Phrederic reviews AJPW – April 18

Hello everybody, it is officially that time of the year that All Japan Pro Wrestling’s signature annual tournament has begun, the Champion Carnival and I am delighted to cover it. I’m not much of a historian and I don’t think I need to explain the history of All Japan to you, but basically it’s their version of the G-1 and is a pretty prestigious deal, former winners include Baba, Abdullah, Jumbo Tsuruta, Stan Hansen, Kawada, Misawa, Taue, Vader, Kobashi, and Mutoh. It’s a round robin tournament and there are two blocks.

I don’t want to bore you all with a list of names and what each wrestler is about (instead I will bore you with information about each wrestler in a pre-match description!) but here’s at least a listing of who is in each block.

A Block: Shotaro Ashino, Kento Miyahara, Yuma Aoyagi, Hokuto Omori, Ren Ayabe, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Cyrus, Davey Boy Smith Jr.

B Block: Suwama, Ryuki Honda, Jun Saito, Yuma Anzai, Hideki Suzuki, Hartley Jackson, Lord Crewe, Rei Saito.

Well, enough of the preamble and on with the show!

Act & Riko Fukunaga vs. Kanamic & Sakura Mizushima

Background: So AJPW has decided to partner with contemporary joshi promotion Actwres girl’Z (usually just referred to as AWG) for reasons. Anyway they all come out and they do some dancing and then they wrestle. I know very little about these wrestlers, but Kanamic has dyed blonde hair and a sort of frilly pink half-skirt, Sakura is also wearing pink and has sorta poofy shorts and a half-shirt thing with puffy elbow pads. Act is the former Act Yasukawa and she’s out in her always cool looking black and dark red ronin getup while Riko is wearing black with some silver highlights.

The Match: Sakura tries some offense on Act who completely no-sells it before taking over. The vets then beat the heck out of the rookies with Riko landing some cool kicks. The rookies take over with a drop toehold into some acrobatic stuff and it’s all featherlight and weightless, their strikes in particular are very soft. Act gets a pretty cool stretch muffler out of a schoolgirl pin but Kanamic breaks it up so Sakura can hit the absolute worst Unprettier I’ve ever seen in my life, I wish I could have the technology to rip it into a gif because it is truly atrocious. Act is moving in slow-motion (though I don’t know if that’s cause she’s old and beat up or working with total greenhorns) but gets a dope looking swinging guillotine choke on Sakura. After a few more pin break ups from both sides, Act hits an Oklahoma Stampede on Sakura for the win.

¾*

Really bad match but Kanamic and Sakura are both really green, Act was never a workrate god in her prime and she’s clearly not that anymore. Pretty bad but there were a few nice moves and I appreciated they didn’t do a ton of kickouts and mostly had the partners break stuff up.

Afterwards we get the full roster to stand outside the ring and they do a ten-bell salute for Akebono who passed recently. Classy stuff and RIP to the big guy.

We get a video package running down the card for a bit and then we get the members of the Champion Carnival to come out and pose with the trophy the winner they get. Pretty funny as everybody is wearing matching shirts…except for Kuroshio TOKYO Japan who is in his regular floral getup. Shotaro Ashino (last year’s winner) picks up the trophy and they do the pomp and circumstance…but oh no, Cyrus has no no need for this display of respect and attacks Kento and tosses some young boys around, we get a staredown of the main-event tonight, Jun Saito and Yuma Anzai, and everybody clears out.

Rising HAYATO & Seigo Tachibana vs. Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue

Background: So Rising HAYATO is the World Junior Heavyweight Champion, while he used to be a clean-cut dyed blonde pretty boy junior he hardened up his look by getting some tattoos, wearing eyeliner, getting gauges and wearing a purple flannel outfit. His partner, Seigo Tachibana, is short but broad, with that classic beefy puro chest and arms, he’s mostly a comedy guy with I think a Yakuza gimmick considering the crowd supports him by yelling “aniki,” and is the current Gaora TV champion. On the other side is Dan Tamura, one half of the current All Asia Tag Team Champions, and a pale, pudgy brawler who is nonetheless a junior and was World Junior Heavyweight champ before he lost to Hayato. His partner is Ryo Inoue, who is still basically a punching bag for others, he’s in good shape but small, he does a lot of fast kicks, which combined with his black and yellow gear design makes me think he’s doing a Kawada tribute. These are basically the top guys for the junior and midcard division, though those divisions really don’t mean much in All Japan.

