Written by Jessie https://twitter.com/SisterJessiee
All Japan return to Ota Ward Gymnasium for their fourth Champions Night. The venue has held every champions night since 2021.
The fourth Champions night will be held on the 19th of June headlined by a Triple Crown defence between champion Kento Miyahara and challenger Jake Lee.
Ryo Inoue vs Oji Shiiba
A standard opening match between two young guns. Shiiba has more experience here starting his career back in December 2017 with Dragongate but left the promotion in 2020. He has worked various smaller promotions, but this will be his first time in All Japan.
Inoue only started his wrestling career on the first show of this year. He shows good fire and improving every time he steps in the ring. Inoue is looking for his first single win and this maybe his best opportunity but still a tough fight.
Yoshi Tatsu, SUSHI & Masao Inoue vs Takao Omori, Masanobu Fuchi & ATM
A simple standard tag that’s single aim is to get everyone a spot on the card. It is always nice to see Fuchi make and appearance and hit his not so secret closed fist punch. ATM made his debuted on the 12th of June in the six man tag tournament. He is fully of cash as the name implies. Some think its Carbell Ito under the mask but no conformation as of now.
Yoshi Tatsu is in a weird position. He is on the poster for this show and an All Japan belt holder (six man tag bets) but he is in this tag and All Japan seems to forgotten about the belts.
This should be fine and quick match with comedy thrown in here and there.
Atsuki Aoyagi vs Rising HAYATO
Frustrated with their recent All Asia Tag Team title loss Atsuki asked for a singles match and HAYATO agreed. Even though they are a team, newly names Next Stars, they want to test their skills with each other. With all the recent changes in the All Japan factions this friendly match could lead to tension for whoever loses and a possible break up. But Atsuki has stated he still wants to reach the top alongside HAYATO. Whether that remains true we just have to wait to find out.
This match should be filled with flips, highflying and young babyface goodness.
Dan Tamura & Yuji Nagata vs VOODOO MURDERS (Suwama & TARU)
At Jumbo Tsuruta’s memorial show Dan Tamura and Hikaru Sato saved New Japan’s Yuji Nagata from a beat down from Suwama. Afterwards they asked for help from Blue Justice. Nagata accepted.
Suwama on the other hand has turned to the dark side. After losing the World Tag Team titles he turned on former tag partner Shotaro Ashino and left with Dan Tamura. He was supposed to face Voodoo Murders with Evolution members Dan and Sato on the 29th of May but on the 25th he reveled he is out of Evolution and joined back with VM. He has changed his gear and dyed his blond hair red. Sato and Dan have tried to bring him back to the good side but haven’t had any luck. Dan has been especially unlucky as he has been the target of most of the Voodoo Murders beatdown.
Nagata is a legend in the ring and a good wrestler to have on your side, but he does belong to New Japan. If Dan and Sato want someone to fight with them against Suwama they might have to start looking somewhere closer to home.
Yuma Aoyagi vs Shuji Kondo
A bit of a weird match up but a very welcomed one. These two don’t really have a history or backstory like most other matches.
The last time Kondo was in All Japan was for Champions Night 3 where he teamed with Voodoo Murders to take on Total Eclipse. Before that his last appearance was way back 2019.
Yuma used to watch Kondo on AJPW when he was a school student. He says he feels excited to fight. Kondo simply said he was going to win.
This should be a really good match as long as it isn’t filled with Voodoo Murders shenanigans.
Hokuto Omori vs Naoya Nomura
Nomura made a shock return to All Japan on the 6th of June crashing the main event with REAL BLOOD team member Mizuki Watase. He confronted Yuma after he constantly called out Nomura and called him a basement champion. Hokuto ran out of the back to get in Nomura’s face, angry that he is back in an All Japan ring after leaving the company last year.
Hokuto demanded and match against Nomura saying he will crush him. Nomura wanted a match with Yuma but because Yuma already has a match scheduled, he accepted to wrestled Hokuto.
In an interview Nomura said after he defeats Omori he will move on to Yuma and after Yuma he will go after Jake and Kento. He is an enemy and will mess up All Japan.
This is a very different Nomura we saw since the last time he was in All Japan.
GAORA TV Championship Match
Izanagi (c) vs Black Menso-Re vs Toshizo vs Yusuke Kodama
Izanagi defeated former champ Shigehiro Irie and Black Menso-Re on the 6th of June to win the GAORA TV title for the first time in his career. After the match Black Menso-re took the mic and asked to challenge and added he would like the match to be a ladder match. Izanagi accepted.
Voodoo Murders Toshizo chimed in and stated he and Minoru defeated Black Menso-re and Izanagi he wants in. The match was then made a three way.
In the last show before Champions Night 4 Kodama said because his tag team partner Hokuto Omori is already in a match there will be no All Asia title match on the show. He asked to be put in and with that the four way was born.
Izanagi has a tough challenge ahead of him. And with this being his first reign with the belt you have to think he wants a long reign.
World Tag Team Championship Match
Twin Towers (Shuji Ishikawa & Kohei Sato) (c) vs Shotaro Ashino & Ryuki Honda
On day one of the Sapporo tour Shuji and Sato defeated then champions Runaway SUPLEX, Shotaro Ashino and Suwama. This was the beginning of the end for Suwama and Ashino.
After successfully defending their newly won belts against the Total Eclipse team of Kuma Arashi and Koji Doi, Ashino came out from the back. He said because he was the former champion, he wants another shot. Appearing from the back Ryuki Honda and Seigo Tachibana came out. Ashino said all three were entering the six man tournament and after that he and Honda will challenge for the belts.
It was a bit of a shock seeing Honda and Ashino now buddies. At champions night 3 they went to war and at one point Honda tried to stab Ashino. But I guess all that is behind them now, Ashino has even taken to wearing sunglasses just like Honda.
World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
Hikaru Sato (c) vs Tiger Mask (NJPW)
Sato won the junior title all the way back in February this year. He said he will defend the belt in honor of his friend and tag team partner, the late Atsushi Aoki. This match has been named this Atsushi Aoki memorial match.
After another successful defence on the 15th of May Sato got on the mic and called out who he wanted to face next. To everyone’s surprise he said New Japan’s Tiger Mask.
Tiger Mask is a decorated junior wrestler. He is a former six time IWGP junior heavyweight champion. He has also won the IWGP and GHC junior tag team belts twice.
Tiger Mask may have reached junior success in NOAH and NJPW, but he hasn’t in AJPW. But Sato is on a roll. He has shown in his defences he is ready to wrestle whatever style he needs to keep the belt. From his trusty submission to groundwork to even an all-out brawl.
Triple Crown Championship Match
Kento Miyahara (c) vs Jake Lee
Former tag team champions turned rivals these two have had a long history battling each other.
Jake Lee won the Triple Crown last year at Champions Night 1. He defeated Kento and Yuma to finally capture the belt. He stood in the ring adorned by the current Triple Crown and the three belts that made up the old Triple Crown. Unfortunately for Jake it wasn’t the reign he was hoping for. On the last show of the 2021 in a match against Ryuki Honda he fractured his nasal bone. He vacated the belt and Kento won a four man tournament to win the Triple Crown for the 5th time in January.
After defeated T-Hawk last month Kento called out Jake Lee as his hand picked next challenger. Kento said he won a retuned belt as Jake never lost it so they now have to settle this.
Kento is currently looking for his fifth successful defence while Jake is looking for his first one v one win in champions matches against Kento. He has lost to him twice and at Champions Night 3 Jake and Kento wrestled to a 30 minute draw.
Jake said in the Champions Night 4 press conference that this is it. It’s the last time that he will fight Kento for the Triple Crown.
Wrestling legend Kenta Kobashi has been announced as a special witness for this match.
Champions Night 4 is on 19th of June starting at 16:00 JST.
You can watch it at AJPW.TV for 900 Yen a month.
Puroresu Gate 