Japanese Wrestling Results

NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.58 ~ 20TH NOVEMBER 2019

After a small hiatus because she took a trip to Japan; Hisame is back with all the NOAH updates!

Published

6 years ago

November 21, 2019

Hi5ame

After a small hiatus because she took a trip to Japan; Hisame is back with all the NOAH updates!

I am sorry that there has been almost a months gap between the last two newsletters, as I have since been and gone to Japan. I thought it would be better to write a summary when I returned, especially after NOAH’s big Sumo Hall show. I thought it would be best when I returned to tackle the mammoth task of working through my NOAH backlog, (and sleeping off my jetlag), before I wrote it so I had pretty much the complete picture.

NOAH the BEST (SUMO HALL, 2ND NOVEMBER 2019)
The atmosphere at the start of the event when the crowd were filing in and milling around, could be described as somewhat tense, especially compared to the Big Japan event. For NOAH it cannot be stated just how important this night was to everybody, both fans and wrestlers alike. This was the second time in many years that they had run a stadium, and they had all put everything into it.

It had to work.

If I have one regret about this show, then it was the due to the fact that I was jetlagged, had two hours sleep after a long flight and standing in a queue for three hours (thanks to the people coming to Japan for the Rugby, who like me had gone to get their JR Rail Pass sorted out), I completely forgot to put the zoom lens on the camera (and I couldn’t even work it out), even though I was sitting second row and had a good view. I also did not put the new sim in my phone, so I couldn’t live tweet…but maybe on that night, that was for the best.

I am going to discuss the highlights of the evening here, as well as the big matches.

Kenta Kobashi appeared to open the show, he also came out in the interval, and during the main event to officially retire the old GHC Heavyweight belt (I will get to that), but he for some reason decided that he was only going to use the ladder into the ring provided by the ring attendants one, all the other times he preferred to haul himself into the ring like the old days by climbing on the apron. Lets just say that Kobashi is not as agile as he used to be, and he came dangerously close to falling off a couple of times.

Traditional NOAH ran what fans called “old man matches” during the Golden Era of stadiums, and in Misawa’s day they featured old veterans, and rookies. There were no rookies in this match, but there were four old vets, plus the referee, Mighty Inoue. Mighty Inoue came from NOAH as part of the exodus from All Japan, always acutely aware of how hard it was for older athletes to make a living after they could no longer wrestle, Mitsuharu Misawa took care of him as there was a problem with his pension being paid. Inoue refereed the comedy match between Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue vs Tamon Honda and Mitsuo Momota. Inoue (usually the one who gets bullied in NOAH, in various ways), decided he was going to pick on Momota. Momota said that the audience saw it as an old man getting roughed up by a younger one. The most comical moments were when Mighty looked into the crowd and shook his head at Inoue’s antics (which involved eye raking), and when Momota pinned Inoue, and Saito stepped on him while he was still on the floor.

The crowd cheered loudly to see NOAH born Eddie Edwards (and the former GHC Heavyweight Champion) back home. In the backstage interview, Atsushi Kotoge said he was “very happy” in English to be teaming with Edwards and Chris Ridgeway. After tonight, however, Kotoge was going to have other more serious things on his mind (or what is left of it).

Kazuyuki Fujita and Shuhei Taniguchi finished their rivalry, the match went only seven brutal minutes, with the kicks that Fujita gave to Taniguchi’s head echoing around the arena, before the referee stopped the bout as Fujita applied a sleeper hold. Bust open, Taniguchi was going to use this to his advantage.

Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke faced off with Kotaro Suzuki & Yoshinari Ogawa for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag titles in an electric match. So many near falls both from sides, and Tadasuke in particular fighting to the bitter end, and refusing to give up. In the end, Tadasuke took the win over Kotaro Suzuki with the Outcast after 10 minutes 58 seconds, and the tag belts came back to RATELS. Daisuke Harada strapped Tadasuke’s first NOAH championship on him, and it was hard to say who looked happier, Tadasuke or Harada for Tadasuke. Harada’s comment was “this is Tadasuke’s belt, try and take it assholes”.

