(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) Kaito Kiyomiya ~ GHC Heavyweight Championship

December 16, 2018

(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) Kaito Kiyomiya ~ GHC Heavyweight Championship

Won: from Takashi Sugiura, 16th December 2018 at "Great Voyage in Yokohama Vol.2"
Number of title reigns: 0
Number of defenses: 7
Lost: to Go Shiozaki, 4th January 2020 at "A NEW SUNRISE, DAY1", Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Total number of days held: 384

Challengers
1. Kenoh
2. Masa Kitamiya
3. Naomichi Marufuji
4. Takashi Sugiura
5. Katsuhiko Nakajima
6. The N-1 Victory winner ~ Kenoh
7. Go Shiozaki

Chronology

VS Kenoh

After Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Takashi Sugiura, he was immediately challenged by Kenoh.
Kenoh told him that absolutely nothing of what he had just done made an impact on him whatsoever. Kiyomiya (very politely as ever) told him that he wasn't the same person that Kenoh had faced in January 2018, this time, it was going to be very different.

Title match has been arranged for the 6th January at Korakuen Hall (event will be broadcast live).

The two of them had their first clash at "NOAHFul Gift" 2018, which is Noah's Christmas show. It was meant to be a "random drawing", and while the inclusion of the rookie Kinya Okada (who stole the show might have been random), no one actually believed that Kenoh vs Kiyomiya was. The ref had to separate them at the beginning, and then at the end. There might have been a short build to this match, but they carried it off to perfection. The again, Kenoh vs Kiyomiya, never needs a long build, a match and a pre-match is sufficient to build up tension between them, the fans always screaming for it to happen, and this is only their second title match.

Throughout the whole (short) pre-match lead up, Kenoh swung between a concerned older brother, worried that the young 22 year old Kiyomiya was not ready to carry the weight of the company being the GHC Heavyweight Champion and that it would make things difficult for him in later life, a teacher (he said he would show Kiyomiya how it was done to have a good match and carry a company during a match), and a schoolyard bully who would beat him up for his milk money.
Unfortunately, Kiyomiya could not compete with the force of nature that was Kenoh, and once again came off as sounding very polite, although he did manage a long lingering glare at him.

Kiyomiya may not have been ready for their first GHC Heavyweight clash in January 2017, and perhaps only partially ready for their next one when they fought for the number one contendership later that year, but he was ready this time, and the match bought the house down. Kiyomiya had learned how to dodge Kenoh's attacks, he also knew when to lull him into a false sense of security, he took bumps off of the apron, and did a spectacular somersault over the iron railing and into Kenoh (who he was lucky he caught him as he almost overshot and went smack into the wooden bleachers). They fought tooth and nail, and when they were worn down, they fought down to bone, and ground that to dust. They fought until neither could stand.
It was Kaito Kiyomiya, this "green boy", whom Kenoh had dismissed him as in January 2018, who got the win via the Tiger Suplex, and retained the title.
Later, Kiyomiya would say in interviews that he owed everything to Kenoh, had it not been for his defeat by him, then he may never have come this far.

Atsushi Kotoge & Masa Kitamiya

After Kiyomiya had made his speech about being Noah's face in 2019, Noah's resident lunatic, Atsushi Kotoge came out wearing his cloak with the high collar (the orange one had been befouled earlier in the evening when Minoru Tanaka had used it to buff Hi69's ass), and in typical style (part head trauma, part needs his Ritalin), Kotoge made his challenge for the GHC by proposing that "we make a revolution together".
Then the much saner Masa Kitamiya appeared and said that the GHC did not need a comedy wrestler, and made his challenge. He also warned Kiyomiya that he wasn't going to worship him, and he refused to be a "shrine carrier".
Kiyomiya, as ever polite, didn't make any comment, and both of them left the ring awaiting his decision. Kiyomiya later said he left it to the company to sort the situation out, and Noah arranged a number one contenders match for the 20th January, the winner will face Kaito Kiyomiya for the title on the 1st February...which incidentally is the day when Naomichi Marufuji returns from injury.

vs Masa Kitamiya

Masa Kitamiya defeated Atsushi Kotoge in the number one contendership match on the 20th January. Kaito Kiyomiya watched from ringside, the belt over his shoulder and not on the table in front of him which is as per usual.
After getting rid of Kotoge (who at one point tried to lock him in somewhere), Kitamiya told Kiyomiya that;

Until now you have had a wonderful path as champion, but I will end that on February 1st.

