Kento Miyahara Refuses to Accept Jun Saito’s AJPW Triple Crown Title Challenge

By: Lewis Carlan

On Jan 25th, Kento Miyahara successfully defended his AJPW Triple Crown Title against the seven foot tall Talos at AJPW NEW YEAR WARS 2026 in Chiba. Miyahara scored the big victory after hitting the giant Talos with his patented Shutdown Suplex to retain his title.

After the bout was over, Miyahara began his post-match speech to the 1,057 fans in attendance at the Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall #4 when he was interrupted by former Triple Crown Champion Jun Saito.

Saito, who defeated Cyrus earlier on the event, challenged Miyahara for the opportunity to regain the Triple Crown Title he lost to Miyahara back in Sept. 2025. Saito asked Miyahara to accept his challenge for Feb 23rd at Ota Ward General Gymnasium to coincide with his brother Rei Saito’s return from injury.

Miyahara refused to accept Saito’s challenge and gave his reasoning as to not wanting to make Feb. 23rd “Saito Brothers Day”.

Here is the full verbal in-ring exchange between Miyahara and Jun Saito:

From Jun Saito:

“Kento Miyahara, that was a fantastic match. Congratulations. That belt really suits you. But did you know there’s someone who deserves it even better than you? It’s me, Jun Saito. Kento Miyahara, accept my challenge at the Ota Ward tournament on February 23rd. My younger brother, Rei, will also be making his comeback on the 23rd. With Rei Saito’s complete comeback and Jun Saito becoming the Triple Crown Champion, I’ll make the Ota Ward tournament Saito Brothers Day on the 23rd. I say it again: accept my challenge.”

From Kento Miyahara:

“Your… I understand exactly what you’re trying to say. February 23rd, Ota Ward General Gymnasium. No good. Do you know why? Ota Ward General Gymnasium is where my younger brother, Saito Rei, will be making his comeback, so if you challenge for the belt on that day, the influence of Saito Brothers Day will expand. Do you understand? If it was Saito Brothers Day, you guys would be doing an evening show in Sendai, Tohoku. If you guys were to call it Saito Brothers Day, a lot of Tohoku fans would come. That would make me feel like I was away from home. That’s why I’m not going to do it.”

From Jun Saito:

“That’s what I want to do.”

From Kento Miyahara:

“I won’t give in. Listen, let me tell you why I’m still called a superstar to this day. It’s because I don’t fight away from home. I don’t want to fight unless the venue is popular. February 23rd, the date scheduled at Ota Ward General Gymnasium, is Saito Brothers Day, and the company will be pushing for it. I absolutely will not accept the challenge on an away day like that. That’s it. Go home. I’ll say it again: I will not accept the challenge on February 23rd. No. Go home.”

From Jun Saito:

“Unfortunately, you don’t have that authority. The decision is up to the company, PWF, and all the fans who come to watch. You’ll definitely fight me. Kento Miyahara, DOOM.”

From Kento Miyahara:

“Listen, Makuhari Messe. This world is a tough one. Even if he says DOOM and his catchphrase, I absolutely won’t accept it. If I had to say it, the fans’ opinions don’t matter!  I’ll tell you again. The fans’ opinions don’t matter! I’m in a bad mood today. It’s over.” Look, no matter how much you all say “Kento, Kento,” I’m not going to accept February 23rd. But, I’m a working adult, so I’ll wrap it up for now. Look, since I said I’m not going to accept February 23rd, it’s not going to happen at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium in Tokyo. But I’d like to thank everyone who came to Makuhari Messe. Thank you. Finally, I’d like to ask everyone at Makuhari Messe, is All Japan Pro Wrestling the best? Makuhari Messe is the best.”

When Miyahara was backstage for his post-match comments, he reiterated that he would not accept the challenge of Jun Saito for Feb. 23rd.

Photo Credit: AJPW

During his backstage comments, Saito continued to push his desire to face Miyahara on Feb. 23 at Ota Ward General Gymnasium.

It is expected that Jun Saito will continue his drive to get Miyahara to accept his Triple Crown Title challenge at the final event of the upcoming Excite Series 2026 tour.

While Miyahara may hold firm on his refusal, AJPW Executives can realistically step in and order Miyahara to defend his title against Saito on Feb. 23rd.

Monthly Puroresu will keep an eye on this situation and report any new developments should they occur.

(All English translations via Google Translate)