Pro Wrestling NOAH 11/17/2024 Akitoshi Saito Retirement Show ~ Deathtiny ~

Pro Wrestling NOAH 11/17/2024 Akitoshi Saito Retirement Show ~ Deathtiny ~

Alpha Wolf, El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. & Galeno Del Mal vs. Daiki Odashima, Junta Miyawaki & Yu Owada

The two teams stare down and shove eachother. Owada hammerlocks Wolf then armdrags him. Wolf armdrags him then Owada flips off of him. Owada side headlock takeovers him and they try to dropkick each other at the same time. They then headflip up at the same time.

Mal and Jun go at it. Mal blocks his armdrag and Jun flying forearms him. Mal shoulders him over. Hijo and Daiki go at it. They shake hands. Hijo armlocks him then slams him. Wolf bites Daiki's hand. Mal facekicks Daiki for 2.

Hijo tires pins on Daiki. Daiki tries to slam him but can't. Hijo chops down Owada when he gets in. Owada flips him over then dropkicks him. Wolf runs at Jun in the ring and takes a back body drop out. Jun then triangle plancha's him outside.

Owada top rope plancha's Mal outside then springboard crossbodies Hijo. Hijo superkicks him and lariats him over for 2. Hijo hits splash mountain on Owada and pins him.

Thoughts: It didn't get enough time for the amount of people involved. The luchadores didn't get to do that much here and I don't even think we got a single dive from any of them.

AMAKUSA, Hitoshi Kumano, Mohammed Yone & Shuhei Taniguchi vs. Anthony Greene, Eita, Harutoki & LJ Cleary

AG = Anthony Greene, Shu = Shuhei Tanaguchi, Ama = Amakusa

Yone clean breaks AG. AJ hits a jawbreaker into a neckbreaker. Yone sick kicks him. Kumano and Haru get in. Kumano hits forearms and is spin kicked in the gut. Kumano forearms him in the gut and Haru step up enzugiri's him. Haru lifts him in the air and Shu breaks it up.

Haru huptosses Kumano and monkey flips onto Ama. LJ gets in poses between punches on Ama. LJ 2nd rope springboard armdrags him then dropkicks him for 2. LJ and Eita argue. Ama is caught off a springboard by Eita and LJ. Ama hiptosses Eita into an axe kick to the head.

Things break down and Shu hits a double lariat. Shu lariats AG over the top then lariats Eita. Eita rolls Shu into a crucifix for 2. Eita ties his arms up and the ref stops it without Shu even tapping out.

Thoughts: This was a short waste of time. Multiple people got nearly nothing in here.

Atsushi Kotoge, Go Shiozaki & Hajime Ohara vs. All Rebellion (Alejandro, Kai Fujimura & Kenoh)

Ale = Alejandro

It's not often you see Ken this low on the card. Ohara wristlocks Ale then trips him. Ale kicks him from the apron and does a nice seated springboard armdrag. He sends Ohara out and teases a dive on him.

Kai rolls over Kotoge's back and armdrags him. Kai then 2nd rope twisting swantons him for 2. Kotoge headbutts him. Kai gets his back triple clubbed on then Ale does as well.

Kai headscissors Kotoge from behind off the buckles. Kotoge takes a triple team basement dropkick from his opponents. Ken kicks Kotoge in the back for 2. Kotoge slingshot rolls in and cutters Ken. Go gets in and chops Ken. Go flying shoulders Ken.

They trade chops for chest kicks. Go ridge hand chops him for 2. Go fisherman busters him for 2. Ken pele kicks Go then dragon suplexes him. Ale is tagged in. Go takes a double superkick to the head from Kai and Ale. Kai flipping sentons him then Ale top rope splashes him.

Alex rolls up Go for 2. Ale cradles him. Ken facekicks Go and Ale crucifixes and backrollls him for 2. Go blocks Ale's ddt and go flashers him. Go hits a big lariat on Ale and pins him.

Thoughts: It was a another short one. We got a little taste of everything but not much more. And it's a shame as if they got the time, this could have been great. It was a nothing match overall though.

