(CARD) AJPW New Year Wars 2021 Day 3 (January 24th, 2021)

This is the third day of All Japan's 2021 New Year Wars Series, with some great matches booked. Even though the main event will not disappoint given the wrestler's involvement, I can definitively say that the semi-main event for me would be the most interesting. The event will be available and streamed live on AJPW TV at 11am Jpn time. As the two nights before the event will take place in Tokyo's Korakuen Hall. So without further ado let's get into the card, shall we?

Match One

Takao Omori, Carbell Ito & Alejandro vs. Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Rambo Kawamura

Omori, Carbell & Black Mensore are the All Japan Six Man Tag Champs, but Mensore has a bigger fish to fry on the 24th. Sato in my opinion is one of the best shoot wrestlers in modern-day puroresu, his kicks are ought inspiring and overall is by far one of the best in the All Japan junior division, second only to Koji Iwamato in my eyes. Tamura has great potential and Rambo is a former mixed martial artist, who notably used to be a champion in Pancrase, and now works mostly as a comedic wrestler in DDT. All in all ths could very likely be worth watching given the workers involved.

Match Two

Jake Lee, Francesco Akira & TAJIRI vs. Purple Haze (Zeus, Izanagi & UTAMARO)

Jake is most likely going to be bloody brilliant in this match, as with almost any match I can say he is in. Akira is by far the wrestler who has a lot in store for himself in the future. He is very agile, has the move set, has the psychology, and the only things which could really polish him up would be more charisma and a more defined physique. Tajiri recently just signed with AJPW as the main talent roster (he worked as a freelancer before) and has promised to put on better performances for the audiences and for All Japan. Zeus had a lot of hype behind him after winning the 2020 Champion Carnival tournament, yet that would get derailed after losing his shot at the Triple Crown against Suwama, and then testing positive for a Covid-19. After being gone for most of the RWTL Zeus has made his return, and seemingly is looking to build his way to the top once again. Izanagi has some great gimmick work and is surprisingly quick for a 44-year-old. UTAMARO is quite flamboyant and makes a great addition to the Purple Hazes team. All in all, I can say this would definitely be interesting with many of the workers involved looking to prove themselves.

Match Three

The Twin Towers (Shuji Ishikawa, Kohei Sato) & Ryuki Honda vs. Yoshitatsu Kingdom (Yoshitatsu, Chikara) & Ryoji Sai

After the team of The Violent Giants (Suwama & Shuji Ishikawa) was disbanded due to the team losing the World Tag Belts, Ishikawa would band with an old partner of his in BJW's Kohei Sato. The two would have one hell of a battle with the team of the Astronauts in Big Japan in the last week of 2020. So that for one would make me quite excited, to say the least, then you have Tatsu & Sai, who had one hell of a run in the 2020 RWTL. Honda is a pretty solid worker and Chikara is a nice little addition. I can see this match going for about twenty minutes, with Ishikawa & Sato being the main aggressors and brutalizing Sai, and Tatsu would give his all to try to stand up to the titans yet would fail. Tatsu & Honda will most likely have the most interesting back and forth with Tatsu testing the young boy. Chikara will most likely have his biggest moment in this match trying something goofy with Ishikawa, only for him to get blasted to another dimension with either a lariat or a stiff headbutt. My prediction would be the team of the Twin Towers & Honda defeating Tatsu's team in under half an hour. 

Match Four (Gaora TV Championship Match):

Jun Kasai(c) vs. Black Mensore

Kasai would beat Yoshitatsu for the Gaora TV Championship on the 3rd of January in AJPW's first-ever TLC match. After the match, Black Mensore would come out to challenge Kasai for the belt, and the "Crazy Monkey" would gladly oblige. Mensore would definitely be a suitable challenger for that type of championship, the championship where some of the most hyperbolic gimmicks take each other on in out of the ordinary matches. There is little to no chance that Mensore will beat Kasai, yet it will most likely still be an interesting showcase in my eyes.

Match Five

Nextream(Kento Miyahara, Yuma Aoyagi, Atsuki Aoyagi & RISING Hayato) vs. Koji Doi, Kuma Arashi, Hokuto Omori & Yusuke Kodama

RISING Hayato & Atsuki Aoyagi were the newest additions to the Nextream stable, and this will be their first showcase alongside their fellow stablemates going up against a solid team of brutish, cocky & dark heels. From the opposing team, Kodama will most likely be the best of the bunch with his excellent gimmick work and in-ring ability. Nextream will most likely claim victory with the young boys and the World Tag Champs displaying their roles in the stable.

Semi-Main Event (World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match):

Koji Iwamato(c) vs Fuminori Abe

One half of the BJW Tag Team Champions, Fuminori Abe takes on Koji Iwamoto for the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. The match came about after Iwamoto & Hidaka took on and beat the Astronauts (Fuminori Abe & Takuya Nomura). Abe has tweeted that had learned a lot from Iwamoto and was looking to put his all into the match and take the belt off of Koji. Iwamoto will most likely prevail, yet I believe that this has the elements needed to make a great match. Iwamoto's superior mat ability against Abe's heavy kicks & stiff headbutts would be an interesting clash of styles. 

Main Event  Suwama vs Shotaro Ashino

This match would come about after Suwama would beat Yuma Aoyagi to retain his belt, Shotaro Ashino would come from the back and challenge Suwama for another chance at the belt, and Suwama would oblige. This is a rematch from their first encounter for the Triple Crown being on the 30th of July, where Suwama would put away Ashino swiftly in a 28 minute match. Ashino has claimed on social media that he is looking to mark his name in All Japan's history books. Yet in my eyes that would most likely not happen, Suwama will most likely take a beating from Ashino from the head start, and then bring it back in the finishing stretch to hit a Last Ride or Lariat to put Ashino away.