NOAH: The Glory 2021

Promotional poster for the event, featuring Takashi Sugiura

The **NOAH: The Glory 2021** was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event promoted by CyberFight's sub-brand Pro Wrestling Noah (Noah). The event took place on April 29, 2021, at the Nagoya Congress Center in Nagoya, Japan.

The show was headlined by Keiji Mutoh defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Masa Kitamiya. Another high-profile match scheduled for the show featured Kazuyuki Fujita defending the GHC National Championship against his Sugiura-gun stablemate Takashi Sugiura. The event aired live on AbemaTV online linear television service and CyberFight's streaming service Wrestle Universe and FITE TV streaming service as a pay-per-view (PPV).

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the event had some restrictions in attendance, after the Japanese Government lifted the State of Emergency.

## Production

### Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On January 29, 2020, Noah also announced that the promotion would celebrate its 20th anniversary in the Ryōgoku Kokugikan which would be later canceled due to the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). On March 30, it was initially announced that some 2020 Global Tag League shows of the tournament, while the April 15 show would be held behind closed doors, being streamed on DDT Universe, due to restrictions made by the Japanese government regarding the 2019-20 coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic but it was later announced that the entire tournament would be held behind closed doors and the shows would be streamed on the DDT Universe under NOAH TV name. On April 22, the first show of the NOAH THE SPIRIT 2020 tour was held in an empty TV studio broadcast live on AbemaTV, and the rest of the shows would be canceled including ALL OUT ATTACK 2020 tour. On May 9, NOAH and their sister promotion, DDT started to promote shows at an empty TV studio being broadcast on AbemaTV under NOAH TV name. On July 18, Noah returned to held events with a limited number of fans in attendance at the Korakuen Hall.

### Storylines

NOAH: The Glory 2021 featured professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.

The NOAH: The Glory 2021 was headlined by Keiji Mutoh defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Masa Kitamiya. On March 14, at Great Voyage in Fukuoka, Mutoh made his first sucessfull title defense the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Kiyomiya. After the match, Mutoh was confronted by Masa Kitamiya, who proceeded to attack and challenge him to a title match. On April 18, Mutoh and Kitamiya faced each other in a tag team match, which ended with Kitamiya submitting Mutoh for the win with the *Prison Lock*.

In the GHC National Championship match, on March 21, Kazuyuki Fujita defeated Kenoh to win the GHC National Championship. Afterwards, Fujita's Sugiura-gun stablemate and former GHC National Champion Takashi Sugiura challenged him to a title match with the match at Noah The Glory at Sugiura's hometown in Nagoya. If Sugiura is to win, he would become the first wrestler to hold the GHC National Championship on two different occasions. Fujita and Sugiura faced each other on April 18 in a tag team match, which ended with Fujita pinning Sugiura for the win.

Since October, Stinger began feuding with Kotaro Suzuki, after he was kicked out of the stable by HAYATA and Yoshinari Ogawa. Afterwards, Suzuki align himself with Salvaje de Oriente, Nosawa Rongai and a mystery partner. However on December 6, Oriente turned on Suzuki revealing to be Yuya Susumu, who joined Stinger in the process. On January 4, 2021 at New Sunrise, following a match between Suzuki and Ogawa's Stinger, Ogawa alongside his stablemates HAYATA and Susumu unmasked Rongai's mystery partner, revealing himself to be Ikuto Hidaka. Also on March 21, after HAYATA and Ogawa successfully defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Daisuke Harada and Junta Miyawaki, Hidaka and Nosawa Rongai attacked Stinger and posed with their titles indicating a title challenge. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, HAYATA accepted them as their next challengers. On April 18, Stinger faced Hidaka, Rongai and Suzuki. The match ended in a disqualification after Rongai deliberately low blowed Susumu.