PRO -WRESTLING NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.34~ 12TH MAY 2019

We’re in between events for NOAH! Hisame brings us updates, need to know information, and of course RATEL’S stuff!

CURRENT TOUR RECAP
The new owners of NOAH seem to have done away with NOAH giving names to their interim tours, and these will now be known as “NOAH The SPIRIT”.

The interim tours between Global Tag League and Global Junior Tag League starting will run for three dates only – the 11th & 12th May and then the the final date on May 19th in Gunma.

NOAH are currently in the grip of an injury bug (three people out, please see below for updates\news), so the cards were changed accordingly with Keisuke Ishii and Kouki Iwasaki being drafted in.  

RATELS and Stinger (without YO-HEY) faced off again, with Tadasuke getting his second win over The Stinger team, this time over Kotaro Suzuki on the 12th by reversing The Endless Waltz into The Pac. Tadasuke, being Tadasuke, became manic saying that he “can’t control myself” and posting the crazy face icon.

In a more sedate tone, Yoshinari Ogawa tried the handshake again with Daisuke Harada on the 12th May event. I am afraid that I don’t know whether Harada took it or ignored it.

Due to his title challenge for the GHC Heavyweight title (9th June) and for the GHC Heavyweight Tag titles (13th June), Takashi Sugiura is now feuding with three people – AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima) and Kaito Kiyomiya. Sugiura and Shiozaki beat the hell out of each other on the 11th May, and there was an equally intense match against Katsuhiko Nakajima on the 12th. Neither the challenger or the champions, however, got the direct win over each other. 

Regarding the title challenges, Sugiura said he is blessed as a wrestler to have them, and even more so that these will take place at the Mitsuharu Misawa memorial shows at Korakuen Hall and Osaka.

Much to their dismay, Kongoh (the new unit of Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura and Atsushi Kotoge) lost their debut match on the 11th against Kaito Kiyomiya, Minoru Tanaka and Hi69. Kenoh and Kiyomiya made a beeline for each other, with Kenoh sticking his fist in Kiyomiya’s face (they didn’t roll around fighting in the streamers like two kids fighting in the playground this time).

Takashi Sugiura (intent on winding Kenoh up online, although aside from calling him a “thoughtlessly stupid old man”, Kenoh seems to be ignoring him now), said that their loss was due to having a comedy wrestler (Kotoge was pinned by Kaito Kiyomiya with the Tiger Driver).
Kotoge, however, had other issues other than Kongoh.

His former tag team partner in “The Revolutionary Cloak Heroes”, Mitsuya Nagai, was furious that Kotoge had apparently ditched him for his new crew, and vowed revenge in their singles match which fans had named, “The Revolutionary Showdown”. Making small children cry, Nagai threw Kotoge into the crowd using both the “robber cloak” that Kotoge had given him and the chain that Kotoge had tried to remove from him. Kotoge was given the beat down of a lifetime.

Nagai says he “feels relieved” he doesn’t have to wear the cloak again. 

Kongoh debuted their tandem move on the 12th May, whereby Kitamiya (with the assist from Inamura) slam their opponent from the top turnbuckle, with Kenoh following up with the Diving Footstamp for the win.

After the match, Kenoh got on the microphone and started yelling about not being a “yes-man” to LIDET.

Normally, he would point to their banner, but he found that there wasn’t one in the arena today, and Kenoh being Kenoh (half paranoid, mostly angry), decided that they hadn’t put it up deliberately due to his angry ranting at it.

EVENT RECAPS
Saturday May 11th 2019, Ryumioka Kaikan, Ozaki City
Sunday May 12th 2019: Esupowaru Isanuma, Saitama

Post match promos: Ryumioka Kaikan, Ozaki City

NEWS

COME AT ME YOU BASTARDS (Kenoh’s column)Although the interview was done after KAIOH’S loss at Global Tag League, and Kenoh’s subsequent screaming fit at Kiyomiya leading to the dissolution of their team, Kenoh was actually quite restrained, and not spewing fire against the “22 year old 3 year career boy” as he termed him. Kenoh’s column veered between sounding like a concerned older brother, recounting happier times with him, and a dose of paranoia and anger towards LIDET.

