Sendai Girls BIG SHOW in Niigata Results & Review (6/16/2018)

Published

6 years ago

July 4, 2018

We are back at Sendai Girls and the last show I did, we had a MOTY contender between Io Shirai and Meiko Satomura that ended in a draw and we also crowned a new champion when Hamada defeated Chihiro Hashimoto.

But I do have some bad news, Hamada had to vacate the championship when she got arrested for drug possession, meaning that her match with DASH had to be cancelled and we currently have no new Sendai Girls World Champion. However, they still have a show to do until they figure it out and this will be Io Shirai’s final appearance with the company before she has one more match to do at Stardom the day after, so I’m sure Meiko is gonna book a special show for such an occasion.

So let us…dive right in.

Singles Match
Manami vs. Mio Momono

Review: We got Manami taking on Mio Momono, who is from the promotion Marvelous That’s Women Pro Wrestling and yes that is a real promotion that is apart of the DDT Universe streaming service and that have a lot of promotions on their website for a low price too, I wanna get it but I have too many as it is, but definitely check it out since it’s more than DDT as you get BASARA, Marvelous, Tokyo Joshi Pro, and DNA for the same price as NJPW World. Anyway, Manami started off strong with some arm drags, takedowns, and some quick pins, but Mio countered it with a submission or two and would pin her down with Manami kicking out and Mio holding her down every time she kicked out to try and tire her out. The match is pretty basic with Mio having a bit more experience than Manami by two years and just working with Manami in the ring and Manami would get a few close calls with a roll-up, but Mio would turn it around and hits a Crossbody off the ropes to get the pinfall.

Recommended: Decent and short, so really up to you.

Singles Match
KAORU vs. Mai Mizuochi

Review: We got KAORU in action here as she takes on a newcomer to the wrestling scene, Mai Mizuochi and I wish her welcome and let’s see what she brings to the table here. I am disappointed by the lack of giant lollipops by KAORU here, I was expecting her to offer a giant lollipop to distract her like the last time I covered this show, I am sad now.

KAORU would beat Mai down and bring her to the outside right away to start beating her up until she brings her back into the ring and just kept beating her down to give Mai no offense in this match whatsoever. KAORU would taunt her Oedo Tai style and would go to the ropes where she’s handed a frame to drop on her, but Mai would roll out of the way in time. KAORU was about to put the frame away but Mai would finally get some offense in and Dropkicks her down while she was distracted and would top it off with three Running Crossbody’s in a row and only got a two count out of it. Mai would hit one more Crossbody but off the second rope to get another two count and would even hit a nice Suplex with a good bridge, but still another kick out with also another Crossbody and KAORU keeps kicking out. KAORU would have Mai up for a Suplex and holds her up in the air for about ten seconds and turns it into a Brainbuster for a two count and it looked like Mai was gonna get some momentum but gets kicked in the midsection a few times before getting hit with another Brainbuster and Mai kicks out of it. KAORU would stop playing around as she would hit the Excalibur for the victory over Mai. Mai so far has been rather impressive, she’s got a good look, good energy, and seems to have some potential. I’ll be keeping an eye on her.

Recommended: Solid match for what it was. Worth at least a viewing.

Singles Match
Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota

Review: Our next match is with our vets Aiger taking on Sakura Hirota. The two start to lock up and do their little shoulder tackle spot but Sakura would point to the rope where she was gonna run and Aiger just points the other way for her to go, which she says yes and does it just to get tackles down anyway.

Sakura would attempt an Old School only to get pushed between the ropes and would still find a way to clap to get the fans behind her which also makes Aiger pick her back up so she would stand on the ropes again and once she does, she starts talking to the crowd until she fell down again and Aiger tries to tackle her this time and slips causing her to slide outside. Sakura would attempt to do a Suicide Dive and would have half her body go through as the bottom half hit the middle ropes and fell down and I thought Aiger would attack her, but no since they just…run around the ring until they got back in to beat the count and even the referee tells them to not do it again and guess what? They do it anyway. They go back in again and Sakura would put something in the referee’s back pocket before going back out again and tries to distract Aiger with a child as she walked up to the child to touch his face…pause. The referee would go outside and found out that there was candy that was placed in his back pocket and gave it back to Sakura and Aiger would try to Clothesline the both of them as they ducked and then Aiger chased Sakura around again until they decided to chase the referee into the ring. I don’t mind comedy here and there when it’s not over the top, but is there even a match going on or is this intermission? Aiger went for a Clothesline and accidentally hits the referee to knock him out and would hit another one on Sakura to try and pin her, but there’s no ref. Aiger picked him up and looked annoyed but Sakura would hit the Thousand Years of Death on both of them (I can’t believe I just wrote this) and would try to hit Aiger and gets kicked by the referee instead and Aiger would try to go for the Powerbomb, but gets reversed into a Frankensteiner for a two count when Aiger spat white mist into her to roll her up and Sakura now kicked out. Aiger would have her up in a Razors Edge position and lands a Sitout Powerbomb for the win. I’m gonna be honest, I really didn’t like this match as not only it was sloppy, but also way too gimmicky for my taste. The Aiger gimmick is also way too gimmicky and I normally don’t mind stuff like this, but it just dragged and was way over the top.

