NOAH Great Voyage 1/8/05 Results

Nippon Budokan Hall drawing 16,700 fans
1. Haruka Eigen beat Mitsuo Momota in 7:48 with a cradle.
Eigen said after the match that he wants to challenge for Naomichi Marufuji’s GHC Hardcore Title and that starting off 2005 with a win has increased his confidence in challenging for the title. Momota said after the match that he is behind Eigen in his effort and wants the fans to help encourage Eigen.
2. Dark Agents (Masao Inoue,Akitoshi Saito & Takashi Sugiura) defeated Jun Izumida, Kishin Kawabata & Tsuyoshi Kikuchi in 14:51 when Inoue used the Argentine Backbreaker on Kawabata.
3. Ricky Marvin, Yoshinari Ogawa & SUWA beat KENTA, Kotaro Suzuki & Mohammad Yone in 6:59 when SUWA used the FFF on Suzuki.
SUWA said that he hopes that this match isn’t a forecast for the year to come in NOAH for him because he wasn’t interested in this at all. SUWA hopes that NOAH will keep his interest up or he would find a place that would.
4. Naoki Sano & Akira Taue defeated Tamon Honda & Go Shiosaki in 13:10 when Sano used the Northern Lights Bomb on Shiosaki.
5. Naomichi Marufuji & Takeshi Morishima beat Jun Akiyama & Makoto Hashi in 12:18 when Morishima used a backdrop suplex hold on Hashi.
Morishima said after the match that he was glad to be back in the ring but he isn’t where he was before he was injured and he thinks that a trip to the United States may be best for him to get back into shape in the ring and outside the ring. Morishima said that he is interested in challenging for Marufuji’s GHC Hardcore Title and wants to work more in singles matches. Marufuji said after the match that he accepts Eigen’s challenge for the GHC Hardcore Title and wants the match to be on one of NOAH’s TV tapings so the fans can see the match and be entertained by Eigen’s comedy antics.
6. GHC Jr. Heavyweight Title: Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Tatsuhito Takaiwa in 18:22 with an avalanche-style vertical-drop brainbuster to retain his title.
Kanemaru said that Takaiwa was the more powerful man today but his speed & brains overcame the power and put him over the top. Dark Agents recruited Takaiwa before the match and Saito hopes that Takaiwa will become a full member of the DA.
7. Mitsuharu Misawa & Takeshi Rikio beat Shiro Koshinaka & Genichiro Tenryu in 15:53 when Rikio used the Muso on Koshinaka.
Misawa said after the match that Tenryu was just as good if not better in the ring now than he was the last time they met in 1990 and his fighting spirit hasn’t lowered. Rikio said after the match that he felt honored to be working against Tenryu since both are former sumos and tagging up with Misawa. Misawa also said that he wouldn’t mind working against Tenryu in a singles match but Jun Akiyama challenged for a match against Tenryu after the match and it could happen on 3/5 at Nippon Budokan Hall.
8. GHC Heavyweight Title: Kenta Kobashi defeated Minoru Suzuki in 25:22 with a short-arm lariat to retain his title.
Kobashi was challenged by Rikio after the match and Kobashi accepted his challenge for the title and it looks like Rikio will get his shot on 3/5 at Nippon Budokan Hall. Kobashi thanked the fans for being behind him today and wished them all a Happy New Year. Kobashi said that Suzuki was a formidable challenger for his title and said that he wouldn’t mind facing Suzuki in the ring again if the chance arose as Kobashi thinks that such an interesting character shouldn’t be monopolized by others. Suzuki said after the match that he had fun in the ring and that’s all that matters but he said that he drunk way too much sake last night and was working the match with a serious hangover which he said falling in the dressing room didn’t help him out either.

As of right now, Kobashi VS Rikioh for the GHC Title and Misawa VS Tenryu have both been confirmed for the 3/5/05 Budokan show. Marufuji is also scheduled to defend the Global Hardcore Crown against Eigen later this month.

Credit: Green Destiny