“UNAGI KABUKI 3RD ANNIVERSARY -MORE CRAZY THAN THREE MEALS A DAY-”, 21/06/2026
Tokyo Korakuen Hall
Earlier today Sayaka Unagi held a press conference to promote her upcoming independent show scheduled for Korakuen Hall on 21st June. That specific date is important to her because on 21st June, 2023 she established her own company Unagi Kabuki. It was created in order for Unagi to promote her own events without running a full scale promotion or be bound to any particular style of pro wrestling. So the date means this show is going to be held on the company’s 3rd Anniversary. She’s been thinking for months about who she wanted to wrestle with at this show and was here to reveal who that person will be.
It is Hikari Noa! The former Tokyo Joshi Pro wrestler and member of The Up Up Girls (Pro Wrestling) left the industry under a haze of rumours in 2024 both personal and professional mashed together. Unagi said she always wanted to be in the ring with Noa again and it looked like it would never happen because both of them left their home companies at different times. But she worked hard towards making it happen and the two will team up together against opponents yet to be decided. Hikari Noa’s ring name is also slightly changed, going from 乃蒼ヒカリ to ノア・ヒカリ. I thought that means her ring name would now be spelt Hikari Noah but I’ve since been told that’s not the case.
Noa gave some comments, starting off with a public apology towards everyone who supported her or were inconvenienced by the worry she caused two years ago. She also expressed her gratitude towards Unagi for giving her a place to pursue her dreams again. Unagi then told the story of how she reconnected with Noa after losing contact with her. She heard rumours online about Noa working as a spa therapist in Yokohama and found out it was true so she simply booked a reservation with her. When they reunited, Unagi gradually learned that Noa hadn’t grown to hate pro wrestling and even though the idea of someday coming back for another match sounded fun. Unagi also thought she at least deserves to end her wrestling career on her own terms so she persuaded her to do this match. Noa said she’s only just recently started paying attention to the wrestling scene again but there are many wrestlers she would love to fight. Unagi suggested there may be some wrestlers who won’t want to fight her because of her scandalous image but for now Noa is focusing on her first match back taking place on 21st June.
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It took a year longer than I thought it would but finally Hikari Noa is back! Or at least she is for the moment. It sounds like she wants to do this match and then decide afterwards what her future in wrestling is actually going to be. Her departure from TJPW in 2024 was a sad one. She allegedly got into a situation with a superfan friend of hers that went sour and led to some dirty laundry being aired out on social media, mainly that Noa gave the friend access to restricted information coming from the idol side of her Up Up Girls career. Her absence from wrestling was publicly presented as her taking time off for health reasons but there was always suspicion it was more like a suspension or possibly even a contract termination over it. If she decides to stick around wrestling who knows if TJPW will ever welcome her back if she wants to go there.
What a devilishly creative woman that Sayaka Unagi is. She is constantly finding ways to get attention for her endeavors and I don’t think anybody thought she would play a role in getting Hikari to return to the ring. Unfortunately this is all I’m going to write about for Hikari’s return. Unless she regularly starts showing up at one of the wrestling promotions orbiting around CyberFight and Wrestle Universe I have enough on my plate to pay attention to what she’s doing next. Still, I’m happy to at least know another chapter in her career is approaching even if it only turns out to be a brief and final one.
Posted by JamieOD 
Dramatic DDT 