(NOAH) "Noah's face is me now...I will make a new era", Noah's GHC Heavyweight champion about the defensive match with Naomichi Marufuji on the 10th March in Yokohama

25th February 2019
Soprts Hochi/Yahoo Japan

Pro Wrestling Noah held the signing ceremony of the GHC Heavyweight Championship which will take place at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium, on Tuesday at Hard Rock Cafe in Roppongi, Tokyo.

Kaito Kiyomiya (22) and challenger Naomichi Marufuji (30) attended the ceremony. Marufuji sai about Yokohama, "it is Marufuji will have the belt in the main event. That will be a new start for me. Please everyone, support Kaito Kiyomiya".
Kiyomiya said, "In Yokohama, I definitely want to defend this belt, and completely end this with the upper generation. I am now the face of Noah. I want to run with everybody".

Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Takashi Sugiura on December 16th least year, and took the title for the first time. At 22 years and 5 months, he is the youngest champion ever.
On the other hand, Marufuji, who defeated Akiyama for it first, has held the championship three times, and his was the youngest record in history before being broken by Kiyomiya. The fight is exactly of the old and the new generation. This will become the number one ace confrontation.

Marufuji has overwhelmed Kiyomiya in the pre-match fights.
At Korakuen Hall on the 24th they clashed in the tag match, and he thoroughly attacked the left arm, and Kiyomiya was defeated by Marufuji's "Perfect Key Lock". As a result of this Kiyomiya said, "I am anxious, as this is the first time I have had such an attack. Still, I will mask it with the feeling that I want to surpass Marufuji."
To this, Marufuji forewarned that he will aim at his legs, " I attacked the left arm yesterday, and next, I will go after the leg. I am telling you now, your feet, and your legs." "Until now he may have gotten results against strong opponents in league and title matches. When I watched those matches, I think it is a battle with technique against each others skill. I think it is a continuation of what to use against each other, using the things you usually do and fighting with results to get results, so...this is a way of attacking in a form that has never been used before. However, this is a form of attack that was done often a long time ago. If he wants to create something new, then I will attack on this one point; old things have to be experienced. Now the arms, next will be the leg."

Noah had a new owner in January of this year, and will have a new color other than the green mat, which has been in continuous use since August 2000, which will be debuted in Yokohama.
Marufuji said, "Of course there is attachment, but more than anything, the fans are more concerned than we are. The "green" or the good history of Noah is engraved in my heart. I think wherever I am, it is Noah. The color of the mat changes, the people around me change, but I don't care about that problem."
Kiyomiya said, "As I always want to show new things, I will take the flow in a positive direction. I think that it is fate that my opponent is Marufuji, and I think beyond him there is a real new era, so I will definitely protect the belt." "Marufuji is a big presence in Noah. He is the one who has protected Noah up until now, so going beyond him is not easy, so that is why I think I have to change the times by a challenge. I will be sure to beat him."

Picture credit: Sports Hochi/Yahoo Japan