BREAKING: NOAH Announces 3rd Muto Retirement Series Match

As announced yesterday after their 2nd Keiji Muto Retirement Series event, Pro Wrestling NOAH held a press conference today to announce Muto’s 3rd Retirement Series match for 10/30 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo. Throwing back to Muto’s beginning in New Japan Pro Wrestling, it will be a NOAH x NJPW crossover match: Muto, Naomichi Marufuji & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Tomoaki Honma, Togi Makabe and The G.O.A.T. of NJPW, their own Living Legend-Hiroshi Tanahashi. And vocal cheering is allowed at the event, meaning Muto & Tanahashi will tear it down and make the crowd explode when they’re together. And maybe, just maybe, afterwards we’ll get The Living Legends hanging around for some M*THAF***A Air Guitar duets!

It was also announced that Japanese broadcast partner ABEMA will be the exclusive sponsor for the event and will broadcast the event live for free in Japan. Because of this, WRESTLE UNIVERSE will broadcast the event live only in English outside Japan (which is a fair trade-off because the regular English NOAH duo of Stewart Fulton & Mark Pickering is always a real treat to listen to, with plenty of BANG! guaranteed), and will have the original Japanese broadcast available on demand immediately after the event concludes. The Japanese broadcast will feature special guests Rina Matsuki and musician/noted NOAH fan Funky Kato, who composed and performed the promotion’s new theme song “VOYAGE” that is heard at the beginning & end of events (there is also a music video that closes out major event broadcasts).

The full card is TBA besides this match and 3 title matches. The event will start on 10/30 at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

More as it becomes available.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/25/22 Results (Updated)

The Keiji Muto Retirement Road series continued in Pro Wrestling NOAH today with the second of his 5 final events, capping off a busy week for Muto that saw him return to the US for a special appearance by The Great Muta in All Elite Wrestling, which set up longtime US icon Sting for a return visit in January. It was also announced after the event that the opponent for Muto’s 3rd retirement series match will be announced at a press conference tomorrow at 2 AM PT/5 AM ET. It will be streamed live on YouTube.

Today’s event was held at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. You can also watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube for a limited time.

The announced paid attendance was 1933. Because the venue was limited to 50% capacity, and the setup probably reduced that further, this number isn’t as bad as it sounds.

Match 1: Manabu Soya beat Taishi Ozawa.

Match 2: NOSAWA Rongai & Eita beat Yasutaka Yano & Kai Fujimura. Eita pinned Fujimura after a low dropkick to the face.

Match 3: Masa Kitamiya & Yoshiki Inamura beat Mohammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito. Inamura pinned Yone after Musou.

Match 4: Ninja Mack, Extreme Tiger & Alejandro beat Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69 by DQ. Tadasuke DQ’d. Mask removal from Alejandro.

Match 5: Naomichi Marufuji, Jack Morris & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. beat Masato Tanaka, Masaaki Mochizuki & Daiki Inaba. Morris pinned Inaba after Shooting Star Press.

Match 6: Atsushi Kotoge & Seiki Yoshioka beat GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway to win the titles. Kotoge & Yoshioka become the 51st GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Yoshioka pinned Ogawa after Buzzsaw Kick. Next up: Possibly Tadasuke & Hi69 (or Hiroki if you prefer, that’s what he is announced as), who attacked the new champs immediately after the match (Tadasuke broke a chair on Kotoge’s already busted open head with the initial assault).

Match 7: Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima beat GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Hideki Suzuki & Timothy Thatcher to win the titles. Sugiura & Kojima become the 62nd GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions. Sugiura pinned Suzuki after Olympic Yosen Slam.

Match 8: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion HAYATA beat YO-HEY to retain the title. V6 for HAYATA.

Match 9: Keiji Muto Retirement Road Match 2: Keiji Muto & Kazuyuki Fujita beat Masakatsu Funaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima. Muto pinned Nakajima after Shining Wizard.

Main Event: Kaito Kiyomiya beat GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenoh to win the title. Kiyomiya becomes the 41st GHC Heavyweight Champion. Next up: Fujita. That will happen on 10/30 at Ariake Arena in Tokyo.

The next event is Friday at Bandaijima Multipurpose Square Ogama in Niigata. The event will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later date (no live broadcast).

UPDATE: After the event, it was announced that HAYATA would next defend the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship against Ninja Mack on 10/30. That is also when the next GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship match will occur as Kotoge & Yoshioka will defend against Tadasuke & Hi69.

