Masaaki Mochizuki

But I would have a very similar ballot to what Omokaze John posted on their social medias, if you want to go check that out.

So, like, people like Zack Sabre Jr., Mike Satomura, Masaaki Mochizuki, Io Skye, and Tam Nakano would be my Japan votes.

Literally the exact same five.

To me, it is absolute nonsense to have a Hall of Fame and people like Meiko Satomura and Mochizuki aren't in there.

like he was fucking great like 1999 and he's still pretty fucking great in 2026 so I mean you're that good for that long I think you're an easy yes for me so I get people you know people aren't going to give him the respect he deserves he was in Dragon Gate his entire career but he was a fantastic he's a fantastic wrestler so I mean

he will have like his biggest test coming up soon in terms of like okay How good is Masaaki Mochizuki actually at carrying somebody to a great match? He's facing Odyssey, right? Yes, exactly.

He will have a gay on a TV title match with Odyssey very

soon.

I think it applies to Yamato.

I think it applies to Mochizuki Jr.

It obviously applies to Monte and the continued divestment of him.

I think to some degree it applies to even guys like Jason Lee and Kai, where you have all these talented guys on the roster this year who have been given absolutely nothing to latch on to.

In the main event, the Saedo Brothers retained the All Japan World Tag Team title, turning back the challenge of Yuma Anzai and Yuma Aoyagi.

Masaki Mochizuki retained the Gaora TV title, defeating Yasutaka Yano.

And the team of Masashi and Seiki Yoshioka filled the vacant All Asia Tag titles, putting down Dan Tamura and Seigo Tachibana.

And before we leave you today, we'd like to remind you that however you consume your content, you can find the Wrestling News 24 hours a day and 7 days a week across social media.

But even in that spotlight, even with the attention that he's had consistently, whether it be with the All Japan belts or the ongoing feud with Cielo or the build to this match, I still, when I rack my brain and think about the defining Yoshiki Kato moment, it's still the exhibition match a month before his debut with Punch Tamanaga.

And when I think about the best Yoshiki Kato match, and this isn't inherently a bad thing, but it's Kato and Kaito Nagano versus Masaki Mochizuki and Mochizuki Jr. from Rey de Parejas in 2023.

And again, great match.

I want every wrestler to have a match that good.

But by the end of it, it was just so many lariats and so many head drops, and I didn't really feel like there was connective tissue there.

I felt like they were trying to extend the time to get to a point to where they could finally say, "Okay, let's go home." As a result, a very good match, but not a great match.

And again, that is gonna be one of the tests with Kato, is I know that I like that Young Dragons Cup match with Mochizuki Jr. a lot more than other people did, and that is still my only match of his that's a singles match that I have at four stars or higher.

Yeah.