All Japan Pro Wrestling Champion Carnival May 4th 2024

Welcome back to our second to last third to last All Japan Pro Wrestling Champion Carnival show. We are in beautiful Sanjo City Welfare Hall with 793 people here to watch some stellar AJPW action. Now, the only real matches of importance are Rei Saito vs. Ryuki Honda, Yuma Anzai vs. Hideki Suzuki, and Suwama vs. Jun Saito which will basically sort out the B Block standings. Let’s get to it!

Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, MUSASHI, Rising HAYATO & Seigo Tachibana vs. Big THE Ryokan, Dan Tamura, Hokuto Omori & Shotaro Ashino

Background: Okay, this is a big one. Big things is Seigo and Dan’s upcoming Gaora TV Championship match. Oh, and I guess we have Big THE Ryokan, who is a small guy with a purple mask, local indie dude it looks like.

The Match: During the entrance Kuroshio engages in a bit of impressive (if dangerous) parkour and climbs from the floor to the balcony above to interact with the fans. After a really, really, really long entrance sequence we start with HAYATO and Hokuto who do some cruiser stuff and HAYATO hits the backflip taunt and we bring in Kuroshio and Big THE Ryokan. Kuroshio does some athletic stuff to show off and Big uh…attempts to follow him, after a while we get a Big headlock that has Kuroshio totally flummoxed for a good minute before some more athletic stuff gets Kuroshio in control and we get some double-teams between him and Seigo that of course end with Seigo getting superkicked. Seigo and Kuroshio try to do the double dive but Seigo jumps first, Big dodges and Tachibana gets stomped out for a bit and it ends with Ryokan hitting a legitimately impressive chokeslam on him. Everybody comes in for a chained headscissors spot into a super-duper boston crab and this is pure farce. This breaks down to Hokuto vs. Seigo who trade shots until a Seigo STO brings in MUSASHI who uses his generic cruiser offense until a Hokuto matrix dodge and RKO bring in Shotaro to suplex the shit out of MUSASHI until Dan and Seigo come in to continue their thing. And I say their thing positively here, they are very comfortable and crisp with each other and they have the “we are evenly matched and need to bust our buns to beat the other” so they’re just putting everything into everything they’re doing. Kuroshio breaks up a Tamura powerbomb with a superkick but his dive on Shotaro is broken up and it’s all breaking down in…Sanjo City. Stereo dives from MUSASHI and HAYATO bring things back to Seigo and Dan who go at it again but it’s a Tamura La Majistral that gets him the win!

**¾

That was a lot of fun, the whole thing was absurdly long before the bell rung, but it was a lot of big personalities goofing around and bouncing off each other and it set up that Dan is more than just a brutal straightforward buttkicker.

Kuma Arashi vs. Cyrus

Background: Cyrus is a large, rotund, brawling bully. Kuma is a less-large, rotund, brawling non-bully. Seems simple enough to me. Kuma has his fur barbarian outfit on.

The Match: Cyrus powders to start and gets a piece of ring barricade to take into the ring with him but the ref tells him off. Lockup won by Kuma and we get some taunting. Kuma gets the headlock but Cyrus obviously wins the shoulderblock war. Cyrus is just too fat to be bodyslammed and lands on Kuma. Kuma comes back when Cyrus misses a legdrop but the running boot from the American sets up a can-opener submission?! Wow, I uh…was not expecting that. Some more Cyrus clubering gives us a great falling tree bump from Kuma. Cyrus gets a slingshot senton (?!?!) but a Kuma ropebreak saves him. Cyrus missing the falling headbutt lets Kuma recover and the Japanese man gets some boots and FINALLY gets the slam but he collapses afterwards. Ha. Kuma gets an Olympic Slam on Cyrus and that was legitimately impressive to see considering he held it up as a rack for a good 3 seconds before dropping. Kuma gets a diving senton but a second one misses and that lets Cyrus takeover via a corner cannonball and then the straps come down and we get the Vader Bomb.

***

God help but that was loads of fun, Cyrus digging dip into his kit but being ultimately too big for Kuma is nice. And the buildup to Kuma finally throwing Cyrus around got a good reaction as well. But the babyface played to the crowd too much when he went for the second senton and paid the price.

Post-match Cyrus throws refs and young boys around which is always amusing to me.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Takao Omori & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Kento Miyahara, Masao Inoue & Ren Ayabe

Background: So the A-Block is going to be decided by Kento vs. DBSJ. Additionally, Yuma beat Davey and Kento has beaten Yuma and they’ve wrestled a million times. Masao Inoue is new to us here but I remember him as an old NOAH guy that was absolutely physically shot and he’s limping to the ring and looks like he’s gotta puke when climbing the steps so uh…not excited about this one.

The Match: Kento and Davey Boy start with the Canadian winning the lockup, some technical stuff and then the international. Kento brings in Masao and in come Takao and I think their combined ages are 110. We get a headlock and the most animated party in the match is Kento talking trash on the ring apron. We get a pier six brawl as Takao slowly stomps on Masao in the ring as the younger guys all run around and brawl outside. Davey comes in and works over Masao’s leg, and Inoue is just laying on the mat catching z’s here. Eventually all of Davey’s team goes through working over Masao with really basic stuff and the world’s weakest shoulderblock from Inoue lets Ren tag in and clear house for a while. Davey takes over and throws the tall guy around until a missed legdrop brings in Kento for him to do the usual. Slugfest between Davey and Kento until DBSJ goes for the piledriver that Miyahara backdrops out of. In come Takao and Masao again and I don’t love beating a dead horse but Inoue is just absolutely shot. Inoue gets the Cobra Clutch Legsweep and loads up a lariat that misses. Takao gets Masao with a full nelson slam Inoue just doesn’t leave his feet for and this is sad. Kento and Ren come in for a second and I’m briefly excited but we get more Takao and Masao and Inoue’s falling lariat gets a weak kickout from Omori. A botched schoolboy (how) gets 2 for Masao and then another full nelson slam from Takao that Inoue doesn’t jump for gets 2 and my goodness, end this match. And they’re listening since Omori gets an axe bomber and the 3 on Inoue.

*

This was dreadful, and beyond Masao Inoue just not being in any condition to wrestle a match, at all, it also did very little to set up Davey Boy vs. Kento, which is the point of the match. At least literally every other wrestler looked more physically capable than Masao, Ren was moving in light speed in comparison.

Post-match Yuma takes an absolutely disgusting full-speed bump when Ren whips him into the barricade and also Kento threatens Davey Boy and says in decent English “I’ll break you!!!”

B Block Match: Hartley Jackson vs. Lord Crewe

Background: Well both guys are eliminated and Hartley finally got a win, but it’s still two gaijin with nasty attitudes going at it. Crewe is more of the heel and the striker, while Hartley is the powerhouse and somewhat of the babyface with his experience in Japan.

The Match: Lockup to start, won by Hartley who does the bongos on the chest. Lord Crewe has his fists raised up like a 1940s tough guy boxer and I just can’t get over his ridiculous poses. Crewe wins lockup number two, does the bongos, and then flips up the Australian. That cheeky fellow. “C’mon big boy!” from Crewe and Hartley wins the technical exchange with his own middle fingers and this has gotten quite rude. They roll outside and trade chops and Crewe wins. Back inside as Lord does his work. We get a brief Jackson comeback with the “JACKSON NUMBER ONE!” taunt but Crewe controls more and we get the McDojo kung fu. Hartley gets more chops into a slam and an elbow drop and this is just so basic. This is opening match indie stuff between two guys with 10+ years experience and also the knowledge they’re going to have to do a full shift the next day. Crewe calls for the brainbuster and of course it gets reversed. Hartley can’t get another suplex however and Crewe reverse and then gets some decent strikes. We’re back to them just trading moves however as this match doesn’t have much flow. Crewe slips coming off the ropes for a diving bulldog but he acts like it was a strike to Jackson and I’ll give him his flowers for that as they just go into a cover and move along. Anyway Hartley gets a Death Valley Driver and the pin and I guess this match was over.

** Meh, it was…I dunno, Hartley is over and played to the fans. Crewe has some charisma, it was fine. It just feels like a match between two guys and while there was a botch they sold it right so it doesn’t bug me. Hartley I think is a locker room dad to a lot of gaijin talent in Japan and I get why he gets work but he’s just not very good. Crewe is…I dunno I feel like he’s a guy who could be the second dude in a tag-team with a more interesting partner. His work is fine and he’s got some interesting parts to him and the jacked up hipster deal is a good look.

B Block Match: Ryuki Honda vs. Rei Saito

Background: So, both guys are the pudgy brawlers of their teams and the less respectable singles competitors of their tag-teams. Ryuki is eliminated from the B Block but Rei has tiebreakers over everybody else at the top so if he wins he’s in.

The Match: Hard lockup to start won by Rei, second one is won by Ryuki who gives a dirty break and both guys seem to be enjoying the griminess so far. They go outside and Rei has control with the whips and the beating but Ryuki gets a lariat and goes at Saito’s arm with the 1-2-3-4 stuff. We get jawing with the ref and the ref shoves Honda! Back inside with more armwork from Honda but Rei gets a big slam to get a breather as he tries to fix his arm. Rei dominates Ryuki with size and power and gets his own illegal submission with the rope-assisted stomp on Honda’s chest. Big fat splash from Rei and it’s been all Saito for a minute. Rei goes for the piledriver but Ryuki backdrops out of it and gets his own breather. Honda’s spear sets up a grounded keylock. Ryuki falters on the Final Vent and Rei’s heavy hands put Saito back in control. The corner chops from Rei, including the lick chop, the fakeout chop, Ryuki fighting back before the palm thrusts from Rei send Honda back into the corner, and then the shrieking chops have the bearded menace in full control. Ryuki gets some shots and the desperation armbar until another ropebreak saves Rei, which frustrates Honda. Final Vent doesn’t work and Ryuki’s spear gets stuff, Rei gets a goozle into the slap and a falling lariat, and then a chokeslam has Ryuki barely being able to stand. Honda goes back to the arm but can’t lock it in, but a German suplex, lariat, and Final Vent finish off Rei.