Based on the post-match comments just posted by the promotion (late evening US time), it looks like Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. is finished with NOAH for now as he is on his way back to Mexico.
Kiyomiya wanted Fujita as the next challenger for the GHC Heavyweight Championship because Fujita beat Kiyomiya in the N-1 VICTORY Tournament, which Kiyomiya won to get this title shot.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/21/22 Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH ran an N INNOVATION event today, resuming the monthly Jr. Heavyweight showcase series after a break last month due to the N-1 VICTORY Tournament.

Today’s event was held at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 360, a full house/near sellout. That suggests the venue was allowed to be at full capacity-this number would represent about 80% full.

Match 1: Yasutaka Yano Return Match: Kai Fujimura beat Yasutaka Yano.

Match 2: Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69 beat NOSAWA Rongai, Eita & Super Crazy. Tadasuke pinned Crazy after an Eita dropkick backfired.

Match 3: Kotaro Suzuki vs. Shuji Kondo went to a 30 minute time limit draw.

Match 4: Ninja Mack beat Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Extreme Tiger & Alejandro in a 5-way elimination match. Order of elimination: Tiger by Wolf, Wolf by Alejandro, Alejandro by Bane, Bane by Mack.

Main Event: In an Elimination Match, Atsushi Kotoge, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY beat HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway. Order of elimination: Kotoge by Ridgeway, Ogawa by Yoshioka, Yoshioka by Ridgeway, Ridgeway by YO-HEY, HAYATA by YO-HEY. YO-HEY remains and wins.

The next event is Muto Retirement Road-GRAND SHIP 2022 in NAGOYA PRO WRESTLING LOVE FOREVER 2 ~OUT BREAK~ Sunday at Aichi Prefectural Gym in Nagoya. This is a blowout event with 4 title matches and the second of Keiji Muto’s 5 final career matches, which will be Muto & Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima. The main event will be GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenoh vs. Kaito Kiyomiya for the title, coming out of Kiyomiya winning the N-1 VICTORY 2022 Toournament. There are also GHC Heavyweight Tag Team and Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Championship matches and HAYATA vs. YO-HEY for the GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship.
Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin Sunday at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/19/22 Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH resumed the SUNNY VOYAGE 2022 Tour today with an event representing the final build to Sunday’s blowout event in Osaka, the second stop of 5 on the Keiji Muto Retirement Road Tour.

Today’s event was held at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 269.

Match 1: Masa Kitamiya beat Taishi Ozawa.

Match 2: Masato Tanaka beat Yoshiki Inamura.

Match 3: Hideki Suzuki & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. beat Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi. Suzuki beat Taniguchi with Royal Stretch.

Match 4: Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Daiki Inaba.

Match 5: Kaito Kiyomiya & Jack Morris beat Kenoh & Manabu Soya. Morris pinned Soya after a tiger driver.

Main Event: Timothy Thatcher beat Satoshi Kojima by submission.

The next event is an N INNOVATION event Wednesday at Shinjuku Face in Tokyo, the return of the monthly Jr. Heavyweight showcase series after a break last month. This month’s installment will feature the return of Yasutaka Yano from injury. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/16/22 Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the STAR NAVIGATION 2022 Tour today with the second half of a Tokyo doubleheader to continue the build to the 9/25 blowout event.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese.

The announced paid attendance was 554.

Match 1: Shuhei Taniguchi beat Taishi Ozawa.

Match 2: Extreme Tiger beat Kai Fujimura.

Match 3: Satoshi Kojima, Mohammed Yone & Akitoshi Saito beat Masa Kitamiya, Daiki Inaba & Yoshiki Inamura. Kojima pinned Inaba after Western lariat.

Match 4: Alpha Wolf beat Dragon Bane.

Match 5: Hideki Suzuki, Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr., NOSAWA Rongai, Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy beat Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69. Wagner pinned Hi69 after Wagner Driver.

Match 6: HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa, Chris Ridgeway & Jack Morris beat Naomichi Marufuji, YO-HEY, Seiki Yoshioka & Alejandro. HAYATA beat Yoshioka with a modified armbar.

Match 7: Kenoh & Shuji Kondo beat Kaito Kiyomiya & Atsushi Kotoge. Kenoh pinned Kiyomiya after Shining Wizard. TOUCHE.

Main Event; Timothy Thatvher beat Takashi Sugiura by submission. UPSET ALERT!

The next event is Monday at Yokohama Radiant Hall in Yokohama, which will be the resumption of the SUNNY VOYAGE 2022 Tour. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 1:30 AM PT/4:30 AM ET.

