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The hardcam on this 4/29 show is like level or slightly below the top rope of the ring, giving everything the appearance of a 2.5d side scrolling wrestling game.
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May 1, 2024 00:41
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 06:17 |
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I've heard that Hideki Suzuki is a politicker kind of guy, which makes me wonder what's going on behind the scenes with the booking of this tournament. Joe Lanza on the Voices of Wrestling Flagship podcast was speculating that Suzuki was going to win out of Block B and maybe even win the whole thing since he started off with back to back losses to the Saitos. Joe's point was that he didn't expect Suzuki to agree to job to the Saitos without a big payoff. Well, he jobbed to Lord Crewe in like 5 minutes... Hartley and Rei was a fun big boy fight. I love Rei's wild yelling and Hartley is good at playing to the crowd. They really wanted to see Hartley win. And so did I...  Cyrus v. Omori was fun nonsense. I didn't see Friend Horse today. Shin Toyama Black is Yuma Aoyagi in a mask. I guess this name is a pun or reference to a kind of ramen popular in the city the show was in. He has ramen bowls on his mask and was handing out instant noodles to the crowd. He did the People's Elbow!! Nice, hard-hitting action with a spice of comedy from our masked ramen man. Gonna watch the rest tomorrow, it's playoff hockey time
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May 1, 2024 03:41
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Main event Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, what is the world coming to.  I actually hope they have a fun, if not good, match, cause this show's been pretty bleh otherwise.
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May 2, 2024 00:45
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Still need to carve out some time to watch the last show, hopefully I can get to it tomorrow before I get two shows behind :
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May 2, 2024 05:22
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After night 7: With his win over the former Ikemen Jiro, Kento Miyahara is leading the whole tournament with 10 points. In the A block, Davey Boy Smith Jr. is right behind him, while Shotaro has fallen back a step recently, still sitting at 6, tied with Yuma Aoyagi. Block B is still pretty up for grabs. Jun Saito and Yuma Anzai are at the top of the block with 8 points, while four competitors are tied at 6: Hideki Suzuki, Rei Saito, Lord Crewe, & Suwama. Poor Hartley Jackson is still searching for his first win, with Lord Crewe and Ryuki Honda as his final two opponents. I don't think he's gonna go winless. The crowds really want to see him win. The next show is happening live in about four and a half hours, with the Saito brothers squaring off in the main event. Here's the full card: Dan Tamura & Takao Omori v. Hideki Suzuki & Seigo Tachibana Champion Carnival Block B: Ryuki Honda (2) v. Hartley Jackson (0) Champion Carnival Block B: Suwama (6) v. Lord Crewe (6) Yuma Anzai, Rising HAYATO, & MUSASHI v. Kento Miyahara, Hokuto Omori, & Aizawa No. 1 Champion Carnival Block A: Yuma Aoyagi (6) v. Ren Ayabi (2) Champion Carnival Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. (8) v. Cyrus (4) Champion Carnival Block A: Shotaro Ashino (6) v. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (4) Champion Carnival Block B: Rei Saito (6) v. Jun Saito (8)
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May 3, 2024 01:44
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Finally caught up and it was a very nothing show, crowd were not great for the majority of it. Very shocked Honda is so low on the table with how over he is, one of the only times the crowd woke up was to count with him. Crewe vs Suzuki was my favourite match of the night, but wish Crewe's spinning kick was on target. Main event was pretty rad, starting with Kento getting lovely at someone else for having a long entrance and only went up from there.
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May 3, 2024 04:29
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So apparently the show in Sendai today had to be upgraded because there was so much demand for tickets. Also after the show Jun & Rei did an impromptu signing & look at this loving queue! https://x.com/alljapan_pw/status/1786307406202605600 They also had a pre-match photo with the mayor of their hometown, Kakuda. These lads are local stars.
