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NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.180~ 19TH JULY 2022

NOAH had a busy week-ish! News champions! Vacated belts! Gifts being passed along. It’s a fresh voyage for NOAH!

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NEWS

Kenoh becomes the 40th GHC Heavyweight Champion, second reign to usher in a NOAH for the younger wrestlers. 

Following a feud which involved arguments over squats, Lion push ups, push ups and then Kenoh doing karaoke (which he said he wouldn’t when Kojima mentioned it), Kenoh won the GHC Heavyweight Championship in 28 minutes and 17 seconds following the Moonsault Double Knee Attack. Kojima took so many PFS during the match, that the next day when taking a bath he wondered if he had broken ribs.

Kenoh’s first title reign was about taking NOAH back to The Budokan, his second title reign is about changing the dynamics in NOAH. Kenoh had stated throughout the build to the title match that he was going to create a new NOAH, and one where reliance was not put on the veterans, but rather the young people in NOAH (even Kaito Kiyomiya) who would finally get their say.

HAYATA defends, dangerous new challenger emerges

Despite matches ending in a kick to the head by Seiki Yoshioka (even in matches that Yoshioka wasn’t in), HAYATA defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight. Yoshioka had said an interview that he would end the match by “Critical Strike”, but ironically it was HAYATA who ended the match that way with The Headache. No reconciliation with STINGER in sight, Yoshioka slunk off backstage, vowing to get stronger and climb up again. HAYATA’S next challenger came to the ring when HAYATA was still lying on the mat.

It was Shuji Kondo, who fans said was HAYATA’S “most dangerous challenger so far”. Kondo is far more heavily built than any of HAYATA’S other challengers, and stronger too. They are not total strangers, having met before at Naomichi Marufuji’s “Flight”. Kondo did not mince his words, asking HAYATA if he knew the significance of his coming to stand in the ring, but then again, HAYATA didn’t speak, did he? He reminded HAYATA of the fact that he was once a GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion (September 2012) and he wanted that belt back.

HAYATA snatched the mic from Kondo and swore he would defeat him and raise the value of the belt. Backstage, Kondo said he was surprised that HAYATA could and did speak, while HAYATA (not looking into the camera but from side to side) said that he was happy that others had come from other promotions for the belt, but it would be himself who would defend and raise the value. Title match has been set for 5th August at Korakuen Hall.

GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles vacated and won by The Sugiura Army’s Hideki Suzuki and “eccentric partner” Timothy Thatcher

Due to what NOAH called “various circumstances” surrounding Michael Elgin, NOAH announced that the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles would be vacated, and Yoshiki Inamura would join Masa Kitamiya to fight for them. THE TOUGH were back together, but it was to be an unhappy reunion as Yoshiki Inamura was choked out by Hideki Suzuki leading to a match stop and the titles going to The Sugiura Army. Masa Kitamiya was furious and left screaming in rage, backstage he walked off angrily telling Inamura to “Get the hell out of my way!”. They will be teaming together again (albeit with the presence of Shuhei Taniguchi) on the 22nd July. It’s going to be interesting to see how it goes.

In the winners interview afterwards, Hideki Suzuki said he was not looking to the future, he was looking like he had always done, at the present. But regarding the future, the GHC Heavyweight and the GHC National beckoned.

STINGER & PERROS, Eita tells Chris Ridgeway to stay away for longer

Perros Del Mal De Japon got their revenge on Yoshinari Ogawa, for Ogawa abusing the “gift” that NOSAWA Rongai had tried to barter the GHC Junior Heavyweight tags in Shizuoka with, and throwing the white powder in the bag in Kotaro’s face. STINGER (and Kaito Kiyomiya) teamed up to beat on Kotaro, with Ogawa throwing so much powder that Kotaro was caked in it and looked like an elderly Geisha. Perros Del Mal De Japon got their revenge at The Nippon Budokan by keeping Yuya Susumu out of the ring, and torturing Yoshinari Ogawa. Backstage, Eita told Chris Ridgeway (whose surname he claimed not to remember until Kotaro reminded him) to stay in England for a while and not to rush back. It gave them more time to beat up Ogawa. Nothing has been announced regarding Ridgeway’s return as of yet.

“Three Treasures” from Keiji Mutoh

After weeks of preparation (which included reading every book he could, playing computer games with Keiji Mutoh in them, and practicing his moves) Kaito Kiyomiya faced Keiji Mutoh at The Nippon Budokan on the 16th July. This was to be their final singles match, and Kiyomiya knew this was his last chance. Mutoh had said he didn’t want Kiyomiya to put the old man out of his misery, but neither did he want him to be haunted by his ghost, and during the match both gave it their all, Mutoh even pulling out a clunky top rope Hurracanrunna. Kiyomiya worked throughout the match on Mutoh’s knees, and eventually did the unthinkable, he scored his one and only win by submission.

