(NOAH) EVENT RECAP ~ "NOAH SANCTUARY" (30th July 2020, Club Citta, Kawasaki)

It has been said that Noah have a lot of gratitude towards Club Citta, and this statement is very true. During the empty arena days caused by Coronavirus, it was Club Citta who allowed Noah to run their shows, and it looks like from now on the old venue which saw a lot of indie wrestling during the 1990s is entering a new renaissance, called now  Noah's "TV match Holy Land", it wouldn't surprise me if other promotions took advantage of it. 

Noah made a small return to normality today, with a merchandise table available, but only for half an hour. Fans however could not browse, I believe they had to order what they wanted beforehand. Kaito Kiyomiya was also on autographs, and Noah erected a plastic screen next to him so that pictures could be taken with fans. As usual there were stringent checks of temperature and condition before anyone was allowed to take their seat. For those who did get in (and Noah reported an attendance of 69 people), the show was opened by teen idol J-POP band TEENS HEAVEN. Sadly there were no dancing wrestlers this time. 

The event was broadcast live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE. As the stream is left for perpetuity, you will be able to access it if you are a subscriber. If not, it is 900 yen per calendar month, with the first month free. Please make sure you register on the first of the month or you will get charged twice. 

MATCH ONE

Shuhei Taniguchi & Kinya Okada vs THE TOUGH (Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura)

THE TOUGH came stamping to the ring wearing facemasks (which Kitamiya put back on immediately afterwards), while Kinya Okada came out and looked warily at his opponents. Looking at Yoshiki Inamura, you could hear his gears revving up as he looked at him. There was an immediate tension between Masa Kitamiya and Shuhei Taniguchi, and with good reason, this was going to be a complete Hoss fight. 

The Noah born rivals, Okada and Inamura, faced off first with Okada throwing elbows and working on Inamura's arm. He is becoming proficient in reading Inamura, and managed to anticipate and evade some of his attacks. That didn't stop Noah's tank knocking him down. Kinya Okada is often called a classical wrestler, specifically from the Showa Era, and he came up against Noah's other Showa Era wrestler today, Masa Kitamiya. The fight they put on was like an old school battle from NTV in the 1980s. Kitamiya also got a taste of Okada's kicks too. 

Taniguchi, is Noah's veteran monster, normally so quiet outside the ring inside it he becomes a monster, roaring loudly as he performs power moves or takes out all his opponents. He did his own share of "classical" wrestling when he attempted to chokeslam Inamura with a very Akira Taue like chokeslam. Taniguchi also wanted to prove to both Okada (and probably Katsuhiko Nakajima) that he could kick too, he used own version of the soccer ball kicks when he took a run up and practically punted Inamura's head off. Needless to say with all four wrestlers beast fighters, it was a powerful opener. 

WINNER: Masa Kitamiya with the Saito Suplex on Kinya Okada (11 minutes, 56 seconds)

To keep the fire burning between them, like two tigers watching each other from the long grass, Kitamita stood on one side of the ring after the match, leaning on the apron and watching Taniguchi walk off. Taniguchi stared at him until the last moment. 

MATCH TWO

YO-HEY vs Seiki Yoshioka

Despite YO-HEY'S background in Dove, and Seiki Yoshioka's time on the indies, he was only ever in the promotion eight times, and he only ever teamed with (not against) YO-HEY once during his time there (he teamed with the GinGin Boys), and so today was the first time ever the two club wrestling veterans have faced off in a singles match. 

YO-HEY seemed a little more like YO-HEY, still a little subdued, but his hair was half pink which is a good sign, and he did one of his crazy lock ups. Yoshioka just gave up and did what most people do, just forget about it and kick him. 

The match was a fast paced junior match, which illustrated against an opponent such as Yoshioka, showcases YO-HEY'S amazing natural ability, especially with the YO-ROLL which often defies physics as to how he moves his body when he does it. Yoshioka did his (in)famous top rope moonsault, and so with no commentary table to almost trash this time (and Kuniko Yamada to scare), he and YO-HEY went flying into the stairs. 

WINNER: Seiki Yoshioka with the Jump Cross Solidification (14 minutes, 2 seconds)

YO-HEY's losing streak continues

MATCH THREE

AXIZ (Go Shiozaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima) vs Kongoh (Haoh and Nioh)

This was always going to be an ugly match, between the two champion heavyweights and a junior tag team. I pitied the 5'4 Haoh who was almost chopped in half, got the "Shutter Chance" and then was bounced backwards and forwards with "Endless Love".

