(NOAH) EVENT RECAP: JUST FINE! 2022 (Wednesday 23rd March, Korakuen Hall, Tokyo)

"Hey, the sun goes down like a bad, bad dream

You're wound up tight, gotta let off steam

They say they can break you again and again

If life is a radio, turn up to ten

These are crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy nights!

These are crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy nights!"

Noah announced an attendance of 398 people today. It's not a great attendance, but it's not a bad one for midweek Tokyo. Tomorrow with the weekend looming, and given what happened today, may well be better. Tonight (aside from fallout from the main event) was pretty much about the Noah Juniors, tomorrow I expect may well be more about the heavyweights. As this was the Fukuoka fall out show, there was a big air of anticipation the moment the doors opened. 

Event was broadcast live on ABEMA, with the first three matches being shown on Noah's YouTube. It will be placed on WrestleUniverse eventually. 

MATCH ONE

Tadasuke vs Kai Fujimura

Tadasuke, who was all business today, took time out for a short corner post camera shot and then it was down to dealing with young Kai Fujimura. Fujimura was not the complete pushover that Tadasuke may have expected however, taking Tadasuke by surprise and kicking out of a massive lariat which also seemed to make the commentators jump as it came out of nowhere. However, Tadasuke was and is the more experienced and the stronger, attacking with a wild scream and Kodo Fuyuki's screech.

WINNER: Tadasuke with the Fuyuki Special (6 minutes, 50 seconds)

Tadasuke left after the match. Much credit to him that he did not stay and beat up on Fujimura more. On his social media, Tadasuke confirmed he had started using another of Kodo Fuyuki's moves. 

Noah then made a big announcement regarding the two Sumo Hall shows on the 29th & 30th April. Old friends were returning. Noah announced that Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Rene Dupree, and El Hijo De Wagner Junior where all going to be there, and much to the delight of fans, Chris Ridgeway was also returning too. Ridgeway announced via video, that he would be rejoining STINGER. 

MATCH TWO

Funky Express (King Tany & Mohammed) vs Masaaki Mochizuki & Kinya Okada

Kinya Okada was on fire today against the team who keep repeatedly defeating him, and to whom himself he gets closer to defeating. In terms of his skillset, Masaaki Mochizuki made a good partner for him. There was a nastier edge to Funky Express today with King Tany and a big grin no selling Okada's attacks, and Yone, who doesn't really approve of bullying, having no problems in putting young upstarts in their place. He and Mochizuki had a BattleArts war. 

The crowd where firmly behind Okada, applauding him when he kicked out of Tany's attacks. Sadly, Okada could not kick out of them all. 

WINNER: King Tany with the Funky Press on Kinya Okada (10 minutes, 37 seconds)

It was the same old story for Funky Express. A win over a youngster. It's got to the point where they will accept what they get, and Yone left dancing. 

MATCH THREE

The Noah Junior Regulars (Daisuke Harada, Alejandro & Junta Miyawaki) vs Perros Del Mal De Japon (NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy)

Noah fans knew something was going to happen tonight between these two teams, and it is usually a sign when a match like this (in particular a Noah Junior match) starts quietly. All was normal, Super Crazy and Junta Miyawaki started, Miyawaki with screaming shoulder tackles. A melee brawl broke out when Miyawaki knocked Perros off of the apron and he himself was then targeted by them. Daisuke Harada fought NOSAWA Rongai, NOSAWA trying to stall his attacks by blocking, but Harada had the taste of blood in his mouth, and was not going to stop. 

He probably would have had the win, had the ref not had to throw out the match by the arrival of three masked hooded men who attacked the Noah Junior Regulars. Perros did not get involved, but watched from near the curtain. 

Result: No contest - 10 minutes, 33 seconds. 