Kiyomiya: I will defend this belt!

Neither Masa Kitamiya or Kaito Kiyomiya managed to get the win over each other during their pre-matches, pinfalls were usually taken by or on someone on the opposing team, they never pinned each other directly. What was so disappointing about this feud was that they seemed to have no chemistry together, not when compared to Kenoh vs Kiyomiya. I think Kitamiya is frustrated by it, especially since all Kiyomiya's response to Kitamiya (who calls him a "good boy honor student") , has been "I will defend the belt on the 1st February".

In the last pre-match before Korakuen Hall, the two squared up after the match. Kitamiya side suplexed Kiyomiya, and then posed over him, one foot on his chest.
Kiyomiya's concern was more towards the insult towards the belt, rather than what had just happened to him.

Although they gave everything they had to the title match in Korakuen Hall, and Kiyomiya was victorious, this feud did not have the same spark as did Kiyomiya vs Kenoh (who Kiyomiya works very well with, and is one of the few people he will actually be almost rude to, even if he hasn't gone past glaring at him). I think Kitamiya might have felt a little frustrated over his calling Kiyomiya a "good little honor student" and only getting in return, "I will defend" or, "I will not give up this belt".
Kiyomiya really needs to work on his presence and his promo skills.
The title match however, was Match of The Year worthy.

VS Naomichi Marufuji

After the match with Masa Kitamiya, Naomichi Marufuji (now returned from injury which stopped his competing in the finals of Global League 2018 versus Kaito Kiyomiya) came out to the ring, and challenged for the belt;

"You won the belt that I was supposed to win, by winning Global League, that I was meant to win. Even so, I do not fear your strength. Do you understand why you are champion? I know everything seems okay thanks to the cheers of the fans, but I have confidence that I will win, no matter how many fans are behind you. I did think about listening to your answer, but there is only one. Your answer is only "do it!"

Unlike Kenoh (who would have gripped the microphone and started swearing), Kiyomiya was as ever polite and said that he thought Marufuji was going to come out and thanked him for his challenge.

Title match will take place on the 10th March in Yokohama.

As he realized that he couldn't compete with Kiyomiya's youth, (and especially since he came to the realization that his body was "older than I thought" after injury and therefore couldn't really do any of the aerial maneuvers anymore), Marufuji went for a ground based psychological approach in wearing Kiyomiya down in the pre-matches, by attacking first his arm, and warning him in a after match promo (Kiyomiya looked half angry, half terrified) that he was going to "take him apart, bit by bit. Next is is your leg".
Kiyomiya vowed that he would, "find the weakness of the genius" before his body broke down.
Kenoh has also appeared in the mix, saying that in the title match he will support Marufuji, and will second him. Kenoh's reason for this is half care that Kiyomiya loses the belt (both out of jealous revenge and some kind of concern that Kiyomiya is not ready) and that HE wants to be the one to challenge Marufuji first.

Naomichi Marufuji worked on Kiyomiya's left arm during the pre-matches, and when he saw a picture of him smiling at a fan event surrounded by fans after the Tokorozawa event, he commented darkly (and with a smirking ikon that Katsuhiko Nakajima uses), "You smile, even after I have attacked your left arm. There will be more...more...."
Despite his threat to attack Kiyomiya's legs, Marufuji worked again on the arm when they had their match at Korakuen Hall, he also stood staring unflinchingly at Kiyomiya as Daisuke Harada and Minoru Tanaka fought in the ring.
In what is a change for Marufuji, he started to use submission moves on Kiyomiya, which he doesn't really do and hasn't really done much of, relying more on kicks, strikes and punches, submission moves have never been a strong part of his moveset, but I think now with him being forty this year, realizing that his body is older than he thought, and it probably in the back of his mind that he needs to take care of himself a little more, we may see more of them come in regularly. Marufuji applied a chicken wing on Kiyomiya, who later applied his chicken wing face-lock on him, but Marufuji made him tap out by using what he described as "the perfect Key Lock".
Afterwards, and with a cold sadistic smile on his face, Marufuji bent down and pressed an ice pack on Kiyomiya's arm.

