Great Voyage 2012 in Ryogoku: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

Taiji Ishimori against Masa Takanashi is a brief opener built more around pace and placement than drama. Ishimori wins in 4:41 with the 450 Splash, so the match gives a recognizable NOAH junior a decisive result without consuming much of the card. Its historical usefulness comes from establishing the promotion's junior-heavyweight texture before the show shifts toward visiting talent and championship matches.

Mikey Nicholls and Shane Haste defeated Ross and Marshall Von Erich in 6:26 at NOAH's Great Voyage 2012 in Ryogoku. The encounter was the Von Erich brothers' Japanese debut, providing a first look at another generation of the famous wrestling family on a major Japanese card. Nicholls and Haste were already becoming recognizable as TMDK, giving the newcomers an established opposing team rather than another debuting pair. The Australians obtained the official result, and the Japanese debut did not automatically become a win for the Von Erichs.

Its historical usefulness is greater than its runtime suggests. Viewers can compare the visiting brothers' early career with the more developed teamwork of Nicholls and Haste, while recognizing that both teams still had important professional chapters ahead. This was neither a GHC Tag Team Championship match nor a tournament final. The full event had two separate GHC tag title matches later in the evening, so the opening international tag belongs in the debut and development category instead of the championship ledger.

Kensuke Sasaki and Katsuhiko Nakajima defeated Akira Taue and Genba Hirayanagi in 7:39 in a NOAH-versus-Diamond Ring master-and-student tag at Great Voyage 2012. The combinations created an explicit generational comparison. Sasaki's long-established heavyweight authority complemented Nakajima's younger, quicker offense, while Taue supplied an accomplished NOAH founding-era counterpart alongside Hirayanagi. Nakajima secured the fall, making the rising wrestler the direct contributor to his team's victory rather than treating the match solely as a legends appearance.

The result was significant mainly for the relationships it placed in one ring, not for a title transfer. Neither the GHC Heavyweight Championship nor the promotion's tag titles were defended. Its short duration made the meeting a supporting attraction before the show's broader international matches and championship run. Because Taue and Sasaki were already well-known heavyweights, their roles gave Nakajima's result context that a generic undercard victory wouldn't supply. It is useful period viewing for anyone tracking NOAH's transition across wrestling generations.

Mohammed Yone defeated Yoshiaki Fujiwara in 6:42 in the Fujiwara-ism Legend Special Singles Match at NOAH's Ryogoku Great Voyage 2012. Fujiwara's background in shoot-style wrestling and his longstanding influence on Japanese wrestling made his guest appearance the main attraction. Yone was a NOAH regular with a more contemporary heavyweight role, so the meeting deliberately connected an established veteran figure with the home roster. The victory went to Yone and was not an exhibition draw or a protected Fujiwara win.

The brief runtime kept the bout closer to a special appearance than a lengthy technical showcase. Its value is documentary: it puts Fujiwara on a consequential NOAH destination card in a contest where a current wrestler earned a recognizable result. No championship was involved, and the match didn't determine entry to a tournament. Ryogoku still had returning stars and multiple title challenges ahead. Viewers interested in Fujiwara's influence may want the segment, while title-focused viewers can move to the later marquee bouts without losing a belt change.

Kota Ibushi defeated Atsushi Kotoge in 9:22 in the NOAH-versus-DDT special singles contest at Great Voyage 2012. Ibushi arrived as a prominent DDT performer whose high-risk offense had made him a recognizable crossover attraction. Kotoge offered quick junior-heavyweight opposition from NOAH's side, giving Ibushi someone who could answer his speed rather than forcing a mismatch in wrestling style. The contest supplied a decisive guest victory and helped diversify a Ryogoku card dominated elsewhere by NOAH championships.

The result didn't create a new GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion and shouldn't be merged with the Kanemaru–Christopher Daniels title match later in the program. Ibushi's later achievements in other promotions make this pairing especially interesting to revisit, but those future outcomes don't alter what happened in the nine-minute 2012 match. Its placement before KENTA's comeback and the championship stretch makes it a compact introduction to the show's interpromotional emphasis. The combination of recognizable talent and a clear finish justifies a stronger viewing recommendation than its short runtime alone suggests.

TAJIRI defeated Maybach Taniguchi by disqualification in 4:35 in a NO MERCY-versus-WNC special singles match at Great Voyage 2012. The bout was driven by rival presentation and outside-promotional tension more than by a prolonged technical contest. TAJIRI's reputation added familiarity for fans of Japanese and international wrestling, while Taniguchi's masked heavyweight character supplied the opposing identity. The official decision favored TAJIRI, but it came through disqualification rather than a clean pinfall or submission.

