News

News From Cook’s Corner 11.30.20: No Star Ratings Required

Cook covers a few news stories from the confusing to the less than positive. Holidays are always rough, ain’t they?

Published

2 years ago

November 30, 2020

Hi, hello & welcome to News From Cook’s Corner! I hope everybody reading this had themselves a very happy Thanksgiving Weekend. Unless you live somewhere other than America, in which case it was just a weekend. For example, Canada holds their Thanksgiving earlier than we do. I’m leaving out any sort of a punchline here because they’re all still cranky about me blaming them for Hulk Hogan’s ill-fated 2002 WWE Championship reign. You may fill one in if you like, but I’m staying out of it.

That wasn’t even the most heat I got last week! 411 commenters got mad at my AEW Dynamite review because it didn’t include star ratings. I mean, I know some people live & die by those things…but here’s the thing: Mine suck! They’re awful! I never want to go too high, but I don’t want to go too low either, so they all kind of end up in the middle. There’s no insight to be gleaned about a wrestling show from whatever number of stars I give a match. It’s not like I’m Larry, or Dave, or even Scott Keith, for heaven’s sake. A lot of people have a knack for it, but after sixteen glorious years typing words about wrestling for Internet consumption, I still don’t. (Also, I might have been doing what “Hangman” Adam Page does during most episodes of AEW Dynamite, but let’s not get into that here.)

Maybe I should be somewhat flattered that people care enough to ask for my star ratings on something, but I find it hard to believe that people value my opinion that much. It’s just some weird addiction to stars or something. I dunno.

Anywho, let’s get on with the news!

SmackDown = Land of Confusion?

I’m one of those people that likes to know what’s scheduled for a show in advance. Tease me with something interesting, and I’m more likely to watch live, instead of YouTube clips or whatever. The most recent episode of SmackDown had absolutely nothing announced until minutes before the show started. Shades of some WCW pay per view events. A F4WOnline source said the show was a “mess” backstage, still being worked on hours before the show.

Here’s my problem with all of this. We all know that when it comes to WWE, the buck stops with Vince McMahon. It always has. The thing is, we’ve seen Vince on television recently, and it’s fairly obvious that he’s lost a few miles per hour off his fastball. That’s not me knocking Vince, the man is 75 years old and that happens to most people when they get to that age. If you saw him introducing the Undertaker at Survivor Series, or his appearance at the Triple H Anniversary Show, you know what I’m talking about. The guy isn’t quite that invincible fireball personality he once was.

Yet, every decision WWE makes on anything falls to him. These people can’t even book a show unless Vince is in the building holding their hands. This isn’t good! At some point, folks in WWE not named “Vince McMahon” should be able to take some leadership. Whether it’s Stephanie or Triple H, or Shane or Bruce Prichard or some other writer, somebody else needs to be ready to have the buck stop with them. Then when Vince shows up, he can blow the whole thing up and take things a different direction. That’s fine, but I do think that the lack of leadership past Vince is a pretty big problem for WWE going forward.

Vince won’t live forever. Even if he does live to 100 like his mother, those last 10 years are going to be rough. Right now, it looks like other WWE higher-ups are afraid to take any authority from him. They better be ready to do it soon.

Progress Report on Edge & Daniel Bryan’s Creative Endeavors

We all know that Edge & Daniel Bryan have become part of WWE’s creative team, Edge serving on Raw and Bryan with SmackDown. How are they doing? It’s popped up a few places, but I read on Ringside News that Bryan is receiving rave reviews, not only for his contributions creatively but for his interest in the process. He gives plenty of advice to talent backstage and has been watching Vince McMahon closely, learning how Vince produces the show. Bryan has said his full-time in-ring career is nearing its end, and as much as he loves the business I’d think that making a transition to full-time creative/producer/backstage man would make perfect sense and would make him happy.