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May 3, 2024 10:37
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Night 7 the most mediocre of the tour so far. Kind of feels this tournament really exposes the lack of depth in the company
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May 4, 2024 02:17
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Really happy for the Saitos, that's awesome. Their match wasn't amazing but the crowd was really into it, so that's nice. Also happy for Hartley Jackson. He finally got his win! Here are the standings heading onto the last two days of regular tournament competition:  No runaway leaders! Everything will come down the final days, which for Block B is in about seven hours. Block A we won't know about until the 6th. Here's the card for the final day of regular competition in Block B: Shotaro Ashino, Hokuto Omori, Dan Tamura, & Big THE Ryokan v. Rising HAYATO, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, MUSASHI, & Seigo Tachibana Kumaarashi v. Cyrus Kento Miyahara, Ren Ayabe, & Masao Inoue v. Yuma Aoyagi, Davey Boy Smith Jr., & Takao Omori Champion Carnival Block B: Hartley Jackson (2) v. Lord Crewe (6) Champion Carnival Block B: Rei Saito (8) v. Ryuki Honda (2) Champion Carnival Block B: Yuma Anzai (8) v. Hideki Suzuki (6) Champion Carnival Block B: Suwama (8) v. Jun Saito (8)
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May 4, 2024 02:17
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According to Cagematch they did over 1,400. Last year's Carnival show in Sendai did 419, headlined by Aoyagi vs Satoshi Kojima. And just for more data, they did 220 in pre-COVID January 2020, 302 for a Royal Road show in 2019, 320 for a 2019 Carnival show, & 260 in January 2019. Even beats the 2018 Carnival which drew 1290 for a show that opened the tournament & had Shingo vs Kento & Hino vs Ishikawa on it. In fact the last time All Japan beat that attendance that I can find was the 2010 Real World Tag League tour, the tournament finals at that. Show had Masakatsu Funaki & Minoru Suzuki vs Ryota Hama & Suwama, Bushi, Manabu Soya & Sanada vs Taiyo Kea, Tamon Honda & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi, Nishimura vs Joe Malenko. And the tournament finals of Hama & Suwama vs KENSO & KONO.
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May 4, 2024 03:04
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AJPW is on the upswing baby. You're right about the tournament being impacted by roster depth. I guess they're having to be pretty frugal, really putting stock into their home-grown guys. Hiring super-freelancers might bring a few more people in, but that won't really do much for the long term (unless you use them to put over your home-grown guys a la Yuma Anzai). And obviously they don't have the kind of cash or pull to sign high profile people from NJPW or NOAH. An interesting topic in that Voices of Wrestling podcast I listened to where they spoke about All Japan was discussing who's booking All Japan. I'm surprised it's not known, but I think whoever it is is doing a pretty awesome job with what they've got. It reminds me of some of my Football Manager saves where I'm at the helm of a small club that has some talented youngsters but is otherwise struggling. Making sure guys like Yuma Anzai and Rising HAYATO get over is drat near necessary and whoever's got the book is excelling in that regard.
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May 4, 2024 03:37
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I always assumed that it was SUWAMA and Black Menso-re doing the booking (now just SUWAMA alone I guess), although not sure why I think that. Anyways, Night 8 thoughts: - Opening tag match was fun, still enjoying seeing this pint sized hoss Tachibana as a new dimension of his character - Jackson Number 1  sad it had to come at the expense of my boy Honda- Suwama vs Crewe was super quick and disappointing, Suwama's submission finisher is not particularly good looking - Very surprised Ren is still only on one win after signing full time, a win over Yuma would have been such a statement of intent - Holy poo poo Cyrus did a legdrop. Davey Boy's headbutt is far safer than Dynamite or Benoit but as a result it looks far shittier - Ashino's Ankle lock transistions are great. Kuroshio has really impressed me in this tournament since I assumed going in he was just a tag guy - Main event was a slog  Outisde of the headbutt spots I was not feeling this one at allLet's do some last night calcs. A BLOCK is easy, winner of DBS vs Kento goes through. B BLOCK is a bit more congested with only Hartley, Honda and Crewe busted. Suzuki is mostly busted as his tiebreakers are bad, but that Suwama one could possibly matter if he wins (very small chance) - For Jun to go through he needs to win and for Anzai and Rei to both lose - For Rei to go through he needs to win and SUWAMA to lose - For SUWAMA to go through he needs to win and Anzai to lose - For Anzai to go through he needs to win and Rei to lose Shame I can't watch this one live, depending on what time I get home tonight i'll hopefully see it then
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May 4, 2024 06:28
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Oh my god Kuma Arashi body slammed Cyrus. Oh my god Kuma Arashi SAMOAN DROPPED Cyrus 
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May 4, 2024 17:07
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drat, Masao Inoue was like limping to the ring. Maybe he shouldn't wrestle. At least Takao Omori can basically walk and stand up and stuff.
