Champion Carnival

[Boricua]

Established in 1973, the Champion Carnival is All Japan's annual heavyweight singles tournament, designed to determine who the strongest wrestler is. Assuming the reigning Triple Crown Champion doesn't also win the tournament, the eventual winner moves into top contention for a shot at the title. With many epic matches over the years, the Carnival has played host to some memorable moments. In the past, both singles elimination and round-robin concepts have been used, with the latter favoured in recent years.

1973

Winner: Giant Baba
Runner Up: Mark Lewin

1974

Winner: Giant Baba (2)
Runner Up: Mr. Wrestling

1975

Winner: Giant Baba (3)
Runner Up: Gene Kiniski

1976

Winner: Abdullah The Butcher
Runner Up: Giant Baba

1977

Winner: Giant Baba (4)
Runner Up: Jumbo Tsuruta

1978

Winner: Giant Baba (5)
Runner up: Abdullah The Butcher

1979

Winner: Abdullah The Butcher (2)
Runner Up: Jumbo Tsuruta

1980

Winner: Jumbo Tsuruta
Runner Up: Dick Slater

1981

Winner: Giant Baba (6)
Runner Up: Bruiser Brody

1982

Winner: Giant Baba (7)
Runner Up: Bruiser Brody

1991

Winner: Jumbo Tsuruta (2)
Runner Up: Stan Hansen

1992

Winner: Stan Hansen
Runner Up: Mitsuharu Misawa

1993

Winner:Stan Hansen (2)
Runner Up: Mitsuharu Misawa

1994

Winner: Toshiaki Kawada
Runner Up: Steve Williams

1995:

Winner: Mitsuharu Misawa
Runner Up: Akira Taue

1996

Winner: Akira Taue
Runner Up: Steve Williams

1997

Winner: Toshiaki Kawada
Runners Up: Kenta Kobashi & Mitsuharu Misawa

1998:

Winner: Mitsuharu Misawa (2)
Runner Up: Jun Akiyama

1999

Winner: Vader
Runner Up: Kenta Kobashi

2000

Winner: Kenta Kobashi
Runner Up: Takao Omori

2001

Winner: Genichiro Tenryu
Runner Up: Taiyo Kea

2002

Winner: Keiji Mutoh
Runner Up: Mike Barton

2003

Winner: Satoshi Kojima
Runner Up: Arashi

2004

Winner: Keiji Mutoh (2)
Runner Up: Kensuke Sasaki

2005

Winner: Kensuke Sasaki
Runner Up: Jamal

2006

Winner: Taiyo Kea