KENOH Warns Fans Not To Be Fooled By GHC Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito

By: Lewis Carlan

On Sept. 12th, the biggest Pro Wrestling NOAH tournament of the year, the N-1 VICTORY 2026, is scheduled to get underway at the famed Korakuen Hall. Sixteen competitors will be broken into two blocks of eight as each will fight to earn the right to participate in the tournament finals on Oct.12 at the Yoyogi National Stadium Gymnasium #2.

The winner of the N-1 VICTORY will challenge the GHC Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito on Oct. 25th at Ryogoku Kokugikan. Naito has opted to skip the tournament and wait for the winner to emerge and challenge him for the belt on Oct. 25th.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling is also holding an event at Ryogoku Kokugikan on Oct.12 with the featured bout being the G1 Climax winner Ryohei Oiwa and the IWGP Heavyweight Champion who currently Yota Tsuji. Naito, turning it into a inter-promotional competition, stated that the difference between the two companies will be evident in the Ryogoku Kokugikan attendance figures on each night for both respective promotions.

KENOH, who is competing in the N-1 A Block this year, has continued to verbally go after Tetsuya Naito with his usual disdain for the current GHC Heavyweight Champion. In a new interview now available on the Pro Wrestling NOAH website, KENOH is warning fans not to be fooled by Naito.

From KENOH:

“Don’t be fooled by Tetsuya Naito. It’s one thing that he steered the narrative toward a competition between NOAH and New Japan Pro-Wrestling over attendance numbers. But to begin with, the champion was actually competing in this year’s G1 CLIMAX. He’s decided not to appear in N-1 simply because he can’t be bothered to make the effort. Don’t let him fool you, everyone.”

Photo Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

With the GHC National Champion Naomichi Marufuji also not participating in the N-1 this year, KENOH has vowed that he will win the tournament and make sure he enters next year’s N-1 as the GHC Heavyweight Champion.

From KENOH:

“Since neither champion is participating, it’s turned into a ‘league tournament to determine the third-strongest man in NOAH.’ That’s why I want to win this tournament first, become champion at Ryogoku on October 25, and then participate next year as the champion to put an end to this.”

KENOH was asked his opinion of NOAH’s “Big 3” Kaito Kiyomiya, Yoshiki Inamura & OZAWA to which he gave an honest answer. KENOH wants all of them to approach the N-1 with ambition.

From KENOH:

“They’re being promoted so heavily, yet they can only generate this much buzz. I want to ask, ‘Are you guys okay?’ I want them to approach N-1 with ambition. It’s not good to be passive—or rather, to do nothing and just wait for the company to give them opportunities on its own.”

KENOH’s first N-1 VICTORY 2026 tournament bout will be on Sept. 12th against Titus Alexander.

Photo Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

(All English quote translations via Deepl.com)