(NOAH) GHC Heavyweight Champion, Go Shiozaki; the life of Noah's Ace, and a history of change.

13th June 2020

Noah.co.jp

For Go Shiozaki, June 14th will come again this year. 

He went to the ring with Mitsuharu Misawa and became his last partner, then suddenly they had an unexpected farewell. It was on the 14th June in 2009 that he went from Hiroshima to Hakata, and putting aside his sorrow, put on Noah's greatest asset, the GHC Heavyweight title, following a match with Takeshi Rikio after Jun Akiyama had vacated the belt. It's been eleven years since then, and how does Misawa see Shiozaki who is wearing emerald in the ring, and wearing a second generation belt? Under the influence of the Coronavirus, pro wrestlers are once again facing the significance of standing in the ring. 

At the time of defeating Kaito Kiyomiya, "Noah's Ace", Shiozaki was saying the word "ready". With this timing he wore emerald green, and after winning he said "I am Noah!". His intention was to achieve things his own way.

Some people would say that they wanted to see Shiozaki do this earlier. However, if you don't have the luck, then it is simply just like building a castle in the sky, no matter how much the wrestler himself wishes it. He left Noah once, and could see this when he came back as he had seen the green ring from the outside. 

Things started to take shape in 2020, and by putting himself in the space of the ace, Shiozaki finally got the feeling of returning to Noah. Had he been wearing the GHC Heavyweight belt without experiencing a Korakuen filled with Noah love, his first defense against Kazuyuki Fujita, may have been a different match all together. The champion, who remained unmoving in the centre of the ring, before the man with the New Japan lineage, was a living breathing entity called Noah. 

In that way, although Corona bought a catastrophe to the flow of things, it is natural to think that the opportunities have increased by the stare in the ring.

Although he had to miss three Noah TV match events due to surgery for acute appendicitis, it seems that Shiozaki does not have the option of taking a rest on June 14th. 

The meaning of having such a special day in a pro wrestling life under these circumstances, and as one man understands it more than anyone else, you fall in love as if you are watching a movie. 

"Misawa, because the champion is Go Shiozaki, there is a tide of destiny...everything is new now."

In an interview in the June 17th issue of "Weekly Pro", Akitoshi Saito talks about why he challenged Shiozaki.

Eleven years ago on September 27th 2009, the two faced each other at the Nippon Budokan for the GHC Heavyweight belt. It was the main event of the Mitsuharu Misawa memorial event, and it was being closed out without Kenta Kobashi, Akira Taue or Jun Akiyama, who had led Noah until then. In the semi final match, the then All Japan president Keiji Mutoh, and the then Noah president, Akira Taue, formed the "Presidents Tag" and faced Kenta Kobashi and Yoshihiro Takayama, which invited a large crowd of 17,000 people (overcrowded) into an excited boiling point. 

Fighting with each other, fighting against their own feelings of being in the ring with Misawa's portrait watching, fighting in the pressure that was the main event of the memorial service, it was only Shiozaki and Saito together who were fighting against the presence of their predecessors. With this shared experience, it is going to be a very special event, because it will evoke that same feeling for the first time in ten years and nine months. Just as Saito is not the Akitoshi Saito of today, Shiozaki has transformed himself too under the circumstances. People have described it as an "awakening", but this title battle will be a process which will creature a situation in which the language spoken will transcend the texture born. 

The event on June 14th 2020, is not specifically named "Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial", there are no Noah fans at the venue, and Misawa himself would say this. However, the viewers will be watching on the other side of the TV cameras, and will this throughout the match. However, this is not just to trace the past, but to make a solid and a progressive Noah, which is the mission of Shiozaki as champion. 

In the last defensive match, the color of Noah stood out because the opponent was Fujita. Will Shiozaki be able to say that this is Noah and that he is Noah, even against Saito, his very different opponent from last time, who is standing facing him? 

I will wait for June 14th in the hope that in the 11th year memorial, the new scenery will be created. 

Link to original article from Noah.co.jp 

Picture credit: Noah.co.jp