The Champion Carnival is a professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling. The tournament is also known by the nickname Haru no Saiten and is sometimes abbreviated to CC. Created by AJPW founder Giant Baba, the tournament has been held annually since 1973 and is the longest-running singles tournament in professional wrestling, while also ranking as the most prestigious event in the AJPW calendar. It is considered a successor to the World League, held by Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance between 1959 and 1972, predating the New Japan Pro-WrestlingG1 Climax tournament by a year. 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 final to determine the tournament winner. Baba himself holds the record for most Champion Carnival wins, having won the tournament seven times. Other notable winners include Abdullah the Butcher, Jumbo Tsuruta, Keiji Mutoh, Mitsuharu Misawa, Stan Hansen and Toshiaki Kawada. Three wrestlers have won both the Champion Carnival and the G1 Climax: Mutoh, Satoshi Kojima and Yuji Nagata.
History
From 1959 to 1972, the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance, run by Rikidōzan, held a tournament called World League, which featured both Japanese and foreign professional wrestlers. Rikidōzan himself dominated the annual tournament early on, however, after his death in 1963, the tournament was won six times by Giant Baba and once by Antonio Inoki. JWA folded shortly after both Baba and Inoki left the promotion to create All JapanPro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, respectively. Both men took the concept of World League with them to their new promotions, with Baba creating the "Champion Carnival" in 1973 and Inoki creating the World League in 1974, later renaming it G1 Climax. The first Champion Carnival took place only six months after Baba had founded AJPW. The initial tournament was held in a single-elimination format and was intended for AJPW's heavyweight wrestlers such as Hiro Matsuda, Samson Kutsuwada and Thunder Sugiyama. For the tournament, Baba also recruited several foreign wrestlers, such as Baron Scicluna, The Destroyer, King Curtis Iaukea and Mark Lewin. Baba himself won the inaugural tournament, defeating Lewin in the final. A year later, AJPW presented the second Champion Carnival, which most notably introduced former Olympian Jumbo Tsuruta, who eventually went on to become one of the promotion's top names. Baba also won the second Champion Carnival, this time defeating Mr. Wrestling in the final. Heading into the 1975 Champion Carnival, Baba changed the tournament's format. Now the four wrestlers who advanced to the semifinals in the single-elimination tournament were put into a round-robin tournament, where the wrestler with the best record would be declared the winner. Baba went on to win the tournament for the third year in a row, defeating Gene Kiniski in the final. A year later, the single-elimination portion of the tournament was eliminated and the Champion Carnival was changed to a pure round-robin tournament, a format it holds to this day. The 1976 tournament was the first Champion Carnival not won by Baba. It was instead won by Canadian Abdullah the Butcher, who defeated Baba in the final. Baba went on to win the tournament four more times, winning a total of seven out of the ten first Champion Carnivals. In early 1980s, AJPW loaded the Champion Carnival with some of the top foreign wrestlers in the world, including Billy Robinson, Bruiser Brody, Dick Slater, Jack Brisco, Stan Hansen, Ted DiBiase and Terry Funk. However, after rival promotion NJPW took over as the number one promotion in Japan with a record-breaking business streak, AJPW decided to put the Champion Carnival on hiatus, not wanting the tournament to be overshadowed by their competitors. The hiatus lasted from 1983 to [|1991]. , a two-time winner of the tournament, who took over its booking after Giant Baba's death In 1991, AJPW had overtaken NJPW and was again the top promotion in Japan, boasting a roster of top foreign wrestlers mixed with top Japanese wrestlers. The 1991 tournament showcased several younger wrestlers, including Kenta Kobashi, Mitsuharu Misawa and Toshiaki Kawada, who bypassed the promotion's aging veterans and went on to become the promotion's cornerstones for the next decade. However, despite the emergence of the younger wrestlers and the participation of foreign wrestlers such as Doug Furnas, The Dynamite Kid, Johnny Ace, Johnny Smith and Mick Foley, the 1991 tournament was won by an AJPW veteran Jumbo Tsuruta, who defeated Stan Hansen in the final. The [|1992] tournament was booked around the storyline of the "young