NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.170 ~ 2nd MAY 2022

Published

2 years ago

May 3, 2022

Hi5ame

NEWS

“Turning crisis into an opportunity” – card change and new champion crowned, as Kazuyuki Fujita contracts COVID and has to return the belt

NOAH announced on the 27th April that due to Kazuyuki Fujita testing positive for Coronavirus, the belt was to be vacated. At the press conference held, Director Takeda and Go Shiozaki met with the press to announce that Shiozaki would still fight in the main event for the vacated title, but his opponent had not been decided on yet. Kaito Kiyomiya wasn’t going to wait for their decision if he could help it, and he appeared before them to put his name forward. Takeda (knowing that he was dealing with a stubborn NOAH Born) told him that he couldn’t decide on the spot, this issue needed a consultation with the company, and therefore there was nothing to be done, Kiyomiya would have to wait. Kiyomiya was insistent that he did not want to, and ended up being escorted out. Takeda said he would give his decision soon. Kiyomiya spent the next two days sulking and even contemplating a poll on Twitter that would force the company to do what he wanted. He need not have worried, as NOAH came to the right decision, and he was put in the title match to fight Go Shiozaki for the vacant title. Kiyomiya had been scheduled to be in the semi main with the mystery “X”, but this was changed to Yoshiki Inamura and Kinya Okada.

Despite his giving it his all and fighting for his generation (Shiozaki, although in a grey area when it comes to eras and generations, is a senior as far as Kiyomiya is concerned), Kiyomiya was unsuccessful again in capturing the belt and Go Shiozaki ushered in his fifth title reign, and second time on winning the belt after it had been vacated. Shiozaki now holds the record for the most title reigns in NOAH. I will discuss his next challenger in due course.

X = Satoshi Kojima

After a lot of speculation, the mystery of the “biggest mystery partner of all time”, was finally revealed. New Japan’s Satoshi Kojima came out wearing a NOAH t-shirt, to team with Naomichi Marufuji against Kinya Okada and Yoshiki Inamura. Kojima praised Okada and Inamura, saying that he could not believe that they were not even five years into their careers, and expressed some embarrassment at being called “the biggest mystery partner of all time”. Kojima explained that his participation in NOAH was not just a one off, he was going to do something that would be an “unforgettable event” in his pro wrestling life. That something was to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight title, which was won by Go Shiozaki that evening. Kojima’s challenge was very simple, and almost HAYATA like, in that he simply said he was the next challenger.

Shiozaki made no response, but the belt up. Backstage, he remembered fighting Kojima and the force of his lariats. Tokyo Sports are already calling this, “Strong Arm vs Hard Arm” with the title match being set for CyberFight Festival on the 12th June. Kojima will do some NOAH dates beforehand, including a pre match with Go Shiozaki and a singles match with both Kinya Okada and Yoshiki Inamura.

STINGER take all the junior belts

With Yoshinari Ogawa and Chris Ridgeway taking the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag belts in an utterly brutal match on the 29th April, which left YO-HEY and Atsushi Kotoge nowhere to run and hide, and which ended with a worn down Kotoge tapping to Ridgeway, and HAYATA defeating Eita for the GHC Junior on the same night, STINGER now hold all the junior belts and ended Ryogoku Kokugikan just as Yuya Susumu had predicted, “At the centre of NOAH”.

Yoshinari Ogawa was enthusiastic with teaming with Chris Ridgeway, saying that he was a partner he felt far more on the same wavelength he did than with HAYATA, and he was so enthusiastic after winning the belts he said he wanted to defend them both in England and in Japan. He also echoed HAYATA (who had spoken more than just two or three words) backstage when he said that they would take on any challenger from anywhere. HAYATA had lapsed back into not speaking, and made no comment when asked a question. No one has challenged at the time of writing for the GHC Junior.

All hell broke loose on the 30th when freed from the pressures of their own night at Ryogoku and title matches, STINGER went to all out war with Perros Del Mal De Japon. Texano Junior had bought his Bullrope with him and this was used to beat Seiki Yoshioka, Yuya Susumu and choke Yoshinari Ogawa. STINGER had their revenge by doing back on Eita.

The match itself only lasted about nine minutes, and ended in a no contest as HAYATA kicked Eita in the crotch. Fights, melee brawls, the two teams yelling at each other continued afterwards. The referee just gave up and left, it was that chaotic. It ended with NOSAWA Rongai challenging for the GHC Junior Tag belts on behalf of Super Crazy and Texano Jnr. NOAH are yet to announce a date.

As for Yuya Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka, Yoshioka unfortunately lost his match against Extreme Tiger, while Yuya Susumu drew with Kotaro Suzuki in what was meant to settle their grudge. It did not, and Kotaro left angry and kicking the iron barrier. Which he almost got caught on. Backstage he wondered if he was the one who needed further training.

