All Japan Pro Wrestling 5/7/2023 Champion Carnival 2023 Day 10

All Japan Pro Wrestling 5/7/2023 Champion Carnival 2023 Day 10

Day 9 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/all-japan-pro-wrestling-542023-champion.html 

This is the final day of the Champion Carnival at Ota City Gym. It's a weird looking show with no All Japan vs All Japan matches due to people from the joshi world, GLEAT, NJPW and NOAH coming in.

Oji Shiiba, Ryo Inoue & Ryuki Honda vs. Kosei Fujita, Ryohei Oiwa & Yuto Nakashima

Honda and Yuto go face to face before the bell. They then grab each other and have to be pulled apart. Honda and Yuto flurry forearm each other to start then Yuto running forearms him. Kosei gets up in Honda's face and tells him to back off. Kosei and Ryo then forearm each other and Ryo dropkicks him. Kosei hits a big slam on Ryo.

Yuta knocks Honda out of the ring and they keep going at it. Ryo and gets grabbed by the head by Kosei and is forearmed then Oiwa chops Ryo. Oji chop and forearm combos Oiwa then hits a big slap. Oiwa dropkicks him hard. Oiwa and Ryo trade forearms then Ryo flying back elbows him.

Oji enzugiri's Yuto in the corner then neckbreakers him. Oiwa and Honda trade forearms then Honda lariats Oiwa in the back. Yuto blindside shoulders Honda then Honda double spears Oiwa and Yuto. Oiwa suplexes Honda. Kosei gets in and hits a great dropkick and trades more forearms with Ryo. Ryo kicks Kosei in the chest. Kosei then takes an underhook suplex into a top rope splash. He then is sandwich kicked.

Everyone brawls again then Yuto and Honda butt heads and forearm each other. Honda forearm flurries him then hits a big lariat. Ryo buzzsaw kicks Kosei for 2.Kosei rolling kimura's Ryo then turns it into an A-T lock and wins it.

This was fantastic and one of my favorite matches of the year. It was heated and they beat the crap out of each other. They showed a lot of hate and were full of energy as well. It could have went maybe a minute or two shorter, but this was great stuff.

The fight continues after and Honda knocks over a rail.

Black Menso-re, Mitsuya Nagai, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs. Cyrus, Oskar Leube, Ren Ayabe & Shuji Ishikawa

All 8 men fight to start and Menso takes 4-man stomps. Menso takes a 4 man gorilla press then all 4 guys stand on him. Oskar slams Menso. Nagai gets in and back elbows Oskar and the two trade forearms. They trade facekicks then Oskar hits a big suplex on him. Cyrus corner splashes Nagai then cannonballs him. Cyrus misses a vader bomb then Nagai spinning heel kicks him.

Nagat hits kicks on Cyrus then Nagata facekicks him. Cyris spin kicks him in the body and does a flying single leg dropkick. Ren running facekicks Nagata in the corner for 2 then the two trade forearms. Nagata enzugiri's him then Ren suplexes him. Nagata exploders him.

Koji hits machine gun chops on Ren then Ren flying lariats him. Shuji gets in and 2nd rope double stomps Koji for 2. Koji hits machine gun chops on Shuji then top rope elbow drops him. Koji ddt's Shuji then cutters him. Menso tries chops on Shuji then eye pokes him. Menso chops him in the eyes and chest and does Kojima's taunt. The other team triple stomps Menso for doing it and people fight inside and outside the ring.

Menso 2nd rope double stomps Shuji for 2 then takes a double suplex. Cyrus splashes Menso then Shuji running knees Menso for 2. Shuji hits a fire thunder on Menso and wins it.

It was too short for how many people were involved. They tried to make it entertaining with Menso's shenanigans and I guess it was okay in that respect.

AJPW Junior Heavyweight Title - Naruki Doi (c) vs Dan Tamura

Dan grabs an arm then Doi grabs his arm. Doi shoulders him then Dan bounces back into the ropes and shoulders him. Dan then shoulders him off the apron. Dan hits a snap suplex for 2 then Doi slingshot elbow drops him. doi goes up and over in the corner then jumping neckbreakers him. Dan samoan drops him then flying shoulder tackles him. Dan then does a nice gutwrench suplex.

Doi eye rakes him and pulls him down by the head. Doi dropkicks him hard against the ropes and suplexes him for 2. They trade forearms. Doi hits a facekick then is backdropped but then hits doi fives. Dan then hits a stiff lariat in a fast segment. Dan hits short arm lariats then Doi hits a short ddt. He goes for a baseball slide but Dan ties his legs up. Dan hits a stiff lariat then death valley drivers him for 2. Dan hits a stiff death valley driver then. Dan backslides him for 2.

Doi hits a sliding kick then hits Doi fives multiple times. He then sliding kicks him again and wins it.

It was a different kind of match. Doi wanted to do Dragon Gate stuff and Dan is more of a heavy instead of a junior. They tried and kept it moving but I don't know if it really worked out that great.

KONO vs. Manabu Soya

Kono big boots Soya early then Soya shoulders him over. Kono knees him in the corner then russian legsweeps him for 2. Kono backdrops him for 2 then Soya lariats him off the 2nd rope. Soya suplexes Kono then takes a jumping knee. Kono and Soya exchange chops for forearms then Soya spears him. Soya death valley drivers him for 2. Kono then out of nowhere taps out Soya with an armbar.

There just wasn't much energy at all. The finish was random and had nothing to do with the match. These two should have been able to have a good match here.

