Naoya Nomura Vows To End The Kento Miyahara Era in AJPW As They Prepare For A Royal Road Tournament Showdown

By: Lewis Carlan

The All Japan Pro-Wrestling 12th annual Royal Road Tournament is in full swing as it continues on Sept. 6th at Light Cube Utsunomiya. There are two spots left in the semifinals of the tournament with one of them to be filled by either Naoya Nomura or Kento Miyahara.

Nomura will face Miyahara on Sept. 6th in a second round match-up that is expected to be an intense battle between the two stars.

Back on Aug. 24th, Nomura defeated Yuma Aoyagi in a hard fought bout to advance to the second round. Nomura and Aoyagi are former AJPW World Tag Team Champions.

Miyahara defeated Kengo Mashimo also on Aug. 24th which set up a Royal Road tournament showdown between him and Nomura.

Image Credit: AJPW

Nomura took to social media to indicate that he plans on bringing an end to the Kento Miyahara era in AJPW when they meet on Sept. 6th. Miyahara has been the face of AJPW for many years and, according to Nomura, now may be the time to bring that to a conclusion.

From Naoya Nomura:

“How long do you think the Miyahara era will last? I’ll bring it to an end in Utsunomiya.
I want Miyahara fans and my fans to burn this match into their memories!”

Prior to Nomura’s return to AJPW on Aug. 3rd, his last match for the promotion was back in March 2023. Nomura took a long hiatus from in-ring competition which last from March 2023 through Jan. 31st 2025.

He is currently a freelancer and has competed for Pro Wrestling NOAH in addition to AJPW upon his return. Nomura is a former two time AJPW Tag Team Champion and two time All Asia Tag Team Champion.

Winning the AJPW Royal Road Tournament would be a huge accomplishment for Nomura after his lengthy hiatus from the squared circle. There is a spot in the semifinals for Nomura but to get there he has to defeat megastar Kento Miyahara which is going to be a most difficult task.

Nomura states he wants to end the era of Miyahara but I think it’s safe to say that Miyahara is not ready for his era to come to a halt. On Sept. 6th in Utsunomiya, the time for talk between the two will be over and only one will advance to the semifinals.

It all depends on who wants it more, Nomura or Miyahara, and we will find out the answer to that question in two days.