NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.155 ~ 2ND JANUARY 2022

If you missed the event coverage, Hisame is here for all of NOAH’s Shining New Year! Can they continue this momentum into the January 8th Wrestle Kingdom show?

NEWS

Farewell AXIZ, Go Shiozaki fails in GHC Heavyweight challenge

Go Shiozaki made a deal with Katsuhiko Nakajima at the GHC Heavyweight title match signing a few days before the title match. If Shiozaki won the title then AXIZ would reunite, but if he lost (like Nakajima confidently said he would), then he must never again call himself, “I am NOAH”. For the match NOAH ran a beautifully shot video package that came straight out of the Edo era.

For the Nippon Budokan event, Go Shiozaki channeled Mitsuharu Misawa into his costume borrowing the shade and some elements of the design, and yes even almost recreating the footage backstage before the match of Mitsuharu Misawa vs Jun Akiyama for the GHC Heavyweight title in 2001. The sick bump of Kenta Kobashi vs Mitsuharu Misawa was also semi recreated in a match loaded with symbolism which linked NOAH’s past to NOAH’s future.

I don’t need to go into details about how hard fought the match was, but Katsuhiko Nakajima won after 30 minutes and 10 seconds with the Northern Lights Bomb. His “secret trick” he had talked about during the press conference. Shiozaki was taken away by the seconds, his soul gone and his hopes for AXIZ shattered. Nakajima was not bothered by any of this, and Kenoh led Kongoh out to the ring soon after who stood in military precision as the microphone was passed between Kenoh and Nakajima. Kenoh ranting against New Japan, and Nakajima saying that 2022 was “the start of the change of order in Japanese professional wrestling. This is the start of the Reiwa pro wrestling revolution”. Backstage he addressed Go Shiozaki, telling him to back to his “out of date” life, spoke about New Japan telling their fans he was going to destroy it (and them), and spoke of his opponents on the 8th. He had no interest in Takagi Shingo as he had been there and done that, beaten him twice before and so it held no value to him. Tetsuya Naito, who Nakajima has never beaten, is a different matter however.

No challenger for the GHC Heavyweight has come forward as yet.

HAYATA retains, but STINGER on the rocks? 

HAYATA retained the GHC Junior Heavyweight against his teacher Yoshinari Ogawa at the Nippon Budokan. HAYATA pinned Ogawa via a reversal of The Headache after 20 minutes and 54 seconds. Ogawa could not forgive the knowledge that HAYATA had beaten him and proved that he was not the final challenger, and neither could he bear the growing realization that he had created a monster and one that knew him so well. HAYATA attempted a handshake (rare for him) but Ogawa threw the GHC Junior Heavyweight tag belt at him, and shaking his head he left the ring. HAYATA stood for a few moments awkwardly, and left after gathering up all the belts. Kotaro Suzuki echoed fan feelings when he said he didn’t know how they were going to work together when the title match comes up on the fourth, and YO-HEY asked on social media if the “strained” tag team were okay. However, how can anyone be sure that this isn’t just an Ogawa mind game?

M’S alliance still Heavyweight tag champions, Keiji Mutoh wants “red belt” but no belts for Masato Tanaka

Naomichi Marufuji and Keiji Mutoh retained the GHC Heavyweight Tag titles against fellow M’s alliance unit members, Masaaki Mochizuki and Masato Tanaka. The match ended when Mochizuki was made to tap out after constant attacks on his knee and a Keiji Mutoh Figure Four. Mutoh said he had been trying particularly hard as he wanted to demonstrate his own judo background to Olympic athlete and Judoka, Aaron Wolf, who was on guest commentary. Masato Tanaka, who had fought Takashi Sugiura earlier in the day for the ZERO1 World Heavyweight, had sadly come away empty handed from Korakuen Hall. Takashi Sugiura has been challenged by Takuya Sugawara.

Keiji Mutoh has also stated that he would like to be GHC National Champion for his sixtieth birthday in December 2022.

KENTA comes home

KENTA made his long awaited return to NOAH after seven years (NOAH fans do not really count Hideo Itami at “Flight”). A comical moment occurred when he got in the ring as Takashi Sugiura made a fuss about him not wearing the Sugiura Army t-shirt that he had given to him. KENTA took off his FANG jersey to reveal he was wearing it in a “You happy now moment?”.

Then it was down to business and that business was fighting a wall called Masa Kitamiya, who KENTA had known as a junior, the unknown Daiki Inaba and the person of interest to him, Yoshiki Inamura. Takashi Sugiura had warned his young opponents to not spare KENTA and to try to destroy him and this is exactly what Yoshiki Inamura did more than anyone. Inamura attacked KENTA at every chance he got, inside the ring or out of it. Inamura became so intrusive that the referee, KENTA and even Takashi Sugiura scolded him. KENTA eventually won the match by defeating Yoshiki Inamura with the Go To Sleep and then praised him afterwards in much the same manner as Jun Akiyama. Recognizing Inamura’s own cockiness in his own young self (KENTA was never as polite as Inamura, probably because Jun Akiyama’s sarcasm rubbed off on him), saying that with Inamura “that big guy” in NOAH, then the promotion had a bright future. Asked if he would be back in NOAH, KENTA gave a vague answer saying maybe he would or then again maybe he wouldn’t, but perhaps it was good not to know.

Kenoh vs Kaito Kiyomiya, “The Red Champion” retains

Kaito Kiyomiya’s 2022 did not get off to the start he would have liked, when he failed in his attempt to take the GHC National from Kenoh. He can take solace though that while the match did not end in pin fall, it went to referee stop when Kenoh cracked Kiyomiya in the head with one of his devastating kicks. After this, Kenoh stood over Kiyomiya and shoved it in his face. Far from his usual verbal attack on Kiyomiya, Kenoh was somewhat restrained compared to previously and quite complimentary. He admitted that the match had been good, and that Kiyomiya had a “good soul”.

NOAH announce two more Budokan events of 2022 and 2023

NOAH announced that they will be running the Nippon Budokan again in July 2022 and returning for New Year in 2023. Kenoh is delighted with this news as it means two further chances at his dream of entering and leaving as champion, preferably GHC Heavyweight Champion. Next year NOAH aim to attract 10,000 people or more.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

“All Dogs Gather 3!” The Sugiura Army Produce – 27th December 2021, Korakuen Hall

Post match interviews 

ABEMA Presents “NOAH THE NEW YEAR 2022” – 1st January 2022, Nippon Budokan

Event recap Post match interviews

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Takashi Sugiura’s New Year calligraphy contained the usual phallic references.

– Masato Tanaka has found a new rival in Kazuyuki Fujita.

– KENTA said that Takashi Sugiura was an “old man” when it came to using social media, and asked him to stop bugging him. If he didn’t, he would get Hirooki Goto involved. Sugi behaved himself then.

– NOSAWA Rongai stated to Ultimo Dragon that he would “always” do a hair vs mask match after trying to rip off Ultimo’s mask

– Funky Express are again hinting  at challenging for a belt or belts, and are once again discussing having a belt that fits all four of them.

– NOAH held an end of year fan event in Tokyo on New Year’s Eve. Always inventive in times of crisis, the tin can telephone was a great success.

– Haoh’s New Year calligraphy stated “to have my own words”…

– Daisuke Harada’s dislike of the heavyweights came out when he spoke about the N-Innovation, saying basically that he didn’t like how everything was centered around them.

– Takashi Sugiura kept interrupting KENTA to show him Kaito Kiyomiya in his “young man’s Kimono” as Kiyomiya had come to the match in a red Hakama jacket.

– Naomichi Marufuji and Hajime Ohara have sworn revenge against Masao Inoue for losing them the last match of the year. They went off together plot their two on one match against him.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Katsuhiko Nakajima
  Challenger: No challenger as of yet
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: No challenger as of yet
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: The M’s alliance (Naomichi Marufuji and Keiji Mutoh)
  Challengers: No challengers as of yet
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (HAYATA and Yoshinari Ogawa)
  Challengers: Perros Del Mal De Japon (YO-HEY and Kotaro Suzuki), NEW SUNRISE 2022 (Korakuen Hall, Tuesday 4th January 2022)
• GHC National Champion: Kenoh
  Challenger: No challenger as of yet

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(Full January schedule)

Tuesday, January 4th: NEW SUNRISE 2022

Start time: 18:30 JST

Broadcast: ABEMA, WrestleUniverse

*English commentary available on WrestleUniverse

Wednesday, January 5th: REBOOT 2022

Start time: 3pm JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

Wednesday, January 5th: Seiki Yoshioka (34)

Wednesday, January 5th: Katsuhiko Nakajima debut anniversary (18)

Thursday, January 6th: THE LEAVE presents N Innovation U-CUP

Start time: 18:00 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

Friday, January 7th: THE LEAVE presents N Innovation U-CUP

Start time: 18:00 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

Saturday, January 8th: New Japan vs NOAH

Start time: 5pm JST

Broadcast: ABEMA

– You will need to purchase the PPV from ABEMA TV as it will not be shown on either New Japan World or WrestleUniverse until a week after the original broadcast. The event will be broadcast from 5pm JST, and will cost you about $34. You can watch this from the 8th January to the 21st. I do advise that you read more about the viewing fee at the link above as ABEMA are advising that this is calculated to current exchange rates.

LINKS

Challenging New Japan from an “equal” standpoint, Director Narihiro Takeda talks about his approach

GIFs taken from WrestleUniverse.