Kiyomiya and Marufuji would meet in the main event of "Great Voyage in Yokohama 2019" on the 10th March, at the first event of the new Noah. Gone was the green ring, gone was the logo. The roster came out to the new theme, and stood on the stage before the ramp. Kiyomiya as the GHC Heavyweight champion, and Naomichi Marufuji as his challenger, came and stood in the ring in silence. They didn't make a speech or cut a promo, it was an act of inauguration.
There were no such pleasantries in the main event, where Kiyomiya appeared in his first ring robe (which can be described as a bizarre combination of Misawa, Tiger Mask Misawa, a Final Fantasy Character, a centurions winter uniform and a chicken).
The fans were scared by this Marufuji, who seemed cold and merciless, but despite the relenting attacks on his arms and his legs, Kiyomiya refused to give up, and finally got the win over Marufuji by using the Tiger Suplex. In a match touted to be for Marufuji a reverse of himself vs Misawa, it was pretty ironic.

After the match, Kiyomiya called Kenoh out to the ring.
Kenoh came stamping out (he should have come out to "March of The Empire"), but Kiyomiya didn't want to offer him a title match, he wanted him to team with him for Global Tag League 2019, and therefore usher in their own era.
Kenoh, (after telling Kiyomiya he didn't appreciate being called out by some "asshole boy"), said that he agreed with him, and agreed to team with him. They would together usher in a new era of Noah, and "WE, would take you bastards back to The Budokan".

Kiyomiya did not receive a direct challenge after the match, but Kenoh did say in the post match promo that even though he was teaming with Kiyomiya, the singles belt was still his goal.

Global Tag League 2019

The challenge for the GHC Heavyweight title went quiet during the Global Tag League period as the heavyweights concentrated on chasing the tag titles. Kenoh and Kiyomiya managed to get along, although at times you could tell there was some tension between them, but on the whole they gave off a very older brother and younger brother vibe (most famously Kenoh was caught giving Kiyomiya the side eye when he was fidgeting with his sleeves when they were facing Takashi Sugiura and KAZMA SAKAMOTO, and tapping him to tell him to stop).
However, the fact that they didn't really trust each other (and never would) came to a head when during Global Tag League, Kiyomiya was counted out as Kenoh tried to pull him into the ring and Masao Inoue held on to him, and Kenoh furiously announced that "today we are over" and accusing Kiyomiya of being "a company dog", the team came to an end.

vs Takashi Sugiura
Takashi Sugiura and KAZMA SAKAMOTO won Global Tag League 2019, and Sugiura challenged Kiyomiya for the title on the 7th May 2019 at a press conference in Tokyo, where he also challenged AXIZ for the GHC Tag Titles. The GHC Heavyweight title will be defended on the 9th June at Korakuen Hall, on the first night of the Mitsuharu Misawa memorial night.
Sugiura said that he wanted the younger generation to know that at 49, he was chasing the titles. He also warned that he was just about to hit his stride.

The pre-matches were short in duration, but brutal, as was the match itself when it came on the 9th June 2019 at the Tokyo Mitsuharu Misawa memorial show at Korakuen Hall. Takashi Sugiura dominated most of the match, battering Kiyomiya, but everything he gave, Kiyomiya managed to endure it all - he took the front neck lock, vicious elbows, DDT avalanche and even kicked out of the Olympic Slam. Kiyomiya, "this 22 year old boy with a three year career" (as Kenoh calls him) managed to get the win after 33 minutes and 53 seconds with the Tiger Suplex.

There was no challenger immediately after the match, and Kiyomiya did not speak on the microphone. Instead, he raised the belt high, faced the portrait of Mitsuharu Misawa and pointed to the heavens.

