All Japan Pro Wrestling Champion Carnival April 24th 2024

Welcome back for some more fine Champion Carnival action. We’re hitting the middle of the tournament and I swear I will actually do a run-down of the standings soon, I promise, I swear on all that is holy that I will do that soon.

Hartley Jackson, Ryo Inoue & Seigo Tachibana vs. Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato & Rei Saito

Background: Hartley and Rei are both in the Carnival, everybody else is in the midcard and junior mix. Tamura is partnered with Sato and hold the All-Asia tag titles and he wants Seigo’s belt. Ryo is a punching bag.

The Match: Rei and Hartley start with the big lockup but neither can gain an advantage, the other guys tag in and do their sequences before Ryo gets isolated and worked over in the corner. Long heat segment on Inoue but he reverses a Rei chokelsam and brings in Hartley for more clash of the titans stuff. Rei actually catches a Hartley crossbody (?!) and that brings in Tamura and Seigo for some stuff and Tamura powerbombs Seigo straight to hell for the stack pin and the win.

**¼ mostly just a match but the final sequence was nice and it’s setting up that Tamura really seems to have Seigo’s number.

A Block Match: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan vs. Hokuto Omori

Background: Both men are tricksters and I absolutely expect chicanery, subterfuge, sleight of hand, misdirection, and possibly even legerdemain to be utilized by one or perhaps even both men. Kuroshio is in a fantastic sparkly pink number.

The Match: To counter Hokuto’s second, Kuroshio drags out Seigo Tachibana to be ringside who immediately walks away as he has no desire to be there. Hokuto then offers the handshake and of course attacks out of it and we get some dirty tactics from Omori to get in control. Some spirited offense from Kuroshio comes back as the ref gets bumps and Kuroshio punches Omori a few times. The second distracts Kuroshio though and a blast with a loosened turnbuckle pad (?!) has Omori in control on the outside. More heeling from Omori but Kuroshio isn’t down for long before he comes back again with a big kick and some more jacket punches. Omori tucks in Kuroshio’s jacket behind his back, puts the horse head on, and delivers a brainbuster to a three count but the ref pulls his hand back early as Kuroshio is late on the kickout, brutally bad botch there. Omori hits a corner charge but bounces off the turnbuckle he exposed earlier, jumping kick from Kuroshio and he gets the win.

**1/4 Ooof, there’s enough good ideas here that this match could and should have been better, but Kuroshio was kinda lazy and that kickout botch really threw me for a loop. Still, Omori’s repeated bit of excessively cheating and it costing him wins is a nice running story throughout the tournament.

B Block Match: Lord Crewe vs. Jun Saito

Background: First time singles match, obviously, we’ll see what chemistry they have but there is no particular issue here.

The Match: Circle, lockup, and then wristlocks into headlocks, drop downs, and a leap frog is definitely a more American start for the both of them. Jun gets Crewe outside for a brawl that Lord wins. Back inside where we get more of Crewe’s big exaggerated body shots, but after missing a charge Jun fires back with some rapidfire stuff, few big kicks and a brainbuster, but the chokeslam is countered with a jumping kick by Crewe. Gotta say they’re kinda busting their buns here. Lord Crewe loads up the Catatonic, but Jun reverses and gets a chokeslam for 2.99. Crewe goes for a diving bulldog but Jun ducks and gets the Psycho Break for the win.

**¾ Mostly just two guys trading big moves but they worked fast and didn’t overstay their welcome, fun little sprint with a nice finish as Crew gets too ambitious.

A Block Match: Cyrus vs. Ren Ayabe

Background: They haven’t wrestled before, but they’re the two biggest guys in the tournament (Ren by height, Cyrus by mass) so there’s some freakshow appeal here. Ren’s theme grows on me every time I hear it and his sparkly wizard robe looks swell. Additionally this match is refereed by senior official Kyohei Wada, he’s been in the biz for 50 years and he’s much less tolerant of nonsense than other referees.

The Match: Lockup won by Ren, who pats Cyrus on the head who is not a fan of that, the American shoves Ayabe backwards and sets up a shoulderblock war that Cyrus wins. They go outside and Cyrus grabs a chair but the ref stops him, undaunted, Cyrus instead just bounces Ayabe’s head off various objects instead, but Ren reverses Cyrus’s attempt to lawn dart Ayabe into the ring post. Ren tries for the bodyslam but Cyrus is JUST TOO FAT and that allows the big guy to get some air for his running single-leg dropkick. Funny spot as the ref refuses to count the arrogant cover from Cyrus as they chirp at each other. This distraction lets Ren finally get the big slam on Cyrus as the crowd goes banana. Ren tries to press the advantage but gets stymied on his full-nelson as Cyrus is actually foaming at the mouth, Ren dodges a few of Cyrus’s big fat splashes and gets a missile dropkick, but tries to throw the big American again and gets hit with a big slam. Ren goes up again but Cyrus cuts him off and hits a massive superplex. Now Cyrus goes up, takes down the straps, and gets a Vader Bomb for the win.

***¼ Dare I say this was Ren’s best match to date? Ayabe gaining control with speed but being incapable of actually hitting enough power offense to finish the monster off was a nice story.

B Block Match: Hideki Suzuki vs. Ryuki Honda

Background: Hideki is the arrogant shoot fighter who believes less is more, Ryuki is the young, wild brawler who is full of energy and fire.

The Match: Both guys circle each other to start, probing and dancing before they lockup into a Hideki headlock. Suzuki switches to a cravate and then a neckbreaker. More methodical work from Hideki but he shoots off the ropes and gets caught in a Honda spinebuster but Ryuki is soon stymied with a hanging choke and Suzuki’s strikes. Honda fires back with a spear but Hideki ducks the lariat and gets some hard body strikes to set up an abdominal stretch but two Ryuki lariats keep him in it. Both counter each other’s finishes and a reverse bridge gets the 3 for Suzuki.

