All Japan Pro Wrestling 4/29/2024 Champion Carnival 2024 Day 7

All Japan Pro Wrestling 4/29/2024 Champion Carnival 2024 Day 7

Day 6 is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/04/all-japan-pro-wrestling-4282024.html

I skipped one match:

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Hideki Suzuki vs. Lord Crewe

HS = Hideki Suzuki

They lock up and Crewe grabs the ankle. Crew headlock takeovers him and is headscissored. They fight for wrist control and Crewe wristlocks him. HS armdrags him, Crewe rolls with it and armlocks him. Crewe side headlocks him and is headscissored. HS cravates him then neckbreakers him. HS knee drops him for 2.

Crewe hits shots to the body and head. Crewe corner lariats him then hits a step up knee in the corner. Crewe comes off the 2nd buckle with a bulldog for 2. HS abdominal stretches him then Crewe hiptosses him. Crewe exploders him then is dropkicked. HS hits a gotch style tombstone for 2.

Crewe back body drops him then hits two bad spin kicks to the head and wins it.

It was over before it really got started here. Crewe has to get a new finisher as the spin kick doesn't look good and often doesn't hit.  

Crewe does a promo after. He says that's what he likes to see. He said that's 2 wins in a row. He said he just pinned one of the best technical wrestlers in the world. He said he's knocking on the door for the finals and said the rest of the field better get ready. He said the game's on.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Hartley Jackson vs. Rei Saito

They lock up a couple of times. Hart hits chops and they shoulder battle. Hart is knocked over. Rei sends him into the rails outside and they trade forearms outside. They trade forearms inside. Rei takes a chop, boots him and slams him. Rei then stands on him.

Rei falls on Hart on Hart's slam attempt. Rei corner lariats him then Hart hits chops. Rei sumo palm strike flurries him then chop flurries him. Hart back body drops him then corner splashes him. Hart then hits a big lariat for 2.

They lariat battle and both get knocked down. They trade chops. Hart double chop flurries him then is knocked over with a double chop. Hart hits a big slam for 2 then Rei crossbodies him for 2. Rei shotei's him and wins it.

It was an extremely basic match with them trading strikes, lariats, shoulders and nothing else. Hart went down to a shotei of all things here to show you how lazy this one was.

Hartley Jackson does a promo after. He said the bigger they are, the harder they fall. He said he's the one who fell. He said he needs to do something, maybe call on the "Jackson #1 Spirit". He said he's here to fight, win or lose and says his legacy will live on forever.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block A Match - Cyrus vs. Hokuto Omori

 

Omori jumps him as he gets in. Omori running forearms him. Cyrus doesn't budge on Omori's crossbody. Omori eye rakes him and slides under the ring. Cyrus goes looking for him. Omori tries to run at him from behind and is shouldered over.

Omori sits in the crowd to try and hide and Cyrus has trouble finding him. Cyrus eventually does find him then throws him into chairs. Cyrus headbutts him in the chest then lifts him and drops him down.

Cyrus headbutts his chest in the crowd and puts the ref down into a seat. They get back in and Cyrus mostly misses a slingshot swanton. Omori low blows him but that just makes him mad. Omori low blows him again and Cyrus no sells it.Omori throws the ref in Cyrus' way and low blows the ref. Omori hits Cyrus with a chair for 2.

Omori runs into him and is shouldered over. Cyrus is pulled over the top. Omori tries a la silla off the apron but jumps over him. Omori is then powerbombed on the apron. Cyrus hits a vader bomb and wins it.

Cyrus did his usual bit where he brawls outside. Him not being able to find Omori in the crowd was kind of funny but also kind of showed how unremarkable Omori is appearance wise. I didn't like the ref getting thrown around and low blowed and nothing being done about it.

Cyrus does a promo after. He said he took horse face out and beat his @ss all over the arena. He said he needs to win more. He said Davey Both Smith Jr. better be ready because he's coming for him. He says he's bigger than the competition Davey faced. 

Seigo Tachibana & Shin Toyama Black vs. Dan Tamura & Shotaro Ashino

Shin is Yuma Aoyagi. Seigo wristlocks Dane. Dan turns it into a hammerlock. Dan takes him down and locks his legs up. Dan side headlocks him then shoulders him over. They sweep each other onto the mat then stand off. Seigo boots him and tags out.

Shin slingshots in multiple times and Ashino is in with him.  They shake hands. Ashino headlocks him then takes an armdrag and dropkick. Ashino takes a double shoulderblock. Shin slams him and enblow drops him. Shin comes off the buckles and takes a euro. Shin is double shouldered over then Ashino and Dan do a pose off of it.

Ashino chinlocks Shin. Dan chokes Shin over the top rope. Dan back elbows Shin then Ashino takes Shin's mask off. Yuma Aoyagi is under the mask and they trade forearms. Ashino has the mask and it goes flying when Yuma dropkicks him. Seigo and Dan trade forearms.

Dan running shoulders him then Seigo flying forearms him in the corner. Seigo atomic drops him then Dan slams him. Dan and Ashino hit stereo olympic slams together. Dan hits lariats then is backdropped by Seigo. Dan backdrops Seigo in return then Seigo beachbreaks him. Ashino germans Shin, who has his mask back on and Shin uranage's Ashino. Seigo forearm flurries him then hits a stiff elbow of the neck. Dan lariats him then death valley drivers him for 2.

