(NOAH) Event recap ~ Global Junior League 2020. ACROS Fukuoka, Fukuoka, January 22nd

"I will be the best fan in the world for you. As long as wrestling exists in the world, I will be with you. I swore that these past two days. Thank you Fukuoka. Thank you Pro Wrestling Noah".   

Noah held the second night at ACROS Fukoka today. The attendance was down from last night (278 today compared to 325 yesterday), but those who went had a great time.

Masao Inoue arrived early to train before the event began. Takashi Sugiura (who has been dark for the past few days on Twitter, which is unlike him, so maybe his phone is broken or else lost), didn't stalk him while he trained with dumbells in blue spandex pants.

It seemed that Noah have had a lot of requests to throw paper tape for Quiet Storm at his last match at the end of the month, and Noah have addressed the issues on the website. Paper tape isn't allowed at many shows for a number of reasons - the cost of recycling it (Japanese businesses have to pay for this, it does not come on the state and as one fan said, they can hardly burn it), the cost of transporting it, the fact that it holds up matches, and the fact that the venues have to give permission, and a lot of them say no. So, not to be thwarted (but respecting Noah's wishes), fans are looking for other ways for the company to allow them to send off Quiet Storm - suggestions have ranged from the tubular balloons, to special stickers. Speaking of Quiet Storm, he has started selling his own merchandise.

Noah had their "Lucky Bags" on sale today. These bags are a fans delight, as they are filled with random merchandise. However, they are not available at all venues, which many fans say they would like them to be. There was also a lottery, and Kaito Kiyomiya was on autograph duty. A fan who had last seen him just over a year ago, compared him then to him now, and how he has changed and for the better.

The league is heating up, and fans are saying that they cannot predict who is going to win.

MATCH ONE
Quiet Storm vs Kinya Okada

As short as this match was, it is Quiet Storm's last Noah match in Kyushu.

WINNER: Quiet Storm with the 50cm lariat (6 minutes and 15 seconds)

MATCH TWO
The Anti Wrestlers Alliance (Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue) vs Minoru Tanaka & Junji Tanaka

Naturally as this is Masao Inoue in a match against Junjii Tanaka, Tanaka's butt found its way to Inoue's face, and Inoue also got a "mouthful of crotch" too...phone or no phone, no doubt Takashi Sugiura was somewhere laughing, and probably still is on the seven hour thirty minute journey to Kochi.

WINNER: Minoru Tanaka with the roll up pin on Masao Inoue (7 minutes, 34 seconds)

MATCH THREE
Global Junior League 2020 (Block C)
Atsushi Kotoge vs Hajime Ohara

As this is their first singles match since July 2015 at Global Junior League, and a rare match up in itself, a much calmer Kotoge versus Hajime Ohara, was a much anticipated match up.

WINNER: Hajime Ohara via submission with Mui Bien (14 minutes, 20 seconds)

Fans everywhere, at the venue or just following the Noah Twitter feed, were delighted with Hajime Ohara's win.

MATCH FOUR
STINGER (Kotaro Suzuki & Chris Ridgeway) & Naomichi Marufuji vs RATELS (Daisuke Harada, HAYATA & YO-HEY)

The two competitors from the volatile Block D, Daisuke Harada & Chris Ridgeway, where the main focus of this match. Ridgeway naturally started as he meant to go on, by being sarcastic to Harada when they started the match, by holding out his hand in a "No, I insist, you first" gesture.

YO-HEY was ganged up on by Misawa's boys (Kotaro Suzuki and Naomichi Marufuji), but he managed to strike back with one of his beautiful somersault dropkicks (it's frightening how agile YO-HEY is), while HAYATA later suffered a Marufuji high knee.

During a melee, Ridgeway pinned Harada...

