Pro Wrestling NOAH 7/16/2022 Destination 2022
Here's what I saw:
Ninja Mack vs Dante Leon
Dante kind of looks like the male alien Kris Statlander. He has pink facepaint over his eyes, blue long hair and a tye dye shirt on.
They do a headscissors on the mat early and stand off. Dante goes for a suplex but Mack turns it into a sunset flip. Mack firemans carry takedowns him and tries to roll him up. Dante hits a superkick then does a wild inverted flip into a stunner off the 2nd buckle. Dante then topes him outside. Mack tries to leg sweep him off the apron, but he plants on it then drops down and forearms him on the floor.
Mack hits a nice dropkick and running euros him on the floor. Mack slingshot corkscrew 630's him but Dante gets his knees up. Dante then runs and jumps on the bottom rope and dropkicks him in the corner. Dante then does a wild corkscrew senton on his back from the top. Mack tdoes a top rope twisting enzugiri then does his ninja special (multiple backflips into a moonsault outside). He then points at Liger outside after.
Mack goes for some twisting back splash in the corner and clears the top rope to the floor. They duck each others shots then lariat each other at the same time. Mack gets stuck on the top rope then Dante joins him up there. Dante then jumps off the 2nd rope, jumps off the top rope with his butt and spanish flies him in a wild move. Mack superkicks and corkscrew kicks him.
Mack misses a neat capoeira corkscrew then Dante does a twisting ssp into a cutter. Dante goes for a swanton but Mack gets his knees up then Mack does a phoenix 630 and wins it.
It was a spot fest, but these two are flyers and they should be flying around and doing wild moves. I think it could have been better as it was a little slow in-between spots and they didn't have much else going for it but some of the moves, but it was what you would expect and want.
Pro-Wrestling Love Forever.1 ~The Final Countdown~: Keiji Mutoh vs Kaito Kiyomiya
This is the first match in Mutoh's retirement series. It's cool to have him around and all, but he's not what he used to be, he hasn't dropped himself down the card, he's stale and he hasn't done a lot to put over others. I hate to say it, but he kind of has worn out his welcome some. I think if he had been in an American promotion, where he would only be brought in for big shows and would do shorter matches, things could have worked out better. Japanese wrestling has a smaller infrastructure though and I don't think they have that kind of money and I don't think he is as big as a draw to do that.
They lock up and Mutoh side headlocks him. Kaito rolls through his armdrag. Mutoh shoulders him over then Kaito dropkicks him and hits a flashing elbow drop. Kaito blocks a dragon screw and works his arm. Kaito flying clotheslines him and blocks another dragon screw. Mutoh armdrags him and dropkicks him in the knee. Kaito blocks another dragon screw then puts him in cattle mutilation. Kaito ddt's him and blocks another dragon screw then Mutoh leglocks him.
Mutoh hits a reverse dragon screw. Kaito tries to block a dragon screw but Mutoh hits it half-way. Mutoh figure fours him and goes for another dragon screw but Kaito dropkicks him out of it. Kaito twisting forearms him off the 2nd rope then top rope dropkicks him. Kaito germans him then flying knees him. Kaito fights him from the ramp then runs the ramp and spears his knee through the ropes. Kaito then figure fours him but Mutoh ropebreaks.
Kaito hits another german and tiger suplexes him. Kaito misses a top rope flying knee and is dropkicked. Mutoh then shining wizards him in the corner. They go up top and Mutoh hits a hurricanrana. Kaito gets his high knee blocked and is dragon screwed. Mutoh shining wizards him to the back of the head then the front of the head for 2. Kaito blocks a shining wizard then dropkicks him in the knee and body.
Kaito then top rope dropkicks him as he is down. Kaito then shining wizards him for 2 and figure fours him. Kaito dragon screws him again and figure fours him to win it.
It was longer than it needed to be, but the idea and story of it was good. I liked Kaito using Mutoh's own moves to beat him. Mutoh was also interested and actually put him over in the end. Cut about a third of this off and it might have been a contender for the best match this year, but this was still pretty good stuff.
GHC Tag Titles - Hideki Suzuki and Timothy Thatcher vs Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura
Ina slams Suzuki but he holds on and brings him down. Suzuki works the cravate and Ina flips him over when he holds his arms behind him. Tim and Masa get in and Tim bow and arrows him. they shoulder battle and Masa shoulders him over. Ina hits chest clubs in the corner then slams him. Tim blocks a lariat with a headbutt then belly to belly suplexes him.
Ina takes euro uppercuts to the front and back. He breaks through a double clothesline and Tim fujiwara armbars him at 10 minutes. Masa lariats Tim then Ina shoulders him. Masa running euros Tim then shoulders him over. Masa slams Suzuki then sentons Tim and Suzuki. Masa running lariats Tim.
They trade shots and Masa drops him on his knees, then piledrivers him. Masa hits another clothesline. Masa gets busted open by Suzuki punches. He tried to spear Tim in the corner and gets nothing. Suzuki neckbreakers him but he no sells it. Suzuki then exploders him and Masa comes back with a spear at 15 minutes.
