Noah vs New Japan: WrestleKingdom 16 event recap (Yokohama Arena, Saturday 8th January 2022)

The event today was streamed live on ABEMA, and will be put up on WrestleUniverse and New Japan World in about a weeks time. I am not going to gif anything from the event (then or now) and so this recap will be written with just this picture as a graphic. New Japan (or rather TV Asahi) are notoriously draconian about gifs being posted and I understand that this has recently extended to screenshots too. The official Noah account during the event was limited to retweeting fans, and only put a few official pictures in one post. Hence the reason why I am sticking only to this and nothing more. You can watch the ABEMA broadcast as a Pay Per View until 21st January. If you have trouble watching it please set your clock to Japan time. 

There was a definite look to the future and forget the past message today. The majority of the matches that have the potential to be taken further where done between the young people, with Noah's veterans taking a backseat very much (Marufuji is more interested in drinking with Kanemaru than fighting him for example). Mutoh was in the main event, simply because he is New Japan's Keiji Mutoh when you go back to basics, but the focus was very much on Kaito Kiyomiya. Today also threw up some surprises; fans want to see more of Seiki Yoshioka vs Taiji Ishimori (the focus was meant to be on HAYATA vs Ishimori due to the back story of the GHC Junior) and of course Yoshiki Inamura vs Tomohiro Ishii. It's very rare to see Inamura get into a fight where he has to have been held back by the others. Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Tetsuya Naito was what was teased as Nakajima had never beaten him, but fans wound up wanting to see Kenoh vs Naito. Another plus of today was to finally sweep away the disaster of BUSHIROAD owning Noah and the whole Suzuki-Gun invasion angle. It's no longer a negative that fans look back on now that New Japan and Noah have met under a circumstance that while is not ideal, it is something far more positive. 

DARK MATCHES

Kosei Fujita vs Yasutaka Yano

The referee wasn't exactly holding them apart, but pushing Kosei Fujita back to his corner slightly. Even from the first match between rookies, the rivalry was felt and they had their part to play in upholding the individual honor of each promotion. 

Due to both money issues in the past and the coronavirus pandemic, Noah's young have not had as many chances as their seniors did in wrestling either foreign wrestlers or wrestlers from other promotions. Neither have they had the chance to go abroad or to go very much to other promotions, so this was probably  Yasutaka Yano's biggest outing so far. Yoshinari Ogawa and the other dojo trainers did well to prepare Yano for this, although it did seem a different style to what he normally did. 

Result: Time out draw (10 minutes)

Yano and Fujita were held back after the match by their seconds. This is probably the first time ever Yano has done this, and he left slapping the apron and with a warning to Fujita who loomed over the ropes at him. Even in this match too, Noah's youngest was given a match which we could see more of again.  

Hiroyoshi Tenzan, Satoshi Kojima & Yuji Nagata vs Funky Express (King Tany, Muhammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito)

Akitoshi Saito came out looking like he was being followed by some kind of revelers, who he was either trying to ignore or shake off. Mohammed Yone was in his usual carnival mood (dancing on the apron and dancing in the ring), although he had said he didn't appreciate the comments that his opponents had made about them. I think they said they weren't worth it.  

There was a hair pull, kick fight and hoss fight between Akitoshi Saito and Yuji Nagata. Satoshi Kojima reacted in the same way that the Noah wrestlers do when confronted by Disco. In outrage. Both Yone and Tany got some pretty hefty chops from him. 

Winner: Satoshi Kojima with the Lariat on King Tany (12 minutes, 16 seconds)

Tomohiro Ishii, Hirooki Goto, Yoshi-Hashi, Ryusuke Taguchi & Master Wato vs Daisuke Harada, Hajime Ohara, Daiki Inaba, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada

At this juncture ABEMA developed sound and image issues and put up a test card to say that the program had been temporarily suspended. New Japan fans blamed this on the work of the evil Dick Togo, Noah fans said it was probably Keiji Mutoh trying to work out his phone...but it could also have been Kazushi Sakuraba turning on a light. The cause was soon apparent when the image came back on as Yoshiki Inamura and fellow super heavyweight, Tomohiro Ishii were having a hoss fight. I am afraid I don't have too much information on this match due to the technical difficulties. 

