AJPW Royal Road Tournament 2024 - Opening Night: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

MUSASHI and Seiki Yoshioka defeated Kuroshio TOKYO Japan and Seigo Tachibana in 15:22 to retain the All Asia Tag Team Championship on the opening night of All Japan's 2024 Royal Road Tournament. MUSASHI pinned Tachibana with Niten Ichiryu, completing the reigning team's fourth successful defense. The contest gave the Nagoya card immediate championship stakes before its first-round singles matches began, with the champions meeting opponents whose contrasting personalities made the pairing distinct.

The title result was independent of the Royal Road bracket. MUSASHI and Yoshioka weren't awarded tournament advancement for winning the tag, and Kuroshio and Tachibana weren't eliminated from the singles field by this particular loss. The fifteen-minute defense gave the champions a serious assignment while keeping the evening organized around the broader tournament. For readers following the All Asia title, this was a useful retention during a period of changing heavyweight opportunities. Its exact finish, defense count and title identity deserve preservation in the Event File.

Hideki Suzuki and Hikaru Sato defeated Fuminori Abe and Hiroki Murase in seven minutes during All Japan's Royal Road Tournament opening night in September 2024. Sato won by referee stoppage against Abe, an unusually specific conclusion that matters more than the modest length might suggest. Suzuki's grappling style combined with Sato's technique against a pairing that could answer with its own physical work. The result was a compact supporting tag placed before the first-round tournament matches.

A referee stoppage is not automatically the same as a pinfall or voluntary submission, so the exact method should remain in the match record. This was not a Royal Road singles elimination or a championship defense. Its purpose was to keep several roster competitors active on a tournament card without requiring them to occupy the main-event length. The official result gave Suzuki and Sato a team victory, while Abe and Murase left as the losing partnership. Fans primarily studying the tournament bracket may choose to skim, but the finish adds documentary value.

Yuma Anzai, Ren Ayabe and Rising HAYATO defeated Kento Miyahara, Davey Boy Smith Jr. and Ryo Inoue in 12:06 at the start of All Japan's 2024 Royal Road Tournament. Anzai pinned Inoue following the Gimlet, giving the ELPIDA side another win against a trio containing two highly regarded heavyweights. Miyahara's status as a leading singles performer and Smith's physical size added credibility to the opposition, while Inoue took the direct fall.

No title belt or tournament round was awarded through this six-man. The pairing instead positioned the younger Anzai-led unit prominently on a card that would later move into Royal Road singles eliminations. Its twelve-minute duration gave fans a useful picture of the roster's competing generations without exhausting the top names before the tournament matches. The result should be credited to all three members of the winning team and must not be simplified to an Anzai singles victory over Miyahara. As an early-card attraction, it helped maintain momentum from the promotion's previous summer programs.

Hokuto Omori, Kumaarashi, Cyrus and Jack Kennedy defeated Jun Saito, Rei Saito, Naruki Doi and Senor Saito in 9:16 at the Royal Road Tournament's 2024 opening night. Omori pinned Senor Saito with a frog splash, giving Hokuto-gun a victory over a group containing the Saito Brothers. Its significance extended beyond the official result when Omori challenged for the tag championship afterward, turning a short faction contest into a setup for a subsequent title program.

The encounter wasn't itself a World Tag Team Championship match and didn't determine a Royal Road singles advancement. All eight wrestlers competed in distinct four-person teams, and the finish belonged specifically to Omori against Senor Saito. The appearance of Jun and Rei connected the contest with All Japan's heavyweight tag landscape, while Cyrus and Kennedy added size to Omori's supporting cast. The brief runtime suited an undercard assembling momentum for later singles tournament matches. Preserving the post-match challenge helps a reader understand why the bout had more purpose than a generic eight-man exhibition.

Joel Redman defeated Yuko Miyamoto in 9:17 in the first round of All Japan's 2024 Royal Road Tournament. Redman finished with a diving knee drop, earning a clear advancement against an opponent with extensive Japanese independent wrestling experience. Contemporary coverage identified the result as an early surprise, giving the visiting entrant greater credibility within a field built around All Japan's established heavyweights. The victory was a tournament result, not a championship title change.

The short encounter served a practical opening-round purpose: establish another credible contender and keep the bracket moving before subsequent first-round matches. Miyamoto's loss ended his own immediate Royal Road opportunity, though it didn't affect a title he held in another division. Redman's advancement should be tracked through the later bracket rather than interpreted as winning the entire competition that night. The finish and status as an opening-round upset provide the specific context a reader needs. For a full tournament rewatch, it is a useful early signal that established favorites might not advance automatically.

Dan Tamura defeated Shotaro Ashino in 13:49 during the first round of All Japan's 2024 Royal Road Tournament. Tamura scored the fall with a powerbomb, earning advancement over an experienced heavyweight who would ordinarily be considered a difficult opponent for a developing competitor. The match lasted longer than the other opening-round meeting involving Joel Redman and Yuko Miyamoto, giving Tamura more room to establish himself before the deciding result. Its fast pace was also noted in contemporary coverage.

Winning here advanced Tamura into the tournament's later stages; it didn't make him the overall Royal Road champion or award the Triple Crown Heavyweight belt. Ashino's elimination mattered because it removed a recognizable veteran from the field and altered expectations for the following rounds. The pairing offered a clear example of the promotion using its annual tournament to give newer wrestlers substantial singles opportunities. The specific powerbomb finish and direct pin should remain linked to Tamura in the match finder rather than be lost within the larger event results.

Honda pins Triple Crown champion Aoyagi with the Final Vent in 19:41 to close the show. The official result establishes the upset, while Superluchas explicitly frames it as a surprise for the crowd and notes Aoyagi’s first-round elimination. The result gains additional historical weight because Honda continues to the tournament final, making this the opening statement of a deeper run rather than an isolated upset.