The same might not be true for Edge. Ringside News is reporting that Edge hasn’t put the same effort into his new job that Bryan has. Apparently he also speaks to talent and gives them advice, but it doesn’t seem to be having the same effect that Bryan has with SmackDown talent. The general impression is that Edge doesn’t really want to do it. Which is fine. Some people are made for that backstage WWE life and some aren’t.

I still do find it interesting that one of these sources talking to websites obviously has some kind of axe to grind with Edge. We saw it a little while back when there were reports that Edge had been meeting with the Forgotten Sons, who aren’t exactly the most popular folks anywhere. We still haven’t seen or heard anything about them since, although Fightful boss Sean Ross Sapp has openly speculated that the two that weren’t idiots on Twitter might end up in the corner of King Corbin. Sapp does seem to have his finger on the pulse, so keep an eye on that.

Also, keep an eye on his Kentucky Wildcats getting their asses kicked by Richmond. BOOM ROASTED!

Impact Keeping Options Open

I found this interesting. Fightful Select reported that Impact Wrestling has been filming different finishes to some of their major storylines. I imagine this would involve several different people being revealed as John E. Bravo’s shooter, which means that one of the people I ranked in my column from a few weeks ago might have done it in an alternate universe. I’m taking that as a win, because we need to take our wins when we can here in 2020.

Impact has had a lot of roster turnover over the past couple of years, so filming multiple endings to things is a good way to try and keep the show current. It’s also a good way to keep talent from blabbing things to their favorite writers.

A Chris Hero Update

Or Kassius Ohno, in ca-oh who am I kidding, anybody reading this column knows the man more as Chris Hero than as Kassius Ohno. He’s been somewhat conspicuous by his absence from pro wrestling since his release from WWE, which has folks wondering. He issued a statement on Saturday:

“Oh and, before anyone asks or infers, I am far from done wrestling. If I wanted to hang it up and coach/produce I could have a job tomorrow. I’ve turned down a number of companies in the last 6 months- not because they’ve been terrible offers or anything but because I’m just not ready. I will come back when the circumstances and situations are right. Trust me, it *kills* me to not be out there doing what I love. The time will come and when it does it will be spectacular. In the meantime, I appreciate all of your patience. Take care & stay safe!”

My take: Knowing what I know about Tony Khan, which is he’s obviously a mark for 2000s independent wrestling, especially in the CZW category, why wouldn’t he want to book Chris Hero against Eddie Kingston? I assume both of those guys are tired of that match, but Hero would take it to get his foot in the AEW door, and Kingston seems more willing to play ball now than in previous years. I fully expect to see Hero vs. Kingston on an AEW PPV event in 2021, and the build will be glorious.

The Crown Jewel Lost Some Luster

Some bad news came through the pipeline this weekend from one of Ring of Honor’s biggest heels of all time. Those of us that were following ROH in the mid-2000s know how hard it was for anybody on that roster to get some proper heat. Jimmy Rave never had that problem. People were always willing to hate Jimmy Rave, as he had that demeanor about him, and he wasn’t quite on the workrate level as many of the ROH favorites of the time.

Rave has still been active in the southern U.S. wrestling scene since leaving ROH, but it seems like that’s coming to an end.

This is the hardest tweet I have ever had put out. pic.twitter.com/G9kr8oq7ra

— Jimmy Rave (@TheJimmyRave) November 29, 2020

You hate to see it. Any time that anybody loses an arm is a bad piece of business. Rave’s description of what happened reaffirms something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, and that’s how we (or at least I) tend to ignore physical ailments if they aren’t at least a 10 on the physical pain scale. We try to gut it out and play through the pain. It’s human nature.

However, gutting it out and playing through the pain can lead to even more pain down the road. Or in some cases, not being able to feel any pain since you’re not feeling anything at all. I’m not saying we need to be hypochondriacs and rush to the hospital any time we get a headache. We just need to be more aware of when things don’t feel right. Me, I’ve spent most of 2020 dealing with an eye ailment that could have been cured months ago if I didn’t just stop wearing contacts to deal with the issue. I couldn’t have picked a worse year to wear glasses most of the time, too. Masks & glasses aren’t fun.