Jack Morris vs. Ulka Sasaki

Jack tries to attack Ulka before it starts. Ulka stops him and hits some punches. Ulka facekicks him and gets his entrance gear off. Jack is sent into the rails.

They get back in and Jack back elbows him. Jack 2nd rope twisting crossbodies Ulka for 2. Jack footchokes Ulka  then Yoshitatsu chokes Ulka outside. Jack boots on Ulka in the corner then foot chokes him. Jack suplexes him for 2.

Ulka botches his slingblade style ddt. Ulka strike combos him. Yoshi pulls his own buddy Jack out then Ulka planchas both. Jack twisting dives him off the buckles and is caught with a cutter. Ulka rolls Jack around into a pin attempt for 2. Ulka stunners him then Jack hits a spinebuster. Jack running knees him and hits a tiger driver for 2.

Ulka germans him then jackhammers him for 2. Jack pushes Ulka into the ref then low blows him. Yoshi comes in and Ulka high kicks Yoshi. Jack rolls up Ulka for 2. Ulka flying knees Jack and backdrops him for the win.

Thoughts: It wasn't good. Neither guy is that great of a worker and this had a ref bump and interference which is not something you expect to see in Noah.

Kazuyuki Fujita & Manabu Soya vs. Masa Kitamiya & Shuji Kondo

Kaz and Masa go at it. Kaz slams him. Masa forearms him and slams him back twice. Kaz forearms him and slams him multiple times. Kaz boots Masa.

Soya gets in and calls for Kondo to get in. Kondo does not. Masa wristlocks Soya then hammerlocks him. Soya side headlocks him then wristlocks him. Masa hammerlocks Soya and sends his shoulder into the buckles.

Soya and Kondo trade forearms. Soya nodowa otoshi's him. Kondo gets stomped on in the corner by both opponents then takes a double shoulder. Kaz running back elbows Kondo then slams him. 

Kaz single leg crabs Kondo and Kondo ropebreaks. Kondo boots Kaz out of the corner and Kaz blocks his spear attempt. Kondo suplexes Kaz. Masa double chops Soya then Soya flying lariats him. Soya hits a corner lariat on Masa and bulldogs him for 2. They shoulder battle and Masa samoan drops him. Masa sentons him.

Masa suplexes him. Soya holds on and suplexes him back. Masa bangs Soya's head off the mat then prison locks him. Masa corner lariats Soya then Soya death valley drivers him.

Kondo and Soya lariat battle then Masa spears Soya. Masa backdrops Soya and pins him.

Thoughts: I didn't like Soya getting pinned here so quick. This was fine once they got Fujita out of there as he just slowed things down and messed up the flow. Masa, Soya and Kondo aren't that different from each other and were going to work well together.

Fujita and Masa trade forearms after. 

GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Title Match - RATEL'S (HAYATA & YO-HEY) (c) vs. RATEL'S (Tadasuke & Yuto Kikuchi)

Yuto and Yo go at it. Yuto handsprings over him and flips off the ropes. Yuto cartwheels out of a flying headscissors. Yuto walks up the buckles, rope walks and springboard armdrags him. Yuto then dropkicks him. Yuto goes for the dive but handsprings away.

Tada and Haya go at it. Haya side headlocks him and shoulders him over. Haya double stomps Tada's back. Tada flying euros him. Tada takes a double spinebuster then a basement dropkick. Yuto flying headscissors Haya then dropkicks Yo.

Yuto tope con hilos both opponents. Haya takes a backbreaker + top rope double footstomp. Tada headbutts Haya then Yo top rope dropkicks Tada. Yo hits a jumping kick on Tada then cutters him for 2.

Tada atomic drops Yo then hits a a half-package piledriver on him. Yo hits a double dropkick on his opponents. Haya is tagged in. He shoulders Yuto over then throws him into the post shoulder first.  W get some fast action and Tada lariats Yo over.

Yuto dropkicks Haya then he springboard dropkicks him for 2. All 4 men are down. The four trade forearms. Yuto handspring kicks Yo and Yo gets lariated over by Tda. Tada  spinning toe holds Haya then powerbombs YO onto Haya's knees.

