Tetsuya Naito Captures GHC Heavyweight Championship, Suggests Not Entering This Year’s N-1 VICTORY

By: Ian McCord

Korakuen Hall erupted into a frenzy on August 9th when the Uncontrollable Tetsuya Naito defeated Shane Haste to capture the GHC Heavyweight Championship for the first time in his career. 

After defeating Kaito Kiyomiya to become No. 1 contender at NOAH’s SUMMER EPIC, Shane Haste vs. Tetsuya Naito for NOAH’s top prize was made official for August 9th. Haste and Naito had battled in singles competition once before in 2023, with Haste defeating Naito during NJPW’s G1 Climax 33. Haste told Monthly Puroresu prior to the title defense that he was excited for the challenge of facing Naito, but regardless of his past win against him, he was not going to underestimate his challenger.  

During the main event of NOAH’s LEGACY RISE 2026, Naito ended Haste’s 99-day reign with the GHC Heavyweight Title, planting him with two of his signature Destino finishers to win the Championship. 

After the match, Naito thanked the excited Korakuen crowd before expressing how much he has enjoyed his time in NOAH throughout this year. The new Champion also shared his intent to continue stepping into a NOAH ring for a long time to come.

From Tetsuya Naito: 

“First of all, I’d like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the many fans who gathered here today at the Korakuen Hall event. Some of you might be wondering, ‘Just how long is he going to stay in the Pro Wrestling NOAH ring?’ but I’m staying right here. After all, I’m the GHC Heavyweight Champion. My next match hasn’t been decided yet, but that’s exactly when those words come to mind, right? Exactly… Tranquilo, don’t rush it! These past seven and a half months—or so?—wrestling with Pro Wrestling NOAH has been an absolute blast. I’m going to keep stepping into this ring for a long time to come. So, shall we wrap things up with that? The first-ever mass sing-along at a Pro Wrestling NOAH event at Korakuen Hall. Everyone, are you ready?”

During his post-match comments, Naito questioned if he needs to participate in this year’s N-1 Victory tournament, suggesting that the tournament winner will become the No. 1 contender for his newly won championship.  

From Tetsuya Naito: 

“Right now, I’m really enjoying being in this Pro-Wrestling NOAH ring. Since I’ve become champion, I’ll take the lead and bring NOAH to even greater heights. I don’t think I need to enter N-1 VICTORY. Let’s just decide who’s number one in NOAH, and then that wrestler and I can face off. I’ll talk to the relevant people about this later. Hasta mañana, adiós.”

(English Translations via DeepL) 

Until his first challenger arises, Tetsuya Naito stands atop the Ark with Pro Wrestling NOAH’s top prize, the GHC Heavyweight Championship, and will surely continue his Uncontrollable ways. 

Here are the full results from NOAH’s LEGACY RISE 2026 on August 9th courtesy of purolove.com:

• Mohammed Yone, Atsushi Kotoge, Hi69, and Hajime Ohara defeat Dragon Bane, Alejandro, Shuji Kondo, and Katsumi Inahata (7:18) following a Koumori Tsuri Otoshi by Kotoge on Inahata.
• 4-Way Match: Kid Lykos & Kid Lykos II defeat BUSHI & RYUSEI, Super Crazy & Black Menso~re, and Yuto Koyanagi & Midori Takahashi (6:01) following a Swanton Bomb by Lykos on Takahashi.
• Eita & Daiki Odashima vs. Kai Fujimura & Jun Masaoka – Double Countout (0:51).
• Kai Fujimura & Jun Masaoka defeat Eita & Daiki Odashima (2:34) when Eita was disqualified.
• 1st GHC200 Title Tournament – Round 1: HAYATA defeats Masa Kitamiya (0:133) by countout.
• 1st GHC200 Title Tournament – Round 1: Tetsuya Endo defeats AMAKUSA (0:155) with a Huracanrana.
• YO-HEY Return Match: OZAWA, Takashi Sugiura, and Tadasuke defeated Manabu Soya, Yuki Iino, and YO-HEY (10:03) following a Horizontal Cradle by Tadasuke on YO-HEY.
• 1st GHC200 Title Tournament – Round 1: Kenoh vs. Alpha Wolf – Time Limit Draw (0:200).
• 1st GHC200 Title Tournament – Round 1: Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Yoshiki Inamura – Time Limit Draw (0:200).
• GHC National Title: Naomichi Marufuji (c) defeats KENTA (20:45) with a Perfect Necklock (4th defense).
• GHC Heavyweight Title: Tetsuya Naito defeats Shane Haste (c) (22:17) with the Destino – Title change (Failed 4th defense -> 51st Champion).