(NOAH) EVENTRECAP: Premium Prelude 2020 (November 3rd, Kira Messe Numazu, Shizuoka)

Pro Wrestling Noah headed two hours out of Tokyo today, and brought the show to Shizuoka, where they also held a fan event afterwards. Naomichi Marufuji was not on the card as he was in DDT, where it was hinted there may be more of an interaction with CIMA after a tag match with him today. NOSAWA Rongai, never one to miss an opportunity, said he had a "secret midnight meeting" with him as they hadn't seen each other for a long time. CIMA said it was in Tokyo, so I guess it wasn't so secret. 

Today's event was not streamed live (shows in the provinces rarely are) will be broadcast on. WRESTLE UNIVERSE on the 5th November. You must be a subscriber to view. 

MATCH ONE

Hajime Ohara vs Yasutaka Yano

Credit to young newbie Yasutaka Yano, who went slightly longer today with Hajime Ohara, than he did against Kinya Okada when he made his debut. Ohara (with a taped elbow), took a very firm and teacher like approach to Yano. Ohara was evidently kind enough to spare him the Mui Bien though. 

WINNER: Hajime Ohara with the Mexican Head Lock (6 minutes, 9 seconds)

MATCH TWO

YO-HEY vs Kinya Okada

YO-HEY tried out one of his crazy lock ups on Kinya Okada. Okada (like most people in Noah, especially the Noah juniors who have to suffer this irritance of his), did not see the funny side and refused to engage. YO-HEY pointed out his non reaction and then got a reaction when Okada chopped him. He also commented that Okakin was becoming more aggressive. Fans would agree with him.  

WINNER: YO-HEY with the Face G (11 minutes, 19 seconds) 

MATCH THREE

Mohammed Yone & Yoshiki Inamura vs Kongoh (Masa Kitamiya & Manabu Soya)

Yoshiki Inamura walked to the ring (he appears to have given up running), having shed the red and the mohawk of his Kongoh persona; he had shaved his head (and his eyebrows), and gone back to wearing his black singlet. Backstage he said that he did this as he wanted to start from the beginning again, and so was dressing like he did when he was a trainee. 

His former tag partner, Masa Kitamiya, did not see anything to celebrate in this and attacked almost straight away. The fight went outside of the ring and into a hip toss on the concrete. Later, Inamura won the chop war against Kitamiya. During their initial scuffle, Mohammed Yone was photographed unintentionally looking at the camera. Yone would have another chance for a photo op, when he posed doing a headlock. 

This was a brutal heavyweight hoss fight, and while Yone might not have the hulking physique that Inamura, Soya and Kitamiya has, he can fight with the best of them. 

WINNER: Manabu Soya with the Ballistic on Mohammed Yone (18 minutes, 25 seconds)

Fans came away from this match commenting on this new brutal heavyweight team of Masa Kitamiya and Manabu Soya, and how they hungered for more. 

MATCH FOUR

The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura & NOSAWA Rongai) vs Shuhei Taniguchi & Seiki Yoshioka

Despite his tag partner being missing, Takashi Sugiura came out to the ring with both his GHC Heavyweight Tag belt, and his custom made belt. He seems also to be bringing in a new mat wrestling element to his matches, and that was seen today against fellow JSDF soldier, Shuhei Taniguchi who he mat wrestled. 

Seiki Yoshioka (a slight junior) didn't have much luck in getting out of Takashi Sugiura's armbar, and Sugiura no sold most of his attacks when he tried to escape. NOSAWA Rongai, however, had more luck against Shuhei Taniguchi, who he put in the figure four. It was only a matter of time until Mount Taniguchi erupted (in much the same way the "Taue Volcano" used to do in his day, when Akira Taue would suddenly snap), and he soon had his revenge. 

WINNER: Shuhei Taniguchi with the Diving Body Press on NOSAWA Rongai (16 minutes, 34 seconds)

MATCH FIVE

Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya & Momo No Seishun (Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge & Junta Miyawaki) vs Kongoh (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Haoh, Nioh and Tadasuke)

"This ten man match only has a premonition of chaos"

Fans pitied the poor trainee outside the ring at the start of this match; it's a ten man match, eight of them wear ring robes, and three of those robes aren't light. The poor boy looked overloaded. 

The war between Kenoh and Kaito Kiyomiya, started with a blonde brother face off. The two of them tore into each other with fury, while between Go Shiozaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima, it was more psychological. Nakajima, it was noted, is and was not interested in being a Kongoh team player; he has his own goal. 

Nakajima and Shiozaki's fight went outside the ring, where Nakajima attacked Shiozaki's arms by bending one of his damaged elbows over the iron and kicking it, and then laughing. The kicks and chops that passed between them were described as "screaming".  Shiozaki later said that Nakajima could hit him, kick him all he wants, but he will never give the belt to him. 

Kaito Kiyomiya introduced a new element into his wrestling today, by getting Kenoh in a figure four leg lock. Kiyomiya has used submissions in the past (most notably the combination of Misawa and Kawada submissions, his "Stretch Plum Face Lock"), but this is different for him. Fans also noticed that he has added new technique to his repertoire. 

WINNER: Go Shiozaki with the Gowan Lariat on Nioh (29 minutes, 11 seconds)

After the match, Shiozaki and Nakajima stared at each other from across the ring. When Kongoh had gone, Shiozaki made a speech to the crowd;

"I know you can't cheer, but everyone's intensity has been delivered. On the 22nd November I will defend the belt in Yokohama, and return to Numazu as champion! We will be by your side forever! I am Noah! WE are Noah!"

"Thanks for the Fan" Autograph session 2020

Although his condition was noted not to be the best by fans, and despite the fact that he came out limping to his booth, Go Shiozaki attended the fan event after the match where he and three other Noah born (who seem to be forming kind of a faction) clustered together. Nioh, however, did not attend the event, although Kongoh did. 

FULL THROTTLE where placed next to some kind of cage, and they were by far the most animated team, happy to do both their pose and the pose of the three mysterious masked men which both they and THE LEAVE are denying that they are. 

FULL THROTTLE might have been the most animated team, but the person who stole the show was Takashi Sugiura, who happily posed for fans with his mischievous smile on, making the same fist motion with thumb placement which means "Up Yours" in Japan that he used behind Kenoh's back at the N-1 VICTORY press conference, in photos, and then he was seen to be harassing a Noah official who is losing his hair. 

Yasutaka Yano, who has now officially taken his place on the Noah roster, was inducted into the secret art of autograph sessions, as flanked by his seniors he gave autographs to fans, and also posed for pictures with them. Noah called this first session of his one that would lead to thousands. 

Fans had a lot of fun, but so did the wrestlers; as a beautiful picture was taken of Mohammed Yone, Kinya Okada, Go Shiozaki and Yasutaka Yano all together. A fan commented that the picture gave a sense of family. All Japan had given that atmosphere due to the fact that The Baba's couldn't have children, and so the boys in the dojo (many of whom came from dysfunctional backgrounds) became like their kids, and this paternal feeling was bought over to Noah. Mitsuharu Misawa would have been very proud that this sense continues on in Noah today, twenty years after he left All Japan. 

With thanks to: Ya, Juan Casado Barton, Pekehoku, Hachiko, Naomi, Naoki_Slam

Picture credit: Noah GHC

Gif's taken from Noah GHC

Noah's next event: Sunday 8th November, Korakuen Hall.