All Japan "Realize"
review by Kevin Wilson

Date: February 16th, 2005
Attendance: 6,000
Location: Yoyogi National Stadium Gymnasium #2

Whenever I can't decide what to review, I always revert back to my true love: All Japan. There is just something fun about All Japan and they have that underdog vibe as people have been predicting for years that the promotion could die any minute. My love for Mutoh probably has something to do with it as well. This show turned out to be their biggest show from 2005, as Tanahashi traveled over to wrestle one of his idols Keiji Mutoh and Kojima faced off against Kawada for the Triple Crown Championship. Here is the full card:

- MAZADA vs. NOSAWA Rongai
- Love Machine Storm, Makai Love Machine #2, and Mini Love Machine #2 vs. Tomoaki Honma, Taichi Ishikari, and Akira Raijin
- AKIRA and Toshizo vs. Kaz Hayashi and Katsuhiko Nakajima
- Taiyo Kea and Jamal vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Nobutaka Araya, and Nobukazu Hirai
- RO&D vs. Voodoo Murders: Michinoku, Buchanan, and Rico vs. TARU, Palumbo, and Stamboli
- Kohei Suwama Trial Series: Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kohei Suwama
- Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Mutoh
- Triple Crown Championship: Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima

MAZADA vs. NOSAWA Rongai
NOSAWA charges MAZADA to start the match and we are underway. Irish whip by MAZADA, but NOSAWA shoulderblocks him down. NOSAWA goes off the ropes, he ducks a few clotheslines and dropkicks MAZADA in the knee. Shining Wizard by NOSAWA, and MAZADA rolls out of the ring. NOSAWA goes off the ropes, but MAZADA elbows him in the head as he gets close to him and NOSAWA falls out of the ring. MAZADA throws NOSAWA into the guardrail twice and hits him with a surfboard before sliding him back into the ring. Rake to the eyes by MAZADA and he stomps NOSAWA in the back. Again MAZADA rakes NOSAWA in the eyes, Irish whip from the corner and he connects on a running lariat. MAZADA kicks NOSAWA while he is down, picks him up, Irish whip from the corner, but NOSAWA gets a foot up when he charges. Release German suplex by NOSAWA, cover, but it gets a two count. NOSAWA goes for another Shining Wizard, but MAZADA headbutts him in the groin as he goes for the move and NOSAWA collapses in pain. MAZADA grabs NOSAWA by the legs so he can headbutt him in the lower midsection, cover, but it gets a two count. MAZADA picks up NOSAWA, snapmare, and he applies a modified Dragon Sleeper. He releases the hold after a moment and stomps NOSAWA in the head. Back up, Irish whip by MAZADA, but NOSAWA kicks him in the head and armdrags MAZADA to the mat. On the mat they jockey for the upperhand, and MAZADA applies a reverse chinlock before slamming NOSAWA back down. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Chop by MAZADA, Irish whip, reversed, MAZADA goes for a sunset flip, NOSAWA rolls through it and tries to dropkick MAZADA in the face, but MAZADA avoids it and delivers a dropkick of his own. MAZADA goes off the ropes, but NOSAWA drop toeholds him onto the second rope. NOSAWA goes for the 619, but MAZADA ducks out of the way and drops NOSAWA on his head with a release German suplex. MAZADA picks up NOSAWA and nails a fisherman's Michinoku Driver. Cover, but he lifts NOSAWA's head off the mat before the three count is given. MAZADA goes out to get a weapon and comes back in with a trash can. MAZADA hits NOSAWA in the head with the trash can, cover, but the referee will not count it since he cheated. MAZADA gets the trash can again and knocks down the referee, but NOSAWA connects with a super kick. NOSAWA picks up the trash can, but tosses it out of the ring. Michinoku Driver by NOSAWA, cover, but it gets a two count. MAZADA and NOSAWA trade a series of near-falls, but NOSAWA rolls up MAZADA with the Ni Amor De Mi Novia and picks up the three count! Your winner: NOSAWA Rongai