The Match: Pretty traditional start, guys feeling each other out, working headlocks and headscissors and all that, HAYATO displays his speed and technical acumen, Tamura his strength, Seigo his goofiness (he does a thing where he does a squat, somebody kicks him in the chest and he falls back then kips up into a squat so they can do it again), and Ryo gets beaten on. It’s weird to see HAYATO play the role of “dominating vet” in the match considering so much of his career has been as Ricky Morton, but he takes control of Ryo with basic stuff, loud chops and hiptosses. HAYATO does his regular taunt (a fakeout dive into a springboard backflip and he drops down into a seated pose with his fingers out) and Seigo joins him. Match heats up from there and even Ryo gets to look effective for a bit. Seigo and Dan exchange some heavy strikes but Tamura gets a crispy lariat into a stiff-ass powerbomb for the win.

**½

Basic TV match and all guys (okay maybe not Seigo) left a little to a lot in the tank, but it’s not a bad introduction to the AJPW Junior style, lot less movez based than other promotions, but each wrestler feels distinctive and the stuff makes sense. I will say that while HAYATO is my favorite of the four, I do think he was almost too quick to sell, he’s supposed to be the champion and should be a bit tougher than that.

After the match Tamura challenges Seigo for the Gaora TV title who seems to accept, or maybe not, I don’t speak Japanese.

Hartley Jackson, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Cyrus, Hideki Suzuki & MUSASHI

Background: Kuroshio is TAFKA Ikemen Jiro in NXT, he’s always flamboyantly dressed and wrestles while wearing trunks and a matching suit jacket. He’s got a pretty ridiculous gimmick that’s hard to explain but he does a big elaborate entrance where he dances through the crowd and does a happy-go-lucky thing.. Teaming with Kuroshio is Hartley Jackson, a big beefy Australian with a mohawk that’s losing a battle to male pattern baldness, and Ryuji Hijikata who used to be known as Toshizo who was a masked goon for the now defunct Voodoo Murders stable (they were the big heel stable for a long time and that’s where a lot of the gaijin in the 2000s and onwards would spend time in), he’s a middle-aged Japanese man with a middling physique and purple trunks. The opposing side is Cyrus, a big fat bald tattooed American heel with a heterochromia gimmick, Hideki Suzuki, another guy who had a cup of coffee in NXT, he’s tall and beefy and is billed as the last disciple of Billy Robinson, he has a shoot fighter gimmick and is also wearing purple trunks (jeez, coordinate this stuff guys), the last one is MUSASHI, a freelance junior with sparkly white tights with woodblock-style designs of cranes and clouds on them.

The Match: So we’re joined with a hot start as Cyrus actually interrupts Kuroshio’s entrance and whallops him in the crowd, we get some brawling on the outside between Hideki and Hartley, and Ryuji and MUSASHI do some very basic stuff in the ring as they know the attention is on Kuroshio getting his ass beat. We get the match proper with Hideki very slowly doing his shoot-style stuff on Kuroshio and the heel side doing all the classics. Choking from the outside, attacking his eyes, frequent tags. We get some Looney Tunes stuff from Kuroshio and he tags in Ryuji who does a hot tag with perhaps the most generic Japanese cruiser stuff ever. Luckily his ‘run’ doesn’t last long and Cyrus comes in to destroy him until he misses a Vader Bomb. That stops the heels for about 30 seconds before Hartley comes in, gets challenged to a shoulderblock-off with Cyrus…until Hideki trips him up and the heels go back to stomping on Ryuji. Second Vader Bomb doesn’t miss and heels win.

**¼

I’m a sucker for some fun heeling and I appreciate how much this match made Cyrus look like a big scary monster, HIdeki didn’t do much either which is fine with me, but he had a few good character moments as a savvy vet. Ryuji is absolutely hopeless as a singles guy, but at least they seem to know he’s just fodder and didn’t ever make him look dominant. Not much of a match but it didn’t overstay its welcome and they let a very good babyface sell for most of it.

