AJPW Junior League (original) (raw)

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Professional wrestling pay-per-view event series

The Junior League is an annual professional wrestling round-robin tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling, to decide the promotion's top junior heavyweight wrestler, as well as the #1 contender to the World Junior Heavyweight Championship. It was established in 1983 as a single-block round-robin tournament then in 2006, it began as a two-block round-robin tournament, in which each block's highest scorers face off in the finals. A victory is worth two points, a draw is worth one, and a loss zero; each match has a thirty-minute time limit. In 2012, the tournament was renamed the "Junior Hyper League". After no tournament took place in 2013, the 2014 tournament was dubbed "Jr. Battle of Glory", being announced to take place in February, instead of its usual place in the summer.

After a break due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the event was stalled and postponed. The tournament returned in 2021 but as a two-day event presenting a 16-man single elimination tournament.

The first winner of the tournament was Chavo Guerrero in 1983 and the latest one is Francesco Akira who won it in June 2021. Kai, Kotaro Suzuki, Shuji Kondo, and Koji Iwamoto are the only wrestlers to hold the title of champions on more than one occasion each.

In 1983, All Japan Pro Wrestling held the "NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title League" between May 12 and 26, 1983. The winner, Chavo Guerrero, also won the vacant NWA International Junior Heavyweight Championship.[3]

Final standings

In 1998, All Japan Pro Wrestling held the "World Junior Heavyweight Title League" between July 6 and 19, 1998. The winner, Yoshinari Ogawa, also won the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship.[4]

Final standings

The 2003 Junior League was held from March 28 to April 10, 2003. The winner, Carl Malenko, went on to unsuccessfully challenge Kendo Kashin for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on April 12, 2003.[5]

Final standings

The 2006 Junior League was held from June 25 to July 3 over six shows and featured two blocks of four. Foreign participation included Taka Michinoku from Kaientai Dojo and Virus from Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. The winner, Kaz Hayashi, won every match he participated in; he went on to fail in his challenge to Junior Heavyweight champion Shuji Kondo on August 27. Note that "brother" YASSHI wrestled as "strong" YASSHI for two of his matches.

Final standings[6]

The 2007 Junior League, was held from June 24 to July 1 over six shows, involving two blocks of five. Foreign participation included Chris Sabin from Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Unlike the previous year, the Junior Heavyweight champion, Katsuhiko Nakajima, was allowed to compete.

Final standings

The 2008 Junior League featured two blocks of five and is being held from July 20 to August 3 over nine shows.

Final standings

The 2009 Junior League featured two blocks of five and is being held from July 26 to August 7 over eight shows. Foreign participants included Petey Williams and Super Crazy. The winner, Shuji Kondo, went on to fail in his challenge to Junior Heavyweight champion Kaz Hayashi on August 30.

Final standings

| Semifinals | Finals | | | | | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | | | | | | | | | | A1 | KAI | Pin | | | | B2 | Shuji Kondo | 9:08 | | | | B2 | Shuji Kondo | Pin | | | | | | | | | | A2 | Super Crazy | 13:42 | | | | B1 | Minoru | Pin | | | | A2 | Super Crazy | 8:21 | | |

The 2010 Junior League featured two blocks of six and was held from July 25 to August 8 over nine shows. The winner, Jimmy Yang, went on to unsuccessfully challenge Kaz Hayashi for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on August 29, 2010.

Final standings

| Semifinals | Finals | | | | | ---------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | | | | | | | | | | A1 | Minoru | Pin | | | | B2 | Jimmy Yang | 10:57 | | | | B2 | Jimmy Yang | Pin | | | | | | | | | | B1 | KAI | 13:06 | | | | B1 | KAI | Pin | | | | A2 | Hiroshi Yamato | 8:54 | | |

The 2011 Junior League featured two blocks of six and was held from September 11 to September 25 over nine shows. With his win, KAI became the first person to have won the tournament twice.

Final standings

The 2012 Junior League, dubbed "Junior Hyper League", featured two blocks of six and was held from July 15 to July 29 over ten shows.

Final standings

| Semifinals | Finals | | | | | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ----- | | | | | | | | | | | A1 | Koji Kanemoto | Pin | | | | B2 | Hiroshi Yamato | 19:18 | | | | B2 | Hiroshi Yamato | Pin | | | | | | | | | | B1 | Shuji Kondo | 14:28 | | | | B1 | Shuji Kondo | Pin | | | | A2 | KAI | 7:25 | | |

The 2014 Junior League, dubbed "Jr. Battle of Glory", featured two blocks of five and was held from February 5 to February 16 over eight shows.[8]

Final standings

The 2015 Jr. Battle of Glory featured two blocks of five and was held from February 7 to February 20 over nine shows.

