Kento Miyahara vs Naoya Nomura: A Catalyst for Change

Over the past 20 years, All Japan Pro Wrestling has been a company in turmoil. On the 31^st of January 1999, company founder and legendary wrestler/promoter Giant Baba passed away. Presidency of the company would fall to the Ace of All Japan, Mitsuharu Misawa and ownership to Baba’s wife Motoko Baba. This relationship would quickly turn sour leading to Misawa being ousted as the President and removed from the board of directors. The result of this would be Misawa leaving All Japan, along with the majority of All Japan’s talent, and forming his own promotion in Pro Wrestling NOAH. Unsurprisingly, this mass exodus crippled All Japan and set the tone for what was to come. Constant in fighting between board members, ownership changes, further talent exoduses, a failing dojo and overreliance on aging wrestlers would stifle any growth making the once great company a shell of its former self.

In the summer of 2014, a new hope would emerge for All Japan when Jun Akiyama, a main stay during the height of All Japan’s success in the 90’s, would be named as the new President. Akiyama would focus on building new talent with the focal point of this vision being Kento Miyahara. Through 2014 and 2015, Miyahara would slowly work his way up the ladder winning the All Asia Tag Team Titles, World Tag Team Titles, World’s Strongest Tag Determination League and forming his own stable (Nextream) in the process. Miyahara’s rise to the top of All Japan would be solidified on the 12^th of February when he would defeat Zeus for the vacant Triple Crown Championship, becoming the youngest to win the title in the process. This would serve as another pivotal moment in rebuilding All Japan back to relevancy as Miyahara would become the Ace they desperately needed.

Kento Miyahara wearing the original belts that made up the Triple Crown Championship

Despite finding their Ace and riding his momentum to running venues, they hadn’t step foot in for years. There was still something amiss with the product All Japan was presenting to audiences. Most notably, a lack of young and talented wrestlers to compete with Miyahara. While a younger core was present, they were far removed from being ready to legitimately challenge Miyahara. This dynamic shifted on the 24^th of February in Yokohama when Naoya Nomura confronted Miyahara and made his first challenge for the Triple Crown Championship. In a move that sent shock waves through All Japan, Nomura tried to drop Miyahara with the Maximum during the handshake. To fully explain why this moment caused such a shift, we must dive into Nomura’s past.

Nomura started his wrestling training towards the end of 2013 and was one of the few wrestlers to stay loyal to All Japan during the exodus which followed Keiji Mutoh’s exit from the company. In early 2014 he made his official debut but this first year would not be a smooth one as Nomura suffered an injury that required five months of recuperation. Undeterred by this set back, Nomura would return in October of 2014 and pick up his first win at New Year Wars 2015. This would come against his eventual tag partner, and fellow young boy, Yuma Aoyagi. By the end of the year Nomura would be offered, and accept, a place in the Evolution stable (after Miyahara had turned down the offer earlier in the night to form his own stable). Nomura’s time in Evolution would be short lived as he announced his exit in the summer of 2016 to forge his own path. Teaming with Aoyagi for the majority of this time the pair were offered a place in Miyahara’s Nextream stable, which they both accepted. As part of Nextream, Nomura enjoyed arguably his best success in his time with All Japan. Multiple reigns with the All Asia Tag Titles and a Champion Carnival win over former Triple Crown Champion Takao Omori would be topped by a strong performance in the 2018 Champion Carnival. Such success started to create friction between Miyahara and Nomura as the cracks started to show within the group. During this year’s New Year Wars tour both Nomura and former Nextream stablemate Jake Lee looked to challenge Miyahara for the Triple Crown. However, Lee’s attention would shift towards the World Tag Titles leaving the door open for Nomura’s challenge. In doing so Nomura not only vacated the All Asia Tag Tiles with Aoyagi but left Nextream to join Jake Lee’s side in Sweeper.

Nomura challenging Miyahara in Yokohama

And so this long and winding road brings us to the 19^th of March and the Dream Power Series in Korakuen Hall. Miyahara vs Nomura isn’t just a battle between mentor and student but one that could shape the future of All Japan. If it’s a success then it reaffirms Akiyama’s decision to patiently grow new talent and shift the focus on to them. It gives Miyahara a much needed fresh young face to feud with for years to come. It opens the door for more of this young core to take the next step and lead All Japan to greater heights. Miyahara and Lee are both 30, Nomura is 25, Aoyagi is 23 and the Ace of the Junior Division, Koji Iwamoto, is 28. Yes it is a small core but it is one that has incredible potential and is loyal to All Japan. It’s a foundation that you can build on as you continue to invest in developing more young talent. Ultimately, it can serve as a catalyst for sustained change within All Japan.

The road ahead will not be easy as the situation is far from perfect. There is still a reliance on aging talent, freelancers, a dojo system that still has major questions surrounding it and an increasingly competitive scene in Japan. Then you have potentially the most challenging battle, winning over the public. Many are sceptical after so many years of a promotion struggling to find itself. However, an exciting young core that constantly delivers and strives to get better will start to win people over and will ignite interest in the product.

For me, this is what Miyahara vs Nomura represents. It creates excitement and hope for what the future could bring. Both of which have been in short supply in recent years when it comes to All Japan.

To follow all of the exciting action that lies ahead, subscribe to All Japan’s streaming service AJPW TV using the link below:
https://www.ajpw.tv