WINNER: Chris Ridgeway with a sneak schoolboy pin on Daisuke Harada (12 minutes, 7 seconds)

Harada threw one of his famous tantrums on being sneak pinned, and a brawl broke out between the two, which had to be broken up by YO-HEY & HAYATA and Kotaro Suzuki. When they had been separated, Daisuke Harada sat against the ropes on one side of the ring and glared, while Ridgeway smirked at him from across the ring. They will meet for their Global Junior League match on the 25th January in Osaka...Osaka being Daisuke Harada's hometown. 

MATCH FIVE
Kaito Kiyomiya, Shuhei Taniguchi, Mohammed Yone, Hitoshi Kumano & Junta Miyawaki vs KONGOH (Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, Haoh and Nioh)

Today was Kongoh's first outing as a team, and Kenoh inaugurated it by swearing at his opponents on Twitter, said he would show the difference to his opponents, "those fucking guys".

Mohammed Yone and Yoshiki Inamura started the match, (one fan called it "Afro vs Mohawk"), and Yone tried intimidation tactics like pulling the "Disco Fever" pose. It had no effect on Inamura. He's into punk. He does not fear disco (and being born in 1992,mercifully does not remember it).

Junta Miyawaki continues to grow, his technique is good, his timing perfect and all he needs is further experience.

WINNER: Kenoh with PFS (Diving Footstamp) on Junta Miyawaki (12 minutes, 49 seconds)

MATCH SIX
Global Junior League 2020 (BLOCK A)
Yoshinari Ogawa vs NOSAWA Rongai

As soon as the bell rang, Ogawa attacked NOSAWA'S arms, NOSAWA tried to get out of it, but Ogawa the master technician, knew just what to do, and there was no escape. Then Ogawa went to work on his feet, legs and knees. If NOSAWA had a joint to bend, then Ogawa found it. Well, NOSAWA did say he wanted a singles match with Ogawa, and this is pretty much how it is.

When both where knocked outside the ring, NOSAWA held on to Ogawa's legs to make sure they both were counted out. 

WINNER: Double count out (10 minutes, 29 seconds)

Furious, Yoshinari Ogawa started a brawl with NOSAWA, even stealing an umbrella from a fan and beating him with it. After this, NOSAWA stole the belt, hit the referee with it for good measure, and wrapped it around his waist, and left for the back with streaming bloody nose, which in an odd way matched his face paint.

MATCH SEVEN
Global Junior League 2020 (B Block)
Tadasuke vs Dick Togo

Dick Togo might not have been in Noah for long, and this might be the third match he and Tadasuke have had together, but he knows him well enough not to shake the hand when Tadasuke offers it.

An intense match between the two, who both are heavyweights in junior bodies (Togo looks more the part than Tadasuke), for Tadasuke it is said that the Harada Bootcamp has really paid off in this match.

WINNER: Tadasuke with the 2PAC (12 minutes, 46 seconds)

MATCH EIGHT
AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima) vs The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura & El Hijo de Dr Wagner Jnr)

The main event was described as "super luxurious" as it featured three heavyweight champions, (although one, Nakajima, does not want even to admit he is the W-1 champion), it was not for nothing he was termed as "Evil Sexy Hiko" today.

Go Shiozaki was said to have put on a lot of muscle tone and really bulked up. This was probably for the best as he and Sugiura tore into each other in an intense bout of chops, punches and elbows. Noah save their singles matches for a reason.

WINNER: Go Shiozaki with the Strong Arm Lariat (17 minutes, 48 seconds)

Uninterrupted by local boy Katsuhiko Nakajima (who was born in Fukuoka, but I believe grew up elsewhere), Go Shiozaki made a short speech to the crowd, thanking them for coming today and saying that he wants them to help spread Noah's intensity across Japan.

ATTENDANCE: 278
WITH THANKS TO: Nanohaimas, Cafe_Hiroyuki, Sachan, Ton, Yoshiko, Matsubach
PICTURE CREDIT: Noah GHC, PKDX, Noah Sales Team
NOAH'S NEXT SHOW: January 23rd 2020, Kochi Cultural Plaza