(NOAH) NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.152 ~ 7TH DECEMBER 2021

NEWS

Go Shiozaki returns

Go Shiozaki made his return to the NOAH ring in Nagoya on the 5th December, where he had a tag match with Kaito Kiyomiya against Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kenoh. Shiozaki did seem a little fragile, but he returned to full strength by the match at Korakuen on the 7th December. Even removing his elbow pad and getting the win over Katsuhiko Nakajima with the Gowan Lariat. Not to mention the sound of the chops and the thud of the kicks that echoed around the hall. Shiozaki’s win over Nakajima puts him at an advantage in the pre matches so far, the one on the 5th was won by Kaito Kiyomiya, who pinned Kenoh.

After the match at Korakuen Hall, Shiozaki stood over the fallen Katsuhiko Nakajima, his fist clenched in true Kenta Kobashi style. Nakajima dragged himself to his feet and held the belt up as Shiozaki silently pointed, before stumbling from the ring.

Kaito Kiyomiya challenges Kenoh for the GHC National

On the same night that Go Shiozaki made his return, Kaito Kiyomiya challenged Kenoh for the GHC National title. Kiyomiya won the right to challenge after pinning Kenoh, and therefore challenged him to a title match at the Nippon Budokan on the 1st January 2022. Kenoh took it with his usual grace when it comes to Kiyomiya. The first pre match between them changed the dynamics of the match at Korakuen Hall when Shiozaki and Kiyomiya took on Kenoh and Nakajima, Kenoh and Kiyomiya stopped playing supporting roles and came to the fore, although the match was dominated by the GHC Heavyweight pre match. For once it seems that rather than be fighting each other so as not to be outdone, the GHC National and the GHC Heavyweight were working together.

HAYATA vs Yoshinari Ogawa (and a complicated pre match)

HAYATA defeated Tadasuke in Nagoya to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight, but was then faced with his next challenger. Yoshinari Ogawa, who had come to ringside, came forward to celebrate with HAYATA and then pulled the belt off of his shoulder afterwards. HAYATA hung on to it, as Ogawa looked at it, pointed and then motioned to himself before walking off. Kotaro Suzuki once attacked Ogawa before challenging for a title, as he said it was the only way that Ogawa would understand that you were serious. Ogawa did this to HAYATA, attacking him backstage after offering him congratulations on winning.

NOAH created a very complicated pre match; YO-HEY would team with HAYATA, and Yoshinari Ogawa would team with Daisuke Harada at Korakuen Hall on the 7th December. Personal issues aside, YO-HEY and Daisuke Harada will be fighting a tag match on the 25th December to be the number one contenders for the GHC Junior Heavyweight tag titles that HAYATA and Yoshinari Ogawa have, and Yoshinari Ogawa is challenging HAYATA for the GHC Junior Heavyweight. Although they tended to ignore each other, until that is YO-HEY got HAYATA to do half of one of their old tandem moves together, the former “Married Couple” got on better than Daisuke Harada and Yoshinari Ogawa did. By the end of the match they were fighting, which gave HAYATA the opening to kick Ogawa and YO-HEY to pin him. For one brief moment, three of RATELS where back together, which YO-HEY then went and ruined by kicking HAYATA in the face when they had their arms raised, and Harada knocked him down with a rolling elbow. Harada then took the tag belts, and after posing with them gave them back to the champions. YO-HEY once again cryptically posted after the match, that he had got the win today, but asked HAYATA what had happened today. Did he mean the kick? Did he mean their teaming again and tandem move? Did he mean that they were now even? Or did he mean the fact that he still had some influence over him?

M’s alliance vs M’s alliance

The GHC Heavyweight tag belts were not challenged for by Funky Express, despite what Mohammed Yone had hinted, but by M’s alliance own team members, Masato Tanaka and Masaaki Mochizuki. Jurina Matsui (who seems to be their boss) was asked her opinion and she gave the go ahead for the match. Afterwards they all shook hands delighted, but delight was short lived on the 7th during the first pre matches when Keiji Mutoh defeated Masaaki Mochizuki, and Mochizuki (who will now not be back in NOAH until the Nippon Budokan) refused his handshake and stalked off angrily. In the main event, Masato Tanaka defeated Naomichi Marufuji and while they shook hands civilly enough, it was a stiff handshake which Marufuji broke at the end.