There should have been a DQ here for the mask being ripped off. I thought it was a decent tag and I thought they made something out of nothing here.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block A Match - Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Ren Ayabe

 

DBS = Davey Boy Smith Jr.

They lock up. DBS clean breaks him. DBS side headlocks him and they shoulder battle. DBS dropkicks him in the knee then bangs his leg off the apron. DBS is pushed into the rails then they trade shots outside. DBS is sent into the post then Ren is sent into the rails. DBS boots Ren's leg on the rails then boots the rail into Ren's leg.

DBS yanks on Ren's leg and heel hooks him. DBS rolls him into an STF then twists the foot. DBS stretch mufflers him and Ren ropebreaks. Ren's leg is banged off the mat then DBS boots the leg. Ren hits a dropkick then hits forearms. Ren flying neckbreakers him then face kicks him in the corner.

DBS headbutts him in the gut and they trade forearms. DBS suplexes him then misses a legdrop. Ren slams him then shotgun dropkicks him. Ren suplexes him for 2. Ren is caught going up top. DBS hits forearms then superplexes him. DBS top rope headbutt drops him and wins it.

It was just a basic match. The leg work never really ended up going anywhere and they didn't really have the time here to do anything great.

Davey talks after. He says the bigger they are, the harder they fall. He says he brought Ren from 2 meters to 180cm. He says he has guts but doesn't know when to quit. He said he nearly broke his leg and said he will be walking with a limp for the rest of the tournament. He said maybe he's too big to powerbomb but not too big to headbutt him. He says he's the head of the block.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Suwama vs. Ryuki Honda

They grapple to start. Honda is backed up on the ropes then boots and side headlocks Suwama. They shoulder battle. Honda hits forearms then Suwama shoulders him over. They go out and Suwama hits shots. Honda is thrown into the rails then Suwama goes into the rails after missing a shot. Suwama's arm is pulled around the rails and Honda kicks the rails while it's there.

Suwama boots him then Honda arm wringers him. Honda hits forearms then kimura's him. Suwama ropebreaks. Suwama runs through a lariat and hits a flying shoulderblock. Suwama corner lariats him then hits a belly to belly suplex for 2. Honda spinebusters him then hits a corner lariat. Honda wraps Suwama's arm around the ropes and counts along with the ref.

They trade forearms. Suwama boots him while selling his arm then headbutts him. Honda lariats him in the back of the head then germans him. Honda then running spears him for 2.  Suwama face kicks Honda then germans him. Suwama's lariat is countered with a fujiwara armbar. Dan Tamura is Suwama's second and teases throwing in the towel but Suwama ropebreaks.

Suwama boots Honda's lariat away. Honda then hits a lariats for 2. Honda running lariats Suwama. Honda goes for the pin and Suwama cradles him out of it to win it.

This was really disappointing. Suwama didn't look like he cared to be there much at all and put very little effort into this. It also only got 11 minutes when it could have gone double that. They just didn't try at all here.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block A Match - Kento Miyahara vs. Kuroshio TOKYO Japan

Jiro does a double entrance here and grabs a young fan's Kento towel.

They lock up after goofing around some. Kento cleanbreaks him. Jiro jacet punches him instead of doing a clean break. Kento shoulders him over and Jiro kips up. They then do the spot again. Jiro armdrags Kento off a hiptoss attempt. Jiro is on the apron and pulled down.

Kento headbutts him then sends him into the post. Kento headbutts him more then face kicks him outside. Kento stomps on him then stands on his hair so he can't kip up. Kento face kicks him for 2. Kento running facekicks him then sleepers him. Jiro enzugiri's him and superkicks him.

Jiro hits jacket punches and enzugiri's him from the apron. Jiro springboards and headscissors him. Jiro then asai moonsaults outside at 10 minutes. Jiro hits a top rope swanton. Jiro hits jacket punches then is dropkicked in the knee and side of the head. Kento does his pose and then Jiro does one back at him. They compete for crowd cheers then trade shots. Kento forearms and headbutts him then Jiro superkicks him. Kento face kicks him then takes a b-driver for 2. Jiro buzzsaw kicks him for 2.

Jiro misses a top rope moonsault then Kento pumping knees him for 2. Jiro rolls him up for 2 and gets real close on another attempt. Jiro takes a wheelbarrow german and crucifixes Kento on the pin attempt. Kento pumping knees him for 2. Kento straightjacket germans him and gets the win.

It was a decetn match between the two but not as good as I had hoped it could be. It's odd but Yuma/Jiro had more personality to it than this one did despite Kento being more charismatic. They did try some here and it wasn't like it was dry or boring, but I really think they have a classic in them if they can figure it out.

Overall thoughts: It's the next to the last night of the Champion Carnival. Most of the guys are checked out and tired and they just weren't doing their best work here. The matches for the most part didn't get enough time either and some of the people involved just aren't capable of classics. It was disappointing night and the main or the Seigo match were probably the best things on here.