(NOAH HIGHLIGHT REEL) Episode 1 - January 2016

These shows were known as "Next Noah" and they ran from January 2016 to March 2017, there were about fifteen episodes in total.

The first episode opens with shots of young people on their coming of age day (Seijin no Hi) which is held annually on the second Monday of January, when they officially become adults at twenty-one (in 2018 Japan passed a law that the age of legal adulthood is now eighteen, this will come into effect in 2022).

2016: New Years greetings from Kenoh

Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya (who looks like he is going swimming) and Hajime Ohara start the episode off. Kenoh welcomes us to the first episode in his own style. 

Trust Masa Kitamiya to mess everything up, and Kenoh (who in those days wielded a kendo stick), bashes him on the head (with comedy sound affects) and calls him an asshole and a fool.

Kakizome
New Years Calligraphy, traditionally done on January 2nd. In the past people would compose poems, these days they usually write a word (although school pupils still write poetry as homework assignments).

Hajime Ohara: Super
Kenoh points at it, and asks him if he had practiced it (he also addresses him as "Hajime-Chan" which indicates informality as he does not use "san"). Hajime Ohara gives a long explanation of its meaning and how to pronounce it.

Kenoh: Challenge

Masa Kitamiya: Summit or Peak

They have also chosen words which start with "chou" (which is a play on their stable name, "Choukibou-gun"), put together all three words mean "super challenge" which is what Kenoh starts shrieking about for 2016. Then Masa Kitamiya leaps across and yells "Year of The Monkey! Year of The Monkey!"

Kenoh (with a big smile on his face) smacks him with the cane and calls him a fool and says that everyone already knows.

We then get a few clips at a look at what is going on in Noah at that time, and what is coming up.
2016 was the Suzuki-Gun era, and during it, Takashi Sugiura had betrayed Noah for them. It is not an easy thing for me to summarise, as I can't stand seeing how unhappy Takashi Sugiura was during it.
Other items include Go Shiozaki was teaming with Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Katsuhiko Nakajima joining Noah.
And a usual staple of the show, Kaito Kiyomiya's training

"Destiny 2015" (also known as Noah vs Suzuki Gun) took place on Wednesday December 23rd 2015.
Katsuhiko Nakajima took on Sheldon Benjamin. Nakajima had signed with Noah (the place he had partly grown up in), the next day on December 24th 2015. 
The tag team of Atsushi Kotoge and Daisuke Harada (who defiantly unveiled a Noah towel) defeated TAKA Michinoku & El Desperado and became the GHC Junior Tag Champions for the first time.
Taiji Ishimori defeated Taichi for the GHC Junior Heavyweight title. Ironically afterwards he celebrated by holding a Noah towel up. I say ironic as in 2018 he quit Noah to freelance, and that included freelancing in New Japan.

Kenoh comes to challenge Ishimori for the GHC Junior Title (I get the impression that his column about his leaving Noah in 2018 was probably much the same as this promo)

Ishimori, however, doesn't have long to celebrate as Kenoh appears to challenge him. "Hey! Ishimori! Look at it!" (Kenoh is a lot more animated in these earlier promos than he was in later ones). He also tells him that he is out of his depth, and he (Kenoh) will challenge for the belt. 

The look on Ishimori's face is comical.

Then there is more Suzuki-Gun misery with Katsuhiko Nakajima and Mohammed Yone, who are facing off against K.E.S (Harry Smith Jnr and Lance Archer) after they have destroyed Colt Cabana and Chris Hero.