At least I’m not missing part of an arm! Best wishes to Jimmy Rave, hopefully he’ll be able to find hapiness doing something other than in-ring competition.

1 Bob

Bob Ryder, a co-founder of the company currently known as Impact Wrestling, passed away last week at the age of 64. He was a vital part of the early days of the Internet Wrestling Community. He launched Prodigy’s wrestling section, which if you’re a little bit older than me you’ll remember pretty well. (I was an AOL kid.) Ryder was a founder of 1wrestling.com and became part of WCW’s Internet efforts, co-hosting WCW Live alongside Jeremy Borash before and after episodes of WCW Monday Nitro.

Once WCW got bought by Vince McMahon, Ryder was out of the picture. He was close with Jeff Jarrett, and Jeff’s father Jerry went along with them & others for a boat ride on the Gulf Coast where they came up with the idea of NWA: Total Nonstop Action. Ryder served that company through its various names, booking regimes & owners until his dying day. He was known for his ability at making travel arrangements. If he was sitting at home or on vacation he was always on call if somebody needed him. If a TNA/Impact wrestler ran into a rough spot on the road, they would call Bob and he would take care of things.

People that actually knew Bob had nothing bad to say about him. Pretty much anybody that spent any amount of time in TNA/Impact, along with Impact’s current roster, expressed their condolences. People that knew him from the Internet…well, you know. The fact that Chris Hyatte & Bob Ryder passed in the same year is definitely some kind of something. Those guys had quite the feud back in the day, much hotter than the stuff that passes for Internet feuds now. I don’t think Jim Cornette has said anything about Dave Meltzer’s mom. Correct me if I’m wrong.

All I can say for sure is that Bob did what a lot of us would like to do. He got into the business! He became a vital part of a company. That’s more than a lot of us in this genre can say.

Thanks for reading, my friends. Until next week, keep your stick on the ice.

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

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(NOAH) NOAH NEWSLETTER VOL.194 ~ 12TH MARCH 2023

Pre-matches, retirements and cross promotion challenges! NOAH keeps things interesting going into Spring!

Published

1 week ago

March 13, 2023

Hi5ame

NEWS

Daisuke Harada’s retirement

Daisuke Harada wrestled his last match at Korakuen Hall on the 9th March, bringing a seventeen year career to a close. The match was only a minute, and Harada took no bumps and took no damage to his neck. The last move of his career was Misawa’s Rolling Elbow, although he did set up The Katayama German Suplex. Fortunately, time ran out then and the referee looked as if he had to hold Harada back from continuing. His opponent, Atsushi Kotoge (who he calls his “eternal rival”) had come to the ring highly emotional and had buried his face in the turnbuckle when Harada’s music sounded, he was in tears again when Harada made his speech;

“Are you kidding me, aren’t I the one who wants to cry the most? My pro wrestling life started with you, and I’m really happy that it ended with you. Because of you, I was able to come to NOAH and continue wrestling because you were here, and because of you I was able to wrestle for one last minute. I am really grateful to you. From the day I entered Osaka Pro Wrestling, I was cocky junior, but until today have been indebted to you. Thank you for your help today!”

Kotoge left soon after, and Harada addressed the crowd thanking everyone and hoping that they would be happy with the match (the fans were just as emotional as Kotoge), he thanked NOAH, the medical team and everyone who came today. There was to be no ten count bell or ceremony (Harada finds them a little gloomy) but he wanted to end his career with a bang. Harada left the ring for the last time, raising the arm of the person he said had saved his life (NOAH’s trainer, Nagahama) and shaking hands with the wrestlers at ringside, which included Hitoshi Kumano, before he disappeared one final time behind the curtains. In the lobby, Harada had been sent flowers from Osaka Pro, HUB, Zeus (they sent flowers in his colors of blue and white), Meiko Satomura, THE LEAVE, GLEAT, DDT, Satoshi Kojima – the list went on. Harada hasn’t decided what he is going to do next, but he has vowed to support NOAH as a fan, and has referred to himself as becoming a “Wrestling Genie”. However, he doesn’t seem to be ready to leave NOAH behind just yet, as he still has one final NOAH Junior Space to do.

