(NOAH) NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.142 ~ 23RD SEPTEMBER 2021

N-1 VICTORY 

Block A

Kaito Kiyomiya – 4

Kaito Kiyomiya shed the young boy look and went for something darker, debuting a new somber look for his first match in the league. Gone was the blonde hair, gone was the green and the white; he came out with his hair brown, and his clothes dark. Fans asked if he was joining STINGER? Despite his gothic appearance he managed to overcome Manabu Soya and Takashi Sugiura, bringing him to four points and putting him at the top of the table. However, Kiyomiya’s next challenge is Keiji Mutoh, the so far insurmountable wall. With Mutoh’s calling him “low risk” and brushing him off that he will simply defeat him and go on to the playoffs, Kiyomiya has hit the dojo to train like never before.

Keiji Mutoh – 3

With a draw against Takashi Sugiura and a win against Manabu Soya (who he still says is a “big dumb tree to the brain”), Keiji Mutoh is the highest second scorer in the block. His next match will take place on the 26th September at Korakuen Hall vs Kaito Kiyomiya. Mutoh’s last two tactics have been to act the feeble old man, which has been successful so far, but will it work again against Kiyomiya? It should also be noted that Mutoh’s last two matches have not ended in pinfall – Takashi Sugiura was a draw, and Manabu Soya was a submission.

Takashi Sugiura – 1 (out)

Sadly, Takashi Sugiura (despite being a double champion) has not been successful in the league this year, and looks to have finished when losing to Kaito Kiyomiya. He and Manabu Soya will have their final league match, and a chance to pick up some points at least. Disappointment hasn’t stopped Sugi being Sugi however as he has been trolling Soya (even at 2am) about the GET WILD tag team that Soya was in with Takao Omori (who was once in NOAH), and calling him an “Octopus” (rather than the term that Marufuji once used for Sugiura, in this case Sugi means someone big and clumsy…kind of like a big old tree…). Unsurprisingly, Manabu Soya has not responded.

Manabu Soya – 0 (out)

Poor Manabu Soya has ended the league with no wins and bottom last; Keiji Mutoh worked on his knees to make him submit, and he fell to Kaito Kiyomiya in his first match. It may well be that with Takashi Sugiura goading him on Twitter, and neither of them having much to do in the N-1 (for now at least), he makes a challenge for one of those belts that Sugi has.

Block B

Masaaki Mochizuki – 4

Masaaki Mochizuki is riding high, although part of the journey up did mean that he crossed paths with Kendo Kashin. Describing the match as one he had never done before (not least because of Kashin’s antics, but more because Kashin doesn’t seem to have any technique), he overcame Kashin in exactly the same way Kashin defeated Kenoh, by sneak win. Mochizuki’s next match will be a kick war with Kenoh that will take place at Korakuen Hall on the 26th September; if Mochizuki wins he will have three wins and eight points, if Kenoh wins then he gets the four.

Kenoh – 2

Kenoh has had an interesting N-1 VICTORY to say the least. Defeated in his first match by Kendo Kashin (who has been stalking his good friend “Daisuke” over the creation of a NOAH nursing home which he thinks should be funded by Kongoh), and then defeating Daiki Inaba, who he has labeled a “lost child” but who impressed him enough for Kenoh to say was starting to look good in NOAH, he is currently second in the block table.

Kendo Kashin – 2

Kendo Kashin defeated Kenoh to pick up two points, but then was defeated by Masaaki Mochizuki to remain on two. Kashin’s final match of the league comes against poor innocent polite Daiki Inaba, but it may not be over for Kashin completely as if Masaaki Mochizuki defeats Kenoh and goes to eight, and he himself defeats Inaba, he will go to four which means Kenoh finishes on 3. With Kashin’s past antics of bringing ladders as a distraction, locking Mochi in somewhere and attempting to throw him off the balcony, and his mask trick with Kenoh, Inaba is going to need all his wits about him.

Daiki Inaba – 0 (out)

The youngest of the block gave it his all, but has come up empty handed so far with losses to Kenoh and Masaaki Mochizuki. His final match of the series and the chance to at least finish with some points (if not his dignity) comes in the form of a showdown with Kendo Kashin.

