NOAH WEEKLY NEWSLETTER VOL.180~ 19TH JULY 2022

NEWS

Kenoh becomes the 40th GHC Heavyweight Champion, second reign to usher in a NOAH for the younger wrestlers. 

Following a feud which involved arguments over squats, Lion push ups, push ups and then Kenoh doing karaoke (which he said he wouldn’t when Kojima mentioned it), Kenoh won the GHC Heavyweight Championship in 28 minutes and 17 seconds following the Moonsault Double Knee Attack. Kojima took so many PFS during the match, that the next day when taking a bath he wondered if he had broken ribs.

Kenoh’s first title reign was about taking NOAH back to The Budokan, his second title reign is about changing the dynamics in NOAH. Kenoh had stated throughout the build to the title match that he was going to create a new NOAH, and one where reliance was not put on the veterans, but rather the young people in NOAH (even Kaito Kiyomiya) who would finally get their say.

HAYATA defends, dangerous new challenger emerges

Despite matches ending in a kick to the head by Seiki Yoshioka (even in matches that Yoshioka wasn’t in), HAYATA defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight. Yoshioka had said an interview that he would end the match by “Critical Strike”, but ironically it was HAYATA who ended the match that way with The Headache. No reconciliation with STINGER in sight, Yoshioka slunk off backstage, vowing to get stronger and climb up again. HAYATA’S next challenger came to the ring when HAYATA was still lying on the mat.

It was Shuji Kondo, who fans said was HAYATA’S “most dangerous challenger so far”. Kondo is far more heavily built than any of HAYATA’S other challengers, and stronger too. They are not total strangers, having met before at Naomichi Marufuji’s “Flight”. Kondo did not mince his words, asking HAYATA if he knew the significance of his coming to stand in the ring, but then again, HAYATA didn’t speak, did he? He reminded HAYATA of the fact that he was once a GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion (September 2012) and he wanted that belt back.

HAYATA snatched the mic from Kondo and swore he would defeat him and raise the value of the belt. Backstage, Kondo said he was surprised that HAYATA could and did speak, while HAYATA (not looking into the camera but from side to side) said that he was happy that others had come from other promotions for the belt, but it would be himself who would defend and raise the value. Title match has been set for 5th August at Korakuen Hall.

GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles vacated and won by The Sugiura Army’s Hideki Suzuki and “eccentric partner” Timothy Thatcher

Due to what NOAH called “various circumstances” surrounding Michael Elgin, NOAH announced that the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles would be vacated, and Yoshiki Inamura would join Masa Kitamiya to fight for them. THE TOUGH were back together, but it was to be an unhappy reunion as Yoshiki Inamura was choked out by Hideki Suzuki leading to a match stop and the titles going to The Sugiura Army. Masa Kitamiya was furious and left screaming in rage, backstage he walked off angrily telling Inamura to “Get the hell out of my way!”. They will be teaming together again (albeit with the presence of Shuhei Taniguchi) on the 22nd July. It’s going to be interesting to see how it goes.

In the winners interview afterwards, Hideki Suzuki said he was not looking to the future, he was looking like he had always done, at the present. But regarding the future, the GHC Heavyweight and the GHC National beckoned.

STINGER & PERROS, Eita tells Chris Ridgeway to stay away for longer

Perros Del Mal De Japon got their revenge on Yoshinari Ogawa, for Ogawa abusing the “gift” that NOSAWA Rongai had tried to barter the GHC Junior Heavyweight tags in Shizuoka with, and throwing the white powder in the bag in Kotaro’s face. STINGER (and Kaito Kiyomiya) teamed up to beat on Kotaro, with Ogawa throwing so much powder that Kotaro was caked in it and looked like an elderly Geisha. Perros Del Mal De Japon got their revenge at The Nippon Budokan by keeping Yuya Susumu out of the ring, and torturing Yoshinari Ogawa. Backstage, Eita told Chris Ridgeway (whose surname he claimed not to remember until Kotaro reminded him) to stay in England for a while and not to rush back. It gave them more time to beat up Ogawa. Nothing has been announced regarding Ridgeway’s return as of yet.

“Three Treasures” from Keiji Mutoh

After weeks of preparation (which included reading every book he could, playing computer games with Keiji Mutoh in them, and practicing his moves) Kaito Kiyomiya faced Keiji Mutoh at The Nippon Budokan on the 16th July. This was to be their final singles match, and Kiyomiya knew this was his last chance. Mutoh had said he didn’t want Kiyomiya to put the old man out of his misery, but neither did he want him to be haunted by his ghost, and during the match both gave it their all, Mutoh even pulling out a clunky top rope Hurracanrunna. Kiyomiya worked throughout the match on Mutoh’s knees, and eventually did the unthinkable, he scored his one and only win by submission.

