DESTINATION 2021 ~ BACK TO BUDOKAN ~: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Akitoshi Saito defeating Kinya Okada opens NOAH's return to Budokan with a short veteran-versus-youngster match rather than an attempt to manufacture a major opener. Saito wins in 5:10 with the Sickle of Death, giving the established heavyweight a decisive result while Okada gets exposure on the promotion's largest stage in years. The match is historically useful because it shows NOAH placing developmental talent on the card without pretending the hierarchy had already changed.

Atsushi Kotoge, Daiki Inaba and Yasutaka Yano beating Hajime Ohara, YO-HEY and Kai Fujimura is an efficient six-man that keeps several junior and younger names visible. Kotoge pins Fujimura after the moonsault press in 7:52, so the result protects the more established opponents while giving Kotoge a recognizable finish at Budokan. It is not essential viewing, but the lineup reflects how NOAH blended current roster depth with a deliberate attempt to present the next wave on a major event.

Masaaki Mochizuki and Masato Tanaka defeating Mohammed Yone and Shuhei Taniguchi provides a compact veteran attraction built around wrestlers with long careers across several promotions. Tanaka pins Yone after the Sliding D in 6:58. The match works as a pacing piece between the early-card development matches and the heavier championship block, and its strongest value is seeing NOAH use recognizable outside and freelance veterans without allowing them to dominate the event's larger generational story.

Takashi Sugiura, Kazushi Sakuraba, Kazuyuki Fujita, Kazunari Murakami, Kendo Kashin and NOSAWA Rongai defeating the Kongo unit is a crowded faction match with more name value than narrative precision. Sugiura pins Nioh after the Olympic Qualifying Slam in 10:58. The result keeps Sugiura-gun strong while protecting Kenoh, Nakajima and Kitamiya from taking the fall. Its value is mostly roster-scale presentation: many of NOAH's heavyweight identities share the Budokan stage without consuming the time needed for the top matches.

Yoshinari Ogawa and HAYATA making their third successful GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship defense over Kotaro Suzuki and Ikuto Hidaka gives the championship block a stable opening. Ogawa submits Suzuki with the headscissors hold in 13:05, preserving a veteran team that had already become central to the Stinger side of the junior division. The match does not redirect the card, but it establishes that the return to Budokan will not be built entirely around title changes.

Seiki Yoshioka defeating Daisuke Harada for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship is the first major change on the show. Yoshioka wins in 10:58 with the Crash Driver, ending Harada's reign and becoming the 44th champion. The short runtime keeps the result sharp, and the post-match challenge from Atsushi Kotoge immediately gives the new champion another direction. On a card devoted to NOAH's return to a historic building, the junior division gets its own forward-looking championship moment.

Kaito Kiyomiya and Yoshiki Inamura defeating Jun Akiyama and Naomichi Marufuji is one of the most important non-title results on the card. Kiyomiya pins Marufuji with the Tiger Suplex in 18:12 after the younger team spends much of the match being tested by two wrestlers tied directly to NOAH's earlier generations. The result makes the Budokan return feel like more than nostalgia: the younger side earns the victory against the veterans on the promotion's old major-event stage.

Kenoh retained the GHC National Championship against Masakatsu Funaki at Destination 2021, winning in 10:10 with a Dragon Suplex hold. Funaki brought decades of submission and shoot-style credibility, making him an imposing challenger even without a long championship pursuit leading into the match. Kenoh's victory was his fifth successful defense and gave the National belt another result against an opponent whose reputation extended well beyond NOAH. The quick finish also kept the contest from competing for length with the heavyweight title main event immediately after it.

The match illustrated how the National championship could establish its own identity through opponents drawn from different traditions. Kenoh was presented as a current NOAH focal point, not simply a younger wrestler enduring a veteran's offense until an upset. Funaki's challenge had credibility, and defeating him reinforced the champion's authority. The A- grade recognizes that compact, decisive title defense, which provided a distinct championship story before the Budokan return's controversial GHC Heavyweight main event.

Keiji Mutoh defeated Go Shiozaki to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship at Destination 2021, closing NOAH's return to Budokan with a major change in its heavyweight direction. The match lasted 29:32, and Mutoh used a Frankensteiner to end Shiozaki's celebrated reign. At 58, he became the promotion's thirty-fourth GHC champion and added another major Japanese heavyweight title to a career that had already spanned generations. Shiozaki's run through 2020 had become a statement about the company's own identity, making the choice to move the belt to Mutoh unusually divisive.

The result was not a coronation without costs. An established outsider's fame could bring attention to the promotion, but it also displaced a champion who had carried the organization through a demanding period. The match was important both for Mutoh's historical résumé and for what it signaled about NOAH's priorities on a marquee card. Shiozaki's effort remains a central part of the event's meaning even in defeat. The A grade measures a consequential main event with implications beyond the venue's return.