Pro Wrestling NOAH 9/15/22 Results

Pro Wrestling NOAH continued the STAR NAVIGATION 2022 Tour today with the first half of a Tokyo doubleheader, beginning a quick 2-week sprint to the next Keiji Muto Retirement Road event on 9/25.

Today’s event was held at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNVIERSE in Japanese. The live broadcast was only on ABEMA. You can also watch the first 3 matches FOR FREE on YouTube. Skip to about the 33 minute mark of the replay if you want to jump ahead to the start of the matches.

The announced paid attendance was 538.

Before the event, the promotion announced a change to the card because Yuya Susumu was a late removal from the event. Cervical sprain. Out at least 3 weeks-he will miss the rest of this month’s events, then there’s a one week break before the October schedule begins.

Match 1: Taishi Ozawa Debut Match-Yoshiki Inamura beat Taishi Ozawa. Ozawa is the first rookie to debut in NOAH since Yasutaka Yano.

Match 2: Super Crazy beat Kai Fujimura.

Match 3: Masato Tanaka & Shuhei Taniguchi beat Naomichi Marufuji & Mohammed Yone. Tanaka pinned Yone after Sliding D.

Match 4: Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf, Extreme Tiger & Alejandro beat Shuji Kondo, Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi69. Tiger pinned Ohara after a reverse face bomb.

Match 5: Takashi Sugiura, Satoshi Kojima & Masaaki Mochizuki beat Hideki Suzuki, Timothy Thatcher & Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. Kojima pinned Wagner after Western Lariat.

Match 6: HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway beat Atsushi Kotoge, Seiki Yoshioka & YO-HEY. HAYATA pinned Kotoge after 403 Impact.

Main Event: Kaito Kiyomiya, Jack Morris, Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba beat Kenoh, Masakatsu Funaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Manaby Soya. Kitomiya pinned Kenoh after a transformed Shining Wizard. Expected pre-major title match building outcome where the challenger beats the champion in a tag match.

The (finally) tour-ender is tomorrow. Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE will begin at 2:30 AM PT/5:30 AM ET.

DEVELOPING: NOAH English Twitter Banned

Oops…Pro Wrestling NOAH has announced their official English language Twitter account has been suspended aka banned. Apparently a post made with post-match comments from Great–O-Khan, who appeared at the 9/3 event to team with The Great Muta, was deemed a “violent threat” and thus Twitter shut down the account. The promotion has appealed and is trying to get the account restored. Khan, who is based in New Japan, clearly showed no love for NOAH in the match and got a surprise mist blast from Muta after the natch., likely leading to the comments. Comeuppance?

More as it becomes available.

Keiji Muto Retirement Event Announced

As expected, Keiji Muto held a major press conference with Pro Wrestling NOAH earlier today to announce his retirement event for early 2023. It will be as big as it possibly can be-The Living Legend will close his 40-year career on February 21, 2023 with KEIJI MUTO GRAND FINAL PRO-WRESTLING “LAST” LOVE~HOLD OUT~ at the Tokyo Dome. Tickets go on sale today for members of NOAH’s official fan club until September 19, then October 1-3 for WRESTLE UNIVERSE members. Other pre-sales begin October 5 and finally the general public sale begins November 19. Ticket prices range from 500,000 yen (around $3750 US) for front row seats with big-time VIP benefits down to 5000 yen (about $37-38).
3 commemorative Blu-ray box sets featuring highlights of Muto’s career, including one focused on his alternate character “The Great Muta” and one featuring his retirement match series, are also forthcoming. For now they are Japan-only.
NOAH has also created a special website for the retirement event series, including an English version. Check it out at this link:
https://www.noah.co.jp/muto_final_eng/

DEVELOPING: NOAH/Dragon Gate Crossover Event Coming

During the Dragon Gate Pro Wrestling event today in Osaka, several Pro Wrestling NOAH Jr. Heavyweight wrestlers appeared to announce a special joint event between the promotions with full cooperation of Dragon Gate. No further details were announced but in keeping with Dragon Gate’s mostly lighter weight roster expect Jr. Heavyweights to be the focus.

More as it becomes available.

BREAKING: Muto Retirement Press Conference Upcoming

BREAKING NEWS: Keiji Muto will hold a press conference this week to officially announce his upcoming retirement event. It will be broadcast LIVE on ABEMA in Japan and worldwide on NOAH’s official YouTube channel Wednesday at 1 AM PT/4 AM ET.
More as it becomes available.

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