Match Thoughts: The story here, in case you were curious, is that MAZADA and NOSAWA were formally tag team partners but NOSAWA decided he didn't want to cheat anymore to win matches. That is why MAZADA was bringing the loot, but when NOSAWA got the chance to use it he threw it away. For an opener that didn't officially exist (its match number was "0") it really wasn't bad. I was surprised there weren't more spots to be honest considering the wrestlers but they kept the crowd into it for the most part by keeping a story going. This is why having storylines in the lower card is a good idea, even though it can be hard to pull off. Solid opener. Score: 5.5

L. Machine Storm, Makai L. Machine #2, & Mini L. Machine #2 vs. Honma, Ishikari, & Raijin
Storm and Honma start things off. Irish whip by Honma, but Storm shoulderblocks him down. Storm picks up Honma and the two trade forearm shots. Storm gets the better of it, Irish whip, but Honma avoids the charge and hiptosses Storm to the mat. Honma goes off the ropes, but Storm catches him with a clothesline and tags in Makai. Clubbing blows by Makai, but Honma fights back. They trade shots, Irish whip by Honma from the corner and he hits a jumping forearm strike. Bulldog by Honma, he goes off the ropes, but Makai catches him with a spear. Cover, but it gets a two count. Irish whip by Makai, but Honma kicks him in the head when he puts his head down and connects with an enzigieri. Honma tags in Ishikari, who delivers a hurricanrana on Makai. Irish whip from the corner by Ishikari, reversed, but Ishikari kicks Makai when he charges in and hits a tornado DDT. Cover by Ishikari but it gets a two count. Ishikari picks up Makai and goes for a suplex, but Makai elbows out of it. Irish whip by Makai and he nails a powerslam. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Irish whip by Makai to the corner and he hits a jumping heel kick. Makai then goes off the ropes and connects on a shoulderblock, cover, but it only gets two. Makai tags in Mini, Mini comes off the top turnbuckle with a crossbody, but it also gets a two count. Mini goes off the ropes, but Ishikari catches him with a superkick and dropkicks Mini in the head before making the tag to Raijin. Forearm shots by Raijin, Irish whip, and he hits a jawbreaker on Mini. Diving headbutt by Raijin, and he hits a second one. Cover, but Mini kicks out. Raijin picks up Mini, hits a body slam, cover, but it is broken up. Honma and Ishikari both come in the ring, Mini is Irish whipped to the corner, and all three men connect with a variety of strikes in the corner. Superkick by Ishikari, and Raijin comes off the top turnbuckle with a diving headbutt. Cover, but Makai breaks it up. Raijin picks up Mini, goes off the ropes, but Mini catches him with a hurricanrana and a dropkick before tagging Storm back into the match. Irish whip by Storm and he nails a dropkick on Raijin. Storm picks up Raijin and delivers the uranage. Cover, but Ishikari breaks it up. Mini and Makai come in to take care of Honma and Ishikari outside the ring, while Storm clotheslines Raijin in the ring. Cover, but Honma manages to break it up. Makai throws Honma back out of the ring, powerbomb by Storm on Raijin, cover, but Raijin barely kicks out. Another powerbomb by Storm, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and delivers the frog splash. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winners: Love Machine Storm, Makai Love Machine #2, and Mini Love Machine #2

Match Thoughts: When a six-man match gets only six minutes, its hard for them to really get something going. The ending was logical since Raijin was the rookie (in All Japan anyway) and Storm was his largest opponent, but I would have liked for them to have gotten a little more time to reach that conclusion. For the time they were given it was fine and its good that All Japan is getting as many wrestlers as possible on the big cards, but given each wrestler only a minute in the ring doesn't give them the best opportunity to show their full potential. Score: 4.0

