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Champion Carnival 2020


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Block A:
Suwama
Zeus
Jake Lee
Kuma Arashi
Jiro "Ikemen" Kuroshio

Block B:
Kento Miyahara
Shuji Ishikawa
Yoshitatsu
Yuma Aoyagi
Shotaro Ashino
 

Cant be seen as anything but a disappointment after the very cool original lineup. No NOAH or BJ participation, no Irie or Yoshida.

I imagine they wanna keep it small in case new quartine rules come in. Also could be in money-saver mode.

Looking forward to Ashino v Kento and Ishikawa.

Edited by Control
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9/12
Suwama vs. Kuma Arashi
Jake Lee vs. Ikemen
Miyahara vs. Yoshitatsu
Ishikawa vs. Aoyagi

9/13
Suwama vs. Ikemen
Zeus vs. Kuma Arashi
Ishikawa vs. Yoshitatsu
Aoyagi vs. Ashino

9/15
Suwama vs. Jake Lee
Zeus vs. Ikemen
Miyahara vs. Ashino
Aoyagi vs. Yoshitatsu

9/21
Suwama vs. Zeus
Jake Lee vs. Kuma Arashi
Miyahara vs. Aoyagi
Ishikawa vs. Ashino

9/26
Zeus vs. Jake Lee
Ikemen vs. Kuma Arashi
Miyahara vs. Ishikawa
Yoshitatsu vs. Ashino

10/5
Finals


By virtue of not appearing on the final card, I’m assuming Suwama and Aoyagi are out of the running.

I’m assuming It’s Jake for block A, but Zeus is a nice dark horse candidate.

 

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  • 5 weeks later...

Can’t believe this starts on Saturday. Not even really caught up on recent AJ stuff.

First card is gonna depends a lot on whether the W-1 guys mesh with the AJ guys. 
 

9/12
Suwama vs. Kuma Arashi
Jake Lee vs. Ikemen
Miyahara vs. Yoshitatsu
Ishikawa vs. Aoyagi

I expect Kento v Yoshi and Ishikawa v Aoyagi to be good, as both pairing have been good in the past. Suwama v Kuma could be a fun Hoss fight. Jake v Ikeman could be abysmal—crappy first match for Jake.

I’d prefer 6-7 guys per block, which I think is optimal. You can’t build in winning or losing streaks with only five dudes.

Also, I imagine they’ll do the typical AJ thing of giving recent losses their wins back, ie Kuma beats Jake, Aoyagi beats Ashino, to balance out previous losses, but if they do that I can’t figure out the eventual winners at all.

Wonder if anyone gets zero wins (Jiro, I’m looking at you. You too, Yoshitatsu)

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I watched the first day of the Champion Carnival. Clap clap clap. No cheering permitted. 
 

It was certainly a wrestling show that happened. No one will dispute that.

Lets dig into the the matches, shall we?

Shuji Ishikawa vs Yuma Aoyagi

—This could be the match of the card: Big Dog can still bring it, and Yuma is an under appreciated wrestler

—Shuji looking good with his recent weight loss. Less good with the blonde dye job.

—Yuma goes for the tried and true method of assaulting the bigger man’s knee. We get a figure four leg lock and a dragon screw!

—Though Shuji no longer seems so much bigger. When I first started watching Kento-era AJ, I thought Yuma was the junior of NEXTREAM. But he’s actually a big dude. I guesss I though Jake was regular sized.

—Good match ends suddenly when Shuji does a Lou Thesz press. Kinda weird flash finish from the big man, but maybe these two are saving it for something later?

—Good match, less than 9 minutes

Jake Lee vs Jiro Ikeman Kurishiro

—Jiro can’t wander through the crowd because of COVID. He is heart broken.

—Jake Lee comes our to “Shippin Out to Boston” which is a weird choice but ok

—This is basically the tallest guy vs the shortest guy

—also, Jake is the handsome one

—Jiro decides to wrestle this one as a smarmy dickhead, gets Jake to kick the guard rail by accident, and goes after his leg. This includes one pretty cool knee bar thingy.

—Jake also does like a flying knee bar which is pretty impressive given the size disparity 

—they choose to wrestle the middle of this one with Jake as the underdog getting beaten up by Jiro, which doesn’t seem right.

—one thing about the lack of cheering: you can hear Francesco Akira yelling at the side of the ring, stuff like “Give up, Jake! Give up!”

