AJPW 1993 Champion Carnival Day 13
April 12th 1993
Attendance: 12,000 – Kyoto, Kansai, JP
TV Rating: 1.73 [tv Asahi – JP] + 0.17 [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
0. Dark Match: Yoshinari Ogawa & Satoru Asako [Tsuruta-gun] def. Fire Cat & Minoru Tanaka
- Ogawa > Tanaka (Inverted Single Leg Boston Crab - Submission) --- 7:41
- Rating: 57
Full-Show Recap
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1. Isamu Teranishi & Richard Slinger vs. Mighty Inoue & OctagonA classic puroresu opener = perfectly skippable. Octagon was by far the best in the match and pinned Teranishi after a Quebradora con Giro (Spinning Neckbreaker).
- Octagon > Teranishi --- (Quebradora con Giro - Pin) --- 6:33
- Rating: 58
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2. Billy Black & Joel Deaton (Wild Bunch/The Outlaw Stable) & Kazuo Yamazaki vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi (Tsuruta-gun) & Naoki SanoThis one was far better, as the boiling blood between Sano and Yamazaki was milked once again and Wild Bunch were put to test against far more established talent. Tsuruta ended up being the difference-maker, conquering the win with a Backdrop Driver on Deaton.
- Tsuruta > Deaton --- (Backdrop Driver - Pin) --- 12:23
- Rating: 76»» After the sound of the bell, Billy Black and Kazuo Yamazaki entered the ring to check on Joel Deaton… and Naoki Sano thought the occasion was perfect to hit a rampant Sole Kick on Yamazaki in a moment when he was distracted. Jumbo Tsuruta was pissed off with Sano for the attack and confronted him, even trying to slap him before the Jr. heel left the ring. This was Yamazaki and Sano’s last meeting before their Submission or Knock-Out Match at Champion Carnival Finale.
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1993 Champion Carnival – A Block Match
3. Jackie Fulton (0 pts.) vs. Terry Funk (4 pts.)With a title shot still not yet confirmed, a win would fit Funk way better and the odds favored him against no-points Fulton.
The duo had a great match revolving around resiliency and the ring was a proving ground for both. After nearly 14 minutes, Fulton rolled out of a Moonsault’s way and when Funk got up surprised him with an Ace Crusher for an upset win.
Funk was disappointed, but he gave Fulton a pat to the back, recognizing the kid’s talent.
- Fulton (2 pts.) > Funk (4 pts.) --- (Ace Crusher - Pin) --- 13:47
- Rating: 77
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1993 Champion Carnival – A Block Match
4. Cactus Jack (w/K.Y. Wakamatsu) (6 pts.) vs. Johnny Smith (2 pts.)Cactus, on the other hand, faced Smith in a styles clash type of bout. Once again, K.Y. Wakamatsu distracted Cactus’ opponent, even though the Brit is also one of the bad guys. The match continued and it seemed it could go any way, but Jack was able to avoid a Death Valley Driver and hit his Double Arm DDT, following it with the Stump Puller Piledriver for a positive Carnival record (4-3).
- Cactus (8 pts.) > Smith (2 pts.) --- (Stump Puller Piledriver - Pin) --- 13:11
- Rating: 76»» Cactus Jack then grabbed a microphone and went rampant on Terry Funk for his loss, saying he doesn’t deserve to challenge for the AJPW National Openweight Championship. Funk took offense, went to the ring and formalized the challenge for Champion Carnival Finale either way, which Cactus accepted before hitting Funk with the mic.
The two traded fists in the ring until Cactus was able to gain the upper hand with K.Y. Wakamatsu’s aid (with his kendo stick, of course). The champion hit a Stump Puller Piledriver and got the hell out of there.
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1993 Champion Carnival – A Block Match
5. Kenta Kobashi (8 pts.) vs. Nobuhiko Takada [UWF-i] (9 pts.)Takada officially needed a win in order to keep his Block-winning hopes alive. Against him was Kobashi who last year couldn’t stop Hansen from topping the block in Day 13. Would he stop Takada from doing so, leaving Hansen and Kawada alone in the decision?
The match was very rough from the get-go, as both irrepressible strikers had it on them to punish each other. Takada knew he was having one of his toughest AJPW matches when Kobashi turned his chest bloody red with an array of chops. But Takada’s submission work also took a big toll on the ‘Orange Crush’.
In the later stages, both were exhausted and torn apart. Kobashi hit a Moonsault at some point, but Takada needed to kick-out. So he did! In response, moments later, Kobashi would find himself trapped in a Cross Armbreaker, but he managed to get to the ropes. Takada then went for some high-impact moves and Suplex variations that would give him some near-falls, but not a win.
