All Japan Pro Wrestling: Champion Carnival April 23rd 2026

Welcome back to more CC action as we’re in Tokyo’s Shinjuku FACE with over 500 in this tiny club. It’s a cool venue and the crowd is just right on the ring. Once again Jun Saito is hurt with an eye injury so his scheduled match is forfeited, so instead…

Daisuke Sekimoto vs. Shota Kofuji

Background: Daisuke is down an opponentt, so he’s going to be brutalizing the young boy of All Japan. Sekimoto is a squat slab of beef while Shota is a handsome young man who loses a lot.

The Match: Shota with a dropkick to start us off, blocks a charge with his boots and then a rolling dropkick. Shota ducks a lariat and tries a rollup but Daisuke holds on so Kofuji goes for a manji-gatame and finally cranks it in before Sekimoto walks over to the ropes to break it. Shota tries a fisherman’s buster but Sekimoto just picks up the rookie for a rib breaker, running senton follows and then a splash before Daisuke cranks in a crab. Shota tries to crawl for the ropes but Sekimoto drags him back to the ring…so Shota teases a tap and then guts up and finally gets to the ropes for a break and the crowd chants for the youngster. Brainbuster by Daisuke is turned into a schoolboy for 2, backsldie for 2, and then an inside cradle for 2, but Shota goes back th the inside cradle…and Sekimoto catches it, brainbuster, running low crossbody for 2.7 Shota tries to speed it up and evades some strikes but Daisuke turns him inside out with a lariat and that’s 3.

**¼

Man Shota is spunky. Just really solid babyface energy and Sekimoto gave him just enough. About as good of a no chance guy has against a dominant vet.

Kuma Arashi, MUSASHI, Shotaro Ashino & Yuya Aoki vs. Atsuki Aoyagi, Rising HAYATO, Ryo Inoue & Yuma Aoyagi

Background: The battle of the juniors (and actual Carnival participants). Kuma and Yuma are in the tournament, but MUSASHI, Shotaro, and ex-BJW junior ace Yuya Aoki will be battling it with Yuma Aoyagi’s little brother, Atsuki, his longterm partner HAYATO, with Ryo providing backup for them.

The Match: Aoki and HAYATO start with Yuya getting a headlock and HAYATO shooting him off and getting an overhand chop…but Aoki gets a boot off of that and tags in MUSASHI who gets his own chops and then his dropkick, stomp, dropkick combo. HAYATO dodges a corner charge though and Atsuki flies in to attack MUSASHI. The rest of the team comes in and HAYATO/Atsuki get their second-rope codebreaker into a suplex/neckbreaker combo and it’s back to HAYATO beating on MUSASHI and he brings in Ryo and we get some strike exchanges with Inoue dropping the veteran with a roundhouse to the chest and then stomps away in the corner before trying some corner charges of his own and eating a boot from MUSASHI into a leg-trap enzuigiri and in comes Kuma. Arashi gets a slam and a senton on the much smaller Ryo and Yuma breaks that up before Kuma snatches the Fool for a torture rack and Aoyagi’s teammates run in and try to drop the Bear enthusiast before he tosses Aoyagi at the others and then sentons Ryo. Back to Yuya who works Ryo over in the ropes with chops. Exploder suplex from the ex-Big Japan man but Yuma breaks that up with a missile dropkick. Shotaro slides in to drop Yuma and Atsuki dropkcks Ashino outside before calling in HAYATO for an assisted brainbuster on MUSASHI…but Kuma and Shotaro run in and get a triple suplex on HAYATO and Aoyagi, everybody powders and MUSASHI follows with a flip dive and now it’s back to Ryo and Yuya…and Aoki drops the rookie with a handspring elbow and then heads outside for a springboard dropkick for 2. We cut to Kuma walking across the background in the crowd with Aoyagi on his shoulders in a rack and then Ryo drops Aoki with a roundhouse but responds with a funky lariat (it’s a lariat motion but instead of being the inner arm, he twists it so it’s the outer arm hitting across the chest) for 2.9 and another gets 3.