lions" challenging the veterans for AJPW supremacy. Stan Hansen went on to win his first Champion Carnival, defeating Mitsuharu Misawa in the final. Despite losing in the final, the tournament made Misawa a star, someone earmarked to occupy the promotion's top spot. A year later, Hansen again defeated Misawa in the final. The [|1993] tournament was also noteworthy for introducing rookie Jun Akiyama. In [|1994], Toshiaki Kawada became the first of the "young lions" to win the Champion Carnival, defeating "Dr. Death" Steve Williams in the final, a match that has been called "arguably the greatest Carnival tournament match of all time". For the next several years the tournament was dominated by AJPW's younger wrestlers with Kawada repeating his win, Mitsuharu Misawa winning two tournaments and Kenta Kobashi one tournament. The [|1997] tournament ended in a rare three-way draw between Kawada, Kobashi and Misawa, resulting in a round-robin playoff between the three, where Kawada emerged victorious. On January 31, [|1999], Giant Baba died, leaving the promotion in the hands of Mitsuharu Misawa. The 1999 Champion Carnival was the first one not booked by Baba. As the new booker, Misawa made a controversial decision to leave Stan Hansen out of the tournament, while giving Vader the win in the final over Kenta Kobashi. Problems between Misawa and Giant Baba's widow Motoko Baba led to Misawa exiting AJPW in [|2000], taking 26 out of the 28 Japanese AJPW wrestlers with him to form the new Pro Wrestling Noah promotion. Struggling to cope with the loss of the majority of its roster, AJPW eventually hired NJPW wrestler Keiji Mutoh to lead the promotion. Mutoh went on to win the Champion Carnival three times, before leaving the promotion in [|2013], after which he was replaced by Jun Akiyama. 2013 also saw Akiyama finally win his first Champion Carnival, twenty years after his debut appearance in the tournament. In recent years, several outsiders have won the tournament, with freelancerMinoru Suzuki winning it in [|2009] and [|2010], NJPW representative Yuji Nagata winning it in [|2011], Big Japan Pro Wrestling representative Daisuke Sekimoto winning it in [|2016], freelancer Shuji Ishikawa winning it in [|2017], and Pro Wrestling Noah representative Naomichi Marufuji winning it in [|2018]. On April 2, 2020, AJPW held a press conference, delaying this year's Champion Carnival, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 28, they confirmed that the tournament has been moved to September.
The 1978 Champion Carnival took place from March 4 to April 7, featuring 15 wrestlers in a round-robin format. The tournament was won by Giant Baba, who defeated Abdullah the Butcher via countout in the finals. It was Baba's fifth tournament win.
The 1979 Champion Carnival took place from March 3 to April 6, featuring 16 wrestlers in a round-robin format. The tournament was won by Abdullah the Butcher, who defeated Jumbo Tsuruta in the second of two playoff matches after both men tied atop the standings. The first playoff match resulted in a double-countout, and a second match was held.
The 1980 Champion Carnival took place from March 28 to May 1, featuring 13 wrestlers in a round-robin format. The tournament was won by Jumbo Tsuruta, who defeated Dick Slater in the final.
The 1981 Champion Carnival took place from March 27 to April 23, featuring 14 wrestlers in a round-robin format. Giant Baba won the tournament for the sixth time.
The 1982 Champion Carnival took place from March 23 to April 18, featuring 18 wrestlers in a round-robin format. Giant Baba won the tournament for the seventh time.
The 1991 Champion Carnival took place from March 23 to April 18, featuring 14 wrestlers participating in a two-block round-robin format. The two wrestlers who finished atop each block met in the final. Jumbo Tsuruta, the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, defeated Stan Hansen in the final.
The 1992 Champion Carnival took place from March 20 to April 17, featuring 20 wrestlers participating in a two-block round-robin format. The two wrestlers who finished atop each block met in the final. Stan Hansen, the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, defeated Mitsuharu Misawa in the final.
The 1993 Champion Carnival took place from March 25 to April 21, featuring 13 wrestlers participating in a single-block round-robin format. Stan Hansen repeated as tournament champion, a feat that had only been achieved by Giant Baba. Jun Akiyama suffered an arm injury in a tag team match on the first event of the tournament, partnered with Takao Omori against Satoru Asako and Masao Inoue. Akiyama was unable to participate in the tournament as a result.
