(NOAH) DEPARTURE - 5th August, Differ Ariake. Get on track with Jun Akiyama! The main star of the two consecutive matches at Noah's launch, is this guy!
Weekly Pro
22nd August 2000 (Issue 991)
Before the matches begin, an entrance ceremony was held for all the wrestlers.
At the entrance ceremony, Misawa took the microphone and said, as a passionate feeling welled up inside of him, "Today Noah departs here on out to a new battle. Wrestlers, employees, and staff, although it may be cliché, we will continue to work together with dreams and hopes in our hearts*, so please continue to support us." "It really touched me", was his post match impression.
The wrestlers, illuminated by cocktail lights, made their way to the ring amid a flurry of laser beams. When Misawa appeared first, a huge cheer erupted.
A whopping 1,300 fans flocked to watch the event on large screens outside. More than 100 fans were already lined up by 10 p.m. on the previous day, so tickets were quickly distributed and sold on the next.
Many flowers were delivered to celebrate Noah's launch, Hiromichi Fuyuki's* included.
Ideal's embodied!
You can enjoy yourself both in the ring and in the audience! That is "Noah" pro wrestling.
The main matchup is Misawa & Taue vs Kobashi & Akiyama
Taue, Akiyama, Kobashi and Misawa make their entrance. After entering the ring, the four wrestlers split off into two groups.
Before the match*, Akiyama had said "Misawa-san said he would respect my wishes, and since I was the only one who expressed my wishes regarding the grouping, I'll probably team up with Kobashi". They tagged, and aimed to appear in the main event the next day.
Welcomed by the cheers of the fans, Misawa walks down the walkway with the words "NOAH MISAWA" written on the back of his long gown.
"Today, Noah departs from here on out to a new battle. The wrestlers, employees, and staff, although it may sound cliché, will continue to work hard together with dreams and hopes in their hearts. Please continue to support us."
Saturday, August 5, 2000, 6:00 p.m. When Mitsuharu Misawa took the microphone at the entrance ceremony for Pro Wrestling Noah's launch, and finished his speech, a huge "Misawa" call erupted from the entire venue. The cheers had a warmth to it, that was different from any other call I had ever heard. I looked and saw Misawa holding back tears. In the interview at the end of the match, he referred to this moment and said, "I was touched".
Misawa was probably thinking about the road he had taken up to that point, which had never been smooth. The decision of this man, who is soon to celebrate his 20th anniversary since his debut, has been met with a fair amount of criticism, not over whether his actions were justified or not, but because he has disrupted the everyday life that everyone is accustomed to. Misawa had no doubts when he decided to leave All Japan Pro Wrestling, but he would be lying if he said he had no worries at all.
Am I being supported?*
Did I make any mistakes?
There must have been some conflict.
So how was it? When the match started, the packed house erupted in enthusiastic cheers. It was only natural that the crowd would cheer loudly, but for Misawa, this must have been a moment of confidence in his own actions.
A total of 3,100 people visited the venue on the first day. Of these, 1,800 were inside, and 1,300 were there to watch on screens in the parking lot for fans who could not enter. The popularity of the event was so great that advance tickets sold out in just twenty minutes. It was so popular that Noah suddenly decided to broadcast the matches for free. To be honest, installing a screen is very expensive, so by providing it for free, I admire the attitude of the promotion, who want as many fans as possible to see the show. I think the fans have been supportive of Noah since its inception, because they have been sensitive to such feelings. However, Misawa has heard and seen such reactions, but he has not forgotten his sense of crisis, "It attracts attention at first, but the problem is maintaining it". He added, "Disappointment is inevitable". The reason he abandoned tradition, and pursued possibilities was because he wanted to pursue the ideal of professional wrestling above all else. Misawa never stops moving forward, because ideals are lost the moment one becomes satisfied.
The four wrestlers who will take part in the main event, enter the ring amidst cocktail lights and flying laser beams. This is what Misawa means by "modern". "Ideal wrestling" is about creating an atmosphere which is enjoyable both in the ring and for the audience, and to achieve this, the production effects are also important.
The pairings for the main event (a 60 minute tag match of three falls) was announced on the day of the event, with the teams decided to be Misawa & Taue vs Kobashi & Akiyama. The wrestlers from the winning teams would face each other in a singles match in the main event on the following day, the 6th. Misawa said that he wanted to respect the individual opinions of each wrestler, and the only ones who publicly voiced their opinions regarding the pairings were Kobashi and Akiyama, who both said they wanted to team with each other, so this team division was a natural progression.
