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 April and May are good months for sports. Spring brings warmer temperatures, baseball’s started back, hockey playoffs get going, and, most importantly, it’s time for the AJPW Champion Carnival! The Champion Carnival is All Japan’s premier heavyweight tournament, similar to New Japan’s G1 Climax. The first Champion Carnival was held in 1974, a year before the inaugural G1 in 1973! That makes it the longest-running singles wrestling tournament in the world! Previous winners include such luminaries as Shohei “Giant” Baba, Abdullah the Butcher, Mitsuhara Misawa, Stan Hansen, & Keiji Mutoh. While All Japan isn’t as popular as it once was, this year’s Carnival promises a heap of solid matches. They've been doing their best to bring up a crop of younger talents and bolstering their ranks with solid freelancers. It's a very enjoyable promotion if you can't get enough puro. This year’s tournament is round-robin with two blocks of eight wrestlers each. They compete in singles matches, one fall to a finish, with a 30 minute time limit. A win is worth two points to the victor, none to the loser, and a draw nets each participant a lone point. The top point-getters of each block will square off in the finals. The tournament begins on April 18th in Korakuen Hall. The finals will be held May 12th at the brand new Yokohama BUNTAI arena. The winner gets a shot at the Triple Crown! Let’s meet the competitors, shall we? Block A  From left to right: Ren Ayabe, Hokuto Omori, Davey Boy Smith Jr., Kento Miyahara, Shotaro Ashino, Yuma Aoyagi, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Cyrus Shotaro Ashino, 34, Tokyo, Japan. A meaty lad who trained under Kaz Hayashi and Keiji Mutoh. He’s a big fan of Metallica as evidenced by his entrance music and his trunks, which say Master of Suplex in the Metallica font. Shotaro won the last year's Carnival, beating T-Hawk in the finals, but was unable to challenge then Triple Crown champion Yuji Nagata due to injury. He’s back and still dropping fools on their heads. He’s my favorite to win. Signature spots: Lots of suplexes. Finishing moves: Ankle lock; delayed exploder suplex powerslam. Kento Miyahara, 35, Fukuoka, Japan. The Best of the Best. One of the top-5 active wrestlers in the world, by my estimation. He’s also one of the most decorated competitors in this year’s tournament, having held AJPW’s Triple Crown for six reigns. Perhaps AJPW’s most charismatic big match wrestler, he had multiple MOTYCs last year and my personal Match of the Year with Katsuhiko Nakajima. He won 2019’s Champion Carnival over Jake Lee. Signature spots: Brawling outside the ring with lots of headbutts; flexing; Blackout knees (jumping knee strikes that look like death); getting a crowd of 200 people at a hotel in Hokkaido sounding like the main event of WrestleMania. Finishing moves: Shutdown German Suplex (delayed arm-trapped German suplex hold). Yuma Aoyagi, 28, Nagano, Japan. Trained by the late Atsushi Aoki, Yuma is one of the most impressive under-30 wrestlers and one of a good handful of younger guys that AJPW have pushed hard as of late. Super charisma, a fun set of moves, and not afraid to do some comedy spots from time to time. He won the Carnival in 2022 and held the coveted Triple Crown title for the last half of last year. I suspect he’ll have a rather good showing. Signature spots: Stiff strikes; a high cross-body; piledriver. Finishing moves: Rockstar Buster (modified fisherman buster); The Fool (a spinning variant of his Rockstar Buster). Hokuto Omori, 28, Hokkaido, Japan. The Wolf Moon of Rebellion, whatever that means. Hokuto is a baby-faced heavyweight who’s mostly toiled in the midcard of AJPW. This is his second try in the Champion Carnival, earning 6 points in last year’s. Hokuto was trained by Tajiri and was initially a junior heavyweight, but has since packed on some mass. He’s a bit of a goof, but I can’t help but root for him anyways. Signature spots: Dreamily blowing kisses; a decent looking jumping cutter. Finisher: Muso Issen (Sitout cross-legged fisherman driver) Ren Ayabe, 27, Saitama, Japan. Listen, he’s 6’7” tall. That’s fairly rare for Japanese wrestlers. Kazuchika Okada is tall and he’s 6’3”. Ren recently signed fulltime to AJPW so it’s nice to see him have a go in what will be his first Champion Carnival. He’s tall and athletic, but he’s only been wrestling for about three years with about 150 matches under his belt. He’s not the best worker, but he’s got a nice dropkick. I don’t expect him to go on a tear in the tournament, but hopefully, as another young face for AJPW, he’ll get some good experience that will help him grow (as a wrestler, he’s tall enough as is). Signature spots: Looking like a tall toddler; a pretty good dropkick; a running big boot in the corner. Finisher: Not sure. I think it might be a stalling falcon arrow. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, 31, Tokyo, Japan. Perhaps better known to western audiences from his time in NXT as Ikemen Jiro, Kuroshio was released by WWE back in October 2023. He found his way back to AJPW, having participated in the 2020 Champion Carnival. I’m not sure if he’s officially signed or still working as a freelancer. In any case, he’s fun to watch. His gimmick is that of an “ikemen” which is like a cool, handsome guy. He wrestles in a brightly patterned blazer which he uses for his signature jacket punches. Definitely more of a comedy guy, but he still has some good looking kicks and he’s quite the seller. Signature spots: An entrance that goes on and on; jacket punches. Finisher: Honestly, not sure. I think it might be a running enzuigiri. Cyrus, 36, Gainesville, GA. The Monster. A super-heavyweight who styles his offense like the late great Big Van Vader. This is his second consecutive Champion Carnival; last year, he earned himself six points with wins over Yuma Aoyagi, Jun Akiyama, and Yoshitatsu. He also competed in AJPW’s 2023 Real World Tag League with Ryan Davidson. Apparently Cyrus had a couple of matches on AEW Dark. I wasn’t watching then so IDK. He’s a big dude. As long as his matches don’t go too long he could be fun. Signature spots: Corner splash; cannonball. Finisher: Vader bomb. Davey Boy Smith Jr., 38, Calgary, Alberta. After a bout of diverticulosis, DBS Jr. has returned to wrestling. He’s currently signed to MLW where he is one half of the MLW Tag Champions with Tom Lawlor. Davey Jr.’s been in WWE, NJPW, AJPW, NWA, and NOAH, as well as countless indies. He’s what people would call a good hand. I’ve only seen a couple of his more recent matches, but it seems like he’s basically back up and running after having his appendix and some of his colon out. Signature spots: Hart offense; British Bulldog offense. Finisher: Sharpshooter; running powerslam. Block A summary: Average age of the block is 32. There aren’t a ton of stories running throughout Block A. The main focus will be on Shotaro Ashino, Kento Miyahara, and Yuma Aoyagi, as all three are considered top guys for the promotion. Aoyagi and Miyahara have been through many wars, both as opponents and as tag-team partners. There’s also a chance for younger guys like Hokuto Omori and Ren Ayabe to show out and raise their stock. I don’t have a lot of faith in Kuroshio TOKYO Japan, Cyrus, and Davey Boy Smith Jr. Block B  From left to right: Road Crewe, Hideki Suzuki, Rei Saito, Yuma Anzai, Suwama, Ryuki Honda, Jun Saito, Hartley Jackson Suwama, 47, Kanagawa, Japan. The former Ace of All Japan. Comparable to Hiroshi Tanahashi from New Japan, Suwama has had tremendous success in his time with AJPW, and is now in his late 40’s and has roles in the front office. He’s held the Triple Crown Title a record-setting eight times, the All Japan Tag Titles eight times (most recently while teaming with Block B competitor Hideki Suzuki), and he’s been in 18 Champion Carnivals, winning once in 2008. Suwama’s style is a continuation of the King’s Road style, utilizing many suplexes, strikes, and submission holds. I’d consider him a dark horse for the tournament. Despite his age, he’s still a very credible competitor, and All Japan may want to give him one more run at the top after 20 years of loyalty. Signature spots: Double-hand chops; power moves. Finisher: Last Ride (elevated powerbomb); lariat; backdrop hold; Manriki Sleeper (sleeper hold). Ryuki Honda, 24, Tokyo, Japan. A former amateur wrestler, Ryuki Honda is yet another rising young star on the AJPW roster. He’s a one-time AJPW Tag champion