ABEMA presents NOAH "THE NEW YEAR" 2025: WrestleFile Historical Verdict

The pre-show NOAH THE RUMBLE gives the roster a broad entry point before the title-heavy main card. Tadasuke survives 23:54 and last eliminates LJ Cleary, turning what could have been a disposable battle royal into a result with future title-challenge relevance. The format is still secondary to the headline matches, but the long runtime and recognizable field make it useful as a year-opening roster snapshot rather than a throwaway dark match.

HAYATA and YO-HEY retained the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship in a three-way encounter against AMAKUSA and Junta Miyawaki, and Alejandro and Kai Fujimura, at NOAH The New Year on January 1, 2025. The 8:20 result carried the reigning champions through their fifth successful defense, keeping them established atop the division. Unlike a conventional two-team title bout, this match had three complete pairings competing for the same belts, which means all six wrestlers belong in Match Finder as three teams. The losing teams had a legitimate chance to end the reign, but no challenger pairing left Nippon Budokan with the championships. Preserving both separate opposing teams is essential to distinguish this result from an ordinary four-wrestler title defense.

Go Shiozaki, Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge and Hajime Ohara defeated Kazuyuki Fujita, Shuji Ishikawa, Tetsuya Endo and Black Menso-re in the New Year Limit Break eight-man tag at NOAH's January 2025 Budokan event. The official account gives the bout an 8:25 finish following Shiozaki's Gowan Lariat and pin. Team NOAH's quartet combined multiple generations of performers while the opposing group introduced physical heavyweight threats and outside-promotion experience. The match wasn't a GHC title defense or a tournament semifinal, even though several wrestlers had championship backgrounds. Shiozaki and Yone addressed their forthcoming singles meeting in the postmatch comments, adding an immediate storyline link beyond the holiday exhibition. Eight independent competitors across two established sides were involved.

Daiki Odashima survived one minute against Kazuyuki Fujita in NOAH's Defeat the Beast challenge on January 1, 2025. The bout ended at the special stipulation's sixty-second time limit, leaving neither wrestler with a pinfall or submission victory. Facing a famously imposing veteran made survival the young wrestler's immediate objective, a different challenge from trying to win a conventional long singles match. That difference also explains the quick result on a crowded Budokan card containing multiple championships and guest attractions. A time-limit draw should not be entered as an Odashima upset victory or as a Fujita knockout. The concept belonged to the event's developmental showcase rather than a GHC championship lineage.

Galeno defeated his brother Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr. at NOAH The New Year 2025 in a family rivalry billed as Brother versus Brother. The 9:52 singles result provided a distinct lucha-influenced attraction among the promotion's heavyweight title matches. Their shared wrestling heritage gave the meeting personal context, but it did not automatically make the bout a championship defense. Galeno earned the result against an established relative rather than a substitute opponent, contributing to his visibility within NOAH's international roster. The brief match time meant the storyline centered on their relationship and decisive outcome instead of a lengthy multi-fall rivalry. Both participants should be indexed separately, with the victory belonging to Galeno and no new tag title changing hands.

KENTA defeated Kenoh in the NOAH 25th Anniversary Special singles match at Nippon Budokan on January 1, 2025. The official result records the pin after Go 2 Sleep at 15:24. KENTA's return created a direct connection to the promotion's formative years while Kenoh represented one of its most important contemporary leaders. Their striking exchanges therefore served both athletic and historical purposes. The victory did not award KENTA the GHC Heavyweight Championship, which was contested later in the main event. Afterward, KENTA acknowledged the challenge and expressed interest in continued NOAH appearances, giving the result consequences beyond a one-night guest exhibition. The match is best cataloged as a decisive special singles result.

Eita won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship from Daga in a two-out-of-three-falls match at NOAH The New Year 2025. The official score sequence records Daga winning the first fall in 1:52 with Diablo Wings, Eita equalizing at 3:37 with a jackknife pin, and Eita taking the deciding fall at 7:07 through Salamandra. The 2-1 outcome ended Daga's reign and crowned Eita the fifty-seventh junior champion, an actual title transfer rather than another retention for the defending wrestler. The rapid sequence made the result structurally different from all single-fall title bouts on the card. Eita subsequently discussed a potential rematch with HAYATA, extending the junior division story.

Manabu Soya retained the GHC National Championship against Masa Kitamiya at NOAH's January 1, 2025 Budokan show. The official result came at 12:51 when Soya used the Passion DDT for the decisive pin, completing his fourth successful title defense as the thirteenth National champion. This was a direct heavyweight singles title match, not part of the multi-team bouts earlier in the card. Kitamiya's physical offense tested the champion, but no belt changed hands. Soya spoke afterward about his determination to continue defending and identified further challengers, making the result a continuation of the title's immediate direction. The National championship must stay distinct from the GHC heavyweight title that changed hands later that evening.

Jack Morris and Omos defeated Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Sugiura to capture the GHC Tag Team Championship at NOAH The New Year 2025. The official finish came at 10:48 with a double chokeslam and pin, ending the sixty-seventh champions' reign after four successful defenses. The winning duo became the sixty-eighth titleholders. Omos's WWE background and exceptional height made the pairing a conspicuous attraction, but it was the actual GHC championship result that established the new team within NOAH history. Both previous champions lost their shared title even though only one fall decided the match. This wasn't a brief ceremonial appearance or a defense by Marufuji and Sugiura; the championships changed owners in the ring.

Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Ulka Sasaki in the NEW YEAR FIRST DREAM special match at NOAH's January 2025 destination card. Nakamura's presence connected the event to an international audience familiar with his Japanese and American careers, but the contest had a specific local opponent rather than serving as a general celebrity appearance. Sasaki brought his own background and physical approach, creating a genuine singles meeting between wrestlers from different career paths. The result was a Nakamura win, not a championship change, and the event's GHC Heavyweight stakes unfolded separately in the following match.

The placement near the end of the card showed how NOAH could use a special attraction to increase interest without taking attention away from its own title lineage. Nakamura's prior achievements aren't equivalent to work done for NOAH on this date; the relevant outcome is the meeting with Sasaki. For viewers revisiting the show, the bout offers a distinctive matchup and context for the event's broader ambitions. The A- grade recognizes that major attraction while keeping its non-title status explicit.

OZAWA defeated Kaito Kiyomiya to capture the GHC Heavyweight Championship at The New Year 2025, producing one of the most consequential results of the card. Kiyomiya had been a focal point of NOAH's younger heavyweight generation, and entering as champion gave him a clear opportunity to reaffirm that position. OZAWA's victory instead moved the promotion's principal singles belt to a new figure. The outcome was not a routine defense: it altered the titleholder and made OZAWA's next opponents part of a new championship chapter.

The match followed the special Nakamura-Sasaki attraction, which brought international recognition but did not involve the GHC title. Keeping those stories separate highlights NOAH's booking priorities. A visiting star could be a major draw while the promotion's own wrestlers determined its central championship future. The upset also made the match useful for following Kiyomiya's subsequent attempts to recover the belt and for understanding OZAWA's rise. The A grade recognizes a headline change with implications across the heavyweight division.