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

Champion Carnival is the most important event of the year at AJPW.
Champion Carnival is the most important event of the year at AJPW.

#8 Yuma Aoyagi

Yuma Aoyagi.
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

Kengo Mashimo.
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

Suwama
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.

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