Kongo (Hajime Ohara, Hi69 & Kenoh) vs. Voodoo Murders (Jun Saito, Rei Saito & Suwama)

We get a 6-man stare down to start then Voodoo attacks. They all go outside Ken is sent into the rails by Suwama. They keep fighting outside then Suwama and Ken get back in. Suwama shoulders over Ken then Ken throws him out. Ken goes for a PK from the apron then trips Suwama into the rails and dropkicks him into it. Suwamma takes elbows from Kongo then they pose on him.

Rei goes through a double clothesline then does a double shoulder block. 69 takes a double shoulder from the Saito brothers. 69 then takes a chop flurry from Rei then Rei suplexes 69 for 2. Jun cobra clutches 69. Ken gets in and Jun chops him down. Ken pump kicks him then Ken kicks both Saito brothers. Rei accidentally splashes Jun then is top rope double stomped by Ken.

Suwama corner clotheslines Ken then hits a belly to belly on him. Suwama ankle locks Ken then Ken rolls and ankle locks him. Ken and Suwama trade kicks for foreams and chops. Kento then does a stiff suplex on Suwama on his head. Ohara gets in for the first time and does a tequila sunrise on Suwama. 69 asai moonsaults Suwama then Suwama takes a sandwich kick from Kongo. Rei gets in beats up on Kongo then Jun accidentally kicks Rei. Suwama lariats Ken and everyone is down.

Ohara is double chokeslammed by the Saito brothers then Suwama flips Ohara with a lariat. Suwama hits Ohara with a last ride powerbomb and wins it.

It really wasn't anything special. It was longer than it needed to be and it was hard to buy Kenoh or anyone from Kongo as a real threat to the VM's. The match also went too long.

The VM's try to put Ohara in a body bag after. Ken stops it then Taru throws salt at him. The VM's then put Ken in a body bag and pose over him. The Saito's then carry Ken out while in the body bag.

Los Ingobernables de Japon (BUSHI & Tetsuya Naito) vs. Zennichi Shin Jidai (Kento Miyahara & Yuma Anzai)

Bushi gets some shots in from behind on Kento then Kento facekicks both of his opponents. Kento headbutts Bushi on the outside. Yuma gets in and hits forearms on Bushi then he back elbows him for 2. Bushi dropkicks Yuma then pulls Kento over the top. Bushi goes to dive, Kento moves and LIJ pose together.

Naito chokes Yuma over the rail outside then Bushi chops Yuma. Naito sliding kicks Yuma in the back then does his slingshot swinging dropkick in the corner. Bushi slaps and footslaps Yuma around then Yuma hits a nice dropkick on him. Kento and Naito trade forearms.

Naito sits on the top rope and is facekicked off. Naito and Kento trade shots then Naito diamond dusts him. They trade an enzugiri for a pumping knee. Yuma asks to be tagged in. He running forearms and belly to belly suplexes Naito. Yuma and Kento work together then Yuma butterfly suplexes Naito. Bushi sunset flips Yuma and rolls him into a Naito basement dropkicks.

Bushi black mists Kento then Yuma jumping knees both opponents. Yuma then jumping knees Naito and Naito does a nice sell for it. Yuma germans Naito for 2. Yuma takes some moves leading into a rolling pinfall attempt. Naito and Bushi try for a double team tornado ddt but it is botched. Bushi topes Kento then Naito hits a destino on Yuma and wins it.

It was a fun tag. Yuma got put over as the young guy trying to get the upset and Kento and Naito had a fun time being jerks to each other.

Champion Carnival 2023 Final Match - T-Hawk vs. Shotaro Ashino

They do some amateur wrestling early. T hits chops and knocks him over. Ashino then pulls him down by the arm and gutwrench suplexes him. They go outside and Ashino's head is banged off the apron then ddt's him inside. T hits chops then slaps him. T holds his hand and chops him then steps on his face. T hiptosses him then rolls him into an STF variation.

T hits more chops and is overhead belly to belly suplexed. Ashino hits euros then running euros him. Ashino backdrops him. Ashino sits on top and is chopped to the floor. Ashino has his head banged into the turnbuckle then T superplees him. They trade chops for euros and Ashino knocks him down. T pops him up for a knee then is german'd. T hits a reverse sitout slam, it isn't sold, then Ashino lariats him. Ashino germans him.

Ashino misses a top rope moonsault then T running knees him. Ashino headbutts him then T knees him as he runs. T deadlife powerbombs him then does another reverse sitout slam for 2. T runs into a lariat then Ashino backdrops him. Ashino hits a german for 2 then does a uranage/exploder hybrid suplex. Ashino ankle locks him.

T then running knees him then hits a sitout reverse razor's edge for 2. T goes for a running knee then is ankle locked. T taps out and Ashino wins it.

It was the usual T-Hawk match for the most part with no real story to it and people no selling moves. Nobody did anything out of their usual arsenal here. I didn't think it was particularly special but at least Ashino went over. The crowd was into it at least.

Overall thoughts: I skipped a couple of undercard matches. The semi-main tag match was fun and the opener was one of the best matches of the year in my opinion. The 8-man had a story to it with everyone beating up Menso and it was somewhat entertaining too. I didn't care for the main that much as it was the usual T-Hawk affair.

The Champion Carnival this year was just average or maybe even below average. Nothing was that bad but nothing was really good either. We had 10 days of action and I can't say any matches really stood out, which is sad. Things will get better in the future as the Saito's and Yuma get more experience, but it was a major downgrade from what we were getting a few years ago with Rydeen, Okabayashi, Zeus and others. I don't know why people like Kuma Arashi and Koji Doi weren't here but their presence was missed.