All Japan TV 4-1-93 the Champion Carnival begins!
Apr 2, 2023 13:34:04 GMT
Post by Chitohausen on Apr 2, 2023 13:34:04 GMT
Sanctioned by the Pacific Wrestling Federation; Lord James Blears, chairman
Airs across Japan on Saturday, April 1, 1993 on:
Taped on March 25, 1993 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan
Announcers: Kenji Wakabayashi and Kosuke Takeuchi
Ring Announcer: Takashi Yamada
Referees: Red Shoes Unno, Tiger Hattori and Kyohei Wada
KENJI WAKABAYASHI and KOSUKE TAKEUCHI open the show.
They welcome us to this week’s episode of “All Japan Pro Wrestling”!
The 1993 Champion Carnival begins on this show! We’ll see two Carnival matches here today, as Kenta Kobashi meets Doug Furnas, and Steve Williams squares off with Toshiaki Kawada!
And, our feature bout will see Triple Crown champ Mitsuharu Misawa team up with youngster Tsuyoshi Kikuchi to face the New Japan Pro Wrestling team of Riki Choshu and Kensuke Sasaki!
CHAMPION CARNIVAL MATCH:
KENTA KOBASHI [2] beats DOUG FURNAS [0]. Furnas is better known as a tag team wrestler, but he shows that he can hold his own in singles action as well. The match is clipped from just under 15 minutes, down to about six and a half minutes for TV. We get some great back and forth action, with Furnas showing off his strength, but Kobashi won’t back down. In the end, Kobashi hits the Moonsault Press for the 1, 2, 3 to pick up 2 points in the tournament!
A promo video airs for SUPER BATTLE IN TOKYO DOME!
In just over a month, on May 3, All Japan will be in the Tokyo Dome for the biggest card in the company’s history!
Scheduled matches include:
Jushin Liger vs Tiger Mask III! Liger has won the first two matches between them, but Tiger Mask has continued to improve, and he feels this is his time to finally beat Liger!
The Miracle Violence Connection defend the World tag team titles against Toshiaki Kawada and Akira Taue!
WWF superstar Sting will return to Japan, as he faces Riki Choshu! Both men use the Scorpion Lock as one of their signature moves, and on May 3 we’ll find out who’s is better!
In a battle of four of the biggest names in Japan in the last 20 years, Giant Baba teams up with Genichiro Tenryu to face Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami!
And, the main event, a dream match for the Triple Crown, Mitsuharu Misawa defends the belts against the Great Muta!
We hear comments from some of the wrestlers that will be involved:
Tiger Mask III says that he lost his first two matches to Jushin Thunder Liger, but he’s been training harder than ever, and he feels that May 3 will be his night to finally defeat Liger and prove that he belongs at the top of the junior heavyweight division!
Sting can’t wait to return to Japan! He’s wrestled in the Big Egg before, and says there’s no experience quite like it! He has a lot of respect for Riki Choshu, and he’s looking forward to facing him on May 3!
Giant Baba & Genichiro Tenryu talk about their tag team match against Antonio Inoki and Tatsumi Fujinami. Baba says that he and Inoki were once a great tag team, but their careers took different paths, and they never had the big match against each other that both men so badly wanted. Baba says that on May 3, he finally has the chance to prove himself against Inoki! Tenryu says that Tatsumi Fujinami came into AJPW with the others from New Japan, and disrespected the entire roster here in All Japan. He says he just can’t let that go, and he’ll put Fujinami in his place on May 3!
Mitsuharu Misawa says that, previously, he said he didn’t always feel as though he deserved to be wearing these belts. Now, on May 3, he has the opportunity to defend them against one of the biggest names ever, the Great Muta! He says that this will be the test that he needs, and if he can defeat Muta at the Tokyo Dome, he will have finally proven to all these fans, and to himself, that he is worthy of being called the Triple Crown champion!
CHAMPION CARNIVAL MATCH:
TOSHIAKI KAWADA [1] battles “DR. DEATH” STEVE WILLIAMS [1] to a 30-minute time limit DRAW. This match is only slightly edited, and shown almost in it’s entirety! These two men will meet as part of the World tag team title match on May 3 at the Tokyo Dome, so this gives them a chance to get a feel for each other ahead of that clash.
Early on, there’s a lot of hard-hitting back and forth action, but neither man can really gain a clear cut advantage. As the match progresses, Kawada takes control, and he goes to work on the leg of Williams. He keeps Doc on the mat, until Williams, out of desperation, fights back to his feet, and hits a vicious Lariat, followed by a backdrop suplex. That gets him a 2-count, and then he goes to work on Kawada, punishing him on the mat. However, Doc’s leg is clearly hurt, he’s favouring it, and Kawada repeatedly goes back to the leg to stop Doc’s momentum.
Late in the match, Williams twice attempts the Oklahoma Stampede, but both times his leg gives out before he can hit the move. The second time nearly costs him the match, as Kawada rolls him up in a small package for a VERY close nearfall.
Finally, Doc is able to power through the pain, and he does manage to hit the Stampede, although he doesn’t get as much force behind it as he usually does. As a result, Kawada is able to kick out at the last second. Moments later, Kawada hits the Gamegiri, but just as he goes to cover Williams, the bell rings and it’s announced that the 30-minute time limit has expired.
As a result, both men earn 1 point in the Champion Carnival.
With the win over Scott Norton last week, and going to a draw here today against Steve Williams, one of the greatest gaijin to ever step foot in a Japanese wrestling ring, Toshiaki Kawada has shown that he truly deserves to be considered one of the best wrestlers in Japan today.
RIKI CHOSHU & KENSUKE SASAKI defeat MITSUHARU MISAWA & TSUYOSHI KIKUCHI. The veterans Misawa and Choshu are the stars of their respective teams, while youngsters Sasaki and Kikuchi take a lot of abuse in this one! When the two youngsters are in the ring together, Sasaki is able to use his strength advantage to gain the advantage, while the smaller, quicker Kikuchi tries to use his speed to stick and move.
Once Misawa or Choshu come in with the younger wrestlers, they don’t have too much trouble with them. When we finally get Misawa and Choshu against each other, they tear into other with some brutal strikes, like Choshu nearly taking Misawa’s head off with a Lariat, and Misawa responding with some elbow strikes that leave Choshu dazed.
In the end, Kikuchi is in against Choshu, and Riki gains the upper hand, then hits a devastating Lariat!
As Sasaki stops Misawa from helping his partner, Choshu covers Kikuchi for the 1, 2, 3!
Wakabayashi and Takeuchi wrap things up, and hype next week’s show. We’ll see three more Champion Carnival matches next week, including the feature bout, Mitsuharu Misawa against Toshiaki Kawada!
Credits Roll
© 1993, All Japan Pro Wrestling
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