The final Demolition Stage show takes place this Saturday 13th of November. We’ve had five Go On To The Demolition Stage shows. One Sanctuary show. Demolition Stage In Fukuoka. And now we have Demolition Stage In Yokohama.
It’s a nine-match card with three GHC Title matches. In the main event Kaito Kiyomiya & Masa Kitamiya defend their GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles against Keiji Muto & Naomichi Marufuji.
Masaaki Mochizuki defends his GHC National Title against Kenoh.
And HAYATA defends his GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Aleja.
Airing live on Wrestle Universe with English commentary from the excellent duo of Mark Pickering and Stewart Fulton. Meaning that replays will be available not long after the show has ended.
And the show starts at 4pm in Japan. That’s 8am in England, 3am East Coast USA and Midnight West Coast USA. Late night/early morning if you plan to watch it live but at least replays are done quickly.
Plus Wrestle Universe is FREE until the end of the year so sign up now to get the benefit.
It’s a big show so let’s not waste any time and get right into it!
MAIN EVENT – GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Championship – Kaito Kiyomiya & Masa Kitamiya (c) vs M’s Alliance (Keiji Muto & Naomichi Marufuji)
This will be the 15th match between Kiyomiya and Muto since June 2020. They’ve had 3 singles matches. Muto has won two and they went to a 30 minute draw in their last meeting. There have also been 3 Tag Team matches where Muto & Marufuji beat Kiyomiya & Shiozaki, Muto & Ogawa beat Kiyomiya & Suzuki and Kiyomiya & Kenoh beat Muto & Sakuraba.
Plus 7 six-man tag team matches where Muto’s team has won 6 of them, including one just 3 days prior where Marufuji pinned Kiyomiya to avenge a recent singles loss. And 1 eight man tag team match which Kiyomiya’s team won.
It is a lot of matches. And realistically I don’t think they’ll end here either. I’m of the mindset that we’ll get Kiyomiya vs Muto IV at Nippon Budokan on January 1st where their feud will finally end.
So this match is mainly to keep their feud ongoing until we get there. But, seeing as the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles have largely been forgotten since Kiyomiya & Kitamiya won them in July, I don’t think the result is as clear cut here.
Those belts have been largely ignored since July. I know the N-1 Victory happened in September and Kiyomiya changed his attire and attitude, but he didn’t even carry his belt with him to the ring. Both men were focused on singles success so their tag team and belts were put aside.
They haven’t even teamed as just a tag team since they won the belts with the exception of a one off tag team match on NOAH The Universe, something filmed outside of regular shows for an English speaking fanbase.
As I pointed out in my preview piece for November 10th, Kiyomiya & Kitamiya and Muto & Marufuji have teamed together, as just a tag team, the exact same amount of times over the past few years. Three times.
That’s crazy to me. They are almost on a level playing field in regards to experience together as a tag team. Although Muto & Marufuji have been a part of M’s Alliance together longer. And Kiyomiya & Kitamiya have had experience as opponents and rivals since Kitamiya was closest in age to being Kiyomiya’s generational rival (there is still a 7 year difference between them, too).
Kiyomiya, Kitamiya and Marufuji all have experience with the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles. Kiyomiya had the one reign before this one with Shiozaki in 2018 and that was the first title he ever won. Kitamiya is now a five time champion, with his first reign happening in early 2017 with Kenoh, and then three more with Katsuhiko Nakajima as The Aggression.
Marufuji is a seven time former champion with six different partners. Minoru Suzuki in 2005. Takashi Sugiura in 2007 and 2012. Toru Yano in 2016. Maybach Taniguchi in 2017. Akitoshi Saito in 2018. And, finally, Masaaki Mochizuki in 2020.
Would you believe that Muto has challenged for the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles twice before? Most people remember the Tokyo Dome match in 2004 – Muto and Misawa against each other, BATT (Bad Ass Translating Team) of Muto & Taiyo Kea against The Untouchables of Misawa & Ogawa. Even if they forget that the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles were on the line.
But while Jun Akiyama was Triple Crown Champion in 2012 (and still part of NOAH before leaving for All Japan in 2013), Muto would attempt to take the belt back to All Japan. But before that he went to NOAH to partner Go Shiozaki and they tried to take Akiyama’s other Title, the GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Titles, which he held with Akitoshi Saito.
Muto & Shiozaki would fail to win the belts. And Muto would also fail to win the Triple Crown Championship. So this will be a case of hoping that it’s third time lucky and he couldn’t pick a better tag partner as Marufuji has had success with many different partners.
Kiyomiya has yet to achieve a direct victory over Muto but he did pin Marufuji in a singles match just 10 days before this. And Kitamiya does have a direct victory over Muto due to a referee stoppage. Kitamiya has won 3 out of 4 of his last singles matches against Marufuji. But Muto has beaten both in singles matches and Marufuji pinned Kiyomiya in a six man tag team match just 3 days ago.