That distinction prevents the result from being used as proof TAJIRI decisively outwrestled Taniguchi. The DQ finish served the surrounding angle and kept the contest brief, leaving the more developed wrestling for the comeback and championship matches that followed. No GHC singles title changed hands, and no tournament round advanced through the decision. Its archival value lies in showing the sort of faction and guest-company storytelling NOAH used during this period. Fans interested in the larger card can treat it as short storyline context rather than a destination match on its own.

Naomichi Marufuji defeated KENTA in 16:20 in KENTA's return match at Great Voyage 2012 in Ryogoku. The pairing reunited two of NOAH's defining modern wrestlers, whose earlier junior-heavyweight rivalry and later heavyweight ambitions helped drive the promotion's identity. Marufuji was an especially credible opponent for a comeback because he knew KENTA's style and could provide a meaningful competitive test. The return did not end in a scripted victory for the wrestler coming back: Marufuji recorded the official singles win.

The emotional significance of KENTA resuming action outweighs the loss in a historical assessment. A returning star can have an important moment without receiving the deciding fall, and the sixteen-minute duration allowed more than a ceremonial entrance. Their history gave the audience reason to invest before the event moved into its three title-change and title-defense programs. The bout carried no immediate GHC championship stakes and should not be recorded as another of those belts' defenses. It remains one of the clearest reasons to revisit the full Ryogoku show.

Super Crazy and Ricky Marvin defeated Kotaro Suzuki and Atsushi Aoki in 12:58 to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship at NOAH's Great Voyage 2012. Marvin secured the deciding fall, giving the new champions a result linked to a wrestler with a meaningful history in the company's junior division. Super Crazy supplied a more internationally recognizable partner, making the title change part of the show's wider crossover emphasis without reducing it to a guest appearance. Suzuki and Aoki entered as a legitimate established team, and their defeat transferred the belts.

This was the first championship switch on the Ryogoku card, separate from the later GHC heavyweight tag change involving Samoa Joe and Magnus. The relatively concise match still carried lasting lineage consequences because it established a new pair as champions. The winners' styles and backgrounds also gave NOAH a different junior tag combination to present going forward. For a historical event file, the title's exact division and Marvin's fall must be preserved rather than conflating all the evening's tag championships.

Yoshinobu Kanemaru defeated Christopher Daniels in 7:55 to retain the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship at Great Voyage 2012. Daniels arrived with substantial international junior and X Division experience, making him a credible visiting challenger even though his regular wrestling home was outside NOAH. Kanemaru represented the promotion's own established junior singles hierarchy, and the champion prevailed in a short but clearly defined defense. The belt stayed with Kanemaru rather than crossing into another organization's title history.

The contest's brief runtime limited the scope for an epic, but the cross-promotional pairing still contributed to the Ryogoku event's distinct character. Daniels had enough standing to make the title meaningful beyond a routine domestic challenger, while Kanemaru's retention preserved continuity on a night when other GHC belts did change hands. The GHC junior singles title is separate from the Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship that switched earlier in the evening. The result is best viewed as an efficient champion-versus-visitor defense rather than a title-changing milestone.

Samoa Joe and Magnus defeated Jun Akiyama and Akitoshi Saito in 11:40 to win the GHC Tag Team Championship at Great Voyage 2012. Joe recorded the fall over Saito, making the visiting TNA duo official titleholders on a NOAH destination card. Akiyama was one of the promotion's most important established heavyweights, so beating his team carried recognizable weight even though Saito took the deciding fall. The challengers offered an unusual outside partnership rather than a normal NOAH roster pairing.

The title change gave the event its second new champion team after Super Crazy and Ricky Marvin took the junior tag belts. Those are separate championships, and the difference is essential when reading the historical result. Joe and Magnus's victory showed the promotion's willingness to let recognizable international names carry one of its major titles beyond a single guest appearance. It didn't resolve the GHC Heavyweight Championship, which remained the focus of the main event. For cross-promotional title history, this was among the card's most consequential contests.

Takeshi Morishima defeated Go Shiozaki in 24:35 to retain the GHC Heavyweight Championship in the Great Voyage 2012 main event. Morishima entered as the reigning champion and faced Shiozaki, a former titleholder whose own prominence made the challenge a significant test of the existing hierarchy. The long match concluded with Morishima completing his fourth successful defense. It kept NOAH's leading singles championship with its incumbent even as international challengers had won other titles earlier on the same card.

The placement mattered: after KENTA's return, the junior tag change and Samoa Joe and Magnus's heavyweight tag victory, the company closed on an encounter between two of its principal domestic heavyweight figures. Shiozaki's defeat didn't mean his standing disappeared, but it confirmed Morishima's authority for another defense. This was neither a new reign for Shiozaki nor an IWGP or TNA title match. It is the central sporting main event of the show and belongs near the top of any recommended viewing order for the event.