Recommended: No.

Six Man Tag Team Match
Aja Kong, Nyla Rose & Rydeen Hagane vs. Ami Sato, Hiroyo Matsumoto & Manami Katsu

Recommended: We now get a six-man tag with some people from OZ Academy like Aja Kong and Hiroyo Matsumoto, Sendai Girls own Ami Sato, Manami Katsu and Rydeen from Pure-J, and Nyla Rose who is a Freelancer.

It looked like part of the match got cut out, but it starts on here with Aja being tagged in with Ami in the ring with her trying to knock her down with shoulder tackles and had no luck of doing so and would even get knocked down but would try to roll her up and failed due to Aja being too heavy for her and would try to sit on Ami, but she rolled out of the way and lead to Hiroyo and Katsu to all beat her down and held her arms out as Ami jumped on to of Aja to do the JAN taunt until they got pushed off. Nyla would get a quick tag in to show off her strength and hits a Stalling Suplex for a two count and would tag Rydeen in now as she hits a Scoop Slam for a two count, Ami would try her best to fight her off but it wasn’t enough and Rydeen went to run to the ropes and got stopped by Hiroyo to give Ami some time to tag Manami in. Manami and Rydeen would start wailing each other with some pretty stiff forearms and would last for a bit until Manami hits a Back Suplex on her to get the both of them down as they both tag in Nyla and Hiroyo into the match now as they two would try to Clothesline each other down with none of them falling, but Nyla would hit a Drop Toehold and then Dropkick her right after that. Nyla ran to the ropes but Ami would hold her down for Hiroyo to hit a Clothesline onto Nyla and picked her up for a Torture Rack before dropping her down and she would get beat down with Rydeen hitting a Splash off the second rope and Nyla hitting a rather sloppy Swanton Bomb for a two count when Manami broke the count. Aja gets tagged in now and would hit a Backdrop onto Hiroyo for a two count and would start striking her until Hiroyo would knock her down with a back elbow and once Hiroyo would try to go for the tag, Ami for some reason would push Manami off the apron so she could get tagged in…I guess she wanted to prove herself. Ami would keep tackling Aja onto the turnbuckle to try and daze Aja as she would try to pick her up for a Scoop Slam and no way she was gonna get far with that, Manami would try to help Ami out despite being pushed a couple minutes ago to try and go for a Double Suplex, but failed with Aja hitting a Brainbuster on both of them. Aja and Rydeen would try to squash Ami between them but she moved out of the way for them to collide and Ami rolled Aja up for another two count and she was gonna strike again until Aja would hit a Lariat for a two count and would then pick Ami up for the Brainbuster to win the match.

Recommended: This was a decent match and Ami impressed me the most out of the six despite Hiroyo being great. I would say give it a watch if you want to.

Sendai Girls Tag Team Title Match
Cassandra Miyagi & Heidi Katrina (c) vs. Alex Lee & Mika Iwata

Review: We got our only title match set up for the evening with Casandra Miyagi and Heidi Katrina with their second championship defense against Strong Style Rush, Alex Lee and Mika Iwata. The last time they fought for the tag team titles was on the April 22nd show and the champions were able to retain them, but now it looks like they’re gonna go at it one more time here and maybe they’ll get the chance to get the titles or will lightning strike twice and have the champions retain? Well, we’re gonna find out. While Alex and Mika were deciding who should go in first, the champs would attack them from behind and have them outside the ring for a little brawl before having them go back in to try and do more damage to them. They went for an Irish Whip and SSR would reverse it to hit a Dropkick on the both of them and it looked like Heidi was still standing as they kicked her down to size and ran after her to hit a double knee strike. It looks like Mika would be the legal person for the other team and Heidi knocks her down right away with a forearm before tagging in Cassandra and would for some reason bang her head around like she’s listening to a heavy metal song for some reason before grabbing Mika’s hair and kept pulling her back and forth until she decides to let go of her. Cassandra went to go for a kick and Mika catches her leg and would kick her back and grab her arm as she goes to the top rope for an arm drag to take her down and gives her a Dropkick before tagging in her partner, Alex and she gives Cassandra a German Suplex and looked like she was on her knees before they Superkick her and kicks out at two.

