NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.128 ~ 18TH APRIL 2021

Hisame brings us updates moving towards Mutoh’s nostalgic second defense of the GHC Heavyweight title, and a recap of the Junior championship bout! If you’re not paying attention to NOAH, you should be!

NEWS

Kenoh tests positive for COVID, Tadasuke, Manabu Soya & Haoh to also miss time

NOAH announced on the 17th April that Kenoh had developed a fever, and would undergo PCR testing, and as a precaution Tadasuke, Manabu Soya and Haoh would also miss time due to being in close proximity to Kenoh. The results of Kenoh’s PCR test came back on the 18th April and were announced to be positive for Coronavirus, but he will undergo a further examination with the results being available on the 20th. NOAH have announced that all four will miss the 24th and the 29th events.

While Kenoh is absent, Katsuhiko Nakajima has said to him to “leave it me”.

Kazuyuki Fujita destroys Takashi Sugiura

Kazuyuki Fujita and Takashi Sugiura faced off for their long awaited pre-match ahead of their long awaited GHC National Championship match, which will take place on the 29th April in Nagoya, which is Takashi Sugiura’s home town.

Although Takashi Sugiura said that he wasn’t going to do any kind of stare down with Kazuyuki Fujita, he actually did two. The first was when their respective partners, Kazushi Sakuraba and Kendo Kashin were fighting in the ring, and the second was when they were fighting outside of it and Kashin did the perspex sheet spot on Sakuraba. After that the fight was on, with Fujita felling Sugiura with stiff punches, and then a lariat when Sugiura sprang to his feet with a roar. Fujita emerged the victor after nine minutes and fifteen seconds, when he pinned Sugiura after three soccer ball kicks to the head. After the match, Fujita had no comment to make other than “Nagoya is next”, and Kazushi Sakuraba took a picture with Sugiura revealing that Sugiura had the beginning of a black eye and a swelling on the side of his head.

Atsushi Kotoge’s first successful defense 

Atsushi Kotoge made his first defense of the GHC Junior Heavyweight against Nioh on the 18th April at Korakuen Hall. Both Kotoge and Nioh put on a brutal match, which involved a spot where Nioh used a javelin throw move on Kotoge to drive his head into the ring apron. Both wrestled the match cool, calm and calculated; which is not so far from Kotoge’s persona in Momo No Seishun, but for Nioh it did show what he is capable of and fans commented it was nice to see him put his mind to something. After the match, Kotoge said he would take on all comers and was hungry for a challenger, while Nioh said he would be challenging again in the future.

 Masa Kitamiya makes Keiji Mutoh tap

Masa Kitamiya and Keiji Mutoh faced off in their one and only pre-match at Korakuen Hall on the 18th April. The card was changed due to the absence of Kongoh members, so Katsuhiko Nakajima teamed with Kitamiya against Mutoh and Naomichi Marufuji. Nakajima, although he was looking forward to facing Mutoh after a long while (and fans wanted to see him face Mutoh), pretty much kept Naomichi Marufuji occupied and after the first time when he broke the Prison Lock, kept him outside the ring for the second one. Kitamiya had the hold locked in, and headbutted Mutoh, busting them both open. Mutoh had no choice but to tap. After the match, Kitamiya spoke on the microphone and said he was aiming for Mutoh’s knees.

Three new trainees

In a break from tradition, as NOAH usually announce trainee debuts, not trainees joining the dojo. NOAH had the three new boys (and one who has been in the dojo for over a year) stand in the ring on the 18th April and introduce themselves.

• Keisuke Ota, 26 years old. He entered NOAH in January 2020, so hopefully he will be debuting soon. However, it is Yoshinari Ogawa who decides these things.
• Yosuke Sasaki, 18 years old. He was one of the ones who came to the trainee audition last November. He has recently entered NOAH (April 2021).
• Haruto Ogawa, 18 years old. Like Sasaki, he came to NOAH via the trainee audition last November, and entered NOAH at the same time as Yosuke Sasaki.

With the influx of new trainees to the dojo, plus the debut of Yasutaka Yano a few months ago, and the potential debut of Keisuke Ota, Yoshinari Ogawa is going to be very busy.

 EVENT RECAPS & POST MATCH PROMOS

Event recap: “NEO BREEZE 2021” ~ 18th April, Korakuen Hall

Post match promos: “NEO BREEZE 2021” ~ 3rd April, Yokohama Radiant Halls

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

~ Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura made a very polite visit to DDT on the 15th April to scout out their opponents ahead of the CyberFight Festival. They came in, took their seats, sat quietly, applauded the winner, came to the apron when invited and then left.

~Yoshiki Inamura’s tires which he uses for training, have become dojo celebrities. Tadasuke has been determined to lift them, and posted a video of himself succeeding. YO-HEY said he made an attempt, and even NOAH’s official photographer has had a go.

~ Still no one has come for the GHC Heavyweight Tag titles. Katsuhiko Nakajima has even been talking about nominating someone.

~ NOAH have created a Showa Era monster movie theme for Takashi Sugiura vs Kazushi Sakuraba. Fans are reminded of Kong vs Godzilla, with DDT\NOAH President, Sanshiro Takagi, saying it reminds him more of Sanda vs Gaira.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Keiji Mutoh
  Challenger: Masa Kitamiya (“NOAH THE GLORY 2021”, 29th April 2021)
• GHC Junior Champion: Atsushi Kotoge
  Challenger: TBA
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: The AGGRESSION
  Challengers: TBA
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (Yoshinari Ogawa & HAYATA)
  Challengers: NOSAWA Rongai & Ikuto Hidaka  (“NOAH THE GLORY 2021”, 29th April 2021)
•  GHC National Champion: Kazuyuki Fujita
  Challenger: Takashi Sugiura (“NOAH THE GLORY 2021”, 29th April 2021)

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

Saturday 24th April: NOAH THE GLORY, 2021

BROADCASTS

Please note, unless stated it is a free stream, you must be a subscriber to WRESTLEUNIVERSE to view events. Subscription is free for first month, then 900 yen per calendar month. You can sign up from anywhere in the world. All ABEMA shows are eventually put on WRESTLEUNIVERSE, with the exception of the PPVs.

“NOAH THE GLORY 2021”  will be broadcast on WRESTLEUNIVERSE on the 24th April at 17.30 pm JST. This will not be a free stream.

LINKS

NOAH Roster Guide 2021

“It’s effective, it was piercing. Amazing” Takashi Sugiura is taken aback at the German Suplex reminiscent of Rick Steiner, thrown by Yoshiki Inamura

Participation at ZERO-1 “ALL STAR Great Charity Festival” ~ Yasukuni Shrine Sumo Wrestling Place, Tokyo, Japan (March 27th, 2021)

Guide to CyberFight Festival 2021

GIFS taken from NOAH Official Twitter\ABEMA

Picture credit: Kazushi Sakuraba