HAYATA & YO-HEY clashed in the next match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight championship. There was never any ill feeling between them, but tonight they were both all business, and they put on a stellar match (which has made my 2019 MOTY List). Most memorable was the repeated Headaches that YO-HEY took, at one point knocking him outside of the ring until the count almost ran out. HAYATA prevailed after fourteen minutes and eleven seconds to retain the title.

Stinger appeared towards the end of the match, but rather than cause trouble with RATELS (or cause any of them to turn on them), they had come to let Tadasuke & Harada know that they would be coming for the belts again. So while Tadasuke and Harada squared up to them, HAYATA’S concern was in helping YO-HEY up.

RATELS quickly returned to normal. After joining the great sea of people exiting Sumo Hall at the end of the evening, I glanced over at the merchandise stands. One thing I remember (other than Go Shiozaki’s floating head), was RATELS with YO-HEY standing in front of HAYATA, and HAYATA pinning himself against the back wall.

THE TOUGH (Yoshiki Inamura & Masa Kitamiya) faced AXIZ (Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima) for the GHC Heavyweight tag titles. Kitamiya very much put over his young protegee by spending a lot of time outside of the ring, and letting Inamura battle the much more experienced AXIZ, and on a couple of occasions (like the massive heave to Nakajima, throwing him into the corner after charging at him), he came very very close to winning the gold for THE TOUGH. Sadly, despite his best efforts it was not to be so, but significantly it wasn’t Inamura who was pinned, but Kitamiya following the Vertical Spike from Nakajima.

Naomichi Marufuji (who had special body art done for the match, and did not appear thankfully as anything approaching Tokyo Sports “The Great Maru” or in his former mecha phase), faced The Great Muta for both the first time in his career and in the NOAH ring. This match went a long way to lighten the tension after what had been, and what was to come, with Great Muta unfamiliar with objects not commonly found in the underworld such as fire extinguishers (which Marufuji sprayed him with), and television cameras (which he shoved a cameraman down to get), doing what Marufuji had told him not to, which was to make him bleed. By far the most spectacular moment of this match was when Muta spat fire. I just remember hearing a clicking sound, and seeing flames erupt from his mouth. Marufuji ended the match a mixture of red, green and smudged into an ashy look after his body paint was smeared.

NOAH’s new belt, inaugurated by Riki Choshu, the GHC National, was fought for between Takashi Sugiura and Michael Elgin, with Riki Choshu handing the belt to Sugiura, the victor with the Olympic Slam after 21 minutes and 35 seconds.

The GHC National (a belt created really for the veterans to fight over leaving the younger roster to chase the GHC HEAVYWEIGHT, and gaijin and those outside the company to challenge for), has been said to be openweight, which means that the NOAH Juniors (and those elsewhere) can also challenge.

Kenoh and Kaito Kiyomiya reached the latest pinnacle of their volatile love-hate relationship, with Kenoh swinging mercurially between his concern for, hatred and jealousy of Kiyomiya (who he refused to believe was no longer the innocent teenager who looked up to him) and Kiyomiya’s wavering admiration for Kenoh making him who he is, his frustration with Kenoh’s clucking over him, and his final admittance that they hate each other.

Kenta Kobashi, in an emotional moment, retired the old GHC Heavyweight belt. All I remember about the moment is the fact that the arena suddenly seemed so quiet as an emotional Kobashi took the belt, and looked down at it, you could see the memories rushing to his eyes as he looked tearful; the memories of Misawa, the memories of his own championship reign, the memories of NOAH’s summertime, Differ, his beloved but now absent KENTA, the creation of the belt, it would have been impossible to name just one memory. Kobashi hurriedly exited the ring holding the belt to him, and sat down quickly. If Misawa was anywhere that night, it would have been next to him.

While not receiving good reviews from those who watched the broadcast, no one at Sumo Hall that evening had anything bad to say about the main event and title match that evening. Kenoh was determined to save Kiyomiya from something Kiyomiya did not believe he needed saving from, and Kiyomiya was determined that he would once again defeat Kenoh, and prove to him and everyone else just how much he had grown. The match went 31 minutes and 10 seconds, but it seemed to go by in a flash, and ended with Kiyomiya getting the win with the Tiger Suplex hold. Kenoh slunk away to lick his wounds, as Kiyomiya stood with the new belt in a NOAH ring as the champion of a promotion that had just taken a major step up.

