(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) YOSHINARI OGAWA ~ GHC JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP (FIRST)


Won: 4th January 2020, "A NEW SUNRISE DAY1", Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Number of title reigns: 0
Number of defenses: 2
Lost: 19th April 2020 "NOAH The Chronicle"
Total number of days held: 106

Challengers
1. Daisuke Harada (winner of Global Junior League 2020)
2. Kotaro Suzuki


VS Daisuke Harada
Daisuke Harada won Global Junior League 2020 (much to the dismay of STINGER who have vowed not to give the hated RATELS title matches), by defeating Dick Togo in the finals. Traditionally, the champion comes to the ring, and he and the challenger face off, and either there or later, the challenger sets a place and time for the title.
Yoshinari Ogawa is STINGER, Daisuke Harada is RATELS. They hate each other, and as such, Ogawa is not obliged to offer a title challenge. Harada, however, was determined not to give up although in the long running RATELS vs STINGER feud, Ogawa sneak pinned him after a melee brawl outside the ring in which Harada was almost counted out. In Fukushima on the 9th February, the match came down to Harada and YO-HEY vs STINGER (Atsushi Kotoge, Yoshinari Ogawa & Kotaro Suzuki) as HAYATA was unable to continue after earlier injuries became too much (he had done a top rope somersault in Yokohama, and skidded through some chairs), which ended with YO-HEY being pinned. Yoshinari Ogawa was lying in the ring, and with his "shark smells blood" face on, Harada took the GHC Junior belt and held it over him. Backstage, Harada vowed that RATELS would defeat STINGER at Korakuen, win the right to challenge, and then take their belts.


After some further skirmishes with RATELS (mainly Harada, Tadasuke and YO-HEY as HAYATA was injured), Yoshinari Ogawa came up with a condition for his putting the title on the line. It seemed that both Harada and Ogawa didn't want to make the first move, and were waiting for the other to make the title challenge, and so to end the deadlock Ogawa said that if Harada wanted a title match then it would be belt for belt, Ogawa would let Harada challenge for the GHC Junior, if Harada put the IPW belt on the line too.

All the questions, all the stalling, all the uncertainty came to an end on the 24th February 2020 in Nagoya when RATELS got a triple pin with Daisuke Harada (the legal man) pinning Yoshinari Ogawa with the Katayama German Suplex, HAYATA pinning Kotaro Suzuki with the Headache, and YO-HEY pinning Atsushi Kotoge with the Facial G. There was no more stalling, and STINGER had nowhere now to run. Daisuke Harada spoke on the microphone, and picking up both the IPW Junior and the GHC Junior, laid the GHC Junior over the fallen Ogawa and told him that he accepted the terms of his challenge. The challenge was set for 8th March in Yokohama, but sadly the Coronavirus epidemic meant that it was delayed until the 29th March at Korakuen Hall, and Daisuke Harada during that time decided that he was no longer going to put the IPW belt on the line.
Yoshinari Ogawa was not pleased with Harada's decision to withdraw the belt, calling him "chicken" amongst other things. Saying that Harada only wanted the belt to "pose with", Ogawa's plans for it were different and he felt disappointed that he couldn't have the chance to win it and take it to England to challenge Chris Ridgeway. I think Noah's plans somewhere down the line are to hand the belt to Ridgeway to do with what he wants, but Ogawa it seems doesn't know that there really isn't anywhere in England that he can challenge Ridgeway for it, but it seems more likely that he only wants the belt for the satisfaction of taking something away from Harada.
Ogawa also made the statement that he would "destroy both STINGER and RATELS". Both Kotaro Suzuki and Yoshinari Ogawa reacted differently to this; Suzuki said that he would have to see the expression on Ogawa's face when he said it so he could tell if he was serious or not (Ogawa says these things to get under his opponents skin and make them not concentrate during matches), but Harada dismissed it saying that he could do what he wanted with STINGER, he didn't care, but RATELS were stronger than ever and he wanted to see him try. In his own interview Harada spoke of the bitterness he has towards Ogawa, for the scar on his head, for taking both YO-HEY & HAYATA away amongst other numerous incidents, but come what may one fact remained, Harada admitted he didn't know what was going to happen in the match and that scared him.

