(NOAH) Event recap ~ "Noah special Kongoh fan meeting" (March 6th 2020)

"Your favorite talk show" (Kenoh)

Before coronavirus took hold, Kongoh were due to make a live talk show with audience (their second), but naturally this had to be cancelled and during what was known as the "Empty Arena Era", Noah held online events during the first week of March, one of which was the Kongoh fan meeting. Fans might not have been able to come and physically see them, so the talk took place online at MEGARAGE (an arcade bar in Kawasaki). Yoshiki Inamura (the only person to clap at the beginning, as Kenoh was playing with his phone) wanted to know who was watching, and was told it is done through YouTube, Kenoh says he can't actually see it, but it has the feeling of a talk show. The host agrees that it has the feel of it, and people can watch and ask questions through the channel. A man by the surname of Inoue is the MC, with Yoshiki Inamura taking over later when fans asked questions as he helped choose them. 

Unlike some other guests which have done online fan events for MEGARAGE (RATELS), there was no drinking before, and the only drinks served (aside from the water that Kenoh bought, the bottle of cold tea that Nioh was drinking from) was RED BULL, and so everyone was sober. 

The heavyweights (Masa Kitamiya, Kenoh and Yoshiki Inamura) sat at the front in black, with the two juniors (Haoh and Nioh) in red on stools at the back. The majority of the talking was done by the heavyweights, Nioh joined in a little, but Haoh was being begged by fans to speak and Kongoh made him give the toast when RED BULL was brought to them, he also said that he was once mistaken for Minoru Tanaka, although someone said he looked more like a small boy. The event took place before Tadasuke and Manabu Soya had joined, with a prophetic fan comment being made during the course of the talk, "Let's bring wrestlers from W-1 to Kongoh".

There were some very funny comments made by the fans on the live feed, but nothing was funnier when The Sugiura Army being the biggest unit in Noah was mentioned, with fans saying about Kazuyuki Fujita and the damage caused to his home by the hurricane; 

...It seems that Fujita is still without a roof

...Fujita does not need a roof.

...He lives in a cave

There was also a comment that Fujita and Sakuraba had been told to keep the noise down on the Shinkansen. However, it wasn't Fujita who was making the noise. 

In contrast to the usual angry Spartan militaristic Kongoh, there was a lot of laughter (Masa Kitamiya sounds like a chipmunk, while Yoshiki Inamura tends to go ""Ohohohoho" or "Huwahahaha"), and a lot of smiles, and a lot of jokes (with Inamura not scared to tease Kenoh a little as we will see). One of the jokes was "Kongoh, the "Potato Boys". To refer to or call someone a "Potato Boy" in Japan means a man who is handsome, popular with women, has a well-structured, clean face and a robust six-pack, (potatoes being both rugged and rustic), this all started because Inamura was told he had a "potato face". There was also the laughing talk about the "Kongoh sneakers", which would be unisex, and a wide width (to fit Masa Kitamiya). While we may never get Kongoh sneakers, what fans want to see happen is the Kongoh photobook (one fan on chat said to make an Inamura one, which was followed up with another comment "Will the front cover be at the Zoo?"). At the time of writing, Noah have just released the third AXIZ photobook and have announced no further plans for any others. 

Responding to the fan questions on YouTube, or else just talking among themselves; each member of Kongoh revealed something about themself, and naturally one of those subjects was food. 

Nioh (who got called "Hirooki" from time to time), said that he maintained a Lemon Sour (alcoholic drink) diet. Yoshiki Inamura loves Bluefin Tuna and Masa Kitamiya says he likes fried food, in particular Karage. 

"Animal King Inamura"

Yoshiki Inamura is a well known animal lover, who has a pass to the Tokyo Zoo, owns many reptiles as pets, and has a dog at his parents house. He is also known for posting pictures of animals on his social media (when he is not posting pictures of food). He spoke at length about reptiles, his passion starting when he worked as clerk in a reptile pet store. When Kongoh were asked to compare themselves to animals, Inamura said that he would be a Capybara (Kitamiya said from the "Capybara Room", which is a reference to Inamura's Mongolian sumo background), and Haoh in one of the rare times he spoke, said he would also be the same animal. Kenoh didn't have the chance to say what animal he would be, as Inamura said he reminded him of a Savannah Monitor (one fan commented that Kenoh looked like a snake). Kenoh says he didn't know he was like a Savannah Monitor (i.e. one of the large lizard family according to Inamura). 

