OZAWA Tells Kaito Kiyomiya and Tetsuya Naito That the GHC Heavyweight Title Isn’t For Losers That He’s Defeated

By: Ian McCord

On July 5th at LEGACY RISE 2026, it was announced that the winner of Kaito Kiyomiya and Tetsuya Naito’s special singles match at HaRENO Presents SUMMER EPIC 2026 on July 18th will become No. 1 Contender for the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

It didn’t take long for OZAWA to respond to the news, being sure to offer his two cents to the situation. Since OZAWA is the current No. 1 contender for the GHC Heavyweight Title, that means, in his mind, he is already the new champion.

After a preview tag match that saw OZAWA and Takashi Sugiura defeat GHC Heavyweight Champion Shane Haste and Manabu Soya, the “Real Rebel” responded to Naito and Kiyomiya news. OZAWA stated that the GHC Heavyweight Title isn’t for people who he’s already defeated, and commented on the face Kiyomiya made of the cover of the recent issue of Weekly Pro Wrestling.

From OZAWA:

“I was listening to what Naito and Kiyomiya said on the mic just now. The winner of the next Naito vs. Kiyomiya match gets to be the next GHC Heavyweight title challenger? No, no, no—it’s already been decided that I’ll be the next GHC Heavyweight Champion. Shane said so too. This isn’t a belt that some losers who lost to me can just challenge for. And Kiyomiya, what’s up with that Shu Pro cover? There’s no way a guy with a face that messed up can just challenge for the Heavyweight title. I don’t want to fight a guy like that!”

Kaito Kiyomiya would rush the ring after OZAWA’s words, getting into the face of OZAWA before broken up by Yoshiki Inamura, with the three sharing a bit of a chaotic moment.

The champion Haste responded to his challenger in his post-match comments, claiming that OZAWA is getting too cocky and he needs to focus on trying to defeat him and not worry about Naito and Kiyomiya.

From Shane Haste:

 “OZAWA, you seem to be getting a little too cocky. What you need to do is focus on me. You won’t be able to beat me in Osaka if you keep this up. And this week’s Weekly Pro—what’s with that cover featuring those three? You guys might be the future, but right now, the champion holding this GHC Heavyweight belt is me, Shane Haste. You guys might be the future. But the champion is me, Shane Haste.”

(English Translations via DeepL)

Both Tetsuya Naito vs. Kaito Kiyomiya and Shane Haste vs. OZAWA for the GHC Heavyweight title will take place on July 18th at NOAH’s HaRENO Presents SUMMER EPIC 2026 in Osaka. This event will stream live on Wrestle UNIVERSE streaming service.