All Japan Pro Wrestling 4/8/2023 Champion Carnival 2023 Day 1
Last year's Champion Carnival is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2022/06/all-japan-pro-wrestling-492022-champion.html
There aren't many fans there at all for this. It's sad.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block B Match - Takao Omori vs Rei Saito
Not much to this one at all and the piledriver was nasty.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block A Match - Cyrus vs. Jun Saito
They shove each other then slap each other. Cyrus blocks a chop with his head then has a boot put in his throat in the corner. Jun running facekicks him and has his splash caught and turned into a spinebuster. Cyrus fires up and misses a senton then takes a running facekick. Cyrus superkicks him and splashes him then cannonballs him. Cyrus hits a nice vader bomb and picks up the win in only a few minutes.
It was short and there wasn't anything wrong with this. It was far from what it could have been though.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block B Match - Shuji Ishikawa vs. Hokuto Omori
Omori hits forearms and takes a knee to the gut. He hits more forearms and 2nd rope dropkicks him. Shuji then just walks over him. Omori hits forearms and takes another knee to the gut. Shuji bodyscissors him. Shuji forearm flurries him in the corner then running lariats him. Shuji hits a 2nd rope double stomp for 2.
Omori back body drops him then hits a big suplex. Omori puts him in the anaconda vice then they trade forearms. Shuji forearms him then Omori kind of jumps into taking a german. Shuji dragon suplexes him and Omori does a bad flatliner in the corner. Omori forearm combo flurries him then takes a fire thunder driver for 2. Shuji running knees him for 2 then takes a german. Shuji no sells it and then takes a cutter. Omori rolls him into an anaconda vice and Shuji taps out.
Omori tried his best here, but it just wasn't that believable and it didn't look that good.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block A Match - Yoshitatsu vs. T-Hawk
T dropkicks him in the knee then does it again as the knee is over the 2nd rope. They trade forearms outside and T kicks him in the leg. They trade forearms and T boots him in the leg. Yoshi hits forearms and takes another dropkick in the knee. Yoshi hits a step up enzugiri and a russian legsweep. Yoshi hits kicks to the body. They trade chops then Yoshi hits a tornado ddt.
They trade chops again then T pops him up into a knee and more chops. Yoshi running facekicks him then Takes a knee to the back of the neck. Yoshi flatliners him into a koji clutch and grabs the surprise win. T then dropkicks him after.
I guess that Yoshi's leg was injured going into this as T started working it from the start. This was only about 6-7 minutes or so and they got what they could out of it. Yoshi winning out of nowhere wasn't the best ending.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block B Match - Manabu Soya vs. Shotaro Ashino
Ashino gets a headscissors on early then takes him down. They trade a running cross chop for a running shoulder then trade chops for euros. Soya drops a knee on him for 2 then Ashino works the knee. Soya bulldogs him then brainbusters him. Ashino hits a nice karelin's lift for 2. Ashino running euros him then hits a backdrop. Soya no sells it then death valley drivers him. Ashino germans him then puts him in an ankle lock.
Soya hits a lariat to the back of the head then flips him with a lariat for the win.
The ending was totally out of nowhere and they wasted what probably could have been a good match. The two did match up well together here but there was a lot of no selling. This was way too short.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block A Match - Satoshi Kojima vs. Ryuki Honda
Honda rushes Koji at the start with forearms. He hits more forearms then is shouldered over. They fight outside and Koji goes into the rails. Honda chokes him over the rail. Honda back elbows him and they trade forearms. Koji running forearms him then hits machine gun chops in the corner.
Koji running forearms him in the corner then is knocked off the apron. Honda gets legswept on the apron then is ddt'd on it. Koji hits a forearm combo then another ddt. Honda spinebusters him then hits running lariats. They lariat each other at the same time and Koji gets the edge then Koji hits a cutter. Honda spears him then takes a brainbuster for 2.
Koji gets pushed into referee Kyohei Wada then lariats Honda in the back of the neck. He goes for the pin but the ref is down. Honda hits a low blow then a lariat. The other ref comes in to count the two count then Honda does his one arm running powerbomb and wins it.
I have no idea what the point of the ref bump was or why it was really needed. Again, like most of the matches so far on this show, it was somewhat rushed and it wasn't as good as it could have been because of it. I still did think this was okay though.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block B Match - Suwama vs. Yuma Anzai
They trade waistlocks and do some amateur wrestling. They lock up amd Yuma hits forearms off the dirty break. Suwama eye rakes him then hits a shoulder. Yuma dropkicks him and is put in a sleeper off a missed corner charge. Yuma ropebreaks then is thrown into the rails outside. Suwama takes him into the stands to bangs his head off the sign. Yuma is then thrown into the post. Suwama grabs a chair and the ref tries to take it but is thrown off of it then Suwama chairs Yuma's back.
Suwama hits short arm lariats then boston crabs him. Yuma rope breaks then 2nd rope dropkicks him. Yuma belly to belly suplexes him for 2 then does it again. Suwama belly to bellies him and Yuma reverses one into a pin attempt. Suwama hits lariats and forearms then Yuma fights back with forearms. Yuma takes another lariat and hits a jumping knee. Yuma hits another jumping knee for 2. Yuma ducks Suwama's lariat then takes one from the other arm. Suwama backdrops him for 2. then hits a big running lariat for 2. Suwama backdrops him again and kneels on him to pin him.
Pretty much your standard upstart vs established guy match. Yuma kicked out of a bunch of stuff, took a beating and got a little in before his eventual demise. He could have showed more fire but it wasn't a bad effort at all on his part. It was a decent match.
Champion Carnival 2023 Block A Match - Kento Miyahara vs. Yuma Aoyagi
Yuma gutkicks him and side headlocks him early. Kento goes for the headscissors and they end up doing a stand off. Yuma hits euros off the break then is tripped into the 2nd rope. They go outside and Kento goes into the rails then takes a facekick. Yuma then drives Kento's jaw into the rail from the apron. Kento is sent into the post then Yuma chinlocks him.
Yuam euros him in the corner then takes a pump kick while on the 2nd rope. Kento then piledrivers him onto the apron. They fight on the floor with Yuma taking a headbutt. Yuma is thrown into the commetary table side rails then dropped throat first on them. Kento running kicks him as he's down in the ring then Kento dropkicks him in the knee and to the side of the head.
They trade forearms then Kento hits some knees. Yuma hits a nice dropkick then running forearms him in the corner. Yuma top rope crossbodies him for 2 and puts him in his grounded choke, which Kento ropebreaks for. Yuma is on the 2nd rope and Kento running powerbombs him. They trade corner attacks then forearms.
Yuma rock bottom's him then teakes a flying knee. Kento pump knees him on the ropes then Yuma hits a forearm and a fisherman buster for 2. Yuma puts him in his head and arm grounded submission then Kento pumping knees him. Kento lariats him then Yuma hits his back roundhouse kick twice. Yuma death valley drivers him for 2 then does a twisting fisherman's buster to win it.
It was a decent main event. There wasn't anything super special about it and there wasn't a lot of story to it besides Yuma trying to put Kento down. I felt the selling could have been better here and if an apron piledriver can't put someone down, then what will?
Overall thoughts: Like a lot of these shows, they overload them with singles matches. Then instead of the matches getting enough time, they are rushed and short and it defeats the whole purple of having them since they aren't as good as they could be. It was an okay night of wrestling but it could have been a lot more.
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