AJPW New Year Wars 2025 - Tag 2: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

The World Tag main event is the card's strongest booking decision because the result pays off a clearly stated historical objective. Jun and Rei Saito entered with six successful defenses and retained against Sekimoto and Suzuki when Rei pinned Suzuki after the BBQ Bomb at 18:58. The seventh defense tied the record the champions had discussed publicly, and the reign continued until March 9, 2025, giving the result more weight than a one-night statistical milestone.

Using Suzuki in the deciding fall is also meaningful. All Japan announced his affiliation beginning January 2, but the January 3 title match had already been set while he was a freelancer. Losing the challenge does not undermine the signing; it immediately places Suzuki inside a major championship story and gives his first weekend as a contracted roster member a defined competitive role. Sekimoto remains protected from the fall while the Saito Brothers preserve their long reign.

Anzai over Ashino is the clearest undercard advancement. Anzai had spent the previous day in an eight-man match and scored that fall as well. Putting him over an established former Triple Crown champion in a 15-minute singles match gives the second result more consequence and keeps him visible near the top of the younger heavyweight group. The result is reinforced by its placement directly before the World Tag title match.

Aoyagi over Abe works on a smaller scale. Both had become six-man champions together on January 2, yet a singles match between partners gives Aoyagi an individual win without weakening the new championship trio as a unit. MUSASHI's opener pin and ELPIDA's tag victory similarly extend the first day's direction rather than resetting the board.

The announced crowd of 1,339 is a step up from the 1,235 reported one day earlier in the same Korakuen Hall. All Japan's advance material had already listed the premium front-row category as sold out for January 3, and the title-match press conference gave the main event a record-defense hook before the audience arrived. That combination gives Tag 2 a focused identity beyond a routine second day of a holiday tour.

The six-match layout is efficient. Nothing before the main event exceeds 15:19, while the title match gets 18:58. The junior ten-man opener is the longest undercard match by only ten seconds over Anzai-Ashino, so the show avoids an overloaded middle. The card gradually narrows from multi-man and tag formats into two singles matches and then the championship main event, which makes the final third feel more consequential.

The two archive listings on the official result page are also useful evidence for the event's presentation history. AJPW TV is the promotion's own streaming home, while Samurai TV is listed alongside it on the result page. WrestleFile uses the stable AJPW TV service root for availability rather than assuming a permanent event-specific playback URL.

The seventh World Tag defense is the main historical marker. All Japan's own pre-match conference explicitly framed the defense as a chance for the Saito Brothers to tie the existing record, and the official results confirm they succeeded. The same title reign lasted from March 30, 2024, until March 9, 2025, a 344-day run in independent title-history records. January 3 therefore captures the point where a long reign reached its stated defense milestone.

The match also sits at an unusual intersection in Jun Saito's championship chronology. Jun had won the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship on December 31, 2024, yet he and Rei were still carrying the World Tag titles. The January 3 defense preserves the tag reign during the first days of Jun's singles-title run, showing that All Japan did not immediately split those responsibilities after the year-end title change.

Suzuki's participation creates another useful archive marker. All Japan announced that he became an affiliated wrestler effective January 2. One day later he is challenging for a major championship alongside Sekimoto. That sequence gives the signing immediate in-ring context and places Suzuki directly into a major title program.

Anzai's singles win over Ashino matters because of opponent quality and timing. Ashino is a former Triple Crown champion and established singles benchmark, while Anzai was still building his place among the promotion's younger headliners. The Gimlet win comes one day after Anzai also scored the deciding fall in a featured eight-man match, making the Korakuen doubleheader a concentrated early-2025 push.

MUSASHI and Aoyagi also receive continuity wins. MUSASHI's second consecutive deciding fall follows his new association-office role, while Aoyagi beats Abe after both men won six-man gold together the previous day. Neither result is as important as the main event, but both help explain how All Japan used the opening weekend to establish who would carry momentum into the rest of New Year Wars.

As a complete archive entry, Tag 2 is more than a title defense. It documents a record-matching championship milestone, the immediate competitive use of a newly signed wrestler, two straight prominent Anzai wins and a stronger Korakuen attendance than January 2. The B+ grade reflects a card whose historical value is concentrated but genuine.