Masakatsu Funaki retains, wants “Power Fighter” for his next challenge

Masakatsu Funaki praised Simon Gotch for their title match on the 30th April, not only for the fight he put up, but also for pulling out moves against he that took him off guard and reawakening his passion for fighting foreign wrestlers. For his next challenger he wants a “Power Fighter” and preferably a foreign one as he has been inspired by opponents who have both different styles and different power in their bodies.

Nioh loses both hair and name

An emotional Haoh cut Nioh’s hair after Nioh lost their match at Ryogoku on the 29th April. The match took sixteen minutes, and by the end of it, Nioh was once again HI69. Nioh sat in the chair bought into the ring, his arms folded and eyes shut. Traditionally, this is done when a Sumo retires as his topknot is symbolically cut off and his name retired before he takes a new one to start a new life.

Fittingly, this had overtones of a warrior defeated in battle, and Nioh looked as if he was waiting for Haoh to slice his head off. Haoh hesitated before cutting off Nioh’s ponytail and then showing it to the crowd, but there was nothing to be done, they both had to go through with this. HI69 however could not endure the head shaving, it was too humiliating, and he left. HI69 has made no comment, although Tadasuke has called him “Kongoh’s HI69”, but Haoh says he will never forget Nioh, even though he is now fully “Haoh of The NOAH Juniors”, and will carry his name with him wherever he goes.

Z-Brats win, H.Y.O challenges Harada to a singles

After a week where the NOAH Junior Regulars got their own back on Z-Brats by invading their match at Korakuen Hall on the on the 25th April (Alejandro said innocently that they only went to talk but Z-Brats caused a fight), the 29th April turned out to be a pretty frustrating evening for The NOAH Junior Regulars as not only did they lose the tag belts, and have STINGER (of all people) close out the show, they also lost a closely fought match with the invaders after Alejandro was hit by a chair, and Shun Skywalker took his time in delivering his finisher and got the pin. Fans were clamoring to see Daisuke Harada vs Shun Skywalker considering the friction the two had in the match, but H.Y.O has said he will do it as he has defeated Junta Miyawaki and Alejandro so far. If Daisuke Harada can defeat him, then it ends here. Match has been set for 14th May.

Les Mexicana’s come for their vacated belts

El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr announced that their team name would represent their dual nationalities of Mexican and Canadian, when after Hideki Suzuki and Takashi Sugiura defended the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles against Kongoh (Kenoh and Katsuhiko Nakajima), he and Rene Dupree came and challenged them. Dupree and Wagner had lost the belts during the Coronavirus epidemic, and as Dupree pointed out, they were never actually beaten for them. It was only right therefore that they came for them back. Hideki Suzuki accepted the challenge, which has been set for the 4th May at Korakuen Hall.

Perros Del Mal in DragonGate, challenge made for the Triangle Gate Tag

On April 25th, another NOAH/DragonGate interaction took place, when three masked men appeared after GOLD CLASS (Kaito Ishida, Naruki Doi, Kota Minoura and Minourita) where complaining that no one had come forward to challenge them for the titles. The three masked men, after a fight had broken out, one of them had given The Blue Destiny to Minourita after softening him up with elbows, revealed themselves to be Perros Del Mal De Japon’s Kotaro Suzuki, NOSWA Rongai and Eita. Eita, who had just invaded his own promotion. Eita made the challenge, which was accepted by Ishida with the warning that he was a marked man. So far GOLD CLASS have made no retaliation.

Title match will take place in on May 5th in Aichi.

Kenoh invades DDT

It has become a yearly tradition that Kenoh will barge into DDT (the company he refuses to even acknowledge in his weekly columns) and complain about CyberFight Festival, which he likens to a school wrestling event. Usually demanding a singles match with Sanshiro Takagi. Takagi was not around when Kenoh barged in on DAMNATION and began his usual rant, asking the fans if they were applauding because “a real wrestler has arrived?”. Daisuke Sasaki told Kenoh that wouldn’t he prefer to face him? “The highest wrestler, instead of a third rate opponent?” Kenoh growled he would beat him and then left the venue. Sanshiro Takagi later commented on Kenoh’s behavior. He was not going to dwell on it or even comment on it, NOAH had sorted the match out and that was all there was to say.

Keiji Mutoh returns

Keiji Mutoh announced he would return to NOAH at the Ota show on the 21st May. Mutoh was absent from NOAH during late winter due to a left hip lip injury.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

NOAH Junior Night – ABEMA presents MAJESTIC 2022 (Ryogoku Kokugikan, 29th April 2022)

Event recap

Post match interviews

WrestleUniverse presents MAJESTIC 2022 (Ryogoku Kokugikan, 30th April 2022)

Event recap

Post match interviews

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Kenoh was seen to smile embarrassed in the ring as he and Katsuhiko Nakajima messed up their entry, He later got back into character and yelled at Takashi Sugiura.

– Kai Fujimura was given SLEX’s glasses to wear. Alejandro and Yasutaka Yano where embarrassed. Later Alejandro went to wear the glasses, but was sadly prevented from doing so. Fans want to see a Tadasuke vs SLEX sunglasses match as a result.

