(NOAH) EVENT RECAP ~ Global Junior League 2020. Edion Arena Osaka Stadium 2, Osaka, January 25th

Noah had announced that they would be streaming the four Junior Global League matches live through Periscope today. President Takeda had given permission for the SNS team to go to Osaka to do this, but Noah had a wonderful surprise in store for us fans, they streamed the main event live too, so ultimately we got to see 98% of today's show. I will post the links to the shows, but I am not sure as to how long Noah will keep them up.

Noah held "FAN FES IN OSAKA" before the show began, and with the new rules that Noah wrestlers can now sign fan personal items, AXIZ signed a Nintendo Switch. Elsewhere, Kiyomiya's portrait sold out, and in the small interval between the fan club picture session, and the fans arriving for the show, Takashi Sugiura (looking slightly hungover) practiced in the ring, as did Yoshinari Ogawa. I don't think Ogawa held a class today though.

The event had a highly charged and intense atmosphere, which was felt even if you were not at the venue.

MATCH ONE
The Anti Wrestlers Alliance (Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue) & Billyken Kid vs 50 Funky Powers (Mohammed Yone & Quiet Storm) & Tadasuke

"Thank you Storm" (Tadasuke)

Osaka is Quiet Storm's adoptive city due his background in the indie promotions there. Although he says he will remain in Japan to wrestle (his roots are laid down firmly here with a young family), this will be the last time the Osaka crowd will see him in Noah. Next week will be his farewell at Korakuen Hall.

WINNER: Quiet Storm with the 50cm arm lariat on Masao Inoue (10 minutes, 42 seconds)

MATCH TWO
Global Junior League 2020 (Block D)
Daisuke Harada vs Chris Ridgeway

The bell rang, and no one wasted any time, especially since Harada had his "shark smells blood" face on. Early on in the match, it looked as if Harada was going to get counted out, but he managed to crawl back in. Very intense match, with very near split second pinfalls.

Although Ridgeway did not resort to torturing Harada's bare feet and stealing Harada's boots, he did have a struggle to keep him from reaching the ropes when he put all his weight on him during a submission. Harada was not going to give up. When Harada did break free, he did an incredible dive through the ropes.

WINNER: Daisuke Harada with the Frankensteiner (10 minutes, 56 seconds)*
(Added to my match of the year list 2020)

Daisuke Harada now advances to the semi finals at Korakuen Hall. His opponent would be decided next...

MATCH THREE
Global Junior League 2020 (Block C)
YO-HEY vs Hajime Ohara

A fast paced match between two different styles, the aerial of YO-HEY and the ground technical of Hajime Ohara. The venue had lots of YO-HEY chants, but the majority of fans are backing Ohara, as they feel it is his time now.

Fans were concerned about YO-HEY during the early stages of the match, as he clutched his chest and very audibly gave a choking cough (the type were you almost vomit) as he seemed to be struggling to breath, and given his recent history, it was worrying, but he hopefully will be okay. At least he seemed to be.

WINNER: Hajime Ohara with the Mui Bien submission (13 minutes,49 seconds)

Fans erupted at Ohara's win, firstly because as I have said above, they want him to get this chance, and secondly because we now get Daisuke Harada vs Hajime Ohara in the semi finals, and this is a match that I have said, Noah leave for special occasions.
One fan posted that he watched it in a parked car after cram school, and the three of them cheered when Ohara won.

Harada (who had been seconding YO-HEY) got in the ring and squared up to Ohara. They will met in the Korakuen Hall semi finals.

MATCH FOUR
The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, El Hijo de Dr Wagner Jnr, NOSAWA Rongai & Kinya Okada) vs Shuhei Taniguchi, Minoru Tanaka, Hitoshi Kumano & Junta Miyawaki.

This match was not televised, and I am afraid that I have very little information on it. I think the crowd were dazed by Harada vs Ohara to comment much. Takashi Sugiura got in the ring on entry, and held the belt in Taniguchi's face, later they got into a brawl with Sugiura punching him down on the fan seats.

WINNER: Takashi Sugiura with the Boston Crab on Junta Miyawaki (14 minutes, 5 seconds)

MATCH FIVE
Global Junior League 2020 (Block A)
Yoshinari Ogawa vs HAYATA

2020 is the Year of the Rat; and Noah's Ratboy showed early in the match that he was not above using the young trainees as human shields, to prevent HAYATA from somersaulting on him over the top rope. That said, the fifty-two year old Yoshinari Ogawa more than kept pace with the 32 year old HAYATA. This was an INSANE match, that had the crowd screaming.

