(NOAH) EVENT RECAP - STEP FORWARD 2022 (Saturday February 12th, Shimada City General Sports Center Sub Arena)

"Pro Wrestling Noah Shimada's event was the best! Please come again"

Fans travelled out from Tokyo to see the final night of Noah's four day stretch which took place in Shimada, bringing the attendance with the locals to 181. The event was not broadcast live (shows outside of Metropolitan areas usually are not) and we did not get a livestream through Twitter or Instagram either. You will be able to watch today's show on WrestleUniverse from 18:00 on the 15th February. You must be a subscriber to view. 

Noah last came to Shimada just before the pandemic. Ironically YO-HEY was challenging STINGER for the tag titles, and Atsushi Kotoge, who had just returned from the heavyweights, was a member of the group and holding the belts with Kotaro Suzuki. Two years later Kotoge is teaming with YO-HEY and challenging STINGER for them. 

Please note that as this event was not streamed, I have more information on some matches than on others. 

MATCH ONE

The Noah Junior Regulars (Hajime Ohara, Haoh & Junta Miyawaki) vs Kongoh Juniors (Tadasuke, Nioh & Aleja)

Haoh and Nioh started. Nioh remained focused pulling out moves during the match such as WAR special & Trans Rave. It's been really good for him to have a proper rival. 

WINNER: Hajime Ohara with the Finnish Forearm on Nioh (9 minutes, 59 seconds)

MATCH TWO

Takashi Sugiura, King Tany & Mohammed Yone vs Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada

"Will Sugi become funky today"?

As it happened, yes he did "become funky today", as when Funky Express went to do their "Funky Photo Session" as fans have named their rope tandem move, Sugi joined in by pulling his own pose on the apron in front of Masa Kitamiya. 

Yoshiki Inamura didn't have time to be "Funky". He stood with a scowl and his arms crossed, usual hoss fight readiness pose, and he and Sugiura laid into each other as soon as they got the chance and even brawled outside the ring. Inamura didn't get Sugiura straight away though, he started against King Tany. Tany had his necklace removed by Referee Fukuda. I think this is the most he will push it when his seniors are present. 

Kinya Okada won fan accolades today by reversing Takashi Sugiura's moves, but sadly, Okakin was the one who was pinned. 

WINNER: King Tany with the Funky Press on Kinya Okada (13 minutes, 53 seconds)

Yone went dancing from the ring, although really it was the same old Funky Express story. 

MATCH THREE

Daisuke Harada, Kai Fujimura & Yasutaka Yano vs Perros Del Mal De Japon (NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy)

Daisuke Harada and Super Crazy clashed in their first pre match. Harada with his eyes like flint, squaring up to Super Crazy and holding the belt up. 

NOSAWA Rongai has a huge score to settle with Yasutaka Yano after the humiliation of his pinning him, and not just once. But Yano proved how resilient he was by kicking out of NOSAWA'S pin after a soccer ball kick to the back of the head, and kicking out of a Super Crazy brainbuster. Yano and Kai Fujimura also teamed up together against Kotaro Suzuki and Super Crazy and used tandem moves. I guess if the juniors don't want to lose out to the heavyweights, then the rookies don't want to lose out to their seniors. It wasn't the rookies who were pinned though. 

WINNER: Super Crazy with The Liger Bomb on Daisuke Harada (11 minutes)

After the match, Super Crazy picked up the belt and held it over Harada. Backstage he said he would win the championship and take it back to Mexico. 

 

MATCH FOUR

Naomichi Marufuji & HAYATA vs The Noah Junior Regulars (Atsushi Kotoge & YO-HEY)

"Today Naomichi Marufuji is a villain"

While he didn't wear white gear, YO-HEY seems a lot happier and more like his old self. Fortunately he doesn't seem to have suffered any ill effects of the head injury and came to the match wearing a bandage. Atsushi Kotoge was seen to gently put it back in place. He also came to the ring with an N-Innovation t-shirt hanging out of the front of his pants. Unfortunately for YO-HEY his head injury was a target, not so much for HAYATA I don't think (although I could be wrong) but certainly for Marufuji who knocked YO-HEY'S head around, even trampling on his face. HAYATA remained completely unconcerned by Marufuji and anything Marufuji was doing, refusing to shake hands with him at the start of the match (seriously, when you get the chance, take a look at Marufuji's expression) and not even joining in when Marufuji fought YO-HEY outside the ring. HAYATA had to uphold STINGER today with both Yuya Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka absent, and Yoshinari Ogawa in a singles match, and succeeded. 

