Masa Kitamiya Vents His Frustrations Ahead of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 VICTORY 2026

By: Ian McCord

On September 12th, Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 VICTORY 2026 is set to begin at the legendary Korakuen Hall. Ahead of the opening round, last year’s winner, Masa Kitamiya, vented the frustrations he is feeling ahead of the annual round-robin tournament.

During an interview with Pro Wrestling NOAH, TEAM 2000X’s Masa Kitamiya had some less than positive things to say heading into this year’s N-1. He started things off by sharing his frustrations over his placement on the promotional visual for the tournament. Kitamiya claimed that he threw his phone after seeing himself as a “background character” on the graphic.

From Masa Kitamiya:

“First off, the poster? Or should I call it the visual? The treatment of last year’s champion is way too small! With that, I’m basically just a background character, right? The moment I saw that, I was so angry I instinctively threw my phone across the room. These organizers are truly incompetent. It seems they’re desperate to sweep the fact that I won last year under the rug. I’ll have to set them straight again.”

Image Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

When asked if the graphic situation has him fired up, Kitamiya said it has him feeling the opposite and stated what he would say to the person in charge of the visual if given the opportunity.

From Masa Kitamiya:

“Huh? I’m not fired up at all. When the person in charge apologizes, saying, ‘Our promotional strategy was a total failure!’, I’m going to tell them, ‘Serves you right, you idiot!’ So, just watch.”

After giving his less than complimentary thoughts regarding his B Block opponents, Kitamiya was asked his opinion on GHC Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito’s absence from the N-1 VICTORY. Kitamiya declared that he will not stand for Naito’s decision and then proceeded to say that he wants to become champion so that he, too, can choose to skip the tournament.

From Masa Kitamiya:

“I won’t stand for it! How dare you enjoy not participating in N-1! I want to become champion so I can boycott N-1, too! I’ll do it, too!”

(English Translation via DeepL)

Before Kitamiya can think about becoming the GHC Heavyweight Champion, he must first prove that he is the strongest in B Block. In his block, he will be competing against KENTA, KENOH, Tetsuya Endo, Manabu Soya, Kouga, Titus Alexander, and fellow TEAM 2000X member OZAWA.

Masa Kitamiya will kick off his N-1 VICTORY at the tournament opener on September 12th at Korakuen Hall, where he takes on White Raven Squad member Tetsuya Endo.

This event, along with other N-1 VICTORY events, will air live on WRESTLE UNIVERSE streaming service.