VS Katsuhiko Nakajima

Kiyomiya's next challenger for the GHC Heavyweight title came from Katsuhiko Nakajima when he and Shuhei Taniguchi got in the ring to challenge the GHC Heavyweight tag champions for the belts. Nakajima, grinning sinisterly, agreed to the challenge but only on condition; if Kiyomiya wanted to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Tag belts, then Nakajima was going to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight championship.
Kiyomiya, knowing that he had to agree to these terms (and it has to be said, not one to ever back away from a challenger), agreed to these terms as he later said he had a dream of a new vision of Noah which had to be accomplished by having all of the heavyweight championships. Match has been set for July 27th at Kultz Kawasaki.

Katsuhiko Nakajima started the match by sitting down in the ring, which is the same tactics he used when he faced Takashi Sugiura in 2017, when he lay down on the canvas and refused to move until the referee threatened to get President Uchida involved who was sitting at ringside.
Kaito Kiyomiya (polite, but now he is 23 growing less so), sat down.
Nakajima stood up, and the match got down to business.

Kiyomiya was right in predicting that Nakajima was an opponent like none of his others, and Nakajima is probably the most difficult opponent that anyone faces because of the brutal kicks. Its true that Kenoh also kicks, but he does it out of rage, Nakajima does it because he generally wants to hurt you, and the grin on his face says he enjoys it. This match was a fight to the death with elbows, kicks, a Tombstone to the ring apron by Nakajima, and both kicked out of each others finisher. It took Kiyomiya two Tiger Suplexes (the second which got the pin from the top turnbuckle), to finally get the win.

The N-1 Victory League

No challenger was immediately forthcoming for the GHC Heavyweight title due to the league, and Kiyomiya made no speech on the microphone either, and went around thanking the crowd before heading backstage.
Kiyomiya stated that he was not going to appear in the N-1 (and therefore probably setting a precedent for the future), because he wanted to see the other heavyweights fight for it and not ruin the title match at the end of the line by having a match that fans had seen in the league. Despite criticism from Kenoh about this (who typically described him variously as "pampered" or as a "spoilt star"), Kiyomiya stubbornly stuck to his decision, and seemed to enjoy watching the heavyweights fight among themselves. He also seemed to get a strange smug satisfaction out of it, which was illustrated by a picture taken by Weekly Pro which showed him grinning and holding the belt up as Naomichi Marufuji and Shuhei Taniguchi looked on. On Twitter, Marufuji quipped that he wondered what Kiyomiya was thinking about? Kiyomiya said the picture was himself as the center of Noah, Kenoh said he must be mad if he thought that and not being in the league.

Not competing in the league was pretty uneventful for Kiyomiya (aside from when he held up the belt to Kenoh, and Kenoh shoved him, only to have him come bouncing back and in his face - later in the match he knocked him off the apron with a punch, and Kenoh threw a tantrum outside), and so the focus was off him for a while, as he watched from the wings as to who the winner would be.

N-1 Victory came down to Kenoh (Kiyomiya's 1st challenger, and eternal rival) and Takashi Sugiura (his fourth challenger). Takashi Sugiura had brutalized his way through A block, crushing all who came in his path. Kenoh was almost as successful in B block. although he did have one loss in the league. Help in getting to the finals came from an unexpected source, when Masaaki Mochizuki (who would have beaten him in points) was kept out of getting any further by Shuhei Taniguchi. Taniguchi had realized when Kenoh won (he knocked out Katsuhiko Nakajima), that he wouldn't get to the finals, so he made it his mission as a Noah born to keep Masaaki Mochizuki (who is a freelancer originally from DragonGate) from winning, and therefore preventing anyone who was not Noah in going to the finals.
After Takashi Sugiura had defeated Go Shiozaki, Kenoh told him that he was going to win, if he did not, then there was no future for any growth in Noah. Sugiura (adept at ignoring Kenoh) had a better idea, how about the two of them put on a match that wasn't going to be overshadowed by Kiyomiya, Jun Akiyama, Keiji Mutoh, Sakuraba, Fujita or anyone else on the card?
Kenoh vs Kiyomiya will take place on the 16th September in Osaka. The winner will go on to face Kaito Kiyomiya at Sumo Hall on November 2nd.

