All Japan Pro Wrestling started the year with the crowning of a new World Junior Champion and All Asia Tag Team Champions. As January continues, AJPW has a vacant Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. The previous champion, Jake Lee, was injured at the end of 2021. On this upcoming AJPW New Year Wars 2022 event, the company will be crowning a new Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship in a one-night tournament. But that’s not all, as more title matches have been revealed for this card.
【1.23後楽園大会】
「2022 NEW YEAR WARS」
🗓1月23日(日) 11:30開始
東京･後楽園ホール🔷三冠ヘビー級王座決定トーナメント
🔷世界ジュニアヘビー級選手権試合
🔷アジアタッグ選手権試合
🔻詳細はこちら🔻https://t.co/ilPSHJKkXn#ajpw #ajpw50th #ajpwtv pic.twitter.com/ZbZt4X32j9
— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) January 4, 2022
Title Matches Set for AJPW New Year Wars 2022 Event
All Asia Tag Team Championship Match
In one of the first title matches of the New Year Wars 2022 show, Hokuto Omori and Yusuke Kodama defend their newly won All Asia Tag Team Championship against Izanagi and Devil Murasaki. Devil Murasaki is one of the comedy characters of Purple Haze. Murasaki has been responsible for some of the shenanigans seen in AJPW. Omori and Kodama make their first title defense here, recently defeating El Lindaman and T-Hawk in a major upset. Izanagi was recently the All Asia Tag Team Champion, holding the championship for over a year until losing it to the former champions. Our prediction here for Omori and Kodama to retain. It seems unlikely they’d lose the titles so soon, but crazier things have happened in this company during the past year.
World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match
In the second title match of this New Year Wars 2022 event, SUGI makes his first World Junior Heavyweight Championship defense against Rising HAYATO. SUGI recently defeated Super Crazy for the championship. Following the match, HAYATO challenged SUGI. Since SUGI’s return to All Japan Pro Wrestling, he hasn’t faced Rising HAYATO. Though HAYATO is in one of the most popular factions in AJPW, NEXTREAM, he hasn’t had many championship opportunities.
With this championship match being his first singles title match, our prediction for this match is for SUGI to retain. SUGI just regained the championship and is facing someone who’s brand new to singles title matches. More than anything, this match could be a breakout moment for the career of Rising HAYATO.
Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship Tournament
The main theme of this show is a one-night tournament to crown a brand new Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion. As previously mentioned, the title was vacated by Jake Lee due to injury. There will be two semi-finals matches, with the winners of both matches meeting in the finals of the tournament. The first match is Suwama vs. Kento Miyahara. The former ace & current ace of All Japan Pro Wrestling is one of the most important matches of both careers. Suwama never lost the championship in his recent reign, while Miyahara hasn’t held it since 2020.
In the recent addition of shows, Ryuki Honda started garnerning attention from All Japan Pro Wrestling, injuring the former champion, Jake Lee. Ever since the match, Honda has been drastically transforming, being showcased as a potential and unofficial member for Total Eclipse. Honda start teaming with said faction as of late. Honda would even assault Miyahara after the latter’s recent title match. Ryuki Honda will battle Shotaro Ashino.
Shotaro Ashino has been a staple of the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship scene for the past year and a half. He would lose in all of his attempts at the championship. The winner of the tournament will become the 65th Triple Crown Champion. When it comes to the predictions of this tournament, it seems unlikely that honda is winning due to how new he is to AJPW. However, the winner of Miyahara and Suwama is the most interesting part. Ashino seems like a given finalist, but will all of these failed attempts finally be worth it and finally win the Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion? We see it as unlikely. Our prediction is Kento Miyahara.
Synopsis
One of the standout notes is that Yuma Aoyagi isn’t in this tournament, especially given how prevalent he is in the storyline with Shotaro Ashino. They had multiple singles matches, with a potential for the match feeling like the next logical step, though it isn’t happening. AJPW is ending the month in a major way, crowning a new champion and putting on two more title matches. It seems to be a jam-packed night of action on January 23 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.
