(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) SEIKI YOSHIOKA ~ GHC JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Won: "Destination 2021, Back To The Budokan" ~ Nippon Budokan, 12th February 2021
Number of title reigns: 0
Number of defenses: 1
Lost: "Great Voyage in Fukuoka", Fukuoka International Centre, 14th March 2021
Total number of days held: 31
Challengers
1. Atsushi Kotoge
Title match: 14th March 2021, "Great Voyage in Fukuoka"
Atsushi Kotoge waited until Seiki Yoshioka had celebrated his title win at The Nippon Budokan on the 12th February to challenge him. Tearing off his hygiene mask and grabbing the microphone, Kotoge warned him he would be coming for his belt. Being a Noah Junior, and therefore unable to let things drop or to not carry things over to backstage, Kotoge followed up his challenge statement telling Yoshioka that never in a thousand years would be top what had happened at The Budokan, but nonetheless, he was going to take that belt in one go.
The first pre-match between Atsushi Kotoge and Seiki Yoshioka took place at Noah's first post Nippon Budokan event on 21st February in Sendai at Sendai PIT. Yoshioka teamed with Naomichi Marufuji against Atsushi Kotoge and Kaito Kiyomiya. Although Yoshioka credited Naomichi Marufuji with helping him win (Marufuji said this was not the case, and pointedly said he was a strong Noah champion), he got the win by reversing Kotoge's Killswitch. Afterwards, they faced off over the belt.
The next pre-match took place in the 23rd February in Maebashi, Gunma. Kotoge was a little more used to Yoshioka this time, and was ready for him, not letting him reverse The Killswitch, and getting the win. As the GHC Heavyweight Champion was not at the event, the two Noah juniors, the only two on the card with a pre-match took center stage over the heavyweights.
The final pre-match ended in a bloodbath at the FULL THROTTLE produce at Yokohama Radiant Halls on the 6th March 2021. The match was between FULL THROTTLE (Seiki Yoshioka, YO-HEY & Hajime Ohara) and Momo No Seishun (Atsushi Kotoge, Daisuke Harada and Junta Miyawaki), and ended when Atsushi Kotoge headbutted Seiki Yoshioka in what fans described as "dull" or "ugly". Yoshioka was laid out flat by it, and a trickle of blood emerged from Kotoge's head.
Even if two Noah Juniors hate each other (a common occurrence in a division where everyone is at war and no one truly trusts anyone), in a title match they are united by one common goal, which is almost an unbreakable one; they are not going to be outdone by the heavyweights, especially if they are having a title match that evening. Another rule that unites this chaotic division, is the fact that no self respecting Noah Junior would ever wait for the bell to signify a match has begun, and so as soon as they could they started fighting, Kotoge going for the headbutt early but Yoshioka stopping him. Throughout the match Yoshioka would repeatedly block Kotoge from doing this. Kotoge decided that if he couldn't do that, then he could work on Yoshioka's head and neck, which in the long run took a lot out of Yoshioka. Kotoge had once warned him that he was jumping too far ahead too soon after winning the title at The Nippon Budokan from Daisuke Harada, and tonight he worked hard to prove that he was right.
WINNER: Atsushi Kotoge with The Killswitch (20 minutes, 2 seconds)
NEXT CHAMPION: Atsushi Kotoge
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