AJPW 1993 Champion Carnival Day 6
March 28th 1993
Attendance: 7.000 – Tokushima, Shikoku, JP
TV Rating: 1.62 [tv Asahi – JP] + 0.15 [ITV – UK] + 0.06 [Fox Sports Networks – US]
Championships and holders» AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship: Mitsuharu Misawa
» AJPW National Openweight Championship: Cactus Jack
» AJPW Unified World Tag Team Championship: Dan Kroffat and Doug Furnas [Can-Am Express]
» AJPW World Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Ultimo Dragon
Pre-Show0. Dark Match: Fire Cat & Masayoshi Motegi def. Richard Slinger & Satoshi Kojima
- Cat > Kojima (Moonsault - Pin) --- 7:31
- Rating: 53
Full-Show Recap
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1. Giant Kimala & Haku [Savage International] vs. Mark Youngblood & Mitsuo MomotaA forgettable opener to keep Savage International’s dominating momentum over weaker teams. Kimala won the match for the duo with a Running Big Splash on veteran Momota.
- Kimala > Momota --- (Running Big Splash - Pin) --- 6:39
- Rating: 41
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2. Giant Baba & Dean Malenko & Ultimo Dragon vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi & Yoshinari Ogawa [Tsuruta-gun]Baba had another surprise non-tournament match, this time opposing Tsuruta, one of his most iconic rivals of the 1980s. On each side, a Jr. Heavyweight duo, and with Tsuruta-gun in action, some feared Malenko’s hot streak to be over, which would stop him from having a World Jr. Heavyweight Title shot against Ultimo.
That didn’t happen, as the cold submission specialist won the bout for the team, tapping Ogawa out with an Ankle Slicer while Baba and Dragon did their job keeping Tsuruta and Fuchi out of the ring for the finishing moments.
- Malenko > Ogawa --- (Ankle Slicer - Submission) --- 14:16
- Rating: 76
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1993 Champion Carnival – B Block Match
3. Mitsuharu Misawa (2 pts.) vs. Tommy RogersA very solid match: Misawa worked for Rogers as an incentive, rather than a threat, and against the Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, the Fantastic Bruiser had his best Carnival match to date.
Both wrestlers showed their technical qualities from bell to bell, with a lot of the match being kept in the ground or wrestled with Suplex variations. Rogers had his glorious chance to surprise Misawa with the Fantastic Flip, but Misawa kicked out at two and regained control of the match for the final minutes. In the end, the champion scored two more points with a Tiger Driver.
- Misawa (4 pts.) > Rogers --- (Tiger Driver - Pin) --- 16:08
- Rating: 74
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1993 Champion Carnival – B Block Match
4. Dory Funk Jr. vs. Terry Gordy (2 pts.)As surprising as this can be, this was Dory Jr. and Terry’s first singles match ever, as they were never in the ring one-on-one in Texas. And unluckily for Dory Jr., he had to deal with the aggressive Gordy who, of course, felt the need to avenge his Day 4 loss here.
Gordy absolutely dominated the match and the old man was no competition for the former Freebird, having to content with surviving for as long as he could, before eating a definitive Powerbomb for the three count.
- Gordy (4 pts.) > Funk Jr. --- (Powerbomb - Pin) --- 7:47
- Rating: 65»» Terry Gordy left the ring right after the win, while Dory Funk Jr. struggled, but got to his feet. The crowd in Tokushima timidly cheered the veteran, until Mitsuharu Misawa approached and entered the ring.
The Triple Crown Champion then took a moment to appreciate Dory Jr., one of his trainers and inspirations. In a few days, at Day 8, Misawa vs. Dory Jr. will happen, and Misawa told him: «I want our match to be a way of celebrating you too.» He then added: «Without you, Dory, I wouldn’t be a Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion now.»
Trainer and trainee shook hands.
