(NOAH) CARD: CROSS OVER 2021 in HIROSHIMA (1st August 2021, Sun Plaza Hiroshima)

Noah last came to Hiroshima in 2019, and they last came to Hiroshima Sun Plaza in July 2001, only three people on the roster remain from that time, and two of them (Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura) are returning as champions. Event will begin at 16:00 JST. 

The event today will be broadcast on the following platforms: 

ABEMA

This will be a free broadcast which should hopefully be worldwide. Please note that you can only watch this live, unless you are a subscriber to the service you will not be able to watch the replay. I do not recommend that you do subscribe if you are outside of Japan due to the issues with finding a VPN that works. Stream starts at 15:30 JST.

WRESTLEUNIVERSE

English commentary available. You must be a subscriber to this service to view. 

FITE TV

English commentary available. You can purchase this event for $19.99 and view it on repeat any time you wish. PPV is not available to buy for those living in Japan.

MATCH ONE

Mohammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito vs King Tani & Kinya Okada 

Poor Kinya Okada (too staid and Showa) gets caught up in a whole lotta disco dancing when he teams with King Tani to take on Tani's partners, Mohammed Yone and Akitoshi Saito. There is no rift between Funky Express yet, but this is how it starts, and I can see King Tani getting a bit too out of control, a bit too big for his royal boots, and maybe even a little too regal, even for Yone. 

MATCH TWO

Kongoh (Kenoh, Tadasuke & Aleja) vs Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba & Junta Miyawaki

The Kongoh Juniors have been on a roll recently, mainly thanks to Tadasuke using his heavyweight strength to take down his opponents. Kenoh has been growling that Kongoh will make Hiroshima in their colors. 

MATCH THREE

Yoshinari Ogawa & Yasutaka Yano vs Perros De Mal De Japon (Kotaro Suzuki & Ikuto Hidaka) 

With the other members of STINGER busy with title matches, Yoshinari Ogawa teams with young Yasutaka Yano to do some teaching. In this match his first Noah graduate, Kotaro Suzuki, will collide with his youngest. This is going to be an Ogawa classroom with two guest teachers, and probably some uninvited guests. 

MATCH FOUR

Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Haoh & Nioh) vs The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Kazuyuki Fujita & Kendo Kashin)

Very mixed bag here as little Haoh finds he has an opponent in large Kazuyuki Fujita, and Noah's resident poltergeist, Kendo Kashin, and Noah's demonic Katsuhiko Nakajima collide. This should be an interesting match to say the least.

MATCH FIVE

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship Match

Daisuke Harada & Hajime Ohara vs STINGER (Seiki Yoshioka vs Yuya Susumu)

This will be the second defense of the 43rd Champions, Daisuke Harada & Hajime Ohara, as they take on a team for whom Hiroshima is a very special place as both they and HAYATA have roots here stemming from their days in WRESTLE-1. This match could be the start of the next shift in the ever changing Noah Junior power map.

MATCH SIX

SPECIAL TAG IN HIROSHIMA

Great Muta & NOSAWA Rongai vs Kaito Kiyomiya & Atsushi Kotoge

The Great Muta once again comes to the overworld to team with NOSAWA Rongai (who the poster made look like a demon who haunts abandoned fairgrounds), to take on Atsushi Kotoge and Kaito Kiyomiya. Kiyomiya sees this match as a way to break out of his shell, with Muta warning him that he will bring him a fresh nightmare. 

MATCH SEVEN

GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match

HAYATA vs YO-HEY

Since HAYATA turned on YO-HEY and joined STINGER just over a year ago or so, fans have been kept waiting for a showdown between the two and it has come in Hiroshima after YO-HEY challenged his former tag partner for the GHC Junior Heavyweight. The match has come in Hiroshima which is a special place not only for HAYATA (native of the prefecture, this is his 15th anniversary in wrestling, which YO-HEY has said he will make a nightmare, and the WrestleGate association), but for YO-HEY too due to the shared associations he has mainly with HAYATA (and marginally with Susumu and Yoshioka), from being in Dove. This is a special match for both YO-HEY, HAYATA and fans alike. Noah have really saved everything for this match, even the pre-match didn't go ahead (thanks to Tadasuke bursting in to make an announcement), so everything will be new.

YO-HEY has beaten HAYATA only once, can he do it again? 

MATCH EIGHT

GHC Heavyweight Championship Match

Naomichi Marufuji vs Kazushi Sakuraba

The last time Naomichi Marufuji came here he was only 21 years old and a junior member of the roster, the GHC Heavyweight Championship was something far out of reach, now he returns twenty years later holding the highest championship in Noah. He says he is not interested in facing the joking, happy-go-lucky, slightly bumbling Sugiura Army Kazushi Sakuraba - he wants the "Gracie Killer" Kazushi Sakuraba. 

Picture credit: Noah.co.jp