NOAH Winter Navigation 2016
The wrestlers in Noah begin to change directions, and get a feel for who they are, and where they want to go as they clearly understand that this is the beginning of a "relaunch" for the company. Beginning with this show you will see alliances change, teams split, wrestlers step up in weight class, and other such things. Next month is the "REBIRTH" of Pro Wrestling Noah!
Kenou & Hajime Ohara vs Hitoshi Kumano & Taiji Ishimori
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In this match up we have (to the left) Hajime Ohara & Kenou, two major players in Noah. Ohara is a king in the "Super Junior" divison having held the tag and single titles. Ohara is mean, and very tough, having dominated in the Super Junior's tag and singles division, he decided to enter the heavyweight divison where he's dominated the tag team scene. Hitoshi Kumano (a young lion 3rd from the left) & Taiji Ishimori (dark hair to the far right) is the longest reigning GHC Junior Heavyweight champion. This match is a major spot for Kumano so he decided to be super aggressive and not cooperate too well with his veteran tag partner. While that strategy got him more attention than he normally has gotten, his team took the loss. Ishimori would go on to find great success in the Junior Tag division. The winners of this match, Hajime Ohara & Kenou, split up after this match after having issues all match long. Ohara would go on to greater success in the Super Junior singles scene (Current Junior Heavyweight champion), while Kenou would go on to the heavyweight tag scene and find great success (current one half of the Heavyweight tag team champions).
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Kaito Kiyomiya vs Alejandro Saez
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Alejandro Saez (left) is a Chilean wrestler that has appeared in the WWE Cruiser Weight classic. He's billed as "XL" or "Extra Large" in many companies. He's a solid worker that appears for Noah semi frequently. Here he took on Kaito Kiyomiya, a young wrestler that the fans want to support, and are clearly behind him in this match up as XL is a major heel in Noah. The support for Kiyomiya didn't lead him to victory as XL gets the win. Kiyomiya needs something for sure. He is a good worker but is missing an edge, or as Jim Ross might say, something to "hang your hat on."
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Go Shiozaki & Maybach Taniguchi vs Akitoshi Saito & Mohammed Yone
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Akitoshi Saito (third from left) was a fill in for an injured Quiet Storm here. Saito seems to in the twilight of his career as he's not had a lot of success as of late. Mohammed Yone (far right with the afro) is a very popular wrestler in Japan and has had a lot of success throughout his career. In Noah he has held the heavyweight tag titles, and the hardcore title. He is most beloved for being a part of the "Brave" stable/Faction. Go Shiozaki & Maybach Taniguchi are the heavyweight tag team champions here, but since Quiet Storm was injured, this match was a NON title match up. Even still, the champions go on to win the match up.
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Gedo & Jado vs Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada
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This match was for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title's and saw The World Class Tag Team (Gedo & Jado) (c) defend against Momo No Seishun Tag (Atsushi Kotoge & Daisuke Harada). Momo and World Class are both top noth Junior Heavyweight tag teams that have seen many amazing matches, and have held numerous titles. This however would be the end of anyone from New Japan Pro Wrestling working for Noah, and as such Momo No Seishun Tag won the titles in a very grueling, but overly long (30 minutes) match up.
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Naomichi Marufuji vs Takashi Sugiura
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Naomichi Marufuji (left) is the ace of Noah and one of the best wrestlers working anywhere in the world today. Takashi Sugiura (right) is a beast that was part of the infamous Suzuki Gun, but left the organization by turning on it's leader and defeating him in his last match in Noah. Just when the fans thought that meant that he was a good guy, someone that they could cheer, he proved that wasn't the case and refused to shake Marufuji's hand. That situation lead to this match up. In a must see match Sugiura got the victory. During the match up Kenou was seen peeking through the curtain, which tells us he will be involved with Sugiura very soon.
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Katsuhiko Nakajima vs Masa Kitamiya
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For the GHC Heavyweight Title Katsuhiko Nakajima (left)(c) defends against Masa Kitamiya(right). Nakajima, the champion is an amazing wrestler that has done wonders in every major company in Japan. Still under 30 years old, he is one of the brightest stars in all of Japan and his future looks even brighter. Kitamiya is also a young star that dresses like his idol Masa Siato, so fans that have ever seen that popular legend will instantly equate Kitamiya to him. While these two are often allies, and always friends, Kitamiya wants the GHC championship badly. While the champion retains here in an excellent battle, Kitamiya challenges again for the next card, confident that he can win the title with one more shot! These two will lead Noah into the next stage of the company's life cycle, and what two excellent wrestlers to have doing that!
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