Pro Wrestling NOAH’s has had a strange February. Both tag team championships are vacant, factions are changing drastically, and many more oddities have taken place. Some of this leads to the major upcoming event, GAIN CONTROL 2022 in NAGOYA. In this preview, we will give you some of the info about some of the key matchups. Let’s see what GAIN CONTROL 2022 has in store for us.
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Pro Wrestling NOAH — GAIN CONTROL 2022 in NAGOYA — FULL CARD
- King Tani and Mohammed Yone vs. Akitoshi Saito and Masao Inoue
- Nioh vs. Kinya Okada
- Yoshinari Ogawa and Yasutaka Yano vs. NOSAWA Rongai and Kotaro Suzuki
- Hao, Junta Miyawaki and Kawei Fujimura vs. Tadasuke, Hajime Ohara and Aleja
- Masato Tanaka vs. Kendo Kashin
- Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura vs. Masa Kitamiya and Yoshiki Inamura
- GHC Jr. Tag Team Championship: Atsushi Kotoge and YO-HEY vs. HAYATA and Yuya Susumu
- GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship: Daisuke Harada vs. Super Crazy
- Go Shiozaki, Kaito Kiyomiya and Daiki Inaba vs. Kenoh, Manabu Soya and Masakatsu Funaki
- GHC Heavyweight Championship: Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
GHC Jr. Tag Team Championship Match
The GHC Jr. Tag Team Championship could be described as the rockiest championship this year for Pro Wrestling NOAH. HAYATA and Ogawa began the year as champions but vacated the titles due to COVID-19. New champions were crowned when Yuya Susumu and Seiki Yoshioka won the championships. But due to an injury, Seiki Yoshioka would vacate his championship, leading the championships vacant once more. Things have been drastically changing in the NOAH division, with one of the more recent examples being the signing of YO-HEY to NOAH’s Main Unit.
This would happen after YO-HEY would be forced to leave his old faction, Los Perros del Mal de Japón. This isn’t the first time Atsushi Kotoge and YO-HEY have teamed together, as they were part of the 2020 faction Full Throttle. It was a faction that was broken up due to the betrayal of YO-HEY. The faction was reborn without two of its former members according to a recent interview that both did. When it comes to our prediction for this match, we truly believe YO-HEY and Atsushi Kotoge will win the championships here.
While Yuya and HAYATA were never pinned to lose their championships, the last three champions being STINGER might be a bit out there. This could potentially mark YO-HEY’s first championship win since leaving RATELS in early 2020. It would be Atushi Kotoge’s 9th time holding this championship, which is a record in its own right. On the other hand, it would mark HAYATA’s 6th time & Susumu’s 3rd time holding these championships. Whoever wins here will soon know their next challengers, as a tournament to crown the next contenders will be held next month.
GHC Jr. Heavyweight Championship Match
NOAH’s major focus this year has been the focus on the improvement of the Jr. Heavyweight Division. This could be seen in their N Innovation Shows. Where Daisuke Harada’s recent challenger came out of. Super Crazy is a veteran in all sorts of Wrestling, known for his days in ECW and WWE, Super Crazy came to Japan for another major tour.
It would start in All Japan Pro Wrestling, but he would make his return during the NOAH reboot shows. He would slowly start gaining the attention of the current Jr. Champion, Daisuke Harada. Daisuke Harada recently won the championship this January, when he defeated HAYATA to capture the championship. This match marks his second defense against someone he’s battled before. Super Crazy was once part of the promotion in the early 2010s and would even face off against Harada in 2014.
Daisuke Harada would end up defeating Super Crazy in this match, which lead to this upcoming title match. It seems incredibly unlikely that Harada would lose his championship here. Especially to someone who just returned to their roster after a multiple-year hiatus. That is why our prediction for this match is Daisuke Harada. If Super Crazy does win, it would mark his first singles championship in Pro Wrestling NOAH.
GAIN CONTROL 2022 Main Event: GHC Heavyweight Championship Match
In the main event of GAIN CONTROL 2022, we have a GHC Heavyweight Championship match between Katsuhiko Nakajima and Kazuyuki Fujita. Nakajima captured the GHC Heavyweight championship last October and has had multiple successful defenses, against the likes of Kenoh, Masato Tanaka, Go Shiozaki, and Masa Kitamiya. His upcoming title match is against someone who could be considered his biggest threat, Kazuyuki Fujita.
Kazuyuki Fujita is a veteran in Wrestling, known for being part of the dark days of New Japan Pro Wrestling and being a 3-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion. He is also an experienced fighter in Mixed Martial Arts. Kazuyuki Fujita made his official roster debut in 2019, aligning himself with Sugiura-Gun very early on. Fujita has been an extremally dangerous force since joining NOAH, including a GHC National Championship reign when he defeated Kenoh in early 2021.
Which by itself is one of the biggest reasons why he’s such a threat for Katsuhiko Nakajima and KONGO as a whole. Fujita has pinned their leader quite easily and is a dangerous force against most of NOAH’s roster. Fujita is famous for kicking his opponent’s heads like soccer balls. Nakajima is battling someone who could end KONGO’s reign of dominance.
Nakajima has been quoted saying “We Are NOAH.” As he battles for the promotion against the NOAH equivalent of DC Comics Villain, Bain. This is one of those title matches where it’s incredibly hard to call. These two could have one of the best matches of the year. Both wrestler’s styles are notorious for their unpredictability. But for the winner of this match, we will predict it for Katsuhiko Nakajima. If Nakajima won, it would give KONGO more of an unbeatable vibe. This could also prove how Kenoh is getting weaker as a leader as well.
For Nakajima, it marks his 5th Championship title defense. If Fujita wins, it would mark his first world championship for NOAH and his first world championship since early 2020 in RJPW. Will Katsuhiko Nakajima defeat KONGO’s biggest threat, or will Kazuyuki Fujita end the reign of KONGO? We will figure out at GAIN CONTROL 2022 IN NAGOYA.
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