Atsushi Kotoge Retains the GLEAT G-REX Title After Tough Bout With Takehiro Yamamura, Both Issue In-Depth Post-Match Statements

By: Lewis Carlan

The GLEAT G-REX Championship, which is the promotion’s top prize, has remained with a member of the Pro Wrestling NOAH roster.

On Nov. 14th, GLEAT held it’s latest event  “GLEAT VER.34” at the Umeda Sky Building Stella Hall with nearly 300 fans in attendance. The featured match-up saw the current G-REX Champion and Pro Wrestling NOAH star Atsushi Kotoge making his first defense of the title against Takehiro Yamamura.

Yamamura challenged Kotoge back on Oct. 9th when the NOAH star defeated El Lindaman to become the top champion in GLEAT which, in turn, led to the Nov. 14th title match.

If Kotoge, who has been wearing the G-REX Title belt inside a NOAH ring, was expecting an easy defense against against Yamamura, he was sadly mistaken. Yamamura gave Kotoge everything he could handle and more but it was Kotoge hitting his OverKillSwitch finisher to end the match at the at the 19:49 mark to retain the title.

After the bout, Kotoge praised Yamamura and spoke in depth about the current GLEAT vs. NOAH feud.

From Atsushi Kotoge:

“I managed to defend my title for the first time. So, what do you think, everyone at GLEAT? Seeing Takahiro Yamamura like that was a good takeaway for GLEAT, wasn’t it? After all, it was precisely because it was a rivalry match that we were able to bring out that side of Yamamura. The battle between GLEAT and NOAH—if we don’t keep that in mind, we’ll lose our spot at the top of the pro-wrestling world. I’ll continue to reject GLEAT outright. That’s because I take pride in the fact that NOAH is the most amazing promotion out there. GLEAT’s G-REX belt—it’s true that it’s helped me shine in some ways. But I’m going to keep using this thing to prove that Pro-Wrestling NOAH is the strongest and the best.” (Translated via Deepl.com)

Yamamura, for his part, apologized to the fans and sounded defeated during his backstage post-match comments:

From Takehiro Yamamura:

“This is the reality. Four straight losses to Atsushi Kotoge. Not a single win. At the last Oji tournament, I made a promise to each and every one of you fans. I promised I’d come back with the belt around my waist. But I couldn’t win it. This is my reality right now. Atsushi Kotoge—he truly lived up to his reputation as champion. Every single blow really packed a punch. I can’t put it into words… but I feel like the fact that I can’t put it into words says it all. I just feel so sorry for letting everyone down—that’s all. I’m going to keep getting back down, getting back down, and working my way back up so I can jump again. Next time, I won’t make the same mistake.” (Translated via Deepl.com)

After the bout, Kotoge was confronted by KAZMA SAKAMOTO and it appears that he will be the next challenger to attempt to bring the G-REX Title back around the waist of a GLEAT wrestler as the NOAH vs. GLEAT war rages on.