NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.171 ~ 8TH MAY 2022

NEWS

Its been another eventful week in NOAH.

Perros Del Mal De Japon leave NOAH

After himself, Kotaro Suzuki and Eita won the Triangle Gate Tag Championships on Thursday 5th May, NOSAWA Rongai announced backstage at DragonGate that his contract with NOAH had expired, and he thanked them for everything. Soon after this NOAH removed his profile and that of Eita, Kotaro Suzuki, Super Crazy and even Texano Jnr from the NOAH roster page and took down all their merchandise, as if to further hammer home the fact, they all released a new “Correlation Chart” of all units, title holders and their challengers, nowhere was Perros Del Mal mentioned. Rumors have been flying around as to who will be the new booker, with some gossip saying it will be Kendo Kashin, but nothing has been said for certain as to who (or whom) may take over or probably already has as NOSAWA would have let NOAH know weeks ago that he wasn’t staying on. Kotaro Suzuki’s leaving is a shame because this leaves unresolved issues behind with Yuya Susumu and Yoshinari Ogawa, but hopefully he will be back someday soon.

STINGER vs STINGER

Plans were naturally changed with the departure of Perros Del Mal De Japon, and so the challenge to the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Belts held by Yoshinari Ogawa and Chris Ridgeway, came not from Texano Jnr and Super Crazy, but from within STINGER themselves. At Korakuen Hall on Wednesday May 4th, Yuya Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka knocked down Ridgeway and Ogawa (HAYATA watched from the corner) and then stood over them with the belts. Yuya Susumu told his fallen comrades that they lost the belts through no fault of their own (note, Seiki Yoshioka was injured) and as there was no rule that the same unit could not challenge, they were coming to take them back. Then he and Yoshioka left with HAYATA. Backstage, the three were attacked by an irate Chris Ridgeway and Yoshinari Ogawa, who left them on the floor. Susumu and Yoshioka struck again the next day after the three man tag of Yoshinari Ogawa, Simon Gotch and Chris Ridgeway with Yoshioka kicking Ogawa in the head and making him crumple to the mat. The pair vowed they would wear them down like this.

HAYATA is stuck in the middle of this situation. It’s true Ogawa did kind of force him to take sides, but HAYATA did originally choose to leave with his old friends. Things will be revealed hopefully on as to where he stands on the 19th May when HAYATA teams with Chris Ridgeway and Yoshinari Ogawa, against Seiki Yoshioka, Yuya Susumu and Kai Fujimura (Yoshioka and Susumu are confidently saying that HAYATA will be on their side). HAYATA, however, has other problems.

Xtreme Tiger challenges for the GHC Junior Heavyweight

Xtreme Tiger challenged HAYATA for the title at Korakuen Hall on the 5th May, by standing on the turnbuckles after the match and staring at him, making belt motions. HAYATA turned around and got in the ring holding up the belt. Xtreme Tiger said that the “prey” was HAYATA and the target was the belt, which he would take back to Tijuana. HAYATA surprisingly commented (backstage and alone, if things were not odd enough) and said he would defend the belt anytime and anywhere.

Ninja Mack to return in July on a exclusive contract 

Ninja Mack will return to NOAH throughout 2022 and 2023 on a one year exclusive contract as foreign talent. This will not affect any domestic bookings or any other bookings abroad, but what this does mean is that he can only work Japan for NOAH. Naomichi Marufuji said that Ninja Mack will return to NOAH in July, and he hopes to see him with a belt before long. He also considers him part of the NOAH family, which is a high accolade.

King Tany abdicates, will become Shuhei Taniguchi again

Funky Express dismal record of wins and achievements finally caught up with the unit when they were destroyed by Kongoh’s Katsuhiko Nakajima and HI69 at Korakuen Hall on the 5th May. Wrestling fans know that when two wrestlers of the same unit/team stay in the ring to talk after the match, then something is going to happen. In this case it was King Tany and Mohammed Yone who were having words, and Yone left first. Backstage, Tany thanked Yone for everything, and said he was quitting Funky Express and King Tany, and going back to his old name. Yone bore no ill will, but it remains to be seen what will happen between himself and Akitoshi Saito.

Les Mexicanas challenged for the belts the day after winning them

Les Mexicana’s (Rene Dupree and El Hijo De Dr Wagner Jnr) took back the tag belts they had to vacate due to the Coronavirus pandemic, by defeating Hideki Suzuki and Takashi Sugiura on the 4th May at Korakuen Hall. Hideki Suzuki knew they won fair and square and so congratulated them on their win. Takashi Sugiura I think was relieved to be out of the spotlight for now (he has not even posted on social media since Shinjiro Otani’s accident) and like his partner shook hands with new champions. They were challenged the next by the new tag team of Masa Kitamiya and Michael Elgin. This happened at NOAH’s last event, Thursday May 5th, after Masa Kitamiya made El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr tap to the Prison Lock.

NOAH Junior Twitter Spaces

With the success of the Twitter Space used by the NOAH Junior Regulars, Daisuke Harada sent out feelers to fans asking them if they wanted them to do another one. Fan response was so positive that the NOAH Junior Regulars will hold another one on the 10th May at 8pm JST.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

Dream on 2022

Korakuen Hall, Wednesday 4th May 2022

Event recap

Post match interviews

Korakuen Hall, Thursday 5th May 2022

Event recap

Post match interviews

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– In his latest column, Kenoh said that he wants a singles match with a stipulation against Sanshiro Takagi. The stipulation is that if Kenoh loses (which he says he won’t) then he stops using the name “Kenoh”, but if Sanshiro Takagi loses then he is banished from wrestling. Kenoh says this is not a retirement match as Takagi cannot be considered a wrestler.

– Mohammed Yone said that King Tany’s wife did indeed divorce him!

– HAYATA is being far more vocal than usual recently, but yet went back to hiding behind the GHC Junior Heavyweight when STINGER posed for a (ultra rare) group picture.

– The Spanish word “Cabron” has entered NOAH via the Luchadores, with Tadasuke and Masa Kitamiya picking it up.

– Satoshi Kojima has highly praised Yoshiki Inamura following their singles match, saying that he feels that Inamura will become a person of importance in supporting wrestling in the future. He cannot believe that both himself and Kinya Okada are at the stage they are at and don’t even have a long career so far.

– Simon Gotch and Kaito Kiyomiya are developing a rivalry, with Kiyomiya saying that Gotch has awakened his Canadian training and all the things he did not think would transfer well to a Japanese ring, he can do on him. It also seems that Gotch is affiliated with STINGER. As well as Kaito Kiyomiya, Gotch’s sights remain on Masakatsu Funaki.

– Fujita “Jr” Hayato has returned to the Michinoku Pro ring. In an interview done in January 2022, he spoke of his desire to face his old enemy Kenoh. Kenoh backed this up. Nothing has been announced as of yet, but now that Hayato is back there is a possibility of this happening.

– Playful Old Man Machine No1 and Playful Old Man Machine No2, where warned by Kenoh to never ever ever darken the ring when Kongoh are in it ever ever again. Kongoh are aiming for the top, and do not have time for this foolishness…which involved swapping places, ambushing Kongoh and trying to throw them off the Korakuen Hall balcony.

– Satoshi Kojima won the first round of the GHC Heavyweight pre matches by pinning Go Shiozaki. Shiozaki has made no comment, but Kojima says that his spirit and his heart are in his heyday, even if his body is not. One day he would like to face Mutoh in a singles match.

– YO-HEY, Ninja Mack and Naomichi Marufuji semi imitated the Kongoh pose at Ninja Mack’s last match in NOAH before he returns in July. Kenoh of course started yelling loudly at them.

– Kazuyuki Fujita will return to NOAH on the 21st May, he will face Kinya Okada in the opening match.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki
  Challenger: Satoshi Kojima, CyberFight Festival, Sunday June 12th
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: Xtreme Tiger, “Dream on 2022 Final”, Ota Ward Gymnasium, 21st May 2022
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Les Mexicanas (Rene Dupree and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr)
  Challengers: Masa Kitamiya & Michael Elgin, “Dream on 2022 Final”, Ota Ward Gymnasium, 21st May 2022
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (Chris Ridgeway & Yoshinari Ogawa)
  Challengers: STINGER (Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu), “Dream on 2022 Final”, Ota Ward Gymnasium, 21st May 2022
• GHC National Champion: Masakatsu Funaki
  Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(May schedule)

All cards for CyberFestival 2022 will be announced on the 10th May live on NOAH’s official YouTube at 12pm JST.

N-Innovation

Saturday, May 14th

Venue: Yokohama Radiant Hall

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse (17:30 JST)

With thanks to: Metal-NOAH

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse