Venue: Nippon Budokan
Attendance: 5,088
*Japanese Commentary: Junji Shiono (play-by-play), Kou Inoue (commentary), Akitoshi Saito (Guest), Haru Wakamoto (Sumo Wrestler), Kouki Amarei (GHC Women’s Champion) & Rina Matsuki (Commentary Regular)
English Commentary: Stewart Fulton & Mark Pickering
- Both English and Japanese language options were available with the international PPV link.
RESULTS
- NOAH THE RUMBLE: Tadasuke won by eliminating LJ Cleary Over the Top Rope (23:54)
- GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championships: HAYATA & YO-HEY (c) defeated All Rebellion (Alejandro & Kai Fujimura) and AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki (8:20) – HAYATA pinned Alejandro after 403 Impact; 5th successful defense
- 8-Man NEW YEAR LIMIT BREAK: Go Shiozaki, Atsushi Kotoge, Hajime Ohara & Mohammed Yone defeat Black Menso-re, Kazuyuki Fujita, Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo (8:25) Shiozaki submitted Black Mensore with a Body Lock after a Lariat
- Defeat The Beast: Daiki Odashima vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (60 seconds) – Time Limit Draw
- Brother vs. Brother: Galeno Del Mal defeated El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. (9:52) Galeno Special/Pin
- NOAH 25th Anniversary Special: KENTA defeated KENOH (15:24) Go2Sleep/Pin – Highly Recommended
- GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship: Eita defeated Daga (c) [2:1] – Best Two Out of Three Falls
- GHC National Championship: Manabu Soya (c) defeated Masa Kitamiya (12:51) Passionate DDT/pin – Highly Recommended
- GHC Tag Team Championships: Team 2000X (Jack Morris & Omos) defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura (c) (10:48) Omos pinned Marufuji after a double chokeslam
- NEW YEAR FIRST DREAM: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Ulka Sasaki (14:57) Kinshasa/Pin (with a mist assist) – Recommended
- GHC Heavyweight Championship: OZAWA defeated Kaito Kiyomiya (c) (29:34) Real Rebel/Pin – Highly Recommended
Free Pre-show Matches – JP Audio
- Opening Remarks
- Marquee Match VTRs
- Full Match Card Reveal
- NOAH THE RUMBLE (53:50)
- Additional Commentary and Discussion
- GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Match (1:43:57)
NOAH THE RUMBLE: Tadasuke won by eliminating LJ Cleary Over the Top Rope (23:54)
Order of Entry
Yu Owada (1), Harutoki (2), Shuhei Taniguchi (3), Tadasuke (4) Yuto Kikuchi (5), LJ Cleary (6), Masao Inoue (7), Saxon Huxley (8), Zozaya (9), Masaaki Mochizuki (10),Titus Alexander (11), Dump Matsumoto (12) (23:54) – Won by eliminating LJ Cleary last Over the Top Rope
Order of Elimination
Yu Owada (1), Yuto Kikuchi (5), Dump Matsumoto (12), Saxon Huxley (8), Masao Inoue (7), Shuhei Taniguchi (3), Harutoki (2) & Zozaya (9), Masaaki Mochizuki (10), Titus Alexander (11)
Tadasuke won the rumble and not only received a ticket to challenge for a GHC Championship of his choosing, but a New Year’s money gift (otoshidama). Dump Matsumoto greeted the crowd, wishing them a happy 2025, asking why someone else’s music was played for her instead, if everyone watched and rewatched Queen of the Villains, and raised the spirits of the audience. “Stop cheering me like a baby face!”
GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Championships: HAYATA & YO-HEY (c) defeated Alejandro & Kai Fujimura and AMAKUSA & Junta Miyawaki (8:20) – HAYATA pinned Alejandro after 403 Impact; 5th successful defense
With their Jr. Tag League beginning in February, this was a nice reminder of how many capable junior heavyweights NOAH has in their company. This was a simple, fast-paced opener, and is a great preview of the possibilities in their division and the tournaments in 2025. I would like to see this be the year that Junta Miyawaki gets his flowers and a championship. No challenges presented themselves to RATELS after the match.
8-Man NEW YEAR LIMIT BREAK: Go Shiozaki, Atsushi Kotoge, Hajime Ohara & Mohammed Yone defeat Black Menso-re, Kazuyuki Fujita, Shuji Ishikawa & Tetsuya Endo (8:25) Shiozaki submitted Black Mensore with a Body Lock after a Lariat
Another short but sweet match that didn’t overstay its welcome. Black Mensore tried wishing Shiozaki a Happy Year of the Snake with a snake strike to the eye, and Shiozaki returned the favor with a massive lariat to ring in 2025. Loved getting to see Atsushi Kotoge pick a fight with DDT’s Tetsuya Endo after the match as well. I hope this builds to something special in 2025.
