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#5 Shuji Ishikawa
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.
