Pro Wrestling NOAH 5/4/2023 MAJESTIC 2023

Pro Wrestling NOAH 5/4/2023 MAJESTIC 2023

I only missed two matches here:

Lanzelot and Extreme Tiger vs Seiki Yoshioka and Atsushi Kotoge

Tiger trips Kotoge then grounded octopus' him with a leg hold. Lanz and Seiki go at it. Lanz goes up and over in the corner and enzugiri's him. Kotoge back elbows Tiger then Tiger is kicked into a bulldog and a chest kick. Tiger top rope crossbodies Kotoge then jumps over Seiki to sunset flip him. Seiki accidentally superkicks his own partner then Tiger dropkicks Kotoge from the tree of woe.

Kotoge rolls into a cutter on Tiger. Seiki gets in and flying kicks Tiger. Seiki then running PK's him for 2. Lanz gets in and brainbusters Seiki. He then standing moonsaults him for 2 and Seiki step-up enzugiri's him. Kotoge hits running lariats in the corner then Kotoge suplexes him. Kotoge hits a side effect for 2 then Lanz cutters him. Lanz rolls him into a springboard splash then Tiger splashes Kotoge.

Lanz and Tiger tope con hilo their opponents. Lanz running ssp's Kotoge then Kotoge flying kicks him. Kotoge hits a killswitch and wins it.

I felt like it went too long and wasn't really the fast paced match you would want. They really didn't do much at all here until the 2nd half.

Sean Legacy, Stallion Rogers, Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf vs. Jack Morris, Anthony Greene, YO-HEY & Tadasuke

 

Bane and Tada start us off. Bane is held for a dropkick from Yohey. Bane and Wolf hit superkicks then Yo takes a rolling fireman's carry into a top rope moonsault from Wolf. Bane then jumps off of Wolf's back and dropkicks Yohey. Bane then is flipped by Wolf into a moonsault and monkey flipped into a cannonball in the corner on Tada. Bane and Wolf then do tope con hilos outside.

Sean shoulders Jack then rolls him into a pin attempt. Sean is held while the heels pose on him. Sean dropkicks Greene in the knee then takes a superkick. Sean hits a standing spanish fly for 2. Sean goes up top, Greene hits the ropes and neckbreakers him as he bounces back in a neat move. Rogers gets in and germans Greene then kick combos Jack. Rogers ddt's him into the botom buckle then double stomps him as he is seated. Rogers hits a backdrop then does a fosbury flop over the top. Bane and Wolf then hit tope con hilos to the outside. 

Sean goes up the buckles and crossbodies everyone. Bane's team then all climbs the buckles and they all dive off, though Wolf is late and messes it up. Yo hits a nice dropkick then Wolf drops Yohey on his head with a driver then everone starts hitting moves. Jack is on the 2nd rope and Rogers top rope reverse spanish flies him. Greene then backdrops Rogers and yanks him into a piledriver to win it.

This was exactly what you would want out of this - 10 minutes or so of everyone doing cool moves and spots without overdoing it too much.

Yukihi Maya & SAKI vs. Natsu Sumire & Ryo Mizunami

Sumire has a uh very nice bra on. Ryo shoulders Saki then Sumire stomps Saki. Saki slams Sumire then Maya gets in and knees Sumire around. Sumire whips Maya. She misses a facewash kick and is atomic dropped. Saki camel clutches Sumire then Maya wraps her legs around Sumire's neck. Ryo breaks it up then Saki deal brainbusters Sumire.

Sumire gets her whip kicked away by Saki then she lariats Saki. Ryo gets in and double spears her opponents. Ryo hits machine gun chops on Saki. She drops her with a single chop then Saki trips her into a running knee. Saki suplexes her then Maya top rope superkicks Ryo. Sumire and Maya trade face kicks.

