The new Triple Crown champ, Harry Smith.
For the first time since Joe Doering in 2017, a foreigner captured the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship. Davey Boy Smith Jr. won the belt from Yuma Aoyagi at the company’s November 4th event.
The HUGE POP! podcast welcomed Smith Jr. onto the show to discuss his title win and he said the following:
Years later, when I’d been able to come over to All Japan, just the rarity of winning the Triple Crown Championship was a huge accomplishment and milestone in my career as well. Giant Baba, unfortunately he’s not around with us anymore but, a lot of his ideologies and philosophies have been passed down to the younger members of All Japan. So they don’t naturally — or habitually, they don’t put the title on gaijin. It’s a very rare thing… It’s been a huge honor that All Japan has put this amount of trust and faith in me to put the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship on me and like I said, I’ve been expanding my career and expanding other aspects of my life like learning the Japanese language and learning the culture more and living over here in Japan which has been a great experience. So it’s been a great experience and compared to where I was last year almost this time where I had my diverticulitis and appendix removal. I wanted to return to Japan for one thing as a goal and I wanted to make a huge impact and not just do a couple tours and I wanted to — how should I say this? You can be the guy that goes to Japan and does two tours or three tours a year and you might make it to the semifinals or you might make it to the finals or you might be in that Johnny Smith kind of role or situation, but, if you commit to the company on a more long-term basis, you’re bound to expect more expansion on your career if that makes sense or they’re gonna be more willing to do more with you and invest in you I guess so we had talked about it and then they asked me to stay six months and they had been very happy with me. The referee, Wada Kyohei, who’s been with All Japan for 45 years, he was a huge supporter of mine when I first came to All Japan and he was really impressed with my work and he actually put me on the same level as (Mitsuharu) Misawa and and Jumbo Tsuruta technically, technic-wise and timing, which was like, man, that’s the best compliment I’ve ever gotten. For me, to be on that same level as those guys technically.
As it relates to Smith Jr.’s future with AJPW, he revealed that the company wants to work out a new deal with him. During the interview, he was asked about his interest in another shot at WWE. He admitted that there’s a part of him that wants to get a chance to show what he can do there.
Yeah, there is (that part me that wants another WWE run to show what I can do). That would have to depend on the — I mean, Jimmy (Korderas) knows, a lot of things in wrestling are just timing. Ted DiBiase was the right guy, right place, right time for what Vince (McMahon) wanted and he was there, you know? So, Bret (Hart) happened to be there at a time, pivotal time in the company when they were pushing smaller talent with all the scandals that were going on and stuff but, I’ll get away from that but I’m just saying, so you know, there could be a point where I’m just the guy for whatever position that they need to come in and fill. But, all that I have asked for is the opportunity and a fair chance with some momentum behind it and you never say never. It is possible. I’ll have to see going into 2025. I know All Japan wants to do another six months or one-year deal with me so, maybe it’s good to do that for another six months and then see, or, All Japan might be — with me here and the amount of success, the growth that both me and the company have been having. For those viewers that are watching, All Japan has been selling out Korakuen Hall every single time I’ve been on it. I can’t even get two comp tickets for friends over here. Again, a lot of the other wrestling companies over here, they can’t say that so that’s saying a big thing, and it’s great to see. I’m glad to be a part of that movement and improvement with the company so, but you know what? Hey, maybe I’m a big part of All Japan growing again and they start bringing over a lot of other gaijin and the company starts expanding like it really was back in the early, mid-90s so, I’m not exactly 100 percent sure. I’ll have to see but, it definitely is possible and I just would like a fair chance and an opportunity.
Smith Jr. was back with WWE for a brief period of 2021. He wrestled in a dark match prior to a July edition of SmackDown.
He’s stated in past media appearances that he’d be open to returning to WWE if there’s a direction for him.
If the quotes in this article are used, please credit HUGE POP! with an H/T to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.
