All Japan Pro Wrestling: Champion Carnival April 13th 2025

We’re in the beautiful Hiroshima Industrial East Exhibition Hall with 750+ in attendance, actually not sure I’ve seen this venue before but at some point all the generic small puro places look the same.

Aigle Blanc, Rey Paloma, Takashi Yoshida & Xyon vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Dan Tamura, Ryo Inoue & Tsuyoshi Okada

Background: The big “get everybody else on the card” tag match this time has some local guys as we get lean Frenchman Aigle Blanc, beefy cheating brawler Yoshida, and big jacked-up Aussie XYON teaming with uh…a middle-aged Rey Paloma with grey hair and yellow and grey tights. Their opponents are brightly-colored junior Atsuki, grumpy junior Tamura, cocky junior Ryo Inoue, and their local guy Tsuyoshi Okada, who is shorter than the juniors, has a pretty wild beard and a ridiculously swoopy undercut and is wearing a cutoff t-shirt for his ring gear. Alright then.

The Match: Aigle and Atsuki start and after letting the crowd cheer them they do an international and then of course trade some junior sequences and Blanc ends that with an inside-outside diving headscissors and we get the standstill and handshake of respect. Blanc tags in Paloma and Aoyagi brings in Ryo and IIRC the last time I saw Paloma he did a spot where his pants kept falling down. So Paloma does some wacky posing and Ryo kicks the sense out of him and struts, but Rey pops up and does the Hogan finger point and then gets a flying headscissors and his pants fall down. This sets up a waddling clothesline…but Rey actually pulls off the dropkick and a kneeling figure-four on Inoue. And Rey gets a hip swivel while doing the hold and that locks it in and Ryo starts selling big. Rey sets up another hip swivel but Tamura and Aoyagi run in and whomp on him. Now it’s Okada’s turn to tag in and Rey finally pulls his pants halfway up. Okada gets like one elbow and then in comes Tamura to uh…give Rey a wedgie and then spank him. This is…very Japanese so far. Ryo in now with a dropkick and then it’s back to Okada as the tags are frequent. Okada once again does nothing before eating a spinning heel kick and Paloma finally tags out so we can stop seeing this bit. XYON in to just stare down Okada and no-sell some weak strikes before dropping that entire team with forearms. Okada goes up and they kinda botch a “catch the crossbody” spot but XYON gets a spinning Samoan drop and in comes Yoshida to pick up Okada but he’s just totally dead and keeps flopping to the ground to Yoshida’s frustration. But he was faking and when Yoshida goes for the throat thrusts Tsuyoshi evades and in comes Ryo with a bunch of kicks and then a hesitation dropkick into the corner, but Yoshida reverses a brainbuster and then gets a senton on Inoue, the other juniors break up the cover though and Yoshida stops the double-team with his flurry of throat thrusts and chops and this is all very silly. Double lariat by Yoshida, run-in by Okada but Blanc immediately gets a springboard knee and then a somersault plancha and Yoshida gets another lariat (this time on Ryo) and that’s 3.

*

So if you think the Rey Paloma stuff is funny you might enjoy this match more, but this was just a really basic, low-effort comedy multi-man match. Nothing to be upset with but I didn’t find it funny.

Post-match XYON and Yoshida stare each other down but they actually smile and shake hands before leaving.

Ryuki Honda [2] vs. Hokuto Omori [0] – B Block Match

Background: So there’s actually some history here as Omori’s army of monsters and freaks have wrestled against Ryuki’s stable of hot young rising babyface stars. Omori is kind of a weirdo who likes playing ‘mind-games’ to bug people and Ryuki is a big high-energy brawler. Honda’s in red and Omori’s in black.