Block C

Masato Tanaka – 3

A win against Katsuhiko Nakajima gave him two points, but a draw against Kazushi Sakuraba meant that he as tying with him at three points and at the top of the block. Tanaka’s next opponent is Kotaro Suzuki at the event to wrap up the loose ends at Korakuen Hall on the 26th September. To be block champion, Tanaka now needs Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuhiko Nakajima to either lose or draw.

Kazushi Sakuraba – 3

Winning against Kotaro Suzuki (a junior) and a draw against Masato Tanaka, has put Sakuraba in a position where he needs for his block makes (all except Kotaro) to lose or draw their matches, that way should he win against Katsuhiko Nakajima, he moves on up. Sakuraba said that he finds Nakajima a difficult opponent as he can’t read his emotion as the smirk is always present. Sakuraba will find out that the match is very easy to read as soon as the smile snaps off.

Katsuhiko Nakajima – 2

Katsuhiko Nakajima’s dream of winning the league again this year, isn’t over yet. Masato Tanaka took the much needed points, but defeating Kotaro Suzuki gave some back. Nakajima’s next opponent is Kazushi Sakuraba, whom he needs to defeat. A draw is not good enough, and loss unthinkable.

Kotaro Suzuki – 0 (out)

He might have scored no points in the heavyweight league, but with accolades such as his technique and his power is that of a heavyweight, Kotaro can return to the NOAH Juniors with Junior pride intact. He has taken on ultra hard wrestlers like Masato Tanaka and a very different Katsuhiko Nakajima to when he knew him last, and that in itself is an achievement for the only junior entering a heavyweight league. His final league match comes against Kazushi Sakuraba at Korakuen Hall.

Block D

Kazuyuki Fujita – 4

Powerhouse Kazuyuki Fujita has bulldozed his way through both Masa Kitamiya and Akitoshi Saito and looks to finish the league with eight points. However, he doesn’t have those last two points yet as he has to get past Masakatsu Funaki first, who has been having a successful league experience as him. The last time they fought it was for a title (Real Japan in 2019), and although things have moved on since then, it’s going to make someone’s league or break it.

Masakatsu Funaki – 4

Reflecting on the fact that this could be the last league that he fights, Funaki has taken a methodical approach by concentrating on who is in front of him and taking out both Akitoshi Saito and Masa Kitamiya in the process. His final block match will be against Kazuyuki Fujita, who he knows will be a challenge to overcome. Speaking in an interview recently, Fujita said that in the league he would like to face Katsuhiko Nakajima, and outside of it, Yoshonari Ogawa.

Akitoshi Saito – 0 (out)

Although he was dressed to funk, Akitoshi Saito entered the league as himself. Sadly, he has not had any wins falling to Kazuyuki Fujita and choked out to a referee stop by Masakatsu Funaki. Two losses out of a three match quota means that he may not necessarily finish the league with nothing, as there is one final match to be had against Masa Kitamiya.

Masa Kitamiya – 0 (out)

Unlike his tag partner, Masa Kitamiya’s league has been frustrating to say the least with two losses, although granted one was a referee stop. Interestingly enough, neither Funaki or Fujita have been in his style, whereas Akitoshi Saito is. This will give Kitamiya a definite chance of at least recuperating some of his losses at Korakuen Hall on the 26th September.

OTHER NEWS

WrestleUniverse

Sanshiro Takagi (assisted by Naomichi Marufuji and other high ranking members of the various CyberFight promotion) made a huge announcement as to the upcoming changes to WrestleUniverse, which will take place from early October, in summary;

• App in the works – The app, which will be released this year, will be Chromecast compatible. There will also be a mobile version.

• Site changes – The layout will change, but the logo will still be the same. English language option available.

• Each wrestler will have a profile and a list of matches
• You will be able to time shift view, watch in English or Japanese and start from the beginning of the event should you have tuned in half way through.
• Subscriptions will be made easier, and you can tailor it to your own preference. Also now you can subscribe with password and e-mail.
• Subscriber info – Fee will not change from 900 yen per calendar month.
• Old subs will end on 26th September. WrestleUniverse are working on a form for old subscribers to re-subscribe. You will not be charged for October as a result, but new members will get until Jan 22 free
• Content – The old WrestleUniverse will be replaced by the end of October. There are 8,000 videos with 2,000 being migrated at that time. Eventually everything will be updated.
• Sanshiro Takagi said they want to add Samurai archival NOAH eventually, but NTV is difficult

Sugiura Army produce, “All Dogs Gather”, to return at the end of the year

In what now appears to have become a tradition in NOAH, The Sugiura Army will hold their traditional show at the end of the year at Korakuen Hall on Monday 27th December. It is hoped that another tradition, the costumed battle royal, will be instituted in Yokohama on the December 25th event.

