(NOAH): EVENT RECAP - GRAND SHIP 2023 IN NAGOYA (Sunday 24th September, Aichi/Nagoya International Conference Center)
Noah announced an attendance of 940 people in Nagoya today for the last event of Noah's September 2023. All the titles were on the line, and in the heavyweight division a new team formed with a tag that fans have long wanted to see again getting back together, elsewhere two seniors found themselves aligned against two younger wrestlers, one of them, their own Noah Born. Event can be viewed on WrestleUniverse, English and Japanese commentary is available.
MATCH ONE
(Dark match)
Mohammed Yone, Daiki Inaba, Hi69 & Yu Owada vs Akitoshi Saito, Atsushi Kotoge, Stallion Rogers & Taishi Ozawa
Winner: Stallion Rogers with the backdrop on Yu Owada (8 minutes, 9 seconds)
MATCH TWO
Good Looking Guys (YO-HEY & Tadasuke) vs Shuji Kondo & Hajime Ohara
Tadasuke started complaining that Hajime Ohara pulled his hair, and then we saw the return of Wild Tadasuke, who soon had his jets cooled by an unimpressed Shuji Kondo (the more unimpressed Kondo looks, the more unimpressed he is). YO-HEY got the win by an evolved dropkick, today he threw his opponent (Ohara) into the ropes, and then caught him in a dropkick when he bounced back.
WINNER: YO-HEY with the dropkick on Hajime Ohara (9 minutes, 22 seconds)
MATCH THREE
Takashi Sugiura, Manabu Soya & Masa Kitamiya vs REAL (Kazuyuki Fujita, Hideki Suzuki & Shuhei Taniguchi)
(Note, Kazuyuki Fujita is kind of an unofficial member)
Kazuyuki Fujita handed out his tonic as he made his way to the ring, while Hideki Suzuki waylaid Shuhei Taniguchi, and told him something. In the ring, REAL tempted Manabu Soya with a bottle of Red Viper, and then did their huddle to try and lure him over. However, this was all a trap as when Soya could resist the siren song of this liquid heaven no more and came over, they attacked him. The match was pretty much chaos with Soya almost being forced to drink the tonic, Fujita having vicious fights with Masa Kitamiya and Takashi Sugiura in particular, and Shuhei Taniguchi forgetting what team he was on and telling Sugi (his former tag partner and with whom the move originated) to get in the ring so he could "Tani Bomb" him. Unfortunately for him, Sugi reversed it and then ran back to break the pin when he realized that Taniguchi was pinning Soya. Then it was Tani's turn to be thrown around the ring.
Winner: Manabu Soya with the Jumping DDT on Shuhei Taniguchi (11 minutes, 41 seconds)
After the match, Manabu Soya called Daiki Inaba into the ring and they shook hands, then the two of them shook hands with Masa Kitamiya, and a new unit in Noah was born. They haven't given themselves a name yet, but they said backstage that the three would aim for the top, and that their generation would lead Noah. Then a moment of random comedy occurred when Kazuyuki Fujita, carrying his favorite Kamaboko snack (a fish paste) walked into them and said, "Get out of the way!" and a fight broke out.
MATCH FOUR
Daga vs Junta Miyawaki
Winner: Daga with the Diablo Wings (7 minutes, 45 seconds)
We will see more of Daga later.
MATCH FIVE
Kenoh & Lance Anoa'i vs Katsuhiko Nakajima & Adam Brooks
Tonight is Lance Anoa'i and Adam Brook's last match in Noah (for now), but they both said they would like to come back. As there were no other heavyweights to scare by yelling, so Anoa'i tried it on Brooks, who waved him away. This was Kenoh's last chance to square things with Brooks, who had defeated him in the N-1, and Brooks kept on reminding him of it. As Kenoh and Katsuhiko Nakajima were in the same match, naturally they had a kick war, but today they combined kicking their opponents while facing off, Kenoh would kick Brooks and Nakajima would kick Anoa'i. The Japanese commentators even counted along.
Winner: Kenoh with the PFS on Adam Brooks (13 minutes, 21 seconds)
MATCH SIX
Naomichi Marufuji, Yoshinari Ogawa & LEONA vs Kaito Kiyomiya, Ryohei Oiwa & Eita
LEONA stalked to the ring, his eyes cold and fixed on Eita. Inside the ring, Naomichi Marufuji was seen talking to Ryohei Oiwa, and Yoshinari Ogawa did not get the chance to pull Kaito Kiyomiya off of the turnbuckle, as Kiyomiya had entered first. Eita (who didn't get the chance to make new friends) competed with Kaito Kiyomiya for crowd chants, but then had to start against LEONA, while Marufuji was still fixed on Oiwa. The pot was bubbling and then overflowed when Oiwa tried chopping Marufuji, who grabbed his hair and asked him if this was how New Japan did it?
