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Hiroya Namiki Upsets Yuto Koyangi To Earn Spot In NOAH Jr. Grand Prix 2026

ByAndrew J.T. Gelinas
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This year’s NOAH Jr. Grand Prix has another entrant.

Hiroya Namiki stunned the Pro Wrestling NOAH landscape during the Legacy Rise event on Thursday when he defeated Yuto Koyanagi to earn the final spot in the upcoming Jr. Grand Prix 2026 tournament after he caught his contemporary with a victory roll after 9:05.

Namiki has been in the squared circle for a short enough time that he still doesn’t have a Cagematch profile, but a cursory search through all the shows since he made his debut shows that he’s wrestled 18 times so far. The youngster was originally supposed to debut around the same time as Koyanagi last year, however he was forced to miss time after receiving an injury.

With this massive victory, Namiki will compete in the upcoming NOAH Jr. Grand Prix where he will take on Alejandro in the first round next month. While it’s supremely unlikely that he will win this upcoming contest, the fact that he will even suit up is a big deal.

In a social media post, Namiki wrote his thoughts following his career defining victory.

“I won. My first victory on my own.
I’ve earned a spot in the Junior Grand Prix. I don’t know what Koyanagi’s true intentions are, but I don’t hate you. I think everything that happened up until now was just born out of jealousy. I’m going to take it upon myself to carry Koyanagi’s hopes. Next time, I’ll definitely put on a performance at the Junior Grand Prix that’ll make Koyanagi jealous.”

-Hiroya Namiki

If Namiki is somehow able to upset the former GHC Jr. Heavyweight Tag Champion, he will then take on the winner between current Jr. Tag champ Jun Masaoka or Daiki Odashima.

Full first round field of the NOAH Jr. Grand Prix:

  • Kai Fujimura vs. BUSHI
  • Kid Lykos II vs. Tsunagu Sato
  • Shuji Kondo vs. YO-HEY
  • Sydney Akeem (FKA Reggie in WWE) vs. Kid Lykos
  • Hiroya Namiki vs. Alejandro
  • Daiki Odashima vs. Jun Masaoka
  • Tadasuke vs. Hi69
  • HAYATA vs. Dragon Bane

Full the full card of NOAH’s Wrestle Odyssey II, you can click here.

As always, we’ll aim to provide any further updates coming out of Pro Wrestling NOAH, including the upcoming Wrestle Odyssey II event and the Jr. Grand Prix as soon as we hear more.

Social media translation via Deepl.