—eventually, Jake finds his bearings and finishes Jiro off promptly, as it should be. Another fine, sub-9-minute match.

Kuma Arashi vs Suwama

—if you’ve never seen Kuma Arashi before, he’s a thick bitch with a shark fin mohawk and an animal pelt on his tights. You see him and you are like “oh I get it”

—these Tajiri-trained guys are all kinda WWE-ish. They’re very character-forward and not as hard-hitting. This is not necessarily a bad thing.

—Suwama is your triple crown champion and therefore well-prepared to weather the bear storm.

—Kuma shows off his impressive strength by rocking the champ with a few running shoulder checks, and scoops him up like he’s a little puppy. We are all impressed by his strength, except Suwama, who hits him with two backdrops and wins in under four minutes. Poor Storm Bear!

—that, uh, definitely could have gone longer. Guess they’re not here to push Kuma.

Kento Miyahara vs Yoshitatsu

—say what you will about Tatsu, but he tends to be a good opponent for Kento (and also Suwama for some inexplicable reason)

—Tatsu is the GAORA TV and Corona Champion. Needs one more belt for a mid card triple crown

—first half of this match is really Kento doing his classic filler thing. I’m not sold on Kento being more formulaic than other wrestlers, but he’s leaning into his bit a tad much, here

—once he’s done his routine, everyone remembers Tatsu is in the match.

—good back-and-forth evolves into a good main event, and then Tatsu really botches a reversal spot that he turns into the worst ankle lock I’ve ever seen and gets the win.

—that was fine. Whole event was fine but skippable. 
 

 

 

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25 minutes ago, Six String Orchestra said:

Did you watch it on the AJPW streaming service or some other means?

Streaming service! I’ve been a subscriber since day one, for some inexplicable reason.

The undercard actually looked all right, which isn’t the case for many CCs. But I only got so much time.

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OK, I watched days 2 and 3 of the Champion Carnival. I enjoyed them~! They were also nothing special~! I shall spoiler my remarks so as not to take up too much space:

Spoiler

Day 2 - Sept 13

Yoshitatsu vs Shuji Ishikawa

  • Yoshitatsu sits out with a back injury, so Shuji gets the win. Can't imagine we missed much, here.

Zeus vs Kuma Arashi

  • Zeus debutes in this year's carnival, looking like a million bucks. Kuma looks like a storm bear. Battle of the beefy boys.
  • Kuma Arashi is a strong motherfucker and can scoop up Zeus and slam him down like it's nothing. Impressive.
  • Zeus finishes Kuma off with the Misawa-style facelock. The Carnival is a time for debuting new submission holds that will eventually become rest holds in your next TC match
  • Good fun. Got about 8 minutes to clubber each other.
  • Zeus looks like he can take the Carnival this year; Kuma, with two losses, is probably already out.

Yuma Aoyagi vs Shotaro Ashino

  • Ashino's first match is against Aoyagi, in a rematch from earlier this year. Typical AJ booking dictates Aoyagi gets his win back.
  • And he does!
  • First really good match of the tournament, I'd say. Everything else has been 'meh' to 'good but unremarkable.'
  • Aoyagi is supposedly the trainer for the dojo right now, and though he's not a vet like a lot of other dudes on the card, he's a good choice
  • This had a lot of good limb work followed by some wicked suplexes. All real good work, though there's one spot where Ashino gets sent into the ring post from the centre of the ring, and it really looks like he just throws himself in a very business-exposing sort of way.
  • Even still, it feels like everyone is holding off and not giving it 100%. Like, since this carnival is compromised, you're gonna get a compromised performance.
  • After Aoyagi gets the win, he gets smashed with a lariat by Koji Doi, and the rest of Enfants gang up on Aoyagi, until Kento makes the save.
  • Aoyagi turned on Kento back in January. Kento is probably making the save more because he's gonna face Ashino next, but it's intriguing: is Kento gonna realize that a stable of juniors can't help him back to the top spot in the company, and offer Yuma a fairer partnership? Is Yuma gonna tease him, turn on Kenta, and join Enfants? Intrigue~!
     

Suwama vs Ikeman

  • Hot take~!: this was fine. Good, even. I mean, if you can't stand Ikeman and his whole schtick, then whatever, this isn't for you. But if you can, this was well-worked, I thought.
  • Jiro somehow gets the early advantage through limb-work and trickery, and then Suwama starts clubbing him around.
  • And then Jiro reverses the Last Ride (a finisher Wama doesn't use anymore because the thick bitches of AJ are too much for his aging shoulders) into a rollup for a flash pin.
  • Anyway, Jiro can do lots of flippy shit, and typically makes it look neat, and Suwama can do clubby shit. It's a classic combo.