**

Decent debut for Aoki, he’s very hyper. Everything else was rudimentary but the spot of Kuma walking through the crowd with Yuma in a torture rack was funny. And LOLRYOLOSES.

XYON [2] vs. Madoka Kikuta [2] – B Block

Background: Two explosive brawlers. XYON is a bit bigger, Madoka has more experience as a singles. XYON is a jacked up Samoan-Austarlian while Kikuta is an invader from DragonGate in a heel stable. While both are tied in points, Madoka only has his via forfeit and not an actual win.

The Match: Lockup goes XYON’s way and he tosses Madoka away. We get some standing grappling next and both reverse out of wristlocks and standstill. XYON offers a hand and Madoka uses that to gouge the eyes and land some dirty shots to the head so XYON fires back…and Madoka spits in his eye. XYON whiffs some strikes as his vision is impaired and he runs into the turnbuckle before Madoka tosses him outside for some chops through the crowd. Madoka bounces XYON’s head off a few objects but he gets a whip reversed and he goes off the ringpost and then XYON lands a back suplex slam on the apron before sending Kikuta back inside while XYON does his taunt and then checks his eye before going back inside, letting Madoka take him down with a rolling big boot and then a chinlock with some fishhooking. This gets broken up but Madoka keeps at it by getting XYON in the ropes and continuing to go at the face and the ref (senior ref Kyohei Wada who started in the 70s) finally barks at him to knock it off. Madoka jaws with the ref and pushes him around so the ref revives XYON who fires up with some strikes and tries a Samoan drop before Madoka slips out and gets a boot, but his brainbuster is countered into XYON’s an the ref checks on him again and teases a count on Madoka before Kikuta pops up and both guys slug it out. Kikuta finally lands a hard elbow that staggers XYON but the Samoan fires up with a strike combo and a corner charge and he speeds up with a float-over, a shoulder thrust, and his twisting whip before taunting again. Wada starts counting Madoka down and XYON goes for a short-arm…that Madoka reverses into his own strikes and breaks free only to charge into XYON’s death valley driver for 2. XYON goes up to capitalize but Kikuta hits the ropes to crotch him and then lands a hipcheck to the top rope to send XYON crashing outside. Madoka follows and we get some more plunder violence but Kikuta quickly goes back inside and drinks water and catches his breath…before Wada takes his water away, but Kikuta just spits it in XYON’s eyes and the angry Australian fires up and drags Madoka outside and headbutts him ringside and hammers away at the guy, tossing him into ringposts and delivering more headbutts as Madoka is stumbling around. Standing splash on the outside and the crowd is electric! Madoka tears away at him and they have a big heated brawl as the count hits 10.

***

Now, I could see some people being upset with a DCO finish. But I liked it for both characters. Madoka is an arrogant jerk who is cheating a ton, XYON finally got sick of it and lost track of the count cause he just wanted to clobber Kikuta, and the ref was feeling like his health was in jeopardy so he had no desire to keep the match going. Along with XYON’s selling of the eye and a pretty righteous babyface fire up (even if the sequence is basically just Kento’s, might as well steal from the best) but I was very entertained by the whole thing. Three pretty well-defined characters interacting in an amusing way with some creativity, physicality, I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I did, good job guys.

Post-match both guys continue to clobber each other before being finally separated.

Hideki Suzuki [2] vs. Ryuki Honda [2] – B Block

Background: Skill vs. energy, as Hideki is a veteran of years and years, an accomplished grappler with a variety of clever rollups and devious holds with a somewhat respectable striking game, that said, he tends to shy away from intense physical contact, and Ryuki Honda, all bluster and brawling and very little technique might be able to outphysical the physically larger, but less intense Hideki.