Defeat The Beast: Daiki Odashima vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (60 seconds) – Time Limit Draw
Odashima was originally listed for the NOAH Rumble, but before broadcast, it was announced that he would face one of the mountains of NOAH: Kazuyuki Fujita in a sixty-second singles match. Odashima got some great offense in, and Fujita gave him a powerbomb for his troubles as the match ended in a draw. After the match, Fujita offered his hand and ruffled Odajima’s hair in approval.
Brother vs. Brother: Galeno Del Mal defeated El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. (9:52) Galeno Special/Pin
With their mother in attendance, it was brother versus brother in a sub-10-minute match. Former GHC Champion El Hijo del Dr. Wagner, Jr. wore NOAH green while his younger brother wore turquoise blue. With a ten-year age gap, the younger GDM staged an upset, pinning his older brother, one of NOAH’s most decorated foreign wrestlers in modern history.
NOAH 25th Anniversary Special: KENTA defeated KENOH (15:24) Go2Sleep/Pin
In the build to his match, much like his other matches against NJPW talent, KENOH used his YouTube channel and cross-promote the match. He ventured across the country to Kagoshima to invite KENTA to participate in NJPW’s World Tag League. “All the tour stops throughout Japan and you pick this one out in the middle of nowhere? I have no reason to pass up a chance to wrestle in Budokan…” – KENTA
KENOH’s YouTube Channel was also instrumental in building this match-up outside of both NJPW and NOAH. Like with his previous matches with LIJ, he did a deep dive into KENTA’s wrestling career and even continued his tradition of purchasing his opponent’s merchandise, so he could show up at an autograph signing (full video) Much like KENTA’s entertaining G1 backstage promos, he leaned into KENOH’s enthusiasm to promote the match and celebrate their histories in NOAH. Additionally, NOAH uploaded KENOH’s 6th Anniversary match against KENTA in Tokushima from 2014 on their YouTube channel along with several other matches from KENTA’s career.
As much as I love KENTA’s current theme, “Cicatriz” by Kamixlo, I love that in honor of the 25th Anniversary celebration, he dug out his old NOAH track “Enio” by SebastiAn for the occasion. While many compare pre-WWE and post-WWE incarnations of KENTA, his continual appearances for NOAH have been some of my favorites. Not to be done on his 40th birthday, KENOH arrived with his hair dyed black in a nostalgic throwback to earlier in their careers. Every time KENTA returns home to NOAH, we get treated to the wrestler who was spirited away to WWE, and this match is no exception. This match brought out the shades of post-WWE fresh in NJPW with Katsuyori Shibata KENTA, the pre-Bullet Club baby face free agent. Even with a brief stint outside the ring, KENTA gave KENOH the match he wanted and long-time NOAH fans craved to see when KENTA returned to Japan.
The match was evenly balanced, with KENTA hitting all of his greatest hits, including bringing out GameOver and putting KENOH away with a Go2Sleep. This match was hard-hitting, emotional, and refreshing to see how much of an impression KENOH’s Omoibito (Muse) left on his fighting style and career. As strikers, they were evenly matched and complemented one another even throughout. After the match, KENOH asked for KENTA to shake hands like they did at the start of the match, but KENTA looked very conflicted, seeing as he’s a member of Bullet Club. Makes me wonder if one of the guys who shouldered NOAH in recent years and during KENTA’s absence, might have done the impossible– and gotten through to him.
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship: Eita defeated Daga (c) [2:1] – Best Two Out of Three Falls
- Fall 1 – Daga pins Eita after Diablo’s Wings (1:52) [1:0]
- Fall 2 – Eita pins Daga after Jackknife Pin (3:37) [1:1]
- Fall 3 – Eita pins Daga after Salamander (7:07) [2:1]
I enjoyed this match largely due to the lengthy, intertwined history between Daga and Eita dating back over ten years in Mexico and Eita being the one who brought Daga to Dragon Gate in 2018. The first two falls in the match happened in quick succession, and there was an act of desperation as Daga drove Eita through a table. One of my favorite moments was Daga catching Eita during a Tope and seamlessly– and almost effortlessly – placing him down outside of the barricades.