VS KENOH
Kenoh scored his first win over Takashi Sugiura to win the first ever N-1 VICTORY finals. After his first title challenge against Kiyomiya and subsequent loss, Kenoh had retreated to lick his wounds, form the dissident group Kongoh, and yell about LIDET and Kiyomiya being spoiled by them. As ever, Kenoh's complex relationship with Kiyomiya was that of an older brother, which swung between jealousy that he had the title, frustration that he was so complacent about LIDET and concern over his future, but never fully true hatred towards him. This wasn't the hatred and paranoia directed towards Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura.

After Kenoh had been presented with the winners trophies, Kaito Kiyomiya came to the ring to confront him. It was almost a replay of the scene in December 2017 when a shy twenty year old boy who had changed so much that not even people who knew him well recognized him at first, (and who was scared people who boo him) came to the ring to challenge Kenoh for the title in a match he had no chance of winning, but things were different now, Kiyomiya was an assured twenty-three year old champion, and Kenoh was his challenger.
Kiyomiya started talking about "creating a new view", Kenoh said "funny, I was thinking the same thing"... and then warned Kiyomiya, "prepare yourself, asshole".

The GHC Heavyweight match signing was held somewhat early on the 21st September 2019 in Tokyo. Noah's President Takeda announced that the GHC Heavyweight belt would be undergoing a rehaul, and the new belt would be presented to the winner at Sumo Hall.

When it came to the actual match signing, Kenoh started growling that the GHC front with Kiyomiya as champion had grown stagnant, but he would change all of that. Kiyomiya spoke of a new view, but when asked about the belt, he said that he wanted to connect the old one to the new one, as it was packed with the memories of all the seniors who had held it.
Kenoh was of the opinion that the belt was only created by LIDET to give to Kiyomiya, but he would change all of that. Then Kenoh had one of his sudden tender moments about Kiyomiya, and spoke of him as being once a "pure hearted" 22 year old boy, who had been "warped" by LIDET, and he would bring that boy back at Sumo Hall.
So far Kiyomiya had ignored Kenoh (he usually does, but occasionally stands up to him verbally), and told him that he was tired of Kenoh clucking over him and looking at him like a mother, and that he would defeat him at Sumo Hall and end this.

In the run up to their match at Sumo Hall, Kiyomiya introduced a new submission move, which he was inspired by Misawa's camel clutch and Toshiaki Kawada's stretch plum. He tried it out first on Yoshiki Inamura, and got the victory. He said he would use it on Kenoh at Korakuen (Noah's next show), but either Kenoh got out of it, or he didn't get the chance.
After the match, in his post match promo, Kenoh (in older brother mode), called Kiyomiya "a lost puppy" and spoke again about Kiyomiya's blank eyes, how unfocused he was and how he would "rescue him" from his predicament and bring the fire back into his soul.

Both Kenoh's jealousy and his paranoia were provoked in Oyama on 9th October, when Kaito Kiyomiya (and teammates Hi69 and Minoru Tanaka) were presented with flowers by a local idol group, and who they posed for pictures with.
Kongoh were ushered unceremoniously to a corner of the ring by the referee. This would have consequences on the 11th October in Yokohama.
Kiyomiya had finished the main event when Kongoh came storming to the ring, and scared away RATELS (who wisely left), and Kenoh got in Kiyomiya's face. Beaten down by Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura, with the GHC Heavyweight thrown to one side, Kiyomiya was forced to his knees and a very angry Kenoh (in fact angrier than I have ever seen him), got on the microphone and said

"You are really good. Spoiled by the company...no, by the parent company, LIDET. I am made to leave, and Kongoh forced to break up? You are pampered, it is favoritism? You are so spoiled, you are not strong!

We will end this repression, and get the belts!"