The champs would start to get the heat in the match with Cassandra and Heidi beating down Alex a few times before tagging each other back in and would stop once Alex kicked Cassandra down and she went to go for the tag, but Mika was knocked down and Cassandra would throw Alex to the outside and went to go for a Suicide Dive, but she faked it by pulling an Andrade with how she held onto the rope as Heidi attacked Alex from behind and the two would attack her outside the ring. They get back in the ring as Cassandra tagged in Heidi to beat her down some more and would apply a Boston Crab on her while Cassandra came in to knock Mika down before she could attempt to break the hold and would attack Alex’s head until the referee would tell Cassandra to get off and Alex would roll out of the Boston Crab to attempt another tag as Mika got pulled down before she had the chance which gave Heidi an opening to apply the Crossface for a bit before tagging Cassandra back in. Cassandra would go for a kick and Alex blocks it to kick her back and hits an Enziguri before she finally makes the hot tag for Mika to go in and she would have Cassandra to the corner as she hits a Shining Wizard and it looked like she was going for a Suplex, but Cassandra would reverse it and Mika would flip out of it to kick her and would hit a few Dropkicks for a two count and hits a Superkick before another two count, but Mika would turn it into an Armbar right away. Mika would fight the both of them off for a moment until Cassandra would attack her from behind and went to throw her, but Mika catches her with her Thrust Kick and she went down fast before Mika hits another one and tags in Alex to try and finish it as she hits a Double Underhook Facebuster for a two count. Cassandra would find a way to tag in Heidi and she would hit a Brainbuster and a Leg Drop for a two count, then Heidi would throw Alex towards the turnbuckle as she would jump back to hit a Crossbody and drags Heidi close so she can hit a Double Stomp off the top rope and when she pinned her, Cassandra would break the hold and Alex quickly tags back in Mika who kicks Heidi a few times on the corner and would throw her down for a pin and she kicks out. Mika would throw Heidi and Heidi would hit a Dropkick before Cassandra goes into the ring now so they could throw her towards the turnbuckle and they run at her with some strikes to put her down for good measure and Heidi now spins Mika around like how Cesaro does his spinning move until she decides to let go and would hit her with a Scoop Slam. Heidi would go to the top rope, but Alex would fight her off while Mika does the same to Cassandra on the other side and throws Cassandra down so Alex and hit a Superplex to Heidi while landing on top of Casandra. Now Mika would jump onto Alex’s shoulder so she could Powerbomb her on top of Heidi to pin her, but Cassandra would break it up before the three count and now Alex would fight Cassandra on the outside while Mika does a Crossbody onto Heidi for another two count. Mika was doing her best to win with rolling Heidi up and even attempting the La Magistral, but Heidi would still kick out and while Mika ran to the rope, Cassandra came in to hit a Dropkick and even pick her up for an Electric Chair Dorp before Heidi picked her back up to hit a Running Powerslam and this could be it, but Alex saves the match by breaking it up. Heidi looked like she was gonna end it with her Diving Leg Drop, but Mika rolled out of the way and hits another Thrust Kick and it looked like she was gonna finish it as she climbed the rope, but Cassandra down push her off to give Heidi time to drag her over and hits the Diving Leg Drop to retain the titles.

Recommended: I really enjoyed the match between the two, I think it’s definitely worth a watch.

Tag Team Match
Chihiro Hashimoto & Meiko Satomura vs. DASH Chisako & Io Shirai

Review: This will be Io Shirai’s final appearance outside of Stardom before she does her final show the next day and then departs for the WWE as her last match will be a tag match with her partnering up with DASH Chisako as they take on Meiko Satomura and former Sendai Girls World Champion, Chihiro Hashimoto. With no champion, DASH and Chihiro are actually set to fight for the vacant title at Jinsei Shinzaki’s 25th Anniversary show on June 24th which I will be covering soon actually, so definitely keep an eye on it. Will Io win her final match with the company or will her team fail? DASH and Chihiro would start the match off to give us a little preview before their upcoming title match as the two would start with some chain wrestling and it looked like Chihiro would get the upper hand for a moment and DASH would attempt an arm drag, but Chihiro was too strong and hits one on DASH instead before jumping over her and DASH catches her with a Dropkick as Chihiro was still standing and would hit two more on her before she kicked out at one and quickly tagged in Io. Io would deliver stiff forearms to Chihiro and would go for a Crossbody but was caught and slammed down before she picked Io back up for an Abdominal Stretch until DASH tried to break it up, but Meiko came in to kick her down and apply a submission of her own until they both broke it up. Meiko gets tagged in now as she and Io would chain wrestle as well but ends with Meiko knocking her down with a shoulder tackle and Io kips up right away and catches her with the Crossface and as Chihiro tries to break it up, DASH came in to stop her and also apply a submission showing a bit of payback from a few minutes ago until the referee told them to break it off and Io kept the hold till Meiko had her foot on the rope.

