(NOAH) WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.21 ~ 3RD FEBRUARY 2019

Published

6 years ago

February 4, 2019

Hi5ame

With Navigation for Future winding down and Marufuji returning from injury, Hisame brings us a stacked NOAH Newsletter this week!

CURRENT TOUR RECAP

During the first match of the final night of “Navigation for Future 2019”, Masao Inoue appeared at ringside in plain clothes, and immediately was attack by The Hooligans. Inoue later said his reason for being there was to stop them doing their usual tricks, but something more would come of this later in the evening.

The match itself saw Kenoh team with two bright green rookies, Yoshiki Inamura and Kinya Okada, and of course only went about six minutes.

YO-HEY & HAYATA reunited in the second match. I think that HAYATA went to leave, but YO-HEY stopped him and held out his hand, which HAYATA looked at and then took, they embraced, and then HAYATA shook hands with both Yoshinari Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki before leaving with them.

YO-HEY posted later on Twitter, “Welcome home wife”.

Daisuke Harada has made no comment about RATELS now being over, but Tadasuke has said he was shocked by it, and from now on, he will be thinking of himself.

The Backbreakers defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag titles against Kouki Iwasaki and Keisuke Ishii. They were challenged backstage by Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinari Ogawa (Suzuki and Kumano got into a fight after Kumano basically told them to “beat it”, which was broken up by their tag team partners).

Title match has been set for the 24th February at Korakuen Hall.

Naomichi Marufuji returned from injury looking happier and healthier (not the perpetually exhausted ghost he had become in 2018) to a curtain of red and orange streamers. He said was fine after the match with no problems from his arm or his leg.

Atsushi Kotoge appeared to have done away with the pink (he later told fans he loved pink and would not be abandoning it all together) for a golden chrome colored ring attire, and fans called him “The Golden Revolutionary Hero”. Naturally he was manic, and Go Shiozaki had his patient face on. Kotoge had told fans via Twitter that he had a surprise that night, but the nutcases’s new clothes, were not the only surprise he had in store.

So, while Marufuji celebrated his return, Nakajima did too – by smirking and kicking him.

Mohammed Yone had promised he would bring muscle to the ring to prevent The Hooligans from interfering in the GHC Heavyweight Tag Title match, and he bought out Takashi Sugiura, Naomichi Marufuji, Masao Inoue and Akitoshi Saito. Each time The Hooligans tried to interfere, they were fought off outside the ring by what would become known as “The Sugiura Army”.

Fifty Funky Powers were victorious, and Quiet Storm took the title win from Maybach Taniguchi.

Takashi Sugiura got in the ring and challenged The Hooligans to a match. He said that if they lost, they disbanded. KAZMA SAKAMOTO told him they accepted his terms, but he in return must accept his; if they win, he becomes their lackey and he has to wash their clothes, their backs, lick KAZMA’S shoes, and I’m not even going to mention just what Hino said about Sugiura could do for Cody Hall.

Sugiura agreed to their request and chose the team of Masao Inoue, Akitoshi Saito, Yoshiki Inamura and Kinya Okada to face The Hooligans.

Match has been set for the 24th February at Korakuen Hall.

Then Atsushi Kotoge appeared back in the ring, and challenged 50 Funky Powers for the title belts.

While Kotoge might be one gunman short of a posse, even he realized he needed a partner, and after a rambling promo about how he had asked people (including the veterans who he somehow thought were his friends, although he had been in a team that had been fighting against them to overthrow them), he announced he had “found a revolution member from the outside”.

Eddie Edwards appeared on the screen, he said he would “Revolution” with Kotoge for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles. Fans are calling their team “The Die Hard Revolution”.

The title match has been set for the 24th February at Korakuen Hall. Eddie Edwards does not seem to be appearing on any of the earlier dates in the tour (which starts on the 11th February), but there is always a possibility that he may stay on for the final two dates of the 2nd and 3rd March (the cards at the time of writing have not been announced). I would imagine that Edwards not appearing in the early part of the tour is due to his IMPACT schedule. It will be interesting to see if “The Die Hard Revolution” reunite for Global Tag League which starts in April.

Kaito Kiyomiya successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight title against Masa Kitamiya in a grueling hard hitting match which took almost half an hour, in which both of them pulled everything out of every box that they had. Afterwards, like fans knew that he would, Naomichi Marufuji challenged for the GHC Heavyweight title, telling Kiyomiya that “You won the global league that I was supposed to win, and you won the belt that I was supposed to capture.”

The title match has been set for the 10th March in Yokohama (where Daisuke Harada will also defend the GHC Junior against Minoru Tanaka)

FULL RECAP
POST MATCH PROMOS

NEWS

NOAH’S NEW OWNERSHIP
On the 29th January, NOAH announced the promotion now had a new parent company (this will be the fourth NOAH have had).

Estbee IT Ltd have sold the company to LIDET Entertainment and as a result, President Masayuki Uchida (along with three other members of staff) have had to resign. Uchida, however, will join LIDET as a special adviser.

