(NOAH) EVENT RECAP: N Innovation (Saturday May 14th 2022, Yokohama Radiant Hall)

The N Innovation returned today to it's home at Yokohama Radiant Hall with a crowd of 134 in attendance. You can view the event on WrestleUniverse, but you must be a subscriber. Please note this is done by static cam and there is no commentary. 

Match One

Junta Miyawaki vs Kinya Okada

The only non problematic match on the card today, with no feuds, no title pre matches, no being forced to choose sides, no one crashing the match or intruding in the end of the match, just two guys fighting. Kinya Okada was initially dominant, but Junta Miyawaki was not going to take this from a junior of his, and was very much the senior, even if Okada did overpower him with his size and weight. Very technical match, Okada taking advantage of his size and weight and even driving a fist or an elbow into Miyawaki's ribs during a hold. Miyawaki found he had to get to the ropes more than once. Both where determined to make the other submit with a lot of Yoshinari Ogawa overtones.

WINNER: Neither, 15 minute time out draw

Because this is the Noah Juniors, plus two stubborn Noah Born, Miyawaki refused to have his hands raised and left angrily. The ref tried to do this twice, and even had to call them both over to attempt to do it. 

Match Two

The Noah Junior Regulars (Atsushi Kotoge, Haoh & Alejandro) vs Kongoh Juniors (Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69)

Tadasuke entered the stage and looked for the corner camera, found there wasn't one and so found a photographer to pose for. When the Noah Junior Regulars entered the ring, Atsushi Kotoge's chain fell the floor. The referees were going to have an evening of this, as they where also having to clean up YO-HEY'S fluff and probably Kaito Kiyomiya's feathers. Somehow the match didn't start in a mass brawl, but as expected the two people with the most issues between them, Hi69 and Haoh started. Hajime Ohara and Atsushi Kotoge too have unresolved issues, which probably stretch further back than Atsushi Kotoge teaming up with YO-HEY, and then there was a the lingering bitterness between Tadasuke (wildly headbanging) and Alejandro too.  

WINNER: Haoh with the Tatsumaki on Tadasuke (12 minutes, 49 seconds)

Tadasuke could not believe it, and remained in shock in the ring, pointing. Hi69 took it up with the referee, while the Noah Junior Regulars celebrated. Excited with his victory, Haoh spoke on the microphone to say that he would be the face if the Noah Juniors. Backstage Haoh said he was going to be more assertive, Tadasuke wondered why he didn't say this when he was in the Kongoh Juniors.

Match Three

HAYATA & Kai Fujimura vs Xtreme Tiger & YO-HEY

Champion and challenger started, Xtreme Tiger managing to catch HAYATA off guard by countering him in a different way than HAYATA is used to. 

HAYATA tagged in Kai Fujimura when YO-HEY came in, YO-HEY gave a kind of nod as if to say he was expecting this and it was okay. Young Fujimura held his own in the match against three much more experienced wrestlers. HAYATA couldn't avoid YO-HEY forever however, and with a very Ogawa like mannerism he looked at Xtreme Tiger (complete with sadistic smile) as if to tell him to take a good look, as he would be next. 

WINNER: Xtreme Tiger with the Boston Crab on Kai Fujimura (11 minutes, 15 seconds)

YO-HEY was loving taunting HAYATA over both the team loss and Xtreme Tiger's challenge. HAYATA butted heads with Xtreme Tiger, and held up the belt to him. He reserved a glare for YO-HEY. 

Backstage, HAYATA (unusually) was on his own and talking (even more unusual) and saying that he would win, when Yuya Susumu walked in and basically asked HAYATA who he was going to team with on the 19th. HAYATA shook his hand, but said nothing (not unusual) and the card has been changed to HAYATA, Yuya Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka (The Hiroshima Boys) vs STINGER (Yoshinari Ogawa and Chris Ridgeway) and Kai Fujimura. Fujimura I believe is the substitute for Yasutaka Yano, who is currently injured.  This handshake, which has made Susumu so sure but fans not so sure as we have seen HAYATA betray old friends before (i.e. YO-HEY), signaled the start of the STINGER drama that would dominate the next two matches. 