**½

Well you could tell Suzuki was winning cause he was moving with some urgency, but beyond that he bumped well for Ryuki and him out-technical wrestling the brawler is a fine story.

Post-match Suzuki attacks Ryuki from behind and chokes him.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. & MUSASHI vs. Kento Miyahara & Rising HAYATO

Background: DBSJ and Kento are both in the Carnival and are slated to face each other later. Kento and HAYATO have teamed a ton of times and are in the same babyface stable. MUSASHI wants HAYATO’s Junior Heavyweight title as well.

The Match: MUSASHI and HAYATO start with Rising getting the upper hand into the backflip taunt. DBSJ and Kento then come in. They do the headlock takeover/headscissors/kip-up routine and then both guys pose at each other. Davey gets a brainbuster and knocks HAYATO off the apron so MUSASHI and him can get to work on Kento who can shriek as both guys work him over with basic heel stuff. Kento finally backdrops out of a DBSJ piledriver attempt and we get HAYATO vs. MUSASHI round 2. Both guys trade some stiff chops and counter each others stuff until a MUSASHI exploder suplex sets up a flip dive to the outside, but a desperation HAYATO dropkick brings in Kento…who actually gets his butt kicked by MUSASHI and Davey Boy. However, heel miscommunication sets up a HAYATO run-in on Davey Boy and his Springboard Moonsault lets Kento hit the Shut Down German on MUSASHI for the win.

**¾

Quick and fun with a nice reversal with Kento taking the heat for his junior partner to be the savior and put some nice heat on Davey and Kento’s upcoming match.

A Block Match: Shotaro Ashino vs. Yuma Aoyagi

Background: They’ve had their fair share of run-ins in the past and are the ‘bubbling under’ top-level babyfaces. Both older and more established than Anzai and not the clear ace like Kento is.

The Match: Shotaro immediately gets Yuma into the ropes, second lockup and Yuma reverses into a dirty break…and Shotaro immediately takes Yuma down for some ground and pound and both guys are just throwing hands at each other. Three Yuma dropkicks knock Shotaro outside and Aoyagi batters Ashino throughout the crowd before hitting a DDT on the ringside mats and bringing in Shotaro to chinlock him inside. Yuma is full on playing heel here as the crowd chants loudly for Ashino, in response Yuma mimes a noose around his neck, which uh…dunno if he’s calling Shotaro a choker or that he’s about to execute him. Yuma piledriver and the beating continues until Ashino gets a desperation uppercut out of the corner and then the gutwrench suplex. Yuma gets a brainbuster and goes up but a pop-up Shotaro superplex sends Yuma flying. Shotaro gets the anklelock but Yuma reverses into an attempt at his End Game hammerlock choke before Shotaro slips out and hammers away. Yuma gets a Rock Bottom into the Rockstar Buster for 2.9 however. Both trade a few Germans as each of them is wobble-legged and punch-drunk and the crowd is losing their minds. Another German from Yuma sets up his spin kick for 2.99. Shotaro pops up and a lariat, backdrop suplex and Exploder gets him the pin.

****

Well that ruled. The best selling I’ve seen from Shotaro so far as he was able to get tons of babyface heat as the scrappy suplex machine babyface against the taller, more established Yuma playing a Bret Hart Heel in the match. A snappy and intense finishing sequence did it as well and it ended JUST in time. Great stuff from the both of them.

B Block Match: Suwama vs. Yuma Anzai

Background: So Yuma is Suwama’s mirror, they both went to the prestigious Chuo University, both were recruited from there, both are tall amateur wrestling standouts that were seen as having tremendous potential from a very young age. Suwama also trained Yuma, so this match has a lot going on behind it.

The Match: Instead of a lockup both guys get into some amateur wrestling stuff as they sprawl and grapple with Suwama getting the advantage until a Yuma ropebreak gets them both standing again. More grappling but Yuma with a dirty break out of the ropes has them throwing hands and Suwama’s choke sleeper has the youngster in trouble. Yuma tries some forearms but Suwama shrugs them off and a DDT has the trainer firmly in control. More choking and some chops have Yuma writhing in pain. Suwama continues to dominate until Anzai gets a missile dropkick to set up his own comeback. Suwama gets a lariat, but his powerbomb is reversed and a Yuma German Suplex has the youngster still in control. Suwama once again tries to come back but two of Yuma’s knees stop him in his tracks. A slugfest follows and Suwama is out on his feet before a few suplexes of his own fire him back and a spinning lariat gets 2.9. Backdrop driver from Suwama is reversed into a crossbody and a few more knees from Yuma get the youngster in control with a standing, arm-trap chinlock. Yuma’s electric chair bomb is stymied, but he still gets a Dragon suplex and goes back to the chinlock before Suwama lands the backdrop driver and a fantastic lariat gets a weak kickout from Yuma. A second backdrop driver attempt is countered when Yuma knees Suwama, and the young champion just roars in defiance as Suwama repeatedly lariats the man. Yuma’s pair of jumping knees sets up a bridging German before Anzai’s kneeling arm-trap chinlock gets the submission win.

****
Really fantastic stuff as the older model just got the breaks beaten off of him by the newer model. Suwama has a rep for selfishness but he’s been tremendously giving with the younger generation. I do wish that Yuma’s new submission finish didn’t look quite so weak, but Suwama sold it wonderfully.

Well, it’s been another excellent Champion Carnival show for us, and I’ll catch you on the other side.