Winner: YOSHI-HASHI via Boston Crab on Kinya Okada (11 minutes, 42 seconds)

There was a brawl as Yoshiki Inamura and Tomohiro Ishii went for each other and the seconds had to come between them, while Daisuke Harada and Master Wato also squared up to each other. Harada had his "shark smells blood" face on. Ishii didn't want to end there and told Inamura that one day they would meet in the ring again.

Atsushi Kotoge vs Sho

Poor Junta Miyawaki at ringside was used as a human shield by Sho, and then thrown into the barriers. Sho thought this was very funny and couldn't stop laughing. Atsushi Kotoge, being the sweet young man he is, went to check on Miyawaki before he returned to the ring. Sho's antics did not stop here, he used some kind of turnbuckle covering to smother Kotoge with and then hid a spanner behind his back to hit him with. 

Winner: Sho (5 minutes, 20 seconds)

Taiji Ishimori & Gedo vs STINGER (HAYATA & Seiki Yoshioka)

For referee Shu Nishinaga, his rough evening involved dealing with a former Noah Junior, who although he is no longer one seems never to have left the division truly behind. Taiji Ishimori started causing problems, baiting HAYATA while Gedo beat Seiki Yoshioka outside the ring with a leather strap and then afterwards they did nail rakes on his back. 

HAYATA and Ishimori took a backseat in this match somewhat. To explain for either newer fans or New Japan fans reading this, HAYATA is the current GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. He is on his third reign but in his first he was defeated by Taiji Ishimori. Ishimori holds the record in Noah for the champion with the most defenses and the longest reign which HAYATA has said he wishes to beat. Their rivalry was eclipsed by something new in Seiki Yoshioka and Taiji Ishimori who had such intense chemistry that fans want to see more. 

Winner: HAYATA with The Headache on Gedo (8 minutes, 20 seconds)

After the match Seiki Yoshioka and HAYATA appeared in the comment booth. HAYATA typically had nothing to say, but Seiki Yoshioka said "STINGER, this is the Noah Junior".

El Desperado & Douki vs YO-HEY & Nosawa Rongai

NOSAWA said his heart was torn by this match as the opponents are old friends of his from Mexico. They didn't seem to be bothered by it, and NOSAWA himself had no problems throwing El Desperado's tag belt out of the ring and later trying to rip his mask off. The match was full of a brawling style from both teams; low blows and face stamps.

WINNER: El Desperado with the Pinche Loco on NOSAWA Rongai (9 minutes, 9 seconds)

Green haired YO-HEY, who had been prevented from getting in the ring by Douki, got in to face up to El Desperado. Backstage he said that El Desperado should continue this with him in Noah's ring. Later in true YO-HEY fashion on social media, he said that El Desperado reminded him of a character from Dragon Quest. Later he said he was probably from Horse Girl, which is a game about breeding female horses. Now, if you have ever seen YO-HEY in the GinGin Boys. You will know what I mean when I say as to how he found out…

Taichi, Minoru Suzuki & TAKA Michinoku vs The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & X)

Unfortunately KENTA became injured in the title match against Hiroshi Tanahashi, and so had to be replaced. His own cheeky sense of humor saw the funny side however, sending Tanahashi a picture of a little ladder and saying that next time they should use that and apologizing to "Taka" (Takashi Sugiura) and the fans for not being able to compete today and adding he was relieved though he did not have to wear one of the "dumb" Sugiura Army t-shirts. New Japan announced there would be a replacement mystery wrestler. Fans guessed that it would be Kazuyuki Fujita, but in the end it turned out to be Toru Yano. According to Toru Yano he had been called by Kazushi Sakuraba, who put an eye mask on him and bought him to the venue. Next thing he knew, he was at the entry way. 

Yes. You read that right. Sakuraba kidnapped him! 

There was a time when Toru Yano handed out DVDs to his opponents (Kazuchika Okada was given one once and he sniffed it with a grimace), loudly saying "Present for YOOOU!". I'm not sure if he had done that today it would have been the type of thing that Sugiura watches on DVD. 

