Pro Wrestling NOAH N-1 Victory August 25th 2024

Welcome back for the final night of the regular N-1 before we hit finals and such forth. We got 843 in Nagoya and hopefully it’ll be a strong finish to a kinda…okay show.

Manabu Soya & Yu Owada vs. Luis Mante & Shuhei Taniguchi

Background: Soya and Luis’ matches were cancelled due to their opponents being hurt so instead we’re getting them teaming with rising rookie Yu Owada, and weird Frankenstein’s Monster Shuhei Taniguchi. No stakes to this one but they’re on the card.

The Match: Mante and Manabu start and do a lockup to a standstill and then an international but Soya slugs down the Mexican with power but Mante gets a kip-up and a dropkick to get in Shuhei, and Soya brings in Owada…who gets immediately no-sold by Tani. Owada finally gets a reverse springboard crossbody and a dropkick to stun the vet but he can’t get a slam and Shuhei reverses and in comes Mante. Backbreakers and chops keep the DragonGate man in control and they’re not exactly working a million miles a minute here. Luis and Shuhei cycle through more heat on Owada who at least is always bumping around and selling big and doing stumbling mini-comebacks to keep the segment vaguely alive. A dropkick finally loads up the hot tag and Soya runs in with a bulldog on Mante and a big brainbuster. Manabu’s lariat is blocked with a boot though and Luis goes after the arm before bringing in Shu for some doubles and we get Taniguchi slamming everybody onto Soya. Owada takes out Mante though with a low-bridge and Shuhei and Soya slug it out with Manabu getting a jumping clothesline and then a sleeper…and then a dragon sleeper! And that gets the tap.

**¼

Just a tag match but Owada was actually trying really hard and had a pretty solid Ricky Morton sequence.

Alpha Wolf [3] vs. Titus Alexander [8] – B Block Match

Background: So after a hot start, Wolf has NOT had a good tournament and he’s had a lot of losses, Titus meanwhile is still technically alive due to weird tiebreaker stuff potentially. They’re both the ‘movez-iest’ guys in the tournament though, so this should be explosive.

The Match: Lockup to start and some standing grappling, and then some grounded grappling as Alpha takes the leg! This is…much more fundamental than I expected so far. Titus gets some wrist stuff and a kip-up into a headlock and both guys jockey for position before they do an international and Titus wins with a dropkick. Alexander goes for the handspring next but Wolf chops him out of the air and after some more strikes he cranks in a single-leg crab…and bites the foot. Ropebreak but Wolf does some more biting and some heavy chops as he tosses Titus outside for some mayhem on the floor. Back in and Wolf continues to demolish Titus with overhead chops and then he pays tribute to Dragon (uh, American, not Bane) and does the double-wristclutch head stomps on Titus before getting an absolutely monster forearm on Alexander. Titus manages to evade more biting though and gets a big crossbody and runs through his sequence with a float-over out of the corner into the rolling back kick and then the rolling snapmare into a brainbuster. The luchador bails and Titus follows with a tope, back in and Alexander runs into a thrust kick from Alpha and then a deathlock as we get some slick technical stuff from the Mexican. Another ropebreak and Titus is selling the leg pretty big…for right now. Slug fest but TItus has no base and Wolf just demolishes him with a roaring elbow but Titus gets a Destroyer…and Wolf gets the crucifix bomb in response, Wolf gets the springboard moonsault but Titus gets the knees up and Alexander is spring enough now to get a frog splash…which would bother me less if he didn’t vault over the ropes and land on both feet. Alpha tries the Wolf Driver but Titus flips out and gets a superkick and the handspring cutter. Back up and we get Wolf with the Big Ugly that honestly looks better than when Titus hits it, but Wolf has like…20-30 pounds on the guy. Wolf Driver follows and that’s 3.

***

Probably the best match Wolf wrestled in the tournament, it’s notable that he needed to tone down some of his super crazy dives that were hurting guys, so him changing up and wrestling as a bruising, physical, heel-ish sorta guy that demolished guys with strikes and some cheating worked for him. Titus still needs to consistently sell damage to his body, but he did flop around beautifully for Wolf’s stuff. Much more down to earth than I expected but it was the better for that.

