All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) recently finished up with Real World Tag League. This tournament went on for 8 shows, with a winner of the tournament being crowned on December 5. The December 5 event proved to be noteworthy for more than just tag league as the departure of a top star of the company and another tag tournament were announced at this show.
AJPW News Update: Naoya Nomura Leaves, RWTL Winners, and More
Jr. Tag Battle of Glory 2021 Matches & Participants announced.
For the past two years, All Japan Pro Wrestling has ended its year of shows with the Jr. Tag Battle of Glory Tournament. A tournament that usually crowns new contenders for the All Asia Tag Team Championship. In the middle of this show, the matches and participants were announced for this one-night tournament that will happen on December 26.
- Hikaru Sato and Dan Tamura
- Black Menso-Re and Hiroshi Yamato
- Atsuki Aoyagi and Yu Lizuka (GLEAT)
- Takayuki Ueki and Seigo Tachibana
- Hokuto Omori and Yusuke Kodama
- Takato Nakano and Masato Kamino (BASARA)
- Izanagi and Masashi Takeda (Freelancer)
- SUGI and RAICHO (Freelancer)
All eight of these teams will fight for an opportunity for the All Asia Tag Team Championship, with this tournament featuring a lot of outside talent this year.
Abdullah Kobayashi challenges Jake Lee.
【全日本】小林がジェイクを血祭り葬で三冠挑戦を表明https://t.co/xe8xTNI8zb#ajpw#2021最強タッグ#bjw pic.twitter.com/9t61bkheIN
— プロレス/格闘技DX編集部 (@PKDX) December 5, 2021
Before the main event of the evening, Jake Lee and Hokuto Omori would take part in a hardcore tag match against Abdullah Kobayashi and Drew Parker. In this match, Abdullah Kobayashi and Drew Parker would defeat Jake Lee and Hokuto Omori. Following the win, Kobayashi set his intentions to challenge for the Triple Crown Championship on the 2nd night of New Year Wars on January 3. This marks Jake Lee’s 4th title defense, Lee comes into this one off the back of two defeats to Kobayashi in tag team action.
Naoya Nomura Announces His Departure From All Japan Pro Wrestling
Naoya Nomura was a part of AJPW for the past few years and was a staple of the 2019 reign of Kento Miyahara having two of the more incredible matches to come out of that reign. In early 2020, it was revealed that Naoya Nomura was injured and would be out for a number of months. On the final night of Real World Tag League, Naoya Nomura would make his first appearance in over a year and a half to announce that he would be leaving All Japan Pro Wrestling.
During this segment, he announced that he has something he wants to do while also stating that he’s not retiring from Pro Wrestling yet. Naoya Nomura also stated he wants one more match for the company before he leaves on December 31. This could happen on AJP Prime Night, which was also the sho where Yusuke Okada left AJPW last year. Naoya Nomura was one of the top stars of AJPW and many speculated for him to be one to eventually dethrone Jake Lee for his Triple Crown Championship. The question now leads to where will Naoya Nomura go now? NJPW, DDT, and NOAH have the potential to be landing points for Nomura. We’ll know more info on this at the start of the year.
Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi Win Real World Tag League for 2nd Year in a Row.
In the finals of the Real World Tag League, Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi would face off against Kuma Arashi and Koji Doi. Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi defeated the World Tag Team Champs of Suwama and Shotaro Ashino to enter the finals. Meanwhile, Miyahara and Aoyagi would defeat KAZMA SAKAMOTO and Kengo Mashimo in the opening match, which would lead to our final for the tournament.
In the finals, it was Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi emerging victorious in a 27 minute match. The team won the Real World Tag League for the 2nd year in a row in the process. Following the win, they set their sights on World Tag Team Champions Suwama and Shotaro Ashino. This upcoming match usually happens on the opening night of AJPW’s calendar year on January 2’s New Year Wars.
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.
