ALL JAPAN PRO WRESTLING
CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 NIGHT 1
APRIL 9, 2022
EDION ARENA OSAKA #2
OSAKA, JAPAN

Watch: AJPW.TV

NON-TOURNAMENT MATCHES

• Takao Omori, Izanagi & Black Menso~Re def. Hikaru Sato, Dan Tamura & Ryo Inoue (8:47)
• Total Eclipse (Tajiri & Hokuto Omori) def. Nextream (Atsuki Aoyagi & Rising Hayato) (7:21)

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 B BLOCK
TAKUYA NOMURA [2] DEF. YOSHITATSU [0] (9:45)

Yoshitatsu was in his shoot style gear here, complete with mouthguard. Yoshitatsu was the aggressor here, willing to slap Nomura in the face to establish his dominance early on. Yoshitatsu took a lot of this match while Nomura made a couple of quick comebacks. There were some good strike exchanges. Yoshitatsu looked like he was close to victory after a Brainbuster, but Nomura soon caught him in a Ground Cobra Twist for the three count and a victory out of nowhere. I thought this was solid enough for what it was, but I would’ve liked to see Nomura do more. **¾

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 A BLOCK
T-HAWK [2] DEF. RYUKI HONDA [0] (7:17)

T-Hawk attacked before the bell. That soon backfired as Honda got the upper hand and brawled with T-Hawk on the outside. Honda once again showed here why he’s quickly grown into his heel role. He was smirking and acted as if T-Hawk was below him. T-Hawk made a comeback that the crowd got into, and his selling throughout the match for Honda was great. Honda tried some cheap tactics to regain control, and that looked to work briefly. Honda hit the Final Event on T-Hawk but as Honda went for the cover, T-Hawk cradled him for the three count. This definitely could have used some more time. I’m also not loving doing out of nowhere finishes in back-to-back matches. ***

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 A BLOCK
SHIGEHIRO IRIE [2] DEF. SHUJI ISHIKAWA [0] (11:33)

These guys didn’t waste any time, and got right into it with lots of shoulder blocks right out of the gate. They also traded a lot of stiff elbows. A cool spot was when Irie went for his running headbutt but Ishikawa swatted him with a Lariat. There was a great closing stretch where Irie had Ishikawa in a Rear Naked Choke but Ishikawa kept escaping only for Irie to keep locking it on. Irie had Ishikawa grounded but then switched to a flurry of elbows that eventually got the referee stoppage. This was really good, a certified beef slapper. Also a bit of a surprising result since Irie defeated Ishikawa in their last meeting for the GAORA TV title. ***¾

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 A BLOCK
SHOTARO ASHINO [2] DEF. JAKE LEE [0] (6:29)

Another match with little time at the beginning for some feeling out. These two went after each other hard to start, continuing their long running feud. Lee looks a little more confident in his heel role since his return from injury, but his progress has been at a snail’s pace compared to Ryuki Honda looking like a big heel on his first appearance as one. Lee hit the running knee to the back of Ashino’s head which has been trouble for him before. Ashino escaped from a D4C attempt, hit a German Suplex and then caught Lee in the Ankle Lock. Lee escaped, hit a Backdrop, went for another D4C with Ashino escaping again and applying the Ankle Lock. Lee was unable to escape and when Ashino moved into a grapevine, Lee tapped. The crowd was surprised and so was I. On one hand, it’s nice to see Ashino getting a big win and not looking like a geek. On the other hand, you can make a case that Ashino beating Lee could be something that was built up more. ***¼

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 B BLOCK
KUMA ARASHI [2] DEF. KENTO MIYAHARA [0] (13:26)

Arashi worked hard throughout this. They had a standard first couple of minutes and then brawled around the outside. Arashi hit a Diving Senton off of the apron on Miyahara who was lying on the ground outside. Miyahara eventually made a valiant comeback after a Superplex. He went for the Shutdown German Suplex, but Arashi escaped and hit a dropkick! Miyahara would hit a couple of Blackout Knees but Arashi no-sold the last one, hit a big Lariat and then pinned Miyahara after a Top Rope Senton. Perhaps I was too harsh when I said Arashi would be the weak link in B Block. He worked harder here than Yoshitatsu did on this show. Now, Miyahara deserves some credit too, with his selling drawing in the crowd’s sympathy. Given that Arashi had teased challenging for the Triple Crown recently, I now think that’s going to happen, which means he will probably keep working hard in the Champion Carnival which is a good thing for B Block. ***½

CHAMPION CARNIVAL 2022 B BLOCK
YUMA AOYAGI [2] DEF. SUWAMA [0] (14:30)

Suwama offered a handshake to Aoyagi to start this off. Aoyagi got the better of the veteran for a while early on, frustrating Suwama who at one point teased using the ring bell while brawling on the outside. Suwama eventually gained the upper hand and worked over Aoyagi for a while in his usual style. Aoyagi made a comeback but was unable to finish the match with the End Game. Suwama’s selling throughout this was really good. Aoyagi kicked out of a Deadlift German Suplex and a Backdrop. Suwama went for another Backdrop, but Aoyagi escaped, hit the Spin Kick and the Rockstar Buster for a near fall. Aoyagi then hit another Rockstar Buster but a spinning variation that is called The Fool and got the win. This was Aoyagi’s second ever victory over a former Triple Crown champion, having previously defeated Zeus twice in the Champion Carnival. The match was very good, but did not quite hit that elite level. Still a great moment for Aoyagi and the crowd was into it. ***½

FINAL THOUGHTS

You might as well watch the entire show because I thought the Total Eclipse vs. Nextream tag match on the undercard was great. This was an easy watch, and while there was nothing blow away, and I disagreed with the layout of some of the matches, there was some good wrestling on this show. Some upsets on the first night of a tournament are always fun too. Everybody looked like they were working hard and that bodes well for the rest of the Champion Carnival.