The Match: Some standing grappling to start before Hideki goes to the mat and lays there like a dead fish while Ryuki tries to get an armbar…but Hideki was playing possum and gets a wristlock before breaking and they return to their feet. More standing grappling and for some reason Ryuki gets a ropebreak. Suzuki goes for a single-leg but Honda stuffs it and they go to the mat where neither does anything and they return to their feet and Hideki gets a cravate and Ryuki breaks. More standing grappling and we get a Suzuki headlock takeover but Honda turns that into a rollup and we break. And now Ryuki wakes up and tries to choke Hideki on the ropes but Suzuki powders and they brawl outside with Hideki getting his body shots and Ryuki forearming back. Back inside and Hideki gets some rabbit punches and stomps on the back of the head, and then both of them trade kneeling headbutts before Suzuki tries a brainbuster and Honda reverses. Honda gets a corner clothesline and then lands his rope choke. Hideki gets up and Ryuki explodes off the ropes for a shoulderblock. A second corner charge is blocked by a Suzuki boot and we get a hanging headscissors choke and then back in for a Garvin stomp and then a knee drop for 2. Ryuki gets up for a slugfest and before Hideki can wristlock him Honda steps on the gas for a spear and then calls for a lariat but Hideki cuts him off and then catches him for a rolling fireman’s carry slam and then goes up (?!) and of course Honda cuts him off. They fight on the top and Ryuki lands the superplex and Hideki gets up first (?!) to do more of the kneeling headbutts and they slug it out on their knees before Ryuki fires up but Hideki just cuts him off and no-sells all the forearms before going for a cobra clutch and then a crossface chickenwing. Honda slips out and throws more forearms and finally drops Hideki but Suzuki just gets up and puts down Honda but can’t land the double-arm suplex and Ryuki gets a lariat, and then a second lariat for 2.7. Final Vent attempt by Honda but Suzuki slips out…and Honda gets a northern lariat and a German, but Hideki no-sells, get a tombstone piledriver, a dragon suplex, a dropkick, and then a series of punts before cranking in a sleeper and Honda fades. Hideki breaks, gets another punt, and then puts on the sleeper again and Ryuki is out.

½*

Dreadful match. HIdeki remains utterly lifeless in the ring, with his modes being either laying on somebody or no-selling while throwing mediocre strikes. Ryuki is not a dynamic enough performer to do more than his fiery bits of explosive heavyweight sprinting, and Suzuki has neither the cardio or effort to do either. Terrible chemistry between two acts that had their flaws exposed. Hideki is if you took the worst of the other Suzuki and Gunther and gave them the book. At least the crowd was into Honda’s comebacks.

Post-match Hideki taunts Ryuki so Honda throws a forearm, and Hideki no-sells, beats him up again, and leaves. Joy.

Dan Tamura & Titans Of Calamity (Ren Ayabe & Talos) vs. Hokuto Omori, Seigo Tachibana & Seiki Yoshioka

Background: Oh poor Hokuto. So Dan is chasing Seigo’s Junior title, and Seiki is in the division as well. The Titans are a pair of gigantic monsters and the tag champs. Hokuto is theoretically a heavyweight but he gets beaten…a lot.

