All Japan Pro Wrestling 1/27/2024 New Year Giant Series 2024 Day 4

All Japan Pro Wrestling 1/27/2024 New Year Giant Series 2024 Day 4

Black Menso-re & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Ren Ayabe & Ryo Inoue

 

Shuji and Ren shoulder battle. Ren face kicks him then is shouldered over. Mensos and Ryo go at it. Ryo hits a nice dropkick on him. Menso eye pokes him, walks the top rope while holding his arm and diving headscissors Ren off of it. Menso hits a nasty single leg dropkick to Ryo's face.

Ryo and Shuji trade forearms then Shuji slams him. Menso eye pokes him then is kicked in the chest. Ren hits forearms on Menso then slams him. Ren chases Menso around the ring then boots him inside.

Menso gets slammed by Ryo. Menso tries chops on Ren and gets nowhere. Ren then back body drops him. Ren lifts him in the air for a full nelson. Menso rolls out of a boot then tags in Shuji. Shuji corner lariats Ren then 2nd rope double stomps him for 2. Shuji and Ren trade forearms. Shuji corner lariats Ren then takes a corner boot. Shuji backdrops Ren then Ren suplexes him.

Ryo hits chest kicks on Shuji then is slapped. They do this spot three times and Ryo flying kicks him. Shuji blocks a PK then lariats him. Menso eye poke and chop combos Ryo. Menso double chops him. Shuji running lariats Ryo then 2nd rope double stomps him. Menso does the same. Ryo hits kicks on Menso then Ren full-nelson slams Menso. Ryo PK's Menso.

Shuji is maybe supposed to break the pin attempt up but just falls over on the ref. Ren dropkicks Shuji out. Ryo enzugiri's Menso then Menso rolls him up for 2. Menso kicks him in the head then Ryo butterfly suplexes him into an armbar.

Ryo hits kicks on Menso then Menso superkicks him. Menso suplexes him. They end up going to a 15 minute draw here.

I didn't like this. I'm not a fan of long openers. I don't understand why this needed to go to a draw since Menso and Ryo lose all the time either. Shuji had one of the worst pin break attempts ever here as well. 

Three Current Blast Bats Death Match - Atsushi Onita, Great Kojika & Raijin Yaguchi vs. Mr. Pogo, Onryo & Takumi Sakurai

Onita's team throws stuff at the bell and they fight outside. That Mr. Pogo is obviously not the real one, as that one is dead. Onita butterfly suplexes Takumi then Riajin hits a double lariat on opponents. Pogo then lariats him. Kojika hits double chops and goes down. Onryo sets off the sirens then Pogo hits Kojika with an exploding bat.

Kojika is choked with a chain by Onryo and Pogo. Onita is double teamed by Takumi and Pogo. Onita saves Kojika from an exploding bat shot, taking it instead of him. Raijin takes corner attacks then a double suplex. Takumi asai moonsaults Raijin for 2.

Onita is choked with a chair. The heels get off and Kojika starts hitting the heels with chairs. Kojika low blows Pogo. Oryo throws powder in Kojika's eyes then Kojia chokeslams Takumi. Onryo goes for a bat shot but Onita green mists him. Onryo takes a double exploding bat shot from Onita and Raijin then is pinned.

It was not good as expected. Kojika couldn't move, so they made him the focus of the match. Onita's not super mobile either and it was slow-motion wrestling with shots that didn't look like they hurt.  

Hideki Suzuki, Hikaru Sato & Suwama vs. Hokuto Omori, Minoru Suzuki & Naruki Doi

Hideki and Minoru go at it. Hideki rolls out of a wristlock and Onita takes him down. Minoru boots him in the face and trades forearms with him. Minoru and Sato trade shots then Minoru knees him.

Doi and Sato go at it. Doi goes up and over and takes a boot. Doi forearms him then everyone fights outside. Suwama lariats Hideki on the floor on accident when Omori moves. Suwama hits Omori with rails. Doi flipping sentons Sato inside. Minoru chokes Sato with an object then Doi neckbreakers Sato. Minoru misses a corner charge then Sato enzugiri's him.