“Don’t end up like me” – Daisuke Harada, who has announced his retirement, thinks about the unexpected doctor stop without subjective symptoms, the retirement match is a one minute exhibition with a doctor present

“My past matches will be streamed. Please receive Daisuke Harada’s pro wrestling! – free matches released on YouTube that Daisuke Harada has chosen himself

“What to do with Taniguchi?” Takashi Sugiura to “retrain” him

The question of “What to do with Taniguchi” is one that NOAH have wondered periodically over the years, and now the question has arisen again following his six man match when he teamed with Naomichi Marufuji and Masaaki Mochizuki against The Sugiura Army of Takashi Sugiura, Kazuyuki Fujita and Hideki Suzuki. Suzuki had said that he wanted to see Maybach Taniguchi, but instead they got apathetic Shuhei Taniguchi, who ended the match by getting choked out by Takashi Sugiura and the ref called for the bell. After the match Sugiura, stood over Taniguchi, and then left the ring. Marufuji and Mochizuki were a little kinder, Marufuji rolling him out, but they both exchanged knowing glances and Marufuji gave him a weary look as they walked to the back. Takashi Sugiura vented about Taniguchi’s performance, and said he would “retrain him” in their singles match in Yokohama.

All Japan World Heavyweight Tag Challenge accepted

After winning the first pre match against the GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions, Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba, Kenoh and Manabu Soya where confronted in the ring by the All Japan World Heavyweight Tag Champions, Yuma Aoyagi and Naoki Nomura, who (throwing off Managing Director SUWAMA’s threat) accepted the challenge of Kongoh for the belts. Kenoh said that when Kongoh win them, having already won the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles, they would unify them into what they had named “GHC World Tag”. Title match will take place on the 21st March at All Japan’s show at the Ota Ward General Gymnasium.

STINGER all out war; Eita bloodied, Ogawa taps

Following the emotion of Harada’s retirement and the frustration of Taniguchi’s performance, STINGER went to war. Eita faced off in a singles match against HAYATA, and Chris Ridgeway and Yoshinari Ogawa fought in the match after. Eita had threatened HAYATA that he would make him feel the same pain he caused him the night he bloodied him up and took the belt back at NOAH Junior Night at Ryogoku Kokukigan, but in the event of things, HAYATA jumped him, bust him open by using the belt on him and then attacked him savagely afterwards. The ref was shoved down by HAYATA three times, and on the fourth shove away, he stopped the match. HAYATA gave Eita the 403 Impact on the belt, and shoved his boot into his face as he held the championship up. Backstage, HAYATA (who ironically was the only person out of STINGER, ex STINGER or whatever the tag with Eita is called), said that he had no intention of teaming with Eita, and that in Yokohama, Ogawa will come to his senses. Eita later posted on Twitter a picture of HAYATA standing over him and asking whether HAYATA was proud of himself (I would imagine he was) and saying that if he thinks that Ogawa is going to “come to his senses”, then that’s what HAYATA needs to do, so “get real”.

Ogawa and Ridgeway had a match that Ogawa had both predicted would be different from HAYATA vs Eita (he doesn’t give Eita much credit in using his brain, while he did admit he has to work hard when it’s Ridgeway) and would be “technique vs technician”. Ridgeway called it “master vs pupil” and demonstrated that Ogawa’s teaching had taught him not only how to attack, but also how to deceive and like a latter day Charlemagne, how to make everything around you into your army. Ridgeway won the match by doing something that very few people have done; he made Ogawa tap. The war between STINGER has just gone up another notch.

“Let me be clear” – crowned tag with Eita, Yoshinari Ogawa breaks the silence on the HAYATA & Ridgeway interception (part 1)

Kaito Kiyomiya loses the first pre-match against Jake Lee

Kaito Kiyomiya’s woes continued when he lost the first pre match to Jake Lee. However, that being said, Kiyomiya was not the person pinned, it was Atsushi Kotoge. Jake Lee had been making comments about Kiyomiya’s somewhat worried demeanor ever since he came to NOAH, back then it was he looked so glum he would probably scare little children, and now it had developed into making exaggerated smiles on his face using two fingers to prop up his mouth (in the manner of “turn that frown, upside down”) and then motioning at Kiyomiya to do this. Kiyomiya wore a faint smile, but Jake even took it one step further, and rearranged Kiyomiya’s lips and cheeks into a grin when he did a rope break. After the match, Jake took the mic and told Kiyomiya that “Kiyomiya, for you, that (GHC Heavyweight) is a bit of a burden I guess. Boo, applause, whatever. Come and see the 19th March, I’ll change NOAH”.

AMAKUSA retains

AMAKUSA retained the GHC Junior Heavyweight title against Hi69. Hi69 let loose in the match, and he looked as if he was wild eyed and drunk on revenge. Fans said that this was one of the best matches that they had seen out of him for a while, although he does tend to be very good in singles matches, especially title ones with a backstory as in depth as the one against AMAKUSA. No challenger has come forward yet, but AMAKUSA has promised that he will “guide this junior treasure to the heavens”

EVENT RECAPS & POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

Star Navigation 2023 (Thursday March 9th, Korakuen Hall)

Post match interviews (Thursday March 9th, Korakuen Hall)

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Naomichi Marufuji had a Twitter conversation with Satoshi Kojima about a lost phone. He said he had lost his phone once and “everyone was searching for it”. From Kojima’s reaction that suggested that he was there and remembered this, I wonder if “everyone” was the roster at one point.

– Katsuhiko Nakajima held his 35th birthday fan event, “Team Katsu” on the 12th March. The event included photos of Nakajima in his two most favorite ring-wear (his current red one and his wolf skin), homemade Chanko, autographs, a chat with Nakajima and fans could even wear one of the costumes if they won a competition. A lot of reviews contained the phrases “when I came around” or “when I regained consciousness”, which refer to Nakajima’s presence.

– Keiji Mutoh took part in Japan’s version of “Are you smarter than a 5th grader?” It turned out that he wasn’t and went home without the money he hoped to use for his retirement. He says that next time he goes on the show, he will bring Riki Choshu.

– Lanzelot, Super Crazy’s nephew, made his NOAH debut on the 9th March at Korakuen Hall.

– Kenoh said he doesn’t remember the name of Naoki Nomura, as his presence was insignificant.

– Tadasuke wrist flicked Kinya Okada away when he got into the ring. Not that Okada was in his way or had any intention of being in the Kongoh pose.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
Challenger: Jake Lee, Great Voyage in Yokohama, Yokohama Budokan, 19th March
GHC Junior Champion: AMAKUSA
Challenger: None at the time of writing
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba
Challengers: Kongoh (Kenoh and Manabu Soya), Great Voyage in Yokohama, Yokohama Budokan, 19th March
GHC Junior Tag Champions: Yoshinari Ogawa & Eita
Challengers: HAYATA & Chris Ridgeway, Great Voyage in Yokohama, Yokohama Budokan, 19th March
GHC National Champion: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr
Challenger: None at the time of writing

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

SUNNY VOYAGE 2023

Date: Tuesday, March 14th

Venue: Yokohama Radiant Hall

Start time: 18:00 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse (you must be a subscriber to view)

Yoshiki Inamura will be having the singles match against Kento Miyahara on this day at Shinjuku Face. The All Japan event starts half an hour after NOAH’s does, and while Masa Kitamiya is on the card he is in the second match, so I guess there is plenty of time for him to get to Shinjuku.