B Block Match: Rei Saito vs. Suwama

Background: Rei Saito is one half of the Saito Brothers, the current World Tag Team Champions, he’s a big fat guy with long curly hair, a beard, studded leather bracers, and a red leather jacket, while nominally a heel, Rei and his brother are pretty popular with the crowd. Suwama is the former ace of All Japan and is very decorated and still credible, he’s basically their Tanahashi, he’s got half-dyed hair and is a big, beefy guy who plays the grumpy vet role. They have history together as Suwama was part of Voodoo Murders with the Saito Brothers before he got kicked out, additionally the Saito Brothers beat Suwama for the World Tag Team Championship.

The Match: They do the clash of the titans lockup that Rei wins, backing up Suwama for a clean break. Suwama then tries for the Greco-Roman knucklelock test of strength and loses that too, so he kicks Rei. Suwama then goes for about two dozen shoulderblocks, bouncing off the ropes while Rei stands there, undaunted. Finally Rei rebounds off the ropes and knocks Suwama down with one. Rei then takes Suwama outside and whomps him there, setting him up against the ring post and shoulderblocking him into it. Rei rolls Suwama back in and continues the beating, using the ropes to assist stepping on his chest and jawing with the ref while Suwama sells by retching and dry-heaving. With strength not working for him, Suwama gets a reverse STO and a few chops but still can’t get any power offense going and Rei takes over again with a knee into the ropes. With Suwama cornered, Rei busts out some of his old sumo offense and lands a flurry of palm strikes and then some chops. Going back to his big fat heel roots, we get a chokeslam from Rei and then a big fat running splash of doom! Rei gets greedy however and goes for the powerbomb which Suwama backdrops him out of, we get the running dropkick from Suwama and that’s enough where Suwama can FINALLY land the backdrop suplex for the pin.

***¼

Almost the Randy Savage formula with Suwma getting absolutely dog-walked 90% of the match, only for his opponent to make a mistake and the crafty vet lands his big move for the win. The story of Suwama being physically outmatched so he had to come up with something unexpected to win carried all the way through. Good match with a clever finish is 3.25 for me. Rei’s also gotten a lot better in just a year. This is also a really good example of AJPW’s house style, with early stuff like lockups and tests of strength setting the tone for the rest of the match and being followed to the end…and that it’s mostly about big chunky guys just kind of running at each other.

A Block Match: Hokuto Omori vs. Shotaro Ashino

Background: Two rising stars, Hokuto Omori, the Wolf Moon of Rebellion, a bit aloof but mostly cocky, he’s a sort of trickster wrestler who uses a lot of clever rollups and a few flash submissions, he’s rather plain looking and has a mop of wild hair and a terrible goatee. Shotaro is the reigning Champion Carnival winner, though he got hurt right at the end of the tournament and wasn’t able to cash in his title shot until this January and he didn’t win. Short and stocky with a well-kept beard and coiffed hair, he’s the Master of Suplex (why yes his theme is a Metallica song…but not that one). He’s a face and wrestles a bit more traditionally puro than most of the roster.

The Match: Hokuto’s entrance has two people dressed like Hokuto with horse masks on, one is in his red getup, the other in his blue, Shotaro stares down both of them, and while jawing with the blue Omori…the red one low blows him and reveals himself as the REAL Hokuto, we get the bell and he hits a RKO (called as such by commentary) for 2.9. Hokuto tosses him outside and works him over with some strikes while Shotaro looks mildly perturbed. We get Hokuto DDTing Shotaro on the ringside mats and he finally starts to sell a bit. Omori works the count and poses in the ring while his blue doppelganger cheers him on the outside. Some lazy chinlocks and a corner choke from Hokuto and Shotaro has decided he’s had enough of selling and explodes out of the corner for some uppercuts and then a gutwrench powerbomb with a squat, he then uh…checks his nuts? Weird spot. Hokuto takes over again by hiding behind the ref, landing his KO forearm, and then a pop-up dick kick into a sunset flip for 2, dragon suplex with bridge (and a beaut) for 2. Hokuto goes for his cross-legged driver but Shotaro escapes, Hokuto kicks low again…and Ashino catches it for an ankle lock, ropebreak, but while the ref is checking Shotaro kicks Omori low, German! Lariat! Backdrop suplex, Hokuto kicks out again and then we get another ankle lock, Hokuto stays alive for a bit Ashino gets the grapevine and Hokuto taps.

