(NOAH) NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.151 ~ 1ST DECEMBER 2021

KENTA comes home

NOAH announced that the Nippon Budokan announcement that they would be making on the 28th November in Yoyogi would be “the biggest in history”. Fans were all wondering what it would be, but I don’t think anyone foresaw this. NOAH ran a video which started with a familiar looking figure walking to where the old site of Differ Ariake used to be. He reminisced about how he had left seven years ago, and when he had no luck in America, he returned but he couldn’t go in…there was only one person who it could be. KENTA was coming home for the Nippon Budokan. Not as he was the last time when he came back for “FLIGHT”, but as himself. He would remain a freelancer of course and continue appearing in New Japan, but as now New Japan and NOAH have mended their bridges, it was going to be easier. People wept in the arena, and they wept at home. KENTA even trended on Twitter.

No opponent has been announced for KENTA as of yet, and fans are hoping that as Kenoh has always wanted to face him in a singles match and that title needs to be challenged for, he and Kenoh will face off at The Budokan. Don’t get too much of your hopes up though, Kaito Kiyomiya has hinted that he may challenge.

Nakajima retains, Go Shiozaki returns

Kenoh’s dream of entering the Nippon Budokan on his birthday as double champion (GHC National and GHC Heavyweight, and therefore being the first in history to have held the two belts at the same time), ended in the same way his first attempt did; a time out draw. After the grueling sixty minute match where they both beat the living hell out of each other, an exhausted Katsuhiko Nakajima got on the microphone and said, “Kenoh…” only for the lights to go off, the arena light up green and music that no one had heard since March start playing. With blonde hair and looking what Naomichi Marufuji described as (or can perhaps best be translated as) trim, Go Shiozaki came to the ring.

Kenoh (who would later complain that Shiozaki stole all the glory) left immediately, meaning that Nakajima was having to confront alone the person he hadn’t spoken about, changed the subject regarding or else completely ignored anything to do with. After screaming “I am NOAH! Has returned!” Shiozaki turned to Nakajima and said that the belt didn’t suit him, and he was challenging him for it. Nakajima dragged himself to his feet and holding the belt up to Shiozaki accepted his challenge, finishing with “I AM NOAH!”

Title match will take place on the 1st January at The Nippon Budokan, with Go Shiozaki making his return at NOAH’s next event on Sunday December 5th in Nagoya when their first pre match starts. Nakajima has vowed that he will destroy Shiozaki.

STINGER regain the GHC Junior Tag Belts, two challengers come forward

In a suitably chaotic tag title match, STINGER succeeded in taking back the championship from NOSAWA Rongai and Eita. Yoshinari Ogawa played them at their own game and got Eita counted out when he had him hung up on the ropes. Afterwards two teams appeared almost immediately (and at the same time) to make their bid to be challengers; Perros Del Mal De Japon’s Kotaro Suzuki and YO-HEY, and Momo No Seishun (Daisuke Harada and Atsushi Kotoge). After some shoving, finger pointing and then STINGER leaving the ring for them to fight it out between them, Daisuke Harada suggested a number one contenders match. This will be held on the 25th December in Yokohama. Backstage, Ogawa said he didn’t think either team were worthy; Kotoge’s current situation of losing didn’t inspire confidence in him as a challenger, and he thought that Momo had other issues which didn’t make them a cohesive team. Kotaro Ogawa called a “lackey” as he was forever walking behind Eita and NOSAWA. Ogawa had nothing to say about YO-HEY, only that he would prefer Eita as his partner, and not Kotaro. Personally, I think Momo no Seishun are probably the team that Ogawa and HAYATA would prefer, as they don’t come with the emotions that YO-HEY and Kotaro do. Despite his feud with Ogawa, Kotaro did have a hard time watching while Ogawa had water dumped on him by Eita, and we all saw how YO-HEY came very close to doing an old tandem move with HAYATA…

Masato Tanaka challenges Takashi Sugiura for the ZERO1 World Heavyweight

With his defeat in a tag match over Takashi Sugiura in Yoyogi, Masato Tanaka challenged for the ZERO1 World Heavyweight title. Tanaka said that he wanted it to be at ZERO1’s first show of the year (1st January 2022), he understood that it would be the day when NOAH was at The Budokan but this is a special date for them, as much as Fire Festival later in the year is. The match will take place in ZERO1 at Korakuen Hall.