Due to the Coronavirus, Noah announced that the event on the 29th March 2020 at Korakuen Hall would be a first ever for Noah, an empty arena event with only four title matches held on the card. At the start of the match Yoshinari Ogawa started complaining, he didn't see why he should be the one to put the belt on the line when Harada had withdrawn the IPW Junior Heavyweight. Ogawa protested, but the referee took the belt from him and announced the match would begin. Significantly, Harada did not come to the ring with the IPW belt.
Like Harada, Ogawa can be merciless when angered, and as a result this match was very technical and very dominated by Ogawa working on torturing Harada's elbow and arm, even at one time taking it over to the corner where RATELS were seconding. The match lasted 26 minutes and 39 seconds, and was won by Ogawa with the sneak pin following a foot stamp.
Daisuke Harada looked furious, and confronted the referee about his decision, before stamping out of the ring.


VS Kotaro Suzuki

Kotaro Suzuki got into the ring to see to Yoshinari Ogawa, and then joined the referee in raising his hand in victory. Ogawa looked away for a split second, when he turned back it was to be met by Suzuki's fist flying towards him. Suzuki battered his former friend\his senior, before taking him out with a finisher. Suzuki then got on the microphone and said that he was challenging for the title, and walked off. 

Backstage, Ogawa calmly peeled off his wrist tape and said that thanks to Kotaro's actions, STINGER was finished. Kotaro, uncontrite about his actions, said that ever since he came back to Noah he had two thoughts in mind - he would challenge Ogawa for a belt, and he would also challenge Naomichi Marufuji for one.

Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it didn't look like a title defense was going to be anytime soon, indeed neither Ogawa or Suzuki had any idea when it would be. In the meantime, Ogawa contented himself with doing a mini interview with Pro Wrestling DX in which he coldly described Suzuki as a wrestler who copied others, especially after hearing that Kotaro had described his style as "Misawaism, Ogawism and Ricky Marvinism". Ogawa lamented that he thought he bought Kotaro up to be a better wrestler than that.

Their one and only pre-match took place on 18th April at the Global Tag League championship night. Yoshinari Ogawa was lying in wait for Kotaro Suzuki, and by lying in wait I mean he was waiting round corners that Kotaro didn't even know existed. Ogawa demonstrated again just how frighteningly intelligent he is as a wrestler by using everyone and everything around him to his advantage - the sneak attack at the beginning of the match which he never does, tagging himself in by patting Kotoge's head and then catching Kotaro mid move, distracting the ref to the fact that Kaito Kiyomiya was in the ring the same time as him, to beat up on Kotaro while the ref was engaged with Kiyomiya. He also provoked him when he on the apron, so he knew the ref would be distracted as Kiyomiya would get into the ring.


After the match Ogawa leant over Kotaro who was lying spreadeagled on his back, and stuck the belt in his face. Then he got up and shoved his boot in his face.

Noah finally solved the issue of the title challenge by announcing out of the blue that the title match would take place on Sunday 19th April 2020 at "Noah The Chronicle". Because the card was a surprise, no-one had any idea that it was even taking place until it was announced.

Everywhere Kotaro Suzuki ran, Yoshinari Ogawa was waiting; every corner, every bend, every crossroads, every path. This match was a technical masterpiece, which highlighted just how much Ogawa a man in his fifties, and Kotaro, a man in his forties, could endure in a match that was not a short one. There isn't really much I can say about this match aside from the above. Kotaro had made the comment that Ogawa's mind was like a universe, and he discovered that today, but no matter how relentless Ogawa was, Kotaro was not going to give up, and it took Ogawa talking three of the "Endless Waltz" before he could pin him for the title via Javelin.

After Kotaro had asked Ogawa to team with him for the GHC Junior Tag Titles that were being held by HAYATA and YO-HEY, Ogawa strapped the belt around Kotaro's waist, and left the ring.

Next champion: Kotaro Suzuki

Links
"I want you to stop using "Best In The World", Yoshinari Ogawa mini interview (Part 1)
"I might destroy it all" ~ Interview with GHC Junior Champion, Yoshinari Ogawa mini interview (Part 2)
"I'm very disappointed in you Ogawa-kun" interview with Daisuke Harada 
"Now I really want the belt" Interview with Kotaro Suzuki
"Kotaro Suzuki is someone who copies others" Yoshiari Ogawa mini interview

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