**¾

Hokuto really did his part as the cheating bastard who got his comeuppance from the low blow but Shoaro’s selling is just so haphazard, he’s got explosive offense and some charisma, but there’s two sides to wrestling.

Post-match Shotaro goes after the blue Omori lookalike but he manages to escape with his horse mask still on.

B Block: Ryuki Honda vs. Lord Crewe

Background: Lord Crewe is new to me but he’s a tatted up white guy with hipster glasses and a scraggly beard, he comes out to Gojira’s Stranded at least so I know he’s got good taste in music. He’s got red and gold tights and a good build. Ryuki Honda is another weird act to explain, he’s got wild hair, buzzed on top with a mullet-esque tail and blonde streaks dyed through it, his entrance gear is a leather vest with metal spikes on it and a leather choker, he’s a bit chunky and pretty much always has a shit-eating grin on his face. He’s a vicious brawler who chokes people on the ropes, but he’s got such a relentless style and he squares up to anybody so he’s gotten over as a face. He’s also a regular tag team partner with Yuma Anzai (the clean-cut babyface champ) as New Period.

The Match: Both guys charge and Ryuki gets knocked down, Crewe throws Ryuki in the ropes and busts out “I hear you all like to count” in English to the crowd before raining some hammer and anvil elbows on Honda (a variant of Honda’s signature spot), after the ref breaks it Ryuki immediately throws Crewe in the ropes and does his knee choke for two fast 5 counts with the crowd chanting along. Crewe then comes back with some exaggerated body blows and a closed fist strike across the jaw of Ryuki that the Japanese man sells with some gorgeous jelly legs, given that this is Japan however the ref actually admonishes Crewe for the punch and while Lord jaws at the ref and the crowd Ryuki recovers for an explosive lariat and a .7 Jannetty sell from Lord (is he an actual landed gentry or is it a first name like Baron?) Ryuki sends up Final Vent (his finish, a leg-trap chokeslam) but Crewe slips out, gets a tornado kick and then a high release German (that the cameraman didn’t do much to disguise how Ryuki avoided damage on, jeez guys). This sets up a Swinging Side Slam by Crewe for the three.

**

Basically a squash but both guys showed up that I’d put it as fine, not totally sold on Lord Crewe but Ryuki sure did his damnedest to put him over, guy got to do Honda’s own taunt against him and then Ryuki did some quality wobble-leg stuff to put the guys strikes over. They didn’t waste time however, so not a dull moment but not really enough to tell a story.

A Block Match: Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Yuma Aoyagi

Background: Davey Boy Smith Jr. is the son of Davey Boy Smith (crazy, right?) and was in WWE for a hot minute, he’s big and jacked and obviously roided to the gills and has a bleached buzz., long white tights under Union Jack style trunks complete his look. Yuma Aoyagi, former Triple Crown champion, and a versatile and clever wrestler (his nickname is the Insidious Fighter) that can do a bit of everything. Yuma can throw strikes, he has some submissions, he can go high (honestly he’s the closest thing All Japan has to a high-flyer) and he’s got a collection of power moves too. Despite his theme song asking you to “kiss me like a rockstar” he’s got the sort of wholesome, handsome vibe of a single dad in a Lifetime movie. He’s got pretty cool blue and black trunks with some flaps hanging down on his left side for style points.

