Yoshiki Inamura Topples Shane Haste as NOAH’s N-1 VICTORY 2026 Reaches Halfway Point in Osaka

By: Ian McCord

There was a sold-out crowd at the Umeda Sky Building Stella Hall in Osaka on September 20th for Pro Wrestling NOAH’s sixth event of its N-1 VICTORY 2026 round-robin tournament.

On this afternoon, four Block A matches were scheduled on the card, including a rematch between two former GHC Heavyweight Champions, Yoshiki Inamura and Shane Haste. This was the first singles meeting between the two since Haste defeated Inamura for the GHC Heavyweight Title back in May.

With both Inamura and Haste looking to regain NOAH’s top prize, gaining these two points here in Osaka was a must if either hopes to win the N-1 and earn the right to face current champion Tetsuya Naito in October.

Image Credit: Pro Wrestling NOAH

Inamura and Haste laid it all on the line in the main event, with Inamura’s injured knee becoming a major target for Haste. However, with support from the crowd, Inamura was able to fight through the pain and eventually hit his DISCHARGE finisher off the top rope onto Haste to secure the win in just under eighteen minutes.

In his post-match comments, Inamura stated that if either he or Haste are to go on and win the N-1 and capture the GHC Heavyweight Title, they should face each other again for the championship. Inamura also said that his body is feeling the effects of the tournament, however, the cheers from the crowd are what’s keeping him going.

From Yoshiki Inamura:

“Yes! A huge 2 points off Shane! First singles match since May, and in N-1 too — fighting you, and beating you, that’s my big treasure. Shane, you can still make it to the final stage — so can I. Whoever gets there and wins N-1, let’s take back the GHC belt. And promise me this: whichever of us wins it, make the other the first contender! Today’s the halfway point in N-1. Brutal schedule, my body’s about ready to say it’s done — but it’s not! The Ark Ship Universe’s cheers are what let me keep fighting. All NOAH wrestlers feel that, I think! So keep watching PRO WRESTLING NOAH and N-1 VICTORY! See you next time, bye bye!”

Elsewhere on the card, Kaito Kiyomiya returned to his winning ways, defeating Takashi Sugiura in the semi-main event, jumping to 7 points to continue his lead of Block A. Alpha Wolf also picked up the win over Kazuyuki Fujita and Yuki Iino picked up yet another loss, this time against Chen, keeping him at zero points.

N-1 VICTORY 2026 returns on September 21st at the Tokugin Tomoni Arena in Tokushima with four Block B matches scheduled for the event, including the undefeated Masa Kitamiya facing off against former TEAM 2000X stablemate, Kouga.

Here are the full results from NOAH’s N-1 VICTORY 2026 Day 6 courtesy of purolove.com:

• Tetsuya Endo, HAYATA, and Katsumi Inahata defeated Manabu Soya, Yuto Koyanagi, and Hiroto Tsuruya (8:14)
• OZAWA, Masa Kitamiya, and Tadasuke defeated Kouga, Titus Alexander, and Hiroya Namiki (9:07)
• Tetsuya Naito, BUSHI, and RYUSEI defeated Naomichi Marufuji, KENOH, and Black Mensore (6:59)
• N-1 VICTORY – Block A: Alpha Wolf [6] defeated Kazuyuki Fujita [2] (5:57)
• N-1 VICTORY – Block A: Chen [4] defeats Yuki Iino [0] (9:42)
• Kai Fujimura, YO-HEY & Jun Masaoka defeat Alejandro, Dragon Bane & Daiki Odashima (10:19)
• N-1 VICTORY – Block A: Kaito Kiyomiya [7] defeats Takashi Sugiura [4] (12:32)
• N-1 VICTORY – Block A: Yoshiki Inamura [5] defeats Shane Haste [4] (17:57)

N-1 VICTORY Standings:

Block A:

• Kaito Kiyomiya [7]
• Alpha Wolf [6]
• Yoshiki Inamura [5]
• Takashi Sugiura [4]
• Shane Haste [4]
• Chen [4]
• Kazuyuki Fujita [2]
• Yuki Iino [0]

Block B:

• Masa Kitamiya [6]
• Manabu Soya [4]
• OZAWA [4]
• Titus Alexander [4]
• Tetsuya Endo [4]
• KENOH [2]
• KENTA [0]
• Kouga [0]