AJPW Super Power Series 2024 Day 1: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

The strongest decision is keeping the Triple Crown on Anzai against Miyahara. The Champion Carnival had just re-established Miyahara as the company’s premier tournament wrestler, so Anzai beating him directly for the title prevents the young champion from feeling like a placeholder. It also gives Anzai a defining defense against the most obvious measuring stick on the roster.

The post-match group formation adds another layer. Pairing Anzai with Honda, Ayabe and HAYATO gives several younger wrestlers a shared direction and lets the Triple Crown champion lead something broader than an isolated singles reign. That is a useful reset after the Carnival because it creates multiple match combinations without immediately requiring another title change.

Elsewhere, the show does a good job of turning secondary programs into actual match consequences. Kuroshio beats Aoyagi in a more serious, heelish continuation of their feud; Abe submits HAYATO in the eight-man tag; and the Saito Brothers get a fresh heavyweight team in Parrow and Odinson. The card feels like a bridge into the next month rather than a random collection of post-tournament matches.

The main drawback is that several matches are more functional than memorable. The opener, the Ayabe-Ashino tag and portions of the six-person title match do their jobs without creating much urgency. That keeps the overall grade below the company’s stronger tournament cards even though the final stretch succeeds.

AJPW officially lists 1,355 fans at Korakuen Hall and marks the show as sold out. That is a useful presentation win immediately after the Champion Carnival because it shows the promotion can carry momentum into a non-tournament series opener instead of relying only on the league format to create interest.

The card has a clear escalation. The early matches establish character and secondary feuds, the middle of the show introduces championship previews, and the final three bouts are all title matches. EC3 adds an outside name, Parrow and Odinson give the Saito Brothers physically comparable challengers, and Anzai-Miyahara provides the obvious domestic main event.

The review evidence also supports that progression. ProWresBlog described the opener as fine for a dark match, the Ayabe-Ashino tag as ordinary undercard work and the juniors eight-man as decent. Kuroshio-Aoyagi earned a thumbs-up because it advanced the feud, while the World Tag Team match was called fun even if it did not maximize its potential. The main event was the clear peak.

The show’s closing image matters as much as the match quality. Anzai survives Miyahara, then stands with Honda, Ayabe and HAYATO. That gives a sold-out Korakuen crowd a concrete next chapter instead of simply ending on a title retention. It is the kind of post-tournament pivot that makes the new series feel intentional.

The official event page links to All Japan Pro Wrestling TV as the archive destination. WrestleFile does not claim current event-specific access because a stable direct watch URL and present subscription terms were not independently verified, so the availability field remains explicit.

Anzai defeating Miyahara is the event’s biggest historical marker. Miyahara had just won Block A of the Champion Carnival and reached the tournament final, making him the clearest established challenger available. Anzai beating him in a long Triple Crown match gives the younger champion a major defense over a wrestler whose résumé already defined modern AJPW.

The post-match alignment with Honda, Ayabe and HAYATO may prove just as important for the period. It connects the champion to other younger wrestlers who had spent the spring building individual momentum and gives the company a visible generational unit after years in which Miyahara, Suwama and other veterans dominated the top-level identity.

The Saito Brothers also continue their rise. Jun and Rei retain their place at the top of the tag division against Parrow and Odinson, a larger opposing team that changes the physical dynamic from many of their domestic defenses. Naruki Doi appearing after the match and aligning with them adds another wrinkle to the group around the champions.

EC3 defending the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship against Ryuki Honda gives the show an international-title entry in AJPW’s modern archive. The match is not the centerpiece, but it places Honda opposite an outside champion and broadens the event beyond internal AJPW programs.

For WrestleFile’s chronology, this is the first uncovered AJPW event after the Champion Carnival run. It therefore marks the exact transition from tournament season into the summer title cycle: Anzai remains champion, Miyahara is pushed back into the challenger field, the younger group forms, and the Saito Brothers keep control of the tag division.