Noah Higher Ground 2022 was a professional wrestling event promoted by CyberFight's sub-brand Pro Wrestling Noah. It took place on January 22, 2022, in Osaka, Japan, at the Edion Arena Osaka. The event aired on CyberAgent's AbemaTV online linear television service and CyberFight's streaming service Wrestle Universe.[2]
| Noah Higher Ground 2022 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring Kenoh and Masakatsu Funaki | |||
| Promotion | CyberFight | ||
| Brand(s) | Pro Wrestling Noah | ||
| Date | January 22, 2022 | ||
| City | Osaka, Japan | ||
| Venue | Edion Arena Osaka | ||
| Attendance | 456[1] | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
| |||
Seven matches were contested at the event, and two of Noah's five championships were on the line. The main event saw Masakatsu Funaki defeat Kenoh to win the GHC National Championship. In another prominent match, Scramble Time (Seiki Yoshioka and Yuya Susumu) defeated Atsushi Kotoge and Hajime Ohara to win the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship.
Storylines
editThe event featured seven professional wrestling matches that resulted from scripted storylines, where wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3]
Event
editThe event started with the confrontation between ex-tag team partners Hao and Nio after Hao betrayed Kongo one week prior at Bumper Crop 2022 In Sendai. The bout ended in a time-limit draw. Next up, King Tany and Mohammed Yone picked up a victory over Kotaro Suzuki and Nosawa Rongai in tag team competition. The third bout saw Stinger leader Hayata outmatching Yo-Hey in singles competition. In the fourth match, Daisuke Harada, Go Shiozaki and Masa Kitamiya defeated Aleja, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Manabu Soya in six-man tag team action. Next up, Seiki Yoshioka and Yuya Susumu defeated Atsushi Kotoge and Hajime Ohara to win the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship after Yoshinari Ogawa previously relinquishing his half of the championship held alongside Hayata due to testing positive for COVID-19. In the semi main event, Masato Tanaka and one half of the GHC Tag Team Champions Naomichi Marufuji defeated Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura in tag team action.[4]
In the main event, Masakatsu Funaki defeated Kenoh in less than four minutes to win the GHC National Championship, ending the champion's reign at 70 days and three consecutive defenses.[5][6][7]
Results
edit| No. | Results[8] | Stipulations | Times[1] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hao vs. Nio ended in a time-limit draw | Singles match | 20:00 | ||
| 2 | Funky Express (King Tany and Mohammed Yone) defeated Los Perros del Mal de Japón (Kotaro Suzuki and Nosawa Rongai) by pinfall | Tag team match | 9:31 | ||
| 3 | Hayata defeated Yo-Hey by pinfall | Singles match | 13:24 | ||
| 4 | Daisuke Harada, Go Shiozaki and Masa Kitamiya defeated Kongo (Aleja, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Manabu Soya) by pinfall | Six-man tag team match | 16:54 | ||
| 5 | Scramble Time (Seiki Yoshioka and Yuya Susumu) defeated Atsushi Kotoge and Hajime Ohara by pinfall | Tag team match for the vacant GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship | 7:39 | ||
| 6 | M's Alliance (Masato Tanaka and Naomichi Marufuji) defeated Sugiura-gun (Kazushi Sakuraba and Takashi Sugiura) by pinfall | Tag team match | 20:26 | ||
| 7 | Masakatsu Funaki defeated Kenoh (c) by pinfall | Singles match for the GHC National Championship | 3:58 | ||
| |||||
References
edit- ^ a b Kreikenbohm, Philip (January 16, 2022). "NOAH Higher Ground 2022 - Tag 1". cagematch.net. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Pro Wrestling Noah (January 16, 2022). 2022年01月22日（土）HIGHER GROUND 2022. noah.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Grabianowski, Ed. "How Pro Wrestling Works". HowStuffWorks, Inc. Discovery Communications. Archived from the original on November 29, 2013. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Dark Angelita (January 31, 2022). "NOAH: «Higher Ground 2022» Masakatsu Funaki es campeón y se une a Kongo". Superluchas.com (in Spanish). Archived from the original on July 6, 2024. Retrieved July 6, 2024.
- ^ Williams, Xavier (January 22, 2022). "#AndNEW: New Champions Crowned At NOAH HIGHER GROUND 2022". Last Word On Sports. Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ David, Neil (January 22, 2022). "Pro Wrestling NOAH Higher Ground (January 22) Results and Review". Voices of Wrestling. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Blanchard, Matthew (January 22, 2022). "Pro Wrestling NOAH Higher Ground 2022 Sees Two New Champions Crowned". The Overtimer. Archived from the original on March 5, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ Daly, Wayne (January 22, 2022). "NOAH Results: Higher Ground 2022 Day 1 – Osaka, Japan (1/22)". wrestling-news.net. Archived from the original on July 14, 2024. Retrieved April 14, 2024.