Kento Miyahara & Hideki Suzuki Advance To AJPW Champion Carnival Semi-Finals, Block B Still A Tight Race

The All Japan Pro-Wrestling Champion Carnival 2025 is entering it’s final stages with two competitors moving on to the semi-finals of the prestigious tournament.

On May 6th, Hideki Suzuki and Kento Miyahara finished first and second respectively in Block A of the Champion Carnival to punch their tickets to the semi-finals of the tournament. Suzuki defeated Davey Boy Smith Jr to finish with 12 points as Miyahara defeated Triple Crown Champion Jun Saito to finish with 12 pts as well. Despite being tied with 12 pts each, Suzuki was declared the first place finisher of Block A as he defeated Miyahara earlier in the competition.

The semi-finals and finals are scheduled for May 19th at Ota City General Gymnasium. Suzuki will face the second place finisher in the B Block as Miyahara will face the first place finisher.

Miyahara had these enthusiastic comments backstage after he had advanced:

“I’ve won! The most important thing is to win today, because on May 18, I will definitely advance to the championship match, and I will be the last one standing. Wrestling fans, let me hear your honest opinion. It wouldn’t be much fun if I wasn’t in the finals, would it?”

The B Block is locked in a tight race as a number of wrestlers remain in contention. Here is the current B Block standings:

Block B:

• Madoka Kikuta [8]
• Yuma Anzai [8]
• Ryuki Honda [8]
• Mike D Vecchio [6]
• Yuma Aoyagi [6]
• Ren Ayabe [6]
• Rei Saito [6]
• Aigle Blanc [4]
• Hokuto Omori [4]

Rei Saito has bounced back remarkably in the tournament. He started off with 3 straight losses and appeared to be heading for a disappointing Champion Carnival but he has turned things around with 3 consecutives victories. Saito has put himself right back in contention for earning one of the two top spots in the Block B and a trip to the semi-finals.

Despite Saito’s change of fortunes, Madoka Kikuta, Yuma Anzai, Ryuki Honda, Mike D Vecchio, Yuma Aoyagi & Ren Ayabe all remain in the mix to earn an opportunity to advance.  There are two more events that feature crucial Block B match-ups.

The remaining Block B bouts over the next two events are as follows:

AJPW, 10.05.2025
APA Hotel & Resort Sapporo

• Champion Carnival – Block B: Rei Saito vs. Hokuto Omori
• Champion Carnival – Block B: Ryuki Honda vs. Aigle Blanc
• Champion Carnival – Block B: Madoka Kikuta vs. Ren Ayabe
• Champion Carnival – Block B: Yuma Anzai vs. Yuma Aoyagi

AJPW, 11.05.2025
APA Hotel & Resort Sapporo

• Champion Carnival – Block B: Mike D Vecchio vs. Ren Ayabe
• Champion Carnival – Block B: Ryuki Honda vs. Madoka Kikuta
• Champion Carnival – Block B: Yuma Anzai vs. Rei Saito
• Champion Carnival – Block B: Yuma Aoyagi vs. Hokuto Omori

The winner of the Champion Carnival 2025 tournament will go on to face Triple Crown Champion Jun Saito at a future event.