Masa Kitamiya [5] vs. Ryohei Oiwa [7] – A Block Match

Background: Two somewhat similar guys, with Masa being more of a brawler and Oiwa being more technical and a classic power guy. Still, Masa is out of contention but an Oiwa win is needed for him to have a sniff at winning the A Block.

The Match: Both guys fight over a wristlock and do some headlock reversal stuff as its very “two beefy guys screaming and jostling for position” so far. That continues for a good 3 minutes and we finally get to the shoulderblocks. Masa flexes and chops and Oiwa gets a shoulder to knock the NOAH guy down. And down we go as Oiwa cranks on an armbar on the mat. Back up and Masa misses a senton and Oiwa goes back to the armbar. Masa gets up, tries to fire some strikes, and Ryohei takes him down and works the arm. Rinse, repeat. Masa finally explodes out of the corner with a shoulder, Masa gets a Samoan Drop and sets up the piledriver but Ryohei blocks it and we get some run and gun before an Oiwa brainbuster. Corner clothesline and running splash follows by the New Japan man, but he can’t get the gutwrench and Masa goes for the legs with a kneecrusher but a spear is countered with a suplex. Lariat attempt by OIwa is blocked though and Masa goes back to the legs with a dragonscrew and then a facebuster but we get the Prison Lock and Kitamiya flexes while Oiwa wails. Ryohei finally breaks with an inside cradle but Masa gets the senton and goes up for a diving senton…but Oiwa cuts him off and tosses him off the top. Dropkick by Oiwa whose leg is fine now and then a lariat by Masa whose arm is fine now. O’Connor roll by Oiwa, spear by Masa, who sets up the piledriver and lands it this time, that gets a 2 count as Oiwa breaks with a foot on the ropes. Masa goes up and gets the diving senton this time and that’s 3.

*¾

Man I just do not enjoy Masa Kitamiya. And while I don’t blame Ryohei, he just is not yet a dynamic enough performer to make up for Masa’s shortcomings. The dodgy selling, the repetitive offense, the limited taunts, just him brute-forcing everything into his style of match, not with a sense of “he’s such a force he makes you wrestle HIS way” but instead just a guy too limited to do anything else. Bad stuff here.

Akitoshi Saito, Kai Fujimura & Mohammed Yone vs. Hajime Ohara, Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura

Background: So this is uh…not the most impressive match here. Saito is beyond washed, Yone is close to it, and Kai is probably the weakest rookie/junior they have. The other side having tag champs Maru and Sugi makes me alarmed they might be losing to set up a match later on, Ohara is decent at least.

The Match: Yone and Maru start with a lockup and a clean break but Yone explodes out with a shoulder and we get some power stuff from Yone but Naomichi uses his ‘speed’ to dodge a leg drop. Saito and Sugiura come in and trade strikes and Akitoshi knocks him down with a shoulder and in comes Kai and Ohara to run a junior sequence with armdrags and Hajime gets the bow-and-arrow hold. Both up and we go relatively fast with a Kai armdrag and the flip senton. But Ohara wraps him up in a whacky lucha hold anyway. Sugiura gets the slam and Maru comes in next for some chops on the kid. But Kai gets a few high-flying moves and in comes Saito as Marufuji flops around for him off of some ura-nages. Maru ducks a boot though and is about to unleash a flurry before Saito gets the claw slam but Maru gets a flash knee strike and that lets him tag in Takashi who does his regular flurry on Akitoshi who really just can’t bump anymore. So Saito just…reverses it and kicks Sugiura around and brings in Yone to wail on Takashi. And they just trash everybody and even land a back suplex/powerbomb combo before wiping out all of Sugiura’s team. Yone lariats Sugiura for 2 and the Funky One loads up a Muscle Buster next but Naomichi breaks it up…but Sugiura accidentally kicks him and we’re back to Yone and Takashi and we get a double tag to the juniors. They fight over a brainbuster and run through a small package spot before Kai rolls into the move for a nearfall but Hajime gets a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker and then the whacky arm-clutch legsweep into the arm-trap crab but Yone breaks it up. Kai gets a dropkick and in comes Saito to take out everybody with ura-nage’s. And then Saito gets a ‘jump’ kick and that’s enough to pin Ohara.