Daisuke Harada and Atsushi Kotoge announce the launch of a new NOAH Junior brand, “N Innovation”

At the press conference on the 26th November, a new NOAH Junior brand was launched. The ideal of the event will be to showcase the NOAH Juniors (and other juniors from outside promotions who wish to take part and some heavyweights if they want to join in) in different innovative ways. It will also serve to showcase the younger wrestlers who are having dojo matches. Harada says there is room for it to grow and change as it goes along, but he would like for it to happen three times a month with the first shows taking place in late December when he and Kotoge take on Perros Del Mal De Japon in a number one contenders match for the junior tag titles. Yoshinari Ogawa probably won’t take part as he objects to anything Harada does, and Tadasuke says it’s of no interest to anyone except the boring NOAH Junior regulars.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

Premium Prelude 2021 (Tuesday 23rd November, Niigata/Bandaijima Multipurpose Plaza Large Kama)

Event recap Post match interviews

LEC CLEANUP! Presents NOAH The Best 2021 (Sunday November 28th,  Yoyogi National Stadium Second Gymnasium)

Event recap Post match interviews

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– YO-HEY is becoming stronger and developing a nasty streak, not on sadistic HAYATA levels, but a more malicious one than he had before.

– The strongman gym that Yoshiki Inamura attends hinted that they want to see him compete in strong man contests as well as wrestling.

– Mohammed Yone hinted that Funky Express may be challenging for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles. Akitoshi Saito said it didn’t matter what team they used, but make a custom belt to go round his waist.

– Naomichi Marufuji fought fountains in a variety show on TBS. One fan parodied it by putting a figure of Marufuji on top of a shower, which Marufuji thought was very funny.

– Most people would flick a bug off of a banana they were eating. Yoshiki Inamura photographed it.

– HAYATA didn’t turn up to the GHC Junior match signing (or for that matter the GHC Junior Heavyweight tag title signing which NO ONE turned up for). Tadasuke said they should just have got a blonde haired mannequin.

– Yasutaka Yano pinned NOSAWA for the second time during a handicap match. After the match, Yoshinari Ogawa was held back by Perros Del Mal as NOSAWA cut chunks out of Yano’s hair. He was eventually chased off by HAYATA who was wielding a chair. Yano (with a new Sugiura type hairstyle) has challenged NOSAWA to a singles match. NOSAWA is yet to respond.

– The winning team of Daiki Inaba, Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshiki Inamura and Masa Kitamiya were presented with a bale of rice from the heartland of Japan’s rice production, Niigata, after winning the main event there. Yoshiki Inamura hoisted it on to his shoulders and walked around the ring with it, and then walked with it effortlessly to the back.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Katsuhiko Nakajima
  Challenger: Go Shiozaki – ABEMA presents NOAH “THE NEW YEAR” 2022 (Nippon Budokan, Saturday January 1st)
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: Tadasuke – THE WARROAD 2021 in NAGOYA, Aichi / Nagoya Congress Center Event Hall, Sunday, December 5th 2021
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: The M’s alliance (Naomichi Marufuji and Keiji Mutoh)
  Challengers: TBA
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (HAYATA and Yoshinari Ogawa)
  Challengers: A number one contenders match between Perros Del Mal De Japon (YO-HEY and Kotaro Suzuki) and Momo No Seishun (Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada) will be held on December 25th at Yokohama Radiant Halls.
• GHC National Champion: Kenoh
  Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(Full December schedule)

THE WARROAD 2021 in NAGOYA

Sunday December 5th 2021 – Nagoya Congress Centre Event Hall, Aichi

Start time: 3pm JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse, ABEMA

Tuesday December 7th: Kinya Okada debut anniversary (3 years)

NOAH’s event on the 5th December will have English commentary on WrestlesUniverse, but you must be a subscriber to view. If you sign up now you will get December free and not be charged until January 2022. You should be able to watch the event through ABEMA, but please note the commentary will be in Japanese only. You will also not be able to watch any replays. I would strongly advise anyone outside of Japan to not sign up to ABEMA due to the issues with a working VPN, a subscription to WrestleUniverse is the far better option.

LINKS

Kenoh’s advance notice of “The Best Kick Fight In The Universe”, Nakajima speaks of commitment to “New Years Day Budokan”

Tadasuke declares “Fight with instincts” to defeat HAYATA, “N Innovation” and advance notice of taking the leading role (GHC Junior Match signing ceremony)

“Didn’t you get kicked out?” Naomichi Marufuji, heading towards the rivalry with New Japan, provoked by Yuji Nagata on Twitter

“New Japan, Eat Shit” Naomichi Marufuji interview

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse and NOAH Official Twitter