All Japan Pro-Wrestling “2017 New Year Wars”, 01/03/17 @ Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

- Naoya Nomura vs. Takuya Nomura (BJW)

Takuya is a BJW rookie but there's something special about him. Although he's young and fresh faced he looks at ease in the ring and his offence really looks like it hurts. There was a section where he gets Naoya in an arm bar and the crowd go absolutely nuts as if he was going to tap, and all the more interesting with him being the company outsider.

He slaps Naoya and then just boots him in the head. The follow up pin attempt had the crowd cheering in anticipation. Naoya wins with a not very convincing spear. This was a really good match for just being shy over 8 minutes and essentially a rookie opener [Good]

~ Naoya claims a revenge win following the losses last year.

- Masanobu Fuchi, Yohei Nakajima & SUSHI vs. Osamu Nishimura (FREE), Ultimo Dragon (Toryumon MEXICO) & Koji Iwamoto

Sushi gets his own entrance just so he can do his little dance. I've no idea how or why he's popular. Yohei gets the win following the Tobiushiro-Mawashigeri on Iwamoto. I didn't actually write anything down for this match because pretty much nothing happened [meh]

- Jun Akiyama & Kendo Kashin (FREE) vs. Isami Kodaka (BASARA) & Kazuhiro Tamura (HEAT-UP)

Kodaka is teaming with Tamura from Heat Up which is a really small indy. He is the guy who has a bobble in his hair and is very protective of it. Kashin fought in Pride 15 and beat Ryan Gracie. Akyiama is a boss. Kodaka has strapping all along his back which Akyiama and Kashin take great delight in ripping off.

End stretch was Tamura widening the ropes so Kodaka can safely do a suicide dive, he misses Kashin and wipes out Sushi, which the crowd love. In the confusion akyiama does a running knee on Tamura and Kashin gets the pin. OK match with not much to it.

~ Ultimo Dragon came out and offered Akiyama to join him in Mexico for his 30th anniversary as a pro-wrestler in May. Still seems to run as a part time promotion in Mexico (every couple of months).

- Atsushi Aoki, Super Tiger (RJPW) & Hikaru Sato (Pancrase MISSION) vs. Shuji Ishikawa (FREE), Ryoji Sai (LAND’S END) & Minoru Tanaka (FREE)

Super Tiger looks like the original Tiger Mask and since he fights under the RJPW name (TM promotion, which doesn't make tape annoyingly). He even does shoot kicks like him. Sato is from Pancrase which do a mixture of shoot fights and worked shoot fights. It's a hard style to pull off well but I was always a massive fan of Battlearts and UWF-I. He has the pads over his feet so he can kick you hard. What makes it hard to take him seriously though is he has this floppy fringe thing going on. So after he kicks he, quite effeminately, has to swoosh it out of his eyes.

From this six man tag, there was only one guy was full time with All Japan which makes it hard to guess who will get or eat the pin. Ends when Ishikawa lands the Splash Mountain (like a razers edge into a powerbomb) on Hikaru. OK match, nice ending between Ishikawa and Hikaru but mostly nothing happened [OK]

~ Aoki and Minoru had a stare-down following the match, though that was then lead by the announcement of this years junior singles league.

The participants for this years “Jr. BATTLE OF GLORY” were announced.

A BLOCK

Atsushi Aoki
Koji Iwamoto
Keisuke Ishii (DDT)
Masashi Takeda (U-FILE)
Minoru Tanaka (FREE)

B BLOCK

Hikaru Sato
Yohei Nakajima
Yuma Aoyagi
Atsushi Maruyama (FREE)
Kazuhiro Tamura (HEAT-UP)

~ This year league is set to begin on February 17 at Korakuen and will run, a total of 6 events from start to finish, until February 26 in Osaka. The announced matches have been added to the monthly event cards.

- World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Keisuke Ishii (DDT) vs. Yuma Aoyagi

I do think it's strange that you'd have a non company guy hold one of your belts. Keisuke worked the neck of Yuma throughout this match. Including a nasty neck drop onto the apron of the ring, followed by another neck drop onto a guardrail. Keisuke wins following the High Angle Double Arm DDT. OK match, just never got fully going and felt like it would was missing something. Keisuke has a wicked running knee though. [OK]

~ 1st successful title defense.

- Kento Miyahara & Jake Lee vs. Suwama & Joe Doering

Doering still looks ace as a young stan hansen. He has fur coat and boots and looks like a crazy bear. He's so imposing in the ring. There is this one spot where he lariats Kento whilst on the apron, and then just casually saunters back to his corner. The match built around Doering and Kento finally being one on one. When it got to it, it ended pretty quickly when Kento hit the Blackout (knee to the face) to Doering. Was an OK match, but I'm more looking forward to a singles match between Doering an Kento. [Good]

~ Miyahara with a strong win over the returning Joe. Though Joe did not take the loss withstanding as he rushed after the newest debuting rookie Yusuke Okada with a heavy lariat after the match.

He stiffed the fuck out of that ring boy, it's ridiculous and it plays more in to him looking like a modern day grumpy Stan Hansen.

- World Tag Championship Match: “Big Guns” Zeus & The Bodyguard vs. “GET WILD” Takao Omori & Manabu Soya

Bodyguard looks like a smaller Japanese version of Big Poppa Pump, complete with crap tattoos. I wasn't a fan of this match. They aren't big enough to be true hosses but they also aren't quick enough to have an interesting match. I zoned out towards the end as it really started to drag. Bodyguard and Zeus retain the belts when Bodyguard hits the Bounce (Lifting Avalanche Hold Slam) on Omori.

~ Big Guns with the successful defense.
~ Zeus and Omori ended the show in celebration with the fans in attendance. In the process ending the challengers recent dominate win streak stemming from last months tag league.
~ Bodyguard hinted that he wants to challenge for the Triple Crown this year