LIDET are a company that as well as advertising food and drink, also promote and produce shows (such as Riki Choshu’s “Power Hall” among others, they were also behind the ill fated “GENESIS” which was to be the Takeshi Morishima return show).

President Uchida said, “After Marufuji’s 20th anniversary box office finished, I had progressed to a good point. The younger wrestlers had risen up, and there were good signs seen. Noah decided it was going to the next stage, and I thought it would best to leave it to LIDET, who have ideas that I do not.”

Yosuke Fuwa will replace Uchida as president, and producer Akihiro Takeda (who was once a New Japan executive and contributed greatly to the regeneration of the company a few years ago) has also joined the team.

Their aims are to bring money back to the promotion, increase and promote the big matches and to have it break away from, but not forget its roots, and start again.

Distressingly the iconic green mat will not be used anymore (aside from the Misawa memorial shows in June) after the 10th March show in Yokohama, and the logo will be redone. The owners explain that this is not intended to be disrespectful to Misawa, but the promotion must now come out from under his shadow. Misawa will never be forgotten, and his memory will always be cherished, but NOAH must now “voyage” without him. The term “Giving Up Misawa” has been coined.

They want to make NOAH the number two promotion in Japan within three years.

“Giving up Misawa, “The Last Voyage” is determined

“KENTA COME HOME”

KENTA at the NOAH dojo in September 2018 when he came back for “Flight”

Following his match at Royal Rumble 2019, KENTA changed his user name from his WWE persona and back to his real name saying simply, “THANK YOU”. This naturally caused a flurry of excitement on social media, with some people speculating that he had left the company, and others saying that he had simply changed his name back (some wrestlers do use their real names).

It was later said, (although not officially announced), that he had asked for his release from the company. Details are at this point sketchy with some outlets reporting that he was only given his release if he promised to return to Japan and not wrestle for any of the WWEs competitors in America. As of yet it is unknown whether he will return to Japan (and NOAH as is hoped) or stay and freelance in America with IMPACT and\or Ring of Honor, IMPACT of course being affiliated with NOAH, and KENTA having ties to Ring of Honor in his NOAH days.

Although both KENTA and NOAH have been silent on the subject, KENTA’S 90 day clause runs out just before NOAH start Global Tag League 2019.

No matter what he chooses to do in the future, I would be very surprised if KENTA didn’t make at least one appearance in NOAH now he is once again, free.

COME AT ME YOU BASTARDS (KENOH’S FEBRUARY COLUMN)
Kenoh manages to keep in his hatred about Kaito Kiyomiya on the front cover of “Weekly Pro” to himself (although he was photographed looking at it and looking disgusted), and instead takes a tone about him which is akin to a concerned older brother, his hatred of Marufuji continues, and he has a grudging respect for Sugiura.

He also compares the heavyweights to each item of ingredients in a stew: himself and Sugiura are the oysters, the flavorless cabbage with bulk and not much else are Shiozaki and Nakajima, Kotoge is pepper, Kitamiya, Garlic, and Kiyomiya a photographic fresh chicken breast.

Marufuji does not make Kenoh’s list of ingredients.

STREAMER BAN
NOAH have announced for “environmental reasons” they will be introducing a streamer ban in the future. Streamers may be allowed still at Korakuen Hall, but in some venues, they will not be allowed at all.

Recycling in Japan is done at individual expense, and not by a neighborhood committee or automatically by the city council. While individuals are expected to recycle (and you can find the relevant bins for paper, plastics, tin, which the municipality will empty), businesses have to pay for their own to be taken away and disposed of. While for many businesses in Japan this may be a collection of soda cans drunk by employees, paper and styrofoam, and other normal recyclable waste; NOAH (and other promotions) are faced with how to dispose of a mountain of paper streamers, of which there are enough to coat an entire wrestling ring. You can imagine the pile after an event like Korakuen or Yokohama.

The streamers cannot simply be bundled up and taken to a nearby paper bank and stuffed through the hole, neither can they be put into a recycling bag and left on the curb for the garbage-men. NOAH (and other promotions) have to pay for their disposal. The venue do not clear up either after the shows, this is done by the seconds. Naturally the venue will have its own cleaning staff, who will go in afterwards, but it is up to the promotion to “leave it as they found it” so to speak. You can imagine the cost and the inconvenience of getting the streamers taken away, and sympathize with NOAH as to why they are banning it (for now at least).

I would imagine an exception will be made for the Misawa memorial shows, and other big events.

NOAH THE THEME MUSIC
NOAH have announced that in April 2019 they will be releasing an album containing wrestler theme music. NOAH have not released an album like this since about 2009. There is no track listing as of yet.

FAN MEETING 2019 IN SHINKIBA
NOAH have announced their annual “Fan Meeting” event which takes place in the spring (February 17th this year); while in 2018 this was pretty much the kids get in the ring and play with the wrestlers, or an exercise class is held for children, Noah have made somewhat of a return to “The Golden Era” (minus the Chanko being served) this year.