The Match: It’s Dan and Seigo to start with Tachibana being nervous of the giants on the apron and Tamura asking them to back off so he can have an actual match. Both juniors lockup and then Dan cranks in a headlock and then fires off a shoulderblock, Seigo taunts but we get an international into both of them reversing cradles and then Seigo gets a dropkick and brings in Hokuto…and tries to clear the apron but the Titans no sell him and it’s Omori setting up a superplex on Dan with Seiki and Seigo immediately bailing when the Titans come in and deliver a powerbomb, but the juniors break up Tamura’s pin but immediately flee, and Talos tags in and locks up Omori for a camel clutch in the ropes. Omori begs for a tag but his partners want no part of Talos, who delivers a giant standing sidewalk slam but the cover is broken up again and now Talos is peeved when the juniors run away again. Ren tags in now and both Titans deliver a boot choke in the corner and the ref finally breaks that up. Ren just beats Omori down and dares Seigo and Seiki to come in as he presses on Hokuto’s chest in the ropes. Hokuto finally slips free for a low dropkick, but his brainbuster attempt is foiled, Omori tries a few more evasions and eventually lands a DDT and in comes Seiki to unleash a barrage of kicks against the kneeling Ayabe and then uses speed to dodge the taller man’s strikes and hit an enzuigiri. Ren shoulders him down but whiffs an elbow drop and Seiki brings in Seigo for an assist on a paradise lock and Seiki lands the sliding dropkick to break it. Ren gets up, much angrier and nails Yoshioka with an elbow and then tries the full-nelson slam but Seiki slips out, gets his boots up on a charge and Seigo follows with a diving crossbody…and Ren catches him. Seiki them dropkicks Seigo in an attempt to knock Ren over, but Ayabe just shrugs it off. The crowd is laughing through all of this BTW. Ayabe takes out Seiki with Seigo and then slams Tachibana and all three of the team come in to triple the junior champ. Tamura is whipped at Seigo, but he evades, and a followup assisted corner splash nails Tamura as Seigo dodges again. The Titans snatch Tachibana for a double chokeslam but Omori runs in to break it up. More miscommunication results results in Ren missing a boot against Hokuto and nailing Talos, and the opponents take this chance to low-bridge them all outside where Seiki tries a quebrada…that the Titans catch and drag him to the locker room, it’s back to Seigo and Tamura who are having a hockey fight in the ring…but the Titans come slowly back to ringside as Tachibana is trying to go for a flash pin. His spear is stuffed but a strike flurry works out better on Tamura and he hits an Olympic Slam for 2.8. Seigo goes for the B-Driver but Tamura stuffs it and goes for a powerbomb. Seigo reverses to a sunset flip for not even 1 as Tamura reverses that into a cloverleaf and gets the tap.

**¾

Hey that was fun! Crowd was hot, and while the Titans demolished everybody and Dan finally got another fall over the champ. This feud being both guys trading wins in trios but them beating each other is novel I’ll say. The big vs. little spots were amusing and the crowd loved it.

Kengo Mashimo [2] vs. Yuma Anzai [1] – A Block

Background: Kengo is an outsider from 2AW, The Assassin, he’s a leg-breaking, arm-twisting, head-kicking junior heavyweight filled with hate and sadism. Yuma is our heroic, ultra athletic, amateur stand out ace of the future.

The Match: Hard lockup to start. Yuma gets the advantage and we have a clean break with Kengo getting a knee up for separation. Mashimo shoots in for a waistlock but Yuma counters before Kengo uses a livershot to gain wrist control but the younger man is too strong…but Kengo is too tricky and Mashimo goes to the mat with a drop toehold. Once again Anzai reverses and gets a hammerlock and Kengo needs to use the ropes to break and gets his own before throwing a boot and then goes to Yuma’s eyes and throws cheapshots before Anzai takes Kengo out with a dropkick. Kengo hides in the corner but Anzai pounds away regardless and Mashimo asks for more and throws his own elbows. Slugfest continues until Yuma drops him with a forearm and gets a 2 count out of it. Romance Dawn gets a crab and Kengo struggles for the ropes but before Yuma can capitalize Kengo slips outside and works the count. Yuma finally slides out but Kengo takes that opportunity to slide in at the same time and now Anzai is on the outside and Kengo has an evil grin. When Anzai returns to the ring, Kengo slips outside again. Ha. Kengo is licking his chops at the chance to ambush him and while Yuma steps in and hits a hard forearm Kengo holds on to kick the leg and gets a dragonscrew in the ropes before stomping on the knee. Kengo cranks on the knee and laces them together for a South Asian Deathlock. Anzai eventually reaches the ropes and the ref checks on him and Yuma agrees to continue, so Mashimo stomps him down and elbow drops the knee before cranking on it again. Anzai reaches the ropes again and Kengo exploits with a kneedrop and the ref castigates him for attacking in the ropes. Yuma gets to his feet and tries throwing elbows, but Kengo kicks the leg and Anzai collapses to the corner. Kengo charges and Yuma gets his feet up to block and then tries a middle-rope something but he’s too slow and the Assassin cuts him off and gets a dragonscrew off the top. Mashimo smells blood and runs in but eats a pop-up knee and then a butterfly suplex from Anzai and it’s a double-down. Anzai is up and he gets a corner forearm and a belly-to-belly for 2, and he slowly gets to his feet…and Kengo kicks the leg again but it isn’t enough to stop Yuma firing off a dropkick but his knee is shot. Yuma slowly gets to his feet and tries a German that Kengo blocks. Both guys slug it out with Yuma getting the advantage, so Kengo kicks the knee again and goes for a Buzzsaw kick…that Yuma ducks and now he lands the German, but his followup is blocked by ANOTHER Kengo dragonscrew. Yuma guts up for the Jumbo knee anyway and we have a double-down. Yuma recovers first and gets a Jumbo knee to the neck and then one to the head for 2.7 before trying the Gimlet but his leg gives out. Kengo smirks and goes for another buzzsaw but Yuma catches the legs and explodes for a rebound into a Jumbo knee…but Kengo ducks that and picks the leg for an anklelock and he keeps dragging Yuma away from the ropes. Anzai turns over to block it, so Kengo counters to a figure-four and Anzai is howling in agony but finally reaches the ropes. Kengo gets up and starts stalking Yuma and goes for a takedown but runs into a knee, Anzai follows with another knee but Kengo gets ANOTHER dragonscrew but this time Anzai rolls through and fires back with a running knee (as he can’t elevate for a jump) and pulverizes Kengo. Anzai calls for the end and whips Mashimo into a jumping knee and it gets 2.8 as Anzai clutches his leg. Yuma guts up and pulls Mashimo up for a German, but Kengo reverses to a victory roll kneebar…and Yuma just powers up and pulls Kengo into a deadlift German…for 2.9. Anzai holds on and yanks Kengo up for the Gimlet and that’s 3.

****½

Yeah this ruled. Yuma as the pure hearted tough as nails athletic marvel just countering everything Kengo could pull, but Mashimo being a blackhearted jerk with all the conniving cheating and dirty play to survive and finally weaken Yuma by savaging the leg. Just some incredible stuff from both of them.

Go Shiozaki [4] vs. Rei Saito [2] – A Block

Background: While Go is theoretically a part of the scowling heel outsider group of HAVOC, they’re such fun-loving goofs that they’re basically slightly alternative ‘edgy’ faces, and Go is basically just a pure face, just in black tights. The ultimate monster slayer, he’s facing big, goofy, charismatic brawling monster Rei Saito. Both guys love their chops and shoulderblocks, and while Go gives up size and health, he has loads more experience than Rei.

