New GHC Heavyweight Champion crowned. First challenger named

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

Go Shiozaki beat Kaito Kiyomiya to win the vacant GHC Heavyweight Title at the "MAJESTIC" show in Ryogoku. Title was vacated after the previous champion, Kazuyuki Fujita, tested postive for COVID-19. This is Shiozaki's 5th reign with the title.

After winning, Shiozaki was immediatly challanged by New Japan Pro Wrestling's Satoshi Kojima. Who was announced as Naomichi Marufuji's mystery partner in an earlier tag match.




That match will take place at the 2022 CyberFight Festival on June 12th. An event that would go head to head with New Japan's Dominion show going on at the same time in Osaka.

[Malibu Albino]

Go now has the most reigns with the GHC title. With Mutoh coming back in late May I’m worried about how long this reign is going to actually last. NOAH has a real problem with their older stars refusing to lose, especially Fujita and Mutoh.

[Deleted]

Love Kojima so may have to watch this.

[Spider2024]

You go, Go!

[The Summer of Muskrat XVII]

The GHC is one damn nice looking belt

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

May 1, 2022 10:30:23 GMT -5 Malibu Albino said:

Go now has the most reigns with the GHC title. With Mutoh coming back in late May I’m worried about how long this reign is going to actually last. NOAH has a real problem with their older stars refusing to lose, especially Fujita and Mutoh.

Masakatsu Funaki and Hideki Suzuki are apparently others causing issues backstage. Can’t say Hideki surprises me in the slightest.

The common theme is that nobody want to lose to anybody else, and nobody wants to get pinned by Nakajima, specifically.

[Deleted]

May 1, 2022 11:57:14 GMT -5 Mochi Lone Wolf said:

May 1, 2022 10:30:23 GMT -5 Malibu Albino said:

Go now has the most reigns with the GHC title. With Mutoh coming back in late May I’m worried about how long this reign is going to actually last. NOAH has a real problem with their older stars refusing to lose, especially Fujita and Mutoh.

Masakatsu Funaki and Hideki Suzuki are apparently others causing issues backstage. Can’t say Hideki surprises me in the slightest.

The common theme is that nobody want to lose to anybody else, and nobody wants to get pinned by Nakajima, specifically.

So no one wants to put over one of your best and most relevant stars? Lovely.

[Mozenrath]

Sucks that things sound... not great... in NOAH's locker room, but it does make me think of AJPW's own roster woes. If some of these guys get fed up, that problem may sort itself out.

[Starshine]

NOAH just needs a mangerial overhaul, and move the book to someone who isn't focused on appeasing the old guard. They've got decent talent who should be able to carry the brand, but they just won't get behind then like they should.

Like, there's nothing wrong with using a Keiji Mutoh to fill a house, but he also shouldn't be the 'be all end all' focus of the company. If he's unwilling to genuinely put over one of your prospective stars, what is his clout really worth in the long run?

[Facetious]

I really thought NOAH was rebounding, but the 50 year Olds are running it. Like Mutoh getting (what I thought was) a thank you run was cool af, but if you're feeding these relics young prospects, why should your fans care? Especially when the wheels fall off which Mutoh's are held together with bubble gum

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

May 2, 2022 4:02:00 GMT -5 Starshine said:

NOAH just needs a mangerial overhaul, and move the book to someone who isn't focused on appeasing the old guard. They've got decent talent who should be able to carry the brand, but they just won't get behind then like they should.

Like, there's nothing wrong with using a Keiji Mutoh to fill a house, but he also shouldn't be the 'be all end all' focus of the company. If he's unwilling to genuinely put over one of your prospective stars, what is his clout really worth in the long run?

My question is: where is Sanshiro Takagi? When Cyber bought NOAH, they put him in charge. If that’s the case, and all this backstage craziness is going on with Mutoh, Funaki, Hideki, and Fujita, when is he going to put his foot down and say enough is enough? He’s got to be the one to put the screws to NOSAWA.

Occasionally bringing Kenoh over to DDT isn’t going to fix anything long term if nobody wants to put him over in his home promotion.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

May 2, 2022 4:16:07 GMT -5 Facetious said:

I really thought NOAH was rebounding, but the 50 year Olds are running it. Like Mutoh getting (what I thought was) a thank you run was cool af, but if you're feeding these relics young prospects, why should your fans care? Especially when the wheels fall off which Mutoh's are held together with bubble gum

Mutoh is coming back after another hip surgery this month.