Suwama gets in and flying shoulders Minoru. Minoru back body drops him then PK's him. They trade forearms then Suwama lariats him. Omori hits a hard running forearm on Hideki when they get in. Hideki backbreakers him. Hideki and Suwama try for different suplexes at the same time and then argue about it. They then double shoulder Omori over. Hideki and Suwama argue more. Suzuki's team takes control and Hideki takes a running forearm. Omori spinning forearms Hideki then Hideki TTD's him. Omori takes a double dropkick then Hideki beats him with a double arm suplex.

It was mostly about various issues between Suwama and Hideki. There just wasn't enough time otherwise and they were taking it easy.

Atsuki Aoyagi & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Hideki Okatani & Konosuke Takeshita

Yuma and KT go at it. They trade wristlocks. KT side headlocks him, takes a headscissors and they stand off. AA and Oka go at it. Oka shoulders him over and takes a dropkick. AA then flying headsicssors KT. KT is then double dropkicked out. AA goes to slingshot in and is hit by Oka. Oka then tries it and is knocked down by Yuma.

Yuma and KT trade forearms then forearm each other at the same time. They are then both springboard dropkicked. Oka gets tripped then takes a baseball slide. KT is sent into the rails outside by Yuma. KT sends Yuma into the seats then KT face kicks Yuma. Yuma and KT trade forearms outside then KT is sent into the rails. 

Yuma slams Oka then AA standing moonsaults him. Yuma then does a people's elbow style elbow to Oka. Yuma hits a nasty piledriver on Oka then Oka suplexes Yuma. Yuma and KT trade forearms. KT drops Yuma with a big forearm. KT flying forearms Yuma.

KT drops AA with a forearm then fights off the Aoyagi's with forearms. They double team him then he double lariats them at 10 minutes. KT tope con hilos outside onto both Aoyagi's. Inside, Yuma dropkicks KT. AA armdrags KT off the buckles then dropkicks him.

KT back elbows AA then AA superkicks him. AA flips out of a german and superkicks KT. AA handsprings and is caught with a blue thunder bomb. Oka flapjacks AA then flying lariats him. Oka northern lights suplexes him for 2. KT running face kicks Yuma. 

AA is set up for a 2nd rope powerbomb but hurricanrana's out of it. AA then handspring corkscrew kicks Oka. Oka hits a combo bulldog + lariat. KT flying knees Yuma then Oka butterfly suplexes Yuma for 2. Yuma germans Oka and rock bottoms him for 2. Oka cradles him for 2 then Kt lariats Oka when Yuma moves. Yuma fisherman suplexes KT then AA 2nd rope moonsaults KT outside. Yuma fisherman busters Oka for 2 twice and gets the win.

It was an okay interpromotional match. I find it silly that Takeshita is representing DDT when he's currently wrestling full-time for another company instead. It would have been better in front of a better crowd and if it had more time.

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title Match - Dan Tamura (c) vs. Koji Iwamoto

Koji wristlocks him then Dan takes him down. Dan elbows him then shoulders him over. Dan shoulders him off the apron then clubs on him outside. Koji is sent into the rails then Dan is shoulder thrown on the floor. Koji bridging twisting neckbreakers him on the floor and Koji kind of brainbusters hm on the apron.

Koji hits a hiptoss neckbreaker on the knee then Koji knee drops him. Koji dragon screws Dan then Koji dragon screws him. Dan flying shoulders Koji then running shoulders him. Dan suplexes Koji for 2. Dan karelin's lifts him for 2. Koji lariats him then hits rough sto's for 2.

Dan blocks a hip throw and backdrops him. They trade forearms then Koji germans him for 2. Koji suplexes him then lariats him. Dan then hits a powerslam for 2 then death valley drivers him for 2. Koji kudo drivers him for 2. They trade forearms and Dan hits a lariat flurry. Dan running lariats him for 2. Dan powerbombs Koji and wins it. 

