(NOAH) EVENT RECAP: SUNNY VOYAGE 2022 (Sunday, July 3rd - Yamagata Big Wing, Yamagata)

Another hot day in Japan with temperatures in Yamagata at 36 Degrees Celsius, (but despite this, a used car fayre was going on in the venue grounds). Noah announced an attendance of 248, with Satoshi Kojima replacing the absent Go Shiozaki on autographs. Shuhei Taniguchi is also absent due to mild heatstroke. 

The event today was not streamed, but will be from 18:00 on July 6th. I am afraid I don't have much information on some matches, but I am very grateful to nj45, bunbun4_27, KeiSport1970, Emeraldhomepit and Kei for what I have. 

MATCH ONE

Seiki Yoshioka vs Kai Fujimura

WINNER: Seiki Yoshioka with Tornado Strike (7 minutes, 57 seconds)

We will see more of Seiki Yoshioka later this evening. 

MATCH TWO

Noah International (Rene Dupree & Simon Gotch) vs Yoshiki Inamura & Kinya Okada

A funny picture taken of the referee checking Simon Gotch while he sat genie like on the ropes. Not that Gotch was going to unfurl himself for him to check.

Fans were behind Kinya Okada and gave him a loud applause. 

WINNER: Rene Dupree with diving elbow on Kinya Okada (11 minutes, 47 seconds)

MATCH THREE

The Noah Junior Regulars (YO-HEY & Atsushi Kotoge) vs Kongoh Juniors (HI69 & Tadasuke)

WINNER: Hi69 with the Stuka Splash on Atsushi Kotoge (17 minutes, 47 seconds)

After the match, Tadasuke wondered why there was still no retaliation over his kicking Haoh out of Noah. Did Haoh mean so little to them? I think Tadasuke will get his answer when Noah get back to Tokyo. 

MATCH FOUR

Kongoh (Katsuhiko Nakajima & Hajime Ohara) vs Mohammed Yone & Alejandro

As expected, Alejandro joined in with Mohammed Yone, pulling Disco Fever poses and joining in with the Funky Rope Choke. Katsuhiko Nakajima was not amused by such carnival spirits, and threw Alejandro around outside the ring and later he got the Shutter Chance. Hajime Ohara was the one who told the cameramen to go over! 

Speaking of Alejandro and Ohara, Alejandro had his own "Hello St Louis!" moment when he addressed the crowd of "Fukushima". Ohara exclaimed, "What a mistake!" and told him they were in fact in Yamagata. 

WINNER: Hajime Ohara with the Muibien on Alejandro (13 minutes, 45 seconds)

MATCH FIVE

El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr vs Xtreme Tiger

High flying Lucha War

WINNER: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Junior with the Wagner Driver (10 minutes, 31 seconds)

MATCH SIX

STINGER (HAYATA, Yuya Susumu & Yoshinari Ogawa) vs Perros Del Mal De Japon (NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy)

For a unit whose primary colors seem to be dark (the lightest color is Ogawa's white in Zebra trunks), fans were amazed to see STINGER of all people, emerge wearing green Noah baseball shirts. 

Even more unusually, they kept them on throughout the whole match. Was Ogawa sending a message to Kotaro about who and where he truly belongs with? Or was this a statement that they are the Noah Juniors? Whatever it was (and sadly we where never to know) Ogawa certainly looked like he was trying to rip Kotaro's Perros shirt off of him during a melee brawl outside of the ring. Unfortunately, Seiki Yoshioka intruded into the match and got it thrown out when he kicked down all of STINGER. 

WINNER: No one thanks to Yoshioka (10 minutes, 10 seconds)

Yoshioka, after kicking HAYATA in the head a few times, spoke on the mic and said he was going to take the belt at the Nippon Budokan. He then made off with it as STINGER helped HAYATA out. HAYATA was too groggy to speak backstage and Ogawa and Yoshioka had to help him up. Yoshioka repeated that he was going to do anything to take the belt, and HAYATA could consider this his message that he was going to knock him out. 

MATCH SEVEN

Satoshi Kojima & Daiki Inaba vs Kongoh (Kenoh & Manabu Soya)

WINNER: Kenoh with the PFS on Daiki Inaba (15 minutes, 26 seconds)

Then Kenoh got back in the ring and started provoking Kojima, and they got into a fight after the match. 

Backstage, Kojima suggested Lion Pushups and started demonstrating them. He found himself staring at an pair of angry red boots, which later stamped him down. Kenoh started yelling that his new t-shirt had a Lion on it, and if Kojima was so nostalgic for Lions, then he should buy it and wear it to enter. 

MATCH EIGHT

Kaito Kiyomiya, Michael Elgin & Masa Kitamiya vs The Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Timothy Thatcher & Hideki Suzuki)

WINNER: Hideki Suzuki with the Royal Stretch on Masa Kitamiya (19 minutes, 55 seconds)

The loss was humiliating for the champions, as their challengers keep besting them and time is running out before the Nippon Budokan on the 16th. 

Picture credits: Shu Nishinaga, Weekly Pro

GIF taken from Noah Official Twitter

Noah's next event: SUNNY VOYAGE 2022, Sunday July 10th (event will not be broadcast)