The Match: We get the slow circle and ocular patdown before we get a lockup and an immediate win by DBSJ who backs Yuma into the ropes and gives a clean break. DBSJ then gets a wristlock into a hammerlock into a headlock to establish his technical dominance as well. Yuma goes for an early elbow but Davey controls him with some armdrags. Yuma finally slows things down with a headlock but DBSJ gets the backdrop suplex to turn things back in his favor. Yuma rolls outside where Davey stomps on him and whips into the barricade and Aoyagi is dead. Davey Boy cracks me up when he makes sure to pantomime to the ref that his overhead strikes were openhanded (it only took 25 years but he showed some personality) and a suplex on the outside has Aoyagi in deep water. A desperate roll into the ring as Davey jogs in place and we get two ropebreaks from Yuma, one with one leg that Smith then hooks…and then with the other leg. Davey then goes back to 1985 and hits a body slam into a nerve hold into a chinlock and Yuma gets ANOTHER break with his legs. Aoyagi tries coming back with strikes but doesn’t get anywhere with them and we get back to the chinlock and Davey makes sure to drag Yuma to the center of the ring for this one. Davey avoids a dropkick but he gloats about it so when he charges again Yuma tags him with one. Yuma finally strings some offense together, Stinger Splash! Diving Crossbody! But Yuma gets greedy and goes for a suplex and DBSJ counters it. A slugfest won by Davey sets up a superplex that gets countered, but Davey counters THAT and then Yuma starts spamming rollups as he’s got nothing left. Davey hits a legdrop and then a diving legdrop (?!) and then lands the superplex but Yuma is STILL alive. And now DBSJ is frustrated as he just can’t pin this guy. Davey goes for another pin without a move, kickout. Yuma is just out, and the ref goes down to check on him, Yuma finally stands up again and Davey readies a lariat but Aoyagi collapses before he can hit it. A VERY frustrated Davey pulls the ref away, loads up a powerbomb and…Aoyagi gets the sunset flip for 3 and sprints out of the ring.

***½

Loved the story of Yuma being physically outmatched at every turn but he managed to play possum while Davey couldn’t come up with something to finish the guy. Really puts over the Insidious Fighter deal.

Post-match Yuma taunts DBSJ who knocks around the young boys at ringside to put over his anger.

A Block Match: Kento Miyahara vs. Ren Ayabe

Background: Kento is the ace of All Japan, the best of the Best and on the shortlist for BITW in my humble opinion. One of the most charismatic wrestlers in the biz, his wrestling idols are apparently Hulk Hogan and Shawn MIchaels, bleached blond and tanned, he’s the ultimate ham with his flame print tights and bedazzled red robe. Ren Ayabe is relatively green but he’s very tall, probably a legit 6’6” and in good shape, if thin (ex-basketball player I believe so that follows). Ren’s got new gear and it looks a lot better, purple and red shorts with a lighting pattern. He also has a new robe that looks half Dr. Strange and half Vegas magician, but hey, it’s a thing. Purple highlights in the hair as well.

The Match: The crowd cheers for Ayabe as they stare each other down and Kento looks mildly peeved as he looks at them. Lockup and while Kento gets backed into the ropes quickly he reverses and holds Ren there, a reluctant clean break from Miyahara but he backs up after patting the rook on the cheek. Ren backs Kento into the ropes again and gives a clean break…after patting Kento on the head and the crowd reacts huge for that as Kento looks pissed. Miyahara charges in and starts his mid-match comeback with a big boot but Ren shrugs it off and flattens him with a shoulderblock and Kento powders while selling like mad. Ren beats his butt on the outside, everytime Kento gets ANYTHING Ayabe comes back and flattens Kento with a shoulder or a strike. Kento finally gains control with a fireman’s carry into a hotshot on the ring barricade, followed by a series of headbutts (totally safe ones) and some whips into the barricade and the ring post. They finally get back into the ring and Kento preens around the ring and shakes his head as he stomps on Ren. Kento gets his roll into a low dropkick followed by a dropkick to the head of the kneeling opponent spot and follows it up with a flex to the crowd who predictably explode for it. This fires up Ren who comes back with a jumping clothesline and then a missile dropkick. Ren takes Kento to the ring apron but of course we get a minute of Kento trying to hit his apron piledriver and it…actually works this time? Now Ren is dead on the outside and with a little help from the ref he gets back in, Kento zeroes in on the head again with a boot and walks away… but apparently that just pisses Ren off who pops up and Kento reacts to the crowd noise by slowly turning around to the looming Ayabe behind him. Slugfest is won by Ren who gets a brainbuster and a Yakuza kick, second brainbuster is countered into an inside cradle by Kento, Blackout knee from Kento! And now Kento starts sticking his tongue out and laughing as he’s got this poor dumb rookie dead to rights, second Blackout to Ren and Kento does a confident cover just eyeballing the camera, Ayabe kicks out. Kento then moves to his main finish, the Shutdown German Suplex, Ren escapes and after dodging another Blackout he gets a pretty nice bridging Dragon Suplex for 2.9. Ren then gets a spinning gourdbuster and pins Kento!?! Well that’s an upset.