AKIRA and Toshizo vs. Kaz Hayashi and Katsuhiko Nakajima
AKIRA and Nakajima start things off. Waistlock by Nakajima, reversed by AKIRA, and the wrestlers get back on their feet again. Kick to the gut by Nakajima, and he applies a wristlock. Hammerlock by Nakajima and he kicks AKIRA repeatedly in the arm. AKIRA comes back with a single-leg takedown though and applies a leg lock before Nakajima makes it to the ropes. Back up, waistlock by Nakajima, reversed by AKIRA, but Nakajima gets AKIRA to the mat and applies an armbar submission hold. AKIRA wiggles to the ropes though and Nakajima has to break the hold. Stomps to the arm by Nakajima and the two trade kicks. Dragon screw leg whip by AKIRA and he tags in Toshizo. Nakajima manages to make the tag to Hayashi, tie-up, and the two trade chops and kicks. Forearm by Toshizo and he kicks Hayashi repeatedly in the chest. Hayashi returns with a spinning heel kick however, throws Toshizo out of the ring, and sails out with a tope suicida under the top rope. Hayashi slides Toshizo back into the ring, cover, but it only gets a two count. Hayashi picks up Toshizo and tags in Nakajima. Kicks to the chest by Nakajima, but Toshizo catches one and elbows him in the leg before tagging in AKIRA. Scoop slam by AKIRA, he puts Nakajima's leg over the bottom rope and jumps down onto it. Single-leg crab hold by AKIRA, but Nakajima is too close to the ropes. Toshizo is tagged in, scoop slam by Toshizo and he applies a leg lock. Nakajima makes it to the ropes again, and Toshizo tags in AKIRA. Toshizo holds Nakajima for AKIRA, and AKIRA comes off the top turnbuckle with a missile dropkick. Cover by AKIRA but Nakajima kicks out. Irish whip by AKIRA, reversed, but AKIRA ducks a kick and delivers a jumping clothesline. Scoop slam by AKIRA, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the frog splash. Cover, but Hayashi breaks it up. AKIRA picks up Nakajima and applies a waistlock, but Nakajima gets out of it and slaps on the cross armbreaker. Hayashi then runs in the ring to apply a keylock on Toshizo, but AKIRA reverses the cross armbreaker into an STF as Toshizo applies the cross armbreaker to Hayashi. Nakajima makes it to the ropes though and AKIRA breaks the hold. Waistlock by AKIRA, but Nakajima rolls him up for a quick two count. Kick to the head by Nakajima and he nails the German suplex for a two count. Nakajima tags in Hayashi, Irish whip by Hayashi, reversed, but Hayashi connects with the handstand springboard spinning heel kick. Hayashi goes off the ropes, but AKIRA catches him with a dropkick and tags in Toshizo. Snapmare by Toshizo and he hits a running kick to the chest. Irish whip by Toshizo and he connects with a flurry of kicks. Brainbuster by Toshizo, but Hayashi hops back up and nails a release German suplex. Toshizo also absorbs the move however, gets to his feet and goes for a kick, but Hayashi catches his leg and delivers a dragon screw leg whip. Final Cut by Hayashi, cover, but AKIRA breaks it up. Nakajima takes care of AKIRA though with a dropkick and pescado, Hayashi drops Toshizo in the middle of the ring and hits the top rope moonsault, cover, but Toshizo barely kicks out. WA4 by Hayashi, cover, but Toshizo quickly rolls up Hayashi and picks up the three count pinfall! Your winners: AKIRA and Toshizo

Match Thoughts: This was a fun little match. Nakajima was only 17 at the time this match happened but you could already see those sparks of goodness that have become very evident a full year later. I had not seen Toshizo (formally Ryuji Hijikata) before, but he did well and all four men looked strong here. I liked the surprise ending... everyone just assumed that Hayashi was winning after the moonsault and WA4, and Toshizo sneaking in the victory helped set up future matches between the two. Nothing really wrong here at all and I was glad they got a few more minutes then the last couple matches. Score: 6.5

