(NOAH) EVENT RECAP - "Go on to the DEMOLITION STAGE 2021" (Yokohama Radiant Hall, Friday October 15th)

Noah held a smaller show today to concentrate on the Noah Junior division. Unfortunately one of the most anticipated matches, Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kotaro Suzuki, didn't happen as Ogawa has been pulled from the card due to lumbar and back sprain, but judging by what NOSAWA said later, he should be back for the tag match that NOSAWA has arranged to torment him and everyone else on the 17th. 

With the popularity of the Halloween themed goods, Noah decked out the merchandise table in a Halloween design today, complete with venue only mugs. Also in limited supply was a Perros De Mal Del Japon signed postcard. Fans were also given a Halloween themed mask courtesy of THE LEAVE.

Event today was broadcast live on WrestleUniverse. You will need to be a subscriber to view. 

MATCH ONE

Daiki Inaba vs Yasutaka Yano

Daiki Inaba wore the same face of frustration that pretty much all of the seniors wear when facing Yasutaka Yano as the boy kept kicking out. Inaba knew he would win eventually, but it was just a matter of wearing him out. Yano's attacks might not have been strong, and Inaba no sold them, flooring Yano with a punch, but at least he fought back which earned Yano a round of applause from the audience. When Yano came very close to pinning Inaba, Inaba decided to stop the fun and went for the submission.

WINNER: Daiki Inaba with the Boston Crab (7 minutes, 18 seconds)

MATCH TWO

Kotaro Suzuki vs Kai Fujimura

As stated, this was meant to be originally meant to be Kotaro Suzuki vs Yoshinari Ogawa, but Ogawa is injured. Kotaro said after the match that he understands injuries happen, and for Ogawa to heal up quickly and they will have their singles. During the match, Kotaro didn't have much time to reflect as Kai Fujimura (who is starting to wrestle Noah style), went immediately on the attack as soon as the bell rang. Kotaro punished him in the true style of someone trained by Ogawa, at one point driving his knee into Fujimura's back and yanking his neck back. After getting to the ropes, Fujimura was able to subdue Kotaro to a point, but Kotaro is the Ogawa trained veteran and dealt with it in true manner. 

WINNER: Kotaro Suzuki with a Windmill type backbreaker (7 minutes, 32 seconds)

MATCH THREE

STINGER (HAYATA, Seiki Yoshioka & Susumu) vs Kongoh Juniors (Tadasuke, Haoh & Nioh)

Tadasuke naturally entered a small hall as if he were walking on stage at The Budokan, and he and Kongoh lined up to do their new opening stance. Nioh might have been absent to join in the photobombing of Tadasuke's camera moment, but Haoh wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to play his role and point out Tadasuke to the photographers. STINGER slunk to the ring soon afterwards, naturally there was no posing. Tadasuke and HAYATA started the match, with HAYATA (who Tadasuke has known for years), taking him by surprise by not doing what he normally does. 

Despite Aleja looking firmly at HAYATA as he passed him, there is a definite rivalry growing between Aleja and Seiki Yoshioka, which harks back to their W-1 days. Yoshioka was a challenge for Aleja, but Aleja was foolish enough to challenge Yoshioka to a kick war, which he most definitely lost. Yoshinari Ogawa might have been absent today, but his presence was still felt when Susumu, who can be just as nasty when it comes to submissions, demonstrated what he could do.  But it wasn't a submission that won the day. The match ended in the usual junior chaos with everyone in the ring at once, the referee being distracted and Tadasuke wildly lariating HAYATA and then sneaking the win over Yoshioka.

WINNER: Tadasuke with a sneak pin on Seiki Yoshioka (16 minutes, 15 seconds)

With Seiki Yoshioka protesting the win, which isn't surprising as YO-HEY also pinned him on sneak momentum in Osaka, everyone got in the ring for Kongoh Juniors to celebrate. Yoshioka was still complaining to the ref afterwards, and Tadasuke naturally could not resist rubbing it in. Then somehow six Noah Juniors left the ring without a provocation being made, and a fight breaking out. That chance would come later. 

MATCH FOUR

Kaito Kiyomiya vs Nioh

Kaito Kiyomiya came to the ring radiating anger and hostility, which is in contrast to Kongoh's Nioh, who you would have thought would given how Kongoh are, but didn't. The last singles match they had was round about 2017 just before Kiyomiya went away on excursion, so this was his chance to show one of his seniors just how far he had come and he has come a long way. When he was GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kiyomiya had wanted to be a nice fair honorable one, and refused to attack an injured knee, today with a darker and more jaded attitude Kiyomiya showed a new nasty (and defiant) streak, refusing to let go when Nioh had his foot on the ropes. The referee had to start the count to threaten him with losing the match via forfeit. 

When given the chance, Nioh is a good singles wrestler and far from being outdone by a heavyweight, showed cunning in using swift lightning attacks which took Kiyomiya off guard. Nioh slapping Kiyomiya around seemed to wake him up to the fact that as a heavyweight, he needed to use that to win, not just his ability. 