Backstage, Mutoh reflected that since Kiyomiya had defeated him, he was going to give him three gifts (ABEMA called these the “Three Treasures”) which were The Shining Wizard, The Dragon Screw and the The Figure Four. He wanted Kiyomiya to inherit them and take them forward and make them his own. Kiyomiya said that he had learned a lot from Mutoh, far more than he realized, and was seen after The Budokan was over practicing the moves that were now his for the N-1 VICTORY.

Masashi Aoyagi passes away

Masashi Aoyagi, who had been a big part of NOAH for the first fifteen years, passed away in early July. NOAH were affected by the loss, with Kotaro Suzuki and Akitoshi Saito remembering him in particular. Kotaro remembered him as a kind man when he was a trainee, who always had a smile, while Akitoshi Saito, who was Aoyagi’s student, remembered him as a strict but fair teacher. NOAH held the traditional ten bell salute on July 10th in Fujisan Messe, and Akitoshi Saito wore Aoyagi’s obi belt to the ring.

N-1 Victory 2022 announcement

The following were announced for the N-1 VICTORY 2022

A BLOCK

• Kenoh
• Kazuyuki Fujita
• Go Shiozaki
• Masato Tanaka
• Masaaki Mochizuki
• Hideki Suzuki
• El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr
• Anthony Greene

B BLOCK

• Masakatsu Funaki
• Kaito Kiyomiya
• Katsuhiko Nakajima
• Takashi Sugiura
• Masa Kitamiya
• Satoshi Kojima
• Timothy Thatcher
• Jack Morris

Kenoh as the reigning champion will be taking part this year. It has not been common in past years for champions to take part, as neither Kaito Kiyomiya or Naomichi Marufuji did. Kenoh says his biggest rival is Kazuyuki Fujita, who he has never forgiven for taking the GHC National from him.

Jack Morris, a Scottish wrestler, who competes for ICW, will be making his NOAH and N-1 VICTORY 2022 debut.

Yoshiki Inamura’s Fire Festival 2022

Yoshiki Inamura has made up for last years disappointment caused by a leg injury by blazing his way through the Fire Festival. He drew with Masato Tanaka and defeating Hide Kubota, Takafumi and Nagao Sasaki, which puts him at the top of the block. Now only Fuminori Abe remains on Wednesday 27th July. One fan said that Inamura was emotional at the NOAH fans calling his name.

ECW Reunion, NOSAWA wants Sabu

NOAH at the Nippon Budokan was an unlikely place for Masato Tanaka, Rob Van Dam and Super Crazy to reunite in a hardcore match, but that is exactly what happened. NOSAWA Rongai was part of the match, although he was the only one who had never been in ECW (although he probably would have liked to have been). The match, which was as RVD had commented structured like ECW wrestlers knew how, was won by RVD on NOSAWA. After the match NOSAWA (who had come to the ring clutching a Sabu autographed chair) planned to bring in Sabu for another ECW reunion hardcore match. RVD warned him to be careful what he wished for.

YouTube Wars

Kaito Kiyomiya announced on the 18th July, that he was starting his own YouTube channel. He acknowledged that he was not as skilled talker as Kenoh was, but he was planning to do things that he could do with his body. Kenoh naturally started grumbling that Kiyomiya was only starting a YouTube channel as Kiyomiya was jealous of his, (but could he sing what he did on karaoke?), while Naomichi Marufuji wondered if he should start his own. Even Katsuhiko Nakajima got in on the trend by saying that YouTube certainly was popular among NOAH wrestlers.

Naomichi Marufuji’s return

Naomichi Marufuji will return to NOAH on the 5th August, which is NOAH’s birthday. He will return at “Departure 2022” and team with Go Shiozaki and Takashi Sugiura against Satoshi Kojima, Masato Tanaka and Daiki Inaba.

ELSEWHERE IN NOAH

– Haoh still has not made an appearance. I am wondering if he will come back on the technicality that Tadasuke expelled Haoh, he is Yuki Sato.

– Daisuke Harada used sign language to talk to a child with hearing impairment at the NOAH autograph session by signing “Thank you” to them.

– In typical Sugiura Army chaos, they came out and stood in the wrong corner when seconding Hideki Suzuki, which meant they were supporting THE TOUGH. Hideki Suzuki asked them if they were enemies now.

– Naomichi Marufuji was offered a pen where if you tip it, the clothes on the woman fade away. He decided he did not need it.

– Tadasuke debuted a new costume at The Nippon Budokan, revealing his long pants could be torn off like stripper pants. It’s apt he did it when he was in the ring with YO-HEY, which is probably his revenge for having to sit and wait for The GinGin Boys to finish their entry.

– New Japan’s Kazuchika Okada used Mitsuharu Misawa’s Emerald Flowsion against Jeff Cobb in their G1 match.

