Shuji Ishikawa vs. Kento Miyahara (AJPW, 8/27/17)

This was a really good match that had the potential to be fantastic had Kento Miyahara deviated from his go-to formulaic approach. I mean, you had all the Kento "ace" tropes here: the hard in-the-moment selling but convenient bouts of amnesia to shoe in his signature moves and then the final minute comeback barrage of endless knees. But it was a brutally fought match and for the most part, the conveyed struggle, fatigue and desperation on Miyahara's part was awesome, coupled with the relentless monstrosity of black trunks Shuji Ishikawa trying to destroy any chance Miyahara has of beating him. I mean, the Big Dog's yard is a truly frightening place to be cornered in. The way he just throws Miyahara throat-first onto the guardrail and proceeds to tenderize the neck like a veal cutlet, with his nasty push-up facebusters on the mat and easily the most memorable spot of the night -- the gnarly Fire Thunder Driver on the apron that was sold like absolute death by Kento.

I thought Miyahara's selling was better than his usual fare but you still have dumb spots like the no sold superplex and even dumber spots like the no sold dragon suplex. Loved the strike exchange toward the end, with an exhausted Miyahara trying to slug away with Ishikawa and Ishikawa annihilating him with that headbutt, followed by a ruthless beatdown via elbows. Wada tries to step in but Ishikawa throws him off, which allows Kento to connect with a lunging desperation headbutt. Why Ishikawa didn't go for the Giant Slam is baffling to me but instead, he tries for another pull-in knee strike and Miyahara counters with a big high knee strike...then a second...then a third...and then the arm-trap German and...it's over.

I liked the build to the arm-trap German, with Shuji either using an elbow to escape or just bursting out, but the finish felt very lackluster, especially considering all the punishment Ishikawa had put Miyahara through, including three Fire Thunder Drivers, a bunch of running knees, and a Splash Mountain Bomb. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Ishikawa to kick out of the German and force Miyahara to introduce a new finisher to his repertoire on the biggest stage of the year. But I guess if the formula ain't broke, there's no point in going back to the drawing board. This is about even with Ishikawa's title win, possibly a bit higher due to Ishikawa's savage performance, and with that, Ishikawa's Triple Crown run ends and he's free to show up in Big Japan and attempt...and I mean, attempt...to dethrone current king of technical violence, Hideki Suzuki.

Shuji Ishikawa vs. Jake Lee (6/11/17)

Jake Lee's star-making performance came against Miyahara on the opening night of the 2017 Champion Carnival. While I prefer that singles performance for Lee, this firmly established him as a player in the Triple Crown scene. He was firing on all cylinders here, getting in a stunningly large amount of offense against Ishikawa, most of which looked good -- you know, apart from whiffing on his big jumping kick by about a mile. A "Holy Shit!" moment comes early in the match when Lee narrowly escapes a powerbomb on the apron only to get German suplexed on the floor! Referee Wada smacking Lee's face, trying to get him back into the ring was an amazing little moment. Ishikawa works on Lee's neck for a bit, hitting some big elbows and a corner Russian legsweep. But after he fights for a suplex, the match turns into the Jake Lee show as he gets in a nice rush of offense against Ishikawa.

 He puts on a sleeper hold and Ishikawa climbs the ropes, falling back to momentarily stun Lee but Jake latches back on with the sleeper. He hits a nasty running knee with Ishikawa draped on the apron and an apron PK. I loved when Lee really turned up the aggression in the final quarter of the match, blasting the champ with some nasty big boots, stomping away at Ishikawa's head and shoulder in the corner and later, delivering those hand-held kicks to the arm reminiscent of Shibata against Okada. He's able to stagger Ishikawa with a big boy elbow, beautifully sold by Shuji, before kneeing him some more. He's able to execute the backdrop but it isn't enough to put the Big Dog away. After a few running knees and a Fire Thunder Driver (kicked out at one by Lee!), Ishikawa tries for the Giant Slam but Lee resists it, forcing Ishikawa to headbutt and elbow him down before finishing him with the Giant Slam. A strong performance from Lee and a solid defense for Ishikawa. 