with Block A competitor Shotaro Ashino. Currently, he teams with Block B rival Yuma Anzai as New Period. Honda is a hefty lad with wild hair and he wrestles a hard-hitting style. I like watching him cause he has silly spots (like counting with the ref when he’s trapping an opponent in the ropes), and has a ridiculous looking finisher. While he hasn’t been booked very strongly as of late, his third Champion Carnival could be a chance to go on a tear. Signature spots: Counting to four with the ref while choking an opponent on the ropes, then selling for the ref when he gets scolded; spear. Finisher: Final Vent (one-handed leg trap falling powerbomb). Jun Saito, 37, Miyagi, Japan. One-half of the current tag team champions with his twin brother and fellow Block B competitor Rei. Jun and Rei have really come into their own as of late, getting over with crowds, and improving their in-ring immensely. Previously, they had worked as cheating heels as part of the divisive Voodoo Murders stable, but with its dissolution, the Saito brothers are poised for a big year. Jun is probably the more charismatic of the two, and at 6’4” he does a lot of your typical big guy offense. He’s been booked for more singles matches as of late since his brother was recovering from a shoulder injury. Signature spots: Elbow drop; brainbuster; running big boot; standing on his opponent while taking his hair out of his usual ponytail; shoulder tackle. Finisher: Chokeslam. Yuma Anzai, 24, Gunma, Japan. The absolute boy. Anzai is the youngest Triple Crown Title holder in AJPW history, having recently wrested it from dastardly outsider Katsuhiko Nakajima. Putting the title on Anzai is a huge gamble for AJPW, who have really been putting their weight behind their young guys lately. Anzai is ridiculously over with fans and wrestles a clean, almost youngboy style, in unadorned black trunks. He’s only been wrestling for about a year and a half and is so good that he won the Wrestling Observer Newsletter rookie of the year award for 2023. As the reigning Triple Crown Champion, Anzai should be booked fairly strong in the tournament. Signature spots: Beautiful dropkicks; forearm strikes; Boston crab; body slam; jumping bicycle knee strike; being handsome. Finisher: Bridging German suplex hold. Hideki Suzuki, 44, Hokkaido, Japan. A trainee of the late Billy Robinson, Suzuki wrestles a catch as catch can style, and has mainly been working for NOAH and AJPW after a stint in WWE as Hachiman. He’s a good worker and should have some fun matches, but will probably end up with a losing record. He’s got cute hair and has been wrestling in lavender trunks lately. Gets bossed around by Suwama whenever they team together. Signature spots: Suplexes; manji gatame; ankle lock. Finisher: Double-arm suplex; bridging German suplex hold. Hartley Jackson, 43, Perth, Australia. The first of two foreigners in Block B. Hartley is a monster of a man built like a refrigerator. He hits hard and does a lot of power moves. He’s a big deal in Australia I think for being a real grinder, working everywhere and helping train a lot of people. He’s done some fun tag team work for Ganbare Pro in mixed tag matches throwing his very small partner HARUKAZE around as a weapon. Signature spot: Big guy stuff; suplexes; lariats; you get the idea. Finisher: Jagged Edge (Death Valley driver on the apron); piledriver. Road Crewe aka Lord Crewe, Age Unknown (probably late 30s), Cincinnati, OH. The “Bareknuckle Berserker.” Road Crewe is an indy wrestler who has been all over the US, but this is his first foray to Japan. After watching a few of his recent bouts I actually have kinda high hopes for this guy. He’s got a crazy beard and a bunch of tattoos. He doesn’t do anything super special but he has a nice energy. He’s also a member of Who Dey nation, so is by default cavauro’s pick to win the whole thing. You can expect a brawling style escalating to power moves like suplexes and piledrivers. Signature spot: Jumping spinning wheel kick; diving punch; pump kick. Finisher: A vertical suplex turned into a flipping Michinoku driver. Rei Saito, 37, Miyagi, Japan. Jun Saito’s twin, and the other half of the current Tag Team Champions. He’s a bit bulkier than his brother, but uses a similar