Final standings

The 2016 Jr. Battle of Glory featured two blocks of four and was held from February 12 to February 21 over five shows and contested for the vacant World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Originally Kazuki Hashimoto won block B, but had to pull out of the finals due to a hand fracture, leading to AJPW booking a playoff match between Hikaru Sato and Atsushi Maruyama to determine the finalist.[9]

Final standings

The 2017 Jr. Battle of Glory featured two blocks of five and was held from February 17 to February 26 over six shows.[10]

Final standings

The 2018 Jr. Battle of Glory will feature two blocks of six and will be held from February 13 to February 25 over nine shows.[11]

Final standings

The 2019 Junior League featured two blocks of six and was held from February 7 to February 24 over eleven shows.[12]

Final standings

The 2021 edition featured a single elimination tournament that took place between June 2 and June 3, 2021.[2]

| First round(June 2) | Second round(June 3) | Semifinals(June 3) | Finals(June 3) | | | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------- | ------------------ | -------------- | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Francesco Akira | Pin | | | | | | | Tajiri | 11:42[23] | | | | | | | Francesco Akira | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | 3:08[24] | | | | | | | Dan Tamura | Pin | | | | | | | Tatsuhito Takaiwa | 9:28[23] | | | | | | | Francesco Akira | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sugi | 9:13[24] | | | | | | | Yusuke Kodama | Pin | | | | | | | Black Mensore | 9:52[23] | | | | | | | Yusuke Kodama | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sugi | 7:57[24] | | | | | | | Atsuki Aoyagi | Pin | | | | | | | Sugi | 8:08[23] | | | | | | | Francesco Akira | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | El Lindaman | 18:31[24] | | | | | | | Hikaru Sato | Pin | | | | | | | Hokuto Omori | 12:52[23] | | | | | | | Hikaru Sato | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Fuminori Abe | 9:13[24] | | | | | | | Devil Murasaki | Pin | | | | | | | Fuminori Abe | 6:29[23] | | | | | | | Hikaru Sato | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | El Lindaman | 12:47[24] | | | | | | | Izanagi | Pin | | | | | | | Brahman Kei | 4:53[23] | | | | | | | Izanagi | Pin | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | El Lindaman | 8:10[24] | | | | | | | Rising Hayato | Pin | | | | | | | El Lindaman | 14:15[23] | | | | | |

The 2022 Junior League features one block of six participants and is held at the same time as the World's Strongest Tag Determination League between November 13 and December 7.[25]

Final standings

The 2023 Junior League features one block of eight participants and is held at the same time as the World's Strongest Tag Determination League between November 12 and December 6.

Final standings

1. ^ Dark angel (February 25, 2019). "AJPW: «Jr. Battle of Glory 2019 »Finalists ready". superluchas.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
2. ^ a b Dark angel (June 9, 2021). "AJPW: «Jr. Battle of Glory 2021 »Grand Final - Francesco Akira, the winner". superluchas.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
3. ^ "Reference at www.cagematch.net".
4. ^ "Reference at www.cagematch.net".
5. ^ a b "All Japan Junior Carnivals".
6. ^ a b "Junior Champion Carnival 2006". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
7. ^ "Junior Champion Carnival 2007". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on 30 January 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-03.
8. ^ Purolove (February 16, 2014). "All Japan Pro-Wrestling - "EXCITE SERIES 2014"". purolove.com. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
9. ^ Dark Angel (February 18, 2016). "AJPW: Kazuki Hashimoto is injured and the final of the Jr. Battle of Glory 2016 tournament is lost". superluchas.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
10. ^ Dark angel (February 15, 2017). "AJPW: Official presentation of the tournament «Jr. Battle of Glory 2017 »". superluchas.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
11. ^ Dark angel (February 15, 2018). "AJPW: The "Jr. Battle of Glory "". superluchas.com. Retrieved July 6, 2021.
12. ^ Di Trolio, Gerard (February 26, 2019). "AJPW EXCITE SERIES (FEBRUARY 24) RESULTS & REVIEW". voicesofwrestling.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
13. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 13, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 6". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
14. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 16, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 8". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
15. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 11, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 5". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
16. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 9, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 3". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
17. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 17, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 9". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
18. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 10, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 4". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
19. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 7, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 1". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
20. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 8, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 2". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
21. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 14, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 7". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
22. ^ Kreikenbphm, Philip (February 24, 2019). "AJPW Excite Series 2019 - Tag 10". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
23. ^ a b c d e f g h Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 2, 2021). "AJPW Junior Battle Of Glory 2021 - Tag 1". cagematch.net. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
24. ^ a b c d e f g Kreikenbohm, Philip (June 3, 2021). "AJPW Junior Battle Of Glory 2021 - Tag 2". cagematch.net. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
25. ^ Dark Angel (November 8, 2022). "AJPW: The «Jr. Battle of Glory 2022»". superluchas.com. Retrieved November 17, 2022.
26. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbohm, Philip (December 4, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 7". cagematch.net. Retrieved December 5, 2022.
27. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 23, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 5". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
28. ^ a b c d Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 16, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 2". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
29. ^ a b c d Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 20, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 4". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
30. ^ a b c d e f Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 13, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 1". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
31. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 19, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 3". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
32. ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (November 27, 2022). "AJPW Real World Tag League 2022 - Tag 6". cagematch.net. Retrieved November 29, 2022.