[2018-10-21-AJPW-Raising An Army Memorial Series] Zeus vs Kento Miyahara

[paul sosnowski]

Zeus defends the AJPW Triple Crown.   Talk about it here

[Richeyedwards]

There were parts of this match when I was thinking that this might knock Kento vs Maru from the cc finals off the top spot of my match of the year list, it fell just short but is still an incredible match.

Zeus looked the best I have ever seen him, he controlled most of the match and spent it by brutalizing Kento’s neck. From the point 3 or so minutes in when he refused to do a clean break up until nearly 20 minutes later he was largely on top, working over Kento’s neck with a wide variety of chops and other neck attacks such as forcing him throat first into the guardrail and the same on the turnbuckle.

Further on down the stretch it was a bit more back and forth but not your turn my turn with the exception of one short sequence. This part was more of a Kento led section in the stretch as he just desperately went for the shutdown german suplex and knee strikes. He showed some real desperation as he knew that Zeus could beat him as he had done in July. He looked like he knew he was in real peril, something he does not always do in the lesser title defenses, that makes this match seem bigger and really puts Zeus over. When Zeus did finally get caught in the shutdown german he managed to kick out, becoming the first person since 2015 to do and the first since Kento became the ace.

Everything done in this match seemed to be aimed towards making both men look as great as possible, particularly Zeus, I am not sure what else they could have done to put Zeus more over in defeat than what they did. He controlled much of the match and managed to kick out of a move that has beaten everyone for 3 years now. Kento sold incredibly well for him and after the match continued selling for a while, not launching into his post-match promo for a good few minutes.

This was far superior than the previous match between the two as it played to their strengths far more than that match did. The July Osaka match had Kento largely in control and Zeus fighting from underneath. I understand why they did that, it was in Zeus’s home town and they wanted him to look like he really worked for the win. But it is not really the right dynamic for these two, this match most certainly had that dynamic down correctly. It was very high paced throughout with really high intensity without slowing down or becoming tiring due to the speed. It was paced magnificently and really gave an air of both men going all out to win.

On a more critical side, I think there was a little to much spamming of the blackout knee and the problem of it being in Yokohama bunka gym which is a shithole. But I do not blame them for the latter as they managed to get this almost always dead crowd to make a lot of noise which is highly commendable. As for the knee strikes? I am a bit concerned that Kento is becoming over reliant on them but it does not seriously harm the matches quality. ****3/4 goes straight in as no2 on my match of the year list.

[nivvad]

Another incredible match between these two rivals, but I can't say it reached the dramatic levels of their Osaka match. For one, the champ pinning the challenger before this match clearly spelled out that Zeus was losing as there was no way he was pinning Kento 3 times in a row, so that in turn brought down the drama quite a bit. Especially compared to their Osaka match which had the story of whether or not Zeus could win in his hometown. Another complaint I have is this did not need to go over 30 minutes again. I found at least 10 minutes of Zeus's work on top very boring, and Kento making his comeback at the 20 minute mark made it very apparent they were going over 30 again. It's a problem that other Puroresu promotions do, and I hope it isn't becoming a trend in All Japan too. Anyways, the work put in from both guys was pretty incredible. Zeus did practically everything he could do to put Kento away, but nothing was enough. They even kicked out of each other's finishers once again. Zeus as champion was fun, and he stepped his game up considerably, so I hope he doesn't stop giving a shit once again now that his time on top is over, ****3/4.

[Boss Rock]

Quite possibly the best AJPW match of 2018 and easily the best Zeus match ever. AJPW following NJPW's trend of 30+ main events is a bit concerning, but despite not much of importance happening in the first 7-8 minutes, the length still felt earned in a way. Zeus, having constantly been surpassed by Kento the past few years, finally got his moment and beat him for the title. And yet three months later, here Kento is again. I felt that really added an extra layer of storytelling to Zeus largely dominating this match. He not only knows how tough Kento is firsthand, but he's determined to do whatever it takes to put Kento behind him for good. This wasn't a squash, but the beatdown segments of chops and clotheslines made most of this match fairly one-sided. And while my biggest criticism of Kento has always been how easily he mounts comebacks and how little he sells the previous work done to him, he never once got his streak of "Nope, I'm fine!". Rather, he'd use his speed to evade Zeus and hit a running knee. He threw maybe a bit too many of these, but it worked in the sense that it was a quick yet powerful shot that would buy him some time to recover. If it works, why not keep using it? I also liked how he attempted the O'Connor roll that helped him beat Yuji Hino after being dominated by a much a stronger opponent. And while I would have preferred Zeus to get the definitive victory, Kento's win didn't feel cheap either. It really came across as the experienced main-eventer knowing how to dig down deep and finish the job whereas Zeus isn't quite there yet.

Tremendous title match and one of the year's best. Watch this match now. ****3/4

[superkix]

I can't really get into Kento Miyahara matches anymore so this felt extra long...but, that being said, Zeus ruled in this match. The best part was him just chopping the shit out of the back of Miyahara's neck, which, you know, Miyahara immediately blows off but he's gotta get at least ten of those thighslapping knee strikes in. Some of Zeus' lariats looked gnarly, especially the one to set up the jackhammer, and credit where it's due, Miyahara's bumping only made Zeus look more beast-like. I still like the Zeus/Doering match the best out of what little AJPW I've seen this year but I thought Zeus looked better here. 

[Tetsujin]

This match has awesome offense from both guys and a really strong climax, but god Kento really needs to learn how to long-time sell. All the damage he takes in the heat segments comes to nothing when he makes his comebacks, and that's not the exception here. It's not a coincidence I like much more Kento's big matches when he actually loses, because that's the only way the damage he gets matters. But yeah, still a great match and specially a wonderful Zeus performance, his control segment was a delight and shit that German Suplex kickout at 2.999 was done perfectly. ***3/4.

[Makai Club #1]

Fantastic match. I heard great things and I had to wait a few weeks before I could get to watch it and I wasn’t disappointed. The entrances were electric, really got the heart pumping for this one. The storytelling was simple but the wrestling made it great. Zeuz was immense in this match, he showed tons of fire. He was focused, brutal in his offence and he came out looking like a star after it. Kento’s selling was key too. It wasn’t constantly feel your neck selling, it was a general slowing down of offence and limited mobility, he looked like he was thin ice making his comebacks. Fighting with desperation and doing anything he could. Great showing from both. The ending wasn’t as hot as it could’ve been, probably the only thing stopping me from giving the full 5 but this was fantastic. ****3/4