The Match: Some standing grappling to start into a standstill. A lockup is won by Ryuki but Omori reverses in the ropes and Hokuto blows Honda a kiss…Ryuki reacts in aversion and I think they’re going for a gay-panic thing. The ref just kinda being perplexed by the whole thing is the only thing that amuses me. More kiss blowing, more Ryuki acting disgusted…but Ryuki just knocks Omori outside and chokes him on the barricade anyway. They brawl with Omori reversing a whip and slamming Ryuki into the barricade instead, and more brawling, more whipping into the barricade. Back inside and Ryuki gets a spinebuster for 2 and then the main-event sleeper uhhhh. Okay it’s just a chinlock. Omori breaks, Honda fires up the crowd and goes for a lariat that’s blocked, Omori gets a German suplex and a jumping cutter and we have a double-down. Hokuto with a strike flurry and a flying forearm and then another blown kiss and Ryuki is homophobia-ing up! But Omori continues to dominate with strikes…until he goes for the cutter again, Honda blocks by tossing Omori (okay gently placing) into the corner and then gets a northern lariat and a spear. Honda with a Final Event attempt out of the corner but Omori slips out only to eat a pair of lariats for 2.8. Another Final Vent is countered and Omori gets a German and a trio of elbow strikes for 2.9. Bridging Dragon suplex by Hokuto gets 2.8 and a follow-up frog splash gets 3 for the Rebel Moon Wolf.

**

Eh, they’re pros and know how to work it, but that match was laaaaazy house show stuff. Plus the blowing a kiss gag doesn’t work for me at all, you can be generous and it’s just hammy Honda overselling a weirdo being weird but it has the whiff of gay-baiting that bugs me. Nothing bad and nothing botched, but just a competent bout between two guys with talent and not much drive for this one. Omori’s frog splash was nice.

Davey Boy Smith Jr. [2] vs. Kuma Arashi [0] – A Block Match

Background: DBSJ is a big blonde Canadian who is strong and technical and all that stuff, he is a former Triple Crown champion. Kuma is a bear enthusiast brawler who is part of Hokuto-Gun and has Yoshida ringside for this one. Davey is taller but Kuma is a big boy himself

The Match: Kuma howls to start and we get a lockup and Kuma wins! Clean break and a howl from Kuma as Davey howls too…wow, personality from DBSJ? Headlock sequence and when Davey can’t get out of it with power he uses some strikes and slips out and we have the shoulderblock battle that Davey wins with…a high elbow? That seems unfair! Anyway Kuma powders and Davey whips him around outside and overall whoops Kuma before they head back in where Davey uses more strikes to take over, with these really weird windups on them. Chinlock time and this is…dull. Kuma makes the ropes but Davey takes over with a jumping knee (pst Davey, we already got a guy doing the next Jumbo thing in the company). 2 count for the knee and then a dropkick by Davey as this has been a mauling. And as I say that Kuma gets his own dropkick off a whip and then a big body slam to set up a senton. Kuma howls and then goes for a rack but Davey fights out but Kuma finally gets him up. Davey slips out and gets a sleeper for a while to set up a powerbomb but Kuma backdrops out and hits a corner clothesline, Davey very daintily reverses a whip though and gets a boot. Davey’s backdrop driver is reversed into a crossbody that Davey then reverses for a pin and it’s another crossbody from Kuma for 2.7. Kuma gets a followup lariat for 2.8, then a slam and Kuma goes up, but Davey pops up, gets the powerslam off the ropes and then lands a diving headbutt for 3.

*¾

So I guess Kuma wasn’t dropped on his head, but this match was boring, I guess it showed that Davey can be more clever and canny than his opponent but it was wrestled with all the urgency of a 1980s WWF house show in a z market. Props to not messing anything up but that doesn’t mean I have to like…LIKE it.

Post-match Davey cuts a promo in a voice that sounds eerily close to Bret and it’s pretty basic “I want the belt back” stuff, most technical, strongest, toughest guy. Alright.

Mike D Vecchio [4] vs. Rei Saito [0] – B Block Match

Background: Mike has been portrayed as a super athlete who is stronger than the strong guys and faster than the fast guys. He’s tatted up and wearing the blue and gold trunks, Rei is a big physical monster and an upper card threat of his own and the biggest guy Mike has faced so far, Rei has the long hair and the red shirt and black pleather pants and is looking to get a win after kinda choking away a dub in his first match.

The Match: Both guys play to the audience a bit before we get the big lockup to a draw as neither guys move, break and they both stretch and try again with Rei winning and MIke going off the ropes and landing an elbow but Rei gets some chops and is rope-a-doped into a boot…Saito powders and Mike follows with a pescado. MIke poses and throws Rei back in and goes for a springboard OzCutter…but gets caught and Rei gets a backdrop suplex. Rei now cracks a smile and gets to work with some slow stomps and then leisurely chops in the corner, but while none of the wrestling has been ‘swift’ on this card, Rei slowly taking apart his faster opponent, preening and taunting all the while feels like a deliberate choice and not just…eh let’s take the night off. Anyway, Rei gets a slam and uses the ropes to assist him standing on the Belgian as the ref calls for this illegal hold. Mike sells while Rei hits the move again after distracting the ref. Rei with another slam and the standing splash as he’s busting out all the big fat heel stuff. Rei smiles for the crowd but gets sloppy as he goes for a whip, and the space lets Mike vault over the ropes, get a slingshot gamengiri, and go for a dive inside…that Rei cuts off and Mike flops outside where Rei can stomp on him. Livershots and more dirty boxing by Rei and we’re back inside where Saito can stomp on the Belgian. Another whip sets up some outside-in offense with a Vecchio springboard lariat. They flub a spot as Mike tries to vault over a corner charge an backflip out as Rei slams into the turnbuckle, but the wXw man slips on the ropes and flips over like…5 seconds later, Rei just sells it like he faceplanted into the corner at least. Mike with a high-waisted suplex and Rei sells big as the European gets 2, but Mike takes too much time going up and Rei cuts him off, slams him off the top, and gets a big elbow drop for 2. Mike fights back from his knees against the arrogant Saito but now when MIke makes space by rebounding off the ropes he runs into a Rei crossbody for 2. More desperation strikes from Mike but he can’t trade stand-up with Rei and gets dropped with a headbutt. Saito calls for the end and goes for the standing powerbomb but Mike peppers him with strikes and slips out, only to lose another slug fest against a Rei double-chop. Now Saito goes up and Mike cuts him off, survives another headbutt, and lands a massive superplex. A double-jump springboard sets up an OzCutter and that gets 3.

**¾

Fun big little match that was won when Rei got arrogant and cocky and tried to enter his opponent’s territory, the sky, and paid the price for it. I wish Mike was a better seller but his psychology was much improved this match. Very solid.

Post-match Mike is cocky about being undefeated and Rei is frustrated with his error and loss.

Kento Miyahara, Makoto Oishi, MUSASHI & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Ren Ayabe, Rising HAYATO, Taishin Nagao & Yuma Anzai

Background: The second “get everybody on the card” match. Kento we know, Makoto is a middle-aged DDT wrestler, MUSASHI is the junior champ, and Yuma Aoyagi we know and is also Kento’s co-holder of the tag-titles. Their opponents are ELPIDA, with tall Ren, goth HAYATO, and classic Anzai along with the in-house rookie, Taishin. Kento and Yuma of course have heat with ELPIDA as the generation that ELPIDA are trying to surpass and establish themselves over. We also have the littlest, youngest rookie Taishin Nagao in green trunks and Makoto Oishi who is a middle-aged DDT guy in red pants, a black cutoff t-shirt, and who is very tiny.

