[6.0] "An alright opening day of the 2018 Champion Carnival. Things started off well enough with the meeting of two monsters: Hino and Ishikawa. Ishikawa managed to still look like a monster even up against someone so close to his size. Hino established himself well with those big chops, and Ishikawa sold all of Hino's offence very well. It adds a good aura to Hino when you see monsters like Ishikawa getting stunned and staggered from his attacks. I wasn't happy to see Ishikawa's Fire Thunder Driver continue to be unprotected. Hino staged a great late comeback for the win. ***1/4-***1/2. Akiyama vs James was only 4 minutes, so not much happened. James looked alright. I liked the big flurry of attacks from Akiyama, plus his sneaky roll-up pin for the victory. **1/4. Miyahara vs Shingo was MOTN, and very good, but still not the absolute best I believe both men can offer. Miyahara played a good heel early on, but then big bad Shingo came along and asserted himself. He began to work over Miyahara's leg in very nice aggressive fashion. Miyahara sold the leg poorly at first but definitely improved as the match progressed. Best parts of the match were Shingo and Miyahara trading big strikes, with Shingo's lariats up against Miyahara's knee strikes. Miyahara took some great bumps to put over Shingo's power. Shingo's endless charisma ensured the match was always interesting. Great finish with the Last Falconry out of nowhere for the win. I bet this is only a teaser for a later, better match between these two. ***3/4. Suwama vs Zeus was alright, but I expected much more. Zeus played a great underdog (as he always does) while still looking great when emphasising his strength and conditioning. Suwama's lacklustre work in control sadly meant Zeus' selling wasn't too compelling. Suwama eventually impressed with his strikes and power moves at least. I was glad to see Zeus pick up the win, even if it felt like he got a sudden power-up. ***"

"Hino/Shuji:***1/4. James/Jun: ***. Short but fast, and good! Miyahara/Shingo: ***3/4. Shingo takes like 75% of the match. Pretty pretty good. Liked what i saw."

[7.0] "Really good show to start off the tournament. Hino vs Shuji was a total hoss off with a great performance by Hino, ****. Jun vs James was fine for what it was and a good way to set the tone that surprises can happen in the tournament, ***1/4. Shingo vs Kento was really good, and could have been even way better, but they're obviously holding back for a title match, ****. Main event should've been the Kento/Shingo match because this Suwama/Zeus match was disappointing to say the least, but still decent, ***1/2."

[7.0] "Good show. The undercard was okay, as always. Hino vs. Shuji was damn hell HOSS action, just big bombs, lariats and stiff strikes. That FUCKING BOMB was awesome (****1/4); Akiyama vs. James was a smart and fun sprint. It played nice from the inexperienced James trying to use the Chokeslam on Jun, who wrestled Taue a douzen of times and just Craddled him for the win (***); Kento vs. Shingo was awesome. I was expecting a MOTY contender, but I think they saved for the title match, but still a damn great match (****1/4); Zeus vs. Suwama was a good match, but it lacked fire and emotion. Zeus winning was the right call (***1/2). Overall, another good show."