“VOYAGE”

NOAH debuted Funky Kato’s NOAH Budokan theme song, “Voyage“. Kato revealed that he had put a little secret into the song, and for those NOAH fans who know what “The Swipe Off” is, he did that too. Kato is not simply a newcomer to NOAH who was asked to write a song, he revealed recently he did an interview a few years ago with Mitsuharu Misawa. The video features NOAH wrestlers, and Kato himself as both a referee and a ring announcer. Takashi Sugiura joked that one day, he really should be a special ref.

KENTA & Ultimo Dragon to participate at The Budokan

Kenta will team with Takashi Sugiura and Kazushi Sakuraba against Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba and Yoshiki Inamura at the Nippon Budokan. For Takashi Sugiura this is a special match, and he has offered in usual tongue-in-cheek style for The Sugiura Army to collaborate with KENTA’S t-shirt brand.

Ultimo Dragon will team with Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge and Hajime Ohara against Perros De Mal De Japon’s NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki and two of the “Dragon Kids” Eita and YO-HEY. It should also be noted that he trained Hajime Ohara.

U-CUP (N-INNOVATION)

Daisuke Harada’s new junior project will start at Yokohama Radiant Halls from the 6th to the 10th January. The four NOAH Junior units will compete in various tag matches to rack up enough points to have a face off on the 7th January and be presented with a winners cup by NOAH’s long term sponsors, THE LEAVE, who are of course sponsoring the event. Normally a tournament involving tag teams would involve a shot at the tag champions, but at the moment they have two challengers who will be challenging sometime in early 2022 after a number one contender match on the 25th December. The GHC Junior Heavyweight is a lot easier however, and the winner of the Junior Rumble will win the right to challenge the champion (either HAYATA or Yoshinari Ogawa) on the final night of the event.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

WARROAD 2021 IN NAGOYA, Aichi/Nagoya Congress Centre Event Hall (Sunday December 5th)

Event recap 

Post match interviews

MAN CRUSH 2021, Korakuen Hall (Tuesday 7th December)

Event recap

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Who zipped up the curtain so that Kazushi Sakuraba had to bend down and almost crawl under it in Nagoya?
– Kinya Okada celebrated three years in wrestling on the 7th December.

– Jurina Matsuri said that she wanted to hold an M’s alliance produce some day.

– The Sugiura Army will hold two mystery cards at the produce (for STINGER and King Tany), while NOAH will bring back the New Year tradition of mystery cards at Korakuen Hall on the 5th January.

– No idea why Kendo Kashin strapped a toothbrush to his wrist at Korakuen Hall

– The strongman gym that Yoshiki Inamura trains at, hinted that they want him to compete in strongman contests.

– Junta Miyawaki will be returning to NOAH in January 2022.

-Takashi Sugiura will defend the Zero1 World Heavyweight against Masato Tanaka on the 1st January at Korakuen Hall. Later, both will appear for NOAH at the Nippon Budokan. Tanaka said he will enter The Budokan as the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion, and leave with the GHC Heavyweight tag belts.

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: Yoshinari Ogawa – ABEMA presents NOAH “THE NEW YEAR” 2022 (Nippon Budokan, Saturday January 1st)
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: The M’s alliance (Naomichi Marufuji and Keiji Mutoh)
• Challengers: The M’s alliance (Masato Tanaka and Masaaki Mochizuki) – ABEMA presents NOAH “THE NEW YEAR” 2022 (Nippon Budokan, Saturday January 1st)
• 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: Kaito Kiyomiya – ABEMA presents NOAH “THE NEW YEAR” 2022 (Nippon Budokan, Saturday January 1st)

THIS WEEK IN NOAH
(Full December schedule)

Thursday December 9th: Kaito Kiyomiya debut anniversary (6 years)

Sunday December 12th 2021 – Kira Messe Numazu, Shizuoka

Start time: 3pm JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

LINKS

“Follow Me You Bastards!” Kenoh’s Weekly Pro Column (30th November 2021)

“Pro Wrestling is an interesting thing” – Mitsuharu Misawa and Masahiro Chono talk (2003)

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse