#39: Kento Miyahara vs. Yuma Aoyagi, AJPW 50th Anniversary Tour Sapporo 2 Days (5/15/2022).
This is for Kento's Triple Crown Championship.
While All Japan Pro Wrestling has never returned to the heights it reached in the 1990s post NOAH exodus, they've remained a viable part of the Japanese wrestling scene since. And while some companies were struggling during the Pandemic, All Japan almost thrived on the opportunity to steal the spotlight from the rest of the competition.
Kento Miyahara has been All Japan's ace for several years up to this point, and is someone that is widely believed to be Japan's best male wrestler not currently in New Japan or NOAH. Yuma Aoyagi, once a Junior Heavyweight sensation, has been hot on the trail of Kento for years, in his pursuit of the Triple Crown. Here, they have what is widely believed to be their best singles match.
They lock up, and Kento has a clear strength advantage early. There's a clean break, and another lock up. And now Yuma gets Kento in the ropes. Big forearm from Yuma. Side headlock from Yuma. Both are quickly up. Yuma takes control of the arm. Kento escapes and takes Yuma down. He controls the back of the head, then goes into a side headlock.
Forearm in the corner by Kento. Yuma responds with a nasty looking Dragon Screw. Yuma attacks the leg at ringside next. Elbows to the knee cap. In the Ring, Yuma wraps the knee up and drops an elbow on it. Half crab submission next. Yuma stomps directly on the kneecap. Kento with a drop toe hold in the ropes, and a Shotgun Dropkick to the face from the apron.
Kento takes a moment to stretch his hurt leg. Nice selling! Headbutt to Yuma and Kento sends him into the Ring. Powerslam from Kento. I like that he's taking brief moments to sell the leg. Chin lock from Kento next. Forearms from Yuma and a kick to the knee. Kento is pissed. He dropkicks the knee and then dropkicks the face. Running knee in the corner by Kento. Yuma blocks a Suplex attempt and brings Kento down with a running forearm.
Another forearm in the corner. Middle rope crossbody from Yuma. Flying crossbody from the top gets 2. Yuma goes right into a guillotine choke. Hard uppercuts from Yuma in the corner. Yuma goes to the top and Kento absolutely decks him with a boot to the face. Headbutt on the outside from Kento. On the apron, Yuma connects with a piledriver that spikes Kento.
Back in the Ring, running dropkick from Yuma and a powerslam. He hits a diving elbow that gets a 2. Yuma forearms Kento on the top rope. Kento transitions into a powerbomb attempt, and he hits it while running out of the corner. Running knee to Yuma's back in the corner. One to the face and Yuma just stands up. Forearm exchange in the middle.
High German Suplex from Kento, and one from Yuma. Running knee to the back of the head. Yuma catches the next and forearms Kento, followed by a spinning heel kick to the face. Yuma with a hard forearm to the face, and Kento with one as well. Another exchange. Uppercuts from Yuma, and now Kento is to his knees.
Headbutts follow. And Kento is on his back, eating forearms and more headbutts. Big Headbutt from Kento out of nowhere drops Yuma. He's struggling to get back to his feet. Yuma catches Kento in a guillotine! Was he playing possum?? He sure was! He hammerlocks the arm as well. Yuma releases the hold and the ref counts the slowest 3 count I've ever fucking seen. Because of that, Kento is able to kick out.
Kento with a huge knee to the face. He goes for the Straitjacket Suplex. Yuma counters and Kento tries the Straitjacket again, and Yuma reverses into a roll up for 2. Gedo Clutch from Yuma gets 2 because again, the ref is fucking slow. Hammerlock roll up and Kento barely - I mean barely- kicks out. Ref being slow again? Absolutely.
Kento with a knee strike to the face of a charging Yuma. Running knee to the face by Kento. He goes for a running boot and Yuma counters into a German Suplex, and another, and another into a pin for 2. Fuck this fucking referee. Kento ducks a spinning kick with a knee. Yuma hits it anyway and drops Kento to his knees. Brainbuster, and Kento kicks out. This ref is pissing me off. Kento tries for the Straitjacket, and Yuma keeps fighting it off. He finally gets him up and nearly spikes him on it. One more time into a bridge, and Yuma still kicks out!
Kento powers through and hits one more, and that's enough for the win. First things first: Fuck that fucking referee. Yuma should've won this match hands down at several points! But this fucking guy was slower than holy hell. Ugh.
Any way, yeah, excellent match. These two have a proven chemistry that All Japan has showcased on multiple occasions, and will likely go back to for years to come. Kento is a big star here, and so is Yuma. I think I like their Triple Crown match from 2023 more than this, but the distance between them isn't too far apart.
Other than the referee's slow ass counting, my biggest complaint about this is that the leg work from Yuma early on meant nothing by the end. A year ago, I wouldn't have cared or even noticed that. But ever since I finished writing "King's Road," my book about my Top 100 matches ever, I pick up on stuff like that a lot. So, that's a shame. But for me, it doesn't take away from what was a really solid bout.