(NOAH) WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.18 ~ 12TH JANUARY 2019

Published

6 years ago

January 13, 2019

Hi5ame

We got the important Day 1 review for Navigation for the Future last week from Andrew, but Hisame is the expert. She clarifies things from that first day, on top of events since January 6th.

NEWS

“NAVIGATION FOR THE FUTURE 2019” BEGINS

NOAH began their year in Korakuen Hall on the 6th January. The roster filed to the ring (this years color is red) and stood while Go Shiozaki made the traditional New Years speech (this is either done by himself as Chairman of the NOAH Wrestlers Association, President Uchida or Naomichi Marufuji, but usually by himself), and although naturally he wasn’t competing, Marufuji was there.

Kinya Okada took on Masa Kitamiya, which ended with Kitamiya doing a massive spear on him which winded him.

Yoshiki Inamura took on his hero, Takashi Sugiura. Inamura put up a good fight, and like all the heavyweights, participated in the unofficial competition that they seem to have, which involves lifting Sugiura up and for as long as possible. He even once or twice managed to knock Sugiura down. However, the match finished as it only could, with the win by Sugiura via the infamous chokehold.

Atsushi Kotoge teamed with Masao Inoue against Hi69 and Minoru Tanaka.

The cape was the star of this match; Minoru Tanaka wore it on his head, Hi69 put it on to do the “Revolutionary Splash” and then got into a fight with it when he took it off over his head and it got kind of stuck.

Kotoge thought that they were going to join the “Revolutionary Army” (which so far has only one member, and no one wanting to join), when Tanaka sarcastically put the cape on at the end of the match and did the revolutionary fist when his arm was raised for the win.

They didn’t want to become his junior corps however, and Kotoge found himself thrown out of the ring, and looked up to see Minoru Tanaka using the cape to wipe Hi69’s ass…

The Backbreakers had their “assessment” match with Seiya Morohashi and Junta Miyawaki to see if they were eligible to challenge for the GHC Junior Tag Team titles. They weren’t as they lost, but afterwards Ohara predicted great things for Miyawaki, and said that he had the potential to be putting on a belt in the spring.
In the meantime, The Backbreakers have been challenged by Keisuke Ishii and Kouki Iwasaki.

The Hooligans had their first match of the evening when Akitoshi Saito teamed with 50 Funky Powers against them (Mitsuya Nagai, KAZMA SAKAMOTO and Cody Hall).

Due to interference by The Hooligans, who shoved Referee Nishinaga down, the match was abandoned after five minutes. This was a taster of what was to come in the title match.

A much healthier, happier and relaxed looking Naomichi Marufuji announced that he would be returning to the ring on the 1st February. After that he remained on commentary for the rest of the event.

The three remaining RATELS took on YO-HEY and his new friends, Yoshinari Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki. Harada was not wasting any time as he stamped across the ring while he was being announced, not even bothering to look away from YO-HEY or even remove his RATELS jacket as he attacked him. YO-HEY won against the man he used to call “The Boss”.

After the match, HAYATA was bending over Harada, as YO-HEY looked on at Ogawa and Suzuki approaching them. HAYATA stood up, Ogawa said something to him, HAYATA put his hands on his hips and looked away, and the three of them left. HAYATA left soon after, leaving the seconds to help Harada out of the ring.

The Hooligans had their second match of the evening as Yuji Hino and Maybach Taniguchi defended the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima, following the bloodbath in Yokohama at the end of the year.

The problem with this match was the stop start, stop start, Hooligan interference, which after a while got tiresome. The booking was in itself very Suzuki-Gun, which is not something people really want to be reminded of. When the match was allowed to flow, we got some good moments, especially the dynamic between Katsuhiko Nakajima and Yuji Hino when neither would sell each others moves; Nakajima’s eyes filled black when Hino yawned in response to his kicks.

