(NOAH) Kaito Kiyomiya was not in the ring when Kazuchika Okada shouted, "1,2,3 DAH!!" The 26 year old is determined to burst into New Japan, "Crush Okada!"

14th July 2023

Sports Graphic Number Web

"1,2,3 DAH!"

June 9th, Ryogoku Kokugikan. It was Kazuchika Okada who concluded "ALL TOGETHER AGAIN", which bought together wrestlers from three promotions, New Japan, Noah and All Japan. But Kaito Kiyomiya was nowhere to be seen in the finale...

The participating wrestlers who were still in the venue gathered in the ring, creating an ending scene suitable for the finale of the event, which was held as a "restart from the coronavirus pandemic". The audience also stood up and shouted, "Dah!". There were different places for each promotion, but there was no barrier in front of "DAH", and the faces of the audience who raised their fists, were full of smiles. The spectacle, which seemed to make you feel energized just by watching it, was powerful enough to establish a fist bump between Okada and Kenoh, which never happened during the match. 

In the ring was Hiroshi Tanahashi, who lost in the main event, and Kento Miyahara, who had teamed with him. However, one person who had fought in the main, 26-year-old Kaito Kiyomiya, was missing. 

One that day, there was a match where the junior champions of the three promotions gathered together, and there was an encounter between the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and the GHC Heavyweight Champion. The main event was a beautiful six man tag match that combined golden cards of three promotions: Tanahashi and Okada (New Japan), Kiyomiya and Kenoh (Noah), and Miyahara and Yuma Aoyagi (All Japan). 

The six people entered one by one.  

The first person, of course, was Miyahara, who entered first from his Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship era, and monopolized the gaze and cheers of the audience. From there appeared Kiyomiya, Tanahashi, Aoyagi, Kenoh, and finally Okada. After entering the ring, Okada did the rainmaker pose in the corner, then pulled off his gown and exposed his belt. It was business as usual, but with just that Kokugikan was enveloped on a roar of "OH!", and the voltage went up one level regardless of the fact that the belt around his waist was not the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship, but the NEVER Openweight 6-Man Tag Team Championship. On the day, the singles champions of the three promotions had already wrestled, and the audience were watching their belts. Okada, Tanahashi and Tomohiro Ishii hold the NEVER Openweight 6 Man Tag Team Championship, but although Tanahashi (who was the third person to appear in the match), had already unveiled it, but when Okada showed off his belt, Ryogoku Kokugikan roared, and the excitement was evident. 

At the moment when the main event was settled, and at the closing of the show, the tension in the venue was as high as Okada's "belt unveiling" scene. The 35 year old Rainmaker says that belt or no belt, "Okada is the final entrance of an All Star match, and of course, Okada is the one who ends the match and concludes the event." As a presence that everyone agrees on, and a presence that reigns as the top beyond the boundaries of promotions, he has come to be seen with a sense of awe. Just by being there he can create a sense of awe with his overwhelming presence just by opening his gown and looking around. 

There was a wrestler staring at Okada's entrance from the middle of the ring. 

Kiyomiya. 

The relationship between the two has deepened dramatically this year. When a tag match was held at the Yokohama Arena in January, Kiyomiya kicked Okada in the face, who ignored him. This then developed into a big brawl, and the match became a no contest. Soon after, a singles match was set up at the Tokyo Dome in February, and although Okada continued to declare a boycott, he broke in and attacked, saying "I will make Noah fans taste despair." The match between the IWGP World Heavyweight Champion and the GHC Heavyweight Champion was realized. Although Kiyomiya appealed for a no time limit, Okada won the match in 16 minutes and 32 seconds. And now once again, the chance to stand before each other came, but Okada ignored Kiyomiya's gaze this time, and avoided him, even when the match started. 

But, it was to be Okada who would take the first step. 

Even though he was fighting Miyahara, he suddenly attacked Kiyomiya, who was standing on the apron. Kiyomiya, who was on fire, dropkicked Okada when he himself was on the apron, and provoked a fight outside the ring. Surprisingly, New Japan's fans also welcomed Kiyomiya's attack on Okada. Just like Okada as the presence who reigns at the top beyond the parameters of any promotion, the match at the Tokyo Dome where he was beaten in 16 minutes and 32 seconds, has paradoxically raised Kiyomiya as "Someone who is expected to defeat Okada beyond the parameters of any promotion".

In New Japan this year, 26-year-old Shota Umino and 25-year-old Ren Narita gnawed at Okada and Tanahashi, 26-year-old Master Wato won Best of the Super Juniors, and 29 year old Yota Tsuji challenged for the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship after his triumphant return from Mexico. New trends are being born one after the other. SANADA, who defeated Okada to become the IWGP champion, described the extraordinary stimulation as "new landscape". The extraordinary stimulation, and the cheers that have returned to venues, have the power to fill the gaps that were created on pro wrestling due to the Coronavirus pandemic at once. 

Witnessing the moments of the ups and downs, is one of the great attractions of enjoying an extraordinary experience. The excessive hostile reception of Okada to Kiyomiya, is close to the expectation of the rise of Umino, Narita and Tsuji. When it was announced that Kiyomiya would be participating in New Japan's ultimate midsummer battle, the "G1 Climax", the reaction of the audience was not the same as fans welcoming an "outsider". Although, from Kiyomiya's point of view, he can't be happy with such treatment. He is only 26 years old, and he has no sense of incongruity in his position as "a young man who will reach the top", but he is one of the "faces of Noah", who has already won the GHC Heavyweight belt, twice, the highest championship in the group, twice. He has a strong sense of responsibility that he is "carrying the promotion with him", as it appears that in the three man dropkick that was done on that days match, he flew higher than the wrestlers of New Japan and All Japan. It would have been an important role for him to represent Noah, and witness the restart with the fans, but at the present time, he couldn't participate in the "Dah", which was led by Okada. Kiyomiya will miss his own promotion's midsummer league match the "N-1 VICTORY", and will participate in the G1 on behalf of Noah. In his words, "I came to the conclusion that in joining New Japan, even if it meant taking a break from Noah, would be a way to promote Kaito Kiyomiya and Noah". Not only SANADA, the IWGP champion, but also Umino, Narita and Tsuji, coexist in the block. It is the perfect combination from trying to transform yourself from being a "young man with the expectation of being supported by fans of a rival promotion", to being feared as a threatening outsider. 

I wonder if Kaito Kiyomiya, who left the venue shouting "G1, crush Okada!" instead of "1,2,3 DAH!" can make great boos and screams at Ryogoku Kokugikan in August.

Translated from Sports Graphic Number Web

Picture credit: Sports Graphic Number Web