AJPW Champion Carnival 2024 Opening Night: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Ayabe over Miyahara is the defining booking decision. An opening-night upset only works if it creates a real consequence, and this one immediately gives Ayabe credibility while forcing Miyahara to chase from behind. Because Ayabe had just joined the promotion, the result also links roster investment to an on-screen push without requiring a title program.

Anzai defeating Jun Saito is a steadier choice but just as useful. The Triple Crown champion begins the tournament with authority and unveils the Gimlet as a decisive finish, while Saito remains protected by the round-robin format because one loss does not end his path.

Suwama over Rei Saito and Ashino over Hokuto Omori give established names early points, which prevents the night from becoming an upset parade. Aoyagi beating Davey Boy Smith Jr. similarly keeps a former Triple Crown champion strong against a dangerous entrant.

Lord Crewe's quick win over Ryuki Honda is the night's oddest result. It establishes Crewe immediately, but the 2:12 runtime limits how much the match can reveal about either wrestler. As a tournament device it works better than it does as a standalone bout.

The overall booking succeeds because the major surprise is concentrated in Ayabe-Miyahara. The rest of the results create a readable standings board around it instead of competing with the upset for attention.

Korakuen Hall is the right setting for a tournament opener because the building gives every upset and near fall immediate feedback without requiring arena-scale production. The reported crowd of 1,157 gives the show a healthy baseline for the start of a month-long tournament.

The event is structured as a clear escalation. Two multi-person matches establish the broader roster, then six consecutive Champion Carnival bouts take over the card. Once the tournament portion begins, the show does not leave it again.

Match lengths vary sharply. Crewe-Honda lasts only 2:12, while Aoyagi-Smith reaches 15:38 and Anzai-Saito goes 15:18. That variation helps the round-robin feel less mechanical: not every first-night match is asked to follow the same template.

Ayabe-Miyahara is positioned directly before the main event, which lets the upset carry into the closing match rather than being buried early. Anzai then closes the show as reigning Triple Crown champion, preserving the champion's status even after Ayabe creates the strongest surprise.

The official AJPW TV event page preserves an event-specific archive listing. WrestleFile treats that as research confirmation, while current reader-facing availability remains conservatively unlisted because subscription and regional access were not independently verified.

Ayabe's victory over Miyahara is the main historical marker. Daily Sports framed it as a striking opening-night result for the two-meter wrestler who had joined AJPW earlier in the month. Even though Ayabe would not win the block, the upset established that his push began immediately rather than years later in hindsight.

Anzai's position is equally important for the broader 2024 story. He enters Champion Carnival as Triple Crown champion and wins his first block match with the Gimlet. The tournament therefore starts with the promotion's young champion carrying both title prestige and round-robin expectations.

The night also captures the Saito Brothers at different points of the same climb. Rei loses to Suwama and Jun loses to Anzai, but both are already placed opposite established top-line heavyweights in tournament singles matches.

The two-block field gives this show archival value beyond the individual winners. Several wrestlers make their first 2024 Carnival appearance here, and every subsequent standings swing traces back to these opening points.

As WrestleFile expands AJPW chronologically from the retained official archive, April 18 follows New Age Chronicle-Z 4 by one week and marks the exact transition from young-talent showcase to the promotion's major spring heavyweight tournament.