(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) ATSUSHI KOTOGE ~ GHC JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Won: "Great Voyage in Fukuoka", Fukuoka International Center. Sunday 14th March 2021
Number of title reigns: 3
Number of defenses: 3
Lost: Sunday June 27th 2021, "MUTA the WORLD"
Total number of days held: 106
Challengers
1. Nioh
2. Yuya Susumu
3. Noah Junior Rumble, vs winner HAYATA
VS NIOH
Title match: 18th April 2021, Korakuen Hall
After the opening match at Korakuen Hall on the 21st March (available via WrestleUniverse, subscribers only), Nioh went to Atsushi Kotoge who was standing on the apron and made it quite clear that he was interested in the belt. Kotoge held it up, and Nioh left the ring with Kongoh. Tadasuke had earlier made an allusion to the fact that he may challenge, but he seemed pretty supportive of Nioh getting there first. Nioh did not make any public challenge in the ring, but made his request in the interview area. Atsushi Kotoge accepted saying he would take on all comers.
Atsushi Kotoge won the first pre-match with the Killswitch, but fell to Nioh in the second when he pulled out the MichinokuDriver Beta. Atsushi Kotoge wrestled the match calm, calculated and focused. Nioh was just the same, anticipating Kotoge's moves. Nioh has a tendency sometimes to not think too much about what he needs to do and is sometimes content to go along with what someone else says (Taiji Ishimori was a prime example of this when they tagged), and so fans said tonight it was great to see just what Nioh could do, and what Nioh did was to work on wearing Kotoge down, including at one point using a Javelin Throw move and ramming Kotoge's head into the apron. This was an utterly brutal title match, and was said to be by far the best match on the card of the evening, but it was Kotoge who walked away the victor with The Killswitch in 23 minutes and 1 seconds.
VS YUYA SUSUMU
Title match: 31st May 2021, Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial Show (changed as the Oita Gymnasium cancelled due to Coronavirus)
Yuya Susumu took the chance to challenge Atsushi Kotoge for the GHC Junior Heavyweight on the 3rd May 2021. Kotoge told him his challenge had terms; he was welcome to challenge him and he would grant it, but only on one condition, STINGER put the GHC Junior Heavyweight tag belts up against Harada and Ohara. Ogawa of course made a fuss when he found out, but Kotoge thought the idea quite brilliant. STINGER have had no choice but to agree, and as a result, the GHC Junior Heavyweight will be defended at the Mitsuharu Misawa memorial show at Korakuen Hall.
Atsushi Kotoge and Yuya Susumu go way back, and because of this they know each other very well. Both fought in the first pre-match at Korakuen (15th May 2021) desperately looking for something to break through a small opening in the gap on the armor of the other. Susumu capitalized on the advantage that Kotoge's partner was the young Junta Miyawaki, who he and partner Seiki Yoshioka, kept out of the ring in order to work on Kotoge and wear him down. The strategy worked, and Kotoge tapped after 9 minutes and 41 seconds. Susumu won the first pre-match, and after a brief stare down following a spell of Noah Junior chaos, left the ring.
The second pre-match took place in the form of an eight man elimination match on the 22nd June at Yokohama Radiant Halls, when all of STINGER took on all of Momo No Seishun. Nothing was really solved between Kotoge and Susumu, although they and their teammates did make sure to put them in the ring together as much as possible. Kotoge, however, did manage to eliminate Susumu with the Killswitch before being eliminated by Yoshinari Ogawa later on in the match.
Kotoge knew that there were two things he had to do in the title match, avoid the dreaded face lock and win. Susumu did manage to catch him in it, but Kotoge managed to escape, almost as if he was bolting for the exit.
WINNER: Atsushi Kotoge with the Killswitch (12 minutes, 31 seconds)
Kotoge then found himself with a lot of challengers all clamoring for a shot at the belt, Ikuto Hidaka (said he would be the most interesting), Seiki Yoshioka (who squared up to him) and Tadasuke came to the ring accompanied by their units. Only the others in STINGER did not appear. In order to satisfy everyone and keep the peace in division who could start a mass brawl with each other for no reason, Kotoge suggested they sort it out in the way that every Noah Junior would respect and understand. A rumble. The winner of this would get a shot at the title. Kotoge said he wanted every Noah junior to enter this, even his own unit. Ohara was enthusiastic, Miyawaki made no comment, but Harada said that he was the only contender and he would win it and challenge.