Taiyo Kea and Jamal vs. Masanobu Fuchi, Nobutaka Araya, and Nobukazu Hirai
Jamal and Fuchi start things off after Fuchi's teammates jump off the apron, not letting Fuchi tag out. Slaps by Fuchi, but Jamal just looks at him. Fuchi tries to tag out again, but again his partners bail. Fuchi goes back to Jamal and kicks him a few times in the stomach, but again Jamal just looks at him and punches him in the top of the head. Another punch by Jamal, and Fuchi manages to tag in Araya. Forearm by Araya, but Jamal forearms him back and hits a scoop slam. Araya tags in Hirai, but Jamal scoop slams him as well. Hirai quickly gets back up and goes for a suplex, but Jamal blocks it. Araya comes in to help, Jamal still doesn't go over. Fuchi runs in and rakes Jamal in the eyes, and finally Araya and Hirai hit the vertical suplex. Cover, but Jamal easily kicks out. Jamal goes to work on both Araya and Hirai, he picks up Hirai, Irish whip to the corner, and he splashes both of them as we see Fuchi putting on his jacket and preparing to leave. With both his opponents slouched in the corner, Jamal gets a running start and hits the butt smash on Araya (Hirai rolled out of the way in time). Jamal tags in Kea, and Kea chops Hirai into the corner. Irish whip, reversed, and Hirai hits a running forearm shot followed by a side slam. Cover, but it gets a two count when Jamal breaks it up. Araya comes in the ring, but Kea connects with a series of punches and Jamal powerbombs him. Hirai goes off the ropes, but Kea catches him with a sit-down slam. Cover, but it only gets a two count. Spinning heel kick by Jamal to the back of the head of Hirai, and Kea follows that with a Surfing Suplex. Cover by Kea, and he picks up the three count. Your winners: Taiyo Kea and Jamal

Match Thoughts: Probably not the best use of the Tag Team Champions, but considering that all their legitimate contenders had other matches on the card at least Kea and Jamal got a match. This was billed as the "strongest tag team" against the "weakest tag team" and was not supposed to be a close fight. It terms of squashes this one was pretty entertaining, and Fuchi did a good job playing up that he was scared of Jamal. Again, I would have rather seen them in a competitive match, but having your tag champions squash three wrestlers and show off their dominance is better then not having them wrestle on the event at all. Score: 5.0

TARU, Chuck Palumbo, and Johnny Stamboli vs. TAKA Michinoku, Buchanan, and Rico
This match is Voodoo Murders vs. RO&D. They start the match with a crazy brawl, with TARU choking Michinoku inside the ring. Stomps by TARU on Michinoku and he kicks him hard in the chest. Michinoku jumps up with a kick of his own however and tags in Buchanan. Punch by Buchanan in the corner, Irish whip, and he hits a running lariat before clubbing TARU to the mat. Getting a running start, Buchanan jumps up onto the top turnbuckle and immediately jumps backwards, hitting TARU with a clothesline. Cover, but it only gets a one count. Knees to the stomach by Buchanan, he grabs TARU's arm while going to the top turnbuckle, and walks the ropes before hitting a flipping neckbreaker. Cover, but it gets a two count. Buchanan tags in Rico, who applies an arm wringer on TARU. Kicks to the stomach by Rico, Irish whip, reversed, but Rico kicks TARU in the head. Cover, but the pin is broken up by Stamboli. Rico tags in Michinoku, who gives TARU a headbutt. Another headbutt by Michinoku and he pokes TARU in the eyes. Michinoku goes off the ropes, but TARU catches him with a kick and tags in Stamboli. Stamboli punches Michinoku to the mat, scoop slam, cover, but it barely gets a two count. Stamboli tags in Palumbo, and Palumbo nails Michinoku with the big boot. Cover by Palumbo, but Rico breaks it up. Palumbo gives Michinoku a back suplex, cover, but Michinoku kicks out. Palumbo tags in Stamboli, who punches Michinoku right in the stomach while Palumbo holds him. Michinoku tries to fight back, he goes off the ropes, but Stamboli catches him with a swinging shoulder breaker. Cover, but Michinoku barely kicks out. Stamboli tags in TARU, who kicks Michinoku in the corner. Irish whip by TARU, but Michinoku avoids the charge in the corner and kicks TARU in the back of the head. Michinoku goes for another kick, but TARU moves and the referee is taken out. Carnage ensues, as the debuting Kondo and "brother" YASSHI storm the ring. They are battling all around the outside and inside of the ring as TARU brings in a body bag for Michinoku. Stamboli slams Michinoku to the mat, goes to the top turnbuckle, but Michinoku is up in time. Palumbo comes in to help however and they deliver the Kiss of Death to Michinoku. The Voodoo Murderers then put Michinoku into the body bag, but Buchanan comes in the ring and applies the claw to Palumbo. TARU comes in with a bat though and hits Buchanan in his claw hand. Stamboli then puts Buchanan's arm into a chair and all three men use bats or metal tubes to hit the chair. Rico comes in to make the save, and he knocks all three men down. Irish whip attempt by Rico on Palumbo, but it is reversed and Rico is slammed to the mat. Stamboli and Palumbo then hold Rico for TARU, who kicks Rico below the belt. Palumbo then grabs Rico, nails the 187, cover, and the recovered referee counts the three count pinfall. Your winners: The Voodoo Murderers

