(NOAH) CARDS: "NEW HOPE" & KONGOH DIAMOND 5 (ShinKiba 1stRING, Sunday December 18th 2022)

Noah hold two produces on the 18th December; NEW HOPE (which was created by Kaito Kiyomiya during the empty arena era of the pandemic to showcase Noah's younger talent) and the annual Kongoh produce. Normally, The Sugiura Army would close out the year, but the unit seems to have drifted apart in recent months. Kenoh and Kaito Kiyomiya will be signing autographs at their respective shows, so expect this to become a competition between them, as well as the fact that the Kongoh produce sold out before NEW HOPE did. 

NEW HOPE starts at 12:00 JST (doors open at 11:15) 

KONGOH DIAMOND 5 starts at 17:30 JST (doors open at 16:45)

Both events are being held at ShinKiba 1stRING and both will be held live on WrestleUniverse (click the produce names above to go to the links), you must be a subscriber to view. If you are going in person, you are advised to wrap up warm, ShinKiba can be very cold (credit, Flame286)

Please note that HAYATA, Yuya Susumu, Kai Fujimura, Kinya Okada, Daisuke Harada and Go Shiozaki are currently injured. 

NEW HOPE

As mentioned above, NEW HOPE, is Kiyomiya's produce. He originally intended this to showcase Noah's younger generation, but has put some seniors and veterans on the card tonight. He has never put Kenoh on any of these shows, something Kenoh has grumbled about. 

MATCH ONE

Atsushi Kotoge vs Shoki Kitamura

Shoki Kitamura usually appears in ZERO-1. He last appeared in a Noah ring in 2018, when he formed part of three man tag to defeat RATELS (HAYATA, YO-HEY and Tadasuke). This will be his first match against Atsushi Kotoge. 

MATCH TWO

Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba vs Yoshiki Inamura & Taishi Ozawa

Three man hoss fight between Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura and Taishi Ozawa. Will be interesting to see Noah's newest rookie face off against one of his teachers, especially as he can throw dropkicks, which isn't often seen for someone his size and division. Ozawa continues to learn and tagging with Yoshiki Inamura (who he will no doubt grow into a similar sized tank), and facing Masa Kitamiya and the technical Daiki Inaba is a good way to learn. 

MATCH THREE

Naomichi Marufuji vs Alejandro

Very rare match between the heavyweight veteran Naomichi Marufuji and the high-flying Alejandro. Everything is different here; division, size, weight, power, career. Marufuji was known for his own aerial tactics as a junior, and so will probably know (to some extent) a way round Alejandro. 

MATCH FOUR

Kaito Kiyomiya & AMAKUSA vs Jack Morris & Dante Leon 

Part heavyweight grudge match as Jack Morris pinned Kaito Kiyomiya with The Tiger Driver during the N-1 Victory and part pre match as Dante Leon takes on his challenger AMAKUSA. The last time they met, Dante Leon won the match but not over AMAKUSA. AMAKUSA was frustrated and has sworn a victory in order to reach the championship. 

MATCH FIVE

Satoshi Kojima vs Yasutaka Yano

In a night of surprising cards, Satoshi Kojima takes on Noah's youngest roster member, Yasutaka Yano. Yano has been called often "Ogawa's favorite pupil" by Noah fans, and for someone who has had a short career so far, he certainly had some big matches for someone of not so many years experience, normally with Ogawa or one of his seniors looking on though. Tonight, he takes the main event against a veteran in a singles match. 

KONGOH DIAMOND 5

In years past, Noah's end of year shows featured a costumed battle royale (which Noah fans hope will return someday) and then the year end turned into produce shows. With The Sugiura Army (sadly) fizzling out and Kongoh remaining as a unit, they have taken over the year end events and hold their own produce tonight. 

MATCH ONE

HI69 VS Alejandro

HI69 gets what is left of Alejandro, who will no doubt come out with a red chest from being chopped by Naomichi Marufuji.