The promo ended with Kiyomiya being attacked by Kongoh, which bought AXIZ to the ring, which caused Kongoh to back off. Kiyomiya scrambled to his feet, and quickly retrieved the GHC Heavyweight and put it protectively over his shoulder, as Kenoh told the three of them that really all they had was looks, nothing else, and they Kongoh were the ones with belief that would make a difference.

After staring at each other (Kenoh & Kiyomiya, Nakajima & Kitamiya and Shiozaki & Inamura), Kongoh left and Nakajima offered a handshake to Shiozaki and Nakajima. Nakajima took it hesitantly, but did not look pleased. Shiozaki followed in his wake, but first of all he tapped the belt before taking Kiyomiya's hand.

Nakajima later said (and probably the quieter Shiozaki echoed this), that Kiyomiya should not think that they were all going to get along and prosper together, because he would always have his eyes on the GHC Heavyweight.

At Naomichi Marufuji's suggestion, Kaito Kiyomiya visited Toshiaki Kawada at his Dangerous K noodle house to learn more about the submission technique. Marufuji said that unlike himself he could not learn from Misawa, but he could learn from Kawada. Fortunately for Kiyomiya, Kawada has mellowed in recent years.
Kenoh, however, dismissed Kiyomiya's attempts to use the submission on him as being to taught to him by "an old man in a noodle shop". Kiyomiya tried it over the course of the Premium Prelude tour, but by Korakuen had still not managed to lock in in properly on the challenger.
It was at Korakuen that Kenoh had one of his mercurial swings in mood towards Kiyomiya. After Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masa Kitamiya had finished speaking, Kenoh echoed Nakajima's sentiments saying that naturally he wasn't there when Kiyomiya was born, but he was there on the day he entered Noah, he was there when he left for Canada, he was there when he came back, and he was the one who gave him his first title shot. Kenoh asked Kiyomiya how it felt to be pampered by the company after all of that?
Kiyomiya, exasperated, snatched the microphone from him and said that he was sick of his attitude! Yes, he felt the pressure, but he was very well supported by the fans, and at Sumo Hall he promised an emotional match which would lead to a new view of Noah.
In the post match interview afterwards Kenoh, (who hadn't taken much notice of what Kiyomiya had been saying), said that Kiyomiya was moving too fast, and he would make it all better.

In Hamamatsu on 22nd October, Kiyomiya & AXIZ were facing Kongoh, when Kiyomiya got Inamura in the Tiger Suplex. Kenoh did the double foot-stomp from the top turnbuckle right on to Kiyomiya, and Kiyomiya crumpled, his neck compacting. The referee called an immediate halt to the match which gave the win by proxy to Yoshiki Inamura.
Kenoh kicked the second away (Hi69 wisely left, but Nakajima remained and got a mouthful of Kenoh's ire). Kenoh got on the microphone (after holding it over an unresponsive Kiyomiya) and said, "Hey! GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kaito Kiyomiya! “I am going to change Noah? I am going to create a new scenery?” Hey! How can you say that you are the GHC Heavyweight Champion, when you have just been defeated by a rookie in the first year of his debut! I say this time and time again, are you sure? Did you anticipate carrying this burden? It is the company…no, it is the anticipation of the the parent company LIDET ENTERTAINMENT, it’s hard to be honest, right? Do you want to live the life of a wrestler who does not have any worries? Okay, Kiyomiya!! November 2nd at Sumo Hall, along with the GHC Heavyweight Championship, I will take away your belt and your burden."
After Kenoh had finished yelling, Kiyomiya was finally removed from the ring. Noah the next day announced that he had a "cervical sprain" to his neck, and had been withdrawn from the small Kawasaki event on the 27th October. At the time of writing, the only appearance that Kiyomiya has made is a radio interview, in order to build the tension (sell the injury) for the match, Kiyomiya has pretty much gone go ground; he is dark on social media, gives no interviews to Tokyo Sports, and nothing aside the withdrawal from Kawasaki and the small radio interview, has appeared on the official site.