There’s no way he’s medically cleared for that, at this point.

[GodzillaIsMyMonster]

I don't keep up with Japanese wrestling as much as I wish I did...

But what about Kobashi? Does he not have some sort of management role?

[Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby]

May 1, 2022 11:57:14 GMT -5 Mochi Lone Wolf said:

The common theme is that nobody want to lose to anybody else, and nobody wants to get pinned by Nakajima, specifically.

Just curious, is there any known reason for that? I've been way tuned out, and I've only ever known of Katsuhiko Nakajima as a wrestler with tons of potential who seems to have maintained the same high level of praise and hype over a span of like seventeen years.

[Starshine]

May 2, 2022 17:25:23 GMT -5 Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby said:

May 1, 2022 11:57:14 GMT -5 Mochi Lone Wolf said:

The common theme is that nobody want to lose to anybody else, and nobody wants to get pinned by Nakajima, specifically.

Just curious, is there any known reason for that? I've been way tuned out, and I've only ever known of Katsuhiko Nakajima as a wrestler with tons of potential who seems to have maintained the same high level of praise and hype over a span of like seventeen years.

I don't know if there's any personal issues or anything like that, so the only thing I can assume is that since he's kind of a weak draw as champion, it means that these veterans don't think he's worthy of taking a fall over them, or something like that. It's gotten so bad that in Fujita's title win over Nakajima, he even pulled the champion up from a pin attempt towards the end of the match as if he were nothing more than a jobber.

It's just funny that these sort are happy enough to lose to Marufuji and Sugiura. But when it comes to the guys who need it most now like Kiyomiya and Nakajima, suddenly it's: "that doesn't work for me, brother."

[lucas_lee]

For some reason they're going with the appeal to the 50+ and over crowd. I dunno if its what the boss wants or I have a feeling something a bit more sinister (Yakuza mandate, you'd be fooling yourself if they're still not involved with wrestling, the police will only go after them if they get caught)

[clifford]

Lets go Koji!

Compared to Fujita and Funaki, he's a spring chicken. If NOAH are so intent at getting in the Inoki-ism greatest hits in 2022, they gotta put the belt on the leader of the Bread Club.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

May 2, 2022 17:03:36 GMT -5 GodzillaIsMyMonster said:

I don't keep up with Japanese wrestling as much as I wish I did...

But what about Kobashi? Does he not have some sort of management role?

Not really. He’s mostly a figurehead.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

May 3, 2022 5:29:07 GMT -5 lucas_lee said:

For some reason they're going with the appeal to the 50+ and over crowd. I dunno if its what the boss wants or I have a feeling something a bit more sinister (Yakuza mandate, you'd be fooling yourself if they're still not involved with wrestling, the police will only go after them if they get caught)

Pride had a lot of Yakuza connections, and guys like Funaki, Fujita, and Sakuraba were regulars.

[Mochi Lone Wolf]

May 2, 2022 19:21:08 GMT -5 Starshine said:

May 2, 2022 17:25:23 GMT -5 Dr. Bolty, Disaster Enby said:

Just curious, is there any known reason for that? I've been way tuned out, and I've only ever known of Katsuhiko Nakajima as a wrestler with tons of potential who seems to have maintained the same high level of praise and hype over a span of like seventeen years.

I don't know if there's any personal issues or anything like that, so the only thing I can assume is that since he's kind of a weak draw as champion, it means that these veterans don't think he's worthy of taking a fall over them, or something like that. It's gotten so bad that in Fujita's title win over Nakajima, he even pulled the champion up from a pin attempt towards the end of the match as if he were nothing more than a jobber.

It's just funny that these sort are happy enough to lose to Marufuji and Sugiura. But when it comes to the guys who need it most now like Kiyomiya and Nakajima, suddenly it's: "that doesn't work for me, brother."

Or Shiozaki. I think Mutoh is the only one of them who hasn’t lost to Go clean.


And of course guys like Nakajima don’t draw I’d you don’t give him big wins over guys who don’t do many jobs. Kenoh only got his momentum because he was killing it everywhere he was in the card. That’s how he took them back to the Budo.