All Japan Pro Wrestling 5/4/2024 Champion Carnival 2024 Day 9

All Japan Pro Wrestling 5/4/2024 Champion Carnival 2024 Day 9

Here's what I saw:

Kuma Arashi vs. Cyrus

Cyrus goes out to throw stuff before the match starts. They lock up and Cyrus is backed up on the ropes. Kuma side headlocks him. Cy hits him in the gut and they shoulder battle. Cy shoulders him over.

Kuma tries to slam Cy but falls over while lifting him. Cy misses a legdrop then Kuma hits a corner lariat. Cy flying single leg dropkicks him then does an arm and neck hold. Cy stands on him then pulls both of his arms back. Cy hits bolo punches and knocks him down.

Kuma is thrown out then is sent into the rails. Cy slingshot swantons him for 2. Cy misses a headbutt drop. Kuma double bots him out of the corner then slams him. Kuma then flair flops after doing it.

Kuma tries to rack Cy and eventually succeeds. Kuma rack drops him for 2. Kuma hits a 2nd rope senton for 2 then misses atop rope senton. Cy corner splashes him and corner cannonballs him for 2. Cy vader bombs him and wins it.

It was just average here. Not awful or anything but not a ton of highlights as usual with Cyrus.

Davey Boy Smith Jr., Takao Omori & Yuma Aoyagi vs. Kento Miyahara, Masao Inoue & Ren Ayabe

Davey and Kento go at it. Davey clean breaks him. He side headlocks him then Kento hits a big face kick. Davey shoulders him over, side headlock takeovers him and is headscissored. They then stand off when Davey kips up and out.

Omori and Masao go at it. They lock up  and Masao clean breaks him. Omori side headlocks him then shoulders him over. Omori misses an elbow drop then Masao's team beats up on Omori. Omori takes a double shoulderblock. Masao gets double facekicked by his partners when Omori ducks.

Omori hits punches on Masao then foot chokes him in the corner. Yuma sends Ren into the rails then Ren chases Yuma around the ring. Yuma is then sent into the rails while Omori sleepers Masao. Masao has his legs split then Davey twists Masao's foot. Davey stomps on Masao's leg then Masao's legs are split again.

Masao side headlocks Omori and hits punches. Omori then does it to him. Masao is triple teamed in the corner then Omori does a coconut crush on him. Yuma works on Masao. Masao boots him out of the corner and shoulders him over. Ren running face kicks Yuma then flying neckbreakers him.

Ren running face kicks Yuma in the corner for 2. Yuma dropkicks Ren. Davey gets in and slams Ren. Davey backdrops him then misses a legdrop. Ren slams Davey. Kento gets in. He running facekicks Davey then dropkicks his knee and the side of his head. Davey and Kento trade forearms then Davey facekicks him.

Kento back body drops Davey. Masao and Omori get in. Omori boots Masao as he enters then Masao hits corner lariats. Masao cobra clutch russian legsweeps him then takes a boot. Masao takes running corner attacks then Omori hits a terrible full-nelson slam for 2 at 15 minutes.

Omori takes corner attacks then Ren suplexes Omori. Kento pumping knees Omori. Masao running lariats Omori for 2. Masao eye rakes Omori and rolls him up for 2. Omori full nelson slams Masao for 2. Omori running lariats Masao and gets the win.

This went close to 20 minutes and was too long. Masao got injured about half way through and limped his way through the rest of the match. If they had cut it off about half way it would have bordered on being good as the crowd was into Masao. Then it just kept going and declined in quality.

Kento tells Davey "I want you" after.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Hartley Jackson vs. Lord Crewe

Hart and Crewe lock up. Hart clean breaks him and they lock up again. Hart flips him off after the break. Hart rolls him with the arm then flips him off. Crewe charges at him and goes over the top. Hart chops him on the rails outside then Crewe chops him back. Hart is driven into the rails then Crewe clubs Hart's chest inside.

Crewe hits forearms. Hart asks for more then drops him with one. Crewe running face kicks him then legdrops him. Crewe kicks him in the back. They trade chops and Hart slams him. Hart elbow drops him for 2.

