AJPW Founding Anniversary Series 2025 - WrestleFile Historical Verdict

The main event is booked around history rather than simply attaching a challenger to a newly crowned champion. Shiozaki's return gives Miyahara a personal opponent from a different era of AJPW, and the nine-to-zero singles record creates a clear barrier for the champion. Miyahara finally beating him makes the first defense feel like more than maintenance.

The post-match progression is equally useful. Miyahara softens his stance toward Shiozaki, inviting him back into the ring after the defense, but the show does not end on reconciliation alone. Hokuto Omori attacks from behind and demands a title shot, moving the championship immediately into the next program for the November 3 Sapporo event. That is efficient major-event booking: resolve one historical rivalry and start another before the audience leaves.

The Asia Tag defense is positioned as the workrate co-main and gives the junior division a real championship platform. MUSASHI and Yoshioka retain after 16:15, then Shota Kofuji and Hideki Suzuki appear as the next challengers under the Aggressive Cats name. The title therefore leaves the anniversary show with a completed defense and a fresh direction.

The remaining matches mostly serve future programs, but they do so with specific purpose. Ayabe and Talos beat Honda and Nomura in a preview of the Real World Tag League field. HAVOC scores another six-man win while Shiozaki's faction role remains central to the main event. The second match continues the instability around Hokuto Omori before his eventual main-event attack.

The show does not need a major title change to justify its major-event status. The anniversary framing, the long-delayed Miyahara-Shiozaki singles match, two title defenses and the immediate setup of the next Triple Crown challenger create enough consequence.

Korakuen Hall with 1,322 announced gives the anniversary card a strong Tokyo presentation. The date itself carries institutional importance, and Miyahara's entrance with the old three-belt Triple Crown presentation reinforces the sense that AJPW is consciously looking backward and forward at the same time.

The match order builds steadily. A singles opener gives way to faction-heavy tags, followed by Anzai's singles match, the Asia Tag title defense and finally the Triple Crown main event. That allows the historical stakes of the last two matches to dominate the second half without forcing every undercard bout to act like a major-event match.

The official detailed report provides unusually rich context for the main event. It records the crowd's strong support for Miyahara, Shiozaki's chops and lariats, the late finishing sequence, Miyahara's eventual Shutdown Suplex victory and the post-match embrace. It also records the immediate Omori attack and title challenge, which prevents the show from ending as a purely retrospective celebration.

The anniversary setting also changes how the main event reads. Miyahara is not just defending a championship; he is defending it against a wrestler whose previous AJPW run and departure were part of the promotion's prior decade. The bout becomes a story about continuity and ownership of the modern AJPW identity.

All Japan Pro Wrestling TV and GAORA Sports are both listed on the official event page, giving the historical record a documented viewing path even though current replay terms can change.

Miyahara's first successful defense of the 76th Triple Crown reign is the clearest historical marker. He had just regained the title after more than two and a half years without it, and defeating Shiozaki gives the reign immediate credibility. The result is especially notable because Shiozaki entered with a 9-0 singles record against Miyahara.

The match also reframes Shiozaki's relationship with AJPW. The official report emphasizes Miyahara's anger over Shiozaki's earlier departure and abandoned tag-title situation, then closes with Miyahara inviting him back into the ring and the two embracing. That does not erase the history, but it turns the anniversary main event into a symbolic re-entry point for Shiozaki in the promotion.

Omori's post-match attack is the next important piece. His challenge sends the Triple Crown program directly to Sapporo and converts tension from the earlier G Boys match into the top-title story. The second match's strange mood therefore has a payoff by the end of the card.

MUSASHI and Yoshioka's first Asia Tag defense gives their reign legitimacy beyond the September title change. Beating Aoyagi and HAYATO, then facing a challenge from Kofuji and Suzuki, extends the belt's storyline into a new team and preserves a clear junior-heavyweight identity around the championship.

The show also acts as a bridge to the 2025 Real World Tag League. Ayabe and Talos, Honda and Nomura, and several other entrants are positioned in tag programs before the tournament begins. The anniversary event therefore connects AJPW's historical identity to its next major competitive phase.