Kaito Kiyomiya emerged from hibernation when Noah held a press conference\match signing on the 1st November. Kenoh, who had been very vocal about Kiyomiya's silence, stamped towards him when it came to their turn, looking for all the world like he wanted to know where the hell he had been! Then there followed an angry rant (and I mean angry, Kenoh's eyes were filling black as he spoke, his fist was clenched and he sounded angrier than usual), as Kenta Kobashi sat calmly between then and Kiyomiya sat at the end of the table.

The old GHC Heavyweight title was retired at Sumo Hall. There was no ceremony to speak of, only that the old belt was handed to a very emotional Kenta Kobashi (who held it gently in his hands and looked down at it, his face tearful as he remembered all the history behind it, Misawa his "friend and senior" creating and holding it, and their battles over it), who left the ring with it after presenting the new belt, (and almost falling off the ring apron in the process as he refused to use the iron steps set out for him). I am unsure as to whether Kobashi will keep the old belt, or whether Noah have it stored away somewhere.

The title match was brutal, with Kenoh working on Kiyomiya's neck (at one point swinging him in a cradle into the steel barriers), top turnbuckle maneuvers, and apron spots. The crowd were half and half (although there were some boos for Kenoh, which he enjoyed), but ultimately Kiyomiya prevailed with the Tiger Suplex after 31 minutes and 10 seconds. As Kenoh limped off, Kiyomiya made a short speech (he says he didn't remember much of the match being somewhat punch drunk) about a new Noah, before doing the rounds to the crowd at ringside. Kiyomiya also said that at one point in the match following a kick to the face from Kenoh, he found himself running across a plain to the shores of the afterlife. He crossed the bridge over the river which separates the living and the dead, but turned back halfway across. He says he wonders what would have happened if he had kept on going.

At the time of writing (12th November 2019) no new challenger has emerged for the title yet, but out of everyone who has not challenged (Go Shiozaki, Yoshiki Inamura, Shuhei Taniguchi, Mohammed Yone, Quiet Storm, Masao Inoue, and Akitoshi Saito), it is thought that Go Shiozaki might be the most likely as after Texport Imabari when Shiozaki gave hints after leaving the ring, that he just might.

VS Go Shiozaki
Go Shiozaki was as good as his word, although he said he was not planning to challenge if he did beat his AXIZ tag partner at their 15th anniversary debut match at Korakuen Hall on 4th December 2019. Kaito Kiyomiya it seemed also knew that something was going to happen as he wrote on Twitter that he felt that a challenge would be made that day, either by an opponent, a team mate or someone else....
Go Shiozaki called Kiyomiya out to the ring after winning the 15th anniversary debut match and made his challenge, saying to Kiyomiya that on the 4th January 2020 at Korakuen Hall, they put on the best match not just in Japan, but also in the world (it goes unsaid that New Japan are at Tokyo Dome concurrently running a show at the same time). Their pre-match would start on 5th December in Sendai.

Things started civilly enough in Sendai with the usual square up between the champion and the challenger, and while Kiyomiya took the dreaded chops (which he said he hated), neither of them got the direct win over the other. Shiozaki left the ring with a slight smile as Kiyomiya told the crowd that he would be the one who would take the "leading role" at Noah's 20th anniversary year in 2020. In his subsequent post match interview, a slightly egotistical tone crept into Kiyomiya's voice as he spoke of being the one who was building the new era, and therefore he should be the one who would be the "best form" to win. He also seemed somewhat surprised that the interviewer should question his statement in the ring.

Go Shiozaki evidently did not appreciate either tone or comments, and things heated up rapidly between them at Hachinohe, Aomori on the 7th December. At the end of the match they had to be pulled apart twice, (once in the ring and once outside of it). As Kiyomiya was leaving the ring, Shiozaki got on the microphone and told him, "I will show you the real Noah."

Go Shiozaki got the win over Kaito Kiyomiya at Aomori on the 12th December 2019 by using the moonsault. Shiozaki stated that the pre-matches made no difference, every match he fought with Kaito Kiyomiya was a GHC Heavyweight title match, whether the title was on the line or not. Shiozaki followed this up by a cross sounding post on Twitter which basically said, "Champion, whenever I face you, it is always a title match. Do you understand?" Kiyomiya said he found the loss regrettable.

