Photo Credit: All Japan Pro-Wrestling
By: Lewis Carlan
On Oct. 11th at the AJPW RAISING AN ARMY MEMORIAL SERIES 2026 event, the AJPW World Tag Team Champions Jun & Rei Saito will put their titles on the line against the formidable team of Yuma Aoyagi & Yuma Anzai.
Ahead of their championship showdown, AJPW held a press conference on Oct. 2nd that featured Jun & Rei Saito and Yuma Aoyagi coming face to face to discuss the upcoming bout.
Yuma Anzai was unable to attend the press conference due to prior work commitments but he sent a written statement regarding the title bout.
From Yuma Anzai:
“I apologize for being unable to attend the press conference due to work commitments. For this World Tag Team title challenge, Yuma Aoyagi will be standing by my side. Just thinking about it gets me excited. The two strong and cool ‘Yumas’ will definitely win the belts in Sendai, the home of the Saito Brothers. I believe I can do anything with Mr. Aoyagi, so please keep your eyes on us.”
Yuma Aoyagi was the first to speak and vowed to defeat The Saito Brothers for the AJPW World Tag Team Championship.
From Yuma Aoyagi:
On October 11, we’ll be having a title match in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture—which is practically the Saito Brothers’ home turf. But I still haven’t forgotten August 10 of last year. It was a year ago—we challenged Jun Saito for the Triple Crown in Matsumoto and suffered a bitter defeat on our home turf. So, as payback, I want ‘W Yuma’ to win in Miyagi Prefecture—the Saito Brothers’ home turf—become World Tag Team Champions, and close out the Sendai event… No, actually, I want the Saito Brothers—who lost in Sendai—to be the ones to close out the event.”
Jun & Rei Saito were next as they each made their opening press conference statements.
From Jun Saito:
“I’d been wondering who would challenge us on October 11th in our hometown of Sendai, Miyagi, but I never imagined it would be ‘W Yuma.’ To be honest, I was surprised. But since Yuma Aoyagi gave me a real beating in the recent Royal Road Tournament, I actually see this as a perfect opportunity—I welcome it. Still, what really has me worried is that Yuma Anzai isn’t here today. I understand his side of the story, and I get what he’s trying to say, but from where I stand, the two “Yumas” are already out of sync. The way things are, they won’t be able to beat the Saito Brothers on our home turf. On October 11, let’s DOOM the “W Yuma” duo!
From Rei Saito:
“Just like Jun said. Here in our home prefecture of Miyagi, at Sendai Sun Plaza Hall, we’re going to successfully defend this World Tag Team Championship against the “W Yuma” duo. We, the Saito Brothers, currently hold the all-time record for the most title defenses with 14. If we defend it this time, we’ll move up to 15. If we keep defending it from here on out, we’ll set an unprecedented record in history—16, 17, 18, no, 20, 30—that no one will ever be able to surpass. For that reason alone, we can’t afford to lose this belt here. And, by the way. It looks like Yuma Anzai isn’t here, but he’s probably busy with all sorts of work outside the ring. We, the Saito Brothers, have also been working in Miyagi for the past few days and just got back from Sendai yesterday. Being busy is a good thing. Of course, I won’t deny that. But here’s the thing: we, the Saito Brothers, are a true tag team—always together, both in and out of the ring. No matter what tag team comes our way, I don’t feel like we’ll lose. I’m looking forward to it. DOOM!”
Aoyagi defeated his partner Yuma Anzai in the semifinals of the Royal Road Tournament on Sept. 22nd and was asked if communication or teamwork between them will be an issue.
From Yuma Aoyagi:
“We haven’t spoken at all since our conversation in the semifinals of the Royal Road Tournament, so in terms of communication, there’s absolutely nothing there. Even today, I heard from the company right before the press conference that Anzai wouldn’t be attending, so you could say it came as a complete surprise, but I guess it can’t be helped. The Gyoda event starts tomorrow, and Yuma Anzai will definitely be at the venue, so if we can put on a solid performance in the ring then, I’m confident we can take the title from the Saito Brothers without any trouble. That’s because in the first round of the Odo Tournament, ‘W Yuma’ beat the ‘Double Saitos.’ I don’t see any problem.”
In Rei Saito’s closing comments, he mentioned he and Jun just did a whole TV shoot with the titles and it would be an awkward situation if they lost them on Oct. 11.
From Rei Saito:
“We’re heading back to Sendai the day after tomorrow. And since we did a whole TV shoot carrying this belt around, people in Miyagi probably think this belt equals the Saito Brothers. It’ll be a little awkward for me if it disappears.”
Photo Credit: All Japan Pro-Wrestling
Date:
October 3, 2026
Category:
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