Tetsuya Naito vs. KENOH Made Official, Naito Says He Still Has No Plan to Fully Join Pro Wrestling NOAH

By: Ian McCord 

Knock and the door shall be opened was the case for Pro Wrestling NOAH star KENOH, who challenged Tetsuya Naito for the GHC Heavyweight Championship following his first defense of the title against OZAWA at WRESTLE ODYSSEY II, with the match being made official for November 9th.

After putting pen to paper at a special signing ceremony on October 26th, KENOH revealed that while watching Naito vs. OZAWA, he found himself worried about the safety of OZAWA after some of Naito’s offense and how he wanted to see OZAWA succeed strictly because he is a NOAH wrestler.

When questioned about some of the moves inflicted to OZAWA, Naito claimed he had to do whatever it took to win seeing as OZAWA defeated him back in May.

Naito was asked if he plans to continue using such risky techniques to win future matches and his response showed that Naito’s main objective is to win, and he will do what it takes to do just that.

Image Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

From Naito:

“Well, I guess there’s no helping it if that’s how you feel. After all, I really, really want to win. I’m doing this because I want to win—if I thought, ‘It’s okay to lose’ or ‘I don’t want to get hurt,’ then I shouldn’t even be stepping into the ring in the first place. Once I’m in the ring, no matter what injuries I sustain, I don’t hold a grudge against my opponent; I just recognize that there are areas where my skills fall short. So, while I don’t know how OZAWA feels about me right now, I intend to keep stepping into the ring with a single-minded focus on winning. So that I can continue to step into the ring here at Pro-Wrestling NOAH.”

After once again pointing out his frustrations of NOAH coming up short in the attendance race against New Japan Pro Wrestling at the Ryogoku Kokugikan, Naito was asked if joining NOAH’s roster full time would be a better way to compete with NJPW rather than participating as an outsider in the promotion. Naito’s response revealed that yet again the Ungovernable one wants to forge his own path and do what has never done before, bring a promotion to the forefront without even being a full member of its roster. Naito wants NOAH to be the number 1 promotion in Japan, but he wants to do it on his own terms.

From Naito:

“It’s true there have been cases like that in the past—joining Pro Wrestling NOAH. I wonder if they’d let me join if I said I wanted to? I don’t know if they’d let me in, but since there have been people like that in the past, I’ve started to feel that I want to keep leading the way in a different way than they did. My desire to make Pro Wrestling NOAH the number one promotion in Japan—that’s no lie. I mean it. I’m grateful for this Pro Wrestling NOAH ring, and I think there are a lot of people who don’t really know what kind of wrestlers are out there on this ring. To be honest, I didn’t know much about it myself at first. But when I watch it, I find myself thinking, ‘Oh, there are wrestlers like this? They put on matches like this? That’s interesting.’ I really want as many people as possible to see what Pro Wrestling NOAH is like right now. So there’s no lie in what I’m saying. It’s all from the heart. What was the question again? Oh, about joining the company? Yes, unfortunately, I have no plans to join at this point. If there have been people who joined under those circumstances in the past, then, conversely, I wouldn’t want to join. I want to help grow Pro Wrestling NOAH without actually joining. If no other wrestler has done it, then I’d be even more tempted to give it a try.”

(English Translation via DeepL)

The contrast between KENOH and Naito is fascinating. On one hand you have KENOH, who is passionate in his love for the Ark and someone who wants to continue to sow the seeds that is the future of NOAH. KENOH is proud of the steps he and other members of the roster are taking to bring the promotion into the spotlight. On the other hand you have Tetsuya Naito, a star who is writing the next chapter of an already immaculate career, looking to take NOAH to new heights and surpass the one promotion where he earned his star power.

Two different ideologies gunning for the top prize in Pro Wrestling NOAH, the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

Image Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

A match over three years in the making, Tetsuya Naito vs. KENOH for the GHC Heavyweight Championship will take place at the opener for the NOAH’S Jr. GRAND PRIX 2 at Korakuen Hall on November 9th. This event will air live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE.