All Japan Pro Wrestling has started off 2022 in a major way. AJPW saw the recent crowning of new tag team titleholders, a new junior heavyweight titleholder, and the new Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion. In the upcoming month, we have multiple title matches featured during the AJPW Excite Series 2022 tour.
AJPW Excite Series 2022 – Title Matches Confirmed
【2.5大阪大会】
「2022 EXCITE SERIES
～ARROW presents～」
🗓2月5日(土) 17:00開始
エディオンアリーナ大阪(第2競技場)🔷世界ジュニアヘビー級選手権試合
🔷世界タッグ選手権試合前哨戦
🔻大会詳細はこちら🔻https://t.co/E5DfCla4W3#ajpw #ajpwtv #ajpw50th pic.twitter.com/1UXqM5m0we
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) January 31, 2022
WORLD JUNIOR HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
SUGI recently won the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship by defeating Super Crazy. After a successful title defense against Rising HAYATO, SUGI was challenged by Andy Wu. Andy Wu is one of the newest stars in AJPW, though as a freelancer. This will mark the first time Wu has challenged for this championship and SUGI’s second title defense in this reign. This title match will take place on February 5.
ALL ASIA TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
Hokuto Omori and Yusuke Kodama won the All Asia Tag Team Championship at the beginning of the year, defeating former champions El Lindaman and T-Hawk. With one title defense under their belts, Omori and Kodama face off against a tag team they were familiar with in the Jr. Tag Battle of Glory Tournament: Takato Nakano and Masato Kamino, both representing the Pro Wrestling BASARA promotion. This team would go into the semi-finals of this tournament until getting eliminated in dirty fashion by the team they are facing here. This marks the second title defense for Omori and Kodama, as well as the first time Nakano and Kamino have challenged for titles in All Japan Pro Wrestling. This title match will take place on February 17.
🎫2.17保土ケ谷大会 前売券販売中🎫
「2022 EXCITE SERIES」
🗓2月17日(木) 18:30開始
神奈川･横浜市保土ケ谷公会堂🔷アジアタッグ選手権試合
下記プレイガイドにて販売中📣
e+https://t.co/FflDt9ZzR2#ajpw #ajpw50th pic.twitter.com/LAa905UKC4
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) January 31, 2022
GAORA TV CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
Since winning the GAORA TV Championship in late December, Shigehiro Irie has made one successful title defense; his second defense will take place on the final show for the Excite Series 2022 tour, which is headlined by three major title matches. In the first one, Irie battles Isami Kodaka, a main-stay of deathmatch promotions his entire career, including Big Japan Pro Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. Kodoka was even a former All Asia Tag Team Champion in 2020, while also taking part in last year’s Real World Tag League. This marks his first attempt at a singles championship and it will happen on February 23.
WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
Even though Suwama and Shotaro Ashino were both unsuccessful at capturing the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship, their tag run as AJPW World Tag Team Champions has been quite successful. Suwama and Shotaro Ashino were the AJPW World Tag Team Champions going into the Real World Tag League. They would go to the semi-finals of the tournament before being eliminated by Koji Doi and Kuma Arashi, leading them to go into the finals. Doi and Kuma Arashi recently challenged the champions to a match.
Doi and Arashi are major forces in the tag team division. This match could be a crowning moment for the only members of Total Eclipse to capture the World Tag Team Championship. This is also Suwama and Ashino’s biggest title match, thus far, in this reign. With this match marking their 3rd title defense, it will take place on February 23.
🎫2.23後楽園大会 前売券販売中🎫
「2022 EXCITE SERIES」
🗓2月23日(水･祝)11:30 後楽園ホール🔷三冠ヘビー級選手権試合
🔷世界タッグ選手権試合
🔷GAORA TVチャンピオンシップ
e+https://t.co/FflDtahaIA#ajpw #ajpw50th pic.twitter.com/5n5MTFFIqP
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) January 31, 2022
TRIPLE CROWN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
At the end of the year, Jake Lee was supposed to defend his Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship against Abdullah Kobayashi; this wouldn’t take place, as Lee vacated the title due to an injury. At the end of the New Year Wars 2022 tour, Kento Miyahara would defeat Suwama and Ryuki Honda to capture the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the fifth time in his career. After capturing the championship, Kobayashi challenged Miyahara for the championship at the end of the Excite Series tour.
While not the first time these two have faced off, these two are bitter rivals from past Real World Tag Leagues. Kobayashi even scored a pinfall over Miyahara in 2020’s variation of the tournament. Since that match, Miyahara faced off against him in singles action, but it would lead to a no contest. This marks Miyahara’s first title defense, and this will most likely be the main event of the Excite Series show on February 23. Will Kento Miyahara retain his championship, or will Abdullah Kobayashi cause the upset of the century? We will figure out the answer to this question at the Excite Series 2022 tour this February.
Synopsis
One of the factors that stands out in this tour of shows is that there isn’t an AJPW TV Six-Man Tag Team Championship match. It’s the only and absent championship throughout this tour. In this tour as well, we will see the debut of KAZMA SAKAMOTO’s newest faction in tag action. It seems like AJPW is stacked and could be a major month of action for All Japan Pro Wrestling.
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.
