The Champion's Carnival is an annual professional wrestling tournament held by All Japan Pro Wrestling, established in 1973. Originally a single-elimination tournament, the Champion's Carnival is currently held as a round-robin, with a victory worth 2 points, a time limit draw worth 1 and a loss, double countout or double disqualification worth 0. All matches have a 30-minute time limit. Since 1991, the winner of the tournament, assuming they do not already hold it, receives a shot at the AJPW Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship.
The tournament was not held beginning in 1983 as AJPW was faltering behind New Japan Pro Wrestling, which emphasized junior heavyweight wrestling and its star Tiger Mask Satoru Sayama as a strong draw alongside Antonio Inoki's own quasi-martial arts heavyweight battles. After Genichiro Tenryu left All Japan in 1990, however, the tournament was brought back as a means of providing stronger challenges to the top star remaining, Jumbo Tsuruta. The tour from March to April, however, maintained the "Champion's Carnival" name even without a tournament.
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Famous quotes containing the words champion and/or carnival:
“But now Miss America, World’s champion woman, you take your promenading self down into the cobalt blue waters of the Caribbean and see what happens. You meet a lot of darkish men who make vociferous love to you, but otherwise pay you no mid.”
—Zora Neale Hurston (1891–1960)
“Looks like some carnival lost a good act.”
—James Gleason (1886–1959)