All Japan "Super Power Series" 2015
A review by Kevin Wilson

Date: May 6th, 2015
Location: Tokyo Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announced Attendance: 711

There are a lot of puroresu events around Golden Week in Japan. Golden Week is a big deal there and is a common time for vacations, which leads to lots of activities and events to go to. Just about every promotion in Japan has an event (or two) during Golden Week, and All Japan is no exception. Here we get two Championship defenses, including Yoshie and Akebono defending their All Japan World Tag Team Championship. Here is the full card:

-  Naoya Nomura vs. Yuma Aoyagi
-  Masanobu Fuchi vs. Masao Inoue
-  Keisuke Ishii and Kota Umeda vs. Kotaro Suzuki and Yohei Nakajima
-  KENSO vs. Takao Omori
-  Joe Doering and Hikaru Sato vs. Suwama and Atsushi Aoki
-  All Asia Tag Team Championship: Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Ultimo Dragon vs. Jun Akiyama and SUSHI
-  All Japan World Tag Team Championship: Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie vs. Go Shiozaki and Kento Miyahara

Onto the matches!

Naoya Nomura vs. Yuma Aoyagi
They trade holds to start, Aoyagi gets Nomura in the ropes and clubs him in the chest.  They trade elbows and Nomura shoulderblocks Aoyagi.  Hiptoss by Aoyagi and he hits a dropkick.  Aoyagi goes off the ropes but Nomura catches him with an elbow.  Nomura applies a crab hold but Aoyagi makes it to the ropes.  Jumping elbow by Nomura in the corner and he hits a Northern Lights Suplex for two.  Aoyagi fights back with an elbow, he picks up Nomura and he dropkicks him.  Aoyagi goes up top and he hits a diving crossbody for a two count.  Fisherman suplex hold by Aoyagi but Nomura gets a shoulder up.  Back up they trade elbows until Nomura hits a backdrop suplex.  Inside cradle by Aoyagi but it gets two, Aoyagi clubs Nomura in the chest but Nomura catches him with a dropkick.  Vertical suplex by Nomura and he slaps on the crab hold, forcing Aoyagi to submit!  A really basic rookie-style match, I guess good for their development but not exciting in any way. An ok way to open the show but neither got a chance to show much.

Masanobu Fuchi vs. Masao Inoue
Why.  Why am I watching this.  They trade tie-ups with not much happening for literally several minutes, as four minutes into the match someone hits the mat as Fuchi hits a bodyslam.  Inoue sells it like death since that will probably be the highlight of the match, and Fuchi hits another one.  Dropkick by Fuchi and Inoue falls out of the ring.  Inoue returns after a moment and they trade eye rakes, lariats by Inoue in the corner but Fuchi sneaks in a small package for two.  Another one by Fuchi and he hits a third but still gets a two count.  Inoue bails out of the ring but Fuchi gets him back in and applies another inside cradle.  They repeat this for several minutes as I die a bit on the inside but Fuchi finally successfully applies an inside cradle, picking up the three count.  This match was eleven minutes and it is a complete waste of time in every way.  I don’t understand why this match exists.  Just an epic time waster.

Keisuke Ishii and Kota Umeda vs. Kotaro Suzuki and Yohei Nakajima
This match has to be better than the last one.   By default.  Suzuki and Ishii start off and Suzuki hits a shoulderblock.  They trade quick holds but neither gets an advantage as they return to their feet.  Umeda and Nakajima tag in, armdrag by Umeda but Nakajima returns the favor.  Headscissors by Umeda and they trade chops, and Nakajima hits a dropkick.  Scoop slam by Nakajima and he tags in Suzuki.  Elbow by Suzuki but Umeda kicks him in the chest.  Kicks by Umeda  and he hits a vertical suplex (I think) for a two count.  Suzuki picks up Umeda, Irish whip  by Umeda and he hits a dropkick.   Umeda tags in Ishii and Ishii boots Suzuki.  Suzuki stays up as Ishii boots him again, and Ishii hits a DDT.  Somersault senton by Ishii and he hits a sliding knee for a two count.  Suzuki and Ishii trade elbows, back elbow by Suzuki and he knees Ishii in the corner, Suzuki drops Ishii on the second rope and he hits a Tiger Feint Kick.  Suzuki grabs Ishii, Ishii boots Suzuki and he hits a release German suplex.  Suzuki blocks the heel kick and elbows Ishii, and Ishii hits an enzigieri.  Nakajima is tagged in, Nakajima goes up top and he hits a missile dropkick on Ishii.  Running elbow by Nakajima and he hits a backdrop suplex.  Nakajima goes up top and he nails a diving footstomp for a two count.  Nakajima kicks Ishii and he hits a step-up enzigieri for two.  Umeda elbows Nakajima but Nakajima hits a superkick.  Kick by Nakajima but Umeda  rolls him up for two.  Ishii nails a kneel kick and he covers Nakajima for a three count!  This was better, there were a few rough parts and it wasn’t very long but the action was generally solid.  It was fast paced which was required since it was a short match, and while it lasted I enjoyed it.  Ishii is the man in case you didn’t know.