The 1994 Champion Carnival took place from March 19 to April 16, featuring 12 wrestlers participating in a single-block round-robin format. Toshiaki Kawada won the tournament in his fourth appearance.
The 1995 Champion Carnival took place from March 21 to April 15, featuring 11 wrestlers participating in a single-block round-robin format. Mitsuharu Misawa won the tournament. There were originally 12 wrestlers scheduled for the tournament, but that number dropped to 11 on March 22 when Steve Williams was suspended from AJPW for one year after being found in possession of painkillers at the airport and returned to the United States.
Mitsuharu Misawa
17
Akira Taue
17
Toshiaki Kawada
16
Stan Hansen
16
Kenta Kobashi
13
Johnny Ace
11
Jun Akiyama
6
Doug Furnas
6
Danny Spivey
4
Dan Kroffat
4
Takao Omori
0
Ace
Akiyama
Furnas
Hansen
Kawada
Kobashi
Kroffat
Misawa
Omori
Spivey
Taue
Ace
Ace
Ace
Hansen
Kawada
Draw
Ace
Misawa
Ace
Ace
Taue
Akiyama
Ace
Akiyama
Hansen
Kawada
Kobashi
Kroffat
Misawa
Akiyama
Akiyama
Taue
Furnas
Ace
Akiyama
Hansen
Kawada
Kobashi
Furnas
Misawa
Furnas
Furnas
Taue
Hansen
Hansen
Hansen
Hansen
Kawada
Draw
Hansen
Draw
Hansen
Hansen
Hansen
Kawada
Kawada
Kawada
Kawada
Kawada
Draw
Kawada
Draw
Kawada
Kawada
Taue
Kobashi
Draw
Kobashi
Kobashi
Draw
Draw
Kobashi
Misawa
Kobashi
Kobashi
Taue
Kroffat
Ace
Kroffat
Furnas
Hansen
Kawada
Kobashi
Misawa
Kroffat
Spivey
Taue
Misawa
Misawa
Misawa
Misawa
Draw
Draw
Misawa
Misawa
Misawa
Misawa
Draw
Omori
Ace
Akiyama
Furnas
Hansen
Kawada
Kobashi
Kroffat
Misawa
Spivey
Taue
Spivey
Ace
Akiyama
Furnas
Hansen
Kawada
Kobashi
Spivey
Misawa
Spivey
Taue
Taue
Taue
Taue
Taue
Hansen
Taue
Taue
Taue
Draw
Taue
Taue
1996
The 1996 Champion Carnival took place from March 22 to April 20, featuring 12 wrestlers in a single-block round-robin format. Akira Taue, one-half of the reigning AJPW World Tag Team Champions, won the tournament, after having fallen to Mitsuharu Misawa in the 1995 final.
The 1997 Champion Carnival was held from March 22 to April 19, featuring 13 wrestlers in a single-block round-robin format. Due to a three-way tie for first place between Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi and Mitsuharu Misawa, a one-night round-robin playoff was contested among them with the winner claiming the tournament.
The 1998 Champion Carnival was held from March 21 to April 18, featuring 13 wrestlers in a single-block round-robin format, with the top two finishers wrestling in the final. Mitsuharu Misawa, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, won the tournament for the second time, also having won in 1995.
The 1999 Champion Carnival was held from March 24 to April 16, featuring 10 wrestlers in a single-block round-robin format, with the top two finishers wrestling in the final. Vader, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, won the tournament in his first appearance.
The 2000 Champion Carnival was held from March 24 to April 15, featuring 16 wrestlers in a single-elimination format. Kenta Kobashi, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, won the tournament in his 10th consecutive appearance.
2001
The 2001 Champion Carnival was held from March 23 to April 11, featuring 10 wrestlers in a single-block round-robin format, with the top two finishers wrestling in the final. Genichiro Tenryu, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, won the tournament in his second appearance, his first since 1982.