The masked men took off their disguises to reveal they were the DragonGate faction Z-Brats. Shun Skywalker, H.Y.O and KENTo.  With his foot on Harada's chest (or else pressed into his face) KENTo said they came to challenge the Noah Junior Regulars to a match at Sumo Hall on the 29th April. H.Y.O will be appearing before that in Noah on the 8th April when he takes on Junta Miyawaki in a singles. H.Y.O said he feels his intellect must drive home the importance of pro wrestling to "0 Wrestlers". Backstage, a furious Harada took their challenge, with a few expletives thrown in. 

MATCH FOUR

Kaito Kiyomiya & HAYATA vs Yoshinari Ogawa & Yasutaka Yano

This match didn't really have much of a meaning. Noah fans know that when something is arranged like this, it's usually for Ogawa (and I think in this case Kaito Kiyomiya) to do some assessing. Ogawa started with HAYATA and then tagged in Yano against Kiyomiya. Yano and Ogawa worked well as a tag and Yano took it to Kiyomiya, even throwing him off the top rope at one point. Kiyomiya, even though he is a fellow Noah Born, couldn't believe this young man kept on getting up after he knocked him down. Thunderous applause for their interactions from the fans. Kiyomiya got the win, and neither HAYATA or Ogawa seemed bothered about breaking the pin.  

WINNER: Kaito Kiyomiya with the Dropkick on Yasutaka Yano (14 minutes, 17 seconds)

Kiyomiya, who is the dojo head, seemed pleased with Yano, and even got a handshake from HAYATA. 

MATCH FIVE

The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Hideki Suzuki & Masato Tanaka) vs THE TOUGH (Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura) & Daiki Inaba

The hapless (and slightly scruffy looking) Kazushi Sakuraba was waiting on the ring apron today to second his team. He found he had a lot of belts to carry, three from Takashi Sugiura and one from Hideki Suzuki. 

I'm not sure how the ring survived this match what with Masa Kitamiya's test of strength showdown with Takashi Sugiura,  Sugiura and Yoshiki Inamura's shoulder tackles, Hideki Suzuki (who gave Masa Kitamiya cheeky eye rake) driving Daiki Inaba into the floor, the elbow war between Masato Tanaka and Masa Kitamiya and then the spears and lariats they laid into each other. Hideki Suzuki's arms were torn apart, and he himself was picked up, spun and slammed by Inamura. People don't usually manhandle a man of Suzuki's size like that, but if he couldn't rely on strength, he could on experience and Inamura was very nearly caught in the Dragon Suplex. A quick win was what was needed here, and Suzuki went for the Royal Stretch. 

WINNER: Hideki Suzuki with the Royal Stretch on Yoshiki Inamura (15 minutes, 34 seconds)

After the match, Sakuraba found himself told off by Suzuki, who told him he didn't want a handshake. He wanted the ropes held open for him. A funny picture was taken backstage showing Sakuraba being berated by Sugi and Suzuki. 

MATCH SIX

Eita vs YO-HEY

Eita made his way slowly to the ring, not as slowly as last time though, although for YO-HEY it would have been karma (the Dove fans know what I am talking about). He took his time in it slowly parading around. YO-HEY knew he had a big opportunity here tonight if he could win. The dynamic had shifted since the title challenge, and Perros had no need now of destroying YO-HEY completely. The fans where behind YO-HEY as many of them have wanted to see him as the singles champion, and YO-HEY himself had hinted of what winning may bring. Fans were begging him not to tap when Eita had him in a submission, and for him to stand up to Eita's rough and sneaky wrestling. But outside the ring, Eita had just turned to the camera and was smoothing back his hair, when HAYATA hit him with the GHC Junior belt. 

Result: No contest (10 minutes, 43 seconds)

The ref protested, but HAYATA got rough and threw him over the steel barriers and then a bleeding Eita into the ring where he exploited his wound. The belt was ground into it, and Eita's head slammed into it when HAYATA did the 403. HAYATA stood with his sadistic smile over Eita as Perros crept into the ring, as did Yuya Susumu and Yoshinari Ogawa. HAYATA challenged for the belt in the usual way

"Next is me"

Title match has been set for Sumo Hall on the 29th April. 