Kongoh made their usual entry, standing like statues until their names were called and then raising their heads in turn before turning to stand side by side with the thunderbolt throw. AXIZ, however, took their time getting to the ring, Katsuhiko Nakajima (who loves the camera), making his usual entry and Go Shiozaki delaying his to let Nakajima finish. Kongoh then decided to attack them a few minutes after they had gotten into the ring, with both teams still in their jackets. Nioh kept Shiozaki down until Shiozaki flying shoulder tackled him.

AXIZ were dominant, but this was no squash match. Haoh was small enough to slip under some of Nakajima's kicks, a double through the rope dive, and other offensive and defensive maneuvers. Katsuhiko Nakajima, like the Velociraptor he is, stalked Haoh through the match, with a big Cheshire Cat grin on his face he smirked as he wiped off Haoh's punches, and in the end told him to "Hit me" before knocking him down. He even made the soccer ball kicks even worse, by peering into Haoh's face and grabbing him by the scruff of the hair to hold his head up. Haoh, with fighting spirit, kicked out of the subsequent pin, but he did not kick out of the brutal kick Nakajima did on him next, and Nakajima sat staring into the camera as the three was counted. 

WINNER: Katsuhiko Nakajima with the Middle Kick on Haoh (15 minutes, 32 seconds)

After whatever remained of Haoh was rolled out of the ring, and AXIZ did their individual poses with the belts, they posed on the entryway with a couple of signs that had been made by fans. After this, Noah then announced the dates for N-1 Victory. The tour will start on the 18th September in Nagoya, mainly stay at Korakuen Hall (on the 23rd they will do two dates in one day, one event in the morning and the other in the evening), with the championship taking place in Osaka on the 11th October (Daisuke Harada's older brother, Akio, was delighted. Harada made no comment).

MATCH FOUR

Naomichi Marufuji & FULL THROTTLE (Atsushi Kotoge & Hajime Ohara) vs Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada & Tadasuke

After this match, Naomichi Marufuji praised the the junior wrestlers, saying he was taken aback by their heavyweight power, especially Tadasuke, and you can tell that Harada still hates Marufuji, although the two of them didn't act like children. As for Marufuji's junior teammates, Atsushi Kotoge started badgering him about who he thought was the leader, himself or Ohara? Marufuji made it quite clear (twice) that he wasn't interested, Ohara (a wise man) eventually removed Kotoge to the apron, and Marufuji answered Kotoge's question, but not in the way Kotoge would have liked, by indicating that he thought that the leader of FULL THROTTLE, is what everyone knows, it's Hajime Ohara.  

Marufuji and Kaito Kiyomiya started the match (the match was actually dominated by the juniors who outranked the two heavyweights), with Marufuji pronging Kiyomiya on the forehead as if he was a small child, so Kiyomiya got him in a headlock. Elsewhere, we got the always preciously rare jewel of Daisuke Harada vs Hajime Ohara which was typically fast paced. We also got to see the two crazy people in Noah, Atsushi Kotoge and Tadasuke face off. Kotoge was not as hyper as he normally is today, but Crazy Tadasuke was not taking a day off, and during a march around the ring shaking his head and his fists, Kotoge attempted to stop him and it didn't work. Grabbing Tadasuke by the back of the head, he headbutted him. 

Tadasuke stopped. 

Turned. 

Pointed his finger. 

"YOU!!"

Kotoge recoiled.

Crazy Tadasuke was later bought back to sanity, when Marufuji dogeared him and chopped him.  

The match ended with Marufuji and Harada outside the ring exchanging chops, as Kiyomiya pinned Ohara.

WINNER: Kaito Kiyomiya with the Tiger Suplex Hold on Hajime Ohara (18 minutes, 53 seconds)

After everyone had left the ring, Kaito Kiyomiya addressed the crowd and said he was happy to see them all today and acknowledged the debt that Noah owe Club Citta for allowing them to hold their empty arena shows there. Finishing up he spoke of the match on the 4th August at Korakuen at the first of Noah's twentieth birthday shows, which will pit himself, Go Shiozaki and Kotaro Suzuki against their seniors, Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura and Yoshinari Ogawa, and promised to "show new scenery". 

Noah's next event will be on the 1st August 2020 at Club Citta or as it is known as when there is no audience, "Noah Special Arena", when Atsushi Kotoge and Seiki Yoshioka will fight over who is the leader of FULL THROTTLE, while Hajime Ohara joins in to prove what everyone knows. It goes without saying that this will solve nothing. 

GIFS were taken from WRESTLE UNIVERSE.