By Chris Vetter, ProWrestling.net Contributor (@chrisvetter73)
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Pro Wrestling NOAH “The New Year 2024”
January 2, 2024 in Tokyo, Japan at Ariake Arena
Streamed on the Wrestle Universe
This was held in a fairly large arena. The show does have English commentary.
1. Yu Owada defeated Taishi Ozawa at 5:22. These are Young Lions in black trunks. Taishi (looks like Mao) dominated. Owada got an O’Connor Roll for the pin out of nowhere.
2. Terry Yaki, Super Crazy, Atsushi Kotoge, and Mohammed Yone defeated Kai Fujimura, HIroki, Hajime Ohara, and Akitoshi Saito at 7:19. A big spot here for 21-year-old Terry Yaki, who I’ve seen a few times on shows from the Atlanta area, and he opened for his team. Yone has the biggest Afro haircut and it looks like a wig. Several guys in this match in their late 40s, including 49-year-old Super Crazy. Kotoge got in; he has pink hair and he’s young, and he hit a moonsault for the pin. Okay action, but not long enough for anyone to really stand out.
Main Show
1a. Yo-Hey and Tadasuke defeated Ninja Mack and Alejandro and (c) Alpha Wolf and Dragon Bane for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles at 8:42. One person is legal from all three teams at all times. Interesting. Ninja Mack is in all white today. Alejandro, also masked, is the same height as Mack but a thinner frame. Bane and Wolf worked over Yo-Hey. Ninja Mack hit his cartwheels-into-a-dive to the floor at 5:30. In the ring, Mack hit a top-rope corkscrew splash for a nearfall. Mack and Alpha Wolf traded mid-ring chops. Lots of quick action and suddenly everyone was down. Mack missed a top-rope corkscrew splash, and Yo-Hey immediately rolled up Mack for the pin!
1b. Yo-Hey and Tadasuke defeated Alpha Wolf and Dragon Bane to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Titles at 4:14. The commentators were as confused as I was; they thought the lucha brothers lost their titles without getting pinned. Instead, the match continues as a two-on-tow. Alpha Wolf traded blows with the blond Tadasuke (he has Greg Valentine’s haircut.) Wolf missed a moonsault. Yo-Hey hit a top-rope missile dropkck for the pin. New champions!
2. Jake Lee, Jack Morris, and Anthony Greene defeated Vinnie Massaro, Titus Alexander, and Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. at 9:43. Jake Lee just towers over everyone else. Lee and the masked Wagner opened. Titus and Morris entered at 3:00, and Titus hit a nice dropkick. Morris hit a plancha to the floor, and he began working over Titus in the ring. The commentators talked about Titus being a West Coast Pro champion and his appearances in AEW. Greene entered and hit a top-rope twisting crossbody block at 6:00. Massaro entered for the first time and hit a T-Bone Suplex, then a modified uranage for a nearfall.
Massaro set up for the Snoring Elbow but it was blocked. Wagner nailed a dive through the ropes onto Lee. Morris hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor. Titus nailed an impressive flip dive to the floor. Meanwhile, Massaro and Greene were still in the ring. Greene hit a superkick and a Cody Rhodes-style swinging faceplant for the pin. Good action.
3. Tomohiro Ishii defeated Masa Kitamiya at 15:03. I love Ishii and this should be hard-hitting. The graphic in the corner lists this as a “NOAH vs. NJPW” match. They immediately traded shoulder tackles, then forearm strikes. Ishii hit a brainbuster for a nearfall at 2:30. Masa hit a Samoan Drop, then a senton. Ishii hit a powerslam and they were both down. A commentator said “this is one of the most anticipated matches on the card.” Ishii hit a German Suplex at 5:30. Ishii hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall. Masa took control and he tied up Ishii’s legs on the mat. They traded clotheslines with neither man going down. They finally knocked each other down and collapsed in the center of the ring at 8:30, and the crowd was going nuts.
Masa hit a clothesline for a nearfall, and he again tied up Ishii’s legs, but Ishii reached the ropes at 10:30. Ishii hit a Saito Suplex. Masa nailed a brainbuster but Ishii kicked out at one! Ishii hit an enzuigiri, then a decapitating clothesine but Masa kicked out at one! They traded mid-ring blows, and Masa dropped Ishii with a blow. Masa nailed a piledriver at 13:00. Masa nailed a spear for a believable nearfall. Ishii hit a headbutt. Masa hit another clothesline for a nearfall, then a punch that leveled Ishii. Masa was bleeding from the forehead, presumably from the headbutt. Ishii nailed a delayed-vertical brainbuster for the clean pin. Fantastic. “That was something else!” a commentator said.
4. Go Shiozaki defeated Satoshi Kojima at 13:54. This also is billed as “NOAH vs. NJPW.” An intense lockup to open, and Go hit some loud chops. Kojima hi a swinging neckbreaker at 3:30 then his rapid-fire chops in the corner. They blocked suplex attempts, until Go finally hit a suplex at 6:00, and now he hit some rapid-fire chops in the corner. Go hit a fisherman’s suplex for a nearfall. He clotheslined Kojima off the turnbuckle to the floor. Kojima nailed a DDT onto the ring apron at 8:30 and they were both down.
Kojima dragged him into the ring and hit another DDT, then a stunner. Go fired back with a second-rope twisting suplex at 10:30. Go hit a short-arm clothesline, then a pump-handle back suplex for a nearfall. Kojima hit a brainbuster. Go nailed a clothesline for a nearfall. They hit simultaneous clotheslines, and Go stumbled. They traded more clotheslines. Go hit a clothesline and just collapsed onto Kojima for the pin! Good match.
* Go Shiozaki gathered four guys in the ring and they are Team NOAH. They all wore black T-shirts with “Tean NOAH” in green lettering.
5. Haruka Umesaki and Miyuki Takase defeated Great Sakuya and Nagisa Nozaki via disqualification at 13:45. Umesaki and Takase both wore red outfits. Sakuya wore a red outfit and hood over her head. The commentators agreed there is a lot of build-up for this match. She took the hood off in the ring and she has red facepaint with a white line drawn down the middle of her face, over her nose, to her chin. Great Muta was shown seated at ringside. Sakuya opened against Umesaki. The building was quiet as they traded reversals, and Sakuya hit a huracanrana. Takase and Nozaki entered at 2:00 and they traded hard overhand chops. Umesaki and Takase hit stereo dropkicks on Nozaki, but Sakuya broke it up.
Sakuya hit a handspring-back-elbow into the corner. Takase hit a second-rope flying forearm on Nozaki for a nearfall at 5:00. Nozaki grounded Takase and she hit a running kick to Takase’s face for a nearfall. Sakuya hit a German Suplex at 8:30. Umesaki made the hot tag and she hit a spinning frogsplash for a nearfall. Sakuya hit an F5 Slam for a nearfall. Nozaki pulled the referee out of the ring. Sakuya got a chair and jabbed it in Takase’s ribs, then she sprayed mist in her face! Nozaki hit a running boot to the face. Sakuya hit a chairshot on the referee! The crowd gasped; the referee called for the bell. Sakuya hit a top-rope moonsault on a prone opponent; Nozaki made a ‘three-count,’ but of course, the match was already over.
6. Takashi Sugiura defeated Ulka Sasaki at 11:02. Sasaki has a bit of red in his hair, like Hiromu Takahashi. The older Sugiura (age 53) reminds me of Yoshinobu Kanemaru. They shook hands and opened with standing switches. Takashi rolled to the floor and stalled. They brawled on the floor, and Takashi hit a bodyslam on the thin mat at ringside at 5:00. In the ring, Sugiura hit some stomps and was in control. He hit a second-rope superplex for a nearfall at 7:30, then he applied a Boston Crab. They traded German Suplexes and were both down at 10:00. Takashi hit an Angle Slam for the pin!
7. Zack Sabre Jr. and Yoshinari Ogawa defeated Hiroshi Tanahashi and Hayata at 17:33. Ogawa wore long purple-and-black trunks. Ogawa is 57 and clearly quite old. This serves as a preview to the Sabre-Tanahashi singles match at Wrestle Kingdom, and they opened against each other with fast mat reversals. Tanahashi hit a second-rope twisting crossbody block at 2:30. Hayata hit a running kick to the side of Ogawa’s head. Tanahashi entered and did some team moves with Hayata, and they played air guitar. Hayata missed a moonsault, and Ogawa immediately tied Hayata up on the mat.
Sabre hit some European Uppercuts on the floor at 7:30 on Hayata, then tossed him back into the ring, so Ogawa could keep working him over. Sabre entered and hit a series of kicks and kept Hayata grounded. Tanahashi finally got the hot tag and hit some flying forearms. He hit a Dragonscrew Legwhip on Sabre at 10:00, then one on Ogawa. Tanahashi tied Sabre up in an Octopus stretch. Sabre fired back with a Pele Kick to the left shoulder, and he immediately applied a Fujiwara Armbar on the mat at 11:30. Ogawa hit a DDT for a nearfall, and he continued to work on Hiroshi’s left arm.
