Tag: pro wrestling noah

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 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 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 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.

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.

Pro Wrestling NOAH wrapped up the N-1 VICTORY 2022 Tournament today with a major event, which would determine who gets the next GHC Heavyweight Championship opportunity. The Great Muta also would make his final Osaka appearance among other big matches.

Today’s event was held at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English. YOu can also watch the first 2 matches FOR FREE on YouTube for a limited time.

The announced paid attendance was 2988, a full house/near sellout. A very badly needed strong number. Between capacity limits (Osaka has been among the strictest with limits during the pandemic) and the setup today, that likely was close to a legit sellout.

Match 1: Hajime Ohara beat Super Crazy.

Match 2: Jack Morris & Daiki Inaba beat Anthony Greene & Stallion Rogers. Morris pinned Rogers after a tiger driver.

Match 3: Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY & Seiki Yoshioka beat HAYATA, Yuya Susumu & Kai Fujimura. Kotoge pinned Susumu after Kill Switch.

Match 4: Masakatsu Funaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & SHuji Kondo beat Masa Kitamiya, Mohammed Yone & Alejandro. Nakajima pinned Yone after Vertical Spike.

Match 6: Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima beat SHuhei Taniguchi & Yoshiki Inamura. Kojima pinned Inamura after a Western lariat.

Match 7: Dragon Bane beat Alpha Wolf.

Match 8: Kazuyuki Fujita, Kendo Ka Shin, Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Timothy Thatcher beat Naomichi Marufuji, Go SHiozaki, Masato Tanaka & Masaaki Mochizuki. Thatcher beat Shiozaki with a Fujiwara armbar.

Match 9: GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway beat Eita & Kotaro Suzuki to retain the titles. Ridgeway beat Suzuki with Ridgeway Clutch 2. V1 for the champs.

Match 10: The Great Muta (Keiji Muto), Great-O-Khan (New Japan Pro Wrestling) & NOSAWA Rongai beat Kenoh, Manabu Soya & Tadasuke. Khan pinned Tadasuke after Eliminator.

Main Event; N-1 VICTORY 2022 Finals: Kaito Kiyomiya beat Hideki Suzuki to win the tournament. As a result, Kiyomiya will get the next shot at GHC Heavyweight Champion Kenoh. That match will happen on 9/25 at Aichi Prefectural Gym.

The next event is 9/15 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo. This is scheduled to be an ABEMA live broadcast in Japan ONLY, and will be available on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE at a later time/date. (UPDATE: WRESTLE UNVIERSE will have a live broadcast in English)

As usual with a major NOAH event, lots of post-event news:
Injury Report: Daisuke Harada, who was tentatively scheduled to return to action today, did not and remains out indefinitely due to a neck injury.
Shiozaki was injured during his match, likely at or near the end. Unspecified but appeared to be left arm/elbow/shoulder based on his reaction after the finish, he was clutching what appeared to be his elbow or bicep area and clearly looked in pain. Out indefinitely with more details to come.
THe second match of the Keiji Muto 5 Match Retirement Series was revealed today: On 9/25 it will be Muto & Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Masakatsu Funaki & Katsuhiko Nakajima.
Daishi/Daiji/Taishi (not sure of his exact first name from translation) Ozawa, the first new NOAH wrestler since Yasutaka Yano 2 years ago, will make his Debut on 9/15. Ozawa, 25, is from Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture and has been training at the NOAH Dojo for just over one year. He became a pro wrestling fan after watching on TV as a child and began gymnastics in high school, citing Mexican wrestler Mistico as inspiration. His Debut Match will be against Yoshiki Inamura. The promotion has launched a special support campaign for Ozawa’s debut-fans and sponsors in Japan can go to NOAH’s online shop and, for 30,000 yen (around $225 US) can submit a support message to Ozawa and it will be published during the opening of the 9/15 event and on NOAH’s official Teitter account, and at a later date an autographed portrait and program will be sent. This promotion starts today in Japan and runs through 9/10. Special Project Sponsor The Reeve (one of NOAH’s main sponsors) has already posted a support message from Representative Director Kazuhiro Sato.
GHC National Champion Masakatsu Funaki vs. Masa Kitamiya for the title has been announced for 9/30 in Niigata.

