(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) GHC NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: TAKASHI SUGIURA
Number of title reigns: 1
Number of defenses: 3
Lost: "Go on to the DEMOLITION STAGE 2021", Kumamoto Castle Hall, 28th October 2021
Total number of days held: 183
Challengers
1. Kazushi Sakuraba
2. Masato Tanaka
3. Masaaki Mochizuki
VS KAZUSHI SAKURABA
Title match: Mitsuharu Misawa Memorial, 30th May 2021, Ota Ward General Gymnasium
In true Sugiura Army\"Sugi Saku" style, when Kazushi Sakuraba challenged for the title on the 29th April, Takashi Sugiura told him that he could do it on on one condition. He beat him at "Rock Paper Scissors". Sakuraba did, and Sugi had to give him his shot.
The first pre-match between them was fought without any "carefree old men" hi-jinks, and was fought mainly in a MMA style. The first pre-match took place on the 15th May at Korakuen Hall, and saw Takashi Sugiura team with Kazuyuki Fujita (who seemed to have no hard feelings about teaming with the man who took his title from him in his first defense), against Kazushi Sakuraba and Kazunari Murakami. The match ended after 15 minutes and 38 seconds when Sakuraba caught Sugiura in an ankle lock. As he was helped out of the ring, Sakuraba turned to stare at Sugi. Tonight "Sugi and Saku" became rivals.
Kenta Kobashi (looking as if he was slowly inching his seat away from his co-commentator, NOSAWA Rongai), was at ringside commentary for this. It's probably best that it wasn't Kenoh, who would have gone up in flames on seeing Sakuraba and Sugiura mess around for the first few minutes of the match with Sakuraba twisting Sugi's ears.
The GHC National has come to be characterized by very MMA style matches, and today's match was no exception. Sakuraba exploited Sugiura's weakness in this area by repeatedly pulling him in to ground attacks, and even targeting his knee. Each time he did, Sugi pulled him back up to his sphere, and let loose a flurry of elbows at one point. The MMA ground attacks and Sakuraba's submissions, as Sugiura himself admitted, are not used in wrestling so while Sugiura has a background in it, it is not something he comes across each time in the ring, and Sakuraba's submissions are different as a result and so he had good reason to fear them, but if he was going to win this match then he was going to have to bide his time and catch Sakuraba unawares. Playing him at his own game was going to be no good. He had to play Sugiura's.
A handshake and a playful attack from Takashi Sugiura, meant that no lasting harm was done between the two, and that most likely Sakuraba would be paying for celebratory drinks.
Title match: 15th August 2021, KAWASAKI GO
Following a tag match where he defeated Takashi Sugiura on July 23rd, Masato Tanaka challenged for the GHC National, but that was not all, he was going to put the ZERO-1 World Heavyweight on the line too. Tanaka later said that this has been a longstanding ambition of his to do a double title match. Takashi Sugiura had said he wanted a strong challenger to challenge for the belt, and was more than happy to agree to the match.
The one and only pre-match for the double title match on the 15th August in Kawasaki took place at Korakuen Hall on the 6th August ("DEPARTURE DAY 2") in a raw and gritty match. The match started with both of them holding their belts up to each other in friendly rivalry, but ended with a feeling of bitterness. The pair had a vicious elbow war, which Tanaka halted by taking out Sugiura's knee, which Masaaki Mochizuki joined in with later.
Masaaki Mochizuki and Kazushi Sakuraba really gelled when they fought, with Sakuraba showing some very clever ring psychology, playing dead at one point, and setting it up so Mochi and Tanaka had to pull him up from a fainting position, and when they attacked Sugi got rid of Tanaka, and he trapped Mochi in a submission. It would have been so perfect if Mochi didn't get to the ropes. The win went to Takashi Sugiura, however, but it wasn't over Masato Tanaka as the referee stopped the match due to Masaaki Mochizuki being choked out.
An intense stand off took place at the end of the match, with Sugiura glaring and Tanaka screaming as they held their belts in each others faces. This went on backstage as well in the interview area.