It would all come down for a moment when Kobashi thought he had the upper hand, so he went for the Vertical Drop Brainbuster… Takada countered it while being lifted with a Face Knee! But Kobashi would surprise him with a Burning Lariat! The UWF-i boss was down, but not out and Kobashi knew that, so he lifted him, only to be hit with a devastating Bridging Full-Nelson Suplex! 1…2…3!!! Takada scores the pinfall! But he wasn’t the only one! His shoulders were also on the mat and the match is ruled as a Double Pin Draw! Takada is out of contention.
- Double Pin Draw: Kobashi (9pts.) & Takada (10 pts.) --- 18:30
- Rating: 81»» After the match, Nobuhiko Takada was pissed. He was fuming as he was now unable to take AJPW by storm and conquer the Champion Carnival League, as well as the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship at Summer Stardom. When Kenta Kobashi got up, Takada appeared to be sizing him for an attack, but when Kobashi turned, Takada did nothing, as he just stared dead in his opponent’s eyes before leaving the ring.
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1993 Champion Carnival – A Block Match
6. Stan Hansen (10 pts.) vs. Toshiaki Kawada (9 pts.)It all came down to this! Hansen and Kawada battled it out to see who would win the A Block. The intensity was palpable and the crowd felt the occasion’s weight too. Both men were aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses and even if Hansen was a back-to-back winner, Kawada has been in a meteoric improvement wave.
The match started cautious with strikes being the preferred type of offence in its early stages. Occasionally, each one would go for a stronger grapple, with specially Hansen doing a great job in blocking the opponent’s moves. Kawada wouldn’t quit and against all expectations he hit a Folding Powerbomb on Hansen for the first near-fall of the match. The veteran was staggered.
But he eventually regrouped and the two were fighting at an even level for most of the match. A Corner Lariat gave Hansen the momentum shift he needed and he followed it with… a Folding Powerbomb of his own! Another near-fall and when we saw Kawada getting up, we understood how pissed off he was by being hit with one of his own signature moves.
The intensity level, already high, shot through the roof when Kawada got back into his game, kicking Hansen like a football and starting to focus on the Texan’s head too, hitting a big Gamengiri for another two count. Then, two guys came to ringside to motivate Hansen: Wild Bunch, careful not to distract any of the wrestlers, cheered on their mentor, and watched from upclose Kawada win another strike exchange with… a Lariat. You steal mine, I’ll steal yours was the mentality. 1…2… no! Of course Hansen wasn’t going to be defeated by his own special move.
It was safe to say Kawada had a slight edge in the match now and, like in previous matches, he opted to try to set-up for the Stretch Plum submission. Hansen was down but not out and still powered out of the hold, regaining some momentum with a DDT and a Running Knee Drop that surely shook Kawada’s brain in his cranium. 1…2… but no! Hansen went for the all-in, waiting for Kawada to get up for a… Western Lar… but Kawada ducked, ran to the ropes… Dangerous Kick! 1…2… no! Kawada needs just one more effort! «Five minutes left»… the draw would give Hansen the win in the Block!
The two took a bit to get to their senses, but Kawada surprised Hansen with a Gamengiri! And then lifted Hansen up: another Dangerous Kick! 1…2…3!!! No coming back from that and Kawada wins the A Block!
- Kawada (11 pts.) > Hansen (10 pts.) --- (Dangerous Kick - Pin) --- 26:08
- Rating: 82»» The bell sounded and it surely was a special moment for Toshiaki Kawada, as he got emotional and everyone could see it. In the ring, Wild Bunch helped their fellow Outlaw Stan Hansen to get back to his senses. When he did so, the team congratulated Kawada on his Block win. Kenta Kobashi got there to do the same.
And then, Hansen felt like he needed to say a few words to Kawada, as telling him: «I’m a wise man, kid, and I’m sure that if you beat me tonight… this is your time! Get it, son!» Hansen offered a firm handshake and gave the mic to Kawada.
‘Dangerous K’ thanked everyone for their support and claimed he wasn’t stopping and be happy with being second best: «I’m in the damn Final and I’m there to win the whole thing. I want to be at Summer Stardom facing Misawa or whoever is the champion when we get there. And I’m making sure that I reach my goal!»
Show Rating: 80
A Block League Field
His beef with Cactus is getting serious and I like to see Cactus' crescendo during the tournament. I also liked how you described the double pinfall in the semi main event, which screws Takada's chances to win the tournament. Not a big fan of him as a wrestler in general, he's been booked like a force but Kobashi is the real star of the duo in my eyes. Kawada wins! He struggled big time and it looks like a big deal to him, I should have predicted his win because you would have probably avoided a gaijin final
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