(NOAH) CARD: SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 (Niigata/Aore Nagaoka, July 29th 2023)

With the N-1 VICTORY on the horizon, Noah like to shake things up in the heavyweight division (as they know that the division tends to get as wild as the juniors) and book cards which are very rare. Tonight's event starts at 5pm JST with the doors opening at 4:15. HAYATA and Eita will be on autographs. Event will be streamed on WrestleUniverse on 1st August from 6pm JST. 

MATCH ONE

Kai Fujimura vs Yu Owada

Noah's newest Noah Born, Yu Owada, faces again Kai Fujimura. Fujimura is not only the person that Owada made his debut against, he is his first rivalry as Fujimura has said that Owada is someone he cannot lose to. 

MATCH TWO

Atsushi Kotoge & Hi69 vs Daiki Inaba & Taishi Ozawa

Atsushi Kotoge and HI69 are one of the new Noah teams, and while they are not facing one of the rival teams for the GHC Junior Tag tonight, they are facing Daiki Inaba (a heavyweight who will be competing in the N-1 VICTORY) and Taishi Ozawa, who has slightly moved up the card. 

MATCH THREE

Yoshinari Ogawa, LEONA & Stallion Rogers vs Adam Brooks, Super Crazy & Seiki Yoshioka

I would imagine that this match will feel nostalgic for Yoshinari Ogawa, who had his debut delayed by Giant Baba, as he considered him too small, and who tonight faces down Adam Brooks, a foreign heavyweight who Baba would have loved for his size and his agility. The likes of which, Ogawa grew up fighting. As for the others in this match, LEONA remains obsessed with Eita (whose face he says he sees when he shuts his eyes), Stallion Rogers has a score to settle with Adam Brooks, Super Crazy imitated Ogawa the last time they were in the ring together (something Ogawa won't forget) and Seiki Yoshioka has become somewhat playful. Considering that Brooks is neither here to make friends or play around and Ogawa has been in a foul mood and not overly friendly to LEONA, team dynamics are going to be interesting. 

MATCH FOUR

Lance Anoa'i vs Shuhei Taniguchi

Shuhei Taniguchi is not in the N-1 VICTORY this year, but his opponent, Lance Anoa'i is. Anoa'i is undefeated so far in Noah and while his opponent is not a league threat, he is still another guy in his path to be taken down.

MATCH FIVE

Naomichi Marufuji & Hajime Ohara vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Mohammed Yone

The rare tag of Naomichi Marufuji and Hajime Ohara take on the rare tag of Katsuhiko Nakajima and Mohammed Yone, who Nakajima usually laughs at when he pulls his disco poses at him. 

MATCH SIX

Good Looking Guys (Jake Lee, Jack Morris, Anthony Green, YO-HEY & Tadasuke) vs Masa Kitamita, Manabu Soya, Yoshiki Inamura, Ninja Mack & Alejandro

The three man Hoss team of Masa Kitamiya, Manabu Soya and Yoshiki Inamura are back with Jake Lee and Jack Morris as their targets, all five are in the league (everyone but Soya are in the same block), and Jake Lee is the GHC Heavyweight Champion, which makes him a marked man, even for his own team.  

MATCH SEVEN

Go Shiozaki, HAYATA & Eita vs Kenoh, AMAKUSA and Junta Miyawaki

The evening finishes with Go Shiozaki having to team once again with Eita (who is probably convinced they are friends, although Shiozaki made it clear last time that he is definitely not on any invite lists) and the long suffering HAYATA, who is still without a challenger for the GHC Junior (although Daga has hinted, he is not in Noah at the moment), against the unlikely team of Kenoh, AMAKUSA and Junta Miyawaki, who AMAKUSA is not pleased with following Noah's last show when he refused to shake hands with his partner, and archly told him to do more. Kenoh no doubt will be enraged at the sight of Go Shiozaki, whom he has accused of lazing around at home (think sleeping on your back with your shirt open) and whom he has sworn he will defeat in the finals of the N-1.  

Picture credit: WrestleUniverse