YO-HEY UPDATE
YO-HEY was discharged from the hospital earlier in the week, and told that he must work on building up his strength, and not rush back to work. Various NOAH wrestlers (and others) had visited him in the hospital, with YO-HEY giving them hospital department names (Jiro Ikemen was from proctology and Atsushi Kotoge from mental health). The majority of wrestlers who visited played with the iron grabbing claw that YO-HEY had used to reach for things as he was bed bound with a tube in his lung, and most of the time YO-HEY found himself being pinched with it.

YO-HEY wants to make it clear that he is not returning to RATELS, he will be teaming with HAYATA as a member of Stinger, while HAYATA will remain with RATELS. He says he will address the situation on the May 19th in Gunma. He won’t be wrestling though. YO-HEY, however, did acknowledge that for Global Junior Tag league he wanted to reunite with HAYATA, if only for that event in the future.

Interestingly, there has been no mention of Stinger ever visiting him, while RATELS did (Tadasuke taunted him with cigarettes), but ultimately this may mean nothing.

NAOMICHI MARUFUJI INJURED
NOAH announced at the start of “NOAH the SPIRIT 2019” that Naomichi Marufuji would miss the tour with a lower lumbar back hernia. So, while everyone went off with NOAH, Marufuji was left bored at home in Tokyo (no wrestling and no socializing). He was unable to sleep for the first two nights due to pain, but considered it his body adjusting to the condition when he was finally able to snatch a few hours. I think this injury is probably a left over from his manic year in 2018, although he has taken it easier this year, not appearing in any other promotions, and not participating in Global Tag League. Naturally, he got defensive when asked to take it easy and not rush back.

Although he is undergoing treatment, he has said that he will be back for the big match on the 28th May at Korakuen Hall where he will team with Jinsei Shinzaki and Daisuke Harada against Kenoh (who was Jinsei Shinzaki’s student), Masa Kitamiya and Atsushi Kotoge. The worrying thing is that even if he is not ready to come back, he will for this match, no matter the cost, and most likely the singles match with Go Shiozaki at the Misawa Memorial show on the 9th.

Given that Daisuke Harada and Marufuji can be childish when tagging together (like doing things to wind each other up like wanting to use the same turnbuckle to stand on during an entrance, not tagging each other in, and Harada not letting Marufuji join in with RATELS handshake, and then Marufuji refusing to let them leave by a certain exit), plus Kenoh’s hatred of Marufuji – Shinzaki may well find himself playing the adult. 

Marufuji has also hinted (normally at 1.30am JST) that he is looking for a tag partner…

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
• GHC Junior Champion: Minoru Tanaka
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima)
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: Stinger (Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinari Ogawa)

TOUR TIDBITS
~ Fans were greeted in Saitama by 50 Funky Powers disco ball spinning
~ Yoshinari Ogawa gave RATELS the finger
~ Apparently Kenoh & HAYATA sang an anime theme (translated into “Southern Country Boy”) for Tadasuke, who was planning to sing it on a show “Matsuko Deluxe”, but it was never aired.
~ Kinya Okada (whose nickname is apparently “Chunky”), is working towards his return, although no date has been given as of yet. Takashi Sugiura took a picture of him looking glum on the bus and said he was growing tired of looking at his “steep face”.
~ Two new trainees have been seen at ringside, naturally, we will not know the name of these boys until they debut (and of course, if they debut).
~ Kenoh said that when he used to second Jinsei Shinzaki, he would chant a sutra from Shikoku (his home island, and a sacred place for pilgrimages), that the monks would chant for protection on their travels.

BROADCASTS
The first night of Global Junior League will be broadcast live on G+ on May 28th 2019 at 6.30pm JST.

The 9th June show (the Misawa Memorial from Korakuen Hall, Tokyo and the second to last night of Global Junior Tag League) will be broadcast by G+ on Thursday 13th at 8pm JST.

LINKS
Reiwa’s Pro Wrestlers: Kaito Kiyomiya
Takashi Sugiura to challenge for the title on Misawa Memorial night in JuneTakashi Sugiura’s double GHC challenge at the two Misawa Memorial eventsDouble challenge for the GHC titles, Sugiura’s peak at 49 years old“NOAH The Spirit 2019” autograph scheduleAkitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue “Moving Centre” with a resurrection of The Dark Agents

PICTURE CREDITS: Noah GHC, PKDX, Tadasuke
Newsletter written by Hisame