Both Saki and Maya end up in the corner and Sumire basically double humps their faces. Sumire then top rope crossbodies Maya for 2. Maya low dropkicks her and running knees her over the bottom rope. Maya running knees Sumire for 2. Maya hits head kicks on Sumire and Sumire rolls her up for 2. Ryo lariats Maya then Sumire double underhook ddt's Maya. Sumire shining wizards Maya for 2 then clutch brainbusters her and wins it.

It ended up being okay but it really wasn't some classic. It benefited because it's the only girls match on the show and was just something different.

Masa Kitamiya & Daiki Inaba vs. Kazuyuki Fujita & Masato Tanaka

Tanaka used too high of a razor on his head and because his hair is half gone and thinning, it looks bad.

Tanaka and Inaba shoulder each other over then Tanaka takes 2 sentons from Masa and a sliding lariat from Inaba. Tanaka ddt's Masa. Kaz hits gut kicks on Masa then trades shots with him. Kaz slams him then single leg crabs him. Masa takes a double shoulder then he trades shots with Tanaka. Tanaka running back elbows him then chinlocks Masa. Masa suplexes Kaz then back body drops him.

Tanaka and Kaz end up going int oeach other in the corner then Inaba runs both corners and attacks them. Inaba forearm flurries Kaz then Kaz fires back. Kaz suplexes him then Inaba and Tanaka trade forearms. Tanaka runs the ropes and takes a spear + crossbody combo. Tanaka then takes a back drop + top rope lariat combo.

Inaba germans Tanaka. Inaba goes for an octopus stretch but is german'd by Fujita. Tanaka frogsplashes Inaba for 2 then hits a sliding D for the win.

It was fine with them trading strikes and keeping up a quicker pace. Not the best match they could have done and it did need more time, but Noah not going too long with a match is a good thing.

Martial Arts Rules Match - Masakatsu Funaki vs Shinya Aoki

Josh Barnett is on commentary. They trade kicks early and Funaki goes for a choke on the mat. They trade palm strikes and Funaki koppo kicks him. Funaki figure fours his legs and submis him with a toe hold.

I want to like Funaki MMA matches, but I never do and this was no different. It was short and ended unexpectedly.   

Yoshinari Ogawa & Chris Ridgeway vs. Eita & Daga

Ogawa gets nailed when he enters and Chris throws out Daga. They brawl outside and Ogawa is sent into the rails. Ogawa takes a 2v1 with a basement dropkick by Eita. Chris takes an emerald fusion + dropkick combo. Chris single leg crabs Eita then STF's him. Ogawa shoulders over Eita then double stomps his back. Chris does a cut-throat surfboard on Eita and Daga breaks it up.

Eita is thrown into the rails then the post by Ogawa. Ogawa boots Eita in the face then Chris underhook suplexes Eita for 2. Daga lariats Chris then does a pop-up facebuster for 2. Daga then puts him in the rings of saturn. Daga and Chris trade forearms then Chris hits headbutts. Chris brainbusters him for 2.

Ogawa ddt's Eita then backdrops him. Ogawa takes a codebreaker then Eita accidentally superkicks Daga. Chris germans Eita then Ogawa ddt's Eita for 2. Ogawa and Daga stare down then Daga double underhook codebreakers his own partner, turning on him. Ogawa and Chris pick up the win as Daga pounds on Eita.

The match really wasn't anything special but the turn at the end was expected. Daga really did very little here.

Dralistico vs Rey Escorpion

Rey pops up Dral and he flips off of him. Dral headscissors him and goes for a tope con hilo but is caught and powerbombed into the post. Rey chairs him then rips his mask up. Rey goes out and Dral top rope hurricanrana's him outside. Dral springboard swantons him for 2. Dral is popped up and hurricanrana's him on the way down. Rey ddt's him for 2. Dral is popped up into a forearm.

Rey slides out for some reason then Dral 2nd rope moonsaults him and sends something flying. Dral springboard corssbodies him while hs is past the commentary tables. They trade chops outside. They go back in and Rey is flipped over the top. Dral then springboard SSP's him outside. They trade chops and forearms again outside. Rey grabs the mask and hits punches. Dral corkscrew kicks him then takes a canadian destroyer. Dral then canadian destroyers him from the 2nd rope and almost slips.