The 2002 Champion Carnival was held from March 23 to April 10, re-introduced the dual-block round-robin format used in 1991 and 1992, this time with 7 men in each block; the top two scorers in each would advance to a four-man tournament, with Block A's first place finalist facing Block B's runner-up, and vice versa, and the winners wrestling in the final. Despite the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship being vacant as a result of Toshiaki Kawada injuring his knee after his match against Arashi, All Japan decided not to use the tournament to fill the vacancy, citing the time limit for tournament matches. The winner, Keiji Mutoh, became the first man in history to win both the Champion Carnival and the G1 Climax, as well as the second man to win the Carnival in his first appearance.
The 2003 version of the Champion Carnival took place between March 22 and March 28. Keiji Mutoh, Satoshi Kojima, George Hines, Johnny Smith, Arashi and Nobutaka Araya received byes to the quarterfinals, leaving Yoji Anjo, Gigantes, The Gladiator and Big John Tenta to fight in the first round. Shinya Hashimoto, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, did not participate, citing prior commitments to his Pro Wrestling Zero1 promotion.
2004
The 2004 version of the Champion Carnival took between April 10 and April 20.
Block A
Arashi
Hayashi
Jamal
Mutoh
Sasaki
Arashi
Hayashi
Arashi
Mutoh
Sasaki
Hayashi
Hayashi
Jamal
Mutoh
Sasaki
Jamal
Arashi
Jamal
Jamal
Sasaki
Mutoh
Mutoh
Mutoh
Jamal
Draw
Sasaki
Sasaki
Sasaki
Sasaki
Draw
Block B
Araya
Kawada
Kea
Kojima
Omori
Araya
Kawada
Kea
Araya
Omori
Kawada
Kawada
Kea
Kojima
Omori
Kea
Kea
Kea
Kojima
Omori
Kojima
Araya
Kojima
Kojima
Draw
Omori
Omori
Omori
Omori
Draw
2005
The 2005 version of the Champion Carnival took place between April 9 and April 20.
Block A
Arashi
Bernard
Kea
Kojima
Kondo
Sasaki
Arashi
Arashi
Kea
Kojima
Kondo
Arashi
Bernard
Arashi
DCO
Kojima
Bernard
Bernard
Kea
Kea
DCO
Draw
Kea
Sasaki
Kojima
Kojima
Kojima
Draw
Kojima
Sasaki
Kondo
Kondo
Bernard
Kea
Kojima
Sasaki
Sasaki
Arashi
Bernard
Sasaki
Sasaki
Sasaki
Block B
Buchanan
Jamal
Kawada
Mutoh
Palumbo
Suwama
Buchanan
Buchanan
Kawada
Mutoh
Draw
Buchanan
Jamal
Buchanan
Jamal
Mutoh
Jamal
Jamal
Kawada
Kawada
Jamal
Draw
Kawada
Kawada
Mutoh
Mutoh
Mutoh
Draw
Palumbo
Suwama
Palumbo
Draw
Jamal
Kawada
Palumbo
Palumbo
Suwama
Buchanan
Jamal
Kawada
Suwama
Palumbo
2006
The 2006 version of the Champion Carnival took place between April 7 and April 20.
The 2007 version of the Champion Carnival took place between March 26 and March 30.
Block A
Kea
Mutoh
Owashi
Sasaki
Suwama
Kea
Mutoh
Kea
Draw
Draw
Mutoh
Mutoh
Mutoh
Sasaki
Mutoh
Owashi
Kea
Mutoh
Sasaki
Suwama
Sasaki
Draw
Sasaki
Sasaki
Suwama
Suwama
Draw
Mutoh
Suwama
Suwama
Block B
Kawada
Kojima
RO'Z
Suzuki
Tajiri
Kawada
Kawada
RO'Z
Draw
Kawada
Kojima
Kawada
Kojima
Kojima
DCO
RO'Z
RO'Z
Kojima
Suzuki
Tajiri
Suzuki
Draw
Kojima
Suzuki
Tajiri
Tajiri
Kawada
DCO
Tajiri
Tajiri
2008
The 2008 version of the Champion Carnival took place between April 5 and April 9.
Block A
Kawada
Kea
Kojima
Mutoh
Tanahashi
Kawada
Kawada
Kojima
Kawada
Draw
Kea
Kawada
Kojima
Mutoh
Tanahashi
Kojima
Kojima
Kojima
Mutoh
Tanahashi
Mutoh
Kawada
Mutoh
Mutoh
Draw
Tanahashi
Draw
Tanahashi
Tanahashi
Draw
Block B
Doering
Nishimura
Sasaki
Suwama
Suzuki
Doering
Doering
Sasaki
Suwama
Doering
Nishimura
Doering
Draw
Suwama
Nishimura
Sasaki
Sasaki
Draw
Draw
Suzuki
Suwama
Suwama
Suwama
Draw
Suzuki
Suzuki
Doering
Nishimura
Suzuki
Suzuki
2009
The 2009 version of the Champion Carnival tournament took place between April 5 and April 12.
Block A
Doering
Hayashi
Mutoh
Nishimura
Sanada
Takayama
Doering
Hayashi
Mutoh
Doering
Doering
Takayama
Hayashi
Hayashi
Hayashi
Draw
Hayashi
Takayama
Mutoh
Mutoh
Hayashi
Mutoh
Mutoh
Mutoh
Nishimura
Doering
Draw
Mutoh
Nishimura
Nishimura
Sanada
Doering
Hayashi
Mutoh
Nishimura
Takayama
Takayama
Takayama
Takayama
Mutoh
Nishimura
Takayama
Block B
Hama
Kea
Kojima
Suwama
Suzuki
Zodiac
Hama
Hama
Kojima
Suwama
Suzuki
Hama
Kea
Hama
Kea
Draw
Kea
Zodiac
Kojima
Kojima
Kea
Kojima
Kojima
Kojima
Suwama
Suwama
Draw
Kojima
Suzuki
Suwama
Suzuki
Suzuki
Kea
Kojima
Suzuki
Suzuki
Zodiac
Hama
Zodiac
Kojima
Suwama
Suzuki
2010
The 2010 version of the Champion Carnival took place between April 3 and April 11.
Block A
Hama
Kojima
Kono
Sanada
Suzuki
Hama
Kojima
Kono
Hama
Hama
Kojima
Kojima
Kono
Kojima
Suzuki
Kono
Kono
Kono
Draw
Suzuki
Sanada
Hama
Kojima
Draw
Suzuki
Suzuki
Hama
Suzuki
Suzuki
Suzuki
Block B
Duprée
Funaki
Kea
Kiyoshi
Suwama
Duprée
Funaki
Duprée
Kiyoshi
Suwama
Funaki
Funaki
Funaki
Funaki
Draw
Kea
Duprée
Funaki
Kea
Suwama
Kiyoshi
Kiyoshi
Funaki
Kea
Kiyoshi
Suwama
Suwama
Draw
Suwama
Kiyoshi
2011
The 2011 version of the Champion Carnival tournament took place between April 8 and April 13. Kenso suffered an injury and was forced to drop out of the tournament after his first match, forfeiting the rest of his matches.
Block A
Kono
Funaki
Hama
Nagata
Omori
Suwama
Kono
Kono
Kono
Nagata
Omori
Kono
Funaki
Kono
Funaki
Funaki
Funaki
Suwama
Hama
Kono
Funaki
Nagata
Omori
Suwama
Nagata
Nagata
Funaki
Nagata
Nagata
Nagata
Omori
Omori
Funaki
Omori
Nagata
Suwama
Suwama
Kono
Suwama
Suwama
Nagata
Suwama
Block B
Akiyama
Doering
Kea
Kenso
Sanada
Suzuki
Akiyama
Akiyama
Draw
Akiyama
Akiyama
Suzuki
Doering
Akiyama
Doering
Doering
Sanada
Suzuki
Kea
Draw
Doering
Kea
Sanada
Kea
Kenso
Akiyama
Doering
Kea
Sanada
Suzuki
Sanada
Akiyama
Sanada
Sanada
Sanada
Sanada
Suzuki
Suzuki
Suzuki
Kea
Suzuki
Sanada
2012
The 2012 version of the Champion Carnival took place between April 21 and May 7. Yutaka Yoshie suffered an injury and was forced to forfeit the rest of his matches. Takumi Soya was injured after his fifth match and was pulled out of the tournament as well, forfeiting his final match. Jun Akiyama, the reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, did not participate due to commitments with Pro Wrestling Noah.
Block A
Hama
Kenso
Kono
Nagata
Omori
Sekimoto
Suwama
Hama
Kenso
Hama
Nagata
Omori
Hama
Suwama
Kenso
Kenso
Kono
Nagata
Kenso
Sekimoto
Suwama
Kono
Hama
Kono
Kono
Omori
Sekimoto
Kono
Nagata
Nagata
Nagata
Kono
Nagata
Nagata
Draw
Omori
Omori
Kenso
Omori
Nagata
Sekimoto
Omori
Sekimoto
Hama
Sekimoto
Sekimoto
Nagata
Sekimoto
Suwama
Suwama
Suwama
Suwama
Kono
Draw
Omori
Suwama
Block B
Akebono
Kea
Okabayashi
Sanada
M.Soya
T.Soya
Yoshie
Akebono
Kea
Akebono
Akebono
Akebono
Akebono
Akebono
Kea
Kea
Draw
Sanada
Kea
Kea
Kea
Okabayashi
Akebono
Draw
Sanada
Okabayashi
Okabayashi
Yoshie
Sanada
Akebono
Sanada
Sanada
M.Soya
Sanada
Sanada
M.Soya
Akebono
Kea
Okabayashi
M.Soya
M.Soya
M.Soya
T.Soya
Akebono
Kea
Okabayashi
Sanada
M.Soya
T.Soya
Yoshie
Akebono
Kea
Yoshie
Sanada
M.Soya
T.Soya
2013
The 2013 version of the Champion Carnival tournament took place between April 18 to April 29.
The 2014 version of the Champion Carnival tournament took place between April 13 and April 27. Akebono, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, who was leading his block at the time, was forced to pull out of the tournament on April 22 after being hospitalized with poor health, forfeiting his last two matches On April 25, Go Shiozaki also withdrew from the tournament due to a broken thumb, and forfeited his final match against Jun Akiyama.
The 2018 version of the Champion Carnival tournament took place between April 7 and April 30.
Block A
Bodyguard
Doering
Hino
Ishikawa
Miyahara
Nomura
Sai
Takagi
Bodyguard
Doering
Bodyguard
Ishikawa
Miyahara
Nomura
Bodyguard
Takagi
Doering
Doering
Hino
Ishikawa
Doering
Nomura
Doering
Doering
Hino
Bodyguard
Hino
Hino
Miyahara
Hino
Sai
Hino
Ishikawa
Ishikawa
Ishikawa
Hino
Miyahara
Ishikawa
Sai
Ishikawa
Miyahara
Miyahara
Doering
Miyahara
Miyahara
Miyahara
Miyahara
Takagi
Nomura
Nomura
Nomura
Hino
Ishikawa
Miyahara
Sai
Takagi
Sai
Bodyguard
Doering
Sai
Sai
Miyahara
Sai
Takagi
Takagi
Takagi
Doering
Hino
Ishikawa
Takagi
Takagi
Takagi
Block B
Akiyama
James
Kai
Marufuji
Suwama
Yoshie
Yoshitatsu
Zeus
Akiyama
Akiyama
Akiyama
Marufuji
Suwama
Akiyama
Akiyama
Zeus
James
Akiyama
Kai
Marufuji
James
James
Yoshitatsu
James
Kai
Akiyama
Kai
Marufuji
Suwama
Kai
Yoshitatsu
Kai
Marufuji
Marufuji
Marufuji
Marufuji
Suwama
Marufuji
Marufuji
Zeus
Suwama
Suwama
James
Suwama
Suwama
Suwama
Yoshitatsu
Zeus
Yoshie
Akiyama
James
Kai
Marufuji
Suwama
Yoshie
Yoshie
Yoshitatsu
Akiyama
Yoshitatsu
Yoshitatsu
Marufuji
Yoshitatsu
Yoshie
Zeus
Zeus
Zeus
James
Kai
Zeus
Zeus
Yoshie
Zeus
2019
The 2019 version of the Champion Carnival took place between April 4 and April 29. 18 wrestlers competed in this tournament with 9 men in each block. Kengo Mashimo was originally scheduled to compete, but was forced to withdraw due to injury. Atsushi Aoki took his place. Kento Miyahara, reigning Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, won the tournament in his sixth consecutive appearance.