The mood in the venue was at its peak with the wrestlers wearing new costumes, and the extravagant production, but the rest was about the content of the match. The lineup is the same as it was in the All Japan days, with Akiyama in the main cast, but if there's nothing new to show, then it will lose out to the traditional production. However, such worries turned out to be unfounded as the first match was shocking. Akiyama, who volunteered to start, knocked Misawa unconscious in just two minutes!* Although he had strong support from Kobashi, it is a fact that Akiyama knocked Misawa unconscious with a front neck lock. Even before the founding of the company, Akiyama had said that his rise to the top would mark the beginning of a new era, and he has already produced some results.
Burning is back for one night: Kobashi and Akiyama land a double elbow
Misawa tortures Akiyama with a combination of an Indian Deathlock and Winglock. Kobashi quickly steps in to cut him off. Misawa attacked aggressively, as if trying to shake off the nightmare of the first round. Tiger Driver on Akiyama. Misawa wins with an elbow. Kobashi fight back with chops. The fierce clash is still going. He grabbed Akiyama as if a Nioh statue*, and threw him with a Kannuki suplex.
SECOND MATCH: MISAWA & TAUE'S BIG COUNTER ATTACK
In the second round, Taue showed a spirited attack. He pointed to the sky and performed a diving body blow from the corner.
Taue performed a Nodo-otoshi* on the runway
A neckbreaker for Kobashi! A dynamic attack from Taue!
Kobashi threw Misawa into the turnbuckle, powerbomb style, to prevent him from making the tag
Misawa, who is not the legal man, uses an Emerald Flowsion on Kobashi, who is also not the legal man. They tried to make a comeback, but....after Misawa hit the Emerald Flowsion, Akiyama immediately hit him with two Exploders...and just when you think Kobashi has been silenced, Akiyama is there.
Akiyama, who had driven Misawa into a completely groggy state, drew his finger across his neck, and then won the match with a stabbing knee Exploder.
AND AKIYAMA NAILED IT! THIS TIME HE PINNED TAUE.
KOBASHI WILL PROVE POWERFUL SUPPORT WITH HIS STRONG RIGHT ARM IN THE MAIN EVENT ON BOTH DAYS.
Furthermore, Akiyama's winning streak did not end with the first match.
In the second match, where Misawa and Taue fought back, Akiyama was eagerly awaiting for an opportunity to win, and in the final stages, he prevented Misawa from getting the tag with a series of Exploders, and then dropped Taue at a high angle with another Exploder, scoring a perfect pinfall. The stadium was filled with a chaotic atmosphere. Akiyama's victory was no longer surprising, in fact, the expectation for Akiyama was expressed by loud cheers, but who could have expected that Akiyama would win both? The logic of ranking that had existed up until then has been completely destroyed. Furthermore, after the match, Akiyama celebrated his teams victory and shook hands with Kobashi, promising a good fight in the main event the next day. In the next moment, he grabbed Kobashi's waist and performed a backdrop, stunning the crowd with his amazing surprise attack.
"See you tomorrow"
And with that, Akiyama explained the true meaning of the back drop. He had completely made the inaugural match in his own style.
"Maybe 60%. When I watched other matches, I felt like I wanted to shout out for him to give it more. I mean that he has a lot more room to improve." Misawa spoke of his impressions of the opening match. Of course, he was not speaking about Akiyama. Akiyama shone the most in the opening match in the sense that he was able to show his own style.
The same was true the next day...
Notes
Misawa's speech/being supported: The Great Kabuki recalled that SWS was a "rabble". Factions formed, wrestlers who couldn't wrestle were hired, which led to complaints by those who could, people were meant to be united behind Genichiro Tenryu, but had simply joined to make a living and therefore didn't care, I think Misawa learnt from this (as did Tenryu as SWS collapsed, and WAR was a far better promotion)
Hiromichi Fuyuki: Kodo Fuyuki. Old All Japan friend of Mitsuharu Misawa, who appeared for FMW, see "Dandyism? It's not like that" for further details.
Before the match: Back then (and this was carried over from All Japan), wrestlers would be interviewed before matches, rather than after which is the custom today, this was the case in Noah until about 2019/2020, and then it fell out of favor until it was bought back for one night at a Naomichi Marufuji anniversary show a few years later.
Nioh statue: One of the guardians gods who stand outside of shrines, they are often depicted as wrestlers. Ironically for this article, there would be a "Nioh" in Noah (Hi69 in Kongoh) just over twenty years later.
Nodo-Otoshi: Judo, Danzan-ryū technique
Translated from: Weekly Pro
Picture credits: Weekly Pro
Comments
Post a Comment
Spam will be deleted immediately