Backstage, Mutoh reflected that since Kiyomiya had defeated him, he was going to give him three gifts (ABEMA called these the “Three Treasures”) which were The Shining Wizard, The Dragon Screw and the The Figure Four. He wanted Kiyomiya to inherit them and take them forward and make them his own. Kiyomiya said that he had learned a lot from Mutoh, far more than he realized, and was seen after The Budokan was over practicing the moves that were now his for the N-1 VICTORY.

Masashi Aoyagi passes away

Masashi Aoyagi, who had been a big part of NOAH for the first fifteen years, passed away in early July. NOAH were affected by the loss, with Kotaro Suzuki and Akitoshi Saito remembering him in particular. Kotaro remembered him as a kind man when he was a trainee, who always had a smile, while Akitoshi Saito, who was Aoyagi’s student, remembered him as a strict but fair teacher. NOAH held the traditional ten bell salute on July 10th in Fujisan Messe, and Akitoshi Saito wore Aoyagi’s obi belt to the ring.

N-1 Victory 2022 announcement

The following were announced for the N-1 VICTORY 2022

A BLOCK

  • Kenoh
  • Kazuyuki Fujita
  • Go Shiozaki
  • Masato Tanaka
  • Masaaki Mochizuki
  • Hideki Suzuki
  • El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr
  • Anthony Greene

 

B BLOCK

  • Masakatsu Funaki
  • Kaito Kiyomiya
  • Katsuhiko Nakajima
  • Takashi Sugiura
  • Masa Kitamiya
  • Satoshi Kojima
  • Timothy Thatcher
  • Jack Morris

Kenoh as the reigning champion will be taking part this year. It has not been common in past years for champions to take part, as neither Kaito Kiyomiya or Naomichi Marufuji did. Kenoh says his biggest rival is Kazuyuki Fujita, who he has never forgiven for taking the GHC National from him.

Jack Morris, a Scottish wrestler, who competes for ICW, will be making his NOAH and N-1 VICTORY 2022 debut.

Yoshiki Inamura’s Fire Festival 2022

Yoshiki Inamura has made up for last years disappointment caused by a leg injury by blazing his way through the Fire Festival. He drew with Masato Tanaka and defeating Hide Kubota, Takafumi and Nagao Sasaki, which puts him at the top of the block. Now only Fuminori Abe remains on Wednesday 27th July. One fan said that Inamura was emotional at the NOAH fans calling his name.

ECW Reunion, NOSAWA wants Sabu

NOAH at the Nippon Budokan was an unlikely place for Masato Tanaka, Rob Van Dam and Super Crazy to reunite in a hardcore match, but that is exactly what happened. NOSAWA Rongai was part of the match, although he was the only one who had never been in ECW (although he probably would have liked to have been). The match, which was as RVD had commented structured like ECW wrestlers knew how, was won by RVD on NOSAWA. After the match NOSAWA (who had come to the ring clutching a Sabu autographed chair) planned to bring in Sabu for another ECW reunion hardcore match. RVD warned him to be careful what he wished for.

YouTube Wars

Kaito Kiyomiya announced on the 18th July, that he was starting his own YouTube channel. He acknowledged that he was not as skilled talker as Kenoh was, but he was planning to do things that he could do with his body. Kenoh naturally started grumbling that Kiyomiya was only starting a YouTube channel as Kiyomiya was jealous of his, (but could he sing what he did on karaoke?), while Naomichi Marufuji wondered if he should start his own. Even Katsuhiko Nakajima got in on the trend by saying that YouTube certainly was popular among NOAH wrestlers.

Naomichi Marufuji’s return

Naomichi Marufuji will return to NOAH on the 5th August, which is NOAH’s birthday. He will return at “Departure 2022” and team with Go Shiozaki and Takashi Sugiura against Satoshi Kojima, Masato Tanaka and Daiki Inaba.

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Haoh still has not made an appearance. I am wondering if he will come back on the technicality that Tadasuke expelled Haoh, he is Yuki Sato.

– Daisuke Harada used sign language to talk to a child with hearing impairment at the NOAH autograph session by signing “Thank you” to them.

– In typical Sugiura Army chaos, they came out and stood in the wrong corner when seconding Hideki Suzuki, which meant they were supporting THE TOUGH. Hideki Suzuki asked them if they were enemies now.

– Naomichi Marufuji was offered a pen where if you tip it, the clothes on the woman fade away. He decided he did not need it.