brawling big guy style. He’s only recently returned from a shoulder injury. He’s not as complete a singles wrestler as his brother (though I wouldn’t say either of them are stellar in singles bouts) but is still a fun guy to watch and has improved immensely in the past year. Like brother Jun, I can’t see him in the finals or anything, but he's certainly a force to be reckoned with. Signature spot: Stomping and waggling his fists like a tantruming toddler; standing splash; running splash; shoulder tackle. Finisher: Chokeslam; piledriver. Block B Summary: Average age of Black B is 36. It has the tournament’s oldest and youngest competitors. Other than the two foreigners, all of Block B are in tag teams with each other, which should add to the intrigue. Suwama and Hideki Suzuki in particular have a strained relationship, even if it’s more of a comedic thing. My favorites to advance are Yuma Anzai and Suwama. A Suwama vs. Shotaro Ashino finals would be a good story; as Shotaro has challenged Suwama for the Triple Crown on a couple of occasions, falling to Suwama both times. But also it’s hard to imagine a situation where Yuma Anzai doesn’t make it to the finals. Hell, if AJPW wants to go all in on him, they could have him win the whole thing. How to Watch The only way to watch live is to sign up for ajpw.tv for 900 yen a month, currently $5.88 USD. I think it's worth it as AJPW has really been putting on solid cards with a really talented, if small, roster. As with most wrestling, you'll probably be able to find it on vk or other sites like that a day or so after the broadcast. As of now there is no English commentary for the live shows and the smaller house shows are broadcast with no commentary at all. Tournament Schedule   Cards Thursday 18th April 6:30pm JST/8:30pm AEDT/10:30am BST/5:30am EDT/2:30am PDT Champion Carnival Night 1 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Actwres Time, 18:10 start: Act & Riko Fukunaga vs Kanamic & Sakura Mizushima Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue vs Rising HAYATO & Seigo Tachibana Cyrus, Hideki Suzuki & MUSASHI vs Hartley Jackson, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Ryuji Hijikata Champion Carnival B Block: Rei Saito vs Suwama Champion Carnival A Block: Hokuto Omori vs Shotaro Ashino Champion Carnival B Block: Road Crewe vs Ryuki Honda Champion Carnival A Block: Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival A Block: Kento Miyahara vs Ren Ayabe Champion Carnival B Block: Jun Saito vs Yuma Anzai Live on ajpw.tv Just before the show starts there will be a memorial 10 bell salute for Akebono, & then the traditional Champion Carnival opening ceremony where all the competitors are presented in the ring. Saturday 20th April 1:30pm JST/3:30pm AEDT/5:30am BST/12:30am EDT/9:30pm PDT Champion Carnival Night 2 Act City, Hamamatsu Hikaru Sato & MUSASHI vs Rising HAYATO & Ryo Inoue Champion Carnival A Block: Ren Ayabe vs Shotaro Ashino Champion Carnival B Block: Hartley Jackson vs Suwama Cyrus, Davey Boy Smith Jr & Ryuki Honda vs Dan Tamura, Hideki "Shrek" Sekine & Rei Saito Champion Carnival A Block: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival B Block: Road Crewe vs Yuma Anzai Champion Carnival B Block: Hideki Suzuki vs Jun Saito Champion Carnival A Block: Hokuto Omori vs Kento Miyahara Uploaded later to ajpw.tv Sunday 21st April 4pm JST/6pm AEDT/8am BST/3am EDT/12am PDT Champion Carnival Night 3 Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall Exhibition Hall 4, Chiba Ayato Yoshida, Chicharito Shoki, MUSASHI & Ryo Inoue vs Daiju Wakamatsu, Hikaru Sato, Road Crewe & Seigo Tachibana Champion Carnival B Block: Hartley Jackson vs Jun Saito Champion Carnival A Block: Cyrus vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Champion Carnival A Block: Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Shotaro Ashino Champion Carnival B Block: Hideki Suzuki vs Rei Saito Dan Tamura, Hokuto Omori & Ren Ayabe vs Kaz Hayashi, Masayuki Kono & Suwama Champion Carnival A Block: Kento Miyahara vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival B Block: Ryuki Honda vs Yuma Anzai Live on ajpw.tv Wednesday 24th April 6:30pm JST/8:30pm AEDT/10:30am BST/5:30am EDT/2:30am PDT Champion Carnival Night 4 Shinagawa Prince Hotel Stellar Ball, Tokyo Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato & Rei Saito vs Hartley Jackson, Ryo Inoue & Seigo Tachibana Champion Carnival A Block: Hokuto Omori vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Champion Carnival B Block: Jun Saito vs Road Crewe Champion Carnival A Block: Cyrus vs Ren Ayabe Champion Carnival B Block: Hideki Suzuki vs Ryuki Honda Davey Boy Smith Jr & MUSASHI vs Kento Miyahara & Rising HAYATO Champion Carnival A Block: Shotaro Ashino vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival B Block: Suwama vs Yuma Anzai Live on ajpw.tv apophenium fucked around with this message at 01:08 on Apr 17, 2024 |
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Apr 15, 2024 01:37
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Reserved for future cards, standings, and fun gifs. https://i.imgur.com/GYSUkkI.mp4 apophenium fucked around with this message at 04:22 on Apr 19, 2024 |
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Apr 15, 2024 01:51
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NIce writeup, wish the opening round wasn't on a weekday so I could watch it live. Miayahara vs Ayabe should be a cracker, as should Ashino vs Honda if they bring the intensity from their awesome last man standing match a few years ago. I will note that Hartley Jackson is from Adelaide rather than Perth, although i'll definitely claim him. He spent a over a decade doing shows here and still gets a mention every now and then as one of the legacy members of TMDK
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Apr 15, 2024 03:22
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SG Bamboo posted:NIce writeup, wish the opening round wasn't on a weekday so I could watch it live. Miayahara vs Ayabe should be a cracker, as should Ashino vs Honda if they bring the intensity from their awesome last man standing match a few years ago. Ah I was just going off of Cagematch for Hartley Jackson. I agree about Ayabe and Miyahara especially after their interaction that led to Ayabe signing with AJPW (in kayfabe at least). I'm hoping Ayabe being full-time with them will really help him improve. He's most of the way there, just lacking charisma I'd say. What are you predicting for the finals? I talked myself into wanting to see Shotaro finally get a win over Suwama but there are a lot of interesting things they could do.
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Apr 15, 2024 15:38
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Have to think Ashino is making the finals again, even if he hasn't set the world on fire since his return from injury. Looking at the final block matches he's got Cyrus, which is the probable main event over Kento vs DBSjr and Aoyagi vs Omori. I will be cheering for Omori in basically every match even if I think he's finshing below everyone but Ikeman. As for the other block I could absolutely see Anzai making the finals and losing to set up a ready rematch, or winning the first 4 before lagging in the back 3 against the craftier veterans. If not him then I'm actaully in disagreement with your writeup and think Suzuki could squeak into the finals with a win over Anzai on the last day (because he's crafty and also has a history of being pissy about jobbing), or Honda because he has a ton of history with Ashino, both as a team and as opponents. Of course I doubt i'll be disappointed if it's Kento or Yuma making the finals against pretty much anyone in B Block, or like Ren Ayabe in a Giants Battle vs SUWAMA. As long as it's not like Cyrus vs Rei Saito i'll be satisfied
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Apr 15, 2024 15:53
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I bashed together a very quick, very low effort Google Sheet for...I dunno, if you want to keep track of points yourself, or do predictions or whatever. I don't know. I'm using it for keeping track of scores & just thought I'd share it. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10TiirnJ2v7B5CC-kv_eVWqduE5cJfQc15FFSwrafIWg/edit?usp=sharing Caveat that anyone who uses spreadsheets with any regularity could create something more efficient or whatever. Almost everything I once knew about spreadsheets has long since atrophied.
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Apr 15, 2024 17:59
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All Japan have confirmed the match order for the first 4 shows of the Carnival Thursday 18th April 6:30pm JST/8:30pm AEDT/10:30am BST/5:30am EDT/2:30am PDT Champion Carnival Night 1 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo Actwres Time, 18:10 start: Act & Riko Fukunaga vs Kanamic & Sakura Mizushima Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue vs Rising HAYATO & Seigo Tachibana Cyrus, Hideki Suzuki & MUSASHI vs Hartley Jackson, Kuroshio TOKYO Japan & Ryuji Hijikata Champion Carnival B Block: Rei Saito vs Suwama Champion Carnival A Block: Hokuto Omori vs Shotaro Ashino Champion Carnival B Block: Road Crewe vs Ryuki Honda Champion Carnival A Block: Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival A Block: Kento Miyahara vs Ren Ayabe Champion Carnival B Block: Jun Saito vs Yuma Anzai Live on ajpw.tv Just before the show starts there will be a memorial 10 bell salute for Akebono, & then the traditional Champion Carnival opening ceremony where all the competitors are presented in the ring. Saturday 20th April 1:30pm JST/3:30pm AEDT/5:30am BST/12:30am EDT/9:30pm PDT Champion Carnival Night 2 Act City, Hamamatsu Hikaru Sato & MUSASHI vs Rising HAYATO & Ryo Inoue Champion Carnival A Block: Ren Ayabe vs Shotaro Ashino Champion Carnival B Block: Hartley Jackson vs Suwama Cyrus, Davey Boy Smith Jr & Ryuki Honda vs Dan Tamura, Hideki "Shrek" Sekine & Rei Saito Champion Carnival A Block: Kuroshio TOKYO Japan vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival B Block: Road Crewe vs Yuma Anzai Champion Carnival B Block: Hideki Suzuki vs Jun Saito Champion Carnival A Block: Hokuto Omori vs Kento Miyahara Uploaded later to ajpw.tv Sunday 21st April 4pm JST/6pm AEDT/8am BST/3am EDT/12am PDT Champion Carnival Night 3 Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall Exhibition Hall 4, Chiba Ayato Yoshida, Chicharito Shoki, MUSASHI & Ryo Inoue vs Daiju Wakamatsu, Hikaru Sato, Road Crewe & Seigo Tachibana Champion Carnival B Block: Hartley Jackson vs Jun Saito Champion Carnival A Block: Cyrus vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Champion Carnival A Block: Davey Boy Smith Jr vs Shotaro Ashino Champion Carnival B Block: Hideki Suzuki vs Rei Saito Dan Tamura, Hokuto Omori & Ren Ayabe vs Kaz Hayashi, Masayuki Kono & Suwama Champion Carnival A Block: Kento Miyahara vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival B Block: Ryuki Honda vs Yuma Anzai Live on ajpw.tv Wednesday 24th April 6:30pm JST/8:30pm AEDT/10:30am BST/5:30am EDT/2:30am PDT Champion Carnival Night 4 Shinagawa Prince Hotel Stellar Ball, Tokyo Dan Tamura, Hikaru Sato & Rei Saito vs Hartley Jackson, Ryo Inoue & Seigo Tachibana Champion Carnival A Block: Hokuto Omori vs Kuroshio TOKYO Japan Champion Carnival B Block: Jun Saito vs Road Crewe Champion Carnival A Block: Cyrus vs Ren Ayabe Champion Carnival B Block: Hideki Suzuki vs Ryuki Honda Davey Boy Smith Jr & MUSASHI vs Kento Miyahara & Rising HAYATO Champion Carnival A Block: Shotaro Ashino vs Yuma Aoyagi Champion Carnival B Block: Suwama vs Yuma Anzai Live on ajpw.tv Interesting to note that Kento is only headlining one of the 4 nights (somehow him vs Aoyagi is only co-main?) while Anzai has the other 3 nights, which shows a heck of a lot of confidence in Yuma.
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Apr 16, 2024 13:45
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Thanks forkboy for the cards and the standings spreadsheet! I was gonna whip together something like that but you saved me the hassle. I finally caught up on the Dream Power series. Gonna try to watch New Age Chronicle-Z 4 sometime between now and the start of the Carnival. I'll unfortunately be unable to catch any of it live due to being on the other side of the world.
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Apr 17, 2024 01:11
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Will definitely use that spreadsheet, thanks a lot. Even your rudimentary spreadsheet skills are no doubt better than mine, considering my MOTYC one breaks whenever I re-sort the list of wrestlers by nominations
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Apr 17, 2024 08:04
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It's here! Well, almost. The AWG offer match is due to start in 20 minutes. I didn't think I'd get the chance to watch live but everything is coming up Milhouse. Probably won't actually tune in until the Akebono tribute which is due at 18:25 JST
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Apr 18, 2024 09:52
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The Akebono theme music is really quite incongruous with a sombre memorial, I like it.
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Apr 18, 2024 10:32
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Cyrus not standing for Kento's lip & mollywhopping everyone who tried to hold him back is very good use of Cyrus
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Apr 18, 2024 10:40
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Opener was real neat junior action & I think Dan might have just challenged Seigo Tachibana for the GAORA TV Title Just guessing from the context though
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Apr 18, 2024 10:57
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Hokuto Omori has a horse head wearing friend now
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Apr 18, 2024 11:26
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Well that was uhhhh definitive
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Apr 18, 2024 11:42
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Yuma DBS was mostly a bit dull, Davey Boy is not exciting to watch on offence & he was the aggressors for the majority of this. On the plus-side, the finish was pretty good & the post-match was hilarious.
