(NOAH) EVENT RECAP: STAR NAVIGATION 2023 - Korakuen Hall, Tokyo (Thursday June 22nd)

Tonight's show at Korakuen Hall was wild, with the wonderful lively florid atmosphere, that seems unique to Noah there as all the roster seems to go wild. Tonight some further matches were announced for "ONE NIGHT DREAM", and of course the participants for the N-1 VICTORY 2023 were announced.  

The unlikely tag team of HAYATA and Eita were on autographs, HAYATA seemed more animated than usual, and Eita was smiling. So many people came, that the session was still going on fifteen minutes before the show began. 

You can watch today's show on WrestleUniverse, English commentary is available. 

MATCH ONE

Katsuhiko Nakajima & Seiki Yoshioka vs Kongoh (Manabu Soya & Hajime Ohara)

Team Kick made their appearance to Katsuhiko Nakajima's music. This was an energetic opener with Katsuhiko Nakajima getting the win via the huge slap on Hajime Ohara, and sending a message to Kento Miyahara. 

WINNER: Katsuhiko Nakajima with the Hari-te on Hajime Ohara (3 minutes, 43 seconds)

Nakajima stalked backstage, while Soya (often Kongoh's muscle) carried Ohara over his shoulder. There was something quite comical about how Ohara played it. Nakajima (after Seiki Yoshioka had thanked him for today, and told him how much he enjoyed teaming again), who made sure that his hand was on display, made some vague illusions towards what had happened with Miyahara and what Miyahara (and everyone else) could expect. 

Back in the main hall, Noah made the first of two announcements that evening. The first concerned, "ONE NIGHT DREAM". Noah announced that they would once again be running a women's match as Jazzy Yang and Miyuki Takase will be taking on Hibiscus Mii and YUU, Jimmy Yang was coming to Noah and would team with Super Crazy and Stallion Rogers against GLG'S Tadasuke, YO-HEY and Anthony Green, and that a young boy, Yu Owada, would make his debut.

Owada's profile tells us that he is twenty-one years old, is 178cm and weighs 85kg, and comes from Sapporo, Hokkaido. I am sure that this last detail would have endeared him to Mitsuharu Misawa, who was born in Yubari. 

MATCH TWO

REAL (Saxon Huxley, Timothy Thatcher, Hideki Suzuki & Shuhei Taniguchi) and Kazuyuki Fujita vs THE TOUGH (Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura), Funky Express (Mohammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito) and Stallion Rogers

It's rare that the juniors are outdone by the heavyweights when it comes to being out of control, but this match was just that. As Kazuyuki Fujita was handing out his VIPER Tonic, Saxon Huxley was making his way to the ring with his t-shirt swinging between his legs. After the toast with REAL, Fujita got into a huddle with Huxley, Shuhei Taniguchi and Timothy Thatcher, which turned into a huddle jump, and then all four of them attacked Masa Kitamiya, Yoshiki Inamura, Mohammed Yone and Akitoshi Saito, leaving Hideki Suzuki and Stallion Rogers alone in the ring. The look on Suzuki's face was comical. He didn't just have three to control, now he had four. The fights went into the crowd, with Saxon Huxley and Mohammed Yone fighting in the aisles. The referee (used to this kind of thing from the Noah Juniors) just ignored them and continued the match before everyone got back on the apron. In the ring, Yoshiki Inamura once again slammed Huxley, and Thatcher was halted by the Funky Pose. Thatcher once again kept on getting lifted out of the Fujiwara Armbar.

It was Shuhei Taniguchi who had to shine here, and so after using Hideki Suzuki as a weapon (he did the bomb slam), he pinned Stallion Rogers with the Half Nelson Suplex (14 minutes, 14 seconds)

Backstage, Taniguchi, Huxley and Thatcher looked like they were a celebrating Rugby team, while Hideki Suzuki who followed on behind, looked like their harassed coach. 

MATCH THREE

GOOD LOOKING GUYS (Jake Lee & Jack Morris) vs Daiki Inaba & Sean Legacy

This match felt like Korakuen was putting itself back together from what had just happened before, and what was going to happen after. Daiki Inaba targeted Jake Lee, while Jack Morris targeted Sean Legacy. 

WINNER: Jack Morris with the Cobra Twist on Sean Legacy (11 minutes, 30 seconds)

Before the entrance music sounded for the next match, the cameras and photographers were seen rushing to the south side side of the hall, as Yota Tsuji made his way down the stairs with a big grin, sunglasses and an L.I.J t-shirt , and stepping over the barriers took his seat at ringside. 