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May 4, 2024 17:20
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Well, that's Block B decided! Yuma Anzai's defeat at the hands of Hideki Suzuki kept him out of the finals. Thus, the winner of the block was decided by the night's main event, Suwama v. Jun Saito, that decided half of the Champion Carnival 2024 finals. Jun Saito pinned Suwama for the three count, so he will be facing either Kento Miyahara or Davey Boy Smith Jr. That match will be happening Monday May 6th. Here's the card for the last Champion Carnival show before the finals: Rising HAYATO, Hikaru Sato, & Ryo Inoue v. Kaz Hayashi, MUSASHI, & Yuki Yoshioka Yuma Anzai, Ryuki Honda, Jun Saito & Rei Saito v. Suwama, Hideki Suzuki, Lord Crewe, & Hartley Jackson GAORA TV Title: Seigo Tachibana (c) v. Dan Tamura Champion Carnival Block A: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan (6) v. Ren Ayabe (2) Champion Carnival Block A: Shotaro Ashino (6) v. Cyrus (4) Champion Carnival Block A: Yuma Aoyagi (8) v. Hokuto Omori (2) Champion Carnival Block A: Davey Boy Smith Jr. (10) v. Kento Miyahara (10) The card isn't final, but I'd be shocked if Kento and DBSJr. don't main event.
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May 4, 2024 23:04
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Very solid show coming off the back of a couple of disappointing ones, happy Honda and Jackson won their last block matches to salvage a bit of pride and would be keen for Suzuki and Anzai to run back that match for the belt at some stage. Hoping Kento wins on Monday, I am way more interested in he vs Jun as opposed to whatever DBS does
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May 5, 2024 04:24
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I'd be shocked if it wasn't Kento. Unless Davey Boy is gonna shirk his MLW duties it leaves the Triple Crown match a bit too predictable. Davey Boy did have the best crowd reactions of all the foreigners, though, so there might be some juice. Assuming it is Kento... Has Yuma learned enough tricks to put away the Best of the Best? I'm not so sure. The Carnival did a great job of establishing the Saitos as solid singles wrestlers (even if their matches weren't all great), giving Ren Ayabe a win that will be remembered his whole career, growing Yuma Anzai's repertoire of moves (I'm still not sold on his submission finisher), and affirming the power of guys like Aoyagi, Kento, and Shotaro. Unfortunately, Ryuki Honda and Hokuto Omori didn't really get a chance to flourish. Honda got fed to Lord Crewe, but had a kickass match with tag partner Yuma Anzai. Omori... Well, hopefully the horse mask gimmick will have some kind of payoff? He hasn't done that on the last two shows. The only real negatives are Suwama is way past his prime as a credible contender in the division and also the roster is lacking some depth.
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May 5, 2024 04:49
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still catching up and just watched Kento vs Shotaro Ashino from night 6 and sorry Shotaro but you're going to have to get new trunks you cannot be called the Master of Suplex after that loving match. you managed exactly one half-and-half suplex in 19 minutes and then got killed by the most devastating stalling suplex i have ever seen
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May 6, 2024 00:37
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Switched over from All Together and I see that Friend Horse was kidnapped and now Yuma Aoyagi has the mask.
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May 6, 2024 12:20
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He's gone and bloody done it! But who's under the mask?!?!