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1993 Champion Carnival – B Block Match
5. Akira Taue (4 pts.) vs. The Gladiator (4 pts.)A clash of giants. Taue and The Gladiator are currently two of the most respected big men in AJPW. Both menacing and both aiming for palpable things (= gold), there was no doubt they are taking Champion Carnival very seriously. In this match, Taue had something which he’s not entirely used to: crowd support.
And it seems like he enjoyed having it, starting the match with a bit more fire than the gaijin and making him fall in some earlier occasions. However, he wasn’t entirely ready for the comeback, when he felt the power of The Gladiator as each and every other of his opponents. The gaijin powerhouse threw Taue around like he was nothing, notably with two Overhead Belly-to-Belly Suplexes which got him near falls.
The match progressed with shared control, until, once again, near the end, The Gladiator got on top with a Sitout Spinebuster. He went for a Gladiator Splash, but Taue wasn’t done yet. Instead, he met Gladiator on the turnbuckle and both fought there, until the gaijin pushed Taue off. Finally, he went for the Gladiator Splash! But Taue moved! The bigger they are, the harder they hit the ground! And Taue capitalized, lifting him afterwards for a huge Chichibu Cement. Impressive! 1…2…3!!! Taue wins the largest bash of the 1993 Carnival so far.
- Taue (6 pts.) > Gladiator (4 pts.) --- (Chichibu Cement - Pin) --- 17:14
- Rating: 71»» But of course, the reckless rulebreaker of AJPW wouldn’t end the night without, of course, attacking his next opponent… Terry Gordy rushed to the ring after the bell and simply hit a huge Backdrop Driver on Akira Taue, who he’ll face at Day 8.
With a mean laugh, Gordy was then the only man standing in a ring filled with three behemoths. Credit to him.
»» As the ring cleared, it was Eddie Gilbert who got there. What would follow would be his first-ever Carnival main event and that was as special of an occasion as any. So, Gilbert reminded the crowd of his December’s Season Closure match with Steve Williams, who is also his opponent tonight.
Another spirited promo took place, with Gilbert assuring that he’s aware of his lower odds, but he’s as confident as ever.
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1993 Champion Carnival – B Block Match
6. Eddie Gilbert vs. Steve Williams (4 pts.)And in the main event, Tokushima saw the best match of the night. Just like three months ago, the two very distinct gaijins stole the show, but this time they were in the right place to do so. Unsurprisingly, the match revolved around Gilbert’s fighting spirit and some momentary comebacks by the ‘Hot Stuff’.
But, throughout the match, ‘Dr. Death’ was just superior and the simple formula of the match worked so well, as the crowd is getting more and more behind Gilbert, sympathizing with him as he’s getting thrown around with Suplexes and kicking out, at one or two. So, when he had a bit of momentum going and tried to seize his chances, the crowd felt like Gilbert was fighting for them too.
The minutes passed and the final third of the match saw Williams getting full control over Gilbert, so much that his brawling skills couldn’t match to Williams’ strength. Thinking about ending it, he hit a definitive Doctor Bomb… or so he thought! 1…2… and at the last second, Gilbert puts his shoulder up, leaving Williams motionless for a bit. Then he understood he had to really hurt Gilbert to get the win… which he did. After a few painful high-impact moves, ‘Dr. Death’ hit a Backdrop Driver from which there was no getting up. 1…2…3!!! Once again, Williams prevails over Gilbert. One is undefeated in the Champion Carnival so far, the other is yet to score a point.
- Williams (6 pts.) > Gilbert --- (Backdrop Driver - Pin) --- 21:56
- Rating: 83Show Rating: 78
B Block League Field
Prediction Contest (Day 5 & 6) - Results:Asaemon - 7/8
johnnyboombatz - 5/8
kyegds - 7/8
marc91 - 5/8
Purotastic - 7/8
The winner is:
No one! By now, I think you had guess it: it'll always going to be a draw. There's no point in trying anymore.