To bring the reader up to speed, Yota Tsuji will be facing Kaito Kiyomiya for the first round of the G1 Climax 2023 in Sapporo. Kiyomiya has been dismissive of Tsuji, saying that he's not worth his time and that he is an "inexperienced green boy", he doesn't care about his title challenges, and his only focus is on SANADA. Tsuji said that if Kiyomiya is going act like a middle schooler, then he is going to say that he is a "green matchstick" (i.e. tall, thin, of beanpole height and with blonde hair). 

MATCH FOUR

Kaito Kiyomiya, HAYATA & Eita vs Yoshinari Ogawa, LEONA & Kai Fujimura

As Tsuji Yota sat there grinning, Kaito Kiyomiya, who had said that he wasn't worth his attention, completely ignored him. He ignored him when he got to the ring, he ignored him during the match, but he didn't completely ignore him afterwards as we will see. 

LEONA decided to start the match, but the crowd were firmly behind Eita and cheered wildly for him. During the match he did seem somewhat dazed, meaning that the ref had to check on him and his team seemed concerned to get him out of the ring as soon as possible, but he rallied. 

WINNER: Kaito Kiyomiya with the Tiger Driver on Kai Fujimura (12 minutes, 24 seconds)

You can always tell when either team in Noah, but particularly STINGER, care about winning a match as no one at all came to break up the pin, and LEONA and Yoshinari Ogawa were both on the apron looking on. As LEONA and Eita almost got into a fight (in which the ref was shoved down when he tried to keep LEONA back), HAYATA held the belt up to Ogawa. During all of this, Kaito Kiyomiya posed on the ropes. Yota Tsuji eventually got up and sauntered towards the ring, provoking him. Kiyomiya scowled and left. Backstage, Yota Tsuji said he came to see the “match of the green matchstick” since he couldn’t get him to talk to him, but unfortunately, “Kiyopi, the hottest guy in New Japan is only interested in SANADA”. (FYI "Kyopi" is the nickname fans have given Kiyomiya). Kiyomiya remained unimpressed about Yota's stunt and said he didn't want it to be talked about and he wasn't going to talk about it. 

As for his opponents and teammates; LEONA revealed that the reason why he had attacked Eita was because he had been away from Noah for a long time, and when he came back, he saw someone else from an another promotion was "rampaging", and HAYATA and Eita had a semi comedic moment when HAYATA said something to Eita that no one heard (as he, HAYATA, walked off), and Eita said, "Did you hear what HAYATA said? I didn't either." Get used to that Eita.

MATCH FIVE

Shuji Kondo vs Hi69

Although Hi69 attacked straight away, Shuji Kondo threw him around the ring, and while Hi69 was writhing on the mat, walked around it slowly waiting for him to get back up. Fans were behind Hi69, but each way he turned, Kondo was looming over him

WINNER: Shuji Kondo with the King Kong Lariat (5 minutes, 57 seconds)

Although he can be gruff, Manabu Soya was the one who checked on Hi69 after their match, Kondo just walked off. With now Kenoh, Kondo, Ohara and Soya done this leaves either Masakatsu Funaki to sort things out with, or that Hi69 is now free to follow his next path. 

As Noah approached the final few matches, they announced the participants of the N-1 2023. There will be 16 participants, who will both be split into two blocks of eight men. Naomichi Marufuji decided in May after losing in the GHC Heavyweight match, that he would not be appearing. Takashi Sugiura is injured and will be out indefinitely and none of the other seniors are appearing, which gives the league a fresh young feel. Something I think that Noah are coming to realize. 

BLOCK A

Jake Lee

Kenoh

Masa Kitamiya

Jack Morris

Yoshiki Inamura

Timothy Thatcher

Adam Brookes (Australian Indie Wrestler)

Yuki Yoshioka (DragonGate)

BLOCK B

Go Shiozaki

Katsuhiko Nakajima

El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr

Manabu Soya

Daiki Inaba

Saxon Huxley

Lance Lance Anoa'i (MLW)

Yuma Anzai (AJPW)

Adam Brookes said that not only was he ticking off wrestling in Japan off his Bucket list, he was going to win the tournament while he was at it. 

MATCH SIX

El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr, Ninja Mack & Dante Leon vs Naomichi Marufuji, AMAKUSA & Atsushi Kotoge

Another wild lighthearted match (for some) with some comedy and silliness. Now that Noah is in a more relaxed state, and without the pressure he felt in his 20th anniversary, I think Naomichi Marufuji can afford to have more relaxed matches, such as the one he had when teaming with Eita. Following the opponents posing, Marufuji and his team posed in the same manner, which wound up the other team, who then posed again. Even the staid AMAKUSA, who had something else in mind that evening joined in, not just in the pose, but when he went to scoop slam El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr. 