KENSO vs. Takao Omori
KENSO shakes Omori’s hand but then slaps him in the face.  Omori falls out of the ring and KENSO throws him into the guardrail.  KENSO hits Omori with a chair, he puts a pile of chairs on the floor and he suplexes Omori onto the chairs.   KENSO gets back in the ring with Omori very slowly following, Irish whip by KENSO and he hits a lariat for a two count.  KENSO goes up top but Omori joins him and hits a superplex.  KENSO and Omori trade chops, big boot by Omori and a heel kick finally knocks KENSO off his feet.  Backdrop suplex by Omori, he goes off the ropes but KENSO hits a lariat.  Omori avoids KENSO’s knee drop and he nails the Axe Guillotine Driver for a two count.  Omori goes off the ropes and hits a lariat but KENSO stays up.  KENSO tries to get Omori with his boa belt but Omori boots him and hits an Axe Bomber for the three count!  This was better than it could have been, although they did spend quite a bit of time out on the floor.  It was kept too short to be offensive and I wouldn’t skip this match even though it was nothing great which is about as much praise as I can give a KENSO match.

Joe Doering and Hikaru Sato vs. Suwama and Atsushi Aoki
Sato and Aoki start off and they take it to the mat, back on their feet they trade Aoki pushes Sato into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Suwama and Doering are tagged in, Doering gets Suwama into the ropes and he gives a clean break.  Suwama and Doering trade strikes and shoulderblock attempts until Doering knocks Suwama over.  Doering tags in Sato and Suwama kicks Sato to the mat.  Sato kicks him back, he goes for a takedown but Suwama suplexes him to the mat and throws Sato out of the ring.  Suwama throws Sato into the guardrail and hits him repeatedly with a chair.  Back in the ring Suwama punches Sato to the mat, he goes for a suplex but Sato blocks it and hits a vertical suplex of his own.  Sato tags in Doering and Doering lariats Suwama in the corner before hitting an elbow drop.  Delayed vertical suplex by Doering, he tries to get Suwama on his shoulders but Suwama slides off.  Back bodydrop by Suwama and he tags in Aoki.  Both Suwama and Aoki lariat Doering in the corner and Aoki hits a diving body press for two.  Aoki goes for a suplex but Doering blocks it and hits a shoulderblock.  Sato comes in, he throws Aoki to the corner and kicks him in the midsection.  Sato goes for a lariat but Aoki ducks it, ankle hold by Sato but Aoki gets out of it and applies a cross armbreaker.  Sato gets out of that and applies a kneelock before hitting a backdrop suplex for two.  Sato goes for the cross armbreaker again but Aoki gets out of it, enzigieri by Aoki and he tags in Suwama.  Suwama punches Sato and clubs him to the mat before hitting a release German suplex for a two count.  Suwama tries for the Last Ride but Sato reverses it with a front necklock.  Suwama slams out of it and he hits a discus lariat for a two count.  Suwama picks up Sato, this time he nails the Last Ride and he covers Sato for the three count!  Good match but a bit odd, no idea why Doering didn’t try to help Sato at all.  He just kind of watched.  But besides that it was pretty entertaining, the Aoki/Suwama segments were fun and the other two did their power stuff when needed.  It was a bit random at times and lacked focus, but still solid.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Ultimo Dragon vs. Jun Akiyama and SUSHI
This match is for the All Asia Tag Team Championship.  SUSHI and Ultimo Dragon start off and they trade wristlocks, SUSHI goes for a cross armbreaker but Ultimo Dragon gets out of it.  They lock knuckles, SUSHI pushes Ultimo Dragon back and he tags in Kanemaru.  SUSHI tags in Akiyama, shoulderblock by Akiyama to Kanemaru and Akiyama goes for Kanemaru’s arm.  Akiyama tags in SUSHI and he clubs Kanemaru in the arm before hitting an armbreaker.  Kanemaru fights back but SUSHI hits a shoulderblock.  Dropkick by Kanemaru, he throws SUSHI to the corner but SUSHI flips out to the apron.   SUSHI goes for a swandive move but Kanemaru dropkicks him out to the ring so that Ultimo Dragon can help work him over.  Back in the ring Kanemaru slams SUSHI and he tags in Ultimo Dragon.  Ultimo Dragon elbows SUSHI and he applies a submission, cover by Ultimo Dragon but it gets a two count.  Ultimo Dragon tags in Kanemaru, uppercuts by Kanemaru and he dropkicks Akiyama.  Kanemaru throws Akiyama into the railing before hitting a leg drop.  Ultimo Dragon chops SUSHI in the ring as Kanemaru returns, but SUSHI snaps Kanemaru’s neck over the second rope. Akiyama hits a running knee on Kanemaru, Akiyama then goes outside the ring and rams Ultimo Dragon’s back into the ring post.  In the ring, SUSHI elbows Kanemaru and he hits a neckbreaker before throwing him out of the ring.  Akiyama slams Kanemaru on the floor until they return to the ring, SUSHI covers Kanemaru but it gets a two count.  SUSHI tags in Akiyama and Kanemaru eats a double elbow.  Akiyama applies a camel clutch to Kanemaru and he covers him for two.  Akiyama scoop slams Kanemaru and he tags in SUSHI.  SUSHI applies a single leg crab hold but Kanemaru gets to the ropes.  SUSHI and Kanemaru trade elbows but Kanemaru dropkicks SUSHI. 

Kanemaru tags in Ultimo Dragon, Ultimo Dragon throws SUSHI into the corner and he hits a lariat.  Ultimo Dragon hits a back bodydrop followed by a kick combination for a two count.  La Magistral by Ultimo Dragon, but Akiyama breaks it up.  SUSHI lariats Akiyama by accident, then Ultimo Dragon hits a dragon screw on SUSHI.  Ankle hold by Ultimo Dragon but SUSHI makes it to the ropes.   Back up Ultimo Dragon goes for a suplex but SUSHI blocks it, enzigieri by Ultimo Dragon but SUSHI hits a superkick.  Both miss heel kicks and they tag in Kanemaru and Akiyama.  They avoid each other’s strikes until Kanemaru kicks Akiyama in the leg, Kanemaru goes up top and he hits a diving crossbody for a two count.  Kanemaru jumps off the top but Akiyama kicks him low on his way down.  Akiyama tags in SUSHI, Kanemaru kick SUSHI back but SUSHI hits a lariat.   Akiyama comes in and he hits a running knee to Kanemaru, SUSHI goes up top and he nails the diving headbutt but Ultimo Dragon breaks up the pin.  SUSHI picks up Kanemaru and slams him over his head to the mat, but Kanemaru kicks out.  SUSHI goes up top but Kanemaru avoids the moonsault.   Kanemaru lariats SUSHI in the corner as does Ultimo Dragon, diving body press by Kanemaru but Akiyama breaks it up.   Kanemaru goes to the second turnbuckle and hits the Deep Impact, cover, but it only gets two.   Brainbuster by Kanemaru and he hits a lariat, but SUSHI lariats him back.  Ultimo Dragon comes in and kicks SUSHI, but Akiyama comes in too.   Akiyama lariats Kanemaru and Ultimo Dragon and he hits a running knee on Kanemaru.  Exploder by Akiyama to Kanemaru, SUSHI picks him up and he hits a Katsuo no Ipponzuri for two.  SUSHI slides under Kanemaru’s legs but Kanemaru rolls up SUSHI for a two count.  Jawbreaker by SUSHI and a superkick, but Kanemaru hooks SUSHI’s leg for the three count!  Kanemaru and Dragon are still your champions!  This dragged a bit at parts but it was still a good match.  A few sections could have been trimmed up, and SUSHI is a silly gimmick that I can’t take seriously, but Akiyama kept things under control and everyone hit their spots well.  Not a bad title defense, even though the ending was a bit flat.  Mildly Recommended

(c) Akebono and Yutaka Yoshie vs. Go Shiozaki and Kento Miyahara
This match is for the All Japan World Tag Team Championship.   Akebono and Shiozaki start off and Akebono pushes Shiozaki around the ring.  Shoulderblock by Akebono and he tags in Yoshie.  Shiozaki also tags out, Miyahara applies a waistlock but Yoshie gets into the ropes.  Miyahara and Yoshie trade elbows, Irish whip by Yoshie and he tries to sit on Miyahara, but Miyahara moves.  Shiozaki comes in and they go for a double vertical suplex, but Yoshie blocks it and suplexes both of them.  Akebono comes in and they hit a double shoulderblock on Miyahara.    Yoshie tags in Akebono and Akebono stomps down Miyahara in the corner.  Akebono tags in Yoshie as they continue the Miyahara slow motion beatdown, Yoshie puts Miyahara in a crab hold but Shiozaki breaks it up, Akebono comes in the ring and he tosses Shiozaki back out of it.  Akebono hits an elbow drop on Miyahara but Shiozaki breaks up the pin.  Akebono picks up Miyahara and throws him into the corner, but Miyahara boots Akebono in the face.  This gives Miyahara time to tag in Shiozaki, Shiozaki kicks Akebono and chops him before hitting a DDT.  Akebono gets back up and throws Shiozaki into the corner but Shiozaki floors him with a hard chop.  Cover by Shiozaki but it gets two.  Shiozaki and Akebono trade strikes and Akebono hits a backdrop suplex.  Body press by Akebono to Shiozaki but Miyahara breaks up the pin.   Yoshie throws Shiozaki into the corner but Shiozaki superkicks him.  Shiozaki lariats Akebono to the mat, Miyahara runs in and he knees Akebono in the corner.  Shiozaki hits a vertical suplex on Akebono, he goes up top but Yoshie grabs him from the apron.  Yoshie goes up top with Shiozaki and he squishes him to the mat.  Miyahara pulls Shiozaki to the corner and he tags himself in while Akebono tags in Yoshie, Miyahara elbows Yoshie and he dropkicks him in the knee.  

Dropkick by Miyahara and he hits a jumping elbow.  Yoshie lands on top of Miyahara, Irish whip to the corner and Yoshie hits a body avalanche.  Running butt smash by Yoshie and he hits a rolling senton for two.   Miyahara jumps up and puts Yoshie in a triangle choke, he then applies a cross armbreaker but Yoshie gets a toe on the ropes.  Miyahara tags in Shiozaki, Shiozaki charges Yoshie but Akebono knocks him out of the ring.  Miyahara slowly gets up and is squished by Akebono and Yoshie.  Senton by Yoshie and he hits a body press.  Scoop slam by Yoshie, he goes up top but Shiozaki grabs his leg.  Miyahara joins Yoshie up top and he hits a superplex.  Jumping knee by Miyahara in the corner, he applies a double underhook to Yoshie but Yoshie hits a back bodydrop.  Yoshie sits on Miyahara, Akebono comes in the ring and he throws Miyahara into the corner.  Running butt smash by Yoshie and Akebono hits a body press.  Yoshie hits one also, cover, but Shiozaki chops Yoshie in the back of the head.  Miyahara grabs Yoshie around the waist and he hits a German suplex while Shiozaki hits a lariat.  Cover, but Akebono breaks it up.  Miyahara elbows Yoshie but Yoshie punches him in the head.  Kicks by Miyahara and he hits a German suplex hold for a two count.  Miyahara picks up Yoshie and he, I dunno, hits a low impact pedigree.  Arm trap German suplex hold by Miyahara, and he picks up the three count!  Shiozaki and Miyahara are your new champions!  There was more good than bad here, but not by a significant margin.  Yoshie and Akebono are limited, so a 20+ minute match with them is going to have some repetition.  I am not sure what move Miyahara was going for at the end but it didn’t work, which took some of the excitement out of the win.  Shiozaki was great though and the match never felt dull even as they repeated spots since they were hitting moves with conviction.  A good title match but not great.  Mildly Recommended

Final Thoughts:

As far as All Japan shows go this wasn’t a great one.  There were several solid matches but all had their flaws, ranging from the wrestlers just not being very good to not doing anything particularly meaningful.  I am glad that Miyahara now has a title as I have always liked him, but the All Japan roster is just so depleted right now, I am not sure what they are going to do. I can't recommend it as a full show but there are still some good matches, just nothing great or particularly memorable.

Grade: D+ 

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event reviewed on 5/8/15