MATCH SEVEN

Kazuyuki Fujita, Naomichi Marufuji, Atsushi Kotoge & Haoh vs Kongoh (Kenoh, Manabu Soya, Hajime Ohara & Nioh)

Kazuyuki Fujita is a member of Noah's unofficial Ultra Heavyweight Club, alongside Manabu Soya, Yoshiki Inamura, Masa Kitamiya and Akitoshi Saito. These five love to fight each other, and so it was natural for Soya to square up to him. Fujita politely told him to please step back. The crowd laughed. 

I felt very sorry for the juniors in this match, particularly Hajime Ohara, who was tortured by Fujita and there was no way that Kongoh could get to him. It's fortunate that Ohara has good endurance skills, and in any case Atsushi Kotoge (with a huge purple bruise) soon tagged in. The juniors, whose division had been chaos all evening, even bought the chaos to this match which Kenoh joined in with. Poor Nioh ended up fighting Fujita and he was given a massive bomb, which winded him. Tadasuke saw to him immediately.

WINNER: Kazuyuki Fujita with a Powerbomb on Nioh (16 minutes, 2 seconds)

Naomichi Marufuji watched Fujita. His hands on his hips. He even refused to shake hands with him. The juniors bowed though, probably because they were terrified. Marufuji said nothing tonight, but to fans his meaning was clear and he walked off after watching Fujita for a few seconds as Fujita bowed to all four corners before leaving the ring. He was even polite enough to close the steel barrier door.

By this time Noah was trending on multiple levels - Noah GHC, Dragongate, HAYATA, Eita, ABEMA. Later NOSAWA would announce the new member of Perros, El Texano Jnr. 

MATCH EIGHT

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Go Shiozaki

The air was thick in Korakuen with expectation. The building, which is its own living entity, was even holding its breath for this. You didn't need to be there to feel it. You just knew it. 

Katsuhiko Nakajima was angry about losing the belt, angry about being injured and angry with even this match. It was just how Go Shiozaki wanted him to be, and he started the match with an angry chop which bought Nakajima to the floor. One of Shiozaki's chops hit Nakajima in the face and not the chest, Nakajima had his hands over his eyes for a bit. 

Korakuen Hall sounded like a thunderstorm with the kicks and chops mingling with the claps from the audience which was like rain, and combined together, it gave the impression of a violent storm. It had echoes of the match when rookie Go Shiozaki met rookie Katsuhiko Nakajima, as their seniors Kenta Kobashi and Kensuke Sasaki battled in the ring. The crowd could not help screaming at points, especially at Shiozaki's come back and his ultimate win.

WINNER: Go Shiozaki with the Strong Arm Lariat (17 minutes, 20 seconds)

One of the most apt pictures ever taken of AXIZ was taken at the end of summer and featured in their last photobook. One of the final pictures was of them together dressed in kimono as guests at a country inn, and holding sparklers as the dusk sets in. The image was one of transience, and a reminder that nothing lasts forever. After a short stare with Shiozaki, Nakajima crawled from the ring. He had been the GHC Heavyweight champion not so long ago, but now he was in the position that Shiozaki had once been in, alone at the bottom of the mountain, returning from injury and with no belt. Like Shiozaki, he too would have to walk a path back up. 

Shiozaki watched him go and then let loose a cry on the microphone. It was one that fans had been wanting to hear for a while;

"I AM NOAH"

Then he called out Kazuyuki Fujita, and just like the first time they had met for the title, they where surrounded by a deafening silence. Only the whirr of cameras breaking the stillness. Shiozaki challenged for the title on the 30th April at Sumo Hall, to which Fujita countered with "I'm Noah!" and then bowing low to Shiozaki, he left the ring. Shiozaki swore he would get the title back 

So, if this was tonight at Korakuen, what is going to happen tomorrow? 

With thanks to: Metal-Noah

GIF taken from ABEMA & Noah Official YouTube