Post match: The new Voodoo Murderers display their banner over the zipped up body of Michinoku. Jamal and Kea run down though and the Voodoo Murderers bail from the ring.

Match Thoughts: This match was all about the storyline and not the in-ring work itself, which is fine since the feud between these two teams is really entertaining. The Voodoo Murderers decimate RO&D... they put Michinoku in a body bag, destroy Buchanan's claw hand, and then take turns beating up Rico for the pinfall. Kondo and YASSHI showing up just made things better as the heel team should be bigger and more intimidating. The in-ring action wasn't bad either, as Buchanan in particular seemed more "on" here then I can ever remember seeing him. The ending visual of the Voodoo Murderers holding their banner of the body bag while laughing was great. This is one of the reasons I love All Japan... New Japan and NOAH in 2005 simply didn't have a storyline quite as entertaining as All Japan did with the Voodoo Murderers vs. RO&D. Great stuff. Score: 7.0

Kensuke Sasaki vs. Kohei Suwama
This match is the third match in Suwama's Trial Series. Tie-up to start, Sasaki pushes Suwama against the ropes, but Suwama switches positions with him and he forearms Sasaki in the face and gives him a vicious slap. Chops by Sasaki and he knees Suwama hard in the midsection, knocking Suwama out of the ring. Suwama rolls back in the ring, and Sasaki knees Suwama again in the midsection. Chops by Sasaki, Suwama tries to fire back with his own forearms, but Sasaki knocks him to the mat. Sasaki clubs Suwama in the back, snapmare, and he kicks Suwama. Headbutt by Sasaki, but Suwama headbutts him back. Sasaki gets the better of the headbutt battle and chops Suwama hard in the chest. Knee by Sasaki and he stomps Suwama while he is on the mat. Irish whip by Sasaki, but Suwama ducks the lariat and hits a flying shoulder block. Suwama kicks Sasaki into the corner, Irish whip, but Sasaki catches him when he charges in and slams Suwama to the mat. Sasaki lariats Suwama in the chest and back until he falls over, he waits for him to get up and goes to knee him in the midsection, but Suwama blocks it. Suwama goes for a belly to belly suplex, but Sasaki pushes him to the mat. Lariat by Sasaki, cover, but it only gets a two count. Slap by Sasaki, but Suwama gets back to his feet and slaps Sasaki repeatedly in the face. Sasaki fires back with a lariat, he picks up Suwama, goes off the ropes, but Suwama ducks the lariat and goes for the half nelson suplex. Sasaki blocks it however and connects on a short-range lariat. After clubbing Suwama back to the mat, Sasaki picks up Suwama, but Suwama applies a waistlock. German suplex attempt by Suwama, but Sasaki elbows out of it. Sasaki then bounces off the ropes and levels Suwama with a lariat. Sasaki then hits Suwama with another lariat, waits for Suwama to get up, and connects on a third one. Suwama slowly gets to his feet, Sasaki goes off the ropes, and hits one final lariat on Suwama. Cover, and he picks up the three count pinfall. Your winner: Kensuke Sasaki

Match Thoughts: I was really disappointed with this match. I knew Suwama had no chance of winning, but I was hoping that Sasaki would give him a little more then he did. The Trial Series is supposed to be about showing progress, but Suwama went backwards here. He had more luck against Vader and Jamal. To make matters worse, Sasaki wasn't even clever about it... he just kept on lariating Suwama until he couldn't stay up anymore. If Suwama had just gotten a move in besides a slap and one shoulder block, I wouldn't have had a problem with the match since Sasaki is light years ahead of Suwama on the card, but as it was it just came across as a glorified squash that did little for Suwama. Score: 3.5

Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Keiji Mutoh
Tie-up to start, waistlock by Mutoh into a standing armbar, but Tanahashi floats over behind his back and applies a front facelock. Wristlock by Tanahashi, but Mutoh makes it to the ropes and Tanahashi releases the hold. Takedown by Mutoh, but Tanahashi gets out of it and both men are on their feet again. Another takedown by Mutoh and he applies a facelock on the mat. Keylock attempt by Mutoh, but Tanahashi gets out of it and applies a leg lock. Mutoh eventually gets to the ropes though and Tanahashi breaks the hold. Back up, waistlock by Tanahashi and he applies a side headlock on the mat. Mutoh struggles to his feet and applies a hammerlock, but Tanahashi backs him up into the corner and connects on a flip kick. Snapmare by Tanahashi and he hits an elbow drop. Cover, but it only gets a one count. Reverse chinlock by Tanahashi, but Mutoh punches his way out of it. Snapmare by Mutoh and he delivers the Flash Elbow. Side headlock by Mutoh, Tanahashi Irish whips out of it, and Mutoh shoulderblocks him down. Mutoh goes off the ropes, rolls out of the way of Tanahashi's attempted strike and dropkicks Tanahashi in the knee. Another dropkick to the knee by Mutoh, and he dropkicks him a third time in the right knee. Dragon screw leg whip by Mutoh and he dropkicks Tanahashi in the knee while he lays on the mat. Another dragon screw leg whip by Mutoh and he slaps on the figure four leg lock. Tanahashi makes it to the ropes though and Mutoh has to break the hold. Kick to the knee by Mutoh, but Tanahashi grabs his leg and hits a dragon screw leg whip of his own. Mutoh rolls out of the ring, but Tanahashi goes out after him. Mutoh greets Tanahashi with a knee and goes to Irish whip Tanahashi into the railing, but Tanahashi slams on the breaks and delivers a dragon suplex to Mutoh on the outside. Tanahashi gets back in the ring, and when Mutoh gets to his feet Tanahashi knocks him back with a baseball slide. Tanahashi hen goes off the far ropes and sails out of the ring with a tope suicida. Tanahashi rolls Mutoh back into the ring, goes to the top turnbuckle and connects with a missile dropkick. German suplex hold by Tanahashi, but it only gets a two count. Tanahashi goes for the dragon suplex again, but Mutoh grabs the top rope. Irish whip by Tanahashi, reversed, and Tanahashi hits the Sling Blade.

Dragon sleeper by Tanahashi, but he releases the hold after a moment. Irish whip by Tanahashi, reversed, Tanahashi goes for a sunset flip, Mutoh rolls through and goes for a Shining Wizard, but Tanahashi blocks it. Victory roll by Tanahashi, but it gets another two count. Dropkick to the knee by Mutoh and he goes for a dragon screw leg whip, but Tanahashi pushes him off and applies the sleeperhold, and then reverts it into the dragon sleeper. Cover by Tanahashi, but Mutoh kicks out at two. Again Tanahashi goes for the dragon suplex, Mutoh fights out of it, so Tanahashi hits another German suplex hold for a two count. Tanahashi gets Mutoh to his feet and goes for the dragon suplex again, again Mutoh pushes his hands down, so Tanahashi delivers a third German suplex hold for another two count. Again Tanahashi gets Mutoh back up and this time nails the dragon suplex hold for a long two count. Dragon sleeper by Tanahashi and he applies a body scissors while maintaining the hold. Mutoh gets out of it after a moment, Tanahashi picks him back up and goes for a second dragon suplex, again Mutoh blocks it and Tanahashi goes for a German suplex, but this time Mutoh lands on his knees and comes back with a Shining Wizard. Dropkick to the knee by Mutoh and he goes for a dragon screw leg whip, Tanahashi gets out of it and goes off the ropes, but Mutoh connects on two consecutive Shining Wizards while Tanahashi is standing. Mutoh goes over to Tanahashi, but Tanahashi sneaks in a small package for a two count. Back up, Mutoh hits a Shining Wizard from the front and then one from the back. He then hits one final Shining Wizard, cover, but Tanahashi barely kicks out. Backbreaker by Mutoh, he goes up to the top turnbuckle and nails the moonsault. Cover, and he picks up the three count! Your winner: Keiji Mutoh

Match Thoughts: Well this match was all kinds of fun, and would have been excellent if Tanahashi had bothered remember that his knee was injured for even a minute after Mutoh had worked it over. Granted I love Mutoh's work, but the match was so damn logical it had me giggling while I was watching it. First of all, you have to remember that Tanahashi is the younger less experienced wrestler and Mutoh is the long time veteran. Tanahashi gets excited when he sees that Mutoh is weakened, and just throws everything at him he has. He does one too many of the same move however, Mutoh has figured out a way to reverse it, and the big momentum shift takes place. Mutoh then hits his frequent finisher (front and back Shining Wizard followed by a powerful one), but it doesn't keep Tanahashi down. Not to worry, for unlike Tanahashi, Mutoh has an uber-finisher tucked away. If Tanahashi had another move besides the dragon suplex, then Mutoh wouldn't have "seen it before" and known how to reverse it, and he might have won the match. Fun stuff, and I was surprised that Mutoh took a dragon suplex on the outside, he doesn't normally take big bumps like that. So in the end Tanahashi loses, but he learns a valuable lesson from his idol and can take what he learned to make himself a better wrestler (which in the year since this match he hasn't, but that's not Mutoh's fault). Very good match. Score: 7.5

(c) Toshiaki Kawada vs. Satoshi Kojima
This match is for the Triple Crown Championship. Tie-up to start, waistlock by Kawada, but Kojima grabs the top rope and drives Kawada back into the corner before giving a clean break. Tie-up again, Kojima gets Kawada into the ropes and slaps Kawada twice before backing off. Tie-up again, waistlock by Kawada, he applies a wristlock into an armbar, and then slaps on a reverse chinlock on the mat. Kojima gets out of it though and goes for an arm submission, but Kawada grabs the ropes. Chops by Kojima in the corner, but Kawada absorbs the blows and chops him back. The two trade shots until Kawada levels Kojima with a forearm. Kojima rolls out of the ring to collect himself but returns on his own power. Kick to the stomach by Kawada and he kicks Kojima repeatedly in the legs. Kawada goes for the leg submission hold, but Kojima applies an ankle lock as the two jockey for position. Kawada gets the better of it, but Kojima grabs the bottom rope. Back up, the two trade forearm blows, but Kawada nails the heel kick, knocking Kojima to the mat. Knee drop by Kawada, cover, but it gets a two count. Kawada applies a reverse chinlock and applies a stretch hold. Kojima muscles out of the hold eventually and reverses it, but Kawada gets to the ropes and Kojima breaks the hold. Forearm to the back of the head by Kojima and he chops Kawada against the ropes. Kawada fires back with a kick, scoop slam by Kawada and he kicks Kojima repeatedly in the face. Kawada kicks Kojima back into the corner until he falls down to the mat. Cover by Kawada, but it only gets a two count. Kawada drags Kojima to his feet and rams him into the turnbuckle. Again he slams Kojima into the corner, he turns him around and chops him hard in the chest. Elbows to the back of the head by Kawada and he kicks Kojima in the head. Kojima fights back though and chops Kawada into the corner, but Kawada connects with a hard forearm. Again Kojima fires back with chops, Irish whip by Kojima and he hits the flying forearm. Kojima then flings Kawada to the mat and hits an elbow drop, he goes out to the apron, but Kawada gets up and boots him off the apron to the floor. Kojima gets back on the apron, but Kawada gets a running start and kicks him off again. This time Kawada goes out after him and Irish whips him into the guardrail before hitting another big boot. Kawada then sets up Kojima for the powerbomb on the floor, but Kojima blocks it. Kawada kicks Kojima repeatedly in the head and this time he manages to deliver the powerbomb. Kawada slides Kojima back into the ring, cover, but it gets a two count. Kawada sets Kojima up so he can kick him in the back and also chops him in the chest. Single-leg crab hold by Kawada, but Kojima makes it to the ropes. Kawada kicks Kojima in the head, but Kojima fires back with forearms. The two trade blows, and Kawada knocks Kojima to the mat with a hard forearm shot.

Kawada kicks Kojima in the head a few times and connects with a back kick followed by a running boot while Kojima is in the corner. Lariat by Kawada, cover, but it gets a two count. Kawada applies the Stretch Plum, cover, but again he only gets a two count. Kojima fights back again with forearm shots and delivers the Koji Cutter. Kojima hits a Tiger Driver, cover, but it only gets a two count. Waistlock by Kojima, but Kawada knocks him back with an enzigieri. Kawada goes for a backdrop driver, but Kojima grabs the top rope. After a few kicks, Kawada is able to nail the backdrop driver, cover, but Kojima kicks out at two. Kawada goes off the ropes and hits a lariat, but Kojima stays on his feet. He goes for another one, but Kojima blocks it and hits a brainbuster. Another brainbuster by Kojima, cover, but he only gets a two count. Kawada gets back up, Kojima goes off the ropes, but Kawada greets him with a kick to the back of the head. Ganmengiri by Kawada, but Kojima absorbs the blow and hits a lariat. Kawada is back up quickly though and hits another boot, the two wrestlers lariat each other with neither going down, but Kojima fires back with another lariat to knock Kawada off his feet. Cover by Kojima, but it only gets a two count. Kojima applies a key lock, but Kawada gets a foot on the bottom rope. Back up, the two trade forearm shots, and Kojima kicks Kawada in the chest. CCD by Kojima, cover, but Kawada barely kicks out. Kojima goes back to the key lock, cover, but again it only gets a two count. Kojima calls for the lariat and goes off the ropes, but Kawada catches him with another Ganmengiri. Cover by Kawada, but Kojima kicks out in time. Kawada sets up Kojima and goes off the ropes, Kojima ducks the running face kick, but Kawada kicks him in the back anyway. Ganmengiri by Kawada and he nails the backdrop driver. Kawada goes for the powerbomb, Kojima tries to hang on, but Kawada nails it. Cover, but Kojima barely kicks out. Kawada gets Kojima up, but Kojima fires back with forearms and the two trade shots. Kojima blocks the front kick though and levels Kawada with a lariat. Cover, but Kawada quickly kicks out. Kojima hits him with another one, cover, but again Kawada kicks out quickly. Kojima lariats Kawada in the back of the head before hitting another one from the front, cover, but again it only gets a two count. Kojima waits for Kawada to get up and nails another lariat, cover, and he picks up the three count pinfall! Your winner and new champion: Satoshi Kojima

Match Thoughts: Well Kawada had to lose at some point. At this point of his career Kawada wasn't bad, but he obviously wasn't near the wrestler he used to be. He is a bit slower and depends even more on his strikes then he used to. I have complained about Kojima's moveset in the past (and will probably do so in every match of his I will ever review), and I wish that here he had something else to finish Kawada off besides the lariat. Sasaki has the Northern Lights Bomb, Mutoh has the moonsault, Misawa has the Tiger Driver '91, Kobashi has the Burning Hammer, Akiyama has the Sternness Dust, and Kojima has... a lariat. And that's it. Kawada did what he could to put over the lariat as a killer move, but I'd have liked it if he had something else. Kawada threw out a variety of moves, but they did seem to occasionally re-do the same spots. The middle section with the arm submission holds by Kojima was odd as well, since Kawada's main finishers don't require much from his arms and none of Kojima's finishers focus on the arm. With that being said the match was still entertaining and hard-hitting, and the crowd was really into it. Score: 6.5

Final Thoughts:

From top to bottom this was a fun card. It had one of the better Mutoh matches from 2005 (although I preferred his match against Sasaki from last fall), a really fun Voodoo Murders vs. RO&D match, and a historical match with Kawada finally dropping the belt that he held for over a year. The card wasn't without its share of pointless matches or questionable decisions, but since All Japan is a little depleted of talent that is one of the natural side effects. Kojima/Kawada wasn't as good as I think it should have been and definitely wasn't as good as it would have been three or four years ago, but it was still entertaining and put Kojima over as the new ace of All Japan. This was one of the best All Japan cards from 2005 and if you're a fan of All Japan I'd recommend you pick this one up.

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