(NOAH) NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.153 ~ 19TH DECEMBER 2021

NEWS

New Japan vs NOAH, full card and press conference. Katsuhiko Nakajima and Shingo Takagi trade barbs.

New Japan and NOAH announced the full line up for New Japan vs NOAH, which will take place as part of New Japan’s 50th anniversary celebrations on the 8th January at the Yokohama Arena. The event was attended by New Japan’s president, NOAH’s CyberFight director, and current champions Shingo Takagi (IWGP) and Katsuhiko Nakajima (NOAH). After the card was introduced, the two champions did most of the talking, Shingo, who insisted on calling Nakajima “Katchan”, poked fun at his opponents Kongoh saying he thought they would be a Japanese style unit with that name, but instead he found Haoh and Nioh who he said were “being ridiculed”, Tadasuke was like the nail in the proverb that sticks up (and therefore must be hammered down), and their pose would be a hindrance if Manabu Soya was to stand in front. If Shingo thought he was going to wind Nakajima up then sadly he failed; Nakajima said he was going to make the match not NOAH’s or Kongoh’s, but his. He did however tell Shingo that after he mentioned jokingly that perhaps since both units like to wear red, they should have a “loser doesn’t get to wear red match”, that it would be kind of boring. Shingo Takagi and Katsuhiko Nakajima have history, both debuted in the same year, (Nakajima in January 2004 and Shingo in October) and have fought two single matches so far, both of which Nakajima won. Shingo finished the press conference by saying that Nakajima was foolish not fear him as he would teach him all about “fearing Shingo Takagi”.

Card (order is to be announced)

• Atsushi Kotoge vs Sho
• El Desperado & Douki vs YO-HEY & Nosawa Rongai – (NOSAWA said that his heart was torn with conflicting emotions as El Desperado and Douki share his background in Mexico)
• Taiji Ishimori & Gedo vs STINGER (HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka) – (HAYATA has said he wants to beat Taiji Ishimori’s record for the longest reign and most GHC Junior Heavyweight title defenses. Ishimori was also the person who defeated HAYATA for the GHC Junior the first time he held it)
• Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI vs Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Aleja)
• Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanihashi vs Keiji Mutoh & Kaito Kiyomiya – (Almost a year and a half later, Kaito Kiyomiya gets to “experience The Rainmaker”, with Hiroshi Tanihashi thrown in. He does not care he has to team with Keiji Mutoh)
• EVIL & Dick Togo vs Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya
• Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & Taka Michinoku vs The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & KENTA) – (KENTA is back with The Sugiura Army, who Sugi says he is now part of as he won’t hear of him being part of Bullet Club when he is around. It should also be mentioned that Sugi was part of Suzuki-Gun during the dark era of New Japan owning NOAH)
• Zack Sabre Jnr & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa – (Naomichi Marufuji has called this a “nostalgic card”, as he teams with Yoshinari Ogawa, who was Zack Sabre Junior’s partner/teacher once, against Yoshinobu Kanemaru, who has long since been exiled from NOAH since he was part of Suzuki Gun and was his senior in All Japan, and who also walked out to NOAH, Yoshinobu Kanemaru).
• Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada
• Kosei Fujita vs Yasutaka Yano
• Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs Funky Express (King Tany, Muhammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito)

Keiji Mutoh vs Go Shiozaki wins Tokyo Sports Awards “Best Bout”

Tokyo Sports announced that Keiji Mutoh vs Go Shiozaki from the Nippon Budokan on February 12th 2021 has been voted the best match. Other NOAH nominations included:

Yoshiki Inamura (best rookie)

Kenoh (best technique)

Katsuhiko Nakajima (Outstanding performance)

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Kenoh (best bout)

Keiji Mutoh says that next year he wants to aim for the MVP award (he has won this before many times), for Go Shiozaki is his second Tokyo Sports Award.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

MAN CRUSH 2021

Korakuen Hall (Tuesday 7th December 2021) Post match interviews

Kira Messe Numazu (Sunday December 12th 2021) Event recap Post match interviews

Kenoh hasn’t been ranting like he normally does when he has anything to do with Kaito Kiyomiya. There seems to be a quiet sympathy on Kenoh’s part for Kiyomiya’s struggle this year, and a quiet relief at the fact that Kiyomiya is now evolving on his own and doing what he wants. Kenoh has previously said in the past about Kiyomiya doing what the company has told him, and now he wants to experience what has changed and how much he has grown. In the last match, they got into a fight after the match, which ended with Kiyomiya knocking Kenoh to the mat and standing with a snarl over him.