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Apr 18, 2024 12:05
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Ren has a new robe  Actually his whole look now is very Kazu Okada influenced. I'd almost have said he has an old Okada robe if he wasn't so bloody tall
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Apr 18, 2024 12:10
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Hey look, Kento doing headbutts outside the ring!!!
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Apr 18, 2024 12:15
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Ren already looks like he's been at the AJPW chanko & put on some more mass. And is striking stiffer which is great. I'm honestly impressed, he's risen to the occasion.
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Apr 18, 2024 12:21
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And our Triple Crown Champion also has new gear, looking good. He's gotten to drop the young boy trunks
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Apr 18, 2024 12:28
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Overall, good opening night, top 2 matches were both great, Ashino & Omori were the best of the rest, DBS Yuma went too long for what it was trying to do, but good ending. Looking forward to Night 2 now on Saturday!
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Apr 18, 2024 12:51
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Eagerly awaiting seeing Anzais new gear when I catch up with this tomorrow morning
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Apr 18, 2024 13:48
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saw some highlights of my guy Lord Crewe I hope everyone is supporting him because he's cool and nice and I love supporting a good local guy making it to japan Also he hits hard and looks good doing it 
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Apr 18, 2024 18:23
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Erin M. Fiasco posted:saw some highlights of my guy Lord Crewe I hope everyone is supporting him because he's cool and nice and I love supporting a good local guy making it to japan You might have seen the whole match, it was basically a squash of Ryuki Honda, which I understand because you want to make the new foreigner look good but also it's a loving bummer to see Honda done like that. And honestly, kind of hard to judge his quality based on that, though he did get to show some character aping Honda's signature spot, even if the Korakuen crowd didn't quite realise what he was doing until he did it. That was fun when they finally got on, you could see a lady in the first row opposite the hardcam was was really into it.
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Apr 18, 2024 20:49
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Catching up now. Actresu Time was fun. I liked the intro with all the competitors in the ring with the trophy. Cyrus throwing around the AJPW dojo youngboys was really funny. Ren's got pink hair now!
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Apr 18, 2024 21:40
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apophenium posted:Catching up now. Actresu Time was fun. I liked the intro with all the competitors in the ring with the trophy. Cyrus throwing around the AJPW dojo youngboys was really funny. Ren's got pink hair now! I really do think Ren looks so much more legit already, just those small changes.
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Apr 18, 2024 21:46
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Ryo Inoue is also developing nicely. He's got the brown hair now and his repertoire of moves are starting to look really good. I especially like the rolling sobat kick and the leg lariat. Fun match. Seigo Tachibana has also been someone I've grown to appreciate. I thought he was just a kind of goofy dude but his strikes are really solid. And he took a gnarly powerbomb from Dan to end the match.
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Apr 18, 2024 21:58
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Night 1 was fun. I like Ayabe's new look and his new big guy spots (patting Kento on the head popped me). I enjoyed DBS vs Yuma but I admit it didn't have my full attention until the last few kickouts and the post-match had me hooting and hollering. Anzai has a sweet jacket. Good for him.
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Apr 19, 2024 00:55
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Hartley Jackson may be the platonic ideal of a wrestler. When I imagine "a wrestler" I imagine someone who looks like Hartley Jackson. I think Kuroshio TOKYO Japan's theme is my favorite in all of wrestling. Which is good, cause his entrance is interminable. Korakuen is eating it up though lol.
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Apr 19, 2024 01:31
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I hope that guy got his kid back
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Apr 19, 2024 01:36
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drat, the crowd was really into Cyrus going up for the Vader bomb.
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Apr 19, 2024 01:43
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just finished watching this show and i enjoyed it even though i have no idea what's going on for the most part! i really enjoyed watching the d-oh this year so thought it'd be a fun bit to give another tournament a shot in a promotion i know far less about than ddt (and i don't know that much about ddt to begin with). $6 ain't a bad price at all. hasn't really given me much to grab on to immediately, but i think i am rooting for kento and ren ayabe and... jun saito?apophenium posted:Ren Ayabe, 27, Saitama, Japan. i've rewound and watched this finisher like 5 times and i still have no idea what the gently caress it is
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Apr 19, 2024 02:37
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I'm realizing that I didn't really put over how deadly Suwama's backdrop driver is. And I also forgot to put Rei's fakeout chops as one of his signature spots. Sloppy shop.