Sabre and Ogawa kept tying Tanahashi up on the mat; the ref didn’t force Sabre to get out too quickly! Tanahashi finally hit a swinging neckbreaker on Ogawa, and they were both down. Hayata made the hot tag at 14:30. He went for an enzuigiri but Sabre caught the leg and applied a half-crab. Hayata hit a DDT on Sabre for a nearfall at 16:30. Hayata hit an enzuigiri and a missile dropkick. Sabre tied up Hayata on the mat in a pretzel, twisting the legs in knots, until Hayata tapped out. A really good match.
8. Daga defeated Eita to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title at 12:59. I know Daga is a Mexican star, but I know him best from his run in MLW. They charged at each other at the bell. Eita flew through the ropes, barreling onto Daga on the floor, and actually landed over the guardrail on his feet. Daga stalled on the floor. Daga hit a powerslam while in the ropes at 3:30. Neat move. In the ring, Daga choked Eita with a shirt and was loudly booed, and Daga was in control of the action. Daga hit a nice tilt-a-whirl sideslam at 7:30.
Daga nailed a Lungblower at 10:00 and he kept Eita grounded. Eita hit a superkick and they were both down. Daga hit a pump-handle swinging powerbomb for a nearfall at 12:30. He hit a superkick for a nearfall, then an Angel Wings faceplant for the pin. Good match but I expected Eita to get an offensive comeback, which just never came.
9. Kaito Kiyomiya, Shota Umino, Ryohei Oiwa, Daiki Inaba, Shuji Kondo, and Junta Miyawaki defeated “House of Torture” EVIL, Ren Narita, Yujiro Takahashi, Sho, Yoshinobu Kanemaru, and Dick Togo in a 12-man elimination match at 26:12. Much like an NJPW elimination match, you can be tossed out, like a battle royal, as well as being pinned or submitted. The HoT came out first, then the never-ending Shota entrance through the crowd. All 12 brawled at the bell, both in and out of the ring. Miyawaki hit a Falcon Arrow on Sho for a nearfall at 3:00. Sho nailed the cross-armed piledriver to pin Miyawaki at 4:12, so the HoT was up 6-5.
The HoT slammed Kaito back-first on the cement floor at ringside; Kanemaru got a nearfall in the ring. Togo hit his knife-edge chop to the groin of an upside-down Kaito at 9:30 as the HoT kept taking turns working Kiyomiya over. Kondo finally made a hot tag at 11:00; he has tassels on his shorts and arms that it makes me think of the Ultimate Warrior, and he cleared the ring. Kondo tossed Sho to the floor at 11:48, so it is 5-on-5. Kanemaru flipped Kondo onto the ring apron, and between help from Sho on the floor, Kondo got yanked to the floor at 12:50 to eliminate him. Inaba got tossed at 13:46.
Umino and Kanemaru fought on the ring apron; Shota dropped Kanemaru neck-first on the top rope, and Kanemaru fell to the floor at 14:50. Back in the ring, Togo choked Shota with a chain. Shota nailed a Death Rider double-arm DDT to pin Togo at 16:39. Shota and Ren fought in the ring, over the top rope, and both fell to the floor at 18:00, so both are out, and they fought to the back. Yujiro and Oiwa fought in the ring, with Ryohei hitting a gutwrench suplex. (The 20-minute call is fairly in-synch with my clock.) Yujiro hit a low blow kick and tossed Oiwa at 20:45. So, we’re down to EVIL and Yujiro vs. Kaito, and the HoT worked together to beat down Kaito.
Kaito rolled up Yujiro for a pin at 22:09, so it is one-on-one. Kaito tossed EVIL at 23:07 but the ref was distracted and didn’t see it, and EVIL rolled right back in. The crowd was livid at the ref for being out of position. EVIL nailed the Darkness Fall sit-out powerslam for a nearfall. The bell rang, but it was the HoT who rang it. The crowd again booed, as EVIL tried to celebrate, but the ref pulled EVIL’s arm back down. Yujiro snuck into the ring and hit a Pimp Juice DDT on Kaito, as the commentators agreed this referee was awful. Kaito nailed a Tiger Suplex for a believable nearfall at 25:30. Kaito blocked a low blow. EVIL went to the ring apron, and Kaito hit a Shining Wizard to send EVIL to the floor for the final elimination. Kaito is the sole survivor!