In the end (and beating up Atsushi Kotoge on the way who seems to have attached himself to Shiozaki and Nakajima, although no one has probably asked him to), The Hooligans retained.

Fifty Funky powers then challenged them for the titles with Quiet Storm telling them that everyone was sick of The Hooligans, and the way they fight, and they would finish them.

In the main event, Kaito Kiyomiya came full circle, and beat Kenoh to retain the GHC Heavyweight championship.

Kenoh entered with slicked back hair and the usual scowl (he hasn’t debuted the hair since, probably because he was teased, or else he is saving it for big matches), and Kiyomiya entered with a Kobashi mannerism, where he pauses to look at the crowd as if he can’t believe they are cheering for him. They had what will be probably the start of their epic battles. Kenoh had said that neither he and Kiyomiya were the same people they were in January 2018, but I don’t think he really knew that Kiyomiya was not this young boy anymore, who he swung alternately between seeing as a younger brother, and an a potentially dangerous rival, who he had so easily kicked around in 2018. Sugiura had underestimated Kiyomiya during Global League, and Kenoh, while not making the same mistake, made the mistake as seeing Kiyomiya as still somewhat green and unprepared for his role as the GHC Heavyweight Champion.

Kiyomiya knew Kenoh well, he was able to dodge his moves, and he also knew when to play dead and come out of his daze. They had great chemistry together, and this match, already a match of the year to some, was hard fought all the way through, and a solid fight from the start.

At one point, seeing Marufuji on commentary, Kenoh paused to glare at his hated obsession.

After the match, Atsushi Kotoge (mercifully wearing a fresh new cape which hadn’t been anywhere near Hi69’s hindquarters, although lets face it, ALL those cloaks probably have a rude backstage story to tell on a Misawa level), came out to challenge Kaito Kiyomiya.

Kotoge proposed starting a revolution together, and fortunately for Kiyomiya, he was saved from this by Masa Kitamiya, who also challenged and said sensibly (and firmly) that “the GHC Heavyweight does not need a comedy wrestler”.

Kiyomiya, as polite as ever, left the company to arrange the details and Kotoge and Kitamiya will face each other on January 20th to determine the number one contender, with the winner facing Kiyomiya on February 1st.

During the pre-matches, neither Kotoge or Kitamiya got the pin or had the pin given on them by Kiyomiya directly.

Kaito Kiyomiya says that he wants to be an approachable champion, one that talks to fans and makes people leave the event smiling. He was driven by Kenoh to become champion, and he is driven by the memories of the dark days of Suzuki-Gun and the vicious circle it created with the fans who felt the crisis in Noah, which was transmitted to the wrestlers, and when no one was happy. As well as being the youngest GHC Heavyweight Champion on history, he also wants to beat Takashi Sugiura’s defensive record of fourteen people.

NOAH are currently approaching the end of their three day in a row event. Hi69 said that the attendances have not been good, and more people need to come, but for winter in the provinces, the attendances weren’t bad; there was a long line to see Katsuhiko Nakajima, and according to Kaito Kiyomiya, a lot of new fans came to the events.

IPW

RATELS (including YO-HEY) are taking part in IPW’S Junior Tournament on the 15th January. Their opponents for the first round have been announced as:

Daisuke Harada vs Chris Ridgeway
HAYATA vs Kid Lykos
YO-HEY vs Ben Basden
Tadasuke vs James Basden

While Harada is yet to comment on his opponent (who seems to do the Sugiura mouth-guard thing), although he did say that this will be the first time he will ever have competed for a belt concurrently in another promotion, HAYATA doesn’t use social media, YO-HEY said he wanted to meet Mr. Bean, Tadasuke has commented that he will “knock down” his opponent.

Tickets can be purchased here

DDT
Naomichi Marufuji and Go Shiozaki will be taking part in DDT’S 22nd anniversary event “Judgement 2019” on February 17th.

