KENOH States That GHC Heavyweight Titleholder Tetsuya Naito is a Champion Who Kills The Excitement

By: Lewis Carlan

The Pro Wrestling NOAH N-1 VICTORY tournament is set to begin on Sept. 12th in Korakuen Hall with the finals scheduled for Oct . 12 at the Yoyogi National Stadium Gymnasium #2. There are sixteen entrants in this year’s NOAH N-1 VICTORY tournament that are broken into two blocks with eight competitors each.

The sixteen NOAH N-1 VICTORY  competitors are as follows:

BLOCK A

• Kaito Kiyomiya
• Yoshiki Inamura
• Shane Haste
• Yuki Iino
• Kazuyuki Fujita
• Takashi Sugiura
• Chen
• Alpha Wolf

BLOCK B

• KENOH
• KENTA
• Tetsuya Endo
• Manabu Soya
• Kouga
• Titus Alexander
• Masa Kitamiya
• OZAWA

One name that is absent from the list of sixteen is the current GHC Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito. After Naito defeated Shane Haste on Aug, 9th for the GHC Heavyweight Title, he proclaimed that he would not participate in the tournament and would just defend his title against the winner at the Ryogoku Kokugikan event on October 25.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is also holding an event at Ryogoku Kokugikan on Oct.12 between the G1 Climax winner Ryohei Oiwa and the IWGP Heavyweight Champion which is currently Yota Tsuji.

This has turned into a NOAH vs. NJPW showdown with Naito, who is fully committed to NOAH at the moment, stating that the difference between the two promotions will be evident in the attendance figures for each night.

Naito not competing in the N-1 VICTORY 2026 tournament did not sit well with long time NOAH superstar KENOH and he hasn’t been shy in letting his opinion known. In a new interview reported by Tokyo Sports, KENOH didn’t hold back as he went after Naito. He pointed out while Naito discussed the venue showdown between NJPW and NOAH, the IWGP Heavyweight Champion Yota Tsuji competed in the G1 Climax 36.

From KENOH:

“I think it’s right to frame it as a kind of ‘promotional war’ like that. However, New Japan has their singles champion competing in the G1. They’re heading into the Ryogoku showdown after their champion has competed in the G1 and built a ‘storyline.’ N-1 would definitely be more exciting if their singles champion competed, right? Yet they’re not sending him.”

KENOH urged fans not to be fooled by Tetsuya Naito who he feels is simply running away from competing at the N-1. He then stated that Naito is a champion who kills the excitement.

From: KENOH:

“Basically, it just sounds like they’re cleverly covering up the fact that ‘it’s too much of a hassle to compete’ and are simply running away. So, my message to you bastards is, don’t let Tetsuya Naito fool you. I want to sound the alarm not just for NOAH fans, but for all pro-wrestling fans! In the end, Tetsuya Naito is just a ‘champion who kills the excitement.’”

KENOH vowed to win the N-1 and take the belt from Naito who he feels is killing the momentum in NOAH. With GHC National Champion Naomichi Marufuji also not participating, KENOH believes he is the only one who can make the N-1 exciting and win the GHC Heavyweight Title.

From KENOH:

“That’s why I have to win the tournament and take the belt away from the ‘champion who’s killing the momentum’. To begin with, I think Naito just happened to win the belt by chance. I’m fully aware that I’m the strongest in NOAH. I have no choice but to prove that strength at N-1.” Furthermore, with GHC National Champion Naomichi Marufuji also sitting out, he declared, “With both singles champions absent from the league tournament, I’m the only one who can make it exciting and win the title.”

KENOH has appears to be entering the N-1 VICTORY 2026 with a purpose and that purpose is to win the tournament and dethrone Tetsuya Naito for the GHC Heavyweight Title.

(All English quote translations via Deepl.com)