– In their separate interviews leading up to NOAH Junior night, the NOAH Junior Regulars talked about their hobbies and each other. Junta Miyawaki likes making curry and playing computer games, Daisuke Harada has no hobbies that he can think of other than enjoying washing his clothes (and yes, he even divides socks, shirts and trousers) and cleaning his home, and everyone agreed that YO-HEY is a chatterbox, who is only silent when he is playing Dragon Quest.

– Yoshinari Ogawa (and Chris Ridgeway) ruined a touching NOAH Junior Regulars moment when YO-HEY was crying after not being able to help Atsushi Kotoge in the title match, when they burst in and Ogawa told them to “get out of the way” and then stuck the belt in Daisuke Harada’s face. Harada retained the same expression until the next day when they had a match against the Lucha Tag (Alpha Wolf, Dragon Bane, Ninja Mac and Extreme Tiger) which lightened the mood. YO-HEY developed a friendly rivalry with Ninja Mack. Daisuke Harada has vowed to smash STINGER’S grip on the titles.

– The Luchadores managed to almost trash the Japanese commentary desk (twice) when Alpha Wolf did a top rope somersault, slid off his opponents and onto to the desk, narrowly avoiding taking the commentator out. No wonder with this, the vicious GHC Junior tag title match and Eita bleeding everywhere while being battered by a demonic looking HAYATA, poor Rina Matsuki was terrified.

– Masa Kitamiya and Michael Elgin have formed a tag team.

– Two masked men calling themselves “Playful Old Man Machine No.1” and “Playful Old Man Machine No.2” dressed as Kazushi Sakuraba and with identical movements when entering the ring, defeated Don Fuji and Masaaki Mochizuki, then one of them hugged Don Fuji afterwards for the longest time (Don Fuji said he shut his eyes in rapture and the world span). Kendo Kashin says he owes the idea of the t-shirts to Kenoh! Kenoh is no doubt of the opinion that The Sugiura Army owe him royalty money, he was convinced that was the case when they used the dog motif which Kenoh claimed came from him when he called Takashi Sugiura a “Company Dog”, complained loss of earnings and threatened legal action. Kashin also said that NOAH may be seeing more of the duo.

– Rob Van Dam will appear for NOAH at CyberFight Festival 2022.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki
Challenger: Satoshi Kojima, CyberFight Festival, Sunday June 12th
GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
Challenger: TBA
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura & Hideki Suzuki)
Challengers: Les Mexicana’s (Rene Dupree and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr), “Dream on 2022”, Wednesday May 4th 2022
GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (Chris Ridgeway & Yoshinari Ogawa)
Challengers: Perros Del Mal De Japon (Super Crazy and Texano Jnr), TBA
GHC National Champion: Masakatsu Funaki
Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(May schedule)

Wednesday, May 4th

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Broadcast: ABEMA (18:30 JST)

Thursday, May 5th

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse (18:30 JST)

Note about broadcasts

Unless you are living in Japan or have a VPN you know is compatible with ABEMA, please do not subscribe to the service. For fans living outside of Japan, a subscription to WrestleUniverse would be better as they show more NOAH shows than ABEMA, and usually the events get uploaded very quickly. ABEMA broadcasts are only in Japanese, you can only watch them live, and this is the only NOAH they show. They do not broadcast old shows as these belong to Samurai TV.

Birthdays & Anniversaries

Sunday 8th May: Akira Taue (61)

LINKS

NOAH Junior Week Interviews

Interview with GHC Junior Tag Champions: Atsushi Kotoge & YO-HEY

Interview with Haoh

Interview with Alejandro

Interview with Junta Miyawaki

Interview with Daisuke Harada

(NOAH) NOAH NEWSLETTER VOL.200 ~ 7TH MAY 2023

New alliances, MMA challengers and the return of a beloved tag team!

Published

12 months ago

May 8, 2023

Hi5ame

NEWS

AXIZ reunite

Go Shiozaki lost in his return match at MAJESTIC (4th May at Ryogoku Kokugikan) to Katsuhiko Nakajima’s Vertical Spike. While he was lying on the mat, with a worried Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura looking on, Katsuhiko Nakajima got on the mic and said, “What is this, Go Shiozaki? This awkward state? Is this “I AM NOAH?” Where did that strong Go Shiozaki go? Shall we do it again? Stand up!”, Everyone, including Shiozaki, thought that Nakajima wanted to fight him again and so Shiozaki used Nakajima to pull himself up. Nakajima had his usual devilish smile on, and grabbed Shiozaki by the hair as if he was going to strike him.

What he actually did was offer him his hand, which Shiozaki took, and to the wild screaming of the crowd, AXIZ reformed and the two would not let go of each other.