– Chris Ridgeway and HAYATA will have a singles match at WrestleCarnival in Nottingham, United Kingdom, on August 7th. Chris Ridgeway is the current Pure Champion, and Yoshinari Ogawa has always wanted a title match with Chris in the UK. HAYATA will later face Dean Allmark when he appears later in the week for PROGRESS wrestling in the north of England.

– Dante Leon made his NOAH debut at the NOAH Budokan. An exciting wrestler who combines both mat and aerial wrestling, fans cannot wait to see him against the NOAH Juniors.

– Kaito Kiyomiya came to the press conference dressed so formally to announce his YouTube channel, that fans thought that he was going to announce his marriage.

EVENT RECAPS AND POST MATCH INTERVIEWS

SUNNY VOYAGE 2022

YAMAGATA BIG WING, YAMAGATA – SUNDAY, JULY 3RD

Event recap 

Post match interviews

FUJISAN MESSE, SHIZUOKA – SUNDAY, JULY 10TH

Event recap

Post match interviews

ABEMA PRESENTS DESTIONATION 2022 – NIPPON BUDOKAN, TOKYO

Event recap

Post match interviews

CURRENT CHAMPIONS

• GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kenoh
  Challenger: TBA
• GHC Junior Champion: HAYATA
  Challenger: Shuji Kondo, “DEPARTURE 2022”, 5th August, Korakuen Hall
• GHC Heavyweight Tag Champions: The Sugiura Army (Hideki Suzuki & Timothy Thatcher)
  Challengers: TBA
• GHC Junior Tag Champions: STINGER (Chris Ridgeway & Yoshinari Ogawa)
  Challengers: Perros Del Mal De Japon (Eita & Kotaro Suzuki), Postponed, replacement date to be advised
• GHC National Champion: Masakatsu Funaki
  Challenger: TBA

THIS WEEK IN NOAH

(July 2022 schedule)

STAR NAVIGATION 2022

• Thursday, July 21st

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Time: 18:30 JST

Broadcast: ABEMA

– The event will be put on WrestleUniverse after it finishes.

• Friday, July 22nd

Venue: Korakuen Hall, Tokyo

Time: 18:30 JST

Broadcast: WrestleUniverse (Live)

*Note about broadcasts

Unless you are living in Japan or have a VPN you know is compatible with ABEMA, please do not subscribe to the service. For fans living outside of Japan, a subscription to WrestleUniverse would be better as they show more NOAH shows than ABEMA, and usually the events get uploaded very quickly. ABEMA broadcasts are only in Japanese, you can only watch them live, and this is the only NOAH they show. They do not broadcast old shows as these belong to Samurai TV.

OTHER EVENTS

• July 9th: Road to Nippon Budokan special autograph session
• July 23rd & July 24th: Fan Meeting 2022 
• Sunday, July 24th: Hajime Ohara (38)
• Sunday, July 24th: Go Shiozaki debut anniversary (18)

LINKS

“One And The Same” Kaito Kiyomiya releases a devilish flash elbow to defeat Mutoh

Professional wrestler Kaito Kiyomiya talks about his thoughts on the battle with Keiji Mutoh, who will retire next spring

Fan Event Recap: Road to Nippon Budokan special autograph session

Yoshiki Inamura’s Injury Story (Part 1) 

Yoshiki Inamura’s Injury Story (Part 2)

“The future cannot really been seen, unless we create a new shine by ourselves”. Kojima, the impact of “Waiting”, the past…interview with Kenoh ahead of The Nippon Budokan

“NOAH’s Great Talent” Yoshiki Inamura to shoot to the top by taking the title at the ZERO-1 Fire Festival

GHC Junior Challenge – Interview with Seiki Yoshioka, keyword is “Critical Strike”, the ultimate finish for The Budokan semi

Reasons for Kaito Kiyomiya’s “Perfect Imitation” facing Keiji Mutoh on Retirement Road

Budokan GHC Junior Championship Match signing: Yoshioka openly announces KO, HAYATA “Can See How To Win”

NOAH’s Budokan GHC Pre Match Press Conference: Kenoh’s “Green Tie” declaration of recapture of treasure, “NOAH Now Is Me”, Kojima’s rivalry with the G1 opening round

The sudden change to the tag champion decisive match, Suzuki burns “Only the results matter”, explosive stand off with THE TOUGH

Ninja Mack, who has come to Japan for the first time in two months, is looking to challenge for a title. Press conference with Dante Leon for the first time

RVD “Show True Hardcore Fight”, Tanaka “Budokan like ECW Arena”, magnificent former ECW duo meet

“Toward a NOAH for young wrestlers to speak” Kenoh declares his statement of belief, N-1 VICTORY and Fujita humiliation

Kiyomiya announces opening of a YouTube channel, the press conference itself becomes a “Hidden Camera”

BOOK CORNER/OLD ARTICLE TRANSLATIONS

Donmai-Donmai (Mitsuharu Misawa’s diary)

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse, NOAH Official YouTube & Pro Wrestling NOAH Official Twitter