The Match: MUSASHI and HAYATO both start, with MUSASHI as the Junior champ and HAYATO as a former champ who of course wants another shot at gold, they trade wristlocks before HAYATO takes over with a chop and a flying headscissors to send MUSASHI outside but we of course get the fakeout dive into a taunt from HAYATO as this has been a sequence the two of them have ran a dozen times. Taishin in next and the rookie wants Kento who seems flabbergasted by the challenge. Kento and Taishin lockup, Miyahara immediately gets him in the ropes and lands a dirty shot, they lockup again, Kento wins…but Taishin reverses in the ropes and gets his own dirty hit. Kento gets mad but he loses an international and powders…but when Nagao goes for a pescado Kento breaks it up and it’s a big brawl around ringside with Yuma Aoyagi doing a Bugs Bunny routine as he flees from Ayabe. Kento and Taishin slug it out with the crowd booing Miyahara manhandling the rookie. Kento continues to absolutely wreck Nagao, throwing him into the ringpost and then crossfacing him around it. We pan over to MUSASHI putting Anzai in a camel clutch for a fan to photograph and then we’re back inside where Nagao takes a massive back body drop and the crowd chants for the spirited youngster as Kento seems highly irate. Now Aoyagi is in but basically immediately messes up a whip and Nagao gets the dropkick out of the corner and in comes Anzai and we have Yuma vs. Yuma! Anzai with a flying forearm and a dropkick and he brings in Ayabe to continue the beating. Ren with a delayed slam and everybody on the apron jumps for the impact to sell it, and then they wince in horror after an Ayabe boot. Okay, the bench reactions are pretty funny. Aoyagi eventually elbows out of a hold and then lands the Rock Bottom to tag in Makoto who runs wild and dances around the much larger Ren before going for a chokeslam and I guess he’s a comedy guy? He gets his boots up in the corner and goes for a tornado DDT but Ren catches him and turns it into a pretty massive brainbuster. Taishin tags back in and calls out Kento again who pops in and just beats the lord out of the rookie, does his full comeback routine and pose. Okay I do appreciate this character bit from Nagao. All of the vets quadruple team Nagao who actually manages to clear the ring with a series of dropkicks! And the rookies come in for backup and triple team Kento, we get a pretty drop toehold into a slingshot HAYATO DDT, and then Ayabe and Yuma hit a big boot/German combo and it’s back to Taishin to pick the bones. Nagao gets a bridging Northern Light’s and it’s breaking down in Hiroshima as everybody comes in and hits everybody else with stuff and it ends with a big MUSASHI somersault plancha onto the sea of humanity…and then HAYATO with a springboard plancha afterwards. Back to Kento and Taishin who slug it out before Kento kicks the rookies head off…but Nagao pops up, tanks a headbutt and gets a series of rollups for increasingly close counts. But another Kento boot sets up the Blackout knee for 2.99 and Miyahara is flabbergasted. And he’s even more flabbergasted when the crowd starts chanting for Taishin! Kento with the Shutdown German though and that’s 3.

**½

Okay this was loads of fun and mostly cause it was based around the Kento/Taishin story. This is how you showcase a young lion and props to Kento for not dragging his behind for this sorta c-level show and actually making something happen. Everything was pretty standard multi-person tag stuff, but hey, it was fun.

Post-match Kento goes for the handshake and Taishin slaps his hand away.

Kengo Mashimo [0] vs. Hideki Suzuki [4] – A Block Match

Background: Kengo is from 2AW and is a stocky kick devil that will also rip apart your arm with vicious cruelty, he has long blonde hair in a ponytail and baggy pants. Hideki is a big-bodied shooter guy who will take you to the mat and choke the life out of you.

The Match: They go to the mat with Kengo accounting for himself well and actually ending up with Kengo backing Hideki into the ropes for a break. Mashimo with some teasing kicks first while Hideki evades. Back to the mat and this has all been Kengo until Hideki gets an ankle pick and goes for a headlock that Kengo breaks. More stalling, more non-committal grappling. We get what I think is an attempt at a north-south choke but I see daylight through it and then Hideki just settles for a chinlock and then a straitjacket choke. Kengo reverses and we get some uppercuts and then a Finlay roll from Suzuki. We get bodyshots from Hideki in the corner as Suzuki is using his size well here but Kengo gets free and we have a dragon screw!. Now Suzuki is in the corner and Kengo works the knees in the ropes. Suzuki actually stumbles a bit and Kengo takes out the leg with more low kicks so Suzuki tries fighting from his knees but gets blasted a few times before Suzuki can get in close and they go to the mat again. Kengo back to the leg and Hideki trying to get a choke and settling for a rollup for 2 but Kengo keeps cranking on the knee, doing some stretches on it, slamming it into the mat, and then going for a kneebar which they work for a good minute or so before a rope break. Kengo goes back though and gets caught as Hideki grabs the wrist and just kicks Kengo’s head a half-dozen times before standing up, landing a gamengiri (with his bad leg, yay!) and then after some struggling Suzuki lands the Hybrid Blast piledriver for 2.8, a followup by Hideki is reversed into a backslide and Suzuki comes back with another gut shot to drop Kengo. Suzuki goes for a punt but Mashimo dodges and we do some standing counters before Kengo rolls through a German suplex into another attempt at a kneebar…but stays cradles for the pin and the three count instead.

