NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.176 ~ 13TH JUNE 2022

NEWS

Satoshi Kojima becomes the new GHC Heavyweight Champion

Satoshi Kojima not only defeated Go Shiozaki in the final pre match on the 8th June at the second night at Korakuen Hall, which was humiliating enough, but ended his fifth record breaking title reign at CyberFight Festival on the 12th. Exhausted but happy, and thanking Shiozaki for the match, Kojima’s party was crashed by Kenoh who had come to challenge for the title. Kenoh immediately launched into a rant, telling Kojima that NOAH was not the place for people from New Japan (himself, Keiji Mutoh and Kazuyuki Fujita) to come and take cushy jobs. Kojima, not impressed by Kenoh’s tone told him to speak to his elders a little more politely, but he would take his challenge, partly because he did not like his tone and also because he had never encountered Kenoh before. Title match has been set for the Nippon Budokan on the 16th July.

Keiji Mutoh announces his retirement

Keiji Mutoh’s last NOAH match in Ota Ward on May 21st started with high hopes as he felt his condition has improved, and ended with disappointment as he started feeling pain again. Hobbling to the steps and looking at what was going on in the ring, it was obvious in Mutoh’s eyes what reality was dawning on him. Backstage he said he would be making an announcement, and NOAH said he would be making it at CyberFight Festival on the 12th June. NOAH seemed eager to deflect what everyone knew (i.e. he would be retiring) by running a video where members of the NOAH roster (plus Jushin Lyger) speculated on what it could be i.e. going abroad, starting a new promotion etc.

Mutoh made the much expected announcement that he would be retiring next spring, after his 60th birthday. Between now and then he would have only five more matches. Naomichi Marufuji, who is currently injured himself due to knee issues, has sworn he will be in one of those matches. Backstage, Mutoh elaborated on his condition. Between Ota Ward and now he had seen his doctor, who had warned him that his hip was becoming as bad as his knees had been, and he was facing a hip replacement if he went on and a hip replacement meant he would never wrestle again. Mutoh said the decision to retire was his doctors, and not his own, but he knew that he had no choice in the matter. As for surgery, he would sort that out after his retirement. Speaking of his retirement, had he made any plans for a show yet? Mutoh said he hadn’t given it much thought but he knew there was a lot to think about, especially regarding who he would invite, as some of those people were overseas. NOAH are yet to announce Mutoh’s final five match schedule. Mutoh had once called Pro Wrestling a race that has no finish line, but now he understood that the finish line was in sight.

What about The Great Muta? Mutoh couldn’t say whether or not he would appear again before the gates of The Underworld close for the last time.

Rob Van Dam to return to NOAH in July, challenged by NOSAWA Rongai to a hardcore match

Rob Van Dam reunited with old rival Yoshinari Ogawa (they never teamed together during their All Japan years) and HAYATA to take on Kaito Kiyomiya, YO-HEY and Daisuke Harada. The match was won by Van Dam, who did the frog splash on Daisuke Harada. For YO-HEY the match was a young mans dream come true, while Kaito Kiyomiya lamented that he did not have much of a chance to fight Van Dam.

Backstage, Van Dam announced that he was planning to come back to NOAH, when NOSAWA Rongai (who was not on the card that night) crashed his interview and challenged him to a hardcore match at the Nippon Budokan in July, which he would be bringing his “friends” to. Van Dam accepted, and found that he didn’t have to look for a partner, as Masato Tanaka has nominated himself.

NOAH vs DDT does not go as planned

Sadly, the NOAH vs DDT match of Jun Akiyama, Tetsuya Endo and Kazusada Higuchi vs Katsuhiko Nakajima, Atsushi Kotoge and Yoshiki Inamura did not go as planned when Endo suffered a concussion following a strike from Katsuhiko Nakajima and the match was stopped. Akiyama was not happy with Nakajima and could be seen in the ring having serious words with him. Nakajima’s face was blank. Matters are still up in the air as to what will happen. Fortunately, Endo has suffered no lasting problems although he will miss a little time, but unfortunately, Nakajima has gone silent on social media which has made fans worry as to how he is. What will happen next (if anything) is up in the air.

Kenoh vs Daisuke Sasaki

After their elaborate ring entries (Kenoh entered looking as if he was on fire and singing along in usual aggressive loud shouty manner with The Garlic Boys who were performing live, while Daisuke Sasaki had an army of ghouls and zombies) Kenoh and Sasaki got down to the promised hardcore match. Despite being NOAH’s most grumpy man, Kenoh does have a sense of humor, especially when the Samurai helmet was put on his head, and the blow up doll was thrown into the ring, all to distract him from being hit with a chair. The match saw table shots, the stun gun (which Kenoh had sarcastically been saying he was craving a shot of), chairs, a ladder, and in usual DDT style a coffin dragged out from under the ring, filled with thumb tacks by Sasaki, who then found himself slammed on it. The match finished with Kenoh getting the win via a massive PFS from the top of the ladder.

Backstage, Kenoh it seemed finally understood the essence of DDT as he was unexpectedly complimentary of them. I think because he finally realized that they were not trying to be anything other than themselves and were doing their own thing and not trying to be anyone else. Daisuke Sasaki however, pinned his loss on the fact he went in representing DDT and of course, Sanshiro Takagi.

Open The Triangle Gate from Perros Del Mal De Japon to STINGER to The NOAH Junior Regulars and back again? 

