(NOAH) EVENT RECAP: PREMIUM PRELUDE 2020 ( Friday November 27, Tsukuba Capio, Tsukuba, Ibaraki)

"We enjoyed the goodness of local entertainment, that the people of the metropolitan area cannot easily have."

Noah travelled an hour or so out of Tokyo to bring the show to a 10°c Tsukuba, Ibaraki. The blue lights on the trees for the festive season seemed to underline the cold.   

Fans travelled up from Tokyo (some for the first time), and some came after work (even travelling about 70km in one case), and everyone agreed that it the show for a small countryside venue was intense. Go Shiozaki saying that each match he fights is a GHC Heavyweight match, is the same mindset as Noah putting on a show in a rural venue, it's on par with Korakuen.  

I don't have too much information on anything much before the third match, but the show itself will be broadcast on WRESTLEUNIVERSE on the 30th November. 

MATCH ONE

Junta Miyawaki vs Yasutaka Yano

Junta Miyawaki concentrated on Yasutaka Yano's arm, eventually getting the win via submission. However, it was said that Yano's singles match with Okada was better. 

WINNER: Junta Miyawaki with the Kimura Lock (5 minutes, 13 seconds)

MATCH TWO

Mohammed Yone, Shuhei Taniguchi & Kinya Okada vs Kongoh (Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya & Nioh)

Vicious melee with Shuhei Taniguchi and Manabu Soya getting into a stiff elbow battle. Very good second match, in which Kinya Okada was said to be very good. 

Kind hearted Mohammed Yone thanked everyone for coming out in the cold. He said this while putting Nioh in a jaw lock. 

WINNER: Masa Kitamiya with the Saito Suplex on Kinya Okada (18 minutes, 6 seconds)

MATCH THREE

Go Shiozaki & Hajime Ohara vs The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura & NOSAWA Rongai)

"Too intense for a third match!"

Go Shiozaki started the match by holding the belt up to Takashi Sugiura. Takashi Sugiura was wearing new jewellery, a pendant on the end of a thick chain, which looked like it had some kind of dog symbol it, while in the background Hajime Ohara was holding up a FULL THROTTLE towel. Fans nicknamed the team of Shiozaki and Ohara "Team Kawasaki" (Shiozaki lives there, he's not native to the city like Ohara). 

Shiozaki was reportedly in a lot better condition today, and wasn't in so much pain when he chopped both Takashi Sugiura and NOSAWA Rongai, but despite this he fell victim to the dreaded Sugiura finisher that has finished off many a man; the front neck lock.   

WINNER: Takashi Sugiura via referee stop (13 minutes, 12 seconds)

Sugiura got on the microphone, and told Shiozaki something like he expected him to give him a little more. Backstage he commented that to get the belt in his 20th year of wrestling would be the best thing in his career. 

MATCH FOUR

Naomichi Marufuji vs Seiki Yoshioka

Seiki Yoshioka said that he had long been inspired by Naomichi Marufuji, and a lot of what he did he had gotten from him. There was a handshake before the match, which fans said was worthy of something you would see at Korakuen. Yoshioka did his (in)famous dive to the outside, and even managed to dodge a few of Marufuji's kicks. 

Winner: Naomichi Marufuji with the True Tiger King (13 minutes, 54 seconds)

After the match, Naomichi Marufuji was full of praise for Yoshioka. Saying that he should do his best to aim for the top, and recalling his own junior days with KENTA and Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and how the Noah juniors at that level were gathering once again. 

MATCH FIVE

Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshiki Inamura & Momo No Seishun (Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge) vs Kongoh (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Haoh & Tadasuke)

Everyone joined in the Kongoh pose, even the seconds, with Katsuhiko Nakajima sitting on the turnbuckles and watching like some ominous bird of prey. Losing hasn't lessened Nakajima's smile. He looked a little washed out, but he was still eerie looking. Atsushi Kotoge got "The Shutter Chance", with Kaito Kiyomiya getting the Kongoh version of "Endless Love". Kaito Kiyomiya scattered white feathers from his jacket everywhere on admission.

Katsuhiko Nakajima seems to have a new target, Yoshiki Inamura, who did a walking brainbuster on him. Nakajima did not forget this and was seen squaring up to him at the end of the match. 

Daisuke Harada and Tadasuke had an intense fight, and then Tadasuke attacked Harada backstage after Harada had made a jibe wondering about "what number" Tadasuke was in Kongoh. They had to be seperated, with Nioh hauling Tadasuke through the door.

WINNER: Kaito Kiyomiya with the Tiger Suplex on Haoh (22 minutes, 31 seconds)

After the match, Kiyomiya said that although he had failed in his challenge for the GHC National, he was not giving up on his dream, the lights were burning stronger than ever, and that he and Kenoh would never stop fighting. 

With thanks to: Naoki_Slam13, Takan, Kei, Koichiro Takeda, 92Saito, FarFlower 

Picture credit: Noah GHC, PKDX

Noah's next show: "NEW HOPE" Saturday 28th November (will be broadcast on Sunday 29th on WrestleUniverse)