Tetsuya Naito, Kazuchika Okada appear at NOAH Great Voyage

  • Ian Carey
  • By 

Kazuchika Okada and Tetsuya Naito made surprise appearances on Sunday at NOAH The Great Voyage in Osaka. 

Naito cut an in-ring promo before the main event while his upcoming opponent, Keiji Muto, was ringside at the commentary position. Muto and Naito will face each other in Muto’s final match on February 21 from the Tokyo Dome. 

Naito addressed Muto during the promo:

When I heard that Keiji Muto was going to be here, I made sure to stay in Osaka. I’ve made the trip to Osaka for Muto before, back on December 10, 1999. Keiji Muto versus Genichiro Tenryu or the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, Battle Final. When Muto lost, I made the trip home, almost in tears.

Never would I have thought that 23 years later I would be Muto’s final ever opponent. Muto, I know you want this to be one last grand work of art. Unfortunately, that won’t be. I want you to leave the ring for the final time in frustration and total defeat at the hands of Tetsuya Naito.

Kaito Kiyomiya defeated Jack Morris to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship in the night’s main event. After the match, Okada hit the ring and delivered a Rainmaker to the champion. A match between the two has been scheduled for Keiji Muto Grand Final Pro-Wrestling “Last-Love” but Okada would later state he was not going to wrestle Kiyomiya. This followed the two being involved in a stiff brawl leading to a double disqualification in a tag match on the Wrestle Kingdom in Yokohama show last month. 

After laying out Kiyomiya, Okada had the following to say:

If you want a match with me, you ask “Mr. Okada” and say please and thank you.

Okada continued to antagonize the NOAH fans who booed his attack on Kiyomiya. He then accepted the match for the Tokyo Dome but “‘not for [Kiyomiya}, but because the ones I can’t stand are the NOAH fans.”

Keiji Muto’s retirement show takes place Tuesday, February 21, from the Tokyo Dome. The full lineup for the show is below. 

  • Keiji Muto (NOAH) vs. Tetsuya Naito (NJPW)
  • Non-title: Kazuchika Okada (NJPW) vs. Kaito Kiyomiya (NOAH)
  • Non-title: Hiromu Takahashi (NJPW) vs. AMAKUSA (NOAH)
  • NOSAWA and MAZADA (NOAH) vs. Gedo and Taiji Ishimori (NJPW)
  • Kento Miyahara, SUWAMA, and Yuma Aoyagi (AJPW) vs. Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima, and Manabu Soya (NOAH)
  • Shun Skywalker, KAI, and Diamante (Dragongate) vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Hijo Del Dr. Wagner Jr., and Ninja Mack (NOAH)
  • Shunma Katsumata, Toui Kojima, Mao, and Yuki Ueno vs. Tetsuya Endo, Hideki Okatani, Yuya Koroku, and Takeshi Masada (DDT)
  • Eita, Yoshinari Ogawa, HAYATA, Daga, and Chris Ridgeway vs. Atsushi Kotoge, YO-HEY, Seiki Yoshioka, Alejandro, and Junta Miyawaki (NOAH)
  • Takashi Sugiura, Satoshi Kojima, and Timothy Thatcher vs. Jake Lee, Jack Morris, and Anthony Greene (NOAH)
  • Miyu Yamashita, Yuka Sakazaki, Rika Tatsumi, and Shoko Nakajiuma vs. Mizuki, Miu Watanabe, Maki Itoh, and Yuki Arai (Tokyo Joshi Pro)
  • Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba vs. Yoshiki Inamura and Yasutaka Yano (NOAH)