Taiyo Kea!
Ditch touched on it briefly in his Puroresu Pulse column today, but since I don’t have the time to do a puroresu event review this week due to college work I decided to dedicate a column to this year’s Champion Carnival.
The Champion Carnival has been a tradition in All Japan since 1973. It is used for a wide variety of reasons… sometimes the heavyweight champion wins to solidify his place on top, sometimes a rising star wins it to show he is ready for the main event, and other times the wrestler considered the next contender wins it to set up a title shot. This year’s Champion Carnival was more about redemption, as Kea finally won the tournament after seemingly being ready for several years.
In order to fully appreciate the meaning behind Kea’s win, it is important to understand Kea’s history. Kea debuted in All Japan in 1994, and was one of the few that stayed after the NOAH split in 2000. Originally wrestling as Maunakea Mossman, he changed his name to Taiyo Kea and seemed set to finally take his place as a main eventer. But the push never came. In 2002, Kea scored a big win over Tenryu, but soon after would lose to Mutoh and his push would stall. During the Real World Tag League later that year, he and Kojima would take home the crown and again Kea seemed ready for the main event. But unfortunately, Kea would get injured and would be out for a number of months. In 2004, Kea helped form RO&D and he would get a shot at the Triple Crown, but he would lose to Kawada. Fans of Kea have been complaining for years that he was ready, but 12 years after his debut many feared it was too late for the long waited for chance for Kea to be given the ball.
Fast forward to the 2006 Champion Carnival. Coming in, the year-long Triple Crown Champion Kojima was one of the favorites to win, along with last year’s winner Kensuke Sasaki and the newly debuting Minoru Suzuki. The month before, Kea had lost (as he has quite a few times in his career) to Mutoh, so while Kea’s faithful fans hoped he would pull this one out it didn’t seem very likely.
The tournament started poorly for Kea, as he lost his first match to Suwama (who had the help of TARU to pick up the victory). After a fairly easy victory against Buchanan, Kea needed another win when he battled last year’s champion Kensuke Sasaki. Kea would score the upset victory, allowing himself to have a chance at finishing in the top two in his bracket. After a tie to Mutoh (still can’t beat him), Kea drew with Yoshie to back his way into the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals, Kea managed to sneak in a cradle victory as he defeated Minoru Suzuki, who a lot of people expected to win to set up a face-off against Kojima. Kojima wouldn’t win his semi-final match either, however, losing by count out to Suwama. In the finals, Kea overcame the only wrestler who had beaten him in the tournament to win his first Champion Carnival.
What is next for Kea? Well there is little doubt that he will use this win to challenge Kojima for his Triple Crown within the next few months. My personal opinion is that Kea will finally be given the chance to lead All Japan and he will win the Triple Crown Championship. For starters, Kojima has had the belt for over a year and has virtually run out of challengers. Yes, he has Suzuki, but those two can feud whether he has the belt of not. Also, Kea has one defense already set up against Mutoh, as Kea lost to Mutoh before the Champion Carnival and only managed to draw him during it. By beating Kojima and then defeating Mutoh, Kea will be set to show whether he is able to carry All Japan on his back. Is he ready? It is hard to tell, but after 12 years if he is not ready now then he likely never will be. In all probability this is Kea’s final shot at being the star of All Japan, and I hope that All Japan gives him the opportunity.
Feel free to email me at wrestlingencyclopedia@gmail.com if you have any questions, comments, or snide remarks. Visit Shining Road for all the lastest happenings in All Japan.