Nioh said he would be a Panda (he loves Pandas), Masa Kitamiya a Pomeranian dog, and Haoh agreed with Inamura that he would also be a Capybara. To be called a "Capybara" is a form of slang in Japan, which means someone with a warm, calm and gentle personality who is soft to the touch. As I said, this was a very different Kongoh from what you see in the ring. 

Fans commented they were looking forward to hearing more about Inamura.

"Noah's charisma, Kenoh"

Kenoh was in a very good mood, and for someone who is normally so angry in the ring, he revealed a somewhat gentle side of himself saying that he likes K-POP and that Koji Mihara the lead singer of a Japanese band called "Frederic" is his favorite vocalist. Kenoh also revealed that he likes walks in the mountains and trekking up them, which isn't surprising considering that the "fucking countryside", he comes from, Shikoku, boasts Mount Ishizuchi, which is the highest mountain in all of Western Japan. Sadly he never said as to whether he had climbed it though (in an interview he did in 2018, he revealed he also snowboards). 

But what was said about matters concerning the ring? 

Yoshiki Inamura when he was asked who his favorite wrestler was, joked and said "Kongoh", but when asked again said shyly that his dream would be to have a singles match with Takashi Sugiura (who is his hero, despite the fact that The Sugiura Army are Kongoh's enemies), his other inspiration is Daisuke Sekimoto. He also really wants a singles match with Hideki Suzuki. Speaking of Hideki Suzuki, someone claiming to be him appeared on the chat and said  "I like Kongoh". 

Kenoh said he doesn't have a favorite wrestler. 

"Young Kiyomiya"

Kongoh's origins were discussed. They started in Yokohama in 2019, after Kenoh had split from the team "Kaioh" he believes with his endless capacity for self delusion, that he was forced to make with Kaito Kiyomiya (it should be noted that no one forced him, he came out when Kiyomiya asked him and agreed to his request). Kenoh refers to Kiyomiya as a "child" or "Young Kiyomiya" (he refuses to believe that he is anything other than the awkward teenaged trainee he remembers). Either fighting each other, tagging together or simply ignoring each other, Kenoh and Kaito Kiyomiya have had a long history together. Inamura commented that Kiyomiya is to Kenoh, what Kinya Okada is to him. Rivals. But whereas Okada and Inamura have a more straightforward rivalry, the one between Kenoh and Kiyomiya is complex. As one fan put it  there is a lot of love, but there is also a lot of jealousy. 

Kongoh when it was first formed soon after the split was Kenoh, Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura and Atsushi Kotoge. Kotoge later left to return to the Noah juniors, and Kenoh said his thoughts when Kotoge announced this was along the lines of, "If this is what you want to do, then good luck". Kenoh has a delightful way of referring to Kongoh not as "Kongoh-san" (which is how some Japanese people refer to a company, business, shop etc in respectful terms) but as "Kongoh-chan", which is a lot more playful and a lot less formal. As one fan commented it was like "a lunch break for High School boys". 

Kenoh's other obsession,  Kiyoshi Tamura was also mentioned with the interviewer saying with surprise to Kenoh that he thought that Kiyomiya was his number one rival. Kenoh managed to keep his language clean about subjects that tended to whip him up into a verbal frenzy.  

Kenoh was very proud when the Kongoh produce was discussed saying pointedly it was "sold out". 

Towards the end of the event, Kiyomiya in America and Canada is touched upon, and with this Eddie Edwards was also mentioned. Kenoh recalls taking the GHC Heavyweight championship from him, and says he has a "stylistic style", by which he means he has taken inspiration for his wrestling from different sources (i.e. what he was taught in the Noah dojo, and what he learned in the American one, and blended it together). 

Fans want Junta Miyawaki to join Kongoh when he comes back from injury. Personally, I think this would be too awkward because of Inamura's position in Kongoh and in Noah (his career has accelerated ahead of Miyawaki's, who is his senior), although I do think when he returns Miyawaki needs to have some kind of mentorship, so I think The M's Alliance would be more suitable. Although of course there was no M'S Alliance at the time this was recorded. 

There will most likely be a third Kongoh talk event, especially now that Kongoh have grown in number. Noah have not announced anything as of yet as due to the Coronavirus fan events are not really happening at the moment, but given the popularity of the last two a third whether online or with a reduced attendance, is more than a possibility. 

Gifs taken from Noah GHC YouTube, Kongoh Fan Meeting.