Instead of working on HAYATA'S legs and feet, Ogawa went for a different tactic today, and worked on HAYATA's head and neck. Even when he got free and went for a kick, Ogawa struck as quick as lightning, and pulled him back in. HAYATA hung on in there, and refused to give up to Ogawa.

Ogawa almost made a tactical mistake by doing the fake pins, pinning HAYATA and then he himself breaking it, however, HAYATA got the upperhand after this and got Ogawa in a somersault outside the ring.

After taking about three or four moonsaults in a row (all of which Ogawa kicked out of), HAYATA then went for The Headache. Ogawa countered, HAYATA countered back, but Ogawa was too quick and Ogawa got the pin.

WINNER: Yoshinari Ogawa (18 minutes, 33 seconds)
(Added to my match of the year list 2020)

MATCH SIX
Global Junior League 2020 (Block B)
Kotaro Suzuki vs Dick Togo

This is the first ever singles match between Kotaro Suzuki & Dick Togo. It was a somewhat brutal technical match, both have similar body types, but you don't really realise it until you put them together. Kotaro Suzuki is 41, and Dick Togo nine years old at 50, but both pulled things out of the box like Suzuki's Tiger Driver off the apron being turned into a Runna by Togo, and Togo's amazing rope dive somersault.

WINNER: Dick Togo with the Diving Senton (15 minutes, 9 seconds)

The semi finals for Global Junior League will now be Hajime Ohara vs Daisuke Harada, and Yoshinari Ogawa vs Dick Togo.

Ogawa got in the ring after the match, made the "I'm watching you" gesture to Dick Togo, and then backdropped him. Having been beaten down by Ogawa previously, NOSAWA stayed well out of the way, and when Ogawa had gone laid the belt over Togo before helping him up and out.

MATCH SEVEN
AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima), Kaito Kiyomiya, Naomichi Marufuji & Atsushi Kotoge vs Kongoh (Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, Haoh and Nioh)

Go Shiozaki appeared wearing his special green clothing, which he wears for non AXIZ tag matches, whilst inside the ring, Marufuji was slapping Inamura for mouthing off at him. Kenoh kept pretty much to the back during the ring entries, Kiyomiya went unmolested, Shiozaki got glared at, and Marufuji's face was in Haoh's, and not Kenoh's. This was going to be a chaotic match with lots of melee fights breaking out both at ringside, and in the ring, with the referee trying to keep order and the seconds running everywhere.

There were lots of rare matchups today; Shiozaki vs Naoh, Marufuji and Haoh (Haoh was no match for him, although I think that Marufuji enjoyed the junior element of it, which is something Misawa used to love when fighting him), with Haoh almost getting knocked out at one point after he took a knee. Marufuji, Shiozaki and Kiyomiya were also seen talking together on the apron.

Kenoh interrupted Nakajima's rope choke on Haoh with kicks, Nakajima threw him out of the ring, and then when he did it again Kongoh attacked. Haoh later imitated him.

There was a good junior\heavyweight interaction, with Kenoh kicking Kotoge around. Nakajima and Kitamiya also faced off, with Kitamiya's burning hatred of Nakajima coming to the fore, when he no sold him.

Yoshiki Inamura and Go Shiozaki had a great interaction, as although Shiozaki battered him, Inamura is growing more resilient, and this will be one to watch in the future. Inamura fought like a demon until the end.

WINNER: Go Shiozaki with the strong arm lariat on Yoshiki Inamura (22 minutes, 31 seconds)

The fact that Kiyomiya does not have a belt has not lessened the rivalry between Kiyomiya and Kenoh. Kenoh started yelling at him outside the ring, and Kiyomiya stretched his arms out as if to dare him to attack him.

Whatever it was that Kenoh had been planning to do, didn't happen and he and Kongoh left the ring, Kenoh yelling angrily. All pretence of being a team now over, everyone left in the ring faced up to each other. There was no title challenge, but it was intense, with AXIZ seemingly suggesting they would be challenging Naomichi Marufuji and Masaaki Mochizuki for the GHC Heavyweight tag titles.

Once everyone left the ring (an excited Kaito Kiyomiya to give a backstage interview saying how much he loved Noah), AXIZ were alone. Katsuhiko Nakajima stole the camera, and filmed Go Shiozaki who gave a short speech to say that he was the centre of Noah.

ATTENDANCE: 522
WITH THANKS TO: FMAK, Jumbo, ShinG, RealNGreen, NoahBoy
PICTURE CREDIT: Noah GHC, PKDX
GIF CREDIT: Noah GHC
NOAH'S NEXT EVENT:  Thursday 30th January 2020