NJPW Dominion Results & Ratings

Published

7 years ago

June 9, 2018

As I said in my picks, Dominion is the big summer event and we knew most of the important storylines.

Young Bucks, Kenny Omega, Chris Jericho and Hiromu Takahashi, all were challenging for a new chapter. Jericho could make history being the first person to hold IWGP Intercontinental and WWE Intercontinental gold. Omega and Hiromu could finally get over the hump against their respective opponents. The Bucks look to prove they belong in the Heavyweight Tag Division.

With all of this going on, let’s just see how it all played out.

IWGP Junior Tag Title: Suzuki-Gun (El Desperado and Yoshinobu Kanemaru) (c) vs Roppongi 3K (SHO and YOH)

Despy tries to hit SHO with the belt before the bell, but he ducks and SHO and YOH take out both members with stereo Dropkicks and then stereo dives. After a attempting something from the apron, Desperado trips up YOH and both Suzuki-Gun members manage to take advantage of the less experienced wrestlers.

Some moves outside and Roppongi 3k manage to get back in by 17. YOH continues to take punishment before he finally pulls off a big Dragon Screw on Despy and Vertical Suplex on Kanemaru for the hot tag to SHO. SHO hits multiple suplexes before Kanemaru shows up for a double team move, but YOH comes back in to split things off and SHO manages to turn the tide on Desperado again.

SHO counters Kanemaru’s mist attempt, and hits a big Lung Blower on Desperado for a near fall. He then motions for the Shock Arrow, but Desperado counters, pushes SHO into the referee, to bump him hard enough for Kanemaru to use the whiskey bottle to pick up the ‘sneaky style’ pinfall and retain their championships.

Winner: Desperado & Kanemaru via Cradle after Whiskey Bottle

Rating: ** 3/4

Taguchi Japan (Juice Robinson and David Finlay) vs. Chaos (Jay White and Yoshi-Hashi)

Jay White starts off quickly with chops and strikes on Juice. Juice counters, he and Finlay hit a couple double team moves and Yoshi-Hashi comes in to get kicked around by Finlay before Jay White helps them get some momentum back.

Nice corner spot when Jay White is seated, Yoshi-Hashi tries to interfere but gets hung up in the Tree of Woe, and Juice hits a big cannonball on both men. A little 4 man chaos as Jay hits a Blade Runner on Finlay, but he’s not the legal man. So a nice left handed punch from Juice, leads to the Pulp Friction, and the pinfall.

Juice is most likely the next challenger for the US Title.

Winner: Juice and Finlay via Pulp Friction

Rating: ** 1/4

Chaos (Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano) vs. Suzuki-Gun (Minoru Suzuki and Zack Sabre Jr.)

This match had a lot of fun story threads. Ishii and Suzuki have an issue, Ishii also recently took Sabre’s British Heavyweight title and Yano…is Yano.

Suzuki and Ishii do the majority of the work and it’s just a tough guy marathon. Suzuki does much less submission wrestling and they just try to beat the hell out of each other. The amount of disdain they both have for each other comes through in every strike.

Fast forwarding to the finish, we see Yano do his playful trickster thing with removing the turnbuckle pad and trying to hit a low blow. However, Sabre counters it by bringing his knees together to trap Yano’s arm. He turns it into a Grounded Hammerlock Inverted Armbreaker, and Yano submits quickly.

After the match, Ishii and Suzuki keep chasing each other around the arena trying to kill one another.

Winner: Suzuki & Sabre via Grounded Hammerlock Inverted Armbreaker

Rating: *** 1/4

NEVER Openweight Triple Threat: Hirooki Goto (c) vs. Michael Elgin vs. Taichi

There’s so much going on in this match, it’s hard to piece out, so I’ll do the highlighted version. Taichi played the heel who kept avoiding contact for a good portion of the match, and utilized Miho as a distraction a little more than he usually does.

Taichi attempted to form alliances, but they both hate him. Elgin hit a big Tope con Hilo on both Goto and Taichi. Towards the end, Taichi slides in, hits Elgin and Goto with the microphone stand and starts cackling like an anime villain. The crowd erupts, while most are laughing I think they’re chanting ” Go Home Taichi”.

