(NOAH) Pre-match submission: Marufuji pierces the armor of the champion, Kiyomiya.

Yahoo Sports Japan
24th February 2019

At a pre-match before Noah hold the GHC Heavyweight Championship match at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium on March 10th, the challenger Naomichi Marufuji, has won via submission from the champion, Kaito Kiyomiya.

In the semi final match, Marufuji and Minoru Tanaka faced Daisuke Harada and Kiyomiya, and in the early stages of the match he attacked the elbow of Kiyomiya, which was thoroughly taped. He attacked it in the ring and outside using the corner post and iron fence.
Kiyomiya fought back with effective drop kicks and brainbusters, but Marufuji's cruel attack continued. In the end, he took the left arm into a deformed lock, and won the submission.
Marufuji said, "The dropkick and the suplex worked. However, in the pre-fights we mutually exchange blows as we await the appointed day. I refuse to do an ordinary pre-fight. The key-lock was perfect, it came out from a different drawer."

Link to original article from Yahoo Japan (in Japanese)

Picture credit: Yahoo Japan