HAYATA and Yoshinari Ogawa clashed in a tag match, which was won by King Tani. HAYATA co-ordinated doing The Headache with him, which made it look like he was getting the win. At the same time Kiyomiya and Kenoh were fighting, Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima were fighting too, outside the ring. Nakajima held the belt up to Shiozaki with an eerie grin and later wrote on Twitter that this belt was something that Shiozaki would never obtain.

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Naomichi Marufuji’s exhibition boxing match went full time of two rounds and one minute. Marufuji said he found the training physically different to wrestling, and so it was a new experience for him.

– Masa Kitamiya and Takashi Sugiura made a rare tag at Kira Messe Numazu, after which Masa Kitamiya said he had called Sugi a “playful old man” at the beginning of the year, but after tagging with him he realized how awesome he was. Fans would like them to team again, and Kitamiya hinted that it may just happen.

– An old lady came to the traditional end of year fan event, which NOAH hold in the last venue they visit outside of Tokyo, and she was wearing an old Naomichi Marufuji armband from “The Golden Era”. Marufuji was stunned to see it, as he had last worn it when probably in his mid twenties.

– Seiki Yoshioka made his first appearance on “NOAH The Home”.

– Katsuhiko Nakajima told Funky Kaito (the composer of NOAH’s theme music at The Budokan), to answer “Yes or No” to a question, this is something he hasn’t done since AXIZ.

– A version of the poster for the Nippon Budokan showing Kaito Kiyomiya, Go Shiozaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh and HAYATA wearing Hakama pants, caused comments such as “I’M GOING TO DIE” and “WHAT IS THIS?”

– Takashi Sugiura has hinted at a collaboration between KENTA’S T-shirt brand REVERSAL and The Sugiura Army.

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)

Monday December 20th: Akitoshi Saito debut anniversary (31 years)

Wednesday December 22nd: YO-HEY debut anniversary (13 years)

Thursday December 23rd: Manabu Soya (37)

Thursday December 23rd: Takashi Sugiura debut anniversary (21 years)

Friday December 24th: Kotaro Suzuki debut anniversary (20 years)

Friday December 24th: Shuhei Taniguchi debut anniversary (16 years)

Saturday December 25th 2021 – Yokohama Radiant Hall, Kanagawa

Start time: 17:30 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

LINKS

Aiming for “NOAH’s Tag=Mutoh & Marufuji”, 2022 Year Round Defense. Interview with “The Genius Tag” towards the New Year’s Day Budokan

“The last one is me” – Katsuhiko Nakajima (1st January, Road to the Nippon Budokan Championship Match)

Kenoh: “Opening the door to a new dream” (Road to the 1st January Nippon Budokan fight)

“I am really grateful to Mr Kinoshita for creating such an opportunity” – Naomichi Marufuji’s exhibition match with TKO Takayuki Kinoshita

Yoshinari Ogawa, “I went because there are no other challengers” (1st January 2022, Nippon Budokan)

“On New Years Day 2022, I will set up in the coolest way”: Interview with Narihiro Takeda, former pro wrestling NOAH representative and current CyberFight director

“Follow me you bastards” Kenoh’s weekly column (7th December 2021)

Displaying “NOAH’s Strength” to New Japan as the focal point, Gowan Shiozaki’s resurrection supported by Kobashi!

GIF taken from NOAH GHC Official Twitter

Picture credits: Puroresu Today, NOAH GHC