Mathew’s AJPW Champion Carnival Results & Review: Day 5 (4/18/2021)

Welcome back to another exciting day of All Japan’s Champion Carnival. We had some solid wrestling for the previous day and we will now be at the halfway point of the tournament after this show is over. We’re gonna find out who will step up in the rankings and who will also fall behind.

Who will advance? Does anyone get eliminated? All this and more as we…dive right in.

Star Rating System:

• 0 Stars: Dave Meltzer
• 1 Star: Vince Russo
• 2 Stars: Tony Schiavone
• 3 Stars: Eric Bischoff
• 4 Stars: Bruce Prichard
• 5 Stars: Jim Cornette
  
  

Champion Carnival 2021 Match
Kento Miyahara vs. Koji Doi

Review: Time for our first match as Kento Miyahara is set to take on Koji Doi. Kento has had a bad start for this year as he’s only won one match and lost two but if he can get a win here, he’ll be in the middle on the scoreboard. Koji, however, has three losses and one more loss here could make him unable to win depending on how the next day goes. Can Koji get a second win or does Kento get a victory?

Soon as the bell rang, Koji started charging at Kento into the corner and it leads to the both of them delivering stiff shots to each other back and forth. Koji eventually turned it into a Torture Rack and had it applied until Kento wiggled out to land on his feet but Koji stopped his momentum to get the heat in a nicely done opening sequence. The two are outside of the ring now as the two tried to hit a Brainbuster onto one another into the crowd or on the entrance ramp but Koji decided to DDT him onto the ramp to apply damage to his head more. Good control from Koji to keep working on the head and needed it while Kento sells the pain well to get the crowd behind him in this match.

Koji applies the Rings of Saturn onto Kento as he pulls on his head while applying the lock but Kento would finally struggle enough to get his foot on the rope, breaking the hold. I said it before and I will say it again, Kento delivers better knees than Kenny Omega, he makes them look legit and despite still slapping, he knows the right time to do it without it looking phony, unlike Olivia. Kento hits the Blackout into the corner on the back of his head and then another one but Koji kicked out at two. Kento goes for the Shutdown German Suplex Hold but Koji broke free, elbowing him in the face before picking him up to hit the Swinging Side Slam as Kento kicked out at two. Koji attempts the Lariat but Kento ducks to hit a Blackout and used this chance to hit the Shutdown German Suplex Hold, getting the win while Koji is in last place!

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a quarter

Champion Carnival 2021 Match:
Shuji Ishikawa vs. Shinjiro Otani

Review: Time for the next match as Shinjiro Otani takes on the GAORA TV Champion, Shuji Ishikawa. Both of them are around the middle in rankings but Shuji has more points than him by one victory. If Otani can win here though, he’ll be in the middle with him and among others. Can Otani score a win here or will Shuji move up to the top spot?

The two would lock up as neither of them was getting the advantage until they were on the ropes to break it, then they would tackle each other while they’re both still standing their ground until they go blow for blow with Shuji kneeing him in the gut to get him down. Shuji is beating down Otani any chance he gets with his stomps or just hitting him, and it works since Shuji is a bigger guy than Otani and a little more well-rounded but you can see Otani getting pumped up despite being knocked down. Otani would make his comeback, having Shuji into the corner as he ran the ropes to deliver a boot to the face.

The two are hitting each other back and forth, delivering stiff shots one after another but Otani would get behind him to apply the sleeper as Shuji pushed him into the corner. Otani would sit on the top turnbuckle and slap Shuji across the face and applied the sleeper once again but the referee tells him to break the hold. Otani would deliver a Missle Dropkick but Shuji gets up to charge at him, only to be met with a Backdrop as Shuji got up again to hit the Lariat as they both go down. Shuji got up first as he hits the Tsunami and the Giant Driver but Otani was able to kick out at two. Otani fought off the Powerbomb and hits a Lariat on him but soon as Shuji kicked out, Otani applied the Cobra Clutch and gets the submission victory!

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a quarter

Champion Carnival 2021 Match
Kohei Sato vs. Zeus

Review: Time for our next match as Zeus takes on Kohei Sato. Zeus suffered his first loss at the previous show but is still at the top of the board. If Sato can win though, he’ll be up on top since he’ll have a better average than Zeus since he only lost one match himself but only has two victories. Will Zeus be able to bounce back or does Sato take control of the scoreboard?

Is Sato a little taller than Zeus? Yes, but is Zeus beefier than Sato? Fuck yeah. Sato had Zeus sat down on the mat as he delivered stiff kicks to the back but Zeus got up quickly, pulling his head in for a headlock and it just looked powerful. Zeus keeps the headlock locked in for a good while and makes sure Sato is in as much pain as possible during all of this and it’s good seeing Zeus look this dominating in his matches since he has the god of an almighty God, put that shit into use! Sato finally stopped Zeus with a knee to the gut and would deliver stiff kicks to the chest to get him down. This is just a stiff fest with the strikes and I am all for it in this match.