Following their match in Osaka, fans had said that they believed that AMAKUSA would be the next challenger, and were not only they behind him to do it, Marufuji I think also wanted AMAKUSA to challenge, as he kept breaking the pin. AMAKUSA went for some very speedy desperation pins, but came up short three times, El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr went to deal with him, but AMAKUSA reversed and it took seven momentum pins in total before he got the pin.

WINNER: AMAKUSA pinned El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr (14 minutes, 11 seconds)

Fans had been screaming for AMAKUSA to win, and he then made the challenge, thanking "Wagner-dono" (a very formal but old fashioned way of addressing someone) and saying he would challenge for his "red treasure". Despite the height, weight and division difference between them, Wagner Jnr accepted the challenge with a handshake. 

Title match has been set for the 9th July.  AMAKUSA becomes the third Junior to challenge for the title, after Minoru Tanaka (Takashi Sugiura) and Daisuke Harada (Kenoh). Atsushi Kotoge seemed delighted with AMAKUSA'S challenge, as was Hideki Suzuki.

MATCH SEVEN

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship Match

GOOD LOOKING GUYS (YO-HEY & Tadasuke) vs STINGER (Chris Ridgeway & Daga)

If the crowd had been worked up by the events earlier in the evening, they were almost standing up for this match. The champions (YO-HEY and Tadasuke) were run ragged by their challengers who were relentless, but if they were relentless in attack, then they had to be relentless in defense. YO-HEY had admitted that they were the stronger team, and tonight they found out just how strong they were. The challengers went for a divide and conquer strategy, keeping Tadasuke, the more powerful of the two, out of the ring pretty much, leaving YO-HEY to rely on speed. However with his elbow being attacked (and the bandages ripped off his injured arm) meant that he couldn't go for the pin as soon as he should have done and this gave Daga time to recover, and Ridgeway time to pop up from where he had been beating up Tadasuke outside of the ring, and torture him. YO-HEY was not going to give up, he kicked out of everything, even the Diablo Wings (provoking a deafening "YO-HEY" chant) in the hall. The crowd where worked up with each kick out, and you felt like something was going to snap. Finally, STINGER went for a double submission, Ridgeway sadistically putting Tadasuke almost in YO-HEY'S face to watch him tap

WINNERS: Daga with Justice on YO-HEY (21 minutes, 29 seconds)

The two new champions started as they meant to go on, by beating up the new trainee, and then swearing at the camera. No challengers have come forward as of yet.

MATCH EIGHT

Kenoh vs Go Shiozaki

Katsuhiko Nakajima took his place on commentary as Go Shiozaki and Kenoh went to war. The match itself was fought like a title match, but to Shiozaki, every match he fights is a title match. This match came about following Go Shiozaki's return to Noah following injury, and his challenge of Kenoh which followed Kenoh's singles match with Katsuhiko Nakajima, as he wanted to show everyone how now he was back, he could once again take his place at the top again. Kenoh had snarled how Shiozaki was simply lying on his back asleep during his time off, to which Shiozaki quipped he would unleash all the energy he had pent up then on Kenoh. Shiozaki set to work attacking Kenoh's knees, which meant that  he found it hard to do the PFS, and Shiozaki seems to have introduced more submission moves that he would normally. However, the attack didn't stop Kenoh from giving Shiozaki such a kick, that the referee had to check on him. Kenoh shoved him aside and went for the PFS, which got him the win

WINNER: Kenoh with the PFS (23 minutes, 11 seconds)

Nakajima got hurriedly into the ring, and grabbed the icepack from the trainee, to see to Shiozaki. Inamura hovered nearby, watching. When they got him out of the ring, Shiozaki couldn't stand, and fell backwards. Kenoh, however, was not moved by this scene and started shrieking (this has been termed as "The Grand Speech"), and told him that it made no difference to him whether Shiozaki or Nakajima would make it to the finals, he would beat them up regardless. The rest if Kenoh's speech included how if Yota Tsuji came and sat at ringside if he was in the G1, he would have responded very differently and wouldn't have stood for it, and his anniversary show in Tokushima, where he hoped that if people couldn't come, they could at least watch on The Kenoh Channel, where it will be broadcast free by ABEMA. As for the N-1, the crowd chanted "Kenoh!" when he said he would win it to give momentum to his anniversary. Backstage, Kenoh said that if Shiozaki didn't like the loss today, then he had better hunt him down and face him in the N-1 finals. 

With thanks to: Abeshin

Picture credit: Atsushi Kotoge (group with Naomichi Marufuji and AMAKUSA)

Noah attendance today: 1,022

Noah's next event: Kenoh Channel presents Kenoh Debut 15th Anniversary - Saturday June 24th (Tokushima City Gymnasium)