Kento Miyahara vs. Shuji Ishikawa (AJPW, 5/21/17)

This is one of those big title match-ups in which the viewing experience would've been greatly enhanced had the end result not been spoiled. Nevertheless, if you've managed to stay spoiler-free somehow or if not, you're in for a treat. This is the Big Dog at his best and while Kento Miyahara is the same "ace" Kento we've all grown to love, with his convenient comebacks and shoehorned spots, his facial expressions are some of the best I've seen from him as Ishikawa dishes out the punishment. Ishikawa cuts off Kento's momentum early on, catching him off the apron and ramming him into the ring post. He goes to work on Kento's back, scoop slamming him onto the apron, double stomping him, even putting him in my favorite submission hold, the Texas Cloverleaf! Miyahara's in-the-moment selling is always good but when he's on offense, it can be a lapse in and out. Miyahara delivers a ton of Blackout knees in this, including one on the apron.

The match really hits its peak down the home stretch, when Kento goes for another Blackout and Ishikawa ducks it, dumping him with the release dragon suplex and hitting the running knee for a nearfall. Shuji's able to hit the Fire Thunder Driver for two but Kento counters the Splash Mountain Bomb with a rana and connects with back-to-front Blackouts, followed by the stalling German suplex hold for two. He tries to trap Ishikawa's arms for the shutdown German and even as Ishikawa fights to break out, Kento still has control of the arms, forcing Shuji to fight harder. When he breaks out, he hits a couple of knees and the Splash Mountain Bomb but the champ still kicks out! Kento's able to hit one last desperation Blackout but when he tries for the coup de grace, Ishikawa counters with another Fire Thunder Driver and puts the ace down with the Giant Slam. A well-deserved win for the Big Dog and it will be interesting to see if Miyahara can regain the title in the coming months or if Ishikawa gets a nice, lengthy reign with some fresh defenses.

Kento Miyahara vs. Jun Akiyama (AJPW, 7/23/16)

This was easily Kento Miyahara's best title defense, and probably his best match of the year so far. It's still a Kento Miyahara match though. Still the same "ace" tropes, the convenient selling, the no-sold superplex rush, but the dynamic between he and Akiyama made this feel special. The grizzled ace that never was, love tapping Miyahara on the face like "let's do this, kid." And the new cocky ace returning the favor like, "here we go, old man." The danger of the front necklock was built well into the match as Akiyama does a number on Kento's neck in preparation, like his piledriver, a reverse DDT on the apron, and a brainbuster. I love his elbow strikes to the neck. Miyahara's selling was okay at best, but he sold in other ways that helped flesh this thing out. The aftermath of the apron spot and Miyahara just barely making it back into the ring only to be met with a running knee and deep front necklock. Great stuff. Akiyama brings the best out of Miyahara's performance, and he was near perfect in this. The risky headbutt during the elbow exchange, his disbelief in Miyahara surviving the EXPLODER '98! and his sad final stand (not literal), crawling through the knee strikes until Kento finally puts him down like a lame horse with last shot. Miyahara's hardest fought defense and a damn fine performance from Akiyama. 

Kento Miyahara vs. Naoya Nomura (AJPW, 4/16/16)

A fun, competitive pairing of Miyahara's energetic aggression and Nomura's spirited won't die attitude. You can see it from the outset as he rushes headlong into a boot from Miyahara, who promptly dispatches him out of the ring as if he can't be bothered. So Nomura rethinks his strategy. After he ties Miyahara in the ropes, he pops off a nasty elbow as if to say...you will be bothered, bitch. The action spills out of the ring, where we get flying elbow butts and floor scoop slams. Miyahara bullies him awhile back inside, and when Nomura shows retaliation, Miyahara responds with a backbreaker and the dreaded crab hold. Even when Nomura gets a little spurt of offense, Miyahara does a good job of neutralizing the situation, putting him back in the crab hold with a little added punishment before cranking in the single leg crab (all day). I loved Nomura's roll-through spear and a second spear gets him a nearfall. He shows a lot of fight during the finishing stretch, and we see the champ sort of snap and elbow him repeatedly. Miyahara stalks him for the running knee to the back of the head, hits a follow-up brainbuster but Nomura survives it! But another running knee is enough to put him away for good. I enjoyed this more than the Sekimoto/Akiyama match from the same show.