10. Kenoh defeated Manabu Soya at 28:36. Soya is a big bull of a man; I’ve only seen him a few times. An intense lockup and they traded some mat reversals; this felt intense; we hit the 5:00 mark with nothing major happening. They rolled to the floor, where Kenoh hit a hard kick to the left arm. In the ring, Kenoh applied a leglock around Soya’s waist and he kept him grounded. Soya hit a snap suplex for a nearfall at 12:00. Kenoh hit a running kick to Soya’s back for a nearfall. Kenoh hit a German Suplex; Soya hit a backbreaker over his knee, and they were both down. Kenoh hit some roundhouse kicks to the chest. Soya hit a Bulldog Powerslam for a nearfall at 15:30.
Kenoh applied an anklelock on the mat, then he hit a running penalty kick to the chest for a nearfall. Soya nailed a spear. He hit a dropkick that sent Kenoh to the floor. Soya dove through the ropes and barreled onto Kenoh at 18:00. In the ring, Soya hit a top-rope flying clothesline for a nearfall, then a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Soya applied a sleeper; Kenoh somehow got a rollup for a nearfall at 22:00. They traded clotheslines and punches in the center of the ring, and Soya nailed a hard clothesline for a nearfall.
Kenoh applied a crossface on the mat and this crowd was going nuts. He hit a German Suplex with a bridge for a nearfall at 24:30. Soya nailed a second-rope superplex for a nearfall, then a decapitating clothesline for a nearfall. Kenoh nailed a top-rope doublestomp to the chest for a nearfall at 27:30. Kenoh hit a top-rope moonsault kneedrop. He went back to the crossface, and Soya tapped out. A superb match.
* So… I had already read the criticism of this match before I watched it. Apparently Kota is entering this match with a broken ankle. Quite frankly, if that’s true, the match should have just been canceled. At the very least, it should have been moved to earlier in the show and kept to 12-15 minutes.
11. Kota Ibushi defeated Naomichi Marufuji at 33:23. I actually have seen more Marufuji matches in the U.S. (in ROH) than in Japan. Kota literally has a pained look on his face before the bell, showing he’s already not ‘there.’ They immediately fought to the mat, and Kota grounded Marufuji with a headlock. They traded mid-ring chops at 7:30. They traded more mat holds and this stayed in first gear. Kota hit a powerslam and a moonsault for a nearfall at 16:00. Kota hit a second-rope moonsault to the floor at 20:00 but he immediately clutched his right ankle, and I don’t think he’s just selling. He stood up and was clearly limping. He pushed Marufuji into the ring and got a nearfall. However, he clearly was having trouble walking once he got to his feet.
Ibushi hit a discus clothesline and they were both down; Kota again clutched at his ankle. They got up and traded chops and forearms. Kota hit a high back suplex for a nearfall at 26:00; they were both down and Kota again clutched at his ankle. Marufuji hit a Sliced Bread for a nearfall. Kota hit a Shining Wizard for a nearfall at 29:00; he was really wobbly as he got to his feet. He hit a sit-out powerbomb for a nearfall. Marufuji twisted the left arm and applied a cross-armbreaker on the mat. (Very notable he isn’t going after the damaged ankles.) Kota nailed the Komigoye kneestrike to the collarbone for a believable nearfall at 33:00. He hit another Kamigoye to the back of the head, then a third one to the collarbone for the pin.
Final Thoughts: I was such a huge fan of Kota Ibushi, all the way up to him getting injured in the G1 Climax finale. He took more than a year off to get healthy and has had just a handful of matches since. Unfortunately, it is clear he needs to take more time off to rest up and heal. It’s hard to see a wrestler you had in such high esteem struggle like this in the ring. I’ve made similar comparisons to the chubby, out-of-shape Paul London, who is just a shell of who he was in 2002-2010, and he’s quite literally doing a ‘Fat Elvis’ lounge singer gimmick these days. With all that said, I do think he further damaged his ankles with that moonsault to the floor at the 20:00 mark. No, the first half of the match wasn’t great, but with him so hobbled after that moonsault, they couldn’t move into a higher gear.
The good news is Kenoh-Soya was great and Ishii-Kitamiya was great. I’ll go with Sabre’s tag match for a distant third.
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