Go Shiozaki and Kaito Kiyomiya were thrown together at the Kongoh Produce on the 14th December when they tagged together along with Takashi Sugiura at the main event. Kiyomiya decided to be (as ever) polite and sportsmanlike to work as a team, but Shiozaki decided otherwise, and wanted nothing to do with Kiyomiya; he wouldn't talk to him, ignored him when he spoke to him, didn't let him tag him in, and if Kiyomiya asked to be tagged in, tagged in Takashi Sugiura instead. Shiozaki did have one moment of acknowledgment however with Kiyomiya, which happened when he was fighting with Yoshiki Inamura outside of the ring, and he looked up at the apron to give him a cold stare. Despite all of this, Kiyomiya remained polite to Shiozaki, and even let him go first when leaving the ring at the end. Shiozaki stamped off in a way that would have made you think he was in Kongoh.

They clashed again in a pre-match on the 22nd December, and this time Shiozaki was not going to be so nice. They started off the match, and the fight between them went out of the ring and went right to the back wall of the venue (Kiramesse Numazu), and ended with Kiyomiya doing a kind of baseball slide on Shiozaki, after he had knocked him back with punches. Kiyomiya would also win the match with the Tiger Suplex, and afterwards as Naomichi Marufuji and Kumaxiz (Katsuhiko Nakajima and Hitoshi Kumano) looked on, he stood over the fallen Shiozaki with a snarl on his face! Yes. The boy who had started his championship reign as incredibly polite, somewhat unsure of how he should react to anyone other than Kenoh, had finally come full circle. There was a touch of ferocity in him now, and with it, a growing arrogance.
After Shiozaki had been helped from the ring by the seconds and Kumaxiz, Kiyomiya addressed the crowd saying that in Noah's 20th anniversary year, he would have a hand on the promotions rudder to steer it, and he would return as champion to the venue to show a new scene to an over-packed audience.

The final pre-match before the championship happened at The Sugiura Produce "All Dogs Gather! Bark at Korakuen!" Kiyomiya entered the ring as Shiozaki stood staring at him and not moving. During the match, Shiozaki's chops were said to be more intense than usual, with them being compared to cannon shot sounding (Kiyomiya was caught audibly catching his breath). Kiyomiya went for the Stretch Plum Facelock a couple of times, but he was either not able to lock it in, or Katsuhiko Nakajima interfered and broke the hold.
The match was won by Go Shiozaki, who took Kiyomiya's head off with the Shiozaki lariat after 23 minutes and 23 seconds, making his win the second over Kiyomiya in the pre-matches. However, to Shiozaki there had been no pre-matches,only title matches.

After the match, Shiozaki loomed over the fallen Kiyomiya, and placed a finger very firmly on his chest before leaving the ring.

Perhaps more than anyone else who had ever fought against or tagged with Kiyomiya, maybe even more than Kenoh who refused to see him as anything more than an innocent young boy, Go Shiozaki was aware of Kiyomiya's strengths and weaknesses, having been the one who was responsible for bringing him to where he was. It had been Shiozaki who had taken him under his wing, it had been Shiozaki who had sorted out his nerves and stopped the bouts of shaking, it had been Shiozaki who he had clung to during those months he came back to Noah from Canada. Shiozaki had known him like Kenoh and the other challengers had not.
On the day of the title match, Shiozaki came to the ring dressed almost as a clone of Kiyomiya, in an almost identical green patterned robe, and long green patterned pants, instead of the short ones that Kiyomiya wore.

As Kenta Kobashi looked on, the two went to war. Kiyomiya had the snarl back on his face as he attacked Shiozaki's notoriously wrecked elbows, but truth be told, he knew he was beat, and some of his attacks were of desperation, such as when he punched him on a rope break - Shiozaki no sold him, and then attacked him with a loud chop. The time had come, the first reign of the youngest GHC Heavyweight champion in history came to an end after 27 minutes and 42 seconds after a moonsault came crashing down on him.