Champions Night was All Japan Pro Wrestling‘s (AJPW) recent event. This was a night of history as a crowning of a brand new Triple Crown Champion would take place. However, this night would see not just one but three different title changes.
Title Changes at AJPW Champions Night
諦めず、努力を続け、感謝の気持ちを忘れないこと。そして、毎日をハッピーに！そうすれば、夢をつかむことができるんだ！ボクたちのように！念願のベルトの名に恥じないよう、これからも精進を続けます！ありがとうございました！
好きな言葉…『向上心』#ajpw #全日本プロレス #プロレス pic.twitter.com/yXUWcAmvjC
— TAJIRI (@TajiriBuzzsaw) June 26, 2021
Total Eclipse Captures Six Man Gold
In one of the first title matches of the night, Total Eclipse members Hokuto Omori, Yusuke Kodama, and Tajiri would face off against the AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Champions Takao Omori, Carbell Ito, and Black Menso-re. This marked the first opportunity for the belts since the faction’s debut in March. In this match, Total Eclipse picked up the victory by defeating the champions. Omori, Kodama, and Tajiri are now known as the second-ever TV Six Man Tag Team Champions. This also marks the first time that Omori and Kodama have held championship gold within All Japan Pro Wrestling. No official challenges have been made to the champions at this time.
ヨーロッパ人として初の全日本プロレスリング世界ジュニアヘビーチャンピオンになりました！！
皆さん本当にありがとうございます！🤗#akira #ajpw #wrestling pic.twitter.com/7gbqS1Jmu8— AKIRA (フランシスコ・アキラ) (@francescoakira) June 26, 2021
Akira Francesco Wins the World Junior Heavyweight Championship
One of the wrestlers who, for the past two years, has made an impression in AJPW would have to be Akira Francesco. He is a junior wrestler from Italy who debuted for the company in 2019. He didn’t start accomplishing much until 2021, when he would go on to win the Junior Battle of Glory by eliminating El Lindaman in the finals. Francesco would subsequently obtain an opportunity at the reigning champion, Koji Iwamoto.
At Champions Night, after an absolutely brutal war, Francesco would pick up the victory, making him the brand new AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion. Francesco also would make history as the first European wrestler to capture this championship. He is also the first foreign champion to hold the title since Kenny Omega in 2011. Consider that this is the first AJPW championship that Fransceco has won. After the match, he was then challenged by SUGI, which will happen sometime in the near future.
【三冠統一の地から50周年へ】
三冠史上初の巴戦は空前絶後の闘いに🔥
本日は大田区大会へのご来場、
誠にありがとうございました🙇♂️全日本プロレスは三冠統一の地からまた新たな闘いへと進みます
これからの全日本プロレスにご期待ください‼️https://t.co/n3DEwx0mtH#ajpw #三冠統一の地から pic.twitter.com/hOjEMsa01B
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) June 26, 2021
Jake Lee Crowned the New Triple Crown Champion at Champions Night
In the main event, the focus was on crowning a brand new Triple Crown Champion. The belt was vacated due to Suwama testing positive for COVID-19. Thus, a mini-tournament was created with the three finalists of the Champion Carnival. All three were presented with the original Triple Crown Championship belts. A theme would emerge in the form of a rotating singles match until someone gained two points. The order of the match was placed in a lottery.
In the first match, Kento Miyahara would defeat Yuma Aoyagi. Miyahara would next face Jake Lee, with Lee defeating Miyahara in a brutal affair. Afterward, the match was between Lee and Aoyagi. These are two wrestlers that can be described as the future of AJPW.
In this main event, Aoyagi and Lee would put on an absolute clinic. The man who walked out on top was Lee, who defeated Aoyagi to become the new Triple Crown Champion. This marks the first time that Lee has captured this championship. With Jake Lee as champion, he has his eyes set on two opponents who came out after the match: Shotaro Ashino and Shuji Ishikawa.
In the near future, Shuji Ishikawa will face Shotaro Ashino; the winner of that match will become the #1 contender for the Triple Crown Championship. This will happen sooner rather than later, especially with Royal Road coming up in August. With Jake Lee as the Triple Crown Champion, a new era in AJPW has begun.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. Make sure to watch All Japan Pro Wrestling on AJPW.TV.