This match could go either way honestly. Both teams are two singles stars put together instead of a real tag team with team work and chemistry. But that’s not to say each team couldn’t build that up with more time.
However I think the singles ambitions of Kiyomiya & Kitamiya both will eventually see an end to their team. Kiyomiya should realistically go on to beat Muto in their fourth singles match before going on to a second reign with the GHC Heavyweight Championship. And Kitamiya absolutely deserves his first taste of singles gold.
So the question, to me, is whether Muto beats Kiyomiya. Again. And the fans despair at Old Man Muto beating Kiyomiya once more, while some fans cling on to the belief that there will be a pay off in the end – delusional or not.
Or whether this is where Kiyomiya finally achieves that direct victory over Muto, pinning or submitting him, and then makes the challenge for January 1st in the Nippon Budokan.
I do hope it’s the second.
GHC National Championship – Masaaki Mochizuki (c) vs Kenoh
Their match in the B Block of the N-1 Victory 2021 was my favourite in the entire tournament. It’s definitely between this and the finals of Kenoh vs Nakajima. And that was their second singles match, as they had one during the N-1 Victory 2019.
Mochizuki won that first match. And Pro Wrestling NOAH have uploaded it to their YouTube so you can watch it here (match begins at 1:31:55)
Despite Mochizuki winning the match, Kenoh would still go on to win their block, eventually beating Go Shiozaki in the finals. And then take the GHC Heavyweight Title from Eddie Edwards to start his first (and so far, only) reign with that belt.
The 2021 N-1 Victory match was a different story. The result of that match would determine the winner of their block. So everything was on the line in this match. They went all out and had an incredible match. Genuinely, use your new and free Wrestle Universe account to watch it.
But Kenoh took the win and won the block. He beat Kiyomiya in the semifinals but fell to his team mate, Nakajima in the Finals. Nakajima would go on to win the GHC Heavyweight Title from Marufuji. Now Kenoh needs to assert his spot as the leader of Kongo by also winning a title.
And the GHC National Title is red. Which is the colour closely identified to Kenoh and Kongo – and Kenoh has held that belt once before.
He beat Nakajima in August last year, before successfully defending the belt against Kiyomiya, Sakuraba, Murakami, Funaki & Kashin before losing the belt to Kazuyuki Fujita in March. Kenoh’s record of length as GHC National Champion and number of defences will take some beating.
If any man can do it, I hope it’s Mochizuki. The three-time former Open The Dream Gate Champion won the GHC National Championship from Takashi Sugiura in an incredible match. While you’re on Wrestle Universe watching Kenoh vs Mochizuki, add that one to your list too.
This is first singles title since he lost the Tokyo World Heavyweight Championship (Tokyo Gurentai’s main title belt) in July 2018. And he held that belt since December 2015 with sporadic defences but had victories over Minoru Tanaka and Kotaro Suzuki, both former GHC Junior Heavyweight Champions.
The last time he was Open The Dream Gate Champion, his reign lapped with the previous title belt. He won it in September 2017 from YAMATO before losing it to Masato Yoshino in June 2018.
Mochizuki has only once lost a belt in his first defence and that was his third reign as WAR/Tenryu Project International Junior Heavyweight Champion. That’s one reign out of ten. This GHC National Title reign is his eleventh in 20 years.
Kazuyuki Fujita is so far the only person to lose the GHC National Title in his first defense. That must sting for Kenoh. To lose it to someone who lost it straight away (although Fujita did not give the belt up easily I can assure you of that).
The GHC National Championship has mainly been contested between heavy hitters and you don’t get more hard hitting than these two with their kicks. And, in their one and only preview match three days ago, Mochizuki pinned Kenoh after a palm strike right to the face.
Their past two matches they have displayed incredible chemistry against each other. They are perfect opponents for one another and I know this match is going to be Match Of The Night.
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship – HAYATA (c) vs Aleja
I think we were all expecting HAYATA and Aleja to just be a normal, competitive Title match. Just two wrestlers fighting for a belt and aiming to be at the top of their division.
However just 3 days ago, on what looked to be a run of the mill eight man tag team match between STINGER and Kongo, HAYATA really had it out for Aleja.
Before the match had ended, HAYATA began to rip and tear at Aleja’s mask. It seemed like Aleja would lose his mask before the match finished but Haoh threw himself over Aleja to save him.
I love the fact it was Haoh trying to save Aleja and his mask. Haoh was once a masked wrestler called Kenbai and although I can’t find any record of Kenbai losing his mask in a match, he did spend over 10 and a half years wearing that mask. So I do appreciate how it was Haoh attempting Aleja’s rescue.
