(NOAH) Road To The 2nd January: A Premonition of trouble! All out battle with H.O.T, collusion with Shota Umino...What will be Kaito Kiyomiya's fate in 2024?

29th December 2023

WaniBooks

It all started with resentment from HOUSE OF TORTURE. 

This series looks back on 2023, and follows Kaito Kiyomiya towards Pro Wrestling Noah's first big event of 2024 at Ariake Arena on January 2nd, with the card being confirmed twelve days before the event on the evening of December 21st. New Japan's Ryohei Oiwa, Daiki Inaba, Shuji Kondo and Junta Miyawaki (who have been teaming up since September) and New Japan's Shota Umino, will team with Kiyomiya, against HOUSE OF TORTURE'S EVIL, Yujiro Takahashi, Ren Narita, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, SHO and Dick Togo in a six man elimination match. It took some time to finalize the complex card of a clash between Noah, allied with New Japan (including Umino who had faced Kiyomiya in the ring) and all the members of H.O.T, but many things happened to get to this point. It all started at New Japan's "WORLD TAG LEAGUE" in November. I would like to look back on the tournament. 

Kiyomiya and Oiwa, who entered BLOCK A, faced Alex Coughlin and Gabriel Kidd (WAR DOG) in the first round at Korakuen Hall on November 20th. In the scuffle outside the ring, Oiwa dropkicked Kidd, during which Kiyomiya won by count out. For Kiyomiya, this was a form of revenge against Kidd, who had taken him out of the G1 when both were counted out during a match. In the second match, which was held in Fujisawa on November 25th, they faced H.O.T's EVIL & Yujiro. In the early stages of the match, Kiyomiya was targeted as he was slammed into a corner with exposed metal fittings, while in the final stages, Dick Togo, SHO and Yoshinobu Kanemaru intervened, but Kiyomiya landed a Frankensteiner on Yujiro and won easily. Kiyomiya proudly said, "We purified this with our pro wrestling."

The third match, held in Nagoya on November 28th, was the new generation showdown with Shota Umino and Ren Narita, which was attracting a lot of fan attention. Kiyomiya drew with Umino in the G1 after the twenty minute time limit expired, but suffered a sudden loss to Narita. As expected, the heated battle lasted for 27 minutes and 31 seconds, with Oiwa losing to Umino's Death Rider. After the match, the four wrestlers shook hands, and vowed to go beyond the framework of their promotions, and enliven pro wrestling in their generation. Kiyomiya said, "We lost the match, so there are some regrets, but I competed against them in the G1, so I think they are capable amazing wrestlers regardless of their careers. Although the promotions are different, I would like to continue working with them in the future, I can't lose to them in many ways." 

After that, they lost to TMDK's Mikey Nichols and Shane Haste, who had been previously active in Noah, Tomohiro Ishii and Toru Yano, and Bishop Kaun and Toa Liona, and they did not advance to the championship match. Kiyomiya expressed his sense of fulfillment, saying, "We've only been working together for a few months. Of course, there are many challenges to overcome, but we were able to do what we did, so I feel positive." However, something troublesome happened during this fulfilling tournament. H.O.T had lost to Kiyomiya & Oiwa during it, which made them resentful. 

On November 25th in Fujisawa, EVIL, who was hit by Kiyomiya's Shining Wizard during a post match brawl, spat "Fuck you damn kids! I won't forget what you did today! I will definitely get revenge!" Yujiro, who had been complaining even before the match that the reason why he wasn't invited to participate in the G1, was because Kiyomiya had stolen his right, declared, "Kiyomiya! You always get in my way! I'll pay you back for that!". After the league ended, they both bared their fangs. 

On December 8th in Kirishima, a six man was formed with Kiyomiya, Oiwa & Ryusuke Taguchi vs EVIL, SHO & Kanemaru. Taguchi was beaten by SHO'S torture tool, and then rolled up by Kanemaru for the pin. After the match, Oiwa was stomped by H.O.T. Then, in the final match in Kumamoto on December 10th, a six man tag took place between Kiyomiya, Oiwa and Tomoaki Honma vs EVIL, Yujiro and Kanemaru, where Honma was defeated by EVIL'S finisher, EVIL. After the match, Kiyomiya and Oiwa were stomped by Togo and SHO, along with Narita, who had betrayed Umino and suddenly joined H.O.T previously, was among the members. At this point, Umino jumped in and hit Narita, and it ended up being Umino who rescued Kiyomiya and Oiwa. Kiyomiya, who was beaten up said furiously, "Come at me head on, don't run away, you sonovabitch! I'll do it anytime!" To this, EVIL replied in a statement that hinted at a continuation of the conflict, "You are cocky for Noah. I'll always crush you assholes." Following this, on December 12th, Noah announced the card for Kiyomiya's pending Ariake match as a tag between Kiyomiya and Oiwa vs EVIL & Yujiro. The reason this was changed to a six vs six elimination match, (which brings us back to the beginning), is because there were a couple of twists and turns after this. 

