Tetsuya Naito Becomes New GHC Heavyweight Champion
Tetsuya Naito is the new GHC Heavyweight Champion.
The NJPW alum made history on Sunday at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Legacy Rise after defeating Shane Haste to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship, the top prize in NOAH. This marks Naito’s first singles title win since he held the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in 2024.
Naito and Haste had a dramatic back-and-forth match. However, it’s been pretty clear since the leader of Los Tranquilos de Japón made his NOAH debut on January 1 that he was destined to eventually win the title.
With his historic win, the 44-year-old is not only the seventh man to have both the GHC Heavyweight and IWGP Heavyweight Championships on his résumé, but also the first to achieve the feat since Satoshi Kojima did so in 2022. The other men on that list are Kazuyuki Fujita, Keiji Mutoh, Yuji Nagata, Kensuke Sasaki, and Yoshihiro Takayama.
After the match, Naito thanked the fans in attendance at Korakuen Hall, saying:
“First of all, I’d like to sincerely thank all the many fans who gathered here today at the Korakuen Hall event. Some of you might be wondering how long I’m going to stay in the Pro Wrestling NOAH ring, but I’m staying in this ring. Because I’m the GHC Heavyweight Champion, after all. The date for my next match hasn’t been decided yet, but isn’t this the perfect time for those words? Exactly… Tranquilo, don’t sweat it! It’s been about seven and a half months, right? Pro wrestling in Pro Wrestling NOAH has been insanely fun. I’m going to keep climbing into this ring for a long time to come. So, shall we end with that? For the first time at a Pro Wrestling NOAH Korakuen Hall event, a grand chorus. Everyone, are you ready?”
-Tetsuya Naito
With this defeat, Shane Haste’s reign as champion ends at 99 days. The former Retribution member won the belt on May 2 after defeating Yoshiki Inamura and subsequently defeated KENTA, Tetsuya Endo, and OZAWA in three well-regarded defences.
Elsewhere during the show, the tournament to crown the inaugural GHC 200 Champion got underway, while Naomichi Marufuji successfully defended the GHC National Championship against KENTA.
For more coverage on Tetsuya Naito’s future and everything surrounding Pro Wrestling NOAH, WrestlePurists will keep you updated.
H/T to Fightful for the transcription.