ARTICLES

Kenoh advises GHC champion Kaito Kiyomiya to retire, “shocked” by “forbidden words” after the battle with Okada

Fan event recap – Kenoh gives a talk in Hachinohe

NOAH FROM THE VAULT

“Donmai, Donmai” – Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary

Let us know what you think on social media @ChairshotMedia and always remember to use the hashtag #UseYourHead!

(NOAH) NOAH NEWSLETTER VOL.193 ~ 5TH MARCH 2023

After the retirement of NOSAWA and Keiji Mutoh, it seems someone else is being forced to retire for health concerns! Hisame brings us all of the Emerald Updates!

Published

2 weeks ago

March 6, 2023

Hi5ame

After the retirement of NOSAWA and Keiji Mutoh, it seems someone else is being forced to retire for health concerns! Hisame brings us all of the Emerald Updates!

NEWS

Daisuke Harada announces retirement

NOAH held a press conference/title match signing on the 2nd March, in which Daisuke Harada announced that due to the neck injury that has seen him away from the ring since August 2022, he would be retiring. The decision sadly was come to when investigations in August revealed that Harada was in danger of developing what is known as spinal cord compression (cervical atlantoaxial subluxation), which can cause paralysis, respiratory failure and even death. Harada had no symptoms at all and was still training as much as he could (and with the usual weights he used), although for three months he had to wear a neck brace. Sadly, nothing did any good, and the issue failed to resolve. The specialist called Harada and NOAH’s trainer into his clinic and told them the sad news, Harada would have to retire. Unsurprisingly after an emotional press conference in which Harada announced he would wrestle his final match on Thursday 9th March at Korakuen Hall against his oldest friend and eternal rival, Atsushi Kotoge, he went home and couldn’t stop crying. The other two juniors at the press conference, Hi69 and AMAKUSA, were both visibly moved. Hi69 in particular never attempted to hide the fact and AMAKUSA was lost for words when asked about Harada’s news.

Harada’s final match will be a one minute exhibition match, with the doctor at ringside. The match needs to be short in duration as very sadly now, Harada cannot take any further bumps, so don’t be expecting any top turnbuckle Katayama German Suplexes. Harada himself said he is disappointed to have to retire, but preserving his life is more important. Very sadly he will not be staying on in NOAH, although he was offered the position of a coach or backstage agent. Harada says he had to decline as he knew that it would be hard for him to watch the NOAH Juniors and not be able to join in, but he won’t be abandoning them entirely, he will be watching as a fan. However, President Zeus of the new Osaka Pro, has wondered if Harada might like to come and do some guest commentary, and it is known that (unofficially) Harada did want to make an appearance there, but what Harada will do after retirement remains to be seen.

Related articles

Daisuke Harada, from becoming a professional wrestler until retirement at NOAH’s 9th March Korakuen

“I will write about Harada’s absence up until now” – note by Pro Wrestling NOAH trainer, Kento Nagahama

Daisuke Harada shock retirement, Doctor stop due to neck injury, 9th March retirement match with Kotoge at Korakuen

Kenoh’s fifteen year anniversary

“Maybe every five years; debut as a newcomer, ten years to be fully fledged, 15 years is your mid career, twenty years to be a veteran, and thirty years a legend. There is such an image in pro wrestling.”

Kenoh’s chronology of a pro wrestler.

