(NOAH) CHRONOLOGY: GHC HEAVYWEIGHT TAG ~ AXIZ vs The Sugiura Army for the vacant GHC Heavyweight Tag Title belts

 

The title match for the vacant GHC Heavyweight tag titles will take place on the 30th August 2020 at Kultz Kawasaki. Rene Dupree and El Hijo De Dr Wagner Jnr nominated their teammates, Takashi Sugiura and Kazushi Sakuraba, and the team that had they had beaten to win Global Tag League 2020; AXIZ. 

The first pre-match before the championship match took place on the 20th August. For the first time ever Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kazushi Sakuraba faced off, Nakajima drew on his MMA background and the match between the two of them was described as "Amazing", while as ever Takashi Sugiura and Go Shiozaki went to war in what was described as a "power struggle". Kazushi Sakuraba got the win after twenty-five minutes and twenty-one seconds after making the heavily taped up Go Shiozaki tap by putting him in an arm lock, while outside the ring, Takashi Sugiura gripped Katsuhiko Nakajima preventing him from getting in and breaking the hold. After the match Sakuraba acknowledged how well turning the lariat into the arm lock worked, but he was aware on the difference in power between himself and Shiozaki, and would be working on that area. 

The final pre-match before Kawasaki on the 30th, took place in the main event of the evening show at Noah's double header at Shinkiba 1st RING on the 22nd August. There was no Kazushi Sakuraba in the match today, so Kaz Hayashi took his place. Go Shiozaki was suffering badly with his arm and shoulder, which Takashi Sugiura did not hesitate to exploit. Shiozaki was determined to redeem himself after tapping out in the last match, Shiozaki fought a bitter war with Sugiura in particular, taking him out with a huge lariat and getting the win after 22 minutes and 18 seconds. Katsuhiko Nakajima sat in a very sinister way watching as Takashi Sugiura was rolled out of the ring. He looked like a cat watching a mouse. The two pre-matches ended with both teams getting one win each, the title match would be the big decider. 

Both Takashi Sugiura and Go Shiozaki came into the title match carrying injuries; Sugiura had been in a Street Fight earlier in the week and had been given stitches in his ear by Atsushi Onita, and Go Shiozaki was heavily taped on his arm and shoulder with his elbows looking stuffed around the athletic supports. As he had done before, Takashi Sugiura homed in on Shiozaki's notoriously bad elbows, attacking them when he could. 

Kazushi Sakuraba and Katsuhiko Nakajima started the match with their MMA fighting style, with Takashi Sugiura attacking Go Shiozaki's notoriously bad arms when they squared up. Shiozaki was able to fight back, but the after effects it had on him were painful. The flow of the match went backwards and forwards; the Golden Era fight between Shiozaki and Sugiura, Nakajima really sticking his boots into Sugiura for the Shutter Chance, Nakajima vs Sugiura's elbow vs kick fight, and both Sakura and Sugiura receiving "The Endless Love". 

There were about two double submissions in the match, but the crux came at the end when Shiozaki went for the moonsault, Sugiura moved and turned into the Front Neck Choke which caused the referee to stop the match which made The Sugiura Army the new champions. 

Next champions: The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura & Kazushi Sakuraba)