***

Look, Rei’s work is always going to be clunky, but he’s got good presence and Ryuki has good psychology. Rei was too big for Honda to throw around so the smaller dude worked the arm, not for a submission which Rei could break with the ropes, but so he could finally get a big power move and take him out.

B Block Match: Hideki Suzuki vs. Yuma Anzai

Background: Yuma is the dashing young rookie champion. Hideki is the older, canny shoot fighting veteran. Yuma is a Nagata student, but Hideki is a new threat for him. Winner also could advance as Rei has been eliminated in the last match.

The Match: Both guys start with amateur stuff. Test of strength goes badly for Yuma until he bridges out and hits a dropkick to show off he is the better athlete. Hideki chopblocks the leg as the vet is clearly going to play heel here. Yuma’s left leg is quite heavily taped here and Hideki goes at it with some light kicks and then a dragonscrew. Anzai tries to fire back with some forearms but can’t get anything in them and Suzuki dissects the knee with simple stuff. Yuma is selling beautifully here as he screams in pain and can’t even get whipped across the ring as his leg buckles. Yuma comes back when he uses the ropes to get some feet up and hits a missile dropkick. Belly-to-belly from Yuma but he can’t get the double-arm suplex and Hideki gets the Cradle Tombstone. A few jumping knees get space for Yuma even with the destroyed leg but the kneeling chinlock doesn’t work for Yuma as HIdeki breaks it and gets a butterfly jackhammer almost. Single-leg crab from Hideki is locked in and Yuma taps.

***¼

Well that was basically all Yuma selling his ass off, but man he ruled at it. Hideki was decent as an implacable shooter as well and the rematch intrigues me. Of course Suzuki continues his trend of how his only good matches are matches he wins…hrm.

B Block Match: Suwama vs. Jun Saito

Background: So the winner of this match wins the B Block. I thought that Suzuki had a chance but one of these guys will get to 10 points so it will be them. Jun and Suwama have fought for tag-gold in the past and Suwama was kicked out of Voodoo Murders which at the time, Jun was still in. Suwama is an aged vet with a lot left in the tank, and Jun is a cocky powerhouse who is bigger, younger, and stronger than Suwama. Let’s check out what happens.

The Match: Long delay with them staring each other down before we get a lockup that Jun easily wins and gives a reluctant, if clean, break on. Suwama goes for a headlock but can’t get anything off of that and Jun takes him apart with his superior strength. Outside and we get Jun choking Suwama with the cheer towels as the crowd boos. Suwama ducks a yakuza kick that hangs up Jun on the barricade and the vet crawls back inside where he catches Jun coming back in and gets the choke sleeper while Saito is hanging in the ropes. Suwama keeps at it with the choke and Jun is stymied, I repeat, stymied. Suwama gets the corner clothesline into the belly-to-belly suplex, but when Suwama tries throwing palm strikes Jun comes back with a vengeance and rips him apart. Jun gets the elbow drop to set up his brainbuster, but Suwama reverse and signals for the powerbomb. Jun backdrops out and we get a slugfest, Suwama German Suplex! But Jun gets the bomaye to the back of the head and both guys struggle to their feet. Jun is up first and they go back to the slugfest Suwam gets his jumping shoulderblock and lariat for a close nearfall, but Jun recovers and hits his own lariat that has Suwama bamboozled. There’s something tragic about Suwama struggling to get to his feet here. And Suwama manages to counter the Psycho Break and gets a backdrop driver, but he can’t get the second one and Jun spears him in half. Jackhammer and the Psycho Break make it academic for Jun.

***¾

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would. Of course it plays off the various storylines of the tournament, Suwama’s fading physicality and his reliance on trickiness to set up his big moves, and Jun as this agent of destruction, a dominant power wrestler who has developed a deep bag of offense that can tear most guys apart. 5 years ago and Suwama crushes Jun, but that was five years ago and Suwama just ain’t what he used to be, and Jun has matured as a wrestler and isn’t vulnerable to the tricks of last years tournament. Out of the three aces of 2000s puro (Tanahashi, Sugiura, and Suwama) Suwama was always my least favorite, but man I’ve really learned to love him over this Carnival and I’m glad he’s still healthy enough to play the aged gunslinger role unlike some other members of that 2000s puro ace triad.

Well, that’s that, and it’s going to be Jun Saito versus whomever wins between Kento and Davey Boy.