WINNER: Kaito Kiyomiya with the Vertical drop type reverse DDT (14 minutes, 11 seconds)

MATCH FIVE

NOAH Jnr Elimination Tag Match

El Perros Del Mal De Japon (NOSAWA Rongai, Eita, YO-HEY & Ikuto Hidaka) vs Daisuke Harada, Atsushi Kotoge, Hajime Ohara & Junta Miyawaki

Rules

• The match will be played under usual tag rules i.e. two vs two. As this is an eight man match, two people from each team will start the match, the other two will be in reserve. 
• The usual rules will apply, with elimination by pinfall, submission, referee stop or knock out. Over the top rope elimination does not apply.
• The wrestler who loses will leave the ring and the reserve wrestler will take his place. 
• The tag must be maintained, the team that has lost three members and cannot make a tag will lose.

The match started off with Hajime Ohara and Atsushi Kotoge with YO-HEY and Ikuto Hidaka. Their teammates were waiting in the back and only Kotaro Suzuki (who had some kind of verbal spat with Kotoge) was at ringside. As you can imagine the match was fast paced and grueling, and because this is the Noah Juniors, no one took much notice of the ref (the Noah junior standard) when double teaming the other team. Hajime Ohara was the first to go; limping from his knee being attacked by old friend (now enemy) Ikuto Hidaka, he had no choice but to tap to the Sean Capture. 

16 minutes 12 seconds

Hajime Ohara eliminated by Ikuto Hidaka (Sean Capture)

Junta Miyawaki enters for Noah regulars

With Hajime Ohara out, a determined Junta Miyawaki came into the ring in what seemed a threatening manner. YO-HEY said he would start, and even though Junta is fresher than YO-HEY and Hidaka, the two of them gloated to Kotoge over beating him up. Kotoge grew so frustrated at being kept out, that he did eventually become involved. Despite the attack that Perros had visited on him, Junta staggered up and went for a series of swift pins on Hidaka. One of them hit the mark, and he couldn't believe it, grabbing the ref to be sure it was three and then celebrating with Kotoge. 

9 minutes, 43 seconds

Ikuto Hidaka eliminated by Junta Miyawaki (pinfall)

Eita enters for Perros De Mal Del Japon

Eita appeared like an ominous bird of prey and knowing that Miyawaki wouldn't last against him, Kotoge said he would start, throwing a worn down Junta into the corner. Eita loved this, the person he had humiliated by taking the tag belts off was exhausted and ready for more punishment and so after a 

few minutes of winding Kotoge up, he tagged YO-HEY in. YO-HEY could be seen saying "Whaaaat".

But Kotoge didn't want YO-HEY, he wanted Eita, but YO-HEY would have to do. Eita naturally couldn't stay out of it, and attacked Kotoge from the apron kicking him from behind and then when he took the ropes. Then he would tag in. Kotoge was not going to take Eita's disrespect, but he didn't have much choice as YO-HEY kept Junta out during a submission, and then unusually for YO-HEY, kicking Kotoge's hands when he reached the ropes. YO-HEY took care of Junta and bought in an angry Daisuke Harada. The Noah regulars were down to their last man, while Perros still had NOSAWA in reserve. 

9 minutes 59 seconds

Junta Miyawaki eliminated by YO-HEY (Face G)

Daisuke Harada enters for Noah Regulars

Eita was chased off by an angry Daisuke Harada (fans want to see a singles match) who dealt with YO-HEY. YO-HEY also tried to escape the ring, but ultimately Eita was Harada's target. Eita knew this, but he preferred Kotoge, after all, it wasn't Harada who he had taken the belts from, and it wasn't Harada who he had labelled "weak". He was out to prove a point. 

Kotoge might not have gotten his revenge on Eita for everything he had put him through (or was going to put him through), but he did eliminate YO-HEY. This bought in Perros last man; NOSAWA Rongai, who was fresher than anyone in the ring. 

13 minutes 38 seconds 

YO-HEY eliminated by Atsushi Kotoge (Killswitch)

NOSAWA Rongai enters for Perros De Mal Del Japon

Daisuke Harada pulled an exhausted Atsushi Kotoge up, as a fresh NOSAWA entered and he and Eita tore into Harada. Atsushi Kotoge, who had survived the equivalent of four matches in one evening, was spent. No matter how much Harada tried to save him by breaking pins and submissions, there was nothing that could be done. 

WINNER: Eita with the Imperial Uno on Atsushi Kotoge (4 minutes, 40 seconds)

Perros posed together as both the winners and the most dominant team in the Noah Junior division currently, if only by strength as they do not (yet) possess the requisite GHC Junior titles although they have the tag belts. As this is the Noah Juniors and as STINGER are currently fighting with Perros over the GHC Junior, STINGER got in the ring. 

HAYATA (flanked by Yuya Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka) pointed at NOSAWA, who then offered a handshake. HAYATA after a quick glance around (which included YO-HEY who nods when he glances at him), actually somehow accepted his handshake. The same HAYATA who doesn't like to talk, doesn't like to shake hands and wouldn't let YO-HEY do it when they tagged. 

You can imagine what happened next as it is a rule in Noah that you should accept a handshake from a heavyweight, but you should never accept one from a junior...especially if that junior is called NOSAWA or Tadasuke (or even Ogawa). A fight broke out between the roster, to which Kongoh joined in with and threw everyone out of the ring. Tadasuke got on the microphone once the smoke had cleared and said;

"Kongoh's Katsuhiko Nakajima became the heavyweight champion, and the division is exciting. How long do we have to be bonus wrestlers? Let's liven up and take the belt. The Kongoh Juniors make their comeback from now on!"

With thanks to: Abeshin

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse

Noah's next event: NOAH SANCTUARY (Sunday, October 17th 2021)