Day 3 - Sept 15

Zeus vs Ikeman

  • Can Ikeman continue to slay these giants?
  • Lol, no! Zeus murders him.
  • This is another good match, actually. Ikeman works it like more of a dick and tries to mess up Zeus's arm.
  • Zeus does a spinning low-altitude brainbuster now. Dude is always mixing up his arsenal. He was doing air raid crashes a while ago. What a nut.
  • Zeus gets Ikeman in the Misawa-style facelock, and Ikeman doesn't tap, because he's tougher than Kuma Arashi. In classic AJ style, Zeus tries to pin him off it, gets a 2 count, then chops Ikeman for the three. Lol, what.

Aoyagi vs Yoshitatsu

  • Yoshitatsu's back and he skinned Tony the Tiger to make an entrance cloak! Wild.
  • His ribs are heavily taped and he ain't moving fast.
  • Smelling blood, Aoyagi goes for the knees no of course not he attacks the ribs
  • On the outside, Yuma tosses Tatsu around a bit, gets bored, and tosses himself into the guard rails. Nikkan Lee is like "WTF" and he just shrugs
  • Yuma mocks him by using his patented Yoshitatsu taunts and makes Nikkan Lee end the match after he grinds his knee into Tatsu's ribs.
  • I guess that was fine. If Aoyagi only gets two wins (he only has Kento to go), this one is kinda disappointing, but at least he got to get over his weird jerkface character.
  • Koji Doi attacks him after the bell. Assuming the above scenario happens, maybe we get Doi vs Yuma on the last show.

Kento vs Ashino

  • Both guys bring their entire entourage to the ring with them. Ashino's are a bunch of goons; Kento has a couple of pretty boys.
  • They chose to do a lot of interference in this match, perhaps (again) to save the matchup for a larger stage later? I dunno. I was OK with the interference, since it didn't obstruct the flow of the match.
  • The camera keeps cutting to Yuma, watching from the shadows. Probably too much.
  • Kento's backup is no match for Ashino's backup, which would argue for him trying to bring Yuma back into the fold.
  • Ashino eventually gets an ankle lock and is tenacious in holding on to it. Kento tries to roll out, and he rolls with it, etc. Just determined to hold on.
  • Kento eventually takes the win with his shutdown suplex. It's a bit abrupt, since Ashino has taken almost no damage, and Kento is the one getting beaten by Doi and the others.
  • After the match, Yuma and Kento have a meaningful stare. What augurs this?
  • Ashino is now basically eliminated from the tournament, which is odd booking. He's likely to pick up an easy win against Tatsu on the last day, which means his only chance for a competitive victory is against Shuji Ishikawa
  • Maybe everyone in block B ties with 4 points, Idk.

Jake Lee vs Suwama

  • Who shall win in this battle of tall men?
  • Jake. Jake shall win.
  • Honestly this was good, but I'm getting write-up burnout.
  • Suwama now has two losses, perhaps knocking the Triple Crown champ out of the tournament.

 

 

Tournament standings as of day 3:

 

Spoiler

Block A:
1. Zeus [4]
-. Jake Lee [4]
3. Jiro "Ikemen" Kuroshio [2]
4. Suwama [2]
5. Kuma Arashi [0]

Block B:
1. Shuji Ishikawa [4]
2. Yuma Aoyagi [4]
3. Yoshitatsu [2]
4. Kento Miyahara [2]
5. Shotaro Ashino [0]

 

Assuming you need more than 4 points to win your block:


 

Spoiler

 

Block A is down to Zeus and Jake. Jake will probably lose to Kuma, to give Kuma at least 1 win and to give him back a win from earlier this year. Zeus will probably lose to Suwama, since the TC champ can't only get 1 win. So they'll be tied at 4 going into the final day.

Block B is down to Keno, Yuma, and Ishikawa. Yuma, unfortunately, will likely lose to Kento. I imagine that they don't want Ashino to go winless (right?), so he'll get the victory over Shuji, and then Kento v Shuji will be tied at 4 on the final day.

Bonus unlikely scenario: Yuma gets the win over Kento, putting him at 6 and eliminating Kento. Then, Kento vs Shuji is an eliminator for Shuji--if he loses, he's out, and if he wins, he either gets to the final based on his win over Yuma or (based on precedent) he and Yuma have to have a tie-breaker.