Title match
Stiff handshake and a stare before Kawasaki fell to the ground, the bell rang and it was on. Stiff stiff stiff - elbows, punches, kicks. Not a technical match by any means, more of a raw brawl. TKO would probably be the best way to win this. Submission moves were intended to wear the other guy down and neither truly wanted to win by tap out, there were slams off of the apron and rather than your trainees, an army of referees at ringside with the boys from ZERO1 seconding Masato Tanaka. The atmosphere at Kawasaki was on a knife edge. Bloody headbutts to escape from the submissions that were used, Tanaka using a chair, the ref shoved down, a Sliding Elbow from the apron and vicious elbow war. This was probably the toughest fight that Takashi Sugiura may have ever had, leading to Masato Tanaka to comment later that Sugiura was "rugged, strong, just like a pro wrestler". Tanaka was hammered in the corner by Sugiura's elbows, but this only had the effect of powering him up and not knocking him down. With the upper hand, Tanaka took his elbow pad off and struck Sugiura with his elbow but Sugiura was lying in wait and reversed this into the dreaded neck lock.
Just like the days of summer which start off with brilliance and grow shorter and shorter as time passes, the end of the match kind of mirrored this. Exhausted, worn down and covered in sweat, an elbow war turned into a slap war which bought Sugiura almost to his knees as they then moved on to knees, but there was one last burst of an Indian Summer when Sugiura went for the top rope Olympic Slam and just like summer, Tanaka was spent.
WINNER: Takashi Sugiura with the Snowfall Olympic Slam (38 minutes, 37 seconds)
The referee was waiting to present Sugiura with the belts, but he wanted to shake hands with Tanaka first. Tanaka who in a highly professional and touching gesture, handed them to him himself, they embraced and then both bowed on all fours. Sugiura, who has made history by being both the GHC National Champion and the ZERO1 World Heavyweight Champion. then spoke on the mic;
"Thank you! I won by chance today! Masato Tanaka, we are The Bullet Yankees, lets do it again someday."
VS MASAAKI MOCHIZUKI
Title match: Go on to the DEMOLITION STAGE 2021, Kumamoto Castle Hall Civic Hall, Thursday October 28th
Masaaki Mochizuki challenged Takashi Sugiura for the GHC National at Noah's event "GRAND SQUARE in Osaka 2021" on Sunday 10th October. Mochizuki told Sugiura how much he had wanted to have a singles match with him, with Sugiura granting his request.
17th October 2021, Club Citta, Kawasaki
The first pre-match saw Masaaki Mochizuki team with Katsuhiko Nakajima against Masato Tanaka and Takashi Sugiura (Tanaka is challenging Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight).
The first time Takashi Sugiura got in the ring, Nakajima had been in it with Tanaka and then refused to tag Masaaki Mochizuki in. Sugi told him to stop messing around, he wasn't interested in fighting him, he wanted Mochi. In the end, with Nakajima being irritating, Mochi tagged himself in, then Nakajima did the same and then tagged out just as quickly. Fortunately for Sugi, Nakajima was not his target and just an irritancy, and he could pretty much after this concentrate on Mochizuki. Mochi met Sugi's elbows with kicks and the two of them fought outside the ring as well as in it, but the match was to be inconclusive as Masato Tanaka got the win over Katsuhiko Nakajima.
28th October 2021, Kumamoto Castle Hall
Title match
Takashi Sugiura came out with only the GHC National title, he didn't have his "Sugi belt" or the ZERO-1 championship. Masaaki Mochizuki began by winding Sugiura up with punches and kicks, I think this had more of an effect on Sugiura due to the fact that he was not dealing with a "brat" (as he labels the younger generation when angry with them), but someone of the same age and with a career longer than him. There was no real bitterness in the match though as M's and Sugi A usually have a healthy rivalry and generally get along, but it was grueling, especially for Mochizuki who refused to quit. In general, Sugiura would use a lot of submissions in the match, it wasn't his usual brawl and Mochizuki got hammered by them.
If Mochizuki was going to work on Sugiura's arms, then Sugiura was going to deprive Mochizuki of his weapons, his feet, and he even applied his ankle lock when dragging him outside of the ring and driving his knee into the floor. For a time after this, and due to further damage to his foot and his knee, Mochizuki's kicks had very little effect. Later, caught in an ankle lock, his foot being twisted out of the socket almost and Sugiura dragging him back from the ropes and with a well aimed kick to the face and then into a suplex on the turnbuckles, punches, slams and then a knee, Mochizuki was still not out. This was his dream to have a singles match with Sugiura and to win a first singles title in Noah, he had to hang in there. Sugiura then went for the Olympic Slam, Mochizuki resisted and his knees were attacked to make him pliable, but again he kicked out. Both were becoming worn down after flurries of elbows, punches and kicks, and Mochizuki decided then he'd trade on this and went for well aimed kick to the face.
NEXT CHAMPION: Masaaki Mochizuki
LINKS
Kazushi Sakuraba
Masaaki Mochizuki
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