Eita’s previous reign with the GHC Jr. Championship was brief and without a successful defense, I think after this match and his 2025 looks bright. I hope they revisit this match much later in the year with or without the championship involved. It was a fast and efficient match and did not overstay its welcome at all.
Eita celebration was short-lived as the man responsible for ending his reign previously at forty-seven days and without a single successful defense, HAYATA started the challenger’s queue. Without a single word, Eita accepted and exited the arena.
GHC National Championship: Manabu Soya (c) defeated Masa Kitamiya (12:51) Passionate DDT/Pin
Soya and Kitamiya have been two wrestlers in NOAH who I have truly wanted large pushes for as they are consistent, reliable, powerful, and true workhorses. This match was definitely for those with long-term investments in their careers as well as those wanting a glimpse of the GHC Heavyweight Championship conversation in 2025. While Soya beat Ulka Sasaki in September for the National Championship, his defense road has been a hard-fought one with El Hijo de Dr. Wagner, Jr. and Shuji Kondo in the build-up to this match.
Both Soya and Kitamiya have grown leaps and bounds in 2024, so starting 2025 with a lean less-than-fifteen-minute bout with little breathing room and non-stop back-and-forth is the perfect means of giving the audience everything they want a match by leaving little to the imagination, while still leaving enough in the tank for intrigue and a rematch in the future. I would like to see them revisit this match during the summer, around the time of the N-1 VICTORY, if possible. Their handshake and exchange after the match led me to believe they both want a rematch when the time is right and should it work out, I think Kitamiya would be the most fitting one to end Soya’s reign with the red belt.
GHC Tag Team Championships: Team 2000X (Jack Morris & Omos with YOSHITATSU) defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Takashi Sugiura (c) (10:48) Omos pinned Marufuji after a double-handed chokeslam
The match was centered around Jack Morris squaring off against Sugiura and Marufuji, and the Champions trying just about everything to get a reaction out of Omos. The main attraction here was showcasing his height compared to the other wrestlers, even with Morris standing on his shoulders to dive onto Marufuji. YOSHITATSU assisted here and there including helping to take Sugiura out of the equation, and Marufuji got to examine the bright lights overhead courtesy of Omos before being driven down onto the mat.
I hope that Omos learns a lot during this time in NOAH as champion. It was mentioned by Mutoh on the commentary that Omos has a lot of interest in Japan, so I think this would be a keen learning opportunity for him.
NEW YEAR FIRST DREAM: Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Ulka Sasaki (14:57) Kinshasa/Pin (with a mist assist)
When Shinsuke Nakamura defeated The Great Muta at NOAH THE NEW YEAR 2023, fans wondered if it was simply a once-in-a-lifetime special circumstance. However, two years later to the day, Nakamura returned for a special singles match against MMA artist-turned-pro-wrestler, Ulka Sasaki. As expected the pageantry for this match, compared to the rest of the card so far, gave me WrestleMania vibes, especially with the taiko drums and conch shell horn for Nakamura’s entrance. Both costumes were steeped in Japanese folklore and mythology as well as history with Sasaki’s Tengu mask and gear featuring The Gods of Lightning (Raijin) and The Wind (Fuujin) and Nakamura’s demon samurai complete with a stunning kimono with peonies, and gi and hakama (kimono-trousers)-inspired all white ring gear. For Nakamura’s part, he went home to Kyoto to design a costume that encapsulates everything about Kyoto, his hometown.
What I love about seeing “WWE Superstar Shinsuke Nakamura” in a Pro-Wrestling NOAH ring is his ability to adjust his pace and wrestling flow to match his opponent. Not that he doesn’t do it in WWE, but in these special matches in NOAH, he had two very different matches, but consistently worked at covering the shortcomings of both Mutoh (due to retirement) and Sasaki (having just over one year of professional wrestling experience). In NOAH, Nakamura wove two very different stories– with MUTA it was saying farewell to someone who shaped his career, and with Sasaki it was establishing himself as the mountain to be scaled and the new big villain in the rising star’s journey.
Despite being the WWE’s United States Champion and the in-ring veteran, it didn’t keep Nakamura from a little dirty deed here and there, including using the poison mist that he absorbed from The Great Muta two years earlier. Adding that layer, kept Sasaki looking strong in defeat because it is seldom that the big bad wins cleanly, but giving Ulka the Double Main Event (even in the semi-main slot) is an incredible opportunity. With Sasaki’s MMA background, I like that it pushed Nakamura to use his Brazilian Jujitsu and Karate expertise and also afforded him the position of being the seasoned veteran reminding the new kid on the block that whole there is lots of overlap between different combat sports, Nakamura’s been wrestling nearly as long as Sasaki has been alive. This is a fun reminder of the full range of Shinsuke Nakamura, and I hope moving forward, a visit to NOAH for showcase matches like this will continue, even if it is their annual New Year’s tradition.