¾*

That’s probably too high but Saito was moving as well as he can. Terrible match filled with old guys that can barely do anything and to make it worse Saito wins.

Post-match it looks like Saito challenges for the tag-titles. Oh lord.

Tavion Heights vs. Ulka Sasaki – B Block Match

Background: So we got a battle of the ‘real’ fighters with Tavion being an Olympian and Ulka being a MMA guy. Both are relatively green with Tavion having the size advantage but Ulka having more success in wrestling so far. Ulka is eliminated from the tournament but Tavion has an in if he wins if Kenoh draws ad you’d have a triple threat. Still, Ulka is a champ and wants to have some pride as he goes into his final match of the tournament. Both are dressed in the regular.

The Match: Handshake of respect to start us out and they circle and tease takedowns. Tavion easily takes him down with an ankle pick and a legsweep but when he goes for it again Ulka gets an enzuigiri. Seems like they’re playing striker vs. grappler today. To further that Sasaki gets a back elbow to stop a gutwrentch but Tavion takes him down scary fast and rides the back a while and goes for some pinfalls that Ulka slips out of before Heights cranks in a headlock. Back to standing and Tavion clotheslines the champion over the top ropes and they work that count for a bit. Tavion stomps him outside the ring and tosses Ulka back in…who catches Tavion posing on the apron with a kick and a knee. Back in and now it’s Ulka’s time to dominate on the mat as he has actual submissions he flows through while Tavion squirms and sells and arches his back to escape the kneebar. Back up and Tavion builds space with a scoop powerslam and he shakes his leg out and slugs it out with Ulka who takes over with some palm thrusts and a jump kick. More kicks set up a running cutter and Ulka is feeling it, alas Tavion is too, who fires up and goes for the legs again…only to run into a monster knee from Sasaki. Fantastic. A second running cutter is cut off though and Tavion hits a gutrench…lets call it a suplex and then unleases some ground and pound before a big toss belly-to-belly and his awkward spinning neckbreaker/mat slam/inverted bulldog, I dunno what to call it, it looks bad. Ulka gets a sleeper outta nowhere though but Tavion flips him over and takes his head off with a jumping lariat…but on the pinfall attempt Ulka gets a kimura into a sleeper and when Tavion gets to his feet he reverses into an inverted heel hook and Tavion taps.

***½

Maybe a teensy high but I thought they built up the skills of both guys well and Ulka going back to his “flash submission” game was nice as a final result for the guy in the tournament. He even sold more naturally here than he was doing as Sasaki worked through some classic grappler takedowns with some fun counters and ragdolled as needed. But also respect to Tavion who has been really awesome this tournament, bumping well, displaying charisma and personality and really living up to his potential as a tremendous athlete with tons of natural ability.

Dragon Bane [6] vs. Josh Briggs [8] – A Block Match

Background: Bane is eliminated but Josh is still alive if he wins. Beyond that we got a Mexican luchador versus a big violent American…in Japan. Josh is WAY bigger than Bane here.