Taichi his a Superkick for 2, attempts a Gedo Clutch, but by that point Elgin is up and hits a Buckle Bomb. Then he throws Taichi into Goto, to finish the match by Elgin Bombing Taichi.

Winner: Elgin via Elgin Bomb

Rating: *** 1/4

IWGP Heavyweight Tag Championship: Los Ingobernables de Japon (SANADA and EVIL) (c) vs. The Young Bucks (Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson)

Match was paced quickly, and that helped and hurt it at the same time. Matt and Nick sold a back and foot injury through most of the match, but that fell apart a little towards the end.

Most of each teams signature moves were hit, SANADA was never able to hit Skull End or his Moonsault and EVIL never managed to hit Everything is Evil. So LIJ weren’t hurt at all in the loss, but the super hero resolve and a fairly bad sell on the Magic Killer just to increase the suspense made the finish feel flat to me.

Yes there was a lot of action, so it was entertaining, but it felt more like an older Young Bucks match when people would complain they had no psychology and were all about spots. Let’s hope that their first reign as Heavyweight Tag Champs have more well rounded matches.

Winner: Young Bucks via More Bang for Your Buck

Rating: ****

Hiroshi Tanahashi, Jushin Thunder Liger and Rey Mysterio Jr. vs. Bullet Club (Cody, Hangman Page and Marty Scurll)

Early mind games with different Bullet Club members calling out a member of the legend team that wasn’t legal. But when it got down to it, it was an entertaining match. Tanahashi didn’t do much in fairness, but Mysterio put on a clinic to prove he’s healthy and Liger even managed to get in some decent offense.

Biggest spot of the night was probably Mysterio hitting the double 619 on Page and Scurll, but the Cody train just doesn’t seem to be slowing down at all. Cody landing Crossroads on Liger, just continues to solidify him as a force in wrestling.

Winner: Bullet Club via Cody hitting Crossroads

Rating: *** 1/2

IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship: Will Ospreay (c) vs. Hiromu Takahashi

Starts off with a flurry, Hiromu with the release German into the corner and attempts the Apron Sunset Bomb. Ospreay blocks that and takes a page out of Hiromu’s book by running up the apron, for a full sprint running flip dive off the entrance ramp.

Ospreay goes for a more methodical approach, a Grounded Hammerlock Inverted Armbar, while leaning back keeps Hiromu on the ground. Then we see Ospreay being more aggressive and deliberate, until Hiromu finally starts stringing some offense together.

Lots of quick erratic movements, a big Pop-up Power Bomb gets Hiromu a near fall, leading into a corner chop spot and Ospreay curses at Hiromu. Pip Pip Cheerio, leads into a few attempts and counters at offense. Hiromu goes to the outside and Ospreay hits a Space Flying Tiger Drop.

Oscutter attempts number one, gets caught by Hiromu for a big German Suplex to break the flow of offense. We get the building up strikes back and forth spot, before the pace accelerates and there is a lot of transition and counter wrestling. Suplexes countered, Enzuigiris, but Ospreay catches Hiromu with two big Reverseranas, goes for Stormbreaker, but Hiromu counters with a Code Red.

Match moves to the apron and we get some back and forth strikes before Ospreay superplexes him outside in into the Burning Star Press. A Corkscrew Shoot Star press from Ospreay gets a near fall. Ospreay goes for Stormbreaker one more time, Hiromu counters it into a Canadian Destroyer and tries to tap him out with his Triangle Choke.

Ospreay powers out by twisting and driving Hiromu’s head into the mat, like a Triangle Driver or something. Ospreay goes for another Oscutter, but Hiromu finally gets the Sunset Bomb, into the Dynamite Plunger for 2.

Lots of sloppy offense from Ospreay at this point, Crescent Kick doesn’t hit right, Spinng Heel Kick barely makes contact, and Hiromu manages to counter the Stormbreaker one more time. Hiromu hits his Time Bomb after a Butterfly Piledriver, and a few other moves and, defeats Ospreay!