However it wasn’t to be. Haoh’s attempt was in vain as HAYATA pinned him shortly afterwards. And HAYATA continued the assault on Aleja after the match and eventually tore the mask from his head as Aleja desperately used his hands to cover his exposed face.
HAYATA finished with the coup d’etat of his boot on Aleja as he stood over him. HAYATA has shown a nasty, mean streak to himself before and it was on full display here.
He didn’t just want to be a dominant champion. He wanted to humiliate Aleja completely. He wanted to remove his mask, remove his identity and show how much better than his challenger he is.
This is HAYATA’s third reign with the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship. He’s already made more successful defenses in this reign than he had in his previous two reigns combined. If he beats Aleja, this will be his longest reign.
And Aleja is still inexperienced in big matches. He debuted in March 2016 so HAYATA has almost 10 years on him (July 2006). And he’s only challenged for a singles title just the once, March 2018 where he was beaten by the Wrestle-1 Cruiserweight Champion, Seiki Yoshioka.
So HAYATA has the edge in both age, experience and most likely a mental advantage after removing his mask.
But both men are not big talkers. HAYATA through choice and Aleja has not spoken at all since joining the NOAH roster, having Tadasuke do all the talking for him.
Both men let their actions in the ring do their talking for them. And expect a lot of action and explosions in this match.
STINGER (Yoshinari Ogawa, Seiki Yoshioka & Yuya Susumu) vs Los Perros del Mal de Japon (Eita, Kotaro Suzuki & NOSAWA Rongai)
Yoshinari Ogawa will be eager to get his hands on Eita. The last time these two met in the ring, Los Perros del Mal de Japon attacked Ogawa after the match and Eita humiliated him further by pouring a water bottle down onto him.
Eita & NOSAWA Rongai made their first successful defense of their GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title’s at a Dragon Gate show on November 5th, beating Jason Lee & Kota Minoura.
The two have hinted at a return to Dragon Gate, asking for more young boys (seen as NOAH has so few of them). But I can’t help but feel that their next challengers will come from the Ark. And who better than one of the Ark’s original captains.
Ogawa is one of three people remaining who were on NOAH’s debut shows. He’s been one of the head trainers from the NOAH dojo since it’s inception. While he doesn’t have any of his students in STINGER, he still commands a position of power and respect.
Speaking of former students, Suzuki is Ogawa’s original graduate. It’s been well documented over my preview pieces for the last year that Ogawa and Suzuki have been in a blood feud ever since Suzuki was kicked out of STINGER.
Suzuki actually looked away while Eita was humiliating Ogawa. Perhaps seeing that as a step too far. Suzuki wants Ogawa’s head. He wants to hurt him but maybe not to the point of humiliation.
Yuya Susumu returned to NOAH after a brief absence. Him and Yoshioka are former GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions together and I was surprised that their reign ended when it did.
I’m sure the two would love another shot at the belts. They have always had excellent chemistry together and they have years of teaming together, way more than Eita & NOSAWA have together.
Expect this one to probably break down and get heated. Especially between Ogawa and Eita. I have a feeling that the former GHC Heavyweight Champion and former Open The Dream Gate Champion will be at each others throats.
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Yoshiki Inamura
Inamura only just returned from injury with a loss to Manabu Soya. He suffered a leg injury in July which required surgery and time off to rest and heal.
And now, in his second match back, he faces a former three time IWGP Heavyweight Champion and GHC National Champion. Fujita has the MMA background and success too.
These are two big dudes who are going to club and hammer each other pretty hard. Inamura seems poised to become NOAH’s next break out star. Facing someone like Fujita will be a valuable experience for him.
But a painful one too. Fujita isn’t likely to take it easy on him as big bulls assert their dominance at all times so not to have a younger rival overtake them.
This is not the first time they have faced each other. Fujita’s debut in NOAH in September 2019 was a match against a young Inamura. Then only a one year rookie, Inamura was absolutely flattened by Fujita. It took Fujita just under 4 minutes to beat the young bull.
Every time these two have shared the ring together, Fujita, or at least his team, have beaten Inamura’s. On October 11th 2020, Sugiura Army beat Kongo and the winning pinfall came from a nasty, nasty looking powerbomb from Fujita to Inamura.
I think a lot of us thought it looked worse than it actually was and we were all thankful that Inamura was not seriously hurt as it did look scary.
I’m sure Inamura has not forgotten that powerbomb. That he still remembers that loss to him in a matter of minutes back when he was a rookie.
It may not be Inamura’s time to beat a guy like Fujita yet. Fujita can be beaten after all as Go Shiozaki, Takashi Sugiura and Masakatsu Funaki can all attest to. But Inamura’s time is coming, maybe in the near future. Right now is just to show his growth over the past two years.