To Osaka and beyond
NOAH aside, comparing Osaka to Tokyo is like watching the beginning of “Animal House”, when after walking through the pristine Faber College, Bluto opens the door to the Delta Tau Chi house…

The show in Osaka on the 9th had a completely different atmosphere. The wrestlers were more visible and more accessible, and the ambiance was far more relaxed. You could also tell how much of a morale boost that Sumo Hall had given both the fans and the roster.

Junta Miyawaki scored a singles win over Kinya Okada. Miyawaki might not have gotten his first win over a seniors in a single, but people were full of praise for him, especially as he has started adding new techniques into his repertoire, and is taking kick lessons with Katsuhiko Nakajima. There also seems to be a small rivalry budding between himself and Okada.

STINGER & RATELS faced off in a typically chaotic match (Osaka after all is the spiritual home of RATELS, even if one of them is native, two of them live there, and all four of them speak Osaka dialect when together), which ended with Atsushi Kotoge getting the win over Daisuke Harada, and three title challenges made.

First of all, Kotaro Suzuki challenged with Atsushi Kotoge for the GHC Junior Tag Titles (Yoshinari Ogawa is currently working through a shoulder injury, and Suzuki does not feel he is up to another title challenge or title run currently), Daisuke Harada told them that they could have the match, but, he had a challenge of his own, namely that Kotoge let him challenge him for the IPW Junior Heavyweight.

STINGER were not done, and Chris Ridgeway challenged HAYATA for the GHC Junior. HAYATA’S response was “You….next”.

KUMAXIZ (so called when they team with Hitoshi Kumano) teamed with Shuhei Taniguchi against The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Kazuyuki Fujita, Hideki Suzuki and Hajime Ohara). Poor Ohara got the worst of this match when Nakajima sent him flying to the mat after kicking him in the head, and as I said earlier, Taniguchi used the wound given to him by Fujita at Sumo Hall by Sugiura busting it open and blood running down his face making him look as if an eye socket had come out. Taniguchi made the new GHC National Champion tap out, and afterwards challenged him for the belt. Sugiura had to grudgingly admit that this was Taniguchi awake.

On the side of the GHC Heavyweight Tag champions, Katsuhiko Nakajima took the opportunity to sarcastically introduce himself and Go Shiozaki to Fujita. Fujita didn’t take well to it and attacked him. Afterwards, he and Suzuki stole the tag belts. However, at the time of writing there has been no official challenge.

The main event was Kenoh and Kiyomiya on opposing teams, with Kiyomiya holding the belt in Kenoh’s face, but Kenoh had a very different target in mind other than his usual two obsessions of Marufuji and Kiyomiya (although naturally Kiyomiya did get sworn at), when after the match he got on the microphone and started growling at Kiyoshi Tamura. I am unsure of the exact comment Tamura made, but I know enough that a lot of NOAH fans are angry at his assertion that NOAH’s wrestling is not interesting (or something to that degree), and Kenoh in particular has taken exception to it. He was calling Tamura out, finishing with “if you have a problem, come to the ring.”.

Before I move on to NOAH after Osaka, afterwards fans had gathered in the lobby to catch the wrestlers as they left, when there was a loud crashing noise coming from the lift, and Naomichi Marufuji and Mohammed Yone (plus two heavy wheeled suitcases),practically fell out of a too small space. Mohammed Yone said “Masao Inoue!”, which made everyone laugh, as Inoue is the spirit invoked whenever anything comedic happens.

Due to a mixture of travelling back from Japan, jetlag, a backlog, returning to work, I resumed writing event reports from 13th November onwards. NOAH had held a show on the 11th (the day I flew back) in Hiroshima where HAYATA (a native of the city) was defeated in front of friends (and highly photogenic family) by Chris Ridgeway. Things carried on much the same way between the two teams in the run up to the big Korakuen Hall event.

In Aizu Wakamatsu, Naomichi Marufuji attempted to shake hands with Kenoh. Kenoh naturally glared, swore and went to kick him away. Marufuji says that he feels neglected since Kenoh started venting his anger at Kiyoshi Tamura.

Korakuen Hall
(Event was livestreamed via NOAH’s official YouTube channel, click here for full show)

After defeating 50 Funky Powers, Akitoshi Saito called a press conference backstage, and announced to the journalists that he would be bringing back something of the ferocity of the unit he was in once, which he announced was called “The Anti Wrestlers Alliance” (the name is misleading, it doesn’t mean that they are “anti-wrestler”, it basically means that they will be another dissident group, but different to Kongoh).