Match Four

Chris Ridgeway vs Seiki Yoshioka

Chris Ridgeway kept Seiki Yoshioka on the mat, working on his knees and legs so he was going to have a hard time kicking and a hard time. STINGER are unforgiving to challengers (they don't like them) and even more so when it's a member of the same unit, so the match was filled with the usual ice cold STINGER sadistic fury. Ridgeway was everywhere that Yoshioka was and was going to be. He held him in that tightly, even provoking Yoshioka at one point into doing momentum pins. But he could not prevent Yoshioka from kicking through, and  often Yoshioka found that he had to be inventive.

WINNER: Chris Ridgeway with a flash pin (11 minutes, 39 seconds)

Yoshioka limped backstage quickly, to say in the comments booth that he saw today as a learning experience for the title match. The he limped back out to second Yuya Susumu. 

Match Five

Simon Gotch & Yoshinari Ogawa vs Kaito Kiyomiya & Yuya Susumu

And so the STINGER drama continued with an instant brawl as soon as the bell rung. Yoshioka got up on the apron and was knocked down by Yoshinari Ogawa. Ogawa would use Yoshioka's presence to his advantage throughout the match, motioning for Yoshioka to get into the ring, and then complaining to the ref when he did.

When the match settled down, it became a battle of the technicians with Ogawa vs Yuya Susumu and Simon Gotch vs Kaito Kiyomiya. If Kiyomiya was going to try out things that he couldn't do normally in a Japanese ring, then Gotch was going to give him a refresher course. 

WINNER: Kaito Kiyomiya with the Tiger Suplex hold on Simon Gotch (17 minutes, 32 seconds)

Chris Ridgeway got in the ring after the match to attack Yuya Susumu, who had Yoshinari Ogawa in a headlock. Seiki Yoshioka kicked him in the head repeatedly. Susumu held the belt up to Ogawa as the junior/STINGER chaos rolled on as on the other side of the ring, the referee held up Kiyomiya's arm. If you ever wanted a visual of two divisions, this is a good one. HAYATA did not show himself, but backstage Yuya Susumu commented that "they" meaning Seiki Yoshioka and himself would "be the centre of the Noah Juniors" alongside HAYATA. Weekly Pro are speculating that this may mean that STINGER have split up. 

Match Six

Noah vs Z-Brats

Daisuke Harada vs H.Y.O

H.Y.O took his time getting to the ring, posing like a swimsuit model near the fan and then stretching his back out for the cameras and then even getting in the ring took him a while as he paused on the steps before climbing in. He had beaten Junta Miyawaki (who felt he had been singled out) and Alejandro, so now it was time to beat Harada. 

It was going to be simple, wasn't it? 

Daisuke Harada entered accompanied by the whole of the Noah Junior Regulars. H.Y.O told them to get lost and got them applauding when Harada threw his coat in H.Y.O's face for his troubles.

 Despite this, and the handshake that Harada refused to accept, and Harada being like stone, H.Y.O continued his annoying tactics, which included rolling outside the ring (this got him slammed to the floor before being marched back), taking a seat outside the ring and being hesitant when he was ordered to get back into it (this was a stalling tactic to make Harada come over, as Harada was dragged off the apron and thrown into chairs and then the steel ring post), messing around with the electric fans again, offering a handshake and at one point even doing squats, but if anyone fitted "Last Boss" phrase, it was Harada.

WINNER: Daisuke Harada with the Tiger Suplex (20 minutes, 25 seconds)

This the Noah Junior Regulars one and only victory over Z-Brats, perhaps it was more fitting that it was done at Yokohama Radiant Halls, the home of the N Innovation rather than Ryogoku. After Harada gave Yoshiki Inamura the signal for the trash to be taken out (the removal of H.Y.O), the Noah Junior Regulars clustered round and Harada spoke on the microphone and said that he hadn't given up on another Noah Junior Ryogoku Kokugikan. After this they all posed together, Miyawaki having to push down Alejandro, as he was blocking him a little! 

On the way out of the hall, Harada got on the microphone one last time and said, "Dokaaaaan!"

As for H.Y.O. He believes that although Daisuke Harada won, the victory is his. This loss means nothing, and it's been a good workout for his match back in DragonGate tomorrow. 

Noah's next event: Dream on 2022 (Thursday May 19th, Yokohama Radiant Hall)

GIF taken from WrestleUniverse & Noah Official YouTube