(NOAH CHRONOLOGY) GHC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: THE SUGIURA ARMY (HIDEKI SUZUKI & TAKASHI SUGIURA)
Number of title reigns (as a team): 0
Number of defenses: 1
Lost: Dream on 2022 (Wednesday May 4th, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)
Total number of days held: 53
Challengers
1. Kongoh (Kenoh & Katsuhiko Nakajima)
2. Les Mexicanas (Rene Dupree and El Hijo De Dr Wagner Jnr)
Title match: "Majestic 2022" (Saturday April 30th, Sumo Hall)
JUST FINE! 2022 (Wednesday 23rd March, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)
Takashi Sugiura, Go Shiozaki & Kaito Kiyomiya vs Kongoh (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manabu Soya)
Kongoh had even more of an air of grimness, despite the success of their juniors that evening, and watched their opponents come to the ring as they were going to pounce. Much to their credit, Noah did not choose to capitalize on Shiozaki and Nakajima. That had been done, Shiozaki had moved on, and as we would see, so would Nakajima. Shiozaki and Nakajima pretty much had little do with each other, although they did interact in the latter stages. It was Manabu Soya who got the machine gun chops, and probably their most significant interaction was a momentary stare before their fight began. Akitoshi Saito was right, as much as AXIZ is over and as much as Nakajima hates Shiozaki (and I don't think the feeling is truly mutual), they remain tied.
The match spotlight came down to Kenoh and Takashi Sugiura. Kenoh in fury choked out Sugiura, and the ref stopped the match. Kenoh would not let go and had to be pried off.
WINNER: Kenoh via referee stop (21 minutes, 4 seconds)
Kenoh had defeated the champion, and won the right to challenge. Taking the tag belt, he growled at Sugiura that old men where gathering and getting the Noah belts, and that Noah was "not a playground for old men", something which Kenoh had no interest in and did not find interesting in any way. He and Katsuhiko Nakajima where going to challenge for the tag belts.
JUST FINE! 2022 (Friday 9th April, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)
Hideki Suzuki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
This much anticipated match started with martial arts style lock ups. Katsuhiko Nakajima looking focused. There was even a clean rope break as Suzuki pushed him away. In a post match interview, Suzuki had threatened to throw "100 headbutts". Well, he didn't do it, soon after saying it he said wasn't going to do it, but he did throw them. Nakajima unleashed his fury on Suzuki, his anger at everything - being absent, losing the title, the last draw with Suzuki. Go Shiozaki had said this was why he was the best opponent. As for Hideki Suzuki, I think he was a little shell-shocked when he returned to Noah from all the stresses abroad, and he began to look like himself again in this match.
The mat grappling was like releasing the wolf from the cage as Nakajima kind of retreated to the long grass and waited until his "prey" (as he likes to call his opponents) moved. When Suzuki fell outside the ring, Nakajima was seen stretching out while waiting for Suzuki to get up.
The smirk was back on his face, he even waited in the ring with crossed legs for Suzuki to come limping over and they got into an elbow/slap exchange. Suzuki got his own back on Nakajima though, and even did his own Shutter Chance.
Kenoh (who was at ringside to yell loudly) shook his head as the minutes started turning into seconds. There had been plenty of pins, and a submission by Suzuki which had immobilized Nakajima so much so it was torture for him to even stretch out to the ropes. But once again, this was going to be a draw.
Result: Time out draw (30 seconds)
Neither would have their arms raised by the ref, and snatched them away. Hideki Suzuki offered a handshake, and Nakajima took it. At ringside he motioned to Suzuki that he was watching him, so Suzuki bought the belt into play and both Kenoh and Nakajima got up on the apron.
JUST FINE! 2022 (Saturday 10th April, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)
Takashi Sugiura vs Kenoh
Katsuhiko Nakajima and Hideki Suzuki accompanied their partners. This is somewhat rare for Katsuhiko Nakajima, but as he and Kenoh are challenging for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Titles and Hideki Suzuki was there, he had to. Suzuki got into a row with Kenoh during the match, and had to be held back by the ref. Nakajima, who half grew up in Noah, knows the old ways better and stayed out of any physicality or interference.
Takashi Sugiura toyed with Kenoh, letting letting him do moves he knew he could duck and dodge, this threw Kenoh into a rage, but it also meant he did moves that Sugiura couldn't see coming. Perhaps this was also Kenoh's plan? If so, it worked better for Sugiura.
Just as the bruised poster promised, Kenoh and Sugiura tore into each other; the dreaded ankle locks where reversed, Kenoh's head bounced back and forwards like a ball as Sugiura punched him on the turnbuckle, Kenoh took the chance for the PFS on thinking that Sugiura was knocked out after a kick, but there was life in the old dog yet. Kenoh went for a second PFS, but this was exactly what Sugiura had wanted and he rolled him into the front neck choke. Kenoh got out of it, but Sugiura trapped him in the ankle lock, laying it on thick by pinning Kenoh's leg down so that he could not even get to the ropes. Kenoh's ankle looked as if it was bent into an angle not designed for the human body. Ropes or tap? Ropes or tap? He reluctantly tapped.