Despite Saito’s seriousness, there have already been two comedy elements. The first intentionally came from Saito himself when he announced that since Masao Inoue’s piggy bank was overflowing with change, he would be funding the new group. The second came from Naomichi Marufuji, who asked that since this group was such rebels, did it mean that they would liberally help themselves to both the water and the medipacks left backstage and purchased by the company?

YO-HEY, HAYATA & Tadasuke took on Chris Ridgeway, Yoshinari Ogawa and Kotaro Suzuki, with a massive brawl breaking out (or rather several brawls breaking out) afterwards, when HAYATA got the sneak pin on Chris Ridgeway, and Ridgeway going berserk and trapping him in an armbar. YO-HEY & Ogawa had to take charge (helped by the referee) in separating both HAYATA and Ridgeway, and then Tadasuke and Kotaro, although they themselves got into a fight with each other. In the end YO-HEY managed to calm down HAYATA and Tadasuke, and get them backstage. Telling them to calm down and talking about flammable drinks from Okinawa and children’s Mah-Jong games did no good, as both Tadasuke and HAYATA gave him the slip and raced off.

It is rare for HAYATA to become so irate, normally he doesn’t react, and it is really YO-HEY who can get under his skin, although not to this level. Even Kotaro Suzuki (skilled in causing trouble) was a little intimidated by him, so much so he even turned up to a match signing, and it is a hallmark STINGER tactic that they claim they have better things to do, and so often don’t.

Ridgeway, however, seems to have the knack in winding RATELS up, not only is HAYATA unusually ruffled, but when fighting with Daisuke Harada over the IPW Junior Heavyweight, Harada started speaking in Osaka dialect in promos, which is a sure sign he is really annoyed.

After a match where Yoshiki Inamura threw his opponents around like they weighed nothing, Kenoh ignored Marufuji, Kiyomiya was demonstrated to have grown further in confidence since Sumo Hall, and Hi69 got the brunt of Kongoh, Kenoh once again verbally attacked Kiyoshi Tamura, asking the fans if they wanted to hear the UWF theme in NOAH.

Kenoh’s mood has not been improved by Tamura’s only comment, which is “No Comment”.

The title match between Daisuke Harada and Atsushi Kotoge for the IPW Junior Heavyweight championship could have been ruined by the fact that sadly IPW had announced the night before that in 2020 the promotion will no longer be holding live events, and that their heavyweight title will be defended one last time in December. They haven’t announced what will become of the IPW Junior Heavyweight or the six man to decide the number one contender for the title either, and so while Kotoge and Harada were fighting over what could turn out to be nothing, this match was saved by the emotion and drama behind it of the two former friends and tag partners. Kotoge, sad over the loss of their friendship, Harada unforgiving about Kotoge ditching himself, the juniors and the titles for the hated heavyweights, and the lingering hatred between Stinger and RATELS all served to overshadow the issues surrounding the belt. In a true showcase of the NOAH juniors, the Osaka boys put on a match of the year, with the ending going viral as Daisuke Harada used an Avalanche Katayama German Suplex for the win. Empty title or not, challenged for or not, RATELS now hold all the junior belts in NOAH.

In the main event, Shuhei Taniguchi was not going to wait to get in the ring with Takashi Sugiura, and attacked him as soon as the bell rang, outside the ring, leaving both AXIZ and the others in The Sugiura Army watching. When they did get in the ring together, vicious elbows and headbutts flew between them, with Taniguchi using the kicks to the head he had been given by Fujita. Taniguchi got the win with the diving body press after 23 minutes and 13 seconds. Addressing the crowd afterwards with blood running down his face, he promised to make big flowers bloom in Niigata. Although this phrase is not well understood in English, (and does not point to horticulture), basically it means, Taniguchi is awake.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS & SCHEDULED TITLE MATCHES

GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya
(No challenger at the time of writing)
GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion: HAYATA
(vs Chris Ridgeway, December 3rd, Korakuen Hall)
GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima)
(No challengers at the time of writing)
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Champions: RATELS (Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke)
(vs STINGER (Atsushi Kotoge & Kotaro Suzuki), November 26th, Niigata)
GHC National Champion: Takashi Sugiura
(vs Shuhei Taniguchi, November 26th, Niigata)
IPW Junior Heavyweight: Daisuke Harada
(Unknown whether or not there will be a challenger, or whether the belt will simply cease to exist)

NEWS

AXIZ ANNIVERSARY
Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima celebrate their 15th anniversary in wrestling in November\December. Katsuhiko Nakajima debuted on the 5th January 2004, with Go Shiozaki making his in late July. Rather than have their own produce show, they have elected to have a series of matches, which will culminate when they face each other on December 3rd at Korakuen Hall. The other matches they have arranged to mark their debut are tag matches, and usually feature Hitoshi Kumano.

NOAH’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Despite all the odds, the ups and the downs, the bad times, the good times, the worse times, death, scandal, walk out, money issues, Pro Wrestling NOAH has survived to celebrate its 20th anniversary next year. A huge landmark year for NOAH, they will hold big events leading up to the big day in August.

PRODUCE SHOW NEWS

RATELS “SHOWTIME”
RATELS will hold their second produce at ShinKiba 1st Ring on the 24th November. NOAH knew that the RATELS produce was the one that they would have no problems with, but sadly the card is nowhere as interesting as it was last time, although it does have some quirks as a tug of war between RATELS & STINGER, and then an elimination match between them for the main event.
Kotaro Suzuki, however, has hinted that STINGER may not even turn up!

KONGOH “DIAMOND”
At the time of writing, Kongo have announced only one match for their produce, which will be Yoshiki Inamura vs Daisuke Sekimoto in a singles match. The event has also been sold out, which means that Kenoh will not be leaving the company, and Kongoh will not have to disband.

Kenoh has announced that PETA from The Garlic Boys (who do his theme music) will be performing it live. Naomichi Marufuji said that he wishes he bought a ticket, Kenoh told him firmly that he wasn’t getting in, and to next time, make sure he bought one in time.

SUGIURA ARMY “ALL DOGS GATHER! BARK AT KORAKUEN”
Hajime Ohara is another person celebrating a fifteen year debut in 2019, and therefore a special match has been arranged for the produce, which will be NOAH’s last event of the year. Ohara will team with Shiro Koshinaka, and teacher Ultimo Dragon (who was last in NOAH in 2003 in the Differ Cup), to take on NOSAWA and NOSAWA’S friends, MAZADA and FUJITA.

THIS WEEK IN NOAH
Friday 22nd November: Hitoshi Kumano (28)
Sunday 24th November: RATELS “Showtime”
Tuesday 26th November: Niigata City Gymnasium event
Friday 29th November: Minoru Tanaka (47)

Picture credits: GIFS (Noah GHC), all other pictures are mine.

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Japanese Wrestling Results

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

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

Published

3 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

Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)

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!

Japanese Wrestling Results

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

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

Published

3 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

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

STAR NAVIGATION 2023

Date: Saturday April 29th

Venue: Korakuen Hall

Start time: 18:30 JST (doors open 17:30)

Broadcast: ABEMA (Live)

BIRTHDAYS & ANNIVERSARIES

29th April: Atsushi Kotoge debut anniversary (2005)

29th April: Tadasuke debut anniversary (2007)

*NOTE ABOUT ABEMA BROADCASTS

NOAH FROM THE VAULT

“Donmai, Donmai” – Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary

With thanks to: Metal-NOAH

Picture credits: NOAH.co.jp, Pro Wrestling DX

Chairshot Radio Network

MONDAY - Bandwagon Nerds (entertainment & popular culture)

TUESDAY - 4 Corners Podcast (sports)

WEDNESDAY - The Greg DeMarco Show (wrestling)

THURSDAY - Nefarious Means

FRIDAY - DWI Podcast (Drunk Wrestling Intellect)

SATURDAY - The Mindless Wrestling Podcast

SUNDAY - 30 Mindless Minutes

CHAIRSHOT RADIO NETWORK PODCAST SPECIALS

Attitude Of Aggression Podcast: The Big Five Project (chronologically exploring WWE's PPV/PLE history) Unidentified History (Ufology) & Game Gone Wrong (Game of Thrones Universe)