. Kento dropkicks Suwama in the side of the head.
Suwama double chops and lariats both opponents. Suwama whips Suzuki into Kento then corner lariats him. Suwama lariats Kento, then Kento takes a knee and elbow drop. Kento and Davey are put in stereo submissions and both get out.
Suwama corner lariats Kento. Kento no sells it. They trade fast strikes then Kento slow germans him. Suwama catches Kento's boot then lariats him. Kento pumping knees him twice for 2. Suzuki hits a nice dropkick on Kento. Suwama backdrops Kento for 2. Kento rolls up Suwama off a last ride and wins it.
The finishing stretch was good but the rest of it wasn't anything special. It wasn't as bad as expected but they got little out of Davey here and it was just not the action packed match you would expect. They had a 30 minute match set-up here but only had 20 minutes for it.
Suzuki grabs the ref and wrestlers after before being stopped.
Triple Crown Title Match - Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs. Charlie Dempsey
KN = Katsuhiko Nakajima
KN leg kicks him. CD does a takedown with a cravate then KN headscissors him. CD flips out then headlock takeovers him. They trade forearms. CD euros him then KN takes him down. They go out and CD is thrown into the rails. KN is then thrown into the rails and CD is thrown into the post.
CD side headlocks him and dragon screws him when KN tries to chest kick him. CD grabs his leg and single leg crabs him. CD then grabs both legs, does a bow and arrow then does cattle mutilation on him. CD then turns it into a fujiwara armbar.
CD heel hooks him then KN dropkicks him in the knee. KN step up enzugiri's him then dragon screws him. KN hits a face kick in the corner then double foot chokes him in the corner. KN forearms him down then CD double underhook suplexes him for 2. CD ankle locks him and KN rolls out. CD knee breakers him then KN kicks him in the back. KN superkicks him. CD hits a release german and KN kicks him. CD then suplexes him at 15 minutes.
KN chest kicks him and takes a euro. They trade kicks for euros. KN superkicks him down then brainbusters him for 2. CD ducks a high kick then backslides him with a bridge off of it for 2. CD euros him down then does a regalplex for 2. They trade shots and KN drops him with a slap.
KN northern lights bombs him and wins it.
It was similar to the match before. It felt like they wasted some time here and it never really kicked over to the next gear where excitement would build. They didn't have much of a finishing stretch here and this finish could have happened 5 minutes sooner and nothing would have really changed. It was just not either guy's best work and was a disappointment.
Ashino seems to challenge KN after.
Overall thoughts: A disappointing AJPW show. Neither the main or semi main were that good and the best matches were in the midcard on this one.
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