Minoru Suzuki and Takashi Sugiura were together in Suzuki-Gun when heartbreakingly, Sugiura turned on Noah and joined with the invaders. Their fight was taken up again, vicious slaps, elbows and throwing each other into the barriers. Yano too has a history with Noah, but a happier one, as he teamed with Naomichi Marufuji and is a former GHC tag champion. It was not Minoru Suzuki or Tachi who took the fall however, it was the fourth member of the Suzuki-Gun invasion.

Winner: Takashi Sugiura with the Olympic Qualifying Slam on TAKA Michinoku (9 minutes, 37 seconds)  

Sugi said to Sakuraba afterwards that there wouldn't be a "next time". He either means teaming with Toru Yano or else letting Sakuraba choose the partner. 

EVIL & Dick Togo vs Go Shiozaki & Masa Kitamiya

Go Shiozaki arrived still sulking from losing the GHC Heavyweight bid and from Kaito Kiyomiya being front and centre twice on the day when Noah came to New Japan. Dick Togo, a former Sugiura Army member (NOSAWA periodically fires people), arrived with a weapon. 

EVIL and Dick Togo went straight into attack as soon as they got into the ring. Masa Kitamiya (a powerhouse in attack) managed to get rid of Togo and after chopping EVIL, threw him back to Shiozaki where he got the machine gun chops. I am sure that Kenta Kobashi was very pleased to see Go Shiozaki back in the ring without any issues from his recent shoulder surgery. Kobashi had overseen Shiozaki's recovery from an emotional standpoint, reassuring him that all would be well and advising him to be patient, listen to the doctors and not make the mistake he had made by not doing what he was told and rushing back. EVIL did some throwing of his own. Throwing Shiozaki into the barriers, the force of which caused the barrier to overturn a table behind it and knock the person sitting at it to the floor. 

New Japan booking is very different to Noah's, and this was part of the reason why the invasion was such a disaster. You very rarely see in a Noah Heavyweight match, another unit storm the ring and interrupt it. Probably the last time this happened was when Kongoh stormed into a Sugiura Army match. It happens more in the junior division in Noah though, but it is still somewhat rare. It worked for this one match when Bullet Club members burst in and beat up on Shiozaki (who was choked by Togo's weapon) and Kitamiya, but it wouldn't have for each match. Masa Kitamiya cleared the ring and put EVIL in the Prison Lock while Shiozaki delivered a massive lariat to Togo.

Winner: Go Shiozaki with the Gowan Lariat on Dick Togo (9 minutes, 53 seconds)

Fans are wondering if Go Shiozaki will challenge EVIL for the NEVER Openweight Championship. It's a match they would like to see. 

Zack Sabre Jnr & Yoshinobu Kanemaru vs Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshinari Ogawa

It's not surprising that after five days of wrestling, Yoshinari Ogawa, a man in his mid fifties would be taped at the waist. I do wonder what he (and Naomichi Marufuji) thought of Yoshinobu Kanemaru swigging from a bottle of liquor in the ring. Marufuji might be Kanemaru's junior, but Ogawa is everyone's senior in this match, having trained all three of the others at various points. Zack, Ogawa's former tag partner (they also held the GHC Junior Tag Championship), squared up triumphantly to both Marufuji and his former teacher. Ogawa had an oddly calm look when Zack bought him down after the first lock up. 

Ogawa watched his pupils very carefully from the apron, dodging when Zack tried to knock him off. Kanemaru slipped from the ring after fighting with Marufuji at first. Marufuji told him to get back. He did and he and Zack worked on his knee. They didn't do this to Ogawa however. Probably out of respect and probably because they knew that Ogawa would probably find a way out and turn it on them.  

WINNER: Naomichi Marufuji with the Shiranui on Yoshinobu Kanemaru (15 minutes, 20 seconds)

Marufuji said that when teaming with Ogawa, he had a true sense of security. They don't often team together much though. He also had a sense of nostalgia when fighting Zack and Kanemaru. As for Kanemaru and the bottle he was swigging from and the liquid he tried to spit at him, Marufuji suggested to his senior that they go drinking. Kanemaru looked like he was drinking for one in the picture he posted later.  

