Since the start of 2022, Pro Wrestling NOAH has been on a hot streak. Gain Control was their latest big show – and it came with some fittingly big matches. In the main event was a clash between GHC Heavyweight Champion Katsuhiko Nakajima, and perhaps his toughest challenge yet in Kazuyuki Fujita.
While ‘Ol Ironhead is 51 years old, his career in both MMA and Professional wrestling speaks for itself. In MMA, he carries an 18-14 record, and has faced the likes of Mirko Cro-Cop and Ken Shamrock. Meanwhile in professional wrestling, he held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship three times… and now adds the GHC Heavyweight Championship to that list.
Kazuyuki Fujita Claims The GHC Heavyweight Championship – Leaves Nakajima Injured?
Fitting to the history of both men involved, this match was incredibly hard hitting. Fujita brought out a more aggressive side of Nakajima, as he treated this more like a Pride fight than a wrestling match. Between this size advantage and aggression brought by Fujita, Nakajima would have to match the power of Fujita and failed to overcome.
Not only did Nakajima lose in the end to the combination of soccer kick and a beast bomb – Fujita would also potentially leave him injured. Reports after this show told that Nakajima had suffered a possible ruptured eardrum. Given the impact of the strikes in this match, it would not be hard to imagine both men having at least minor injuries after this match.
We know who is first to challenge the reign of Fujita, as former ECW World Champion Masato Tanaka came out to challenge him. Tanaka also challenged Nakajima for the GHC Heavyweight Championship – but was the first of two men to fall to Nakajima on that reign.
Also on this show, we’d see new GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions named – as the vacant belts were won by the team of Atsushi Kotoge & YO-HEY. The vacant GHC Tag Team Championships will be the prize in an upcoming tournament.
Do you think Pro Wrestling NOAH could become the #1 promotion in Japan? Let us know what you think in the comment section down below.
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