WINNER: HAYATA with 403 Impact on YO-HEY (13 minutes, 1 second)

Marufuji tried again to shake hands with HAYATA. HAYATA refused. HAYATA doesn't like to shake hands anyway, but I am wondering if this has something to do with Marufuji pasting pictures on his "Follow Me" blog of HAYATA smiling.

MATCH FIVE

Kaito Kiyomiya vs Yoshinari Ogawa

"Everything is in Ogawa's hands"

"Noah's trademark match, and one that other promotions can never imitate"

The roster gathered round to watch, fans called this "an Ogawa classroom". NOSAWA Rongai and Kotaro Suzuki where the most visible, as they were sitting in the hall, and someone was seen peeping through the curtains. 

To start with, Kaito Kiyomiya went for the quick momentum pins, but Yoshinari Ogawa kicked out and recalculated things outside the ring. After this, Kiyomiya found himself in "Facelock Hell" for much of the match. Everything Kiyomiya did, Ogawa went straight back to the headlock. I think Kiyomiya eventually had to escape with elbow smashes. Each time the match went to Kiyomiya's pace, Ogawa bought it back to his. Fans even noted that after twenty-five minutes, Ogawa wasn't even breathing heavily. 

Practically every part of Kiyomiya's torso was punished; his head was squeezed, his jaw and chin had pressure put on them, his arm was mercilessly attacked and even the ref was dragged into the action. Ogawa needs no weapons like chairs or water. His biggest weapon is his mind, and as one fan noted Ogawa is often referred to as "the genes of Baba", and while that is true, Ogawa is a combination of people, the gaijin wrestlers who taught him included. Even Kiyomiya's ears where not spared, if I understand right, Ogawa even slammed his head into the gong or else rang the bell in them. Despite this relentless attack, Kiyomiya walked away the victor by trapping Ogawa so he had no choice but to tap. 

Winner: Kaito Kiyomiya with a double arm lock (40 minutes, 14 seconds)

Yoshinari Ogawa, a man in his early to mid 50s, had just wrestled a man in his mid 20s who is a heavyweight, in a forty minute match. Kiyomiya might have won in the end, but every single corner Kiyomiya turned, Ogawa was waiting for him, as one fan termed it this was "a big match at a small gymnasium in Shimada".

Kaito Kiyomiya was full of praise for Ogawa after the match terming him as his "textbook" and "the coolest teacher" and that this match with Ogawa meant he would aim for the belt, it has given him the confidence and it would be rude to waste it. His goal was the Nippon Budokan. 

MATCH SIX

Kongoh (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manabu Soya) vs Go Shiozaki, Daiki Inaba & Akitoshi Saito

Fans were still dazed from "the afterglow" of the last match, but the shotgun sound of Go Shiozaki chopping Kenoh for the second time in 48 hours in machine-gun succession helped wake them up. It wasn't just Kenoh who Shiozaki had a chop war with, he and Manabu Soya not only had a chop war but a lariat war too. Poor Shiozaki though, three days of being elbowed, chopped and kicked, he wound up in the middle of a move he used to do with Katsuhiko Nakajima once, "Endless Love", with Kenoh and Nakajima kicking him from both sides. Inaba also took a mauling from Kongoh, and it was Akitoshi Saito who took two kicks to the face and then the Vertical Spike.

Winner: Katsuhiko Nakajima with the Vertical Spike on Akitoshi Saito (17 minutes, 54 seconds)

With thanks to: Kai, Shishikazu, Kochirashizuoka, Chayaozu, Yuri, Fujieda Miruco, Takashichi, hamaetsu3796, Yabami_Paeon, hiroyuk71498547

Picture credit: Noah Official Twitter

Noah's next event: N-Innovation, Yokohama Radiant Hall, Thursday 17th February.