Challenge January 2nd to bounce back from disaster!

After the tag match was decided, at Korakuen Hall on December 20th, I asked Kiyomiya, "Since we're talking about H.O.T, isn't there a risk that the other four will also intervene in the match?" He replied, "The venue is Noah, not New Japan, so it's enemy territory for them, and there is no need to intervene. If you can do it, do it!"      

However, three hours later, all the members of H.O.T, started attacking Noah in the ring. 

After the eight man tag of Kiyomiya, Oiwa, Shuji Kondo & Junta Miyawaki vs Good Looking Guys (Jake Lee, LJ Cleary, YO-HEY & Tadasuke), H.O.T poured in from the audience and stomped down Kiyomiya and Oiwa. While Yujiro bust out the Pimp Juice on Oiwa, SHO hung a pipe chair around Kiyomiya's neck, to which EVIL swung another one! In addition, Dick Togo gave Miyawaki a pipe cut (to the genitals) to demonstrate to Kiyomiya that they had control of the Noah ring.

The next day, December 21st, New Japan held a show at Korakuen Hall, where Kiyomiya and Oiwa took revenge. The fourth match was a six person tag of Umino, Honma and Master Wato vs EVIL, Narita and SHO. After EVIL finished off Honma, H.O.T went all out and stomped Umino. Kiyomiya and Oiwa jumped into the ring, with Oiwa hitting Yujiro with an Anaconda suplex, and Kiyomiya dropkicking EVIL out of the ring to rescue Umino. A scene unfolded of Kiyomiya, Oiwa and Umino shaking hands. In the waiting room, Umino appealed to Kiyomiya to, "Please call on me for Ariake on January 2nd", to which Kiyomiya replied, "If that's the case, I would like to be allowed to go to the Tokyo Dome on January 4th as well." After going through these various stages, the six man elimination match was finalized. Regarding the collaboration with Umino, Kiyomiya said, "Rescuing Umino? Anger for what happened the day before, anger at H.O.T for doing cowardly things at Noah and New Japan, and since Umino-san helped me in Kumamoto, I guess I'm paying back that debt. I drew with Umino in the G1, so I feel like I can't lose to him, but right now we have the same opponent before us. I believe that there is no future unless we defeat the enemy in front of us, so I will work with Umino to defeat H.O.T."

Similarly, Kondo, who has decided to team up said enthusiastically, "Kiyomiya, me too! Let me join you in the battle." Miyawaki, who took the pipe cut from Togo has sworn revenge, "I'll get revenge." Inaba has also said passionately, "As a member of Noah, I am not going to let anyone do whatever they want in the ring I fight in." Looking back, Kiyomiya and Inaba met on December 31st 2019 at the W-1 Osaka Big Match. It was a match where the GHC Heavyweight Champion, Kiyomiya, and the W-1 Champion Inaba, defeated Katsuhiko Nakajima and Shotaro Ashino. Kiyomiya said, "I can feel Inaba's passion for being a member of Noah." And, his official partner, Oiwa, says reassuringly "It's not just me and Kaito-san, I've made new friends since I came here, and we'll definitely do it together". 

The outcome of the match, in addition to a pinfall, submission or KO, depends on the over the top rope rule, in which being thrown over it, will result in elimination. You win if you eliminate all of the opposing team first. On September 23rd 2016, Kiyomiya was selected for a five versus five match against Suzuki-gun, despite being a rookie with just nine months of career under his belt. He has a history of contributing to Noah's victory, when in the past he did an elimination match with Minoru Suzuki, and eliminated him first. 

Ready for battle, Kiyomiya says, "I'm not particular about the format of the match, as I have a good image of when I fought against Suzuki-gun when I was a rookie. I am determined to defeat them, even if I get caught up in it by mistake. They say Noah is a sinking ship, but in Ariake, we will sink H.O.T. We will eliminate every single member. We have been treated badly and outrageously, and in order to bounce back from that move on, we must get rid of the bad things that cling to us early in the new year and welcome the new year of Noah in the true sense of the word."

New Japan announced a tag match with EVIL & Narita teaming up with Umino at the Tokyo Dome on January 4th. Kiyomiya has vowed to be doubly sure in completely eliminating H.O.T, "Umino-san is really passionate about Narita, so I'll leave that to him. I feel the same way about Ariake. I'm going to completely destroy EVIL and get rid of the bad guys."

At the final match of 2023, DRAGONGATE on December 24th at the Fukuoka International Center, he teamed up with Alejandro in the championship match against Kota Minoura and Ben-K. Defeating Minoura with the Transformed Shining Wizard, he seized the Open the Twin Gate Championship. Kaito Kiyomiya will continue his momentum and go into an all-out war with H.O.T at Ariake Arena on January 2nd 2024.

Translated from Wanibooks

Picture credit: Wanibooks