(NOAH) EVENT RECAP ~ "UP TO EMOTION" (Saturday July 3rd 2021, Yokohama Radiant Hall, Yokohama)

Heavy rain and a humid temperature in Yokohama greeted fans who came to Radiant Halls. There were a lot of treats in store for them; THE LEAVE had given out free Naomichi Marufuji face masks to commemorate his GHC win, the HAYATA pictures sold out in about thirty to forty-five minutes, and they where able to purchase a packet of mystery magnets which had been put together at random. New fans also came today, with some travelling from Tokyo and some coming even further from the Osaka region. 

The event today was broadcast live on WrestleUniverse. No static cam, but rather a TV like broadcast. The drone however cannot be used with live audiences, so it stays in its box until more empty arena events come up. There were also four trainees at ringside today, who at various points in the evening had to act as barriers between the crowd and the wrestlers as Yokohama does not have any rails.

MATCH ONE

15 minute time limit

Naomichi Marufuji vs Takashi Sugiura

Despite the rivalry between them because of the title challenge, Takashi Sugiura offered Naomichi Marufuji a handshake before the match, which Marufuji accepted. Niceties over, it was back to business ~ namely the business of beating the hell out of each other in fifteen minutes. Takashi Sugiura later looked back on the match and said that it was not long enough, and he was right, it was not. A match liked this between two veterans, needed to go sudden death, there was no time for anything but a quick win. In many ways it was a scouting match ~ Marufuji bringing out a new submission involving the hands and elbow of the opponent, which he incorporated his knee attacks into. Sugiura retaliating with a Boston Crab hoping to make Marufuji submit by making sure he had a hard time going to the ropes. A chop\elbow was was borne out of frustration. 

Time was running out, it went to knees, boots and a bulldog by Sugiura which knocked them both to the floor. Sugiura dodging Marufuji's knee attacks, desperation pins and submissions, and Sugiura had just locked in the front neck lock, Marufuji was caught and began to wilt, but there was no time left. 

WINNER: Time out draw 

Sugiura pointed at the belt when they had both got to their feet. Marufuji was in disbelief. 

MATCH TWO

Funky Express (King Tani, Mohammed Yone, Akitoshi Saito & Masao Inoue) vs Yoshiki Inamura, Kinya Okada, Kai Fujimura & Yasutaka Yano

Yasutaka Yano, Kai Fujimura and Kinya Okada came running to the ring, while Noah's Michelin Tire Man, Yoshiki Inamura, followed on behind. As for their opponents, Akitoshi Saito is the only person among them who wasn't looking or acting funky. King Tani (and yes, he has changed his name to that on his social media), raising his crown while Masao Inoue tried to balance on one leg. 

Kinya Okada started the match against Mohammed Yone, and dealt with Disco the way that Rock did when Mohammed Yone tried to threaten him with the Disco Fever pose, by a kick to the gut. Yasutaka Yano was on fire today, shaking off Akitoshi Saito's attacks and trying to attack him back (which didn't work), and even when Saito used the one hand pin on him, he kicked out. Masao Inoue had a go and looked unusually nasty (it was however Okada he yelled "fool" at, who then took him down), and Yano outwitted Yone for the tag to Inamura. Funky Express's opponents may have been younger and less experienced, but on the whole their seniors did not dominate them completely. 

WINNER: Akitoshi Saito with the Suicludees on Kai Fujmura (the Noah site is saying this is a time out draw at sixteen minutes) 

Akitoshi Saito, the person who comes out looking like Disco is a fad he's going along with, but secretly despises, actually started dancing at the end of the match. Usually he does this at New Year events when everyone dresses up for a mass rumble, or that time at Halloween when he was a pumpkin... 