 

 

Edited by Control
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Ok, day four of the Champion Carnival. First show with no Jiro and no Yoshitatsu. Also, best show of the tournament. Coincidence~?

Let's look at the matches, shall we?

Spoiler

 

Jake Lee vs Kuma Arashi

  • The first blow against AJ booking logic: Jake owes Kuma a victory, and yet he won this one, too. Wild.
  • These two do a heavyweight sprint, and Kuma gets a chance to show off more of his offense, including a move that's, like, a Razor's Edge into a facebuster? Looked very potentially injurious. Jake took it like a champ, though.
  • Kuma also did a senton onto Jake, from the apron to the floor.
  • Kuma is very thick, I like it.
  • Jake comes back and pulls off a win with an arm submission. He's now UNDEFEATED in the tournament, what a stud: Just a handsome, Korean Takayama, if you will.
  • This was entertaining.

Shotaro Ashino vs Shuji Ishikawa

  • Ashino has been having good matches but is already eliminated, so this is just for pride.
  • And prideful he is: he sends the members of Enfants to the back so he can tackle Big Shuji all alone.
  • Guys, Shuji is looking quite trim. He has abs now. It is something to behold.
  • The one thing you want to see is the, frankly, dwarfish Ashino suplexing Shuji. And he does!
  • I've long maintained that a problem Shuji has (and it is a problem, I swear) is that most of his moves look like finishers. Like, he treats a fire thunder drive like a vertical suplex. He hits Ashino with the Splash Mountain (amazing name!) for the two. Both would be finishers for other people, as would be his double-stomp or his running knee.
  • Anyway, after eating a ton of offense, Ashino defeats the odds to tap Shuji out with an ankle lock.
  • Great match. I understand that some people don't like how AJ is handling Enfants: they'd prefer, I guess, that they come in, dominate, and really establish themselves as top stars. But this more gradual build might work: it might suggest that AJ is building them and integrating them for a more long-term run.
  • Like, outside of seven Western podcasters, no one has ever seen a W1 match. You can't just bring in some unknown midget and give him the TC. You have to establish his credentials. And that means not just having your big guys lay down for him, but having him earn it.
  • I mean, they can still fuck it up, though.

Zeus vs Suwama

  • Surprise #2: Zeus wins, giving TC champ Suwama a 1-3 losing record in the tournament
  • The news is that Suwama is "out" with an arm injury, and he certainly grabbed his arm and screamed in this one, but I have to say, I think it's an angle to explain away his poor showing. But, you know, the mysteries of kayfabe~! Maybe he's fucked. That would be in keeping with his TC reigns.
  • Anyway, the match itself: Wama just mobs Zeus and almost gives him the last ride in the first two minutes. When Zeus is in the setup position, Suwama grabs his arm and yelps! But all the wrestlers have been working his arm this tournament, so it seems set up.
  • Also, the timing is really weird, cuz there's no pressure on the arm while Zeus has his head between Wama's legs. You'd think he'd get Zeus up for the last ride and have his elbow give out, or whatever. What do I know?
  • So then Zeus goes after the injured arm and eventually locks in the Misawa-style facelock for the victory. It was short and sweet.
  • Zeus is sexily UNDEFEATED

Yuma Aoyagi vs Kento Miyahara

  • Earlier this year, natural babyface Yuma Aoyagi turned heel on Miyahara and broke up the remnants of Nextream. Then, he challenged for the Triple Crown. Then, he ... kinda languished? Because if he can't start his own stable, he's just gonna end up second-banana in a lesser stable?
    • Here's where I'd imagine him forming a stable with Ryouji Sai, his brother Atsuki Aoyagi, and I dunno, maybe that So Daimonji guy?
  • Now, the two are drawn back together by their feud with Enfants, and also, one supposes, by their need for heavyweight allies.
  • So, we get one of the more competitive matches of the tournament. Yuma's gotta prove he's a worthy adversary, Kento's gotta prove he's still top dog.
  • Yuma proves his heel-ishness by getting Kento in a submission and refusing to break; Kento pays him back by squeezing his head against the ring post and not letting up.
  • Kento gets the win with the shutdown suplex, which has proven unstoppable in this tournament. After he's announced the winner, Kento extends a hand to Yuma!
  • Will he do it!?
  • Yuma extends his hand right back~! and~! then~! tries to suplex Kento~!~!
  • Kento escapes and looks outraged; Yuma is all "LOL, can't blame a guy for trying!"
  • Then Yuma extends his hand. Kento, rightfully dubious, must poll the crowd to decide.
  • And then we get the handshake of mutual respect, yada yada. A tag team run in the future, or the set up for an inevitable betrayal? I'm thinking the former, because both dudes need a heavyweight tag partner.
  • (Though I guess Jake does too if Nomura is out for good and Yoshida ain't readily available. But Enfants got like three heavyweights)
  • Great match--tough choice between Ashino vs Ishikawa or this as MOTN and MOTT. Either way, Yuma and Ashino are MVPs.