Pro Wrestling NOAH ran the penultimate day of the N-1 VICTORY 2022 Tournament today, narrowing the field of 8 still with a chance to reach the finals down to 2…hopefully, because there were some insane possibilities with tiebreakers.

Today’s event was held at Culttz Kawasaki in Kawasaki City and can be watched on demand on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.

The announced paid attendance was 825.

Match 1: Pre-shoe dark match: Shuhei Taniguchi, Daiki Inaba & Yoshiki Inamura beat Mohammed Yone, Akitoshi Saito & Stallion Rogers. Inaba pinned Rogers.

Match 2: N-1 VICTORY Block A: Masaaki Mochizuki beat Anthony Greene.

Match 3: N-1 VICTORY Block B: Jack Morris beat Masa Kitamiya. As a result, Kitamiya is eliminated from Finals contention.

Match 4: N-1 VICTORY Block A: Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. beat Masato Tanaka. As a result, Tanaka is eliminated from Finals contention.

Match 5: N-1 VICTORY Block B: Masakatsu Funaki beat Takashi Sugiura by submission. This went just 57 seconds.

Match 6: In a Captains Fall Match, where the match immediately ended if the Captain of a team was eliminated, HAYATA, Yoshinari Ogawa (C), Yuya Susumu & Kai Fujimura vs. NOSAWA Rongai, Eita (C), Kotaro Suzuki & Super Crazy went to a No Contest. Chris Ridgeway interference.

Match 7: N-1 VICTORY Block A: Hideki Suzuki beat Go Shiozaki. As a result, Shiozaki is eliminated from Finals contention.

Match 8: N-1 Victory BLOCK B: Katsuhiko Nakajima beat Kinya Okada by ref stoppage. Okada injury.

Match 9: Dragon Bane, Alpha Wolf & Alejandro beat Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara & Hi59. Wolf pinned Hi69 after Wolf’s Tusk.

Match 10: N-1 VICTORY Block A: Kazuyuki Fujita beat Kenoh. As a result, Hideki Suzuki wins Block A and advances to the Finals.

Main Event: N-1 VICTORY Block B: Kaito Kiyomiya beat Satoshi Kojima. As a result, Kiyomiya wins Block B and advances to the Finals.

The Final is Saturday at Osaka Prefectural Gym in Osaka. The full card has been announced:
Super Crazy vs. Hajime Ohara
Jack Morris & Daiki Inaba vs. Anthony Greene & Stallion Rogers
HAYATA, Yuya Susumu & Kai Fujimura vs. Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY & Seiki Yoshioka
Masakatsu Funaki, Katsuhiko Nakajima & Shuji Kondo vs. Masa Kitamiya, Mohammed Yone & Alejandro
Takashi Sugiura & Satoshi Kojima vs. Shuhei Taniguchi & Yoshiki Inamura
Dragon Bane vs. Alpha Wolf
Naomichi Marufuji, Go Shiozaki, Masato Tanaka & Masaaki Mochizuki vs. Kazuyuki Fujita, Kendo Ka Shin, Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. & Timothy Thatcher
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway vs. Eita & Kotaro Suzuki for the titles
The Great Muta, Great-O-Khan (New Japan Pro Wrestling) & NOSAWA Rongai vs. Kenoh, Manabu Soya & Tadasuke
N-1 VICTORY 2022 Finals: Hideki Suzuki vs. Kaito Kiyomiya
Live streaming on WRESTLE UNIVERSE in Japanese and English will begin Saturday at midnight PT/3 AM ET.

Injury Report: Okada was legit injured against Nakajima. Mandibular fracture. Out indefinitely. This is the second time in less than 3 months Nakajima has legit injured an opponent with his stiff strikes-remember in June 2022 at CyberFight Festival 2022 he knocked DDT star Tetsuya Endo out with a concussion that cost him nearly 2 months of action AND the KO-D Openweight Championship.