All Japan Pro Wrestling just ended its Excite Series event on February 23rd. It was a show that featured four title matches. This show also had a few announcements, which included Jake Lee’s return date, and a new challenger approaching for Kento Miyahara. We might as well talk about the one title change that came from this show.
In one of the four title matches on the show, Hikaru Sato would challenge for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship against SUGI. This match was, predictably, pretty good and the mesh of these two styles went down well. But the end result would be an out of nowhere reversal from a 450 into submission for Hikaru Sato to capture the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. The first time he has held this championship since 2017 and his third time holding the championship belt.
While there hasn’t been a new challenger announced for his next potential challenger, Hikaru Sato did a tribute to his late friend, Atsushi Aoki, after the match. Aoki was a close friend and wrestling contemporary of Sato who passed away in 2019. His first potential challenger could be announced at the culmination of the Excite Series tour or potentially at the start of the Dream Power Series in March.
Event Synopsis
The recent event showcased multiple announcements as well. Those announcements did include the return date of Jake Lee, which will be on March 21st. Kento Miyahara also retained his Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in this event, defeating Abdullah Kobayashi. His next scheduled challenger will be Shuji Ishikawa. This is one of the first Triple Crown Matches that Shuji Ishikawa has been a part of since 2020.
Both men were rivals from 2017 All Japan. With the confirmed date being March 21st as the main event of Champions Night III. Including a potential World Tag Team Championship match involving Ryuki Honda. Shotaro Ashino vs. Ryuki Honda was also announced. March seems to be a stacked month for All Japan Pro Wrestling, with Dream Power Series starting next month & Champions Night III happening later on in the month.
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