Hart suplexes him then does a corner splash. Hart lariats him for 2. Crewe germans him the running forearms him for 2. They trade forearms. Crewe back fists him then Crewe pump kicks him. Hart crossbodies him for 2. Crewe slips off the 2nd rope with a move on Hart. Crewe runs the ropes and is lariated for 2. Hart death valley drivers him and wins it.

It was an average match here. Just as it started to pick up, it ended. It would have been nice to see some fighting over moves and maybe a big move or two.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Ryuki Honda vs. Rei Saito

They lock up and Honda is backed up on the ropes. Rei shoves him and they lock up again. They shoulder battle. Honda hits forearms then is shouldered over. Rei sends Honda into the rails outside. Honda bounces off the rails and lariats him over. 

Honda wraps Rei's arm around the rail and pulls. He counts along with the ref when forced to break it. He and the ref then push each other. Rei slams him then stands on him. Rei shoulders him over then splashes him for 2. Honda back body drops him, corner lariats him then spears him for 2.

Rei chops him over then hits chops in the corner dropping Honda. Rei corner splashes him for 2. They trade forearms. Rei double chops him and is fujiwara armbarred. Rei misses a corner splash. Honda lariats him in the back of the neck then Rei hits a big lariat.

Rei chokeslams him then Honda germans him. They lariat battle and Rei goes down for 2. Honda then hits an impressive one-arm running powerbomb, making Rei bounce. Honda picks up the win.

It started off a little slow but it developed into a good match. The two matched up pretty well and both have a little bit of personality along with more heavyweight offense. I really think these two could have a classic in them if they could do this again. I'd love to maybe see them team up sometime too. These matches are what's fun about round robin tournaments - you get to see some different matches you wouldn't normally see and sometimes they end up being really good. 

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Hideki Suzuki vs. Yuma Anzai

They grapple. Yuma waistlocks him and HS wrist and armlocks him. HS takes him down by the arm and holkds him down. Yuma hits a suplex out of it and dropkicks him. HS takes him down and stomps Yuma's legs. HS clips him and hits kicks to the leg. Yuma hits weak forearms back then HS. HS yanks on the leg.

HS pulls on the foot then hits knees to the body. Yuam 2nd rope dropkicks him then hits a belly to belly suplex for 2. HS hits gotch style tombstone for 2. Yuma back body drops him and flying knees him twice. Yuma puts him in a facelock then HS clips him.

HS hits a high double underhook suplex for 2. HS single leg crabs him and taps him out with it.

HS did work the leg most of the match prior to the crab so it made sense. However, it wasn't the most exciting match. It was a little slow early on but they only had 10 minutes so HS had to pick up the pace a little more than usual here. Yuma didn't get a lot offense in on this one and I'm surprised we didn't see more amateur wrestling between the two.

Champion Carnival 2024 Block B Match - Jun Saito vs. Suwama

They lock up and Jun clean breaks him. Suwama side headlocks him. They shoulder battle and Suwama is knocked down. They go outside and fight. Suwama is choked with a towel. Jun misses a face kick on the rails. Jun is on the apron and traded forearms with him then Suwama sleepers him.

Suwama hits double chops in the corner then corner lariats him. Suwama hits a belly to belly suplex. Suwama does sumo chest slaps, Jun fights back and headbutts him. Jun hits corner punches and a corner face kick. Jun elbow drops him for 2.

Suwama suplexes him. Jun back body drops him. They trade forearms and Suwama germans him. Jun kinsasha's him in the back. They trade forearms then Suwama flying shoulders him.  Suwama hits a chop flurry then hits a big lariat. Jun lariats him down for 2. Suwama backdrops him for 2.

Jun hits a big spear, rolling Suwama back. Jun then jackhammers him for 2. Jun cobra clutch slams Suwama and wins it.

It ended up being a fun match. I wasn't sure about it going in as Suwama was really lazy in his last CC match, but this went about as well as it could. They were fired up here and had a heavyweight style match with some high impact moves and a bunch of chops and lariats. Jun showed a little more personality here than usual and I liked this one.

Overall thoughts: The main delivered and Rei/Honda was good too. Suzuki/Anzai didn't have the best finish but we only had to deal with Suzuki for 10 minutes which made things better. Crewe/Jackson didn't impress. The trios match went too long and Kuma/Cyrus was average. It was about an average show or slightly above average show overall.