They both go up top and Dral top rope hurricanrana's him. Rey tries for a package piledrive but just throws Dral off. Dral goes for a springboard codebreaker then takes a go to sleep and a lariat. They fight on the apron and Rey apron package piledrivers him. Dral headscissors him then does a la mistica for the win.

I hated this. It was a total spotfest with tons of waiting and clear coordination on their spots.

GHC Tag Team Championship - Takashi Sugiura & Shuhei Taniguchi (c) vs. Saxon Huxley & Timothy Thatcher 

 

TT gutwrench suplexes Sugi to start. Sax and Shuhei go at it and trade shots. Sax thesz presses him then bangs his head off the mat. TT bow and arrows Tani. He hits euros then does a russian legsweeps into la escalera. TT hits euros on Tani then headbutts him. Sax then headbutts Tani and throws him into the rails. Sax misses a shot with a rail then TT hits more euros on Tani. Tani belly to belly suplexes him.

Sugi running facekicks both opponents in the corner then knees TT in the gut. Sugi 2nd rope superplexes him. TT fujiwara's him but Tani breaks it up then Tani gets it. Sax slams Sugi and tries to elbow him but misses. Sax oklahoma stampede's Sugi then elbow drops him for 2. Sugi hits a big spear on Sax then Tani hits lariats on Sax. TT gets lariated then Sax takes a double suplex.

Sax chokeslams Tani then Tani is thrown up into a euro. TT is thrown into a rail outside then Sax takes headbutts before being german'd. TT is slammed on Sax then Tani slams Sugi on Sax. Tani then chokeslams Sugi on Sax. Sax takes a face kick into a half nelson suplex then Tani punts Sax. Sax powers up and takes a double sledgehammer to the chest. Sax big boots Tani then 2nd rope elbows him. Sax does a stiff sitout double chokelam bomb on Taniguchi and wins it.

This was a hard hitting and fun match. Tani and Sugi had a lot of fun going at it with Sax and they tried to put over Sax here. Good stuff.

GHC Jr Heavyweight Championship: HAYATA (c) vs. Ninja Mack

Mack armbars him over the top rope to start. Mack forward flips out of an armlock then armdrags him. Mack is basically on his back then backflips over into an armlock on Hayata. Mack handstands into back headscissors then Hayata cartwheels out. Mack does a cool kip down and they face off. Mack top rope chops him outside. Mack goes up top and is pushed to the floor. Mack is thrown into the post. Hayata works the arm.

Mack jumping knees Hayata then is shotgun dropkicked into the buckles. Mack then walk up the buckles 2nd rope spanish flies him for 2. Mack crossfaces him. Mack gets his arm pulled down over the top rope then Hayata springboard dropkicks the arm. Mack flips off the buckles but Hayata moves. Mack does backflips into an arpon sunset bomb attempt but Hayata blocks it. Hayata then slides under the bottom rope to hangs his arm off the post. Hayata dropkicks the arm into the post. Hayata buldogs the arm then Mack corkscrew kicks him as he is down.

Mack misses a phoenix 630 then Hayata rolls him up for 2. Mack kind of handstands out of a short hurricanrana then Hayata dropkicks him while he handstands. Hayata scissors the arms with his legs and slams him down then he submits him with a flipping hammerlock as he lays on his stomach.

There was nothing wrong with this. Hayata worked the arm and got the win with a submission on it. I would have liked to have gotten to see more of Mack's flips and stuff though.

GHC National Championship - El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. (c) vs. Hideki Suzuki

Doc taunts him and is immediately knocked down with a forearm for it. Doc goes up top and takes a guillotine choke then Doc rolls down to the floor. Suzuki chinlocks him then cravates him. He twists his neck with his feet. Doc hits slaps and a headbutt then he dropkicks him off the top. Suzuki rolls out and is tope'd over the rail. Suzuki tombstones him then hits a dragon suplex for 2. They trade strikes then Doc does a walk up the buckles knee. Doc does a stiff top rope superplex into a michinoku driver.