I thought they did too much here. The bridging neckbeaker on the floor was probably enough to end this one, then they kicked out of kudo drivers.

AJPW World Tag Team Title Match - Saito Brothers (Jun Saito & Rei Saito) (c) vs. New Period (Ryuki Honda & Yuma Anzai)

Yuma and Rei shoulder each other. Rei knocks him over, is dropkicked then they stand off. Honda and Jun go at it. They trade shoulders and forearms. Honda shoulders him over then chokes him on the 2nd rope. Honda counts along with the ref to break it. Jun throws Honda over the top then sends him into the rails. Rei throws Yuma into chairs then chokes him with a towel. Rei runs at a group of girls and makes them run.

Honda is foot choked then hits forearms on Rei. Rei hits shots in the corner on him then Jun slams and elbow drops Honda. Honda and Jun trade then Rei stands on Honda. Rei machine gun chops Honda. Rei is tripped into the middle rope for a Yuma running knee. Yuma flying forearms Rei then Yuma flying dropkicks him. Rei then knocks him over with a nice shoulder.

Jun face kicks Yuma in the corner then lariats him. Jun delayed suplexes Yuma for 2. Jun face kicks Yuma then Yuma dropkicks him. Yuma flying knees Jun for 2. Jun chokeslams Yuma then Yuma germans him. Jun then hits a big spear.

Rei and Honda trade shots then Rei splashes him. Jun runs at Honda and gets criss-crossed with a Yuma dropkick. Honda and Yuma hit each other on accident then get knocked over. Rei corner splashes Honda then Honda takes a double hiptoss. Honda gets a german on Jun then Yuma top rope dropkicks Rei.

Honda hits lariats on Rei. Rei takes a lariat + jumping knee combo then Honda lariats Rei for 2. Rei headbutts Yuma then Yuma takes a cobra clutch bomb. Honda takes a double chokeslam for 2. Rei lariats Honda and wins it.

This was your usual Saito Brothers 3 star special. Fine, just not a classic. I felt like the match didn't have a good middle section and that hurt the finishing section of the match here. 

Yuma Aoyagi and Kento Miyahara seemingly challenge for the tag titles after.

Triple Crown Title Match - Katsuhiko Nakajima (c) vs. Shotaro Ashino

They trade leg kicks. Ashino blocks his takedown. KN does  nice shoot in but Ashino counters it and rolls him on the mat. KN side headlocks him then face kicks him. Ashino shoulders him over hard. Ashino then karelin's lifts him over the top rope to the floor.

KN is thrown into the rail then lariated over it. Ashino euros him in the front row and they trade chest slaps. Ashino is sent into the post then the rails. KN then face kicks him over the rails. KN then throws him into the seats. Back in the ring, Ashino hits a nice running euro.

KN knees him in the gut then PK's him. KN running face kicks him then double foot chokes him in the corner. KN fujiwara armbars him. KN armbreakers him and kicks him in the arm. KN hits kicks to the chest, back and arm. They trade forearms then Ashino hits euros then catches a kick and suplexes him. KN trips him into the buckles and kicks him. KN no sells a release german then is lariated.

Ashino hits a nasty jack knife powerbomb. KN knees him in the gut then takes triple germans for 2. KN drops him with a big slap then hits kicks to the back and the front. KN hits punches and a running PK for 2. KN brainbusters him for 2 then armbars him. KN taps him out with the armbar.

They went under 20 here and weren't really going for an epic. It had some stiff shots and moves but just ended too early for this one to be memorable. KN took a nasty powerbomb and german here. The booking didn't help Ashino here as he came back from injury and got beaten by the champ. I really feel bad for Ashino here as he was being groomed to be champ, then he got injured. Now with Nakajima and Anzai around, I wouldn't be shocked if he never sees that belt again.

Overall thoughts: I saw all but 1 match. The main and semi main were okay but neither were that memorable and neither had a ton of time. I didn't like the junior title match but the inter promotional match was good. The Onita explosion match was awful as expected. This was not a must see show but had some okay stuff on it.