AJPW Champion Carnival Edition 2019 - Get to know all 18 competitors

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) will hold the 46th edition of Champion Carnival from April 4 to 29, the longest-running singles tournament in professional wrestling.

This is the most important event of the AJPW calendar, whose first and last day of competition will take place in the historic Korakuen Hall. The winner of the tournament will become a contender for the Triple Crown Championship.

The tournament is held in a round-robin format, where all participating wrestlers face each other once with the winner being awarded two points and the loser none.

A draw results in both wrestlers being awarded a point. After all wrestlers have faced each other once, the top two wrestlers advance to the finals to determine the tournament winner.

Among the Carnival Championship winners, we find names of many pro wrestling legends such as Giant Baba, Abdulla the Butcher, Stan Hansen, Mitsuharu Misawa, Big Van Vader, Kenta Kobashi, Keiji Mutoh (aka The Great Muta), Minoru Suzuki, Yuji Nagata and Jun Akiyama.

On this occasion, the tournament will have the participation of 18 wrestlers: thirteen Japanese and five gaijin. The gaijin of the tournament will not only be Joe Doering (USA), Dylan James (New Zealand) and Gianni Valletta (Malta), regular wrestlers of the AJPW roster, because in this edition will also participate two other gaijin: Sam Adonis, an American heel very famous for his work in Mexico, and Joel Redman (fka Oliver Gray), former NXT Superstar and first NXT Tag Team Champion with Neville as British Ambition.

Here's an introduction to every wrestler competing at the Champion Carnival 2019.

#1 Kento Miyahara

Kento Miyahara, with only 30 years of age, is now the face of AJPW. After starting at Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2008, Miyahara was hired by AJPW full-time since 2013 and his career has not stopped climbing.

Miyahara has once been All Asia Tag Team Champion (with Kotaro Suziki as Xceed), twice AJPW World Tag Team Champion (with Go Shiozaki and Yoshitatsu), once Real World Tag League champion in 2015 (with Suwama), once Odo Tournament champion in 2018 and current Triple Crown Champion in his fourth reign.

Despite all his achievements at AJPW, Miyahara has not been able to win the Champion Carnival and is a pending goal to fulfill for him.

#2 Dylan James

Before arriving at AJPW in 2018, James stood out for his work at Pro Wrestling ZERO1 between 2011 and 2017 and was ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion and ZERO1 United National Heavyweight Champion.

James stands out for his size (195 cm and 115 kg), which makes him a Powerhouse with a lot of potential.

Winning Champion Carnival would be a big boost to his career at AJPW where he has managed the AJPW World Tag Team Championship (with Ryoji Sai) and the Real World Tag League 2018 (with Joe Doering).

#3 Gianni Valletta

Valletta, better known as 'The Maltese Warrior', had to leave his country and immigrate to the United Kingdom to fulfill his dream of being a pro wrestler. During his career, he hasn’t only managed to stand out at British Empire Wrestling (BEW) but also founded his own promotion (Pro Wrestling Malta) in his native country to train future Maltese stars.

Among his achievements are having been BEW Heavyweight Champion and Pro Wrestling Malta Heavyweight Champion.

Valetta arrived at AJPW in 2018 and participated that year in the Real World Tag League with Tajiri. It wasn’t good participation because they only won three matches and they were one of the last two tag teams of the tournament. This will be his first participation in Champion Carnival.

#4 Ryoji Sai

After 14 years working for Pro Wrestling ZERO1, Sai was hired by AJPW full time in 2016, the same year he founded his own promotion called Pro Wrestling Land's End.

Before starting his career as a pro wrestler, Sai was a mixed martial artist. This has allowed him to develop an Allrounder style that does not typecast him in just one style.

Sai got many titles in ZERO1 but his greatest achievement has been being twice ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion. Sai has also been AJPW World Tag Team Champion (with Dylan James) and All Asia Heavyweight Champion.

#5 Shuji Ishikawa

Ishikawa won the Champion Carnival in 2017.

Veteran and one of the strongest candidates to be champion of this edition not only for his ability but for all the experience he has accumulated during his career.

Ishikawa was Triple Crown Champion once and won the Champion Carnival in 2017. He also won the Real World Tag League in 2017 (with Suwama) and was three times AJPW World Tag Team Champion with Suwama.

Ishikawa has also stood out for his remarkable work at Big Japan Pro Wrestling (BJW). He has once been BJW Deathmatch Heavyweight Champion, once BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion, three times BJW Tag Team Champion (once with Shigehiro Irie and twice with Kohei Sato) and two-time Ikkitousen Strong Climb champion in 2014 and 2016.

#6 Yuji Okabayashi

Okabayashi is one of the leaders of the BJW Strong Division. Okabayashi is known for his Powerhouse style with impressive demonstrations of strength. He has worked for AJPW for many times since his debut in 2008, but he is a wrestler completely identified with BJW.