**½

Still kinda boring at parts and Suzuki is NOT a good or willing seller. But the bigger, more accomplished grappler having a gameplan and sticking with it while Suzuki just relied on his superior size was a nice touch. Kengo has been the MVP of the tournament so far and he’s really fun to watch as all of his matches have been different.

Shotaro Ashino [0] vs. Jun Saito [2] – A Block Match

Background: Despite being a former Champion Carnival winner himself, Shotaro has had a lot less singles success than you’d think in All Japan and he’s facing the current champion. Shotaro is stocky and loves suplexes and Metallica, so much he has Master of Suplex written on the back of his trunks. Jun is tall with a chinstrap beard and a pretty deep arsenal of classic power moves. Saito is dressed in the regular but does have lots of tape on his arm after his war with Kengo. It’ll be power vs. technique here as the smaller Shotaro is probably going to rely on his technical acumen to even the playing field against his larger, more accomplished opponent.

The Match: We get the big lockup to start that Jun wins and gives a clean break for and then poses. Some standing grappling next and Shotaro gets the upper-hand for a moment before he tries a shoulderblock challenge and gets demolished. Ashino is indignant though and tries some strikes before cinching in a headlock…but Jun gets the backdrop suplex, unleashes the hair and just preens while Shotaro schemes. Shotaro tries to snap Jun’s arm over the ropes, gets blocked and knocked outside, and Saito goes to work while Shotaro does pretty solid wobble-leg sells while Jun switches between abusing his opponent and posing for fans. We upgrade to Jun choking Ashino with a cheer towel and then folding it and giving it back to a fan after sweating on it. This lets Shotaro recover, gouge the eye, and then grab his own cheer towel and choking Jun with it. Turnabout and all that. Shotaro’s dominance doesn’t last for long though as Jun takes over, we go back inside and a big slam sets up the running elbow drop for a quick count. We get a goozle but Shotaro fights it off, slams Jun’s arm into the turnbuckle and then gets the Pentagon armbreak move. More arm abuse from Shotaro and then he rips off the tape to go at the champ’s shoulder some more with knee drops. Jun finally makes his feet and I do appreciate that while he’s not selling big, his hair is a mess and his expression is much tighter than the pouty preening he was doing earlier, Shotaro has a smirk as well and the Master of Suplex lands some uppercuts to the arm. We get multiple covers from Shotaro and then a kimura that Jun backdrops out of. Yakuza kick and a followup big boot from Jun sets up a delayed brainbuster…and he makes sure to stretch out the bad arm mid move before I scream about “WITH HIS BAD ARM?” and we get a pretty decent visual of an one-armed stalling suplex. That gets two for the champ and we reset with a whip sequence that lets Shotaro go up…but Jun kicks him off to the outside while Saito nurses his injured arm. Shotaro crawls back in and this time lands the arm snap over the top rope and follows with a missile dropkick for 2. Shotaro’s German is blocked but a series of uppercuts lets the smaller man land it…but Jun gets the dramatic no-sell into the northern Bomaye for a double-down and an 8-count before they rise. Slug-fest with Jun throwing forearms and Shotaro throwing uppercuts, Jun is selling his arm and stumbling but unleashes some overhand chops that sound like the crack of a whip. But Shotaro pulls off six straight uppercuts…before Jun fires off a flurry of slaps and rebounds…into Shotaro’s lariat and a side suplex gets 2.8. Ashino follows with an ankle lock to exploit Jun’s bum arm. They work that hold for a while before Jun tries to slip free and Shotaro transitions to a juji-gatame and then when Jun fights out we get a triangle and Jun drops him out of it but doesn’t hit a true powerbomb. Psycho Break attempt follows but Shotaro reverses into an armbar attempt…and Jun breaks, lariats Ashino for a full Jannetty bump and lands the Jackhammer for 2.9. Shotaro sells himself as so far out of it he takes another bump standing up and then Jun cuts him in half with a Bomaye for 3.

**¾

Jun still has loads to go on his selling, but he’s getting there and these matches where he’s coming back from being down are key to him having something as a top guy outside of The Big Monster. Shotaro is a guy I’m hot and cold about but he was solid here with his strategy and heeling. Solid stuff even if it was still very much a house show pace.

Overall a fine enough show even though it was clear they weren’t working for a Tokyo crowd.