Zeus gets Sato down with the Chokeslam as Sato kicked out at two. Zeus is calling for the end already as he sets him up for the Jackhammer but Sato reversed it to hit the Falcon Arrow as they both go down. The two slowly get up as Sato delivers stiff forearms while Zeus counteracts with chops and it goes for a bit until Zeus hits a Lariat. Sato kicked out and Zeus turned it into the Facelock, trying to get him to tap out but Sato gets his foot on the rope! Zeus goes for the Jackhammer again but Sato powers out of it to deliver forearms to Zeus while Zeus attempts Lariats as Sato stands his ground to hit one more forearm. Sato went for a pin but Zeus kicked out and hits Zeus with another stiff forearm as Zeus kicked out again. Sato picks him up to hit the German Suplex Hold and gets the victory over Zeus! Sato is now on top of the board with three wins and only one loss.

Rating: Eric Bischoff and a half

Champion Carnival 2021 Match:
Jake Lee vs. Yuma Aoyagi

Review: It’s time to close up the show with our main event as Jake Lee takes on Yuma Aoyagi. Jake has a chance to be in the top spot if he can win this match and keep up his dominating run aside from the one loss. Yuma was able to score an upset victory over Zeus to stay in the game and if he can win here, he’ll be able to tie for the top spot with Zeus, Sato, and Lee. Will we have a four-way tie or does Jake move up the ladder?

They both have their arms up as if they were taunting each other or something but they would eventually lock up, Jake gets him into the ropes until the referee tells Jake to get off him. Yuma would get Jake to the ropes this time and as he broke it up, he taunts Jake by doing the taunt he used for when he was a babyface, the disrespect. This angered Jake and would kick him in the gut and gets him in a headlock to apply damage to his neck. The two started some chain wrestling until Jake lifted Yuma to make him hit the rope between his legs, causing Yuma to flop outside of the ring for Jake to work him outside. When you look at these two men, these guys are going to be your future of the company next to Kento Miyahara in the long run. Jake is a star waiting to happen and while Yuma had a slow start, he is slowly figuring himself out in the past year and if he can keep this up, he will have a bright future in the company with guys like Kento, Jake, Suwama, Zeus, Nomura, and hopefully Shotaro. While Jake isn’t being a full-on heel in this match, he still shows that side of him in the match from how aggressive he is and just taunting the referee whenever he’s told to let go of Yuma and going back into what he was doing.

Jake tosses Yuma into the corner as Yuma used this chance to bounce off and hit a Crossbody but he’s not down as he climbs to the top rope, hitting another Crossbody as Jake kicked out at two. Jake was able to get Yuma on his stomach, having a knee on his back while pulling on his head, stretching him out until Yuma grabbed the rope but the referee wanted to be a dick for a moment, kicking the bottom rope to make him let go and Yuma grabbed it again to make them break the hold this time. The two kept on fighting back and forth with Yuma getting up right away as Jake attempts the Giant Killing but Yuma caught his leg to push it down, hitting a spinning back kick, and Jake would hit a jumping kick to the chest as the two go down! Yuma hits two German Suplexes and goes to apply the End Game but Jake had his hand on the rope soon as Yuma was able to lock it in.

Yuma went for the Rock Star Buster but Jake fought out of it, attempting the Giant Killing again as Yuma caught his leg to turn him around, rolling him up with the European Clutch as Jake kicked out at two again. Jake tries to pick Yuma up but doesn’t budge, laying there motionless as it annoys Jake while the referee tells him to stand back so he can count. Yuma finally has some light in him as Jake goes over to him just to knee him in the face, knocking him down again. Jake tried pulling Yuma up again but doesn’t budge again, angering Jake more as he makes him sit up to knock him down with another knee. He keeps hitting Yuma with his knees while yelling at him until the referee pushed him away again. Jake had Yuma up on his knees before running the ropes and before he could get closer to him, Yuma collapsed once more. Jake is calling for the end as he picked him up for the D4C but Yuma knees his head and reverses it into a roll, turning it into the End Game! Beautiful counter as he has it locked in fully, giving Jake no choice but to tap out! Another big win for Yuma.

Rating: Eric Bischoff and three quarters

Overall: Much better night than the previous one, that’s for sure. Nothing over the top, solid action all around, and just nice wrestling with nothing going 30+ minutes all the time. We’re at the halfway point and now the competition is going to get harder from here. Let’s see where this takes us.

Favorite Match: Jake Lee vs. Yuma Aoyagi

Least Favorite Match: Shuji Ishikawa vs. Shinjiro Otani

Score: 7/10

Champion Carnival Standings:

1. Kohei Sato: (3-1) (6 Points)
2. Zeus: (3-2) (6 Points)
3. Jake Lee: (3-2) (6 Points)
4. Yuma Aoyagi: (3-2) (6 Points)
5. Shuji Ishikawa: (2-2) (4 Points)
6. Suwama: (2-2) (4 Points)
7. Kento Miyahara: (2-2) (4 Points)
8. Shinjiro Otani: (2-2) (4 Points)
9. Koji Doi: (1-4) (2 Points)
10. Shotaro Ashino: (1-3) (2 Points)