AJPW Excite Series 2026 - Korakuen Hall - WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Mashimo forced Kofuji to submit with an arm lock in 5:58. In AJPW's February 15 Korakuen match report, Kofuji opened with headscissors and dropkicks, then fired back with a boomerang crossbody and missile dropkick after the veteran attacked his left arm. His rolling pin attempts could not secure the upset; when Kofuji tried a fisherman's suplex, Mashimo countered through a sequence of arm attacks and finished with the hold.

Their November 2025 Hiroshima singles match had also ended with Mashimo attacking and submitting the arm, a result Kofuji had explicitly wanted to avenge. The match was a short developmental singles test, not a junior tag tournament contest or a championship defense. Kofuji left expressing his intention to alter the heavyweight-versus-junior hierarchy despite another loss.

HAVOC's Go Shiozaki, Shotaro Ashino, Xyon and Oddyssey beat Hokuto Omori, Takashi, Aizawa Number One and Jack Kennedy when Xyon pinned Omori after a diving headbutt in 6:04. Omori's team struck before the bell, dragging the fight to the floor, and briefly trapped HAVOC in a series of group attacks. Xyon and Oddyssey were making their return to AJPW after roughly a month away.

The result turned after Oddyssey stopped Omori with Journey's End, allowing Xyon to climb and land the headbutt for the fall. Omori had even attempted to shake hands while announcing his group as HAVOC, part of the bout's faction comedy rather than a real roster merger. The six-minute match reunited the full HAVOC quartet and documented the Hokuto-gun feud; it awarded no Champion Carnival points.

Sakuda pinned Hikaru Sato in 7:39 after a chair-assisted Swanton Bomb, giving the team of MUSASHI, Yuko Miyamoto, Kota Sekifuda and Toshiyuki Sakuda the win over Dan Tamura, Sato, Seiki Yoshioka and Yuya Susumu. AJPW described the match as a preview of two separate February 23 Zennichi Junior Tag Festival first-round pairings: MUSASHI and Shota Kofuji against Susumu and Yoshioka, and Tamura and Sato against Sekifuda and Sakuda. The Korakuen eight-man itself was not a tournament elimination.

After exchanges between MUSASHI and Yoshioka, Sakuda introduced a self-made weapon, then put a chair in position as Sato applied an armbar. Miyamoto intervened with a Segway and Sakuda finished with the chair-assisted Swanton while the referee was distracted by the commotion. The decision belonged to Sakuda over Sato, not to one of the future tag tournament teams advancing by virtue of this eight-person result.

The February 15 Korakuen six-man brought two upcoming title programs into one result. Suwama, Hideki Suzuki and Daisuke Sekimoto defeated World Tag champions Ren Ayabe and Talos and GAORA TV challenger Kumaarashi in 7:43. All Japan records the decision as a referee stoppage from a sleeper hold, not a routine pin. Suzuki's submission of Ayabe therefore gave the challengers a distinct advantage before the tag-title match against the champions at Ota Ward. Sekimoto and Kumaarashi also shared the ring before their separate GAORA title fight. The brief bout made both championship previews concrete while leaving the belts themselves unchanged.

Jun Saito and Yuma Anzai beat Triple Crown champion Kento Miyahara and Ryuki Honda in the February 15 Korakuen tag, with Saito pinning Honda in 9:29 after the Psycho Break. The official result identifies the match as a Triple Crown Championship preview, linking the fall to Saito's coming challenge without claiming that Miyahara was pinned. That distinction is important to the championship timeline: the challenger gained a team victory while the champion avoided taking the direct fall. Rei Saito's involvement in the surrounding return story also helped set the stage for the February 23 Ota Ward event. The later title defense settled the singles question separately.

Ryo Inoue and Mochizuki Jr. upset veteran opponents Naruki Doi and Senor Saito in the Zennichi Junior Tag Festival first round at Korakuen Hall on February 15. The 17:18 victory came by a cradle pin, not a long submission sequence, and All Japan confirmed Inoue's new pairing had advanced. The team used the tournament appearance to establish the LOVE & UGLY name and describe broader title ambitions. Its next result made that introduction more than a one-night novelty: the duo subsequently defeated Dan Tamura and Hikaru Sato in the semifinal. This opening-round win should therefore be evaluated as the first documented step in a successful tournament run, rather than as an isolated veteran upset.

Atsuki Aoyagi and Rising HAYATO defeated Fuminori Abe and Seigo Tachibana in the February 15 Korakuen main event, advancing in the Zennichi Junior Tag Festival after 23:52. The official finish was a Firebird Splash and pin, with the loss landing on a team that included then World Junior champion Tachibana. Aoyagi had his own recent championship history with Tachibana, making the result relevant to both the tag bracket and their singles rivalry. The bout's main-event position was unusual for a junior tag first round and gave the tournament real prominence. Aoyagi and HAYATO subsequently reached the final by beating Seiki Yoshioka and Yuya Susumu, so the Korakuen victory was a pivotal early result.