Kenoh was outraged and demanded to know what was going on. Manabu Soya later left the ring shaking his head. Backstage, Nakajima confirmed that yes, AXIZ were back and the reason why he had left was because (and this sounds familiar) Kenoh didn’t need him, Kongoh didn’t need him, and he didn’t need them. Kenoh growled that he would destroy anyone who got in his way and that included All Japan, All Japan’s Suwama, Dragon Gate (probably the whole roster) and Katsuhiko Nakajima. Kenoh remarked that usually Kongoh didn’t punish people who left (he probably doesn’t mean the chaotic juniors), but it seems that he himself will have another singles match with Nakajima on the 31st May at Shinjuku FACE. Kenoh has also branded AXIZ as a “thief and traitor duo” and has warned elderly AXIZ fans not to make any bank transfers. He has also claimed that while he was injured, Go Shiozaki is a “salary thief” for doing nothing for NOAH during that time, and not even updating his Twitter.

Related articles

Kongoh’s leader, Kenoh, denounces Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima’s AXIZ reunion as a “thief and traitor duo”

NOAH promise more women’s matches

Following the four woman tag at MAJESTIC, Ryo Mizunami hinted afterwards that NOAH will be holding more and she (and others) want to be a part of this. Nothing more has been said about the possibility of a women’s GHC Championship though.

N-1 VICTORY 2023 Announced

NOAH have announced that the N-1 VICTORY 2023 will make a return in August 2023, and as is tradition, will have the final night held in Osaka in early September. No names have been announced as of yet, but the league will head up for a couple of dates in Sapporo, Hokkaido (NOAH have not been to Hokkaido since before the pandemic when they would traditionally share a ring with Big Japan and then get drunk together over a lost weekend). No names have been announced as of yet.

Masakatsu Funaki challenges Josh Barnett

Following his victory over Shinya Aoki at MAJESTIC, Masakatsu Funaki challenged Josh Barnett, who was sitting at ringside to a match. Barnett accepted, but NOAH are yet to state the date when the match will take place. Funaki also seems to be hinting that his career is now winding down, and he wants to tie up any loose ends; such as the Aoki match and the challenge to Barnett, who he has never faced before, but seems to have always wanted to. Mutoh told Funaki to keep going until he is sixty, but Funaki, who makes no pretense about the fact that he is approaching his mid fifties, seems to think that this is unlikely.

Eita alone, Daga joins “the new STINGER”. HAYATA not welcome either.

During the STINGER vs I guess the last of Perros Del Mal De Japon, Eita and Daga, Eita caught Daga with the Imperial Uno, which meant that Yoshinari Ogawa could capitalize, and he went to pin Eita. However, Ogawa broke the pin and got to his feet slowly, dragging Eita up by his hair. He looked across the ring to Daga, and Daga turned on Eita. Eita, now utterly alone, was beaten up after the match, and no one at all came out to help him as there is now no one left. Backstage, Eita on all fours, said that from now on he would be trusting no one and didn’t believe in friends (NOSAWA posted “…..” to this) and demanded a singles match with both Ogawa and Daga. As for STINGER, Chris Ridgeway said that from now on he, Daga and Ogawa were the new STINGER. Daga gave no reason for his turning on his old friend, STINGER rarely give reasons anyway, and Ogawa said that HAYATA and Eita were no longer considered “friends”. Eita will get his singles matches on the 14th May at Korakuen Hall, and with Daga on the 21st in Kobe. Fans are wondering if Eita and HAYATA will team up, but HAYATA seems to be more preoccupied with the GHC Junior at the moment.

Ring intruder at Korakuen Hall

At NOAH’s Korakuen Hall event on the 29th April, a young woman intruded into the ring at the start of Kaito Kiyomiya, Sean Legacy & AMAKUSA vs Kongoh, and started imploring Kiyomiya to “show us a stronger NOAH” because he was “the savior of NOAH”. She was gently expelled from the ring by Referee Nishinaga, Kiyomiya and the young rookie, Taishi Ozawa. No further information has come from NOAH or any news outlets as to who this young woman was or what the consequence of her intrusion was, and it is rare in Japanese wrestling that a fan should intrude into the ring, but NOAH took the precaution to check bags at their fan event and MAJESTIC, and extra wrestlers were seen at ringside, which fans said felt like security. The very real threat was that she could have had a knife. New Japan’s Toru Yano has also spoken out about fan behavior. He didn’t mention fan invasion specifically, but more wrestlers being harassed by fans when at baggage claim at airports, at convenience stores etc. Kenoh kind of saved the situation by telling Kiyomiya that if he was stronger, then strange people wouldn’t do things like this!

Shinjiro Otani

At an event held on the 6th May to help with his hospital bills, Shinjiro Otani made an appearance. Takashi Sugiura bought him some flowers and Otani thanked him for not giving up wrestling due to the injury that Otani sustained during the title match. He also warned Sugiura, that he would see him in the ring again. Sugiura said he was waiting for that day.