Meiko would take Io down by her arm and would land her knees on top of Io before she made the tag to Chihiro and would start to dominate the match with her strength, but Io would find a way to counter and attempts a Double Underhook and Chihiro would flip her over despite Io landing on her feet to taunt her and as Chihiro would run to the ropes, Io followed and dragged her down before jumping over to hit a Dropkick and tags in DASH. DASH would first attempt a Double Stomp off the top rope and misses before having her thrown into the turnbuckle for her jumping knees and Chihiro would kick out and tag in Meiko who would just destroy DASH with her kicks and other strikes, but DASH found a way to throw her into the turnbuckle and tag in Io who does her famous running knees to the turnbuckle and Chihiro breaks the hold before they both throw her into the ropes as Io cartwheels and backflips away from them to hit them with a Double Dropkick and then a Suicide Dive once they rolled outside the ring. Once Meiko got onto the ring apron, Io would run towards her to hit a 619 and then a Springboard Dropkick for a two count and Io would pick her up to attempt a German Suplex, but Meiko would hit her a couple of times before hitting an Overhead Kick and ran in to hit a vicious DDT and her Cartwheel landing on her knees on top of Io for a two count. Meiko would attempt her Death Valley Bomb but Io got off of her and would hit a forearm in which Meiko counteracts with a stiff kick to make Io go down and once Meiko picked her up, Io would hit a couple of uppercuts and went running the ropes but gets caught into a Superkick as they’re now both down. Both DASH and Chihiro would get tagged in now as the two would hit each other back and forth with forearms and Chihiro caught her and tackles her into the turnbuckle before throwing her to the other one from across the ring, but DASH would move out of the way and hits a Missle Dropkick and hits another Dropkick for a two count. Chihiro would have DASH down and attempted to flip her over, but she was able to hit the Gutwrench Suplex, a Spear, and topped it off with a Senton Bomb off the second rope for a two count. Chihiro would attempt a German Suplex and it looked like DASH was holding onto the ropes, but Chihiro would pull her away from the ropes before Io came in to make the save and then gets caught into the German until Io flipped her over and tops it off with a Double Stomp and then Meiko would attempt to kick Io and gets caught with a Dragon Screw as both Io and DASH Dropkick them to the outside to give Io time to hit her famous Moonsault on both of them to the outside.

Io would get Chihiro back into the ring to hit her Underhook Facebuster and DASH topped it off with a Double Stomp off the top rope and it looked like she was going to get the win here, but Meiko would break the count before DASH had a chance as both Meiko and Io are now rolled out the ring to fight it out. DASH went to the top rope again but Meiko came back in to hit DASH with a forearm and would go to the top rope now only for DASH to hit Meiko with a Dragonrana to take Meiko down. DASH and Chihiro would hit each other back and forth again and once DASH ran to the ropes, Chihiro would finally catch her for just a regular German Suplex to take them both down. The two got up again and started to fight each other again until Chihiro would hit her with a Lariat and followed with two Short Armed Lariats after that, and now Meiko would help Chihiro out to hit a Frogsplash on top of her while Chihiro followed to hit her Rolling Senton off the second rope, but Io was able to get into the ring in time to break the count. Meiko would throw Io out of the ring once again for Chihiro to hit another Lariat for a two count and would call for the end which she picked DASH up for a Powerbomb and Io hits Chihiro with a Springboard Dropkick to make Dash roll Chihiro up for a pin and kicks out at two. DASH would attempt to roll her up again and Chihiro powers out of it and picks her up to flip her over twice for a two count of her own and would finally hit her German Suplex hold on DASH for the victory. Chihiro now has the momentum leading to their Sendai Girls World Championship match coming up in a week, but will DASH find a way to defeat this monster of a woman? After the match, Meiko would call Io to the center of the ring as she talks about how amazing Io is in the ring, enjoyed their matches together, and she wishes her for the best in the next stage of her career. Io would thank everyone after the two shook hands for respect and she hopes people would continue to support her as she opens up a new chapter in her career. Io was given a bouquet of flowers and all four of them posed into the ring together before leaving it to close the show.

Recommended: This was a solid match and even though it could’ve been a little bit better, it was also a good way to end her time in Sendai Girls as she gave us some great battles there. Still, it’s worth a watch either way.

Overall: While not as good as the previous show I covered, it was still solid all around and gave us two great matches at the end of the show along with a farewell to one of the greats. The show is worth watching for that alone.

Favorite Match: Chihiro Hashimoto & Meiko Satomura vs. DASH Chisako & Io Shirai

Least Favorite Match: Aiger vs. Sakura Hirota

Score: 7.5/10

Till next time!

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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