The Match: Both guys bathe in applause before a lockup goes Rei’s way easily and Saito slaps the chest and we pause as Wada checks both of them and Go acts mockingly aggrieved before we tussle again. Rei gets a shoulderblock that staggers Go who shuffles his feet before eating another shoulder and Go goes around the ring trying force to no end before he uses trickery to distract Rei…and runs into a shoulder and then powders. Ha. Saito follows and clobbers Shiozaki ringside. They brawl and Rei smiles as he slams Go into the ringpost and then shoulder checks Go into the post and poses. Saito stomps on Go and then gets a cheer towel and chokes Go…before returning it to its owner. They go back in under Wada’s pressure and Rei gets an arrogant pin for 2 and then uses the ropes to step on Shiozaki’s chest and then stomp on him in the corner. Go fights back while Rei smirks and throws his own elbows before Rei unleashes a chop. This fires Go up who goes through a strike flurry into a schoolboy…and Rei blocks it to set up a butt drop to flatten Shiozaki. Rei then sets up for his BBQ bomb but Go slips out. Saito still unleashes chops before he misses a corner splash that sets up Go’s attempt at a backdrop suplex that Rei is too big for and he delivers elbows to break it. Go rallies and chops Rei down in the corner…and then Rei rallies and chops Go down in the corner. We now have a full chop off as both guys test their mettle. Rei rips his shirt off as he fires up for the battle and hands fly in darkened skies, sweat exploding from the skin. Sorry I got a bit poetic there. Go fires up and lands a lariat for 2.6. Go tries a scoop but Rei is JUST TOO FAT and he bludgeons Rei before a second attempt, that Rei converts to a crossbody, and then Rei ducks a lariat for a second crossbody for 2.7. Saito gets a goozle slap which just fires Go up and both guys trade shots before Rei gets the Eisbein (running palm thrust) and that’s 3.

***½

Okay this was also awesome. I wanted two, kinda slow guys just beating the stuffing out of each other, and the older, broken down Go succumbing to the bigger, stronger, more ferocious Rei. Shiozaki as the aging ace who can’t quite hang with the monsters of today is wringing true pathos out of me, and it’s led to some very fun matches while this has continued the trend with two guys just slapping each other to oblivion.

Kento Miyahara [1] vs. Oddyssey [2] – A Block

Background: Kento is the Triple Crown Champ, the ace of All Japan and the biggest star in the company, he’s preening, he’s vain, he’s pouty, he’s campy, he’s a big ole ham and he’s facing superheavyweight Oddyssey. A giant foreigner who is a gyrating, vain, arrogant mess himself.

The Match: Kento tries a lockup and gets immediately thrust aside and when Oddyssey poses Kento tries a boot and then gets shoulderblocked down. Miyahara immediately gets his double-dropkick combo to send Oddyssey outside and they brawl with Kento throwing headbutts as they move through the crowd. The Odd-one powers back and stomps on Kento next to a sign that says No Sitting. Irony or something. Oddyssey bludgeons Kento back to the rinside but whiffs a crossbody that sends him into the ringpost and that lets Miyahara recover…for a moment as Oddyssey just tosses Kento around and then slams him on the apron and stomp on him. Finally back inside and Oddyssey drops an elbow and then a second before a rebound splash has Kento all out of commission and the Odd-one gets 2.6. Oddyssey gets a few rolls across Kento as he plays to the crowd between shots and lands a running splash for 2. Oddyssey plays to the crowd while arguing to the ref and Kento recovers enough to dodge an avalanche but his slam goes nowhere as the HAVOC member lands on him for 2. Oddyssey picks Kento up for a slam but the champ slips out and tries his Shutdown German but the American shuts him down by backing Miyahara to the corner and elbows Miyahara down and then hits a sidewalk slam for 2.3. The Odd-one goes to the second rope and tries a splash that whiffs, so Kento gets a pair of Blackout Knees before running into Oddyssey’s lariat. The Havoc man tries his Black Hole Slam but Kento slips out and then turns a corner charge into a schoolboy for 3.

***

Kento being beaten pillar to post and pulling off a miraculous comeback is both delicious and cliche. Guy is great at it and will do it for the rest of his career. This didn’t test Oddyssey past his established technique and we’re all the better for it. He’s big, he’s bad, he’ll gyrate his hips in a manner that they forbade.

Post-match Oddyssey embraces Kento and it’s all love and peace.

Shinjuku FACE remains a super cool arena with a really hot crowd and this show mostly paid it off. Intimate, personal, crowds invested, good stuff all around. And uh, yeah, check out Yuma vs. Kengo.

Thanks for reading as I’m playing catchup to a crazy degree.