On August 8th, I went to Art Gallery CORSO to see the Hakofactory Photographic Exhibition, Wrestlers Graphica!
The visual aspect of pro-wrestling is so important, not only in the execution of techniques and how good a match looks, but also in things such as costumes and how a wrestler carries themselves. Hakofactory's photos always pay a huge amount of respect to their subjects, making the wrestlers look incredible, and also showing their personality and aura through their amazing photography. It was great to see so many wonderful photos. I'm already looking forward to their next exhibition!
素敵なグッズも沢山あった！
I also bought some great merch there! I got the Kengo Mashimo photo book I'd wanted for such a long time, an excellent sticker, and a very cute keyring!
More of their merch is available on their website! Please support Hakofactory if you can!
The 12th Royal Road Tournament, Opening Matches, First Round
東京・後楽園ホール Tokyo, Korakuen Hall
2025/8/24 (日 Sunday)
観衆 Attendance 983人
8月24日、全日本プロレス後楽園ホール大会を観に行ってきました！王道トーナメントの１回戦でした！
On August 24th, I went to see AJPW at Korakuen Hall! The first round of the Royal Road Tournament!
Sadly, this was the last AJPW Korakuen Hall show I'll be able to see in person for a while (seriously, the sooner I can get a job that pays me to go to wrestling shows, the better), but as always, I had a really great time! The opening match was an absolute banger, yet again showing that Rising HAYATO and Atsuki Aoyagi always have the most amazing chemistry in the ring, whether they're working together or directly opposing each other. MUSASHI's 15th anniversary match was a lot of fun, too! I haven't been able to see The Great Sasuke in a really long time, so it was really nice to see him again. Of, course, the Royal Road Tournament matches were all great, just as you'd expect. Naruki Doi put in a heroic effort against Daisuke Sekimoto, made even more emotional by the fact that this all happened in front of Rei Saito, who unfortunately had to pull out of the tournament due to having surgery on his shoulder, and had Doi take his place. I particularly loved Nomura vs. Aoyagi and Miyahara vs. Mashimo, even though I was heartbroken for both Yuma Aoyagi (who lost in the opening round of the Royal Road Tournament for the ninth year in a row... poor guy must be cursed or something), and Kengo Mashimo (who put on the performance of a lifetime, only to end up falling short...). All in all, this show was great! I hope I can attend an AJPW show again sooner rather than later!
今回のCLUB AJPW写真撮影会は綾部蓮選手と一緒！
浴衣を着るのが大好き！
CLUB AJPW photo session with Ren Ayabe!
王道トーナメント入場式
Royal Road Tournament Opening Ceremony
オープニングマッチ、15分1本勝負
青柳亮生＆○ライジングHAYATO（12分24秒、十字架固め）田村男児＆井上凌●
Opening Match, 15mins 1 fall
Atsuki Aoyagi and Rising HAYATO vs. Dan Tamura and Ryo Inoue
MUSASHI nominated himself as Atsuki Aoyagi's first challenger for his World Junior Heavyweight Championship, and he also declared that he and Se-chan (Seiki Yoshioka) would challenge for the All Asia Tag Championship!
第五試合、トーナメント1回戦（時間無制限1本勝負）
○関本大介（6分43秒、体固め）“ミスター斉藤”土井成樹●
※ビッグバンカタストロフィ
Fifth Match, Tournament First Round Match, no time limit, 1 fall
Daisuke Sekimoto vs. "Mr. Saito" Naruki Doi
Sekimoto defeated Doi (6mins 43s, Big Bang Catastrophe).
セミファイナルトーナメント1回戦（時間無制限1本勝負）
○野村直矢（16分26秒、片エビ固め）青柳優馬●
※マキシマム
Semifinal, Tournament First Round Match, no time limit, 1 fall
Naoya Nomura vs. Yuma Aoyagi
Nomura defeated Aoyagi (16mins 26s, Maximum).
メインイベント、トーナメント1回戦（時間無制限1本勝負）
○宮原健斗（21分6秒、シャットダウン・スープレックス・ホールド）真霜拳號●
Main Event, Tournament Furst Round Match, no time limit, 1 fall
On August 21st, I went to see GLEAT at CITY HALL & GALLERY GOTANDA!
It was my first time at this venue (I think?), and it's a pretty nice place! It's just a short walk from Gotanda station, and the chairs they use there are really comfortable. (That may seem like an odd thing to point out, but, without naming names, the chairs at some venues are really Not It.)
I always have a really good time at GLEAT shows! The fans really get into it (I even saw some fans crying following the ending of the main event), and GLEAT has a lot of very talented wrestlers. However, recently, I get the impression that GLEAT as a whole is kinda underrated. It's a pity because, despite some of the weirdness that sometimes follows GLEAT around (iykyk), I'd really love for more people to watch and appreciate them!
GLEATオープニングマッチ Opening Match
◆G PROWRESTLING【シングルマッチ Singles Match】30分1本勝負 30mins 1 fall
○中嶋勝彦 (14分52秒、レフェリーストップ) 井土徹也●
※チョークスリーパー
◆G PROWRESTLING【8人タッグマッチ 8 Man Tag Match】20分1本勝負 20mins 1 fall
<BLACK GENERATION INTERNATIONAL>
石田凱士 & 鈴木鼓太郎 & 大門寺崇 & ○クワイエット・ストーム
(9分42秒、片エビ固め)
エル・リンダマン & 田中稔 & 吉岡世起 & 八須拳太郎●
※53cm腕ラリアット
<BLACK GENERATION INTERNATIONAL> Kaito Ishida, Kotaro Suzuki, So Daimonji and Quiet Storm vs. El Lindaman, Minoru Tanaka, Seiki Yoshioka and Kentaro Hachisu
Quiet Storm defeated Hachisu (9mins 42s, 53cm Arm Lariat).
第3試合 Third Match
◆G PROWRESTLING【タッグマッチ Tag Match】20分1本勝負 20mins 1 fall
○CIMA & X＝シゲコ☆DX (10分51秒、片エビ固め) KAZMA SAKAMOTO & X＝電車MICHI男●
※シュバイン
CIMA and X = Shigeko☆Deluxe vs. KAZMA SAKAMOTO and X = Densha MICHIO
CIMA defeated MICHIO (10mins 51s, Schwein)
《セミファイナル Semifinal》◆G PROWRESTLING【タッグマッチ Tag Match】30分1本勝負 30mins 1 fall
GLEAT vs Evolution団体対抗戦 Organisation Showdown
<暴走大巨人>○諏訪魔 & 石川修司 (16分13秒、体固め) T-Hawk & 愛鷹亮●<TRIPLE LOVE HAWK>
※バックドロップ
<Violent Giants> Suwama and Shuji Ishikawa vs. T-Hawk and Ryo Aitaka <TRIPLE LOVE HAWK>
Suwama defeated Aitaka (16mins 13s, Backdrop).
※試合後、勝ち誇るEvolutionチームに、TRIPLE LOVE HAWKが次回9月五反田大会で、今回の組み合わせにMICHIKO、ZONESを加えた3 vs 3での対戦を要求し対戦が決定へ。
After the match, Evolution and TRIPLE LOVE HAWK decided that their next match in Gotanda in September will be a 3 vs. 3 tag match including MICHIKO and ZONES.
《メインイベント Main Event》
◆G PROWRESTLING【8人タッグマッチ 8 Man Tag Match】時間無制限1本勝負 No time limit, 1 fall
敗者ユニット解散マッチ Losing Unit Disbands Match
<反GLE MONSTERS >○河上"シャーマン"隆一 & ブラスナックルJUN & 佐藤☆恵一 & クリス・ヴァイス
(26分22秒、エビ固め)
山村武寛● & 渡辺壮馬 & ジュンジェ & JDリー<G-RIZE>
※ファイヤーサンダーボム
※この結果によりG-RIZEの解散が決定
<Anti-GLE Monsters> Ryuichi "Shaman" Kawakami, Brass Knuckles JUN, Keiichi ☆ Sato and Chris Vice vs. Takehiro Yamamura, Soma Watanabe, Junjie and JD Lee <G-RIZE>
Kawakami defeated Yamamura (26mins 22s, Fire Thunder Bomb).