16 Carat Gold 2010 was the first international experience for Okabayashi. Although he was eliminated from the tournament on the first day, he and Daisuke Sekimoto defeated Oberhausen Terror Corps (Bad Bones & Carnage) the next day.

This match was considered one of the best of that edition, although they couldn't get the wXw World Tag Team Championship because they were defeated by Jon Moxley (today better known as Dean Ambrose) and Sami Callihan.

Okabayashi has been twice All Asia Tag Team Champion (with Daisuke Sekimoto) and three times AJPW World Tag Team Champion (with Daisuke Sekimoto), but his most important achievement is having been BJW Strong World Heavyweight Champion with a reign of 370 days and three successful title defenses.

#7 Zeus

Zeus began his career at Osaka Pro Wrestling where he debuted in 2006. In 2014 he was hired full time by AJPW. His incomparable physical condition thanks to his background in bodybuilding allowed him to become one of the most important Powerhouses of the company.

The popularity of Zeus at AJPW began to grow after forming with The Bodyguard the tag team known as The Big Guns. They have been four times AJPW World Tag Team Champions.

Zeus defeated Kento Miyahara in Osaka in July 2018 and became the Triple Crown Champion for the first time. The reign of Zeus did not last long because, after a successful title defense against Shuji Ishikawa in August 2018, he lost the title two months later to Kento Miyahara, who has not lost the title since then.

#8 Yuma Aoyagi

Aoyagi with only 23 years old is one of the most promising young talents in AJPW. His debut took place in December 2014 in a match he lost to Kento Miyahara. In 2016 Aoyagi was announced by NJPW as one of the participants of the Super J Cup. He was eliminated in first round by Taichi.

Aoyagi's popularity is growing lately not only because of his charisma, but also his finishing move: the Rockstar Buster (Modified Leghook Fisherman's Buster).

Aoyagi is climbing steps at a safe pace and it’s likely that in the coming years we’ll see him as one of the most outstanding wrestlers at AJPW. His greatest achievement so far has been to be twice All Asia Tag Team Champion with Naoya Nomura.

#9 Kengo Mashimo

Veteran wrestler trained by Taka Michinoku and completely identified with Kaientai Dojo since his professional debut in 2002.

Mashimo appeared at AJPW for the first time in 2004 and didn’t return to AJPW until 2014. Since that year, Mashimo appears frequently at AJPW for participating in different tournaments of the AJPW calendar.

Mashimo is considered by many Japanese fans as one of the most underrated wrestlers. Despite his work at AJPW, many fans would have preferred to see Mashimo much longer not only at AJPW but also at NJPW.

Mashimo's greatest achievement is having been the Strongest-K Champion with the highest number of reigns (6). He was also once AJPW World Tag Team Champion with KAI in a very brief reign that lasted only 21 days with no title defense.

#10 Suwama

Kohei Suwama (better known simply as Suwama) is an AJPW veteran on his way to be a legend. Suwama went down in the history of pro wrestling by breaking the record of Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada after becoming Triple Crown Champion with the highest number of reigns (6). This record is threatened by Kento Miyahara, who has four reigns for now.

Suwama stands out for his Strong Style but at the same time is versatile enough to work with a variety of opponents of different styles. It's very unlikely to watch a match involving Suwama that is not intense and entertaining.

Suwama's career is full of titles and tournaments. He won the Champion Carnival in 2008 and also won the Real World Tag League in 2013 (with Joe Doering), in 2015 (with Kento Miyahara) and in 2017 (with Shuji Ishikawa). He was also four times AJPW World Tag Team Champion (once with Joe Doering and three times with Shuji Ishikawa) and won the Odo Tournament in 2016 and 2017.

#11 Daichi Hashimoto

Daichi Hashimoto is the son of Shinya Hashimoto, the legend of Japanese wrestling and one of the only three wrestlers to have been NWA World Heavyweight Champion, Triple Crown Champion and IWGP Heavyweight Champion. Daichi stands out as a technical style wrestler on his way to being one of the protagonists of the BJW Strong Division.

The key to Hashimoto's current success is not only his technical style but also the execution of stiff moves with numerous kick variants.

Daichi started his career at Pro Wrestling ZERO1 and in 2015 came to BJW where he has once managed to be BJW World Strong Heavyweight Champion, but he was also three times Yokohama Shopping Street 6-Man Tag Team Champion and won Saikyo Tag League in 2017 with Hideyoshi Kamitani. He was also distinguished by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter as Rookie of the Year in 2011.

#12 Takashi Yoshida

Better known as Cyber Kong for his career at Dragon Gate, where he has been seven times Open the Triangle Gate Champion and three times Open the Twin Gate Champion. Despite all his achievements, he has never climbed to the top of the roster in singles matches.

Yoshida is more used to Tag Team matches and it's not usual to watch him in singles matches at Dragon Gate. Therefore, this edition of the Champion Carnival will be a good opportunity to know how much he can now offer in the ring in singles matches.