WINNER: Takashi Sugiura with the Ankle Lock (18 minutes, 44 seconds)
Takashi Sugiura spoke on the microphone as Kenoh struggled to remove his boot with the help of Katsuhiko Nakajima to put the ice pack on his ankle.
"I'm fooling around when I do pro wrestling? Hideki Suzuki and I are always serious. I take pro wrestling seriously! Kazushi Sakuraba is the only one who messes around!"
Sugiura then addressed the crowd;
"On the 30th April, I want you to come and see this serious fight at Sumo Hall, and I want you to come and see the juniors on the 29th."
Kenoh swore later on social media, he will avenge today's loss at Sumo Hall.
REAL OVERTURE 2022 in NIIGATA (Sunday 17th April 2022, Bandaijima Multipurpose Plaza Large Kama)
Takashi Sugiura, Go Shiozaki, Masa Kitamiya & Haoh vs Kongoh (Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya & Nioh)
WINNER: Go Shiozaki with the Strong Arm lariat on Nioh (20 minutes, 13 seconds)
I am afraid that at the time of writing I don't have much information on this match as it was not broadcast live and there was no stream on either Twitter or Instagram. However, it was not won by the champion or his challengers. Naturally, Takashi Sugiura and Kenoh got into a row at ringside.
Title match
WRESTLE UNIVERSE presents MAJESTIC 2022 (Saturday April 30th, Ryogoku Kokugikan)
Kenoh, who everyone had seen actually smiling earlier, soon snapped into his usual angry mode and got in Takashi Sugiura's face. Sugiura, who understandably has not been himself recently and looks very down (he even failed to react much to one of the masked Sakuraba's holding the ropes open), was shoved by Kenoh and then the two of them were separated by Hideki Suzuki. Sugiura told Kenoh to watch it, and yes if Kenoh wanted him so badly, then he would deal with him first. "The Jolly Old Man" who Kenoh wanted to end for the young people in Noah. Kaito Kiyomiya was no way this rude, but he and Kiyomiya were in tandem with this.
For Katsuhiko Nakajima, his target was Hideki Suzuki. He went to lock up with Sugiura, but broke it off to stare at Suzuki, who he seemed to be stalking. Eventually, he grew bored of Sugiura, who tagged in Suzuki. Nakajima and Suzuki mat wrestled as per their backgrounds, Nakajima looked as if he were a Honshū wolf taking down his prey on the prairies of old Japan.
The match had an unusual tinge to it of being not wholly about teams but also about individuals; Kenoh vs Takashi Sugiura (in an endless generational battle, which he himself will one day have to wage over younger wrestlers, who will call him an "old man"), and Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Hideki Suzuki. Suzuki has never been beaten by Nakajima, he has drawn with him and he himself has beaten him, and naturally Nakajima was taking pleasure in everything as he licked his lips and savored his prey, the taste of blood and flesh in his mouth, but his prey fought back and unfortunately for Kenoh, he was trapped by Sugiura as the tide of the match turned
WINNER: Hideki Suzuki with the Double Arm Suplex on Katsuhiko Nakajima (23 minutes, 6 seconds)
VS Les Mexicanas (Rene Dupree and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Junior)
Noah fans had long suspected that the team of Rene Dupree and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Junior, who had to give up the heavyweight tag titles due to the Coronavirus pandemic, would come for the titles no matter what team won. It turned out the winning team was their own unit.
Dupree said that with all the respect in the world, they were challenging for the titles they had never lost. Hideki Suzuki accepted the challenge by speaking in English back to them. Title match has been set for 4th May at Korakuen Hall.
Title match
Dream on 2022 (Wednesday May 4th, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)
The two teams were well matched. Hideki Suzuki and Rene Dupree are tall and powerful, while Hideki Suziki and El Hijo Del Wagner Junior are smaller, more stocky and powerful. Rene Dupree said when they made the challenge that this was nothing personal, he thought that Sugiura and Suzuki where great champions, but they wanted those belts back. The belts they had never lost in the first place, and tonight at Korakuen they came for them in a spectacular way. The champions where worn down to begin with following a hard title match just a few days before, and the challengers gave them no let up wearing them down even more with submission holds. The champions gave as good as they got, but the challengers had grit and returned this to them and more. Usually Takashi Sugiura's title matches are knock down affairs full of punches and kicks, elbows and his dreaded front neck lock. Today, his technical wrestling ability was drawn out.
WINNER: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Junior with the Moonsault Press on Takashi Sugiura (18 minutes, 32 seconds)
Next Champions: Les Mexicanas (Rene Dupree and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Junior)
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