 

  •  

 

OK, so, looking forward

  • Spoiler

     

    • Eliminators are Jake vs Zeus in the battle of the undefeated Korean dudes and Kento vs Ishikawa
    • There's a very real possibility that Kento wins this, isn't there?
    • Jake vs Kento is a very real possibility, but they were the final last year (and the final of the Oudou Tournament, right?). Still. This seems to be their go-to match.
    • Ishikawa is a good matchup for Jake or Zeus, but he just challenged for the TC and they don't tend to put the last challenger in the main event. Because obviously he's not going to win. But there's a good story reason to put him against Jake, who lost to him earlier this year and lost his first ever TC challenge to him: he's been a roadblock that Jake has yet to overcome.
    • Kento or Ishikawa vs Zeus is usually a good time.
    • I actually have no idea. Let's say Jake vs Ishikawa.

     

    If you wanna watch a full CC show, this is the one to watch (so far). There's also a junior championship match between Hidaka and Iwamoto that looked good.

 

 

 

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I think the finals are going to be held in Osaka this year. (Is that right?) Because of that, and because he's doing so well in the tournament thus far, I believe that my boy Zeus is going to win the Carnival this year.

I am happy about that... but at the same time I am sad that (because of the Covids) I will not be there in the arena to support him, and even if I could go, I wouldn't be part of a crowd screaming Zay-oos-oo ZAY-OOS-OO!! which would be a thing I'd very much enjoy.

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7 hours ago, gordi said:

I think the finals are going to be held in Osaka this year. (Is that right?) Because of that, and because he's doing so well in the tournament thus far, I believe that my boy Zeus is going to win the Carnival this year.

I am happy about that... but at the same time I am sad that (because of the Covids) I will not be there in the arena to support him, and even if I could go, I wouldn't be part of a crowd screaming Zay-oos-oo ZAY-OOS-OO!! which would be a thing I'd very much enjoy.

Next show is in Odawara, finals are in Tokyo. At least, that’s what it says on Purolove.
 

Osaka brings a vocal but small crowd to support Zeus. One of the reasons his TC reign was so short, I think, is that they were counting on him to draw big in Osaka, and he didn’t. (This is speculation on my part)

Edited by Control
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Card for the finals (courtesy Purolove.com)

AJPW "CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2020", 05.10.2020 (AJPW.tv)
Tokyo Korakuen Hall

- Osamu Nishimura & Ryuji Hijikata vs. Hikaru Sato & Ryuki Honda
- AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Title Prelude: Jake Lee, Koji Iwamoto & TAJIRI vs. Takao Omori, Black Menso~re & Atsuki Aoyagi
- Izanagi, Shigehiro Irie & UTAMARO vs. Jiro "Ikemen" Kuroshio, Francesco Akira & Rising HAYATO
- Suwama, Shuji Ishikawa & Dan Tamura vs. Shotaro Ashino, Kuma Arashi & Hokuto Omori
- Ryouji Sai, Ishikiri & So Daimonji vs. Yoshitatsu, Yusuke Okada & Chikara
- Koji Doi vs. Yuma Aoyagi
- Champion Carnival - Final: Kento Miyahara vs. Zeus

Fuck yeah, So Daimonji~!

Zeus and Kento can absolutely have a great match. Hope they do.

Haven't seen any Doi, but I'm hopeful that he and Yuma can put on something good.

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The N1 Victory finals will be held in Osaka on the 11th. Presumably, that's why I thought the Carnival finals were in Osaka. I got mixed up. Anyway, I think that Nakajima vs Kiyomiya (N1) and Zeus vs Miyahara (CC) both have the potential to be really good and very hard-hitting. I wonder who will put on the better final. I hope I'll be able to watch both matches.

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