Double Main event

Los Ingobernables de Japón (Shingo Takagi, Tetsuya Naito, Sanada, Hiromu Takahashi & BUSHI) vs Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke & Aleja)

I don't know if this is how L.I.J usually come to the ring, slowly and one by one, but it certainly annoyed Kenoh. The look on his face said it all. For the fans who (like me) don't watch New Japan, no, Shingo was not trying to throw a shade at Kenoh in that very similar ring robe. I am told that is his gear.

Katsuhiko Nakajima said before the match that he wasn't interested in Shingo, who he has fought and beaten, his interest was in Tetsuya Naito. His big evil grin was on display for the New Japan fans, Noah fans, Kenta Kobashi and Masahiro Chono at ringside and all the cameras as he kicked Naito around on the barriers. He also proved to Naito that he wasn't the only person who could pose as he imitated him mirror image. Despite Nakajima's non interest in Shingo, they couldn't stay apart. 

Haoh, who was at ringside, was also caught up in the drama. Haoh is the interest of Hirumo Takahashi who gave his name when he was asked who out of Noah he wanted to fight, and so he had quick taster by attacking him. 

Kenoh was wound up by all of L.I.J, in particular SANADA and Naito, whom he had verbal wars with as well as physical ones. 

Tadasuke was an interesting component in this match as he has the heavyweight strength and he faced off against old friend, Shingo. I don't think Shingo could quite believe that Tadasuke was a junior, especially after the lariat. I believe this could well be their first match ever. If Hiromu is looking for Noah Juniors to be in Best of The Super Juniors 2022, Tadasuke could be a good choice. 

WINNER: Shingo Takagi with the Last of The Dragon on Tadasuke (26 minutes, 33 seconds)

Kenoh and Naito got into a fight after the match, which then developed into a mass brawl between the units. Nakajima smirked at Shingo when everything had calmed down and held up the GHC Heavyweight belt to him. Shingo, who had lost the IWGP Heavyweight on the 4th to Kazuchika Okada, applauded him sarcastically and then waved him away. 

Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs Keiji Mutoh & Kaito Kiyomiya

Kaito Kiyomiya debuted a new robe, which looked part Kenoh and part Go Shiozaki. Keiji Mutoh, who would take almost a backseat to Kiyomiya in this match, came out in a t-shirt and not his customary gown. The two ignored each other pretty much. Mutoh, from New Japan and trained by Antonio Inoki, was not going to get away unmentioned though by his opponents, Tanahashi he would trap in a Figure Four. Probably revenge for Tanahashi playing air guitar at him and then making throwing motions. 

Kiyomiya and Kazuchika Okada started, with Kiyomiya showing a few new techniques.

This was a good choice for a main event as it combined not only New Japan's past, but Noah's future. Noah's young future which was fighting against not only teaming with someone he could not overcome so far, but also two veterans from other promotions. It demonstrated that the world of wrestling in Japan was wider than Kiyomiya had perhaps realized. 

WINNER: Kazuchika Okada with The Rainmaker on Kaito Kiyomiya (24 minutes, 34 seconds)

Just over a year ago, Kaito Kiyomiya had said "I want to experience The Rainmaker". He had, and he had beaten him. This sets up a Kiyomiya revenge story and there will certainly be more matches between them down the line. For now, Kiyomiya was crushed and in tears by this loss as he felt he had shamed Noah. On commentary, Jurina Matsui was also crying. She seemed to be supporting Kiyomiya far more than Keiji Mutoh, whose unit, M's alliance, she is in. Okada looked incredulous at Kiyomiya's tears and said for him not to cry here and to go home at once, but Mutoh was unexpectedly gentle towards him, taking him away from the ring. Backstage, as Kiyomiya folded into a tearful bow to the cameras, Mutoh said to him that it was okay, Kiyomiya was just starting. It wasn't over yet. Mutoh said that he was taught by Inoki that basically in order to get anything done, you need to go off the rails sometimes. Kazuchika Okada too proved an unexpected help, by saying that because the difference between him and them was great, Kiyomiya could come and train in the New Japan dojo if he wanted to and return to Noah when he felt more confident. 

With thanks to: Flame286, Frio de Janeiro, Metal-Noah & Arata Ishimoto