Doc does a top rope moonsault but Suzuki gets his feet up. Suzuki does the Garvin stomp. They roll each other up and Doc wins it with a roll-up.

This was a styles clash but they made it work. I didn't expect to like this at all, but it ended up being interesting. This is one of the better matches I've seen Suzuki have.

Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya & Yoshiki Inamura vs. Kongo (Katsuhiko Nakajima, Kenoh & Manabu Soya)

KN = Katushiko Nakajima

Go and KN lock up. KN gets chopped and goes down. Kaito and Ken go at it and Kaito armdrags him just to get facekicked after. Kaito does an elbow drop for 2. Soya and Ina go at it and do a test of strength. They battle over a hiptoss and Ina hits a big slam. He then misses an elbow and is shouldered over. Go's team is knocked off the apron and Kongo does a 3v1 stomp on Ina. Go comes in to make the save and takes moves from all 3.

KN facekicks Ina in the corner. Ina hits forearms on Ken then is kicked in the chest. Ina brainbusters him. Ina clears off the other 2 Kongo members then spinning slams Ken. Kaito gets in and hits a nice dropkick on Ken. Kaito then top rope dropkicks him and hits corner punches. Ken spin kicks him in the gut then Kaito does a big sell on his superkick. Soya bulldogs Kaito for 2. Kaito goes for a crossbody on Soya but is caught and brainbustered.

Kaito flying knees Soya then Go flying shoulders KN. Go hits machine gun chops on KN then KN and Go trade chops. They trade chops for kicks then Go lariats him with his other arm. Ina overhead belly to bellies KN then Kaito shining wizards KN. Go hits a go flasher on KN.

KN falls down and avoids a Go lariat then Go takes a top rope double stomp + slam combo. Go takes alternating kicks from KN and Ken then KN hits a PK on Go. KN brainbusters Go and picks up the win.

It was a good 6 man, as usually the case with 6 man tags. Lots of stiff shots here and they kept the action moving.

GHC Title - Jake Lee (c) vs Naomichi Marufuji

Not much happens early. Lee hits a big back body drop then drives Maru into the rails outside. Lee is on the apron and Maru sweeps his leg. He then springboards and dropkicks him as he is laying on the bottom rope. Lee is thrown into the rails again then Maru bulldogs him by jumping over the rail. Maru wrings his arm around the post then puts his shoulder into the post. Maru armbars him and Lee ropebreaks.

Maru hits chops then Kawada kicks. Maru gets a stun gun and bangs his head off the buckle. Lee slams Maru then hits strikes. Maru hits kicks and a hook kick out of the corner. Maru cartwheels out of an irish whip and dropkicks Lee, then Lee shoulders him over. Lee takes a hook kick on the apron then Maru shiranui's him on the apron. They get back in and Maru does a springboard rider kick while he is down.

Maru goes for an up and over in the corner but takes a knee to the face. Lee misses a running face kick, gets his leg stuck on the ropes and takes a pumping knee. Maru hits a shiranui for 2. They go up top and Maru hits a top rope shiranui. Lee gets up in no time and hits a brainbuster. Maru keylocks him then hits knees. Maru hits knees to the gut then jumps off the ref's back with a knee for 2. Maru pumping knees him.

Lee high kicks him then hits a knee to the face. Lee backdrops him for 2 then running knees him in the gut. Lee running facekicks him and wins it.

I wasn't real into this one. Nothing happened at all early and the endless knees didn't look that great nor did they feel like they meant all that much. It wasn't horrible, but not my favorite match. The selling left a lot to be desired too.

Overall thoughts: It was a long but very good event. There weren't many bad matches and the variety on this show was second to none. A lot of people overperformed here and the usual NOAH issues with things going on too long weren't a big problem here.