Cero Reviews AJPW Champion Carnival 2021 4.17

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Cero Reviews AJPW Champion Carnival 2021 4.17

Post by cero2k » Apr 17th, '21, 15:12

AJPW Champion Carnival 2021 Day 4
April 17, 2021
Shin-Kiba 1st RING, Tokyo, Japan

Alejandro, Izanagi & Koji Iwamoto vs. Evolution (Dan Tamura & Hikaru Sato) & Black Menso-re - 4.5/10
Ok match, a lot of what we've been watching, even with Sato and Iwamoto on opposite sides. Sato submitted Alejandro for the win.

Akira Francesco & Shuji Ishikawa vs. Ryuki Honda & Yoshitatsu - 4/10
Yoshitatsu pinned Francesco with a Lungblower. I don't know why in a match with a rookie and a guy IN the Carnival, they had Yoshitatsu get the pin over the up and comer and giving the Carnival participant the loss. Francesco looked good.

NEXTREAM (Atsuki Aoyagi, Kento Miyahara & Rising HAYATO) vs. TOTAL ECLIPSE (Hokuto Omori, Kuma Arashi & TAJIRI) - 6/10
I guess this was better than the previous shows because of Miyahara being here and having a win that didn't revolve around a belt shot, instead of was Omori getting a Fisherman Driver on HAYATO. Miyahara took it easy in this match, it was still the younger guys putting all the work as the previous shows.

Champion Carnival 2021 Match
Kohei Sato [2] vs. Shotaro Ashino [2] - 5.5/10
I found this to be really boring, I really really don't like Sato, I dislike his energy, his image, his style is basic and unpolished, for a Judoka, it just looks like lazy execution. Even when it comes to mean dudes beating up each other, you want to have energy to the match.

Finish saw Sato hit a Falcon Arrow for a near fall, and a piledriver for the win. Ashino is 1-3, I expect Zeus to lose today to not let him get away that much, but he is coming close to being in danger of elimination

Champion Carnival 2021 Match
Suwama [2] vs. Koji Doi [2] - 6.5/10
Good win for Suwama, he submitted Doi with a hedlock after a good back and forward match. A lot of lariats and shoulder tackles type of match. It went less than 7 minutes, but I think with a couple more minutes, they could have done a bit more, it never really hit second gear, actually, not many of these Carnivals matches hit second gear.

Champion Carnival 2021 Match
Shinjiro Otani [2] vs. Jake Lee [4] - 7/10
Prior to the match starting, referee Wada suspected the referee either broke or the wood underneath moved and he felt a bump; either way, they stalled the match for a couple of minutes while Lee and Otani were already out there. At the end, he called in both wrestlers to check it and see if they agreed to wrestle.

Match was good, old man Otani does it again, he's been consistently good in all three matches he has had. Granted he has paired up with great talent and not Sato, but he has energy, great selling, and when he pretends to be pissed off and attacks you, the attacks looked to be from a pissed off person.

Match saw Lee go after Otani's chest with kicks and knees. Otani got a couple of rushes of offense, and a couple of strong kickouts towards the end, but Lee was just stronger today, taking Otani's offense, cutting him off, and at the end, ending him with the Brainbuster.

Champion Carnival 2021 Match
Zeus [6] vs. Yuma Aoyagi [2] - 7.5/10
Good match. Match was coming close to overstaying its welcome, it went about 14 minutes, but it felt longer than that. It was a speed vs power match, similar to Aoyagi's match with Ishikawa. Mostly lariats from Zeus and spotty power moves from Aoyagi.

Finish was Aoyagi catching Zeus with a surprise Crucifix pin for the win, but the execution wasn't as smooth and it looked kinda fake. The build up to it had been great though, Zeus was destroying Aoyagi and coming close to the finish when Aoyagi reversed him into the pin.

Post-match - Aoyagi cut his winner's promo.

OVERALL THOUGHTS
There was something about this show, but it felt so long. The draw was low, the energy lower, and the you have guys like Sato eating the energy from the room. Most of Tokyo must have been at the TJPW show instead.

Final Standings
Jake Lee - 6
Kento Miyahara - 2
Kohei Sato - 4
Koji Doi - 2
Shinjiro Otani - 2
Shotaro Ashino - 2
Shuji Ishikawa - 4
Suwama - 4
Yuma Aoyagi - 4
Zeus - 6
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