Ren Ayabe & Talos Retain The AJPW World Tag Team Titles Against Jun & Rei Saito

By: Lewis Carlan

Jun & Rei Saito have set the standard for tag team wrestling in All Japan Pro-Wrestling over the past few years. The Saito’s have dominated the AJPW tag team scene since 2024, holding the World Tag Team Titles twice for a combined total for 469 days.

When the Titans of Calamity (Ren Ayabe & Talos) won the AJPW World Tag Team Titles back on Jan. 2, the immediate question posed to them numerous times was “When will you face Jun & Rei Saito?” or “Do you feel you need to beat The Saito Brothers to be thought of as a top tag team?”.

Here is how Talos answered such a question when it was posed to him by Monthly Puroresu shortly after winning the AJPW Tag Team Titles with Ayabe back in Jan. 2026:

From Talos:

“Now this is the million dollar question that everyone keeps asking huh? Those two have been absolutely dominant champions here at AJPW both as tag team champions and Jun as a triple crown champion. But to answer your question, as powerful a force as everyone knows me and Ayabe are I do think not only do we have to beat the Saito brothers but beat them decisively to truly call ourselves the best tag team in AJPW. As they say “to be the best you have to beat the best” and there’s no doubt those two have been the best here…until now.”

On March 15th, in front of over 1,200 fans at Korakuen Hall, Ayabe & Talos put their AJPW World Tag Team Titles on the line against Jun & Rei Saito in a very highly anticipated match up at AJPW Dream Power Series 2026.

As expected, the fans received a thrilling main event between the two teams. Ayabe & Talos may very well have been the first tandem to hold a height advantage over The Saito Brothers. While Jun & Rei Saito gave the expected incredibly tough challenge, Ayabe & Talos were determined to prove themselves as the top tag team in AJPW and they succeeded.

Ayabe hit his Death Roulette finisher on Jun to end the match at the 19:58 mark to keep the AJPW World Tag Team Title around the waists of the Titans of Calamity. With the massive win, Ayabe & Talos silenced the critics who may have doubted that they were the top tag team within AJPW.

Photo Credit: AJPW

Following their victory, Ayabe & Talos had these backstage post-match comments:

From Ren Ayabe:

“We crushed the Saito Brothers and secured our third consecutive (World Tag Team) title. Now you know. In All Japan Pro Wrestling—not just the tag team division—the Saito Brothers might make a strong impression, but they’re not the only ones. You’ve tasted despair today.” (Translated via Deepl.com)

From Talos:

“We gave it our all today. We’ll prove that we’re the strongest tag team, anytime, anywhere. At the Champion Carnival, we’ll show you that we’re not just great as a tag team, but also as outstanding singles wrestlers.” (Translated via Deepl.com)

In other action, Kuma Arashi, Daisuke Sekimoto, Masayuki Kono & Seigo Tachibana defeated Kento Miyahara, Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai & MUSASHI in a Triple Crown Preliminary. Miyahara will defend his Triple Crown Title against Arashi on March 20th.

Ryo Inoue & Mochizuki Junior and Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO both advanced to the Zennichi Jr. Tag Festival Finals set for March 20th.

Here are the full results of AJPW Dream Power Series 2026 om Mar. 15th courtesy of purolove.com:

• Hideki Suzuki vs. Yuma Aoyagi – Time Limit Draw (15:00).
• MAZADA defeats Shota Kofuji (6:53) with a small package hold.
• Go Shiozaki, Shotaro Ashino, Xyon & Oddyssey defeat Hokuto Omori, Naruki Doi, Kota Sekifuda  & Toshiyuki Sakuda (10:44) after an ankle lock from Ashino against Omori.
  
• Triple Crown Skirmish: Kuma Arashi, Daisuke Sekimoto, Masayuki Kono & Seigo Tachibana defeat Kento Miyahara, Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai & MUSASHI (11:49) after a cross body attack by Arashi against Honda.
  
• Zennichi Jr. Tag Festival Semi Final: Ryo Inoue & Mochizuki Junior  defeat Dan Tamura & Hikaru Sato (15:53) after a buzzsaw kick by Inoue against Sato.
  
• Zennichi Jr. Tag Festival Semi Final: Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising HAYATO defeat Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu (18:34) after HAYATO’s Sid Vicious vs. Yoshioka.
  
• AJPW World Tag Team Title: Ren Ayabe & Talos (c) defeat Jun Saito & Rei Saito (19:58) after Ayabe’s Death Roulette against Jun (3rd defense).