(NOAH) CARD: [Muto Retirement Road] ABEMA presents Ariake Gaisen-THE RETURN-PRO-WRESTLING LOVE FOREVER . 3 ~TRIUMPH~


Noah make a return tonight to the site of the old Differ Ariake, the place where Noah had their dojo, their dormitories, their offices and the beloved old Differ arena. Sadly, the lot was sold in 2016 and Noah relocated to Saitama. After one final visit to Differ in 2018, Noah have not been back as the lot has been demolished with an Olympic Village built and with any trace of how they knew it, gone. Tonight is a homecoming of sorts for those who remember those days (and that also includes NOSAWA Rongai who made many trips to Differ, and twice with Noah and that includes during the Mitsuharu Misawa era), but for all it is a chance to create new memories. 

It is only fitting that in the place where Noah first raised the sail and set out on the voyage, and where Noah fans first cheered for their favorites, that a vocal crowd should be allowed for the first time in just over two years. As incredible as it sounds, some of the roster have never known Noah with vocal fans having joined during the empty arena period and then the silent period. 

Event will be broadcast on both WrestleUniverse (English commentary available, subscribers only) and ABEMA (Japanese commentary only, you cannot watch replays, please do not subscribe if you are overseas due to the problems with getting a working VPN). Event starts at 16:00 JST, with the doors opening at 14:30 JST. 

Absent from the event due to injury: Go Shiozaki, Yuya Susumu, Kinya Okada & Daisuke Harada. 

MATCH ONE (DARK MATCH, STARTS 15:40 JST)
Kai Fujimura vs Taichi Ozawa

The show starts with a dark match between rookies. Kai Fujimura has learned a lot since filling in for Yasutaka Yano and teaming with STINGER in many high profile matches, and he has the chance to show it tonight on a big and special stage. Taichi Ozawa too has a chance to shine, although it is likely he may not win. 

MATCH TWO
Shuhei Taniguchi, Alejandro & Xtreme Tiger vs Kongoh (Manabu Soya, Shuji Kondo & Hajime Ohara)

Something of an odd match between three heavyweights and three junior heavyweights. Hajime Ohara teams with the disapproving Shuji Kondo and the silent Manabu Soya, who will no doubt have his sights set on Shuhei Taniguchi, a fellow ultra heavyweight.   

MATCH THREE
Daiki Inaba & YO-HEY vs Jack Morris & Dante Leon

Dante Leon returns to Noah, and while ironically YO-HEY was thrilled to see his friend back, tonight he is his opponent. Let Dante Leon and YO-HEY hold one of the Noah Junior competitions to see who can outdo the other, while Jack Morris and Daiki Inaba fight. 

MATCH FOUR
STINGER (Yoshinari Ogawa, Chris Ridgeway & Yasutaka Yano) vs Perros Del Mal De Japon (NOSAWA Rongai, Eita & Super Crazy)

The last time STINGER and Perros Del Mal De Japon were in the ring, Yoshinari Ogawa asked Eita for a handshake. Eita took it, much to the protesting of Super Crazy and NOSAWA Rongai outside of the ring. Ogawa gave them a "Sorry, not sorry" look, but he spoke too soon as Eita kicked him in the crotch and rejoined with Perros. He got on the mic, and threatened that he would destroy Ogawa at the Ariake Arena. That is part one of this match, part two is that NOSAWA Rongai has announced his retirement (and not all fans are convinced by this), so tonight's developments are going to be interesting.  

MATCH FIVE
Hideki Suzuki & El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr vs Masa Kitamiya & Masato Tanaka

A big four man fight before the title matches and the Mutoh Retirement match begins. The fans are going to need something as light hearted as this and as non serious as this in the space between the STINGER match and the start of the title matches. 

MATCH SIX
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship Match

The Noah Junior Regulars had been through a grueling match to win the titles from STINGER, when Tadasuke and HI69 crashed the party, Tadasuke wielding a chair which he cracked Atsushi Kotoge's skull open with. He then wiped the blood off his hands by running his hand through his hair, leaving red streaks. If Tadasuke was prepared to go this far to make a challenge, it should come as no surprise when he stated that he would do anything to win the title tonight. Atsushi Kotoge and Seiki Yoshioka have not had a great time during the pre matches, Yoshioka's knee has not been allowed any respite from the STINGER match and he and Kotoge have been overpowered by their opponents. Their breakthrough came in Kumamoto and then later in Fukuoka. Tonight will either see their luck hold out, or else Tadasuke achieves his ambition of winning the belts and showing Shuji Kondo that he is capable of being a champion, when Kondo failed in his own bid.