Nakamura in NOAH and “home for the holidays” in Japan, are quickly becoming some of my favorite things about this week altogether.
GHC Heavyweight Championship: OZAWA defeated Kaito Kiyomiya (c) (29:34) Real Rebel/Single Leg Crab
Taishi Ozawa is dead and gone. Long live “The Real Rebel” OZAWA. If you were to tell me that 2025 would be the Year of the Unhinged Snake, I wouldn’t doubt it for a minute. In this scathing promo alone, Ozawa admits he only debuted two years and four months ago, but he was prepared to call out Kaito Kiyomiya on two major points: 1) How can [Kiyomiya] lead a group call ‘All-Rebellion’ when there hasn’t been a single thing to change, let alone something along the lines of a revolution, and 2) his exporting the perfect, boy-next-door image while doing things like getting drunk at hostess bars, chain smoking and hiding a girlfriend that he is living with (all in the complete pre-match VTR with photos) from his fans.
This match and its build is a master class on how to properly build a new star, but it does come with a lot of risk. In this case, it was getting the green light to rip back the curtain and OZAWA defying the tradition of jogeikannkei (the relationship between sempais (the seniors/veterans) and their kohais (their juniors; the rookies). As Kiyomiya is the company’s golden child Supernova Poster Boy, the promo OZAWA cut that literally tore off the facade of the company’s poster boy paired with taunts like searching for Kiyomiya’s girlfriend in the audience, caught me off-guard, but like the audience in Budokan, it drew me in because it was so ridiculously on the nose when it comes to exposing idol culture. Very much like “What Happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas” or “The Bro (Girl) Code,” one doesn’t drop receipts unless they’re willing to risk going scorched Earth.
I watched in disbelief as the audience rallied behind OZAWA, as they began booing Kiyomiya, KENOH, and All Rebellion early on in the match. Even with childish taunts like break dancing and picking his nose and wiping it on the champion’s face, the crowd was firmly behind OZAWA. They booed KENOH when he led AR in stopping YOSHITATSU and Jack Morris and ‘escorting’ them to the back. They rejoiced every time OZAWA mocked Kiyomiya, celebrated when the referee was knocked out, and lashed out when Kiyomiya eventually sunk to OZAWA’s low-hanging fruit in the tactics department. After his big debut earlier in the show, I was surprised that Omos wasn’t cornering OZAWA with the rest of Team 2000X, but he made a very slow entrance and managed to distract Kiyomiya while the referee was still down. He didn’t lift a finger to get involved, just stood there looming over the ramp and it worked.
OZAWA eventually put Kiyomiya away with a beautiful phoenix splash that he calls The Real Rebel. I don’t know if it would be a master class in the perfect heel turn or how to get the audience to rally behind someone as new as OZAWA. Up until this match, despite being the main event to close the show, it stood firmly in the shadow of Saksaki and Nakamura, but by the end of it, it didn’t simply edge out the other but left it in the dust. The bad guys won, but I wasn’t the least bit sad about it. It was surprisingly refreshing! Those wanting to make a heel turn or strap a rocket to a younger, fresher talent in 2025, take a sneaky page out of OZAWA’s template.
“You know, Kaito Kiyomiya was a lot weaker than I thought… You know, during the match, there was someone who really got in my way. KENOH, I’m going to toy with you next…” – OZAWA in-ring promo, followed by mocking Kaito Kiyomiya’s NOAH fan service promo.
What’s Next: OZAWA will meet KENOH in a singles match at Korakuen Hall on 1/11. Currently, it is listed as a non-title match. However, that could change, especially given KENOH is another former GHC Heavyweight Champion.
Upcoming Event Calendar 25th Anniversary Series
- STAR NAVIGATION PREMIUM ~NOAH Jr. Tag League 2025~ Opening Day (2/11) Korakuen Hall
- NOAH 25th Anniversary MEMORIAL VOYAGE in YOKOHAMA (3/1) Yokohama Budokan – NOAH Jr. Tag League Finals
- NOAH 25th Anniversary MEMORIAL VOYAGE in KOKUGIKAN (5/3) Ryogoku Kokugikan
- WRESTLE MAGIC 2025 (6/30) Shinagawa Stella Ball Tokyo