Naomichi Marufuji vs Minoru Suzuki took place on the 23rd December 2015, with Naomichi Marufuji getting the meaningful win with the Emerald Flowsion. Afterwards Takeshi Sugiura defects to Suzuki-Gun by attacking Marufuji after the win, and then joining with the invaders. Sugiura's whole participation in this came off as looking like someone who had been forced to betray his old friends for newer ones, but only because someone else did, and he was deeply unhappy with it.
Despite all of this, Noah went into 2016 holding all the titles (aside from the Heavyweight Tag)

After walking out of Noah in protest over Noah's firing of Kenta Kobashi, Go Shiozaki returned in late 2015. Marufuji lay in the corner of the ring, and he offered his hand to him. Marufuji hesitated, reached out and then withdrew it. While Go Shiozaki was welcomed back to Noah, it was made very clear to the audience, that he wasn't going to be forgiven or trusted that easily. Marufuji did eventually accept his help, but not now. Afterwards, Go Shiozaki reflects on it that there is a limit to what one person can do, and that Marufuji will need his help eventually.
Yoshinobu Kanemaru walks in there for the match signing\press conference as he and Kanemaru were a team at that point. 
Once upon a time Yoshinobu Kanemaru left All Japan during the walk out with Misawa, then he walked out from Noah in 2014 to return to All Japan. Freelancing afterwards he turned up in Noah first of all to team with Shiozaki, who he then ditched to be with the Suzuki Army. It is something that Noah have never forgiven him for, and as a result he was not included in 2018 for Marufuji's 20th anniversary - although Kotaro Suzuki, who also walked out with Kobashi, is (and Go Shiozaki was given an executive position in August 2016 which he has held ever since).

Part of the program (usually the latter part) is a look at some aspect of Kaito Kiyomiya's training, he was at that point Noah's newest debut, and a shy, awkward, nervous nineteen year old.
At the time of his debut, Kiyomiya was 180cms and weighed 85 kg (in 2018 he is about 100kgs, having taken advice from Kenta Kobashi about finding a weight that works and then adjusting it. Kiyomiya never had a problem with turning heavyweight due to his height, but his problem came from finding the right weight as he found he couldn't breathe). Nerves in 2018 are not too much of an issue as they were in 2016 (although they were at the beginning of the year when he first returned from abroad).
His debut match is viewed at the dojo with his trainers (Kiyomiya was the last generation of Noah to grow up at Differ Ariake), Atsushi Kotoge (who in two years time will be a nutcase wearing a cape who will repeatedly offer Kaito Kiyomiya one and be repeatedly turned down), Daisuke Harada, Masa Kitamiya and opponent Hitoshi Kumano (Yoshinari Ogawa is not there, as he works the opening matches so he can work with the rookies), and Takashi Okita (retired wrestler who worked for a time as a trainer).

Although he is only nineteen, at 5'11, Kiyomiya towers over everyone else.
Throughout the whole video, poor Kiyomiya looks like he is on trial as he watches himself come racing out the curtain with his shaved head (all trainees have these until their debut, after that they can wear their hair how they like) and his turquoise green trunks. He pauses, bows, and then gets in the ring where he has an attack of nerves as he bounces around. Kiyomiya didn't stop doing this until Noah made the decision to team him with Go Shiozaki, who took the boy under his wing and mentored him.
The trainers find his bowing to all corners amusing, then we see footage of his debut match versus Hitoshi Kumano.
The crowd chants "Kaito! Kaito!" for him.
Kiyomiya at this age is like most other rookies, all arms, elbows and knees.
And yes, everyone points and reacts when footage is shown of Naomichi Marufuji watching with Atsushi Kotoge (Marufuji had pegged Kiyomiya as one of the future stars of Noah).

Next segment is Kaito Kiyomiya training (he's practising top turnbuckle moves like missle dropkicks and dives for his debut) watched by Atsushi Kotoge and Masa Kitamiya.
The boy gets the hang of it quickly, and then its on to missile dropkicks. Prior to this we see footage of Katsuhiko Nakajima doing this. Its funny that they show him as he once claimed he didn't often do them as he felt wobbly on the top rope - this was then immediately disproved by people posting numbered pictures on Twitter, and the fact that in a recent match he'd done one on Jay Bradley.

Anyway, Kiyomiya does on one on Hitoshi Kumano and sends him flying. In a panic (and in tears) Kiyomiya scrambles over to where he is rolling on the floor (earlier Daisuke Harada had said something like he has good height and power), but Masa Kitamiya tells him that he needs to watch the power. Everyone is in agreement though that the child is ready for his debut.