All of the roster will take part, except for Go Shiozaki and Naomichi Marufuji, who will be competing in DDT.

There will be a meet and greet with the wrestlers, one of whom will hold a kind of talk show and Q&A.

Professor Nagahama (a trainer exclusive to NOAH who does sports massage) will give the fans a sports massage for 500 yen per time. Fans also can experience being a ring announcer for the day.

Miyaki Wakiko (NOAH’s official photographer, and author of “PHOTOGRAPH THE LIVE”) will give a lecture on the basics of photography, and fans can experience this when NOAH put on two secret matches when they photograph from the apron.

Fan club members will get in free, and have their own photography session with one of the roster (just who gets to do this will be drawn by a lottery, and will only be open to fifty people).

IPW
IPW have announced that they will be broadcast in Fightnet UK every Friday at 9pm starting Friday 8th February. As you know, NOAH have parented with them, and Daisuke Harada is their current Junior Heavyweight champion.

Robyn Goding’s beautiful pictures of YO-HEY, HAYATA, Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke from their participation in IPW can be found here.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
GHC Junior Champion & IPW Champion: Daisuke Harada
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Quiet Storm & Mohammed Yone (“50 Funky Powers)
GHC Junior Tag Champions: Hitoshi Kumano & Hajime Ohara (“The Backbreakers”)

TOUR TIDBITS
~ Naomichi Marufuji will team with Jinsei Shinzaki (ironically, Kenoh’s trainer) against Masaaki Mochizuki & Shun Skywalker at Giant Baba’s 20 year Memorial.
~ Takashi Sugiura counted the days he had been away from his little dog when he got home from tour, and Tadasuke immediately started playing “Kingdom Hearts”.
~ Naomichi Marufuji took part in the annual Setsubun celebrations.
~ Atsushi Kotoge wandered across the ring with a rolled up bit of streamer on his head. In a fatherly manner, Go Shiozaki removed it and then rearranged Kotoge’s hair.
~ A slight sound error occurred at Korakuen Hall when “Boogie Wonderland” started playing just before the pinfall was counted three.

KING SHAMELESS CORNER
Takashi Sugiura this week took a picture of his dog crapping on puppy training pads and posted it to social media, although he had taken care to cover up what was coming out of the dog with an emoticon…I think you can guess which one.

BROADCASTS
The last night of “Navigation for The Future 2019” will be broadcast on 9th February at 10pm (JST) on Samurai TV
“Great Voyage in Yokohama” on the 10th March will be broadcast by G+ plus on the 16th March on G+ at 8.30pm (JST)

BOOK CORNER
English translation of “Heir to The Ark” (Naomichi Marufuji’s biography) is ongoing.

LINKS
New structure statement, new owner is the LIDET Company, “I want to increase the big match”.
Noah GHC Champion Kaito Kiyomiya, former dorm manager Masa Kitamiya and the V2 match
Noah’s new structure, “We want to create a new face”
President Uchida resigns, and Noah shifts to a new regime, the skill and reputation of the new owner “LIDET”
Kaito Kiyomiya vs Masa Kitamiya – transcript of the GHC Heavyweight title match signing
Report on Pro-Wrestling Noah’s new system
GHC Champion Kiyomiya has a fierce fight for more than 29 minutes in his second defense, next challenger is Marufuji!
Kiyomiya’s second defense! Marufuji returns with the challenge, “that is the belt that I was supposed to win”.
Youngest GHC Champion Kaito Kiyomiya’s second defense, “Noah’s face is now me”… Marufuji makes challenge on return.
“Era”, Marufuji’s declaration to recover the belt
Yoshiki Inamura and Kinya Okada interview about their match against The Hooligans

NOAH FROM THE VAULT
Looking back on Kenoh’s reformation of the ark (translation of article by @purodino)
Kenoh makes some eerily similar remarks about NOAH in March 2018, that the new owners in 2019 will echo.

About Chairshot Radio Network

Launched in 2017, the Chairshot Radio Network presents you with the best in sports, entertainment, and sports entertainment. Wrestling and wrestling crossover podcasts + the most interesting content + the most engaging hosts = the most entertaining podcasts you’ll find!

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

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

Up Next

DeMarco: Could John Cena Chase #17 At WWE WrestleMania 35?

Don't Miss

Top Matches: Week Ending 2/3/2019

(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

About Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - Musical Chairs (music) / Hockey Talk (NHL)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Keeping the news ridiculous... The Oddity / Chairshot NFL (NFL)

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - The Front and Center Sports Podcast

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast & The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history)

TheChairshot.com PRESENTS...IMMEDIATE POST WWE PLE REACTIONS w/ DJ(Mindless), Tunney(DWI) & Friends

Patrick O'Dowd's 5X5

Classic POD is WAR

Chairshot Radio Network Your home for the hardest hitting podcasts... Sports, Entertainment and Sports Entertainment!

All Shows On Demand

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

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

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

Published

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