All Japan Pro Wrestling 4/23/2023 Champion Carnival 2023 Day 6

All Japan Pro Wrestling 4/23/2023 Champion Carnival 2023 Day 6

Day 5 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/all-japan-pro-wrestling-4222023.html

Champion Carnival - Rei Saito vs Hokuto Omori

Omori tries to lock up and is pushed over. Omori hits a stif fforearm to the face and is shouldered over. Rei stands on his gut. Omori tries more forearms and is chopped then Rei stands on him again. Rei teases chopping him then finally does it. Omori top rope dropkicks him then hits a ddt.

Rei splashes him in the corner then side slams him for 2. Omori cutters him then rolls him into an anaconda vice. Rei makes his comeback with chops then Omori hits forearms. Rei headbutts him then takes a koppo kick. Rei crossbodies him for 2. Rei then hits a big lariat for 2. Rei piledrivers him and wins it.

It was short and made sense with Rei being the big guy and Omori being the little guy here. They did what they could with the whole 6 minutes they got here.

Champion Carnival - Jun Saito vs Yoshitatsu

Yoshi dropkicks him out early then plancha's him. They fight outside and Jun goes into the post. Yoshi kicks him in the gut inside then facewashes him. Yoshi neckbreakers him for 2 then pulls both his arms backwards. Yoshi russian legsweeps him then Jun hits a running face kick and a running lariat. Jun suplexes him for 2 then misses a corner splash. Yoshi tornado ddt's him off of it.

Yoshi blue thunders him for 2 then Jun spears him. Yoshi backslides him then rolls him up for 2. Jun chokeslams him for 2. Jun then hits another chokeslam and wins it.

It was on the shorter end. I thought Jun bumped around too much for being a bigger guy but his stuff looked good and at least they kept it brief. 

Champion Carnival - Shuji Ishikawa vs Takao Omori

They collide with shoulders and trade chest slaps. They go outside and chest slap each other then Shuji running lariats him inside. Shuji 2nd rope double stomps him. Omori back body drops him then hits a running face kick and a spinning heel kick for 2. They lariat each other and the spit flies. Shuji corner lariats him then Omori backdrops him for 2. Shuji then Thesz presses him out of nowhere and wins it.

It was another short one. What we got wasn't bad but the finish really was out of nowhere and it wasn't that good due to the time restraints.

Champion Carnival - Cyrus vs Kento Miyahara

Kento slaps him then facekicks him. Cyrus hits a knee to the gut and goes over the top. Kento headbutts him out there then Cyrus headbutts him in the chest. Cyrus goes into the post and Kento tries to dive on him but is caught with a euro. Cyrus powerbombs him on the apron.

Back inside and Cyrus corner splashes him then cannonballs him. Cyrus goes for the vader bomb but Kento gets his knees up. Kento dropkicks him in the side of the head. Cyrus hits back elbows and a splash in the corner. Kento running facekicks and flying knees Cyrus, then Cyrus chokeslams him. Cyrus misses a vader bomb then Kento sunset flips him and is caught. Cyrus charges at him on the ropes and gets rolled up for the Kento win.

Maybe a little too long despite being short but the match made sense with Cyrus using his size and Kento using his trickery to grab the pin.

Cyrus beats up Kento after and throws out the ref.

Champion Carnival - Suwama vs Shotaro Ashino

Ashino hits euros then is chopped and thrown out. Suwama gets a chair and hits him with it. Suwama hits Ashino with a guardrail and Ashino is thrown into the seats.  Suwama gets in and Ashino has trouble getting back in. Ashino does get back in, then is seated up top where he is pushed down to the floor again.

Suwama works his leg then single leg crabs him. Suwama irish whips Ashino, but he falls over. Suwama beats him up in the corner then Ashino comes back with euros. Ashino hits a karelin's lift for 2. Suwama lariats him then german suplexes him for 2. Suwama's backdrop is blocked and Ashino rolls into an anklelock on him then they trade anklelock attempts and Ashino taps him out with the ankle lock.

We couldn't see the first part of the match because they went outside and the camera couldn't catch a lot of it. The rest of the match was spent on legwork where Ashino ended up getting the surprise win via submission. The match had a slower pace to it but it was hard to get invested when we couldn't see a lot of it.

Champion Carnival - Satoshi Kojima vs Yuma Aoyagi

They trade holds early then stand off. Koji side headlocks him then shoulderblocks him over. Koji makes his pecs move then Yuma takes control makes his move. They trade chest slaps for forearms then Yuma dropkicks him. Koji neckbreakers him then hits machine gun chops. Yuma 2nd rope dropkicks him then hits running forearms in the corner.

Yuma top rope crossbodies him for 2 then does his guillotine + hammerlock combo. Yuma hits Koji's machine gun chops in the corner. Yuma goes up top and is superplexed then Koji hits machine gun chops. Koji goes up top and hits an elbow drop for 2. Koji hits forearms and ddt's him. Yuma sits on top and is lariated down to the outside.

They fight on the apron and Koji ddt's him there. They get back in and Koji cutters him. Yuma then catches him with a rock bottom and goes back to the grounded guillotine + armlock. Yuma goes up top again and gets caught then takes a cutter from the 2nd rope for 2. Yuma germans Koji and Koji no sells it then lariats him.

Koji brainbusters him for 2 then Yuma hits superkicks. Yuma brainbusters him for 2 then does a fisherman's buster for the win.

It was a fun match. Koji's not a 5 star guy, but if you want a fun match, Koji can do it most of the time. I liked Yuma doing some of his offense and they kept it moving here. It didn't drag at all and there was some good action. Good stuff.

Overall thoughts: Only two matches got a decent amount of time here and the main ended up being good. I can't really recommend the rest of it but it could have been better and worse.