– Tadasuke debuted a new costume at The Nippon Budokan, revealing his long pants could be torn off like stripper pants. It’s apt he did it when he was in the ring with YO-HEY, which is probably his revenge for having to sit and wait for The GinGin Boys to finish their entry.

– New Japan’s Kazuchika Okada used Mitsuharu Misawa’s Emerald Flowsion against Jeff Cobb in their G1 match.

– Chris Ridgeway and HAYATA will have a singles match at WrestleCarnival in Nottingham, United Kingdom, on August 7th. Chris Ridgeway is the current Pure Champion, and Yoshinari Ogawa has always wanted a title match with Chris in the UK. HAYATA will later face Dean Allmark when he appears later in the week for PROGRESS wrestling in the north of England.

– Dante Leon made his NOAH debut at the NOAH Budokan. An exciting wrestler who combines both mat and aerial wrestling, fans cannot wait to see him against the NOAH Juniors.

– Kaito Kiyomiya came to the press conference dressed so formally to announce his YouTube channel, that fans thought that he was going to announce his marriage.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

SUNNY VOYAGE 2022

YAMAGATA BIG WING, YAMAGATA – SUNDAY, JULY 3RD

Event recap 

Post match interviews

FUJISAN MESSE, SHIZUOKA – SUNDAY, JULY 10TH

Event recap

Post match interviews

ABEMA PRESENTS DESTIONATION 2022 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO

Event recap

Post match interviews

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(July 2022 schedule)

STAR NAVIGATION 2022

  • Thursday, July 21st

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Time: 18:30 JST

Broadcast: ABEMA

– The event will be put on WrestleUniverse after it finishes.

  • Friday, July 22nd

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Time: 18:30 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse (Live)

*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.

OTHER EVENTS

  • July 9th: Road to Nippon Budokan special autograph session
  • July 23rd & July 24th: Fan Meeting 2022 
  • Sunday, July 24th: Hajime Ohara (38)
  • Sunday, July 24th: Go Shiozaki debut anniversary (18)

LINKS

“One And The Same” Kaito Kiyomiya releases a devilish flash elbow to defeat Mutoh

Professional wrestler Kaito Kiyomiya talks about his thoughts on the battle with Keiji Mutoh, who will retire next spring

Fan Event Recap: Road to Nippon Budokan special autograph session

Yoshiki Inamura’s Injury Story (Part 1) 

Yoshiki Inamura’s Injury Story (Part 2)

“The future cannot really been seen, unless we create a new shine by ourselves”. Kojima, the impact of “Waiting”, the past…interview with Kenoh ahead of The Nippon Budokan

“NOAH’s Great Talent” Yoshiki Inamura to shoot to the top by taking the title at the ZERO-1 Fire Festival

GHC Junior Challenge – Interview with Seiki Yoshioka, keyword is “Critical Strike”, the ultimate finish for The Budokan semi

Reasons for Kaito Kiyomiya’s “Perfect Imitation” facing Keiji Mutoh on Retirement Road

Budokan GHC Junior Championship Match signing: Yoshioka openly announces KO, HAYATA “Can See How To Win”

NOAH’s Budokan GHC Pre Match Press Conference: Kenoh’s “Green Tie” declaration of recapture of treasure, “NOAH Now Is Me”, Kojima’s rivalry with the G1 opening round

The sudden change to the tag champion decisive match, Suzuki burns “Only the results matter”, explosive stand off with THE TOUGH

Ninja Mack, who has come to Japan for the first time in two months, is looking to challenge for a title. Press conference with Dante Leon for the first time

RVD “Show True Hardcore Fight”, Tanaka “Budokan like ECW Arena”, magnificent former ECW duo meet

“Toward a NOAH for young wrestlers to speak” Kenoh declares his statement of belief, N-1 VICTORY and Fujita humiliation

Kiyomiya announces opening of a YouTube channel, the press conference itself becomes a “Hidden Camera”

 

BOOK CORNER/OLD ARTICLE TRANSLATIONS

Donmai-Donmai (Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary)

 

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse, NOAH Official YouTube & Pro Wrestling NOAH Official Twitter


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More From Japan

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

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

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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.

Related articles

“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.

Related articles

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.

Related articles

“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.

Related articles

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


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More From Japan

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

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

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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.

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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.

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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

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

  • STAR NAVIGATION 2023

Date: Saturday April 29th

Venue: Korakuen Hall

Start time: 18:30 JST (doors open 17:30)

Broadcast: ABEMA (Live)

BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES 

29th April: Atsushi Kotoge debut anniversary (2005)

29th April: Tadasuke debut anniversary (2007)

*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.

NOAH FROM THE VAULT

“Donmai, Donmai” – Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary

With thanks to: Metal-NOAH

Picture credits: NOAH.co.jpPro Wrestling DX


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