These were the billed competitors.
Daisuke Harada
Hajime Ohara
Junta Miyawaki
Seiki Yoshioka
Haoh
Nioh
Tadasuke
NOSAWA
Ikuto Hidaka
Eita
Naturally, this being the Noah Juniors, it didn't turn out this way.
At the start of the match, Atsushi Kotoge came out and took his place at ringside to watch what was going to happen as Daisuke Harada came out first and NOSAWA second. Eita came out third, making a "You!" motion and beckoning to Harada. Hair pulling and double teaming followed. Help for Harada arrived in the unlikely form of Seiki Yoshioka (4th) and then Junta Miyawaki (5th). Miyawaki dropkicked everyone down, and then came a surprise entry, the first, but not the last.
YO-HEY was number 6 (and if you listened carefully, you could hear Noah Twitter screaming as fans had been concerned as to why he hadn't been advertised for any shows). YO-HEY and his new darker look, went straight for Seiki Yoshioka. Yoshioka would later comment bitterly that the irritant had returned.
Kongoh came out in a mob, Hajime Ohara was next (by this time numbers had flown out of the window), Yuya Susumu (another person not advertised in a "ten man rumble", but then again no self respecting Noah Junior passes up a rumble), Ikuto Hidaka, and then Kotaro Suzuki. So, with what looked like all the participating Noah Juniors in the ring things got down to usual fashion i.e. mass brawls inside and outside the ring.
Then HAYATA and Yoshinari Ogawa decided to enter, and casually threw Daisuke Harada and NOSAWA Rongai out. before Kotaro Suzuki and Ogawa got into it with HAYATA legally double teaming him. The ref, ignoring this and Tadasuke and Yoshioka grappling on the ropes, concentrated on Miyawaki and Haoh. Miyawaki managed two eliminations (Haoh and Nioh) before being eliminated himself.
Eita and Ogawa were set loose on each other, with Eita being eliminated by Ogawa.
YO-HEY eliminated Yoshioka.
NOSAWA helped Kotaro eliminate Ogawa, and with other Noah Juniors going out either before or after, this left HAYATA, Kotaro and YO-HEY, which came down to HAYATA and YO-HEY. Despite the fight he put up against his former tag partner, today was not the day when YO-HEY would finally beat HAYATA.
WINNER: HAYATA with the Headache (35 minutes)
So HAYATA (who was not originally in the rumble, but who always seems to do well in rumbles or elimination matches), had won a shot at the title, which he looked anything but pleased about. Atsushi Kotoge told HAYATA (after HAYATA had awkwardly paced the ring after STINGER had left, and pointed to the belt)
"HAYATA, I don't think you will talk, but I think you have intensity. My current intention and momentum can never be stopped! It is my role to create the current Noah Junior".
HAYATA once said that he does his talking in the ring, and in response to Kotoge he did just that by pointing again to the belt when Kotoge held it up, attacking him and then draping the belt over him before leaving.
Atsushi Kotoge's streak of viciousness matched HAYATA'S well known sadistic streak, so they were well matched. Seeing that a side of HAYATA'S neck was damaged, Kotoge immediately homed in on it, torturing him. He was going to do whatever it took to win and he was inventive in his ways of doing it. HAYATA could also be as inventive, and turned the tide of the match by modifying the Headache so Kotoge's head was rammed into the bottom turnbuckle where he remained motionless for a few minutes, and it gave them both a much needed respite. The Headache often takes a lot out of people, and so Kotoge had to find the strength to drag himself up and continue on, it wasn't easy for him as it had taken a lot of out of him and he both gave out and endured Killswitch, Moonsaults, Crossfix, another Headache and even a Styles Clash which looked almost to get him the win. This was a highly critical situation which both knew was going to go to sudden death, and it was HAYATA who got the kill.
WINNER: HAYATA with the 403 Impact (24 minutes, 22 seconds)
Next Champion: HAYATA
Links
Yuya Susumu
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