Perros Del Mal De Japon came back to NOAH at Ota Ward on the 21st May and immediately made a nuisance of themselves charging into the STINGER vs STINGER title match and getting it thrown out. Perros nominated STINGER as their challengers, and found they had bitten off more than they could chew when STINGER (Yoshinari Ogawa, Yoshinari Ogawa and Seiki Yoshioka) took the belts from them on the 7th June. Ogawa had said in an interview that if they won, they would nominate The NOAH Junior Regulars (YO-HEY, Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge) as their challengers. Ogawa didn’t have to wait to nominate them, as they nominated themselves, and the title match was set for the following night on Wednesday 8th June. The belts changed hands once again when Daisuke Harada pinned Yoshioka, and the NOAH Junior Regulars were challenged by Perros Del Mal De Japon. Match will take place on the 23rd June at Shinjuku Face at the N-INNOVATION.

Seiki Yoshioka and Yuya Susumu fall out

While The NOAH Junior Regulars were celebrating their win (YO-HEY in particular, as this was a dream come true), STINGER where having an argument as Seiki Yoshioka was furious with Yuya Susumu. Prior to the match, Susumu had said that since Yoshioka had gotten them the belts, he would be the one to defend them. During the match he had accidentally hit Yoshioka, and this had led to the win. Checking on Yoshioka after the match meant that he was shoved away, Ogawa was shoved away and HAYATA, who was at ringside and stood in front of Yoshioka, was also shoved away. Both Ogawa and HAYATA have stayed out of this, knowing that this is an argument between Susumu and Yoshioka.

Backstage, Yoshioka said he was leaving STINGER, while Susumu said that if he did that then he would never forgive him. They had tagged for years, had he thought about that? Later, he posted that they were STINGER, and Yoshioka would come round as soon as he calmed down. They will have a tag versus each other on the 19th June and then a singles at the N-INNOVATION on the 23rd.

Hajime Ohara challenges HAYATA for the GHC Junior Heavyweight

Hajime Ohara has challenged HAYATA for the GHC Junior Heavyweight. He made his challenge on the 8th June at Korakuen Hall with the title match set for the N-INNOVATION on 23rd June. HAYATA scoffed at Ohara’s challenging him, saying the match would be an “easy victory” with “no losing factor” and he was looking ahead to the next challenger.

Loser leaves NOAH

Fed up with Haoh humiliating HI69, Tadasuke attacked him so savagely with kicks and stamps that the referee stopped the match on the 7th June. Standing over Haoh, Tadasuke spoke on the microphone and challenged him to a match with a stipulation. Tadasuke was not going to be putting his hair on the line (god forbid), but he was going to put his employment with NOAH on it. At the N-INNOVATION on the 23rd June, someone will be leaving NOAH.

Masato Tanaka challenges Masakatsu Funaki

Masato Tanaka made Masakatsu Funaki tap on the 7th June, and thereby won the right to challenge for the GHC National Title. Match has been set for the 19th June. Tanaka says this will be their first normal singles match, the last one they did was a hardcore blast.

Timothy Thatcher is X

Timothy Thatcher was revealed to be the mysterious X who would be teaming with “NOAH International” as Rene Dupree called them (himself, Michael Elgin, Simon Gotch, Timothy Thatcher and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Junior). In his backstage promo following the revelation at Korakuen Hall, Rene Dupree took the chance to take a small dig at their former employers by saying, “He’s coming from a long far away land, where he wasn’t give the right opportunities.” So far in NOAH, he has gotten the win over Shuhei Taniguchi in a singles.

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Masakatsu Funaki was the one who did the standard Kenoh match bicycle spot, when he came cycling down the ramp looking a little wobbly (I think Funaki is more used to motorbikes than peddle bikes), to collide with Daisuke Sasaki, who Manabu Soya was holding. Unfortunately, he collided with Manabu Soya instead.

– Simon Gotch saw Yoshiki Inamura’s new costume and asked him if he was Razor Ramon HG?

– Kinya Okada won the spicy noodles challenge, he is now the second person in NOAH to have finished them.

– Akitoshi Saito has decided to continue on with Funky Express.

– STINGER entered to the lights turned off in the arena on the 7th June. Yoshinari Ogawa complained to the ref. Ironic that this should happen to STINGER, NOAH’s most reclusive unit.

– Yoshiki Inamura debuted new music at CyberFight Festival.

– Rene Dupree considers himself the most handsome member of The Sugiura Army.

EVENT RECAPS & POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

• Sunny Voyage 2022 (Sunday June 4th, Niigata/Aore Nagaoka)

Post match interviews

• Star Navigation 2022 (Korakuen Hall Night 1, Tuesday 7th June)

Event recap

Post match interviews

• Star Navigation 2022 (Korakuen Hall Night 2, Wednesday 8th June)

Event recap

Post match interviews

• CyberFight Festival (Saitama Super Arena, 12th June 2022)

Event recap

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Satoshi Kojima
  Challenger: Kenoh, “ABEMA presents DESTINATION 2022”, Nippon Budokan, 16th July
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: Hajime Ohara, N-INNOVATION, Shinjuku FACE, 23rd June
• 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: Masato Tanaka, BACK IN THE KOBE! – Live 2022 – Kobe Sanbo Hall, Kobe, 19th June

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(June schedule)

BACK IN THE KOBE! – LIVE 2022 –

Sunday, June 19th (Kobe Sanbo Hall, Hyogo)

Starts: 16:00 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse

LINKS

In Memory Of Our Misawa

“Show NOAH’s Fight at CyberFight Festival where Pro Wrestling is condensed”

“I want to protect the GHC after fully drawing out the strength of Satoshi Kojima” Go Shiozaki’s confidence for the GHC Championship, but “My lariat is not yet enough”

Costume research – Yoshiki Inamura

What was the real intension of approaching DDT for a joint practice? Interview with NOAH’s Kinya Okada and Kai Fujimura

BOOK CORNER

Donmai-Donmai (Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary)

With thanks to: Metal-NOAH

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse