Jun Saito Survives Seventh Defense as Atsuki Aoyagi Claims Jr. Heavyweight Gold

By: Thom Fain

Jun Saito successfully defended the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship for the seventh time, defeating former two-time champion Yuma Aoyagi with his Days Gone finisher after 21 minutes and 57 seconds at “Nettou! Summer Action Wars 2025” on August 10. The main event victory continued Saito’s remarkable reign that began on December 31, 2024, when he captured his first major singles title by defeating Davey Boy Smith Jr.

Earlier this year, Saito overcame a left leg injury that forced him to miss events in February, and successfully defended his title against his own brother Rei, who had won the Champion Carnival tournament. The champion has now held the prestigious Triple Crown for over seven months, establishing himself as one of AJPW’s premier main event stars.

In the co-main event, Atsuki Aoyagi captured the AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship by defeating Seiki Yoshioka with a Firebird Splash after 20:54 of action. Aoyagi earned this title shot by winning the 2025 Zennichi Jr. Festival tournament for the second time, previously winning in 2022, and secured victory over Rising HAYATO in the finals with the same Firebird Splash finisher. The victory made Aoyagi the 72nd champion in the title’s history and ended Yoshioka’s reign after his failed third defense.

The title change marked a big moment for Aoyagi, just ahead of Atsuki’s older brother Yuma challenging for the Triple Crown in the main event. While the brothers couldn’t both claim gold on the same night, Atsuki’s championship comes while AJPW rides a wave of local enthusiasm.

Fans also saw successful defenses of the AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Championship by Hokuto Omori, Kuma Arashi, and Takashi, who retained their belts in their fourth defense by defeating Shiro Koshinaka, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, and Seigo Tachibana. The champions secured victory when Takashi hit his Pineapple Bomber finisher on Kuroshio.

The undercard featured strong performances across faction warfare, with Zennichi Hontai’s Shotaro Ashino, Xyon, and Oddyssey defeating HAVOC representatives Kento Miyahra, Davey Boy Smith Jr., and MUSASHI in an 11-minute contest. The victory came after Xyon connected with a diving headbutt on MUSASHI.

Ren Ayabe and Talos scored an upset victory over the veteran duo of Ryuki Honda and Daisuke Sekimoto in over 15 minutes when Ayabe hit his Death Roulette finisher. The show opened with Hideki Suzuki making quick work of Ryo Inoue, securing a submission victory with a sleeper hold in under five minutes.

Complete Results:

1. Hideki Suzuki def. Ryo Inoue (4:55) – Sleeper Hold
2. AJPW TV Six Man Tag Team Title: Hokuto Omori, Kuma Arashi & Takashi (c) def. Shiro Koshinaka, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Seigo Tachibana (10:39) – Pineapple Bomber (4th defense)
3. Rising HAYATO & Dan Tamura def. “Mr. Saito” Naruki Doi & Senor Saito (8:29) – High-Angle Reverse Cradle
4. Zennichi Hontai vs. HAVOC: Shotaro Ashino, Xyon & Oddyssey def. Kento Miyahra, Davey Boy Smith Jr. & MUSASHI (11:05) – Diving Headbutt
5. Special Tag Match: Ren Ayabe & Talos def. Ryuki Honda & Daisuke Sekimoto (15:14) – Death Roulette
6. AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title: Atsuki Aoyagi def. Seiki Yoshioka (c) (20:54) – Firebird Splash (Title Change – 72nd Champion)
7. Triple Crown: Jun Saito (c) def. Yuma Aoyagi (21:57) – Days Gone (7th defense)

The event drew 1,596 fans to the Air Water Arena Matsumoto and was broadcast live on Samurai! TV and AJPW.tv.