Pro Wrestling NOAH’s first ever N-1 Victory Finals is set between former rivals Takashi Sugiura and Kenoh! The two will face off at the EDION Arena 1st Stadium in Osaka, Japan. Not only that but a plethora of other exciting match ups will take place in this event as well, so without further ado, let’s take a look at the N-1 Victory Finals that will culminate this September 16, 2019.
Dark Matches:
Muhammad Yone, Quiet Storm, Hi69, & Minoru Tanaka vs. Akitoshi Saito, Masao Inoue, Tadasuke, and Sonico
KAZMA SAKAMOTO & Kinya Okada vs. Hitoshi Kumano & Junta Miyawaki
Official Card:
Masa Kitamiya vs. Rhyno
During the N-1 Victory tour, former WWE wrestler now a member of the IMPACT roster: Rhyno has been announced to make his debut at Pro Wrestling NOAH. At this stage of his career, Rhyno has been wrestling for two decades now and being a part of a historic promotion in NOAH would only add more to his legacy. He is going to face a young up and coming star in Masa Kitamiya, one of the participants in the N-1 Victory. Kitamiya has faced off his fair share of veterans and being mentored by the great Masa Saito he is prepared but surely he hasn’t face anyone yet quite like the Man Beast. It will be an interesting and exciting matchup for sure between the past and the present.
Yoshiki Inamura vs. Kazuyuki Fujita
Rhyno isn’t the only wrestler that will be making their debut at NOAH but also pro wrestling & MMA veteran: Kazuyuki Fujita! A former IWGP Heavyweight Champion, Fujita has succeeded in the combat sport field and he is still going strong to this day. He will be stepping foot inside a NOAH ring for the first time at the N-1 Victory Finals where he will face one of the top prospects of the NOAH Dojo in Yoshiki Inamura. Unlike Fujita, Inamura only made his pro debut last year in 2018 so the experience advantage is far from his favor but facing a fighter in the caliber of the Ol’ Ironhead will certainly help in his future as a wrestler.
Katsuhiko Nakajima & El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr. vs. Go Shiozaki & Alexander Hammerstone
Representatives of both A and B Blocks. The reigning GHC Heavyweight Tag-Team Champions are on opposite sides of one another and have teamed up with the AAA and MLW representatives respectively. Nakajima was partnered with the son of Dr. Wagner Jr. going against Go Shiozaki and the reigning MLW Openweight Champion: Alexander Hammerstone. All four men had great showing in the N-1 Victory and now will be facing each other in this unique tag-team matchup. It would be interesting how the tag champs will be locking horns with one another, could we witness AXIZ go up in flames eventually? Or will it be a friendly match as some would say? We have to wait and see.
IPW:UK Junior Heavyweight Championship: Daisuke Harada (c) vs. Atsushi Kotoge
During his reign as former GHC Jr. Heavyweight Champion, Daisuke Harada has gained the respect of many fans due to the great abilities he was able to showcase. Now he currently holds an international belt with the IPW:UK Jr. Title which he is the inaugural champion of and has been for 200+ days. He has already successfully defended the belt twice in NOAH against Hitoshi Kumano and Chris Ridgeway. Now a new challenger has emerged in Atsushi Kotoge. He was a member of the heavyweights division but has decided to trim down and go back to the juniors and compete there, leaving the Kongoh stable led by Kenoh. Kotoge himself is a former GHC Jr. Champ himself twice now and has also held the Jr. Tag Titles five times. He may seem silly at first but don’t let the looks fool you as Atsushi Kotoge can go at it with the best of them when need be, so Harada has a tough opponent ahead of him for his championship.
Yoshinari Ogawa, Kotaro Suzuki, & Chris Ridgeway vs. Kazushi Sakuraba, Hajime Ohara, & NOSAWA Rongai
A six man tag match with a lot of interesting matchups, representing two of NOAH’s biggest factions right now. The trio of Ogawa, Suzuki, and Ridgeway of IPW:UK are representing STINGER while Sugiura-Gun members Ohara and Rongai have found a new partner among their ranks and that is the great Kazushi Sakuraba. A Hall of Famer, Sakuraba has announced during the N-1 Victory tour that he has joined the stable and will also compete in NOAH for the first time. A lot of veteran presence in this match and should be fun overall to see the interactions of both sides, especially for me as a fan of both Ogawa and Sakuraba, see how those two legends will square up.
GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship: HAYATA (c) vs. YO-HEY
Last month at NOAH’s Departure 2019 show, HAYATA defeated Minoru Tanaka to become GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion for the second time in his career! Now his first challenger for the belt is a very familiar opponent and that is his long time tag-team partner in RATEL’s: YO-HEY. These two pretty much went on the same path in their voyage to NOAH and now the biggest matchup of their careers yet will take place for the coveted GHC Jr. Title. They’ve held the Jr. Tag titles before but this time, they’re on separate sides of the ring with one goal in mind.
Keiji Mutoh, Jun Akiyama, & Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Naomichi Marufuji, Masaaki Mochizuki, & Shuhei Taniguchi
Two legendary figures make their returns in Pro Wrestling NOAH: Keiji Mutoh and Jun Akiyama! They will be teaming up with the reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion: Kaito Kiyomiya and will take on the trio of Marufuji, Mochizuki, & Taniguchi all of whom competed in the N-1 Victory. A very exciting six man tag for the semi main event of the show, I’m particularly excited to see Akiyama back in a NOAH ring where he solidified his career as an all time great. The last time he wrestled for the company was two years ago during Marufuji’s career anniversary event where he teamed up with the late Atsushi Aoki. The living legend in Keiji Mutoh on the other hand had his fair share of greatness in NOAH as well, most notably his dream match against Mitsuharu Misawa wherein they faced in a tag match back in 2004 in front of a sold out Tokyo Dome for the GHC Heavyweight Tag-Team Championships, Misawa was with Ogawa and Mutoh was with Taiyo Kea. Kaito kept his promise and has stayed off the N-1 Victory and will face the winner of the main event eventually at the Sumo Hall.
Marufuji had a disappointing run in his N-1 Victory, losing all of his matches. He needs a redemption badly but things aren’t looking so bright. The Dragon Gate representative: Mochizuki, while did not win, impressed a lot of fans and to no surprise as he could still go at it with the best despite his age. Taniguchi is also looking to pick back some momentum so a lot is at stake in this six man tag.
N-1 Victory Finals: Takashi Sugiura vs. Kenoh
Last but not the least we got the main event, the finals of the first ever N-1 Victory will be two former GHC Heavyweight Champions: Takashi Sugiura and Kenoh. These two are very much familiar with one another going way back in 2017. Kenoh became GHC Champion for the first time in the aforementioned year when he defeated IMPACT wrestler: Eddie Edwards. It was the biggest win of his career yet, having also won the Global League. Making him the first GHC Heavyweight Champion to never face Mitsuharu Misawa in a match, which seemed like