President Uchida represented Marufuji at the press conference (Marufuji has had to be very strict with his rehabilitation, and so cannot travel with NOAH to the events in the countryside, and sometimes has to miss things for treatment), and was met with Tetsuya Endo (who will be Marufuji’s opponent), eating his lunch.

Endo basically said he respects Marufuji, but he doesn’t care about the actual match, he’s out to crush him, he also said that he didn’t think that Marufuji would be physically or mentally ready for it either.

Fortunately, having had the experience of both Kenoh and Sugiura in his face and therefore being familiar with such behavior, President Uchida just ignored him.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
GHC Junior Champion: Daisuke Harada
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Yuji Hino & Maybach Taniguchi (“The Hooligans”)
GHC Junior Tag Champions: Hitoshi Kumano & Hajime Ohara (“The Backbreakers”)

TOUR TIDBITS
~ Hajime Ohara announced that NOAH will be returning to Kultz Kawasaki on the 27th July, and he will once again be involved in the booking of the show.
~ Yuji Hino said about Mohammed Yone, “The Afro is dead”.
~ YO-HEY appears to have an invisible friend…
~ Atsushi Kotoge’s cloak fell off when he attempted to do the “Revolutionary Cloak Splash”
~ HAYATA did not second Harada and Tadasuke in Hamamatsu
~ Takashi Sugiura bought home a little yellow hat for his puppy. He also said he realizes that his account should be used for photographing people, and not his dog, but he doesn’t apologize; he is going to keep photographing his dog.
~ There seems to be friction developing between Kenoh and Katsuhiko Nakajima, and the fans want to see a single match.
~ Despite the manner in which he left NOAH, and where he is now, Taiji Ishimori appears to be on good terms with Marufuji. Marufuji congratulated him on winning the IWGP Junior in New Japan, and Ishimori thanked him and said he remembered the lessons and experience he had in NOAH. Even if he does return as a Freelancer, which he may well do one day, hopefully Ishimori will be back in the NOAH ring one day.
~ Two small kids ran to Kenoh (who was standing watching the ring action) and asked if they could shake his hand, he was very gentle with them in doing it.
~ Tadasuke turned 33 on the 13th January.
~ President Uchida hinted that a GHC Heavyweight Title defense could take place in Canada (or on IMPACT) as a thank you to Scott D’Amor who took care of him when he was overseas.

KING SHAMELESS CORNER
He’s been good as he’s got a new dog.
His good behavior won’t last, especially when summer comes, or when he finds Masao Inoue at the urinal.

BROADCASTS
I am afraid that no broadcasts have been announced as of yet, although it is likely that the last day of tour (1st February which is the GHC Heavyweight title match and Marufuji’s return) will be broadcast, and perhaps the 26th January in Osaka.

BOOK CORNER
The translation of Naomichi Marufuji’s biography, “Heir to The Ark” continues.
In this chapter he dispels a lot of the myths surrounding himself and KENTA. Its a commonly held (and dearly held belief) that they were close, if anything, they were anything but. They rarely had any contact outside the ring, never socialized or had really had any significant contact out of tour, and Marufuji said he lent him a CD which he never returned.

LINKS
“No memory of the match” ~ Kaito Kiyomiya, the youngest champions first defense
Marufuji’s enthusiastic return on the 1st February at Korakuen
The Hooligans do as they like
“Whichever comes, I will not lose” GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kaito Kiyomiya’s confidence about Kotoge and Kitamiya
Kaito Kiyomiya’s first defense and an ambition in Canada
The birth of the youngest GHC Heavyweight Champion ~ Kaito Kiyomiya’s interview (1st defense)
Wrestling Grand Prix Fighting Spirit winner Kaito Kiyomiya, “My starting point for battle came from Fujinami and Choshu”

NOAH FROM THE VAULT
Kaito Kiyomiya’s “My Turning Point” (translated by Purodino)

Photos & gifs – credit to Noah GHC, IPW, PDXD & Puroresu Weekly

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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