MATCH SEVEN
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship Match

"HAYATA, the GHC Junior Champion, who has become Noah's "Absolute Champion", will be challenged for the first time by Ninja Mack, who has gained popularity since his first appearance in the spring, and even signed a yearly contract with Noah. A daredevil super acrobatic fighter, his deadly Ninja Bomb (Phoenix Splash-type Senton) boasts a 100% win rate. However, in the pre matches, HAYATA won three straight matches from the first. In one of them he won by letting the Ninja Bomb self destruct. The high risk state of the Ninja Bomb's "double edged sword" was exposed, but in the final pre match on the 16th October in Fukuoka, the Ninja Bomb was used and he won directly from HAYATA. Whether or not the Ninja's deadly bullet can be determined, is the key to victory or defeat."

MATCH EIGHT
GHC National Championship Match
(Fought under GHC Martial Arts Rules)

"The famous match between Masakatsu Funaki and Kazushi Sakuraba for the first time in about fifteen years, will happen on a pro wrestling mat. The two men, who livened up New Year's Eve living rooms with "Dynamite" in 2007, will clash for the GHC National Championship. The last time their fight was done under MMA riles, but the "GHC Martial Arts Rules" will be adopted for the first time in Noah. As there is no pin, the match can end in KO and TKO only. A yellow card will be presented for escaping the ring or eye striking, with the match lost via foul with three cards. These are rules that further mix UWF and normal pro wrestling rules. 

In the pre match (October 16th Fukuoka), which was held under the same rules in a double bout, Sakuraba won by making the champion Funaki tap out, by using his secret Scorpion Leg Lock. Regardless, this will be a unique match that will be clearly set apart from the other GHC matches, and will be decided in an instant unless you watch closely"

Note: The match will be refereed by Yuji Shimada, who refereed their match fifteen years ago. 

MATCH NINE
GHC Heavyweight Tag Championship match

"The GHC Tag Champions, "Taka & Satoshi" (Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima), who have a strange ambiance, will be challenged by Kenoh & Katsuhiko Nakajima. Their teamwork is not good enoigh, and while they repeatedly make mistakes, they win with their explosive power. Even in the comments, Taka retorts at Satoshi's foolishness. They are a mysterious team where the parts that don't fit, do fit perfectly. 

Kenoh and Nakajima are the best kick combination in the mat world, which is the pride of the rebel group, Kongoh. They failed to take the championship at the Ryogoku event in April of this year, and are again aiming for the titles this time. In the pre match, Nakajima's Vertical Spike leading to Kenoh's P.F.S showed off an explosive power that was as good as Kojima's to completely shatter the champion."

MATCH TEN
PRO-WRESTLING LOVE FOREVER . 3 ~TRIUMPH~
Keiji Mutoh, Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshiki Inamura vs Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe & Tomoaki Honma

"Round 4 of Mutoh's Retirement Road will be held in the semi finals. Hiroshi Tanahashi, Togi Makabe and Tomoaki Honma from New Japan will participate in a 6 man tag match. Tanahashi was Mutoh's attendant in the New Japan Era, while Honma was the attendant in the All Japan era*. 

"I want to fight Mutoh before retirement"
In response to Tanahashi's earnest appeal, who has been known as a "Mutoh freak" since his fan days, Mutoh has a modest attitude saying "I want you to assess" as he looks ahead to one final landing in New Japan before retiring. However, Tanahashi also warned Mutoh who is famous for "taking the best parts when finished", "I have no intention of letting Mutoh take all the glory". To this, Mutoh replied, "We all stand out." 

As a card, there is certainly the possibility of producing an unexpected by product due to the composition of the Noah vs New Japan battle associated with young Yoshiki Inamura."

Note: Add Honma to the list of people that Mutoh says he cannot understand, alongside Genichiro Tenryu and Riki Choshu. 

MATCH ELEVEN
GHC Heavyweight Championship Match

"GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kaito Kiyomiya, the standard bearer of Noah's new era, takes on the challenge of The Beast, Kazuyuki Fujita. This year, the ace of the new era, who surpassed Mutoh at the Nippon Budokan event and won the "N-1 VICTORY 2022" and regained the GHC Heavyweight Championship. He nominated Fujita, who he has not yet faced in a single, as "The wall that needs to be overcome". 

Kiyomiya declared a head on breakthrough with the theme of "strength", but in the pre matches his "strength" was clearly shown and he suffered two losses in a row. What is more, Fujita has repeated the "marking" act of rubbing his body odor, demonstrating that to The Beast his former "declaration of humility" was a lie. The timing of this challenge comes right after the death of Antonio Inoki, but far from sticking to himself, he is escalating his "wild beast" and is devouring the young champion. 

For Kiyomiya, who is promoting the establishment of the values of the new era of Noah as "our professional wrestling", can he turn the misfortune he has bought upon himself into good fortune? At the same time, the theme is whether this can be used as a starting point for a new "Ariake Legend"

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