I have a theory that Katsuhiko Nakajima’s next challenger may be one of two men. Masakatsu Funaki. Or Kazuyuki Fujita. So, seen as I’m sure Fujita is winning here, he could come forward to challenge for the GHC Heavyweight Championship again.
Kongo (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya, Haoh & Nioh vs Daiki Inaba, Momo No Seishun (Daisuke Harada & Atsushi Kotoge) & Kinya Okada
The Kongo team have an advantage here. Nakajima is the current GHC Heavyweight Champion. They have two heavyweights on their team while their opponents only have one and Daiki Inaba is yet to find any real success in a NOAH ring.
I’ll be honest, I’ve been waiting for Nakajima and Inaba to share a ring again. Daiki Inaba lost the Wrestle-1 Championship for the second and last time when Nakajima took it from him in January 2020.
And when I say take, I mean forcibly remove. That match was very one sided as Nakajima practically dominated him and put him away with relative ease in under 15 minutes. Before Nakajima turned on Shiozaki and joined Kongo later that year, his run as invading heel champion in Wrestle-1 should have shown all the signs of the evil nature that lurked within him.
So I’m wanting to see that fired up side of Inaba every time he’s in the ring with Nakajima. Because, to be honest, he needs to show something. Right now he’s still in the midcard and losing to those higher than him. When realistically he’s someone NOAH could have in the main event scene for years to come but he needs to move up now before he gets trapped in the position he’s in now.
Speaking of trapped, Kinya Okada looks to have no chance of escaping the opening matches and losing to practically everyone. So expect him to take the pinfall again here.
Momo No Seishun looked lost on Wednesday. Kotoge was pinned by YO-HEY in a ten man tag team match and looked visibly distraught by it. So I am curious to see what happens next with them.
Sugiura Army (Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba & Kendo Kashin) vs Funky Express (King Tany, Muhammad Yone & Akitoshi Saito)
The Funky Express team of King Tany & Muhammad Yone beat Sugiura & Kinya Okada on Wednesday. But every time a Funky Express team have faced a complete Sugiura Army, they have lost.
Expect Sugiura Army to win again here. Sugiura & Sakuraba are former GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and every time Sakuraba has faced Funky Express, he’s beaten them.
Sugiura will be a killing machine on account of the loss 3 days ago and still reeling from the loss of his GHC National Title, the second time he’s now lost that belt.
As just a lower card match, this won’t last long. So enjoy it while it lasts. Sorry I don’t have much to say about this match. It just screams filler to me.
Tadasuke vs YO-HEY
Battle of the former RATEL’S members. It was Tadasuke who left his former RATEL’S friends and he did so by turning on YO-HEY.
This will be their Fourth singles match against each other. Tadasuke has won the first three. August 2014 in Dotonbori Pro. July 2019 during NOAH’s Global Junior League. And August 2020, after Tadasuke had turned on YO-HEY.
In the past year, YO-HEY joined Los Perros del Mal de Japon and seems to have embraced his more rudo tendancies. He made a return to Dragon Gate on November 5th which must have been cathartic for him.
Maybe this is what YO-HEY needed in order to move up to that next level. He failed to beat HAYATA a few months ago. But maybe now he has what it takes to finally beat Tadasuke one on one.
Hajima Ohara vs Yasutaka Yano
This will be the fourth match between the young rookie and Ohara since Yano debuted on October 28th 2020.
Ohara was Yano’s second ever match on the 3rd of November. So now, just over a year later, they meet once more.
They faced each other in December and February so it has been almost nine months since their last singles meeting.
And they’ve not actually faced each other in tag matches since April. They’ve actually been teaming together as part of Momo No Seishun and friends since then.
So much like Inamura gets to show his growth against Fujita later in the night, Yano gets to show how far he’s come in the past year since his debut.
Right now his size and stature suggests that he will always been a junior heavyweight. But that is no bad thing. Yano could end up being the linchpin for the future of the NOAH junior heavyweight division.
He’s definitely losing this match. But I’m really enjoying watching him develop as he has potential to be a great all rounder. And he’ll learn a lot from Ohara.
And that’s your lot.
Big show that is well worth checking out. Come to watch Muto in the main event. Stay for Mochizuki and Kenoh beating the ever loving hell out of each other.
As always thank you so much for reading this preview piece. I do my very best to give a detailed and informative history to the matches and the wrestlers, so I do genuinely appreciate everyone who takes the time to read these.
NOAH has one final big show on November 28th where I have a feeling that we’ll see Nakajima make his next defense of the GHC Heavyweight Championship.
Will we have new GHC Heavyweight Tag Team Champions at that show? A new GHC National Champion? A new GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion?
Time will tell.
Enjoy the show and keep supporting Pro Wrestling NOAH.