Suzuki and Ina trade forearms and hit some real stiff shots. Ina belly to belly suplexes him. Suzuki takes a senton and splash from both opponents then Ina top rope shoulders him. Ina runs at Suzuki and takes a hard forearm. Suzuki puts an octopus on Ina. Suzuki tombstones him then dragon suplexes him for 2. Suzuki blocks a uranage then sleepers him on the ground and wins it.
I didn't like this one. It was slow and long and the wrong team won.
Rob Van Dam and Masato Tanaka vs NOSAWA and Super Crazy
RVD armdrags Crazy early then is dropkicked. RVD flips over his back and does a leg takedown. RVD does a nice spinning high kick. Tanaka shoulders him over then hits a bunch of forearms. Tanaka then splashes him with a chair to the head in the corner. Tanaka gets tripped into the chair then has the chair dropkciked into him as he is against it.
Tanaka goes into the rails outside and has his head banged off a table. Tanaka chairs him in the head then Crazy sends RVD into the post. Tanaka top rope frogsplashes Nosawa through a table. Nosawa is put on the guard rail and RVD spinning legdrops him off the apron. Crazy then baseball slides RVD.
Tanaka throws a table at Nosawa. Crazy powerbombs Tanaka hard through an angled table in the corner then Crazy hits himself with a table piece. Crazy hits Tanaka with a keyboard. Nosawa then gets a guitar and nails Tanaka with it for 2. Nosawa takes a russian legsweep from Tanaka with a kendo stick. Crazy accidentally hits Nosawa with it then he and Nosawa hit Tanaka with the stick.
Tanaka hits some lariats and takes down his opponents then double lariats them. RVD spin kicks Crazy then hits a roling thunder. RVD then grabs a chair and dropkicks it into Nosawa. RVD hits his split-legged moonsault for 2 then Crazy throws a trash can at Tanaka. Crazy then moonsaults Tanaka for 2. Tanaka and Nosawa chair battle then Tanaka chairs him over the head twice, knocking off the seat cushions.
Tanaka hits him with another chair then RVD hits a vandaminator on Nosawa. RVD then frogsplashes Nosawa for the win.
We start off fast and Hayata misses a sliding kick. Seiki flying kicks him then Seiki hits a flurry of chest kicks. Seiki then jumping axe kicks him for 2. Hayata dropkicks him in the knee then bangs his knee off the mat. Hayata wraps Seiki'e knee up in the guard rail and kicks it. Hayata continues the work on the knee.
Hayata wraps the leg around the rope then dropkicks him in the knee from the 2nd rope. Hayata then single leg crabs him. Hayata slides under him on the apron then Seiki asai moonsaults him. Seiki then hits a michinoku driver for 2. Hayata is thrown into the ropes but handspring back elbows him then tope con hilos him.
They evade a bunch of spinning kicks from each other then Hayata lariats him. Seiki hits more kicks and catches Hayata's handspring. He turns it into a knee to the face. Hayata hangs from the top rope and Seiki does some weird jumping leg drop. Seiki hits a nice la mistica and buzzsaw kicks him. Hayata ties up his legs and does a figure four variation on him, but Seiki rope breaks.
Hayata ddt's him then goes for a short hurricanrana but Seiki catches him and does a short ligerbomb on him. Hayata does a high angle ddt then does a short hurricanrana to win.
I wasn't a big fan of this. I expected the knee work to not really go anywhere and it basically did. Seiki's selling also wasn't good enough to really carry it.
GHC Title - Satoshi Kojima (c) vs Kenoh
Ken trips him and Koji ties his leg up. They get off to a slow start here. Ken facekicks him and is shouldered over then Ken throws him out. Ken teases diving on him but poses instead. Ken is thrown out and Koji plancha's him. Ken is thrown into the rails and they trade forearms. Ken throws a bunch of forearms at him and Koji drops him with one.
Ken hits some kicks to the back then he second rope knee drops him. They trade slaps and Ken spin kicks him. Koji running forearms him then hits machine gun chops. Ken facekicks him in the corner and hits a chestk kick flurry. Ken says Koji's phrase then Koji machine gun chops him. Koji drops a top rope elbow on him for 2.
Kopji ddt's him then ddt's him on the apron. Ken no sells it, cartwheels on the apron and single hammerlock suplexes him on the floor. Ken legsweeps him into a double footstomp on the back then jumping knees him in the back of the head. They trade chest kicks for forearms then Ken pele kicks him just to get forearmed down. Ken sits up top and Koji lariats him, then Ken hangs from the top at 20 minutes and falls down to the floor.
Koji cutters him then Ken sleepers him. Ken PK's him and Koji hits mongolian chops. Koji cutters him off the 2nd rope and Ken spinning high kicks him. Ken sleepers him on the mat at 25 minutes then Ken top rope double stomps him. Ken misses a 2nd one and gets lariated. Koji brainbusters him and Ken hits a nasty high kick. Ken top rope double stomps him for 2. Ken hits a moonsault kneedrop from the top and wins it.
It was decent but far from a classic. It didn't need to go 25 minutes as most of it was just chops. I hated the no sell on the apron ddt but the finish was cool.
Overall thoughts: Pretty good show from Noah. Kaito/Mutoh was good, the RVD match was decent, Koji/Ken was decent and the Mack/Leon match was wild as expected.
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