The Match: Josh talks trash before the match so oh boy, we’re getting a return of that version of him. Dragon bounces around and tries to avoid the lumbering American. The luchador takes the back and tries for a suplex while Briggs scratches his ear and shrugs it off, Bane sticks and moves though and gets a dropkick and then handsprings over Briggs back and gets a rana out of a chokebomb attempt to send Josh outside but his pescado gets caught and Josh slams him against the barricade and then whomps him some more as he plays to the crowd and taunts Dragon Bane fans. Bane sells big and then Josh spins him around and then drops an elbow as this is mostly a destruction so far. Release sidewalk slam and jumping frog splash follow as Briggs continues to play to the crowd. Bane gets a few strikes but is tossed down and stomped on in the corner and the crowd chants “Bane!!!” while the Mexican is getting abused by an ugly white guy from Arizona…hrm. Dragon gets a rope-assisted gamengiri but his springboard crossbody is caught…but he slips out of Josh’s slam and gets a kick flurry and a handspring elbow sends the NXT giant outside…and then Dragon Bane hits an absolutely absurd dive as he does a run-up springboard plancha OVER the barricade into a crossbody…thatt Josh just kinda collapses on. C’mon man, that could have been phenomenal. Josh is discombobulated for a while, but he tosses Bane off the ropes from the outside and lariats him off the rebound. Back inside and Josh goes for the chokebomb but Bane gets a knee out of the goozle, recovers from the standing moonsault being dodged, and then gets a flurry of kicks before running into a Bossman slam. Briggs signals for the lariat…and runs into a Spanish Fly for 2! Jumping knee from Bane! Poison rana! But Bane showboats too much and runs into a lariat from Josh for 3 anyway.

***¼

I was on pace for higher but Briggs just no-selling everything to hit a lariat was a tad disappointing for a finish. I’ve realized that I actually enjoy Josh when he’s wrestling guys way smaller than them and he doesn’t do his terrible constant trash-talk routine. Also this has just been a really good tournament for Dragon Bane who has fit the role of Vinnie Johnson style instant offense, but also is a great bumper who ate total feces throughout the tournament and flopped like a gutted fish when asked, great run by the youngster and am excited to see where his future lies.

Daga, HAYATA, Super Crazy, Tadasuke & YO-HEY vs. Alejandro, AMAKUSA, Eita, Junta Miyawaki & Shuji Kondo – Ten Man Tag Team Scramble Elimination Match

Background: So these are the challengers and contenders in the NOAH juniors division. Daga is hunting AMAKUSA’s belt, and HAYATA and YO-HEY are challenging Eita and Shuji for tag-gold. No idea what makes this match a scramble but the elimination rules mean what I think we all mean they mean this is going to be LONG. Or we’ll have over the top rope rules.

The Match: Daga and Eita start with wristlocks and other technical business, with them trading roll-ups. Standoff and more quick lucha routines follow and we get a double tag with Junta and HAYATA coming in. Junta goes to the injured arm of HAYATA until they transition into an international and Junta gets the better of the vet with a dropkick, but HAYATA gets an eye gouge and stomps away on the rookie. And then HAYATA and friends all run in to stomp on Junta and toss him around before Super Crazy comes in and Junta tags in Alejandro who gets more springboards and armdrags and we get Super Crazy walking away from a pescado…and Alejandro just springboards back in anyway, not falling for it. Shuji and YO-HEY next and Kondo just does the power routine while YO-HEY preens. The smaller cruiser avoids Shuji’s over the head German Suplex counter and gets a headscissors and Shuji bails for a bit. Reset and we get AMAKUSA and Tadasuke, with Taddy just stomping out the champ with straightforward aggression. HAYATA in on AMAKUSA next and HAYATA gets his regular business. HAYATA and pals run AMAKUSA into the ropes and work him over but the champ gets a tilt-a-whirl armdrag for a mild reprieve before being returned to the corner and stomped on. Super Crazy in and we continue the beating. This match could use an elimination soon. AMAKUSA breaks up a double-team by Crazy and Daga and almost gets Daga over the top rope before Crazy saves him so I think we have over the top rules as well. AMAKUSA finally tags in Junta who goes fast with a forearm and a missile dropkick. Crazy gets the rolling surfboard and Shuji breaks it up and they trade rollups and Junta reverses one for 3. Super Crazy is eliminated. HAYATA and YO-HEY go in to double Junta next but Miyawaki gets a dropkick and we get Alejandro and YO-HEY. More multi-teaming but Aleandro throws everybody around with lucha stuff and a fantastic jumping DDT on YO-HEY. But YO-HEY comes back with his picture-perfect dropsault and that takes out the fake Mexican. Alejandro is eliminated. Eita goes in on YO-HEY next The tag-champions (oh yeah Shuji and Eita are champs) work over challenger YO-HEY before Junta comes in. And man, this match is already too long and we still have EIGHT PEOPLE in it. Junta eats double-knees from YO-HEY and Tadasuke rolls in to stomp out Junta (though his brawling is far more energetic than most others) and he tears apart the youngers knee and loads up the spinning toehold and Junta taps. Junta Miyawaki is eliminated. We get some miscommunication from the RATELS guys though and Tadasuke runs into the Imperial Uno from Eita and he’s out. Tadasuke is eliminate…but Daga runs in and tries to toss Eita over the top and then pin him using the ropes…but both are foiled. The Diablo Wings is countered with a backdrop by Eita and in comes AMAKUSA who immediately runs into a pop-up X-Factor. Daga tries to press AMAKUSA over the top rope but is foiled with a rollup and they brawl a bit before AMAKUSA gets a springboard rana and then a double elimination with a powerbomb counter. AMAKUSA and Daga are eliminated. So now we have Eita and Shuji, the champs, versus YO-HEY and HAYATA, the challengers. We get some speed stuff and a twist of fate by YO-HEY HAYATA in and we get a high/low combo on Eita and then Shuji reverses the double (of course) and Eita recovers. YO-HEY gets caught up going after Shuji and eats an Imperial Uno and then a pumphandle knee strike from Eita for the elimination. YO-HEY is eliminated. And now the champs stomp out HAYATA and reverse a tornado DDT. Shuji gets the spear/side-slam combo and HAYATA is selling big. HAYATA ain’t doing that for long though and explodes into violence, getting the handspring kick on Eita and the Headache (short huracanrana) on Shuji for 3. Shuji Kondo is eliminated. And Eita immediately tosses HAYATA and that’s that as HAYATA is eliminated.

**¼

So…despite a really lame finish, the last part of the match was solid. But man at 25 minutes it was way too long for this. Some decent work mixed it and I do want to see the two title matches, but beyond that…meh. I will say this match wasn’t as bad as I feared, so…props there.

Kenoh [9] vs. Yoshiki Inamura [6] – B Block Match

Background: Kenoh is in with a tie or a win, Manabu is in with a Kenoh loss, nobody else has a shot. Kenoh is spite and kicks and Inamura is bravado and power and they haven’t interacted since Yoshiki has arrived in his current, credible form.

The Match: Inamura offers a handshake pre-match, and Kenoh accepts! Yoshiki easily wins the lockup and we get a clean break. Kenoh manages to reverse a second lockup into the ropes and gives his version of a clean break…and then slaps Inamura who responds in kind and they’re just slapping the heck out of each other and they both collapse. Back up to their feet and they slap it out some more but Kenoh gets a spin kick to break it up before Yoshiki gets a shoulderblock. And as Kenoh tries more slaps Inamura just flattens him with a few more shoulders and then stomps on the older wrestler. Yoshiki whips Kenoh around until the Rouge Fist (yes that is Kenoh’s nickname) gets a few big kicks and then takes Inamura outside to run him against the barricade, then he gets a drop toehold and a diving knee drop off the apron to soften up the midsection of the big guy. Back in and Kenoh ramps up the disrespect, just shoving the youngster around with his feet while Inamura rises to his feet and tries to fight back…but Kenoh just kicks him down with ease. Inamura tries tries some more strikes but gets shutdown with kicks…until Yoshiki just grabs Kenoh and slams him and drops an elbow. Inamura gets a corner splash and loads up the Vader Bomb, but Kenoh pops up and slaps the heck out of Inamura some more and then gets an ankle lock…that he uses to prop Yoshiki in the corner and kick him some more. Inamura blocks a PK though and after tanking some slaps he shoves Kenoh into the corner and loads up the Vader Bomb again…and Kenoh kips up (?!?!) but Yoshiki just slams the guy AGAIN and gets the Victory Splash (okay, sorry for calling it a Vader Bomb). That was a fun sequence. Yoshiki with a brainbuster and a huge spinning slam for 2. Kenoh slips out of a powerslam and gets a kick…but runs into a big forearm and we have a strike-off, but Kenoh can’t take advantage with a Dragon Suplex as Inamura breaks it, and then Kenoh’s running knees in the corner are caught and countered into a huge powerbomb. Kenoh fires back with a kick…but Yoshiki blocks it, forearm flurry and a short-arm elbow loads up a huge belly-to-belly for no cover, but Yoshiki sets up for the charging toss but eats a kick, but Yoshiki gets a spinebuster and a jackknife cover (?!) and then a jumping splash for a nearfall. Inamura escalates by going up for his diving splash but Kenoh evades it…but Inamura is so hyped up and Kenoh so worn out Yoshiki can still make the next move which is a Musou attempt that Kenoh elbows out of, running toss is blocked with a Kenoh slap, and the feint roundhouse sets up a spinning heel kick that knocks over the big guy. Kenoh gets something halfway between a PK and a Buzzsaw that looks absolutely nasty, Kenoh can’t immediately cover and Inamura looks pretty rocked here. But a second PK is ‘blocked’ by Inamura and the big guy gets a Musou and we get a LONG double-down as the ref is trying to figure out if Inamura can still remember his parents’ names. And I guess Inamura is somewhat okay (I hope!) cause Kenoh unleashes some kicks (to the chest at least) and then gets a PFS for the finish.

**½

Yeah…this was ugly. It was looking absolutely awesome as we got into the final sequence but Inamura got hurt and whatever vibes the match had died pretty badly. Hopefully Yoshiki is okay and they can run this back as these guys have pretty incredible chemistry together and had a lot of fun character interactions in the match we got. Anyway this means Kenoh won the B Block and is going to face whoever comes out of the A Block.

Kaito Kiyomiya [8] vs. Jack Morris [6] – A Block Match

Background: So Jack made his debut in NOAH by beating Kaito in his first match, so they do have a lot of history together and are mirrors of a sort. Both handsome, athletic, mildly undersized heavyweights that do a lot of moves that pays tribute to NOAH’s past. Jack is out, but Kaito is in it to win it here. Kinda disappointing to have two matches as the finals where it isn’t Winner Takes All but rather “winner needs to not lose or win to get it.” Just poor construction but obviously we had some injuries messing things up.

The Match: Both guys pose and soak up the cheers for a bit before locking up. Lockup and some standing switch stuff and wristlocks as both guys are portrayed on the same level. International and some loose armdrags between the two of them lead to a staredown. Headlock from Morris next and we get Jack with a shoulderblock (?!) that Kaito bumps for and then comes back with a dropkick and a tope is teased but Morris evades it and comes back with his own tope and then some flexing to the camera. Kaito is whipped across the barricades and Morris gets a flying forearm over them into the crowd and Jack bows and plays to the crowd. Back inside and when Morris climbs the top rope Kaito gets a desperation dropkick to the Scots knee to buy a breather. Kaito reverses a whip into another dropkick to the knee and then hammers on the Scots leg with basic but crisp stuff and cranks in a figure four. Jack can’t break it with power and makes the ropes, but Kaito dropkicks the leg again after the break. Jack can’t even run the ropes now as he spins and collapses in pain off of a whip. Kiyomiya just cranks away at the leg in the corner and whips Jack across the ring and Morris collapses, but he uses the ropes to get his feet up off a Kaito charge and gets a missile dropkick to buy a breather as he stretches out the leg and does a limping comeback. Jack gets a rope-assisted gamengiri and then another missile dropkick and I do appreciate he’s using the ropes a lot to hit this leaping offense here. More stretching of the leg and ‘adjusting the knee’ as Jack doesn’t take immediate advantage of his offense, this lets Kaito block the Falcon Arrow and get some rapidfire strikes, high back elbow, jumping forearm, dropkick. Kiyomiya kips up as Jack is crawling into the corner and the champ just destroys Jack with uppercuts and then after a second attempt at a rope-assisted gamengiri Kaito dropkicks Jack off the apron and follows with the Ultra Tiger Drop and both guys are down outside. Kaito gets Jack back inside and takes him down with a missile dropkick (man both guys love that move) and Kaito is a bit frustrated after a Jack kickout. Morris tries to regain feeling in the leg and he blocks a Tiger Suplex from Kaito and then we get some more strike and Jack attempts a TIger Suplex that’s blocked, they counter and dodge some more stuff from each other until they both go for their jumping knees at once and we get a pretty great double down. Both guys get up and limp towards each other and they trade strikes in the middle of the ring as their chops explode the sweat on the other’s chest. Jack gets an enzuigiri and a spinebuster though. Kaito looks out of it though and after a bit of struggle the Scot locks in the abdominal stretch. Kiyomiya eventually makes the ropes but the champ is selling the damage well. Morris goes for the Tiger Driver but Kaito flips out and gets a desperate standing Shining Wizard and they both collapse. When Morris goes for the Tiger Driver again the Japanese man gets a dragonscrew and then a series of dropkicks to the knee as Kaito has reversed his fortunes once again. Missile dropkick to the knee! Figure four and Jack is screaming in pain. Jack eventually makes the ropes but his leg looks totally done. Another dragonscrew and Shining Wizard looks academic here but Jack kicks out! TIger Suplex by Kaito gets 2.8 and th champ loads up the framing Shining Wizard but Jack ducks and gets the Good Looking Knee and the falcon arrow as Jack makes a one-legged comeback. Tiger Driver but Kaito gets the frankensteiner for 2.7 and then another Shining Wizard attempt is cutoff with a Good Looking Knee for a nearfall and Jack gets the full Shawn Michaels corner routine for another GLK and then a Tiger Driver and that’s…2.99 as Kaito kicks out. That doesn’t flummox Jack though who goes up for the SSP…into Kaito’s knees. And Kaito gets the springboard reverse Shining Wizard and the framing taunt sets up the Transformed Shining Wizard for 3.

