Great Voyage (2023)

## The Great Voyage (2023)

Promotional poster for Great Voyage in Osaka, featuring various NOAH wrestlers

**Great Voyage (2023)** was a two-day professional wrestling event promoted by Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH) annually since 2000. NOAH in 2023 held two events under the Great Voyage name; **Great Voyage in Osaka** on February 12, the **Great Voyage in Yokohama** on March 19. The nineth event was held in Osaka and the third at the Edion Arena Osaka and the second event was held in Yokohama at the Yokohama Budokan. The event aired live on AbemaTV online linear television service and CyberFight's streaming service Wrestle Universe.

## Production

### Storylines

The Great Voyage 2023 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.

#### Great Voyage in Osaka

The Great Voyage in Osaka was main evented by Kaito Kiyomiya defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Jack Morris. On January 8, 2023, New Sunrise and Reboot, Kiyomiya and Morris faced off in a tag team match, where Kiyomiya teamed with Yoshiki Inamura and Morris with Jake Lee. Morris won the match for his team by scoring a direct pinfall over Kiyomiya and afterwards challenged him to a title match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship. Shortly after, Noah announced the title between Kiyomiya and Morris for Great Voyage in Osaka.

At New Sunrise and Reboot, after Masa Kitamiya and Daiki Inaba faced Sugiura-gun (Takashi Sugiura and Timothy Thatcher) in a winning effort, with Kitamiya submitting Sugiura, Kitamiya called out for a title match the GHC Tag Team Championship, with Inaba being his partner. The title match was announced shortly after.

On January 15, Junta Miyawaki and Alejandro faced Yoshinari Ogawa and Nosawa Rongai in a winning effort, after Rongai attacked Miyawaki with a weapon. Afterwards, Miyawaki and Alejandro challenged Ogawa and Eita to a title match for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship. On February 4, following a six-man tag team match, Ogawa once again removed Alejandro's mask.

#### Great Voyage in Yokohama

The Great Voyage in Yokohama was main evented by Kaito Kiyomiya defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Jake Lee. At Great Voyage in Osaka, after Kiyomiya successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight Championship against Jack Morris, his Good Looking Guys stablemate Jake Lee, who had recently joined Pro Wrestling Noah, challenged Kiyomiya to a title match for the GHC Heavyweight Championship, following a post-match interview.

At Great Voyage in Osaka, after Eita and Yoshinari Ogawa successfully defended the GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship against Alejandro and Junta Miyawaki, Ogawa's Stinger stablemates Chris Ridgeway and HAYATA challenged Eita and Ogawa to a title match. Ogawa's relationship over the previous months with his Stinger stablemates had soured, following his recent alliance with Eita, despite Ogawa ignoring him most of the time.

At the event, Daiki Inaba and Masa Kitamiya defeated Takashi Sugiura and Satoshi Kojima to win the GHC Tag Team Championship. Following the match, KONGOH (Kenoh and Manabu Soya) came forward to challenge the new champions to a title match. Shortly after, Noah announced the title match for the event.

In April 2022, Shuhei Taniguchi embarked on a journey to restart his professional wrestling career and began wearing all black gear and with no particular ring character, as part of his new restart process. On March 9, Taniguchi teamed with Masaaki Mochizuki, Naomichi Marufuji in a losing effort against Sugiura-gun (Hideki Suzuki, Kazuyuki Fujita and Takashi Sugiura), with Sugiura submitting Taniguchi. Afterwards, in a post-match interview, Sugiura proclaimed that Taniguchi didnt had the time [to restart his career] and he would train him again, setting up a match for the Great Voyage in Yokohama.