***

They were definitely doing a bit of a forced epic there, and Ren probably isn’t yet good enough for his push, he’s still tentative in the ring and he strikes like he’s afraid to hurt somebody, however when you have Kento at full-power bumping his buns off for you and selling everything you do like death…it’s gonna look good. I don’t believe in the broomstick thing totally, and Ren provided enough for Kento to bounce off of, but this was Kento’s show. Hopefully this is the start of something special for Ayabe, he’s got a good look and a unique vibe to him.

B Block Match: Jun Saito vs. Yuma Anzai

Background: Jun Saito is the other Saito Brother, like his brother he’s a big guy, but he’s thinner and has a better groomed beard (a thin chinstrap) and more tamed hair. While Rei is a wildman, Jun is the cool, calm and collected member of the duo. Yuma Anzai (yes there are two Yuma’s and both are main-event guys and they’re both babyfaces) is the Triple Crown Champion and the winner of both the Observers Rookie of the Year award and Tokyo Sports Newcomer Award, tall, handsome, and blessed with excellent hair, he’s a collegiate wrestling star that was allegedly highly scouted by every puro promotion, he chose All Japan and he’s the youngest Triple Crown champion in company history, he’s earned himself comparisons to Jumbo Tsuruta and even does a Jumbo-style knee. He is VERY popular with women and almost certainly the future ace of All Japan. He also has new gear here, black trunks that seem to be made up of horizontal strips of different materials, an interesting look.

The Match: We get the slow circle as the crowd chants for Anzai, but quiets when Jun puts his finger to his lips, lockup and Jun gets Anzai in the ropes, we get some fighting but Jun gives a clean if condescending break. Yuma pops back and we get the shoulderblock battle which is won by Jun. Yuma responds with an armdrag and a dropkick then works him over in the corner. Jun kicks Yuma off the top rope and into the ring barricade and we get him working him over outside. Jun drags him into the crowd and bounces Yuma’s head off the wall and we get a rather hilarious shot of Anzai sliding down the steps afterwards. Jun then drags him over to the OTHER side of Korakuen Hall and bounces his head off a wall over there as well. On his way back to the ring, Jun makes sure to give love to his fans by grabbing one of their Saito Brothers cheer towels to choke Yuma with. Back in the ring and Jun continues to work over Yuma with a body slam, and his beautiful delayed elbow drop. Arrogant cover as Jun poses and unleashes the hair from his ponytail. Yuma makes some space for himself by countering a charge with a boot, then a dropkick, a Stinger Splash, and a belly-to-belly (that Jun did NOT go all the way over for), dropkick from Yuma but Jun backdrops out of a butterfly suplex and lands the Yakuza kick. Jun yells “Doom!” before his delayed brainbuster. Jun works Yuma over a bit more until he goes to the top turnbuckle and Yuma hits an insane step up knee to stun him and land a beautiful superplex but Jun comes back with a spear! And then…a Jackhammer?! New offense from him. Yuma gets a Dragon Suplex into a Jumbo knee for 2. Jun counters the German suplex with a lariat, and follows with a chokeslam for 2. Jun charges his special by taunting and sets up the Psycho Break (cobra clutch slam) but Anzai armdrags out of it. Another knee and a low-angle German gets 2.9 and Yuma is flabbergasted! And Yuma hits a half-electric chair into a powerbomb for the 3. Well that’s a new finish I guess.

***

Definitely a tad too long, but they were trusting Jun to do quite a bit in that match and I think he delivered, kept the offense nice and varied and worked the crowd admirably as well. Yuma still needs to either make his selling more heartwrenching or work on more mini-comebacks in his match to keep the crowd into it. Stil, a good main-event with plenty of drama.

So, that’s night one of the Champion Carnival, if you have any questions I’d love to answer what I can in the comment section below.