Yoshida gained popularity after participating in Luchas de Apuestas (Betting Matches), a Mexican match format, used by Dragon Gate on special occasions, where the winner gets the mask or hair of his rival. In this type of matches, he faced Yamato twice, Anthony W. Mori and Naoki Tanisaki.

#13 Yoshitatsu

Any WWE fan will recognize this wrestler for his long career in the largest company in the world. He started his career at NJPW in 2002 before being hired by WWE, a company in which he stayed 2007-2014. After his departure from WWE, he changed his name from Yoshi Tatsu to Yoshitatsu.

Undoubtedly, his best moment at WWE was to win the 26 Man Battle Royal at WrestleMania XXVI. In that match also participated legends like Mark Henry, William Regal and Finlay.

Yoshitatsu is a wrestler with a mixed martial arts background. However, despite this and his passage through industry giants such as WWE or NJPW, has not achieved many titles. He was once NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Champion with Hiroshi Tanahashi and Michael Elgin and AJPW World Tag Team Champion with Kento Miyahara.

#14 Naoya Nomura

Young talent trained in AJPW that has only five years of experience and has participated in the last three editions of Champion Carnival. For many fans, Nomura has the potential to become one of the most important names in the company within a few years.

Nomura is only 25 years old and has had the best match of his life this month. Nomura faced Kento Miyahara for the Triple Crown Championship in a match that lasted almost 29 minutes. For many fans, it was one of the best matches at AJPW so far this year.

Nomura is known mainly as Tag Team wrestler. He was once AJPW World Tag Team Champion with Jake Lee and twice All Asia Tag Team Champion with Yuma Aoyagi.

#15 Jake Lee

This technical wrestler of Korean roots started his career in 2011, being trained by Keiji Mutoh. Lee then began to train mixed martial arts and returned to pro wrestling in 2015. Since then, he has been a member of the AJPW roster. He is a very popular wrestler among AJPW fans and a candidate to win Champion Carnival this year.

Kento Miyahara is one of his biggest rivals. Lee and Miyahara have faced six times in singles matches and Lee has lost all six matches.

Beyond losing all six matches, the performance of both Lee and Miyahara was growing over time and seeing these matches is really essential as an introduction to AJPW.

Jake Lee was All Asia Tag Team Champion with Koji Iwamoto and has also been AJPW World Tag Team Champion with Naoya Nomura. He also won the Nemuro Shokudo Cup 6-Man Tag Tournament with Kento Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi.

#16 Sam Adonis

This controversial wrestler was hired by WWE in 2011 after three years in the American independent circuit. He was sent to Florida Championship Wrestling but was released from his contract shortly afterward.

After passing through the European independent circuit, Adonis arrived in Mexico in 2016 with a pro-Trump gimmick. Quickly, Adonis became Mexico's most hated heel.

Despite the controversy that involves using a gimmick like this in Mexico, Adonis has won many Mexican fans for his talent in the mic. In addition to making the vast majority of his promos in Spanish, something really appreciated by Mexican fans.

Adonis has been working mainly for CMLL for the last three years. However, he has not achieved any title until now. His greatest achievements are having once been WAW World Heavyweight Champion and ASW British Heavyweight Champion, both in the United Kingdom.

#17 Joel Redman

After seven years in the European independent circuit, Redman was hired by WWE in 2012 and became known as Oliver Gray. He and Neville were the first NXT Tag Team Champions. However, Redman left WWE in 2014 and returned to the European independent circuit.

Redman has an excellent physical condition and his talent in the ring is above average. The only thing he needs to take the step to the next level is to improve his mic and develop a gimmick that is as attractive as it is unique.

Redman has appeared mainly in British promotions and gained notoriety for his work as Tag Team wrestler at IPW: UK and RevPro. He was once IPW: UK Tag Team Champion and three times RevPro Undisputed British Tag Team Champion.

#18 Joe Doering

Undoubtedly, Joseph "Joe" Doering is the most important gaijin of the AJPW roster. After passing through TNA between 2005 and 2006, Doering came to AJPW in 2007, won the Real World Tag League in 2007 and the AJPW World Tag Team Championship (both with Keiji Mutoh) before his departure in February 2010 to WWE.

Doering was released from his contract seven months later and returned to AJPW in November. Since then he has worked full time for AJPW with a brief intermission in 2016 because he was operated on by a brain tumor.

It's difficult to choose only one great match involving Joe Doering because his clashes with Go Shiozaki, Daisuke Sekimoto, Kento Miyahara, Zeus, KAI and Kengo Mashimo have been among the best that AJPW has been able to offer in recent years.

The operation was a success and Doering returned to AJPW on January 2, 2017. He was twice Triple Crown Champion.

This has been the greatest achievement of his career. He also won the Real World Tag League again in 2013 (with Suwama) and in 2018 (with Dylan James) and won the AJPW World Tag Team Championship another three times more (with Masayuki Kono, Sanada and Dylan James).