Voodoo Murders vs Kongoh

SUWAMA broke into NOAH’s event at Korakuen Hall on the 29th April and gave Kenoh, a massive Last Ride powerbomb. Shrieking that he was going to take the All Japan World Heavyweight Tag back to where it belonged, i.e. All Japan, he was prepared to come and have a match in NOAH (with Kono his partner) to retrieve them. There then followed a comical scene involving the infamous lifts, where a quaking old man appeared and was told by Suwama to hold the doors. The match has been set for NOAH’s Kobe event on the 21st May. The event will not be broadcast live, but I would imagine this match will be through NOAH’s official Instagram. Suwama got further revenge on Kenoh at All Japan’s show on the 7th when Kongoh and Voodoo Murders had a pre match. Kenoh was given another powerbomb, shoved into a body bag and Voodoo Murders posed with their boots on him, before carrying him backstage on their shoulders. Half in and half out of the bag and dumped on the floor, Suwama told him that now he was in hell, those titles were theirs.

TITLE NEWS

GHC Heavyweight

In a match that saw Naomichi Marufuji pull out old moves (Shiranui and Shiranui Pole Shift, plus a rope bounce that he hasn’t used for a while) and moves that he has worked on, Jake Lee retained the GHC Heavyweight at MAJESTIC. However, no challenger came forward, and fans were expecting to see Go Shiozaki come out. Jake thanked Marufuji and ran down what he had felt in his past title defenses; Kiyomiya was the future, Nakajima the strength and Marufuji the history. Jake wondered what was next and predicted that on the 14th May at Korakuen Hall, things would start to happen. Jake’s match then is himself teaming with Good Looking Guys (including YO-HEY and Tadasuke) against two NOAH Juniors (Seiki Yoshioka and Atsushi Kotoge) against Kaito Kiyomiya and Takashi Sugiura. Fans think that it will be Sugiura who challenges.

“Half the guys don’t think about it”, the real intention of outside invader Jake Lee’s cut down of the Ark warriors

“I can’t win in a direct match anymore”…Naomichi Marufuji aims to surpass his teacher, Mitsuharu Misawa, in recapturing the GHC

“It’s like a dream” – Jake, “Full speed for the first time in a while”, Marufuji

“Naomichi Marufuji must do his best here and now”, Mutoh speaks! 4th May Ryogoku Kokugikan, the direction of Jake vs Marufuji

GHC Junior Heavyweight

HAYATA was forced into doing some light comedy, when at the title match signing/press conference, Ninja Mack told him that he didn’t want him to be injured in their title match, and handed him a gift of bandages and athletic tape. HAYATA tried to keep a straight face. However, Ninja Mack found nothing to laugh about when HAYATA beat him and went to hand him his presents back. Apparently, HAYATA kept the bandages, as he only tried to give back the athletic tape. Ninja Mack knocked them to the floor and walked off. The GHC Junior Heavyweight is the only one with a challenger out of all the championships at the time of writing, as HAYATA has nominated Dante Leon as opponent. Dante Leon took the belt from Ninja Mack, but HAYATA feels he has to defeat everyone who held it while he was injured. Dante says he is coming back to take his belt back. Pre matches will take place, with the title match on the 17th June in Nagoya.

GHC Junior signing ceremony: Ninja provokes the champion with first aid supplies, HAYATA “excellent”

GHC National

El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr continues to cement himself as one of the greatest GHC National Champions, by defeating Hideki Suzuki at MAJESTIC to retain in an epic match. Suzuki was even booed as he knocked Wagner Jnr down with a punch early on after Wagner Jnr had yelled “Arriba Mexico!”. Suzuki didn’t look as if he was too bothered, and fought most of the match with a cool hard expression. El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr isn’t on any cards for the rest of May 2023, so it looks as if the title will probably be challenged for some time in June.

“Real” Suzuki emphasizes “Real Deal” to take over the GHC National, match signing ceremony

GHC Heavyweight Tag

Monster Taniguchi, which his seniors try so hard to awaken, sat dormant at the match signing as Saxon Huxley overturned the table, (which Takashi Sugiura, no stranger to trashing tables during press conferences, helped put back), but then turned his own over with a roar and made off with the tag belts. Sugi very politely helped the staff put the tables back. The team of Sugiura and Taniguchi gave very close to retaining, but they lost the belts when Saxon Huxley pinned Taniguchi with the Hanging Neck Bombs. The new champions celebrated by yelling loudly into the camera, and Huxley repeatedly head-butting his belt. Two new tags arose that night at MAJESTIC; AXIZ, and a new team of Masato Tanaka and Kazuyuki Fujita.

Huxley and Taniguchi go berserk overturning tables, Sugiura apologizes

GHC Junior Tag

YO-HEY and Tadasuke (Good Looking Guys Unit) defended the GHC Junior Tag against Alpha Wolf and DragonBane at Korakuen Hall on the 29th April. The lucha brothers came very close to taking the titles, but YO-HEY saved the team by pinning DragonBane. No challengers have come forward, but it does seem likely that they will be challenged by the people that YO-HEY dumped to join GLG; Atsushi Kotoge and Seiki Yoshioka at Korakuen Hall on the 14th May, which is NOAH’s next event. However, Kotoge and Yoshioka may not be the most stable team, as Yoshioka did catch him with a kick accidentally.