MATCH THREE

Kongoh (Kenoh & Nioh) vs Momo No Seishun (Atsushi Kotoge & Junta Miyawaki)

Atsushi Kotoge tried to spare Junta Miyawaki Kenoh for as long as he could, by starting the match against him. Grim looking Kenoh still has a hint of blue in his hair. When it was Kenoh and Junta, Kenoh decided to no sell him, he got a dose of bitter medicine however, as at one point in the match Junta had him in submission and Nioh had to come and rescue him. Kenoh was furious and despite the fact that Junta had taken him down earlier in the evening, also decided to no sell him. 

The crowd were wildly behind Junta throughout the match. Junta had learned the art of being deceptive, playing at being dazed, playing at being weak, and Kenoh could not believe it and choked him out of rage with the match going to referee stop. Importantly, Junta did not quit and he was not pinned.  

WINNER: Kenoh with the rear naked choke sleeper hold (referee stop, 14 minutes, 47 seconds)

MATCH FOUR

STINGER (HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa, Seiki Yoshioka & Susumu) vs Perros Del Mal De Japon (YO-HEY, NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki & Ikuto Hidaka)

Naturally, no one waited for the bell. The referee wandering around the ring trying to keep some order, back inside it was Seiki Yoshioka and YO-HEY, and when order was restored as much it could be, the reclusive GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion (HAYATA) faced his challenger. YO-HEY knowing for now, he had no interest him, and tagging Ikuto Hidaka in. The match itself was back and forth between the two teams, with HAYATA getting the win over Ikuto Hidaka. 

WINNER: HAYATA with the 403 Impact on Ikuto Hidaka (18 minutes, 23 seconds)

Because this is the Noah Juniors another brawl broke out after the match which culminated in Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka kicking YO-HEY in the head in tandem, Yoshioka went a step further and drove his boot into YO-HEY'S neck. 

STINGER then stood in a kind of tableaux over their fallen opponents, with HAYATA and Ogawa with their feet on NOSAWA. Ogawa then decided to do the same Kotaro that Yoshioka had done to YO-HEY. When Perros Del Mal De Japon had scraped themselves off the mat, there was a slight feeling of friction between Kotaro and NOSAWA especially after the match. 

MATCH FIVE

Masa Kitamiya, Kaito Kiyomiya & Momo No Seishun (Daisuke Harada & Hajime Ohara) vs Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Haoh & Tadasuke)

Katsuhiko Nakajima spat at Masa Kitamiya, and ten tagged in Manabu Soya with a big grin spreading over his face as he stepped through the ropes. They couldn't avoid each other though. 

Nakajima wasn't the only person winding someone up, Tadasuke was doing the same to Daisuke Harada. Harada dealt with him quickly and in a comical moment, Ohara threw Tadasuke from the ring. The laughter stopped there however as Kongoh made Harada their target as Tadasuke set the heavyweight Manabu Soya on him. Nakajima was no better, and I think the referees must have had a meeting where they all agreed that no-one was going to count Nakajima's cocky pin as once again he was told to do the pin properly. Nothing that Kongoh could do to Harada was going to stop Tadasuke from being his target.  

The match almost ended with a double submission with Harada and Haoh and Ohara and Tadasuke, Tadasuke would have quit if it hadn't been for Haoh escaping and rescuing him. Tadasuke had been wrestling the pre-matches not as his usual wild self, but cool and collected almost, and it paid off.  

WINNER: Tadasuke wit the Outcast on Hajime Ohara (24 minutes, 8 seconds)

After the match, Kiyomiya and Soya were brawling by the doors with the fight threatening to go back stage. Yoshiki Inamura attempted to help Kiyomiya but was shoved aside by Soya. 

Katsuhiko Nakajima leered down from the top turnbuckle at Masa Kitamiya, holding up his half of the tag belt. When the smoke had cleared, Tadasuke spoke on the mic to Daisuke Harada and Hajime Ohara ~ 

"Do you guys think it is okay if you only win the title match? In tags we have won two matches. Because you guys are boring, you can polish up the belts for Sendai and make them shine"

With thanks to: Gong EX, Abeshin

GIFS taken from WrestleUniverse

Noah's next event: Sunday, July 11th ~ "CROSS OVER 2021 in SENDAI"