Yuto electric chairs drops Yo onto his chest. Yuto hits a big forearm on Haya then does a swinging drop on him for 2. Haya headscissors Yuto into the buckles. Yo top rope meteora's Tada. Yuto is lifted into a cutter for 2.

Haya hits a nasty elevated ddt/brainbuster on Yuto and pins him.

Thoughts: Not great but it had some good moments here. They didn't overdo it in this one and it was nice to see a little flying after a few matches without it. It got hard to tell who was who at points here with 3 of the fear wearing similar gear and having dyed blonde hair.

They all are friendly with each other after.

GHC Junior Heavyweight Title Match - Daga (c) vs. Dragon Bane

Daga wristlocks him. Bane headflips out and wristlocks him. Daga grabs the ref and flips out of the wristlocks that way. Daga rolls and reverses it and rolls with Bane when Bane tries to reverse it. Daga side headlock takeovers him, Bane headscissors him and they stand off.

They counter each other on the mat then get up and regroup again. Daga side headlocks him then shoulders him over. Bane flying headscissors him into the ropes and armdrags him off of it. Daga armdrags him then flying headscissors him but Bane headflips out. Daga flips over Bane's back and they trade pin attempts.

Daga boots Bane and forearms him. Bane hits a nice dropkick on Daga. Bane is dropkicked off the apron then Daga tornillos him over the top. Daga backdrops Bane on the apron. 

Bane is sent into the post an they go back in. Daga hits forearms to the back of Bane's head. Daga sends Bane into the buckles then ddt's him. Daga enzugiri's him then backdrops him for 2. Bane springboards but is caught with an overhead suplex.

Daga foot slaps Bane. Bane kips down, kips up and superkicks him. Bane flying headscissors him. Bane walks up the ropes and blind moonsaults outside. They get back in and trade forearms. Bane spin kicks him and kicks him in the head. Daga lariats Bane over and Bane hits a botched standing spanish fly.

They fight on the buckles and Bane goes down. Bane pele kicks Daga against the top rope. Bane springboards and botches a move on him for 2. Bane hits a top rope ssp on Daga for 2. Daga rolls Bane into a double stomp. Bane rolls him up for 2.

Daga grounded guillotine chokes Bane and Bane ropebreaks. Bane hits a made in japan for 2. Daga rolls him up off of his shoulder then Daga sitout powerbombs him for 2. Bane headscissors him out of a tiger driver attempt.

Daga poisonrana's Bane for 2. Daga hits a double underhook codebreaker on Bane and wins.

Thoughts: It completely fell apart after the top rope moonsault outside and it was just not good. There were multiple botches and they didn't sell like usual. I didn't like this at all.

Eita comes out to challenge Daga after.

We get a nice package on Akitoshi Saito. Saito comes out with a flag and Mitusharu Misawa's robe. Both guys are crying.

Akitoshi Saito Retirement Match - Akitoshi Saito vs. Naomichi Marufuji

Saito clean breaks him on the ropes. Maru chops him and side headlocks him. Saito runs through a chop and shoulders him over. Maru is thrown over the top. Saito is thrown into the rails and shoulders Maru over. Saito uranages him on the apron.

Saito side headlocks him then headbutts him. Saito knees him in the gut then piledrivers him. Saito goes for a gut punch, Maru kicks his fist away and superkicks him. Maru chops him against the post. Maru chinlocks him then hits Kawada kicks. Saito delay suplexes him. Saito corner lariats Maru then running forearms him in the corner. Maru goes for a shiranui and is lariated down. Maru hits kicks and spin kicks him in the face. Maru hits a shiranui for 2. Maru does a Misawa-style facelock on Saito.

They trade chops for forearms. Maru superkicks him and Saito backfists him. Saito hits an iron claw slam for 2. Saito enzugiri's him and running kicks him in the back of the head for 2.

Saito takes a chop and lariats him over. Maru blocks an enzugiri with a knee. Maru hits pumping knees and hook kicks. Maru drops him for 2. Maru hammerlocks him and hits a hard knee that shakes his head. Maru hits an emerald flowsion on him for 2.

Saito backdrops him. Maru no sells it and hits forearms. Maru running forearms him over and wins.