EVENT RECAPS & POST MATCH PROMOS

STAR NAVIGATION 2023

(Saturday April 29th, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)

Event recap

Post match interviews

ABEMA PRESENTS MAJESTIC 2023

(Thursday 4th May, Ryogoku Kokugikan)

Event recap

Post match interviews

NOAH Fan Event Recap

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Atsushi Kotoge posted a picture of himself when he came to NOAH eleven years ago. He says he is “slightly embarrassed” about seeing himself back then.

– Mohammed Yone and Super Crazy almost left via the wrong gate at MAJESTIC. The trainee standing there tried to tell them, but they seemed insistent, eventually he had to almost stand in their way before they realized.

– Xtreme Tiger returned to the NOAH ring following his concussion

– Most people down the old man VIPER tonic, Masato Tanaka opened it, poured it down his throat and chugged it.

– Keiji Mutoh told Kazushi Sakuraba that he should fight a bear on PPV. Sakuraba said no, he would be killed, and suggested that Mutoh do it. Mutoh said he was an old man who was enjoying retirement by sitting at home and watching historical dramas on NHK.

– Ray Escorpion made his NOAH debut, which involved heel tactics and stalking Dralistico.

– Jake Lee regretted his choice of costume, i.e. his gloves and cape, at the NOAH Fan Event. He said he felt like he needed an icepack under his armpits.

– Eita hid under the ring to jump Yoshinari Ogawa at Korakuen Hall on April 29th. When he crawled out he stretched and yawned, meaning that he fell asleep under there!

– Alejandro was sitting at the commentary table when it got trashed by the Luchadores at MAJESTIC.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Jake Lee
Challenger: TBA
GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
Challenger: Dante Leon, GREEN JOURNEY 2023 in NAGOYA (Nagoya International Conference Center Event Hall – Saturday, June 17th)
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: REAL (Saxon Huxley & Timothy Thatcher)
Challengers: TBA
GHC Junior Tag Champions: Good Looking Guys (YO-HEY & Tadasuke)
Challengers: TBA
GHC National Champion: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr
Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(May 2023 schedule)

– STAR NAVIGATION 2023

Date: Sunday May 14th

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Start times: Doors 17:30 JST, Bell 18:30 JST

Broadcast: ABEMA

Birthdays & anniversaries

May 8th 1961: Akira Taue birthday (62)

May 13th 2000: Jumbo Tsuruta memorial (23)

*NOTE ABOUT ABEMA BROADCASTS

For the overseas fan a subscription to WrestleUniverse is recommended instead of a subscription to ABEMA. You can only watch ABEMA shows live (you cannot watch replays should you miss the show), but these always get uploaded to WrestleUniverse a few minutes after the broadcast finishes. I do not recommend that overseas fans subscribe to ABEMA due to the time consuming and expensive issues around finding a VPN that is compatible with their firewall, and ABEMA do not broadcast any other NOAH shows aside from the live broadcasts, they do not show much exclusive content and they do not show vintage or older events.

LINKS

“No matter how many times you fall down, you get back up, that’s pro wrestling” – Kaito Kiyomiya vs Reiwa’s “Pu-Girl”

“I want to fight” Aoki’s first NOAH participation, Funaki “challenge”. Press conference for the first showdown in six years

“Isn’t that a stupid question?” Shiozaki, returning for the first time in eight months, emphasizes “perfection” like AMAKUSA

26 year old wrestler Kaito Kiyomiya talks about the importance of the dojo and generational view

NOAH FROM THE VAULT

“Donmai, Donmai” – Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary….he’s being obscene!

With thanks to: Metal NOAH

Picture credits: NOAH.co.jp

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

(NOAH) NOAH NEWSLETTER VOL.199 ~ 25TH APRIL 2023

Lots of Championship news! Does Jake Lee have what it takes to captain the ark?

Published

12 months ago

April 26, 2023

Hi5ame

NEWS

“I made you all wait”, Go Shiozaki announces his return

Go Shiozaki made a surprise appearance at NOAH’s Sendai event on the 16th April, and announced that he would return to the ring at “MAJESTIC” at Ryogoku Kokugikan on Thursday May 4th. In an interview done soon afterwards, Shiozaki said that of course his goal was to “get my belt back as soon as possible” and naturally, his target is the current champion, Jake Lee. He is very excited about NOAH now with the influx of foreign wrestlers, and of course, Jake Lee whom he knew from being in All Japan. Shiozaki’s return match will be against Kongoh’s Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Manabu Soya. Shiozaki says he will not only be fighting against his opponents, but also the younger generation of NOAH, who he says are “a threat”. NOAH’s generational wheel continues turning.