***¾

Well this was quite swell! Jack even sold the heck out of his knee for most of the match and the final sequence he did all the adrenaline spots that will make you forget about it. Kaito did his whole routine, and he both dis a desperate fiery babyface comeback, but also absolutely controlled the offense of the majority of the bout as he worked Jack over…and he didn’t feel like two different wrestlers. The guy mechanically destroying a guys kneecap and the dude making last-ditch kickouts and dramatic and athletic leaps out of the corner to set up knee strikes to buy him space and build momentum felt cohesive and complete. Morris still lacks a bit of connective tissue between all of his aspects, but he was charismatic and sympathetic and he got some really hot nearfalls at the end with precision timing on some of his big moves. Well done lads.

Post-match and Kenoh comes out and we have the staredown between both block winners though we just get some yelling and nothing physical…yet.

Well, that’s the last of the regular block matches but we still have one last match for this tournament that I promise I’ll get to faster than the rest of these reviews. Overall, this was not a great tournament for NOAH from either a match quality perspective (though obviously it had plenty of very good stuff) and the booking makes me scratch my head. Kaito and Kenoh have so much history together, and the heat from them as partners and co-leaders in a stable feels like it could set up a really heated match down the line without having it also be what you spend the N1 tournament on. There are a lot of heavyweights in NOAH that the company needs to restock. Nakajima left, Go is falling apart, Takashi and Marufuji are just not capable of making it through tournaments, Jake Lee is gone, you need to restock yourselves here, and while I get that El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. got hurt, I dunno if he was winning anyway, so not giving it to a guy like Soya or Inamura, or even Jack Morris feels really bizarre to me. Yes Kenoh vs. Kaito is your hottest rivalry, but it’s also something we’ve seen a lot of already and we need more names and newer names in the mix. Missed opportunity from NOAH here though obviously I still have tons of love for the company, these guys need to get it together as the booking has been especially heinous even by their standards.

A Block:
Kaito: 10
Josh: 10
Luis: 8
Masa: 7
Oiwa: 7
Dragon: 6
Jack: 6
Atsushi: 0

B Block:
Kenoh: 11
Manabu: 10
Titus: 8
Tavion: 8
Ulka: 6
Yoshiki: 6
Alpha: 5
Wagner: 2