Kenoh celebrated fifteen years in Pro Wrestling on March 2nd. His goal for his fifteenth anniversary was to celebrate it as GHC Heavyweight Champion, which sadly he was not able to do. As is customary for a “mid career” anniversary, Kenoh will be holding his own show, which will take place in his hometown of Tokushima, Shikoku (aka “this fucking countryside”) on 24th June. No card has been announced as of yet, and Kenoh has hinted he will give details on his YouTube channel. But when asked about the handshake with his Michinoku Pro rival, Hayato “Jnr” Fujita, who has been calling for a match with Kenoh, Kenoh said coyly that he is “still waiting to hear from him about that”

Kitamiya no show, enter Inamura

Following on from the friction between the Kensuke Office boys (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kento Miyahara and Masa Kitamiya), Miyahara demanded that Masa Kitamiya come to All Japan’s event on the 27th February, dressed in a suit and apologize formally to him for not greeting him. Kensuke Office was very strict on this, and his former “errand boy” broke the rules. It may be best that Miyahara doesn’t know what Kitamiya was saying about him on commentary. Anyway, the 27th came and Masa Kitamiya did not show up.

But, whenever someone throws down for NOAH, Yoshiki Inamura will answer the call, and that is exactly what happened. Inamura came to the ring and told Miyahara (loudly) that time had moved on and the new generation of NOAH wasn’t just Kitamiya, it was himself, Yoshiki Inamura and if Miyahara wanted a fight then Inamura would give him one. Miyahara (calling Masa Kitamiya by his real name “Mitsuhiro”) said that Kitamiya didn’t show up because he was scared, and therefore he had sent Inamura in his place. Inamura said he came of his own accord. Miyahara kind of liked this, and said that Inamura sure did know who to attack in All Japan and as he had come here on his own accord, he would give him a match. But, he had his own stipulation, Masa Kitamiya comes with him as a second. Miyahara had earlier said that Kitamiya had grown conceited and needed to be taken down a few pegs. The match has been set for March 14th in Shinjuku. Miyahara said sarcastically after their confrontation that this could turn into “NOAH vs Miyahara”, although probably he basically wants revenge on Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya above all.

Related articles

Inamura makes a sudden appearance, and requests a match against Miyahara. One on one match in Shinjuku on 14th March decided.

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Kaito Kiyomiya revealed in a recent interview that his post title match treat is to go out and basically eat whatever he wants. He listed ramen, hamburgers and candy, which he would stuff himself with to the point of “not being able to move”.

– Since his retirement, Keiji Mutoh is feeling a lot better and his injury has gotten a lot better. He ran into Tomoaki Honma in a local gym, and then said he fled quickly from him when he heard that Honma had been cheering for him until he was hoarse at his retirement match.

– Kenoh says that he and Manabu Soya will no longer he challenging for the All Japan World Tag Titles thanks to President Suwama bursting in and attacking one of the champions with a chair and demanding that the Voodoo Murders come before Kongoh. Suwama said Kenoh was “talking stupid”

– Junta Miyawai has returned to Mexico following his loss at the Mutoh retirement show. He says he will swallow down that bitter pill and return stronger.

– Naomichi Marufuji and the now retired NOSAWA Rongai made one of their annual road trips to Shizuoka to attend a physiotherapy treatment clinic. Marufuji posted a picture to his Instagram with an arrow pointing to NOSAWA saying, “Retired, but still in need of maintenance”. NOSAWA at that time was photographed smoking and looking out of the window following their traditional stop over meal of eel.

– Satoshi Kojima has left NOAH for the time being. Takashi Sugiura demanded to know if “our love was just a contract” and then likened himself to being “Koji’s gigolo” in that case.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
Challenger: Jake Lee, Great Voyage in Yokohama, Yokohama Budokan, 19th March
GHC Junior Champion: AMAKUSA
Challenger: Hi69, Star Navigation 2023, Korakuen Hall, 9th March
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba
Challengers: Kongoh (Kenoh and Manabu Soya), Great Voyage in Yokohama, Yokohama Budokan, 19th March
GHC Junior Tag Champions: Yoshinari Ogawa & Eita
Challengers: HAYATA & Chris Ridgeway, Great Voyage in Yokohama, Yokohama Budokan, 19th March
GHC National Champion: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr
Challenger: TBA