(NOAH) "I am Noah!" Go Shiozaki finally revives, first match against Kazuyuki Fujita

12th February 2020
Yahoo.co.jp\AbemaTIMES

On January 4th and 5th, Pro Wrestling Noah held two consecutive events at Korakuen Hall. It was a challenge as New Japan where holding a an event at Tokyo Dome, but both days were very successful.
The main event of the 4th January ended dramatically, when the GHC Heavyweight changed.

The champion was young Kaito Kiyomiya, at only 23 he defeated challengers one after the other, and held the title for about a year. The word "new scenery" that was advocated by Kiyomiya has also become a symbol of Noah, who are aiming for reconstruction of business.
It was Go Shiozaki who challenged Kiyomiya.
In December, he made his challenge after winning the debut 15th anniversary match against tag partner Katsuhiko Nakajima. There were many fans waiting for this.

Shiozaki, also known as "Mitsuharu Misawa's last tag partner", has been expected to be the ace of the next generation.
After Misawa's sudden death, Shiozaki became GHC Heavyweight Champion, but he did not make a fully fledged "Shiozaki era" thereafter. There was a time when he left Noah and belonged to All Japan, his true strength is perfect as while there he also possessed the Triple Crown.

In 2016 he returned to Noah and rejoined, it was a restart from his old home where he found his place.
During his youth, he served as an attendant of Kenta Kobashi, and he inherited and chop and the lariat. There was no one else who was such a good successor for Noah, but for some reason the cogs did not engage.
Still, momentum began to form around the time the tag with Katsuhiko Nakajima, "AXIZ" was formed.

In July of last year, a fierce battle with freelancer Hideki Suzuki, came to a 30 minute draw. For Suzuki, who used the technique of Bill Robinson, Shiozaki forcibly smashed with chops and lariats, it was an impressive match that was a "different kind of combat sport".
When Suzuki first encountered Shiozaki he used the words "Noah is you", despite being an adversary, he spoke for the fans and this became a hot topic.

Using Kobashi's special skill, the Moonsault, Shiozaki defeated Nakajima, and with Noah's history on his side, he appeared in a new costume on the 4th January at Korakuen. The base of color is green, and the fans cheered in delight because of that. In Noah, green is "Misawa's color". The fact that Shiozaki wore a green costume shows nothing less than a statement of determination as the successor of Noah.
The champion, Kiyomiya, who has overcome many difficulties many times, showed tremendous toughness in the match against Shiozaki. However, the challenger used the "strong arm", and both sides hitting each other was ghastly.
The moonsault finished the rampage of "I wanted to see this Shiozaki".

Shiozaki's victory surpassed his career, but it did not manage to reverse the era. It was Kiyomiya who had first taken it, and Shiozaki's period began here for the first time. Shouting "I am Noah" in the ring, saying "I've finally come home to Noah".
At last he has reached such a point.

Shiozaki's first title defense will take place on March 8th at the Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium. The challenger is Kazuyuki Fujita, who was named by the champion himself.
Fujita, who has been appearing in Noah since last fall, has also played an active part in mixed martial arts with "Inoki-ism", to Noah, who has an image of "pure wrestling", it is like oil and water.
But, that is what makes it exciting. In previous matches there was an awesome meeting between Shiozaki's chop and Fujita's slap. Although they are different in styles, they are common in the terms a "rugged blow".
By fighting Fujita, the strength of Shiozaki's strikes stands out.

At Korakuen Hall on February 16th, the tag match between Go Shiozaki & Kaito Kiyomiya vs Takashi Sugiura and Kazuyuki Fujita, will be held as a pre-match.
Is the "Shiozaki era" the real thing this time? As the attention of the promotion increases with the participation of CyberAgent, from the first pre-match the challenge of "champion Shiozaki" will be called into question.

Link to original article by AbemaTIMES\Yahoo Japan (original article by Munehiro Hashimoto)
Picture credit Yahoo Japan\AbemaTIMES