Katsuhiko Nakajima Retains Triple Crown, Rei Saito Emerges As The Next Challenger

Rei Saito will get an opportunity to become a double champion in All Japan Pro-Wrestling.

By: Lewis Carlan

The current Triple Crown Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima made his third defense of the title against Shotaro Ashino on January 27th at AJPW NEW YEAR GIANT SERIES 2024. Ashino challenged Nakajima back on January 2nd following the champion’s successful title defense against WWE’s Charlie Dempsey. Ashino, who won the 2023 Champion Carnival, had waited seven months for this championship moment due to injury. Despite a spirited effort by the challenger, Nakajima was able to force Ashino to submit to an armlock and thus retain his championship.

⚔️1.27八王子大会開催中⚔️

中嶋の闘魂スタイルが芦野に襲いかかる！！！

📺ご視聴はこちらhttps://t.co/W7d70tIp4g#ajpw #ゼンニチ八王子闘争 #ajpwtv pic.twitter.com/UnOVS1SpXP

— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) January 27, 2024

Following the match, Rei Saito appeared and made his way down to the ring. Saito confronted Nakajima and announced his intention to be the next challenger for the Triple Crown Title. The two stars went at it verbally until Saito, who obviously had enough of Nakajima’s words, attempted a clothesline which the champion was able to avoid. Saito appeared ready to fight but Nakajima rolled out of the ring to evade a confrontation.

⚔️1.27八王子大会開催中⚔️

斉藤レイ「おい、うぬぼれてんじゃねぇぞ。」

中嶋勝彦は防衛したばかりの三冠ベルトを掲げる！

📺ご視聴はこちらhttps://t.co/W7d70tIp4g#ajpw #ゼンニチ八王子闘争 #ajpwtv pic.twitter.com/MSa3sbu7Cf

— 全日本プロレス/alljapan (@alljapan_pw) January 27, 2024

Earlier in the evening, Rei Saito teamed with his brother Jun as they successfully defended the AJPW World Tag Team titles against Yuma Anzai and Ryuki Honda.  This was the fourth successful title defense for The Saito Brothers. While Rei Saito is primarily a tag team wrestler, he has experienced success recently as a singles competitor. Saito was a participant in the DDT Pro-Wrestling D-Ou Grand Prix 2023 tournament and finished with a record of 4-1, losing only to Yukio Naya.

The Triple Crown Title match between Katsuhiko Nakajima and Rei Saito is expected to be made official by AJPW in the next few days. Saito feels he deserves this opportunity as he had pinned Nakajima back on January 14th in a tag team championship match. Rei Saito has vowed to defeat Nakajima which would make him a double champion for AJPW.