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May 6, 2024 12:29
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SG Bamboo posted:He's gone and bloody done it! It's going to be such a surprise when it turns out it was Cyrus all along
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May 6, 2024 12:32
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The plot thickens, Friend Horse reappeared after the Aoyagi attack and was wearing an All Together Again shirt. A quick search shows that Omori was teaming with Satoshi Kojima on that show and it's definitely not him, but my out there pick YOH was totally on that card in the preshow. Or it could just be a reference to the All Together show from today and it's just saying Friend Horse is from a different company
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May 6, 2024 12:34
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Kazuchika Okada returns to Japan??? To carry Hokuto Omori's bags?
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May 6, 2024 12:35
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Was barely paying attention to that match but the last few minutes were good, happy with the result
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May 6, 2024 13:06
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Finally getting around to the block matches from the recent show. Ayabe taking great joy in being a big heel against Ikemen. Very fun, love the wrestler that guy's becoming E. His new finisher is called Death Roulette. Also Google translates the pinning maneuvers as "single shrimp solidified" sometimes. Very strange apophenium fucked around with this message at 02:28 on May 8, 2024 |
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May 8, 2024 02:18
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Final Standings: The Champion Carnival 2024 final will be between Kento Miyahara and Jun Saito on Sunday May 12. Here's the full card. Match order TBD: AWG Actress time: Eito & Riko Fukunaga v. Marino Saihara & Yufa Dan Tamura & MUSASHI v. Seiki Yoshioka & Andy Wu Hokuto Omori & Kuma Arashi v. Hartley Jackson & Lord Crewe Yuma Aoyagi, Shiro Koshinaka, & AKIRA v. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Seigo Tachibana, & Shotaro Ashino Ren Ayabe v. Rei Saito Hideki Suzuki & Suwama v. Masakatsu Funaki & Masayuki Kono Yuma Anzai & Ryuki Honda v. Davey Boy Smith Jr. & Cyrus AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Title: Rising HAYATO (c) v. Kaz Hayashi Champion Carnival 2024 Final: Kento Miyahara v. Jun Saito
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May 8, 2024 04:50
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Reminder that this will be live in like three hours, if my time conversions are accurate.
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May 12, 2024 03:51
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Ah good, I didn't miss too much of this. Friend Horse is switching it up and wearing blue today, and Kuma Arashi was given a mask of his own e: Omori still lost though, what the Christ is this leading to? SG Bamboo fucked around with this message at 08:36 on May 12, 2024 |
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May 12, 2024 08:25
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These silly fuckers SUWAMA and Suzuki 
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May 12, 2024 09:54
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I haven't seen EC3 wrestle since the NWA started running their shows on the CW app. I can't say I'm excited to see him come to AJPW.
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May 12, 2024 10:19
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I did it myyyyyy waaaaay Hayashi isn't at his best in singles from what i've seen of him in GLEAT, let's hope today's an exception
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May 12, 2024 10:21
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Jeez that Vertebraker pause worried me e: that was fine enough, couple of cool moments but not something i'll remember by next week
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May 12, 2024 10:37
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Kento's headbutts are always on point
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May 12, 2024 11:00
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how could anyone hate the Saitos?
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May 12, 2024 11:03
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Sticky Nate posted:how could anyone hate the Saitos? Now they're away from TARU and Voodoo Murders i'm enjoying them, when they were a less creative House of Torture or Damnation T.A it was real dire whenever they were on screen
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May 12, 2024 11:06
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Kento is a loving god at nearfalls, absolutely no movement until it's time to roll the shoulder Jun is kicking rear end as well, this rocks
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May 12, 2024 11:17
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May 12, 2024 11:20
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that final stretch ruled
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May 12, 2024 11:22
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Now time for Yuma to avenge his loss from last year, if they put the belt back on Kento then that's a massive step int he wrong direction
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May 12, 2024 11:22
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| # ? Jun 1, 2024 06:17 |
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can we get a young boy to tighten the screws on that trophy?
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May 12, 2024 11:28
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