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Apr 19, 2024 03:49
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I like Hokuto's new facial hair, he's kinda lookin' like Nakajima a bit... And I wonder who his friend in the horse mask is... abraham linksys posted:just finished watching this show and i enjoyed it even though i have no idea what's going on for the most part! i really enjoyed watching the d-oh this year so thought it'd be a fun bit to give another tournament a shot in a promotion i know far less about than ddt (and i don't know that much about ddt to begin with). $6 ain't a bad price at all. hasn't really given me much to grab on to immediately, but i think i am rooting for kento and ren ayabe and... jun saito? You picked some good uns to root for! I'm especially glad to see Jun in your list. He's really grown on me.
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Apr 19, 2024 04:08
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God drat Lord Crewe looked loving awesome in his match. Too bad it was at Honda's expense, but jeez. He's also in ridiculous shape. I watched a match from 2022 and he looked fit but he's a beast now. Good for him.
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Apr 19, 2024 04:27
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Night 1 thoughts: - The AWG offer match was very neat again, it's starting to grow on me although I still have trouble remembering who is who apart from Act Yasukawa. Riko Fukunaga has some cool sequences despite cagematch only having 30 career matches listed for her, and she took a German suplex like a champ during the finishing sequence. - I adore Dan Tamura, wish his Jr reign had lasted longer but I can appreciate him straight trucking people - I can't believe Ikeman would jsut steal a kid like that, good thing Cyrus was here to enforce order - Suwama/Rei was fine for what it was, it was never going to be the fiery battering I was hoping for since the Voodoo Murders split was rather amicable in the end -  Then he lost pretty quickly, sad for Omori. At least his hair is almost back to full power, his straight hair era was disconcerting. Ashino looked like a killer here, which i'm in for since i've been an Ashino man since I saw him during my first CC, despite the pain he's put me through- Lord Crewe's gamer glasses are incongruous with the rest of his presentation. I liked his counting bit and his offence looked good, excited for a more competitive match from him next time. - Not even Yuma could make me care about DBSjr, this match was dull and went too long, could have gone half it and given the remainder to Ashino/Omori - Kento rules, Ayabe rules, loved this match - The Saito Brother theme is growing on me, guessing most of my former distaste for it was because until this year both brother sucked absolute poo poo, so it was a harbinger of things to come. Now i'm bopping along with the dream warriors. Anzai looks cool in his Fuminori Abe trunks, was expecting tights since that's what he was wearing during the Abebono tribute at the start. Match itself was great, there were parts when I wish the crowd were louder but they came alive for stuff like Yuma's jumping knee to Jun on the top rope. All in all a pretty good show, wish Ashino/Honda was longer and Suwama/Rei was more fiery but still excited for night 2
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Apr 19, 2024 04:56
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DBS Jr. lookin like if Dustin Rhodes did a British version of Cody Rhodes's gimmick. Also the commentators are talkin' bout Chris Benoit??! Someone In Back??
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Apr 19, 2024 21:22
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apophenium posted:DBS Jr. lookin like if Dustin Rhodes did a British version of Cody Rhodes's gimmick. Also the commentators are talkin' bout Chris Benoit??! Someone In Back?? Japanese wrestling does not give a poo poo if you murdered your wife & child unfortunately, as far as I can tell.
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Apr 19, 2024 21:36
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God bless this crowd for biting on a DBS Jr. top rope leg drop. forkboy84 posted:Japanese wrestling does not give a poo poo if you murdered your wife & child unfortunately, as far as I can tell. I think they were talking about him in the context of "wrestlers trained by Stu Hart" cause they also mentioned Dynamite Kid which I think is fair game . No excuse for Benoit the murderer though.
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Apr 19, 2024 21:43
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I'm interested to see when these new youngboys AJPW has wrestle their first matches I'm glad they're getting to get beat up by Cyrus and Davey Boy Smith Jr. at least
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Apr 20, 2024 02:18
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