NOAH The Home (Season 4)

Whilst looking through glossy magazines (fortunately not the type that you see on the NOAH bus), and modelling NOAH merchandise, Junta Miyawaki and Yasutaka Yano announced the return of the NOAH dojo shows. These will take place on the 24th and the 25th September and will be streamed via NOAH’s official YouTube channel. All donations made through Super Chat will go towards maintaining the dojo and the dormitories. In addition, NOAH have also promised a “further evolution” in terms of delivery.

EVENT RECAPS & POST MATCH PROMOS

N-1 VICTORY 2021: Night 2 (18th September 2021, NOAH Special Arena) (Post match interviews)

N-1 VICTORY 2021: Night 3 (19th September 2021, NOAH Special Arena) (Post match interviews)

N-1 VICTORY 2021: Night 4 (20th September 2021, NOAH Special Arena) (Post match interviews)

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Kendo Kashin turned up unexpectedly and scared Kenoh (who has never recovered from his last conflict with Kashin), whose habitual look of terror on seeing him appeared. Kashin had popped up to tell Kenoh that he had been thinking very carefully about the name given to the NOAH retirement home, and he had decided that it should contain the fact that it was sponsored by Kongoh. Kenoh (not amused), said that it was a stupid name and one paid for by NOAH would be better.

– Manabu Soya not only dyed his hair and beard red for the N-1, he also wore red contact lenses.

– Fans have called Daisuke Harada vs HAYATA, “Dokan vs Silence”. “Dokan” of course meaning the sound of an explosion. Daisuke Harada is apparently still upset about HAYATA throwing his IPW belt in the bin.

– Kendo Kashin says he will be bringing the Olympic Flame that Kazushi Sakuraba bought to Aomori to Korakuen Hall.

– Kenoh says that he was planning to leak the news about the WrestleUniverse upgrades as he bought the information, but the news was broken before he had the chance to. He’s not angry about it, it just proves that he was right.

– Now that there is prize money, Kazuyuki Fujita is feeling a lot more enthusiastic about competing in the N-1.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Naomichi Marufuji
  Challenger: Winner of the N-1 VICTORY 2021, (GRAND SQUARE 2021 in OSAKA, Edion Arena Osaka 1st Stadium, October 10th)
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: Daisuke Harada, (GRAND SQUARE 2021 in OSAKA, Edion Arena Osaka 1st Stadium, October 10th)
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Masa Kitamiya & Kaito Kiyomiya
  Challengers: TBA
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara 
  Challengers: Perros De Mal Del Japon (Nosawa RONGAI & Eita), (GRAND SQUARE 2021 in OSAKA, Edion Arena Osaka 1st Stadium, October 10th)
• GHC National Champion: Takashi Sugiura 
  Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

Saturday 25th September: Masa Kitamiya debut anniversary (10 years, 2011)

Sunday 26th September: Naomichi Marufuji birthday (42)

Sunday 26th September: N-1 VICTORY 2021: Night 5 (18:00 JST, ABEMA)

* Broadcast note

Hopefully the ABEMA broadcast will be a free and worldwide one, but please note that whether it is or isn’t, if you are outside of Japan you should not subscribe to ABEMA to watch the show as unfortunately you need to be a subscriber to watch replays or to watch the event from the beginning should you be tuning in half way through. Unless you are either in Japan, or have a VPN that you know is compatible with ABEMA, subscribing and the added difficulty of finding a VPN that works is not recommended. A far better investment would be a subscription to WrestleUniverse were the show will be put eventually.

LINKS

Series of interviews with Katsuhiko Nakajima

“Masa Kitamiya is still one of the cute juniors” 

“I simply want to aim for the N-1 consecutive championship”

“Kazushi Sakuraba has a high IQ for professional wrestling”

“NOAH has NOAH’s good points, New Japan has New Japan’s. It is the fans who compare them” 

With thanks to Metal-NOAH, Abeshin and DDT/TJPW English update

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse & NOAH official YouTube

Picture credit: Tokyo Sports