Thoughts: It was average for the most part. It just had a slower pace to it. They mostly stuck to strikes and they kind of ran out of new strikes to do here after a while. Maru's selling wasn't that good here and it it just didn't have the big dramatic parts you would hope for.

They bow at each other after and we see people like Keiji Mutoh and Matsunaga. Saito is given flowers and has his retirement ceremony after. He thanks Misawa and says he will still remain part of Noah. 

GHC Title - Kaito Kiyomiya (c) vs Takashi Sugiura

KK back elbows him and elbow drops him. Sugi snapmares him and kicks him in the back. Sugi backs up KK on the ropes and slaps him. KK armdrags him then armlocks him. KK does another armdrag into an armlock. Sugi facekicks him and shoulders him over. Sugi misses a corner charge and goes into the post shoulder first. KK then dragon screws him from behind.

KK butt drops the leg then figure fours him. Sugi immediately ropebreaks. Sugi's leg is banged off the post then bangs off the apron. KK hits forearms and Sugi fires back. KK euros him. Sugi hits a gordbuster then corner facekicks him. KK hits euros in the corner.

Sugi hits forearms then spears him. Sugi knees him in the gut. KK is laid on the top rope and facekicked out into the rail. KK is whipped into the rails. KK running dropkicks him outside. KK catches his neck in the ropes when he tries to somersault on the ropes onto the apron.

KK suplexes Sugi. KK hits a top rope dropkicks on Sugi. Sugi blocks a shining wizard. They trade forearms. KK hits a nice dropkick but Sugi no sells it and knees him in the gut.  Sugi suplexes KK over the top to the floor form the inside. Sugi magic screws him on the wooden floorboards. Sugi facekicks him in the corner and running knees him in the corner. Sugi 2nd rope delay superplexes him. Sugi crabs him and Kaito ropebreaks.

KK hurricanrana's him then dropkicks him in the knee. KK dragon screws him. KK dropkicks him in the knee several times. Kaito misses a top rope dropkick and Sugi ankle locks him. KK escapes and dragon screws him. KK then puts him in a figure four.

KK hits a shining wizard for 2. KK tiger suplexes him for 2. Sugi hits a forearm flurry in the corner. Sugi running knees him in the corner then hits forearms. Sugi flurries him with forearms agains the bottom rope. Sugi top rope hurricarana's him and lariats him for 2. Sugi release germans him and running knees him for 2.

Sugi hits an olympic slam for 2. They go up top. KK headbutts him up there then shining wizards Sugi while Sugi sits up top. They trade forearms. Sugi forearm combos him and gets euro'd and they repeat the process. They slap flurry each other. KK dropkicks him and takes another big slap flurry. KK hits a standing shining wizard. Sugi lariats him and KK no sells it. KK then does down after a shot.

KK tiger suplexes him for 2. KK runs up the buckles to do a shining wizard but ends up just doing a spinning lariat.  KK 2nd rope shining wizards him from behind then hits a regular shining wizard. KK then picks up the pin.

Thoughts: Kaito did a bunch of leg work that wasn't sold that well by Sugi. The legwork is supposed to soften opponents up for the shining wizard and Kaito did do a lot of shining wizards here so that worked. I would have preferred they just skipped the legwork all together though and had Sugi beat the crap out of Kaito until Kaito made his comeback and won. There were some good pieces here but it didn't all come together that great. I just thought the match was average overall.

Kaito says he followed in Sugi's footsteps but he needs to leave it to him to caryr Noah forward. Sugi gives him a thumbs up. Kaito talks with his group after and Taishi Ozawa hits Kaito in the back of the head with his crutch. Yoshitatsu, Daga and Jack Morris then come out. They give Ozawa a black crutch and he hits Kaito with it several times and joins Team 2000 X.

Thoughts: It was a decent show overall. I thought the main had some issues and was average. I liked the turn though overall as it's something different with a fresh face. They didn't go too long on this show which I appreciated as other NOAH shows have been a lot longer. Saito's last match was average and the junior title match was a disaster. The junior tag match wasn't bad. I mostly liked the Soya tag. I'd give this one a 6 out of 10 overall. I don't think I would recommend it though.