MATCH TWO

Kongoh (Manabu Soya & Shuji Kondo) vs Daiki Inaba & Seiki Yoshioka

I think Daiki Inaba and Seiki Yoshioka have certain strengths here when it comes to their hulking opponents; Inaba has the power as he is a heavyweight and Seiki Yoshioka, has the speed.

MATCH THREE

Masakatsu Funaki & Yoshiki Inamura

This will be the fourth match between the veteran Masakatsu Funaki, and a man whom could be called part of the "NEW HOPE" generation of Noah, Yoshiki Inamura. We know from the GHC National match that size and weight is a useful thing to have when facing Funaki, and while Inamura has all of that, he does not have El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr's experience, that enabled Wagner Jnr to win the GHC National from Funaki. But, Inamura has persisted onwards and upwards and win or lose, he's going to be a formidable opponent.

MATCH FOUR

Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Satoshi Kojima

You always know when Katsuhiko Nakajima is looking forward to a match, as he will post "tomorrow" on his official Twitter with the match card graphic. If he's planning something evil, then he includes a smirk. Fortunately for Satoshi Kojima, he left the smirk out. Kojima he says as long as he has lariating arm, he fears no one. Nakajima could say the same about his kicks. Kicks meets lariats, and most probably there will be a round of chest muscle pectoral flexing too.

MATCH FIVE

TADASUKE VS AMAKUSA

Pure grudge match that couldn't probably take place anywhere else but a Kongoh produce. To set the scene for the newer fans; AMAKUSA joined Noah under the name of Haoh and entered Kongoh. Feeling disillusioned with life in the unit, and having a falling out with Nioh (now HI69) following a tag match in Sendai in early 2022, Haoh shoved his partner away and left the ring. That night, he joined the Noah Junior Regulars. What followed was the Kongoh backlash where Haoh was forced to give up his hair and his name (he won, but Nioh became HI69 with a new haircut) and then to leave Noah if he lost to Tadasuke. Tadasuke won and Haoh lost, vanishing into thin air for months. He did not post on social media, and no one mentioned him. In fact, the only person to have volunteered to solve the mystery, was Kendo Kashin who confronted the Noah Junior Regulars about it. Fans too wondered what had become of Haoh. Had he left Noah and was sitting out his contract? Had he family issues? All was revealed when a masked man ran into the ring in October to save his friends from a vicious Tadasuke beat down, and unmasked himself to be Haoh. Except, he wasn't Haoh. He had a new name, a new look and a new persona (he would later say that Haoh was "someone else") and introduced himself as AMAKUSA, and as it was later discovered, he'd been on excursion in Mexico with Junta Miyawaki. He was here to do one thing, get to the top of Noah, and it started with destroying Tadasuke.      

MATCH SIX

Kenoh vs Hajime Ohara

The main event is a nostalgic one. Kenoh and Hajime Ohara (back in Kenoh's junior days, before he informed everyone that he was turning heavyweight, with "I will boost the new Noah! All you assholes at Korakuen Hall, watch Kenoh from now on!") where together in Takeshi Morishima's Super Violent Army Unit as a tag team "KenOhara", and after they disbanded, carried on together until Kenoh turned heavyweight. Kenoh was a lot more fun loving back then and more shrill than loud. They also had a comedy spot where Kenoh wielded a Singapore Cane and would accidentally hit Ohara, who spun around in dramatic shock. Not so funny was the fact that Ohara was once accidentally struck in the mouth by it, and the resulting damage to his teeth made him wear a mouthguard afterwards. They held the GHC Junior tag titles twice, once in 2014 and then again in 2016, and they were part of the fight against The Suzuki Army. After Kenoh turned heavyweight they went their separate ways, reuniting when Hajime Ohara walked out of the Noah Junior Regulars in protest over YO-HEY'S joining them, and joined Kongoh. This will be their first singles match since 2021, which Kenoh won in almost 8 minutes. They have only had two matches, and Kenoh has won them both.

Picture credit: WrestleUniverse