Then he took him to the All Japan/Baba/Noah school of chops. Eita would make the same mistake of challenging Marufuji in this way, and had his t-shirt pulled over his head while given a demonstration. Later in the match, Kiyomiya decided to be polite (or maybe even sarcastic) and held the ropes open for Ogawa when Ogawa told him to move away, but Ogawa pulled him off of the apron and this led to the melee brawl in which LEONA attacked Eita and the two seniors attacked Oiwa and Kiyomiya. While everyone was brawling outside the ring, LEONA decided to try and fold Eita into a complicated looking submission, however, Eita quickly got to the topes. LEONA would not let go, however until the ref started counting. He then got physical with the ref and the match was thrown out.
WINNER: Eita due to "referee assault" by LEONA (14 minutes, 24 seconds)
The crowd booed and then melee brawls broke out again between Ogawa and Kiyomiya. Oiwa was trying to menace Marufuji, who was ignoring him. LEONA then decided to try and attack Kiyomiya, but it was Ogawa who got thrown out by Kiyomiya, then LEONA went back to fighting Eita, and no one came to help, probably because Eita's only friend is HAYATA, and a fight was going on backstage which the second were rushing to break up. Marufuji and Ogawa threw Kiyomiya and Oiwa threw the curtains, and then threw water on them to calm them down. Oiwa got up with a chair, and LEONA was then seen running up with one he had grabbed from somewhere. Kiyomiya and Oiwa have now gone to war with Noah's seniors; Kiyomiya said he did not appreciate the "thinking" motion that Ogawa made to him (this follows on from Ogawa saying yesterday that Kiyomiya's "ability to think is weak") and Oiwa calling out Naomichi Marufuji and telling him not to forget his name.
MATCH SEVEN
GHC Heavyweight Tag Championship
REAL (Saxon Huxley & Timothy Thatcher) vs Good Looking Guys (Jack Morris & Anthony Green)
When the title match was announced, Hideki Suzuki said that he would find a way to get involved, and so he did when after he accompanied Timothy Thatcher and Saxon Huxley to ringside, he pulled Anthony Greens legs (which made the commentators groan) and attacked Jack Morris outside of the ring to the boos of the crowd. The challengers worked to take out Thatcher and keep Saxon Huxley down, and in doing so they displayed some clever teamwork of their own, such as Green moving Morris out of the way while on the apron which caused them to get the upper hand over Huxley.
WINNER: Jack Morris with the Tiger Driver on Timothy Thatcher (17 minutes, 38 seconds)
The new champions were overcome with their win, Morris mentioning backstage that he had sacrificed a lot for this moment (he had been away from his family and his "beloved dog"), but here they were, finally at the top of the mountain. No challengers have come forward as of yet. As for REAL, they made no comment but to walk through the interview booth screaming loudly.
MATCH EIGHT
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championship
Los Golpeadores (Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf) vs Ninja Mack & Alejandro
Eita, looking like he had a headache and sounding quiet at first, was on commentary. Ninja Mack debuted a new Noah like costume, which he looked to have coordinated with Alejandro, who as the smallest in this match, unfortunately got the brunt of his much larger opponents and by the end did not look well, but was able to walk out. He was however in good enough form to join in when everyone flew into the crowd, the front row fleeing. Ninja Mack also introduced an interesting move which involved slapping Alpha Wolf's stomach!
WINNER: Dragon Bane with the Twister Bane on Alejandro (18 minutes, 12 seconds)
Although no challengers came forward (YO-HEY hinted that he and Tadasuke were getting back into the mix), Eita started saying something about HAYATA being his partner. Even the commentator sounded surprised when he said, "Partner?" As for Dragon Bane and Alpha Wolf, the brothers are now holding their fourth concurrent tag championship.
There was no way that NOSAWA Rongai, who says that Mexico is his spiritual home, was going to miss the next match and so he made a rare appearance on commentary.
MATCH NINE
GHC National Championship
El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr vs Psycho Clown
Psycho Clown went to get his revenge on El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr by not only ripping his mask in half, but also making him bleed. Fortunately for El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr, his hair tumbled out, which helped shield his face, but the unfamiliar sensation of not having the mask, the blood pouring down his face, and having to preserve what was there of the mask, did hinder him. Naturally, the crowd booed Psycho Clown for this. El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr fought on, even kicking out of the Psycho Driver. The win came in what fans saw as a less honorable way when El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr loosened Psycho Clown's mask, then went to undo the turnbuckles. This distracted the ref, but almost got Psycho Clown the win, and probably would have done. When Psycho Clown realized that the ref wasn't counting, he got up, and El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr put his plan into motion by kicking him in the crotch, snatching away his mask, and then pinning him.
WINNER: El Hijo Del Dr Wagner Jnr with the Wagner Driver (21 minutes, 7 seconds)
MATCH TEN
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
HAYATA vs Seiki Yoshioka
As HAYATA had said in the press conference, he was aware of how fast Seiki Yoshioka was, and as Yoshioka said he would do, he struck hard and fast with kicks. The commentators had to clear their desk as Yoshioka warned them that he was going to trash it, by sitting HAYATA on the rail in front of it and then diving at him from the ring. All of this was in vain however, as HAYATA retained by reversing The Crash Driver.
WINNER: HAYATA with a modified reverse pile driver (18 minutes, 49 seconds)
HAYATA had stated that when he won, he wanted to go abroad to defend, but as he himself said, this was now on hold, as Daga blindsided him. Stating that "The Lion is hungry", Daga (who had been saying for a while he was going to challenge HAYATA when the time was right), had finally came for the belt. HAYATA reflected that his ambition to go abroad and "make it on to the world stage", would have to wait until after he had defeated Daga, who he had expected to have to face one day. This was quite a lot for the normally quiet HAYATA (which even the commentators had called him) to say.
Seiki Yoshioka made the comment that he was going to "take a little break in order to be reborn", to which Noah later announced under "Wrestler Contract" news, that he would only be appearing for Noah in October, which included his anniversary which will be in hometown of Kumamoto, and not for the end of the year. PKDX have stated that Yoshioka has received some kind of offer, which he he says he will be preparing for. Nothing has been said about his being in Noah in 2024.
MATCH ELEVEN
GHC Heavyweight Championship
Jake Lee vs Go Shiozaki
Kenoh sat on commentary to watch the new GHC Heavyweight Tag champions accompany Jake Lee to the ring, both proudly wearing their belts. From the start the arena was filled with the sound of Go Shiozaki shouting in pain as Jake was targeting his arms, and so in response, he went for his knees and legs. Jake used his size and weight to throw Shiozaki, but he found too that Shiozaki could rival him in this too, and Shiozaki became probably one of the few in Noah to do this, plus slamming from the top turnbuckle. Gradually, Jake's demeanor changed from his mocking laughter to anger, and then perhaps after the Emerald Flowsion he had an epiphany, this match was Shiozaki's finishing school in which he was taught the final touches on how to be a Noah champion by the man who had always been called upon to defend the promotion when in need.
WINNER: Jake Lee with the FBS (21 minutes, 6 seconds)
Lying on his back, Jake held up four fingers to signify all the challengers he had defeated; Katsuhiko Nakajima, Naomichi Marufuji, Takashi Sugiura and now Go Shiozaki. He got to his feet and with his chest turning purple from chops, and looking exhausted after a match that had felt shorter than usual title matches, he addressed the crowd...or perhaps more in particular, one person after crowing that he had defeated the N-1 champion.
He addressed Kenoh.
The crowd even started chanting for him.
"Even though I am the champion, I want to challenge you. You are the only one to have pinned me. This time, I want to put the belt on the line against you this time. How about it?"
Kenoh responded in kind. "In kind" being the usual loud, shouty and angry way;
"Hey! What are you talking about pompously? Do you think that announcing a challenge is cool!? For me, a challenge is natural! Hey, Jake! Despite your size, you are an idiot, and have no attitude! The only person who has an attitude in Noah, is me, with my huge one!* Hey, Jake Lee! Where does the outsider at Noah's helm plan on taking us? I'll take that belt, I'll be the one at the helm, and I'll take these mutherfuckers to the top of the wrestling world that everyone wants to see!"
*Does not translate well.
Jake held the belt up, and Kenoh pointed to the sky as he spoke. Then Kenoh turned and left, and Jake called after him;
"For someone your size, you lack brains. Is everyone jealous of that?* "
*Does not translate well.
He then turned back to the crowd;
"I wasn't like this, showing off from the beginning. Even before this match, I kept saying the word "returning", but no matter what I did I couldn't do anything. Bad at studying, and poor motor nerves. And even though I finally made it in, and even though I quit after shortly after my debut, I am the one holding the belt, right? Don't you think that there are dreams? Pro wrestling is full of dreams and in order to embody that, I chose this place as my main battlefield. But, do you know why I can confidently say that in this Noah ring full of powerful enemies?! This is because I am currently at the helm of Noah!!"
The title match has been set for the 28th October in Fukuoka.
Noah's next event: SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 - Saturday October 14th, Yokohama Radiant Hall
(Noah's first event of October is actually NOAH the HOME Deluxe on the 7th and then the new show MONDAY MAGIC ep1. As NOAH the HOME is a show primarily centered around the rookies and MONDAY MAGIC is a new series of which not known is much about the content, I have gone with SUNNY VOYAGE 2023 as being the first proper Noah show of October 2023)
Picture credit: Pro Wrestling DX
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