The theme of return is “New Go Shiozaki”, “Fight with five people”, thrilled by the new NOAH scenery

“I have to get my belt back”, Go Shiozaki vows to return early to the title front

Junta Miyawaki returns from Mexico

Junta Miyawaki announced (bilingually as he also announced this in Mexican), that he would be returning from Ultimo Dragon’s training camp, and would make his first match back at Korakuen Hall at STAR NAVIGATION on the 29th April. His opponent will be HI69, who has been on a roll recently. Before he left, Junta Miyawaki said that he would “sip muddy water”, (which basically means to hit rock bottom and crawl you way back up), before he returned to NOAH. HI69 was unimpressed with this statement, saying that Junta had no idea what he was talking about, but he would soon make him realize it.

Women’s matches

NOAH continue to book women’s matches on their bigger shows. Sendai saw Maya Yukihi and Sumire Natsu fight in a singles match, and afterwards mention was made (even fleetingly) of a woman’s GHC championship. The next women’s match will be a four way at “MAJESTIC” on the 4th May between

Maya Yukihisa & SAKI vs Sumire Natsu & Ryo Mizunami.

Xtreme Tiger concussed & Luchadore’s trash the commentary table

Very sadly Xtreme Tiger sustained (probably) a concussion during the match in Sendai and was stretchered from the ring. Fortunately, he could still move as he was seen to be sitting up and sliding himself on to the stretcher. The remaining Luchadores (Doralistico, Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Alejandro & Lanzelot) decided to continue the match, and as they are NOAH Juniors, didn’t bother to tell the ref. They just carried on and during this, Dragon Bane trashed the commentary table by moonsaulting through it. Then everyone else joined in, fighting in the wreckage. Akitoshi Saito (who had been sitting at the table) was seen looking on blankly. Later he made the comment that the table was not made of a material that was meant to be broken.

Yasutaka Yano and Kinya Okada taken off the Sendai card at the last moment

Yasutaka Yano and Kinya Okada were announced to have been taken off the Sendai card at the last moment, meaning that Anthony Green and Akitoshi Saito (who wrestled by taking his shirt off and in his normal clothes) had to fill in for them. NOAH have not announced the issue (illness, injury, etc) but fans think that they may have gone to Mexico for training, albeit why this should be so sudden is a mystery.

Title news

GHC Heavyweight

Jake Lee retains, Naomichi Marufuji challenges

Jake Lee retained the GHC Heavyweight against Katsuhiko Nakajima, and was challenged that same night by Naomichi Marufuji. The nautical references continued, as Marufuji said that Jake’s steering was making him “seasick” and used a term that he says he came up with before he made his challenge, by saying that “Even if it is rotten, it is Marufuji” (the full saying is “Even if it is rotten, it is still a sea bream”, which basically is like saying “white cat, black cat, as long as it catches mice, then it is a good cat” i.e. quality is quality). Title match has been made for “MAJESTIC” on the 4th May.

The two pre matches have taken place at shows not broadcasted live, Hamamatsu (which was put on WrestleUniverse on the 25th April) and Kyoto KBS Hall (which will be streamed on WrestleUniverse on the 26th April from 18:00 JST). Neither the champion or the challenger scored the direct win over the other, but Jake was seen to hold the belt over Naomichi Marufuji as he, Jake, stood on the turnbuckle and held it even higher.

The new champion gives NOAH a warning! Is it okay to stay as NOAH = Marufuji?

“After all, I’m the man who’s been with NOAH for a long time” – Naomichi Marufuji, on the 25th anniversary of his debut who named himself as the one to overthrow Jake, talks about his thoughts!

GHC Heavyweight Tag

Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba lost the GHC Heavyweight Tag Championship to Takashi Sugiura and Shuhei Taniguchi in Sendai. Shuhei Taniguchi, much to his seniors delight, got the win but there was no chance to celebrate for very long as a new fearsome tag team, who were part of a new unit (and therefore a new power in the heavyweights) appeared on the scene to challenge. Hideki Suzuki announced that himself, Timothy Thatcher and Saxon Huxley, were breaking away from The Sugiura Army, which he said was “over” (fans have long felt that the unit simply fizzled out) and the three of them were breaking away on their own.

Suzuki challenged for the GHC Heavyweight Tag belts on behalf of his partners, whom both came across as having chemistry akin to an old school American tag team (Saxon I know is from England, but you know the vibe I am talking about). Backstage, Hideki Suzuki said their new unit was called “Real”. In their first pre match in Hamamatsu, Suzuki refused to shake hands with Takashi Sugiura and Sugiura was defeated by Saxon Huxley. The next night in Kyoto, Sugiura defeated Huxley, which was Huxley’s first NOAH loss, with the Olympic Slam and labelled himself as “Beastmaster”. There was also some slight friction appearing between Takashi Sugiura and Shuhei Taniguchi, as Taniguchi did the same “I heard you lost today?” kind of comment back to Sugiura, and once again refused to shake hands with him when Sugiura offered and just walked off when Sugi asked, “Did you win?”.

GHC National

In an epic match, El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr defended the GHC National against Jack Morris, and the two of them shook hands afterwards and patched up their friendship. Backstage, Hideki Suzuki appeared in the comments booth when Wagner Jnr was in it, clapping sarcastically and saying that he was coming for his belt. Suzuki also made a very poetic comment about the challenge.

“Because Wagner Jnr is the sun of Mexico, I will take him deep into the ocean. We will sink together, and only I will rise”

Their two pre matches so far have been inconclusive as they head towards the title match at “MAJESTIC” on the 4th May at Ryogoku Kokugikan.

GHC Junior

AMAKUSA did not do well in the pre matches against HAYATA, and HAYATA ran him into the ground in the title match in Sendai, winning in thirteen minutes and four seconds. In order to forestall anyone who thought they were going to challenge, he was picking up where he left off, and his next challenger would be Ninja Mack. Ninja Mack had challenged HAYATA in late 2022 for the belt, but he had won it when HAYATA was injured, and the belt was awarded to him. To HAYATA, he needed to defeat Ninja Mack first before dealing with anyone else. The two pre matches have not gone well for HAYATA, although Ninja Mack hasn’t got the win over him directly, he has still gotten the win for his team at one point, even if one of the matches was won by someone else, which for him counts as a victory over HAYATA.

GHC Junior Tag

Fans knew that Yoshinari Ogawa and Eita were going to fall apart. YO-HEY knew this too, but knew enough about his opponents, to be wary. In the end, a misfire by Eita, who caught Ogawa in the face with a kick, letting Tadasuke get the win, made the team implode. Ogawa might have come to the ring ignoring Eita’s very existence, but by the end of the match the two were brawling and the fight went backstage. After kicking Ogawa in the crotch, Eita announced that the only person he trusted was Daga. Daga will return to NOAH at “MAJESTIC”, with the one person who hasn’t turned on Ogawa (although he was wary of his aligning with Eita), Chris Ridgeway, who is returning to NOAH at Korakuen Hall on Saturday 29th April.

The new GHC Junior Champions, Good Looking Guy’s YO-HEY and Tadasuke, were challenged backstage by Dragon Bane and Alpha Wolf, who told them they were going to be taking the belts back to Mexico. The brothers have run riot on the junior tag champions, defeating them in the pre matches, Alpha Wolf in a singles against Tadasuke. Title match will take place this Saturday at Korakuen Hall.

EVENT RECAPS & POST MATCH PROMOS

ABEMA presents GREEN JOURNEY 2023 in Sendai (Sunday April 16th)

Event recap

Post match interviews

Act City Hamamatsu (Saturday, April 22nd)

Event recap

Post match interviews

Kyoto KBS Hall (Sunday, April 23rd)

Event recap

Post match interviews

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Because they were both champions facing their challengers, YO-HEY offered HAYATA a handshake in Kyoto. HAYATA reacted in usual fashion (he refused) but the two were seen to work together…

– Kongoh appeared in a short Kenoh Channel video, where each of them ate one of Shuji Kondo’s financiers and talked about the merch table. Katsuhiko Nakajima very neatly put back a packet of Naomichi Marufuji’s curry, which Kenoh had thrown.

– Although he is no longer appearing in the ring, NOSAWA Rongai was seen watching at the Hamamatsu show. He’s not a member of the audience however, as he seems to be travelling with them – Kenoh said that he was glad Go Shiozaki had returned as he could not “wait to beat the shit” out of him.

– Atsushi Kotoge has revealed his beloved Shiba is called “Chikuwa”. When he left for NOAH’s weekend shows, he told him he was leaving him as watchdog to guard the family.

– Mercedes Monet said she wanted a match with “Marufugi”. “Marufugi” said he wanted one with her too.

– YO-HEY and Yoshiki Inamura will appear on “All-Star Chorus Battle” on May 14th for Fuji TV. The premise of the show is that they will team with five other people, sing the hit songs of the Reiwa era and compete as a chorus for a championship.

– A picture taken by NOAH’s official photographer in Kyoto was captured at precisely the moment that Seiki Yoshioka was diving off the top turnbuckle. The angle of his body made him look as if he was leaping out of the stained glass behind him. Ironically, he seemed to be leaping from the roof of the Ark. Also photographed against The Ark was Yoshiki Inamura, who put a Dove above his head.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Jake Lee
Challenger: Naomichi Marufuji, ABEMA presents MAJESTIC 2023, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Thursday May 4th
GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
Challenger: Ninja Mack, ABEMA presents MAJESTIC 2023, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Thursday May 4th
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi
Challengers: REAL (Saxon Huxley & Timothy Thatcher), ABEMA presents MAJESTIC 2023, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Thursday May 4th
GHC Junior Tag Champions: Good Looking Guys (YO-HEY & Tadasuke)
Challengers: Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf, STAR NAVIGATION 2023, Korakuen Hall, Saturday April 29th
GHC National Champion: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr
Challenger: Hideki Suzuki, ABEMA presents MAJESTIC 2023, Ryogoku Kokugikan, Thursday May 4th