Winner: Hiromu via Time Bomb

Rating: **** 1/2

IWGP Intercontinental Title : Tetsuya Naito (c) vs. Chris Jericho

Wow, Jericho jumps Naito before the bell, hits him with tripods, barricades, anything that isn’t tied down. Hell even a Japanese Table breaks for Jericho. Also it must be noted that Jericho comes out looking like Clockwork Orange. Nice call back to his finger flip off spot, but this time he takes a video camera. Jericho DDTs Naito on another table, but it refuses to break.

Eventually Jericho slides in Naito for the match to start, Naito fights back a little, but Jericho maintains all of the advantage. Even hits a nice Lionsault, for another near fall.

Jericho manhandles Naito from pillar to post, until the classic Naito spit spot, gives him a small opening. The leg sweep, Wrecking Ball Dropkick leads to a Rude Awakening on the apron and Naito is finally showing signs of life.

He begins choking Jericho with parts of his suit outfit, and the crowd boos him pretty thoroughly. Maybe Naito is popular, everywhere except Osaka. Naito takes a piece of the broken table and beats Jericho over the head with it multiple times, to more boos.

Naito hits a big Piledriver onto the table from earlier, that still doesn’t break, moves back to the ring and Jericho takes a Dropkick to the back of his neck. Jericho blocks a top turnbuckle Frankensteiner and drops down into the Walls of Jericho. At this point it sounds like the crowd finally comes around to Naito.

At this point it seems to go a lot of one for one with Jericho really pushing to win with the Walls of Jericho, but Naito doesn’t tap. Scary moment when Naito goes for a running Destino, but Jericho loses his balance and then saves it to look more like a side slam cover.

Few more strikes and then they do the Destino spot correctly. But too lose to the ropes. Naito goes for a flying forearm, but Jericho catches him with a Codebreaker. Naito lands Gloria, goes for a Destino again, but Jericho slips away, and pushes Red Shoes. Low blow and Codebreaker, equals Jericho is the new IWGP Intercontinental Champion.

A little sloppy and slow at points, so their chemistry wasn’t fantastic. But, it was a brutal and entertaining match.

Jericho continues beating on Naito and EVIL shows up for the save. So I’m guessing the first official Jericho defense may be EVIL.

Winner: Jericho via Codebreaker

Rating: **** 1/4

IWGP Heavyweight Championship 2 out of 3 Falls: Kazuchika Okada (c) vs. Kenny Omega

Okay, outline version for this match, since too long, too much going on and hard to look away to type.

Okada and Omega go to the outside, Okada goes for his crossbody, but V-Trigger counters right into his ribs.
Omega top rope Dragon Suplex, Okada countered into Tombstone on Apron
Rainmaker pose, turned into Dragon Suplex, then Rise of the Terminator
Okada sits down in a sunset flip position and picks up the surprise first fall.
Double stomp from Kenny on table
Okada teases backdrop through table
Omega teases Dragon Suplex through table
Reverserana on the outside from Kenny to Okada
One Winged Angel wins Kenny fall 2
Callback to second match, Omega gets thrown into ropes, Omega collapses and Okada lands on his back after attempting a Dropkick.
Omega hits a Styles Clash
Ibushi tells Kenny to go for a Phoenix Splash, it misses.
Okada couldn’t pull of the tombstone, goes for a Rainmaker, and another callback as Okada crumbles after barely making contact
So many attempts at Rainmakers, both were exhausted a really fast One Winged Angel sets the stage for one more V-Trigger and one final One Winged Angel.

Winner: Kenny Omega 2-1 via One Winged Angel

Rating: ***** 3/4

Analysis:

So the main event definitely delivered, but with a 2 minute intervals between falls, it did hurt the flow of the match. Due to the starting and stopping between matches, it’s hard to say it matched or surpassed previous epics. Still a tremendous match, but a shade worse than the first two matches. This signified the culmination of everything Omega has gone through, and the appeal Omega brings to the Western market makes things very interesting.

Some classic Japanese wrestling fans may not like that most of the NJPW champions are gaijins, but the show was still good and it’s hard to find fault in the finishes.

Even Kenny Omega’s press conference after the show talked about expanding more worldwide and that Okada was more of a local hero. Also declared that he, Ibushi, and the Bucks are now the Golden Elite.

Dominion was a very good show, even if the ratings weren’t off the chart, each match brought a different level of entertainment.

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

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

Published

2 years 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

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

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

Published

2 years 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