NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.174 ~ 29TH MAY 2022

NEWS

“In Memory Of Our Misawa“

NOAH will hold a fan event on the anniversary of the death of Mitsuharu Misawa on the 13th June. There will no actual wrestling, save from the Misawa matches that will be streamed, and four of his attendants (Naomichi Marufuji, Kotaro Suzuki, Ippei Ota and Satoru Asako) will come together to remember him. The event will feature two talks, an exhibition of photographs and Misawa’s ring wear, the GHC Heavyweight belt, merchandise and photo and autograph opportunities. Please note NOAH have not announced this will be televised, but no doubt we will get some footage on NOAH’s official YouTube in due course.

Return to the source: NOAH return to Ariake

NOAH announced this week that on the 30th October, they would be holding their first show at the Ariake Arena. Ariake Arena was built on the complex where their old home Differ Ariake used to stand, and where NOAH had their dojo and offices from 2000 until 2016 when the site was sold and they relocated to Saitama. The area holds a lot of memories. It was here that generations (from the veterans to the last generation at Differ, Kaito Kiyomiya and Junta Miyawaki) grew up, it was where Misawa had his office and there were those nights when NOAH held shows at the Differ Ariake arena and the Ariake Coliseum just over the road. Fans also remember fondly the curry. One memory of Differ, which probably isn’t so innocent, was Takashi Sugiura walking around naked until someone working in the offices complained. I can only imagine what anyone driving past thought when they saw naked Sugi, the Wind-machine challenge, and of course the infamous Misawa & The NOAH Rangers…

The new Ariake Arena was built as part of an Olympic complex, and can seat 15,000 people. Go Shiozaki has vowed he will return in October as the GHC Heavyweight Champion.

Junta Miyawaki’s send off match

As he is leaving to train indefinitely in Mexico at Toryumon Casa, Junta Miyawaki will wrestle his last match before leaving at Club Citta on the 30th June. His opponent will be his old friend, and senior, Kaito Kiyomiya. Kiyomiya and Miyawaki have known each other since they were teenagers, Miyawaki entering the NOAH dojo after a consultation with Kiyomiya. Kiyomiya was delighted to have him as his first junior. There has been a lot of misconception about what Miyawaki is going to do in Mexico, but basically he is going out there to train at the facility run by Ultimo Dragon. As far as I know he will not be appearing for any Mexican promotions.

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Following on from Kenoh’s spicy noodle challenge, Kaito Kiyomiya took up the challenge with Chris Ridgeway and HAYATA. Kiyomiya, not to be outdone by Kenoh (who couldn’t finish one and whom he imitated at the start of the video), ate the whole pot without drinking any water, despite the fact he was visibly shaking and sweating. Simon Gotch arrived for practice, and tried one himself and said the pain was real. A photograph was taken of Gotch, with Kiyomiya’s knees and legs visible as he lay behind the ring in agony. Yoshiki Inamura said he tried the noodles and couldn’t finish them either, and that Kiyomiya was insane. Kenoh gave a typically unimpressed reaction.

– NOAH have held an art competition for fans. Simon Gotch entered by parodying himself and Tadasuke swearing at each other as Spiderman, and YO-HEY’S picture of Haoh as Rocket Slime from DragonQuest, gave rise to fan art of  a tiny Haoh in the form of Momotaro, emerging from either a peach or a husk of rice.

– Old friend of Daisuke Harada’s, Billyken Kid dropped by HARADA MEATS in Osaka. Harada was there, paying a rare visit home. Billyken Kid said he was shocked that Harada addressed his brother by his name (Akio) rather than the traditional Japanese “older brother” or “younger brother”.

– Naomichi Marufuji will miss the Club Citta event on the 30th May due to issues with his knee(s) that are causing pain. He can walk, but flexion is bad.

– I wonder how Junta Miyawaki will take his eventual return to Ariake when he eventually returns from training in Mexico. His seniors told him it was haunted!

– Junta Miyawaki has been warned by the NOAH Junior Regulars that when he is in Mexico, he is not to get a tattoo. Go Shiozaki also gave him some advice. Knowing that Miyawaki loves peppers, Shiozaki told him he would love Jalapeno. He also warned him to steer clear of KENSO.

– Yoshiki Inamura said that neighborhood children have been peeking into the NOAH dojo, curious about what goes on there. Some know about NOAH, others do not, but Inamura wants to be an inspiration for those children to follow their dreams in life.

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Go Shiozaki
  Challenger: Satoshi Kojima, CyberFight Festival, Sunday June 12th
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: TBA
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: Masa Kitamiya & Michael Elgin
  Challengers: TBA
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (Chris Ridgeway & Yoshinari Ogawa)
  Challengers: TBA
• GHC National Champion: Masakatsu Funaki
  Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(June schedule)

 NOAH Sanctuary

Monday, May 30th

Venue: NOAH Special Arena (Club Citta, Kawasaki)

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

Card preview

Tuesday 31st May: Takashi Sugiura (52)

SUNNY VOYAGE 2022

Sunday, June 5th (Niigata Aore Nagaoka)

Starts: 17.00 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

LINKS

Jun Akiyama “Great gerontocracy” at full throttle! “Sermon” to NOAH’s Marufuji, Kotoge and Inamura

Keiji Mutoh interview immediately prior to returning on 21st May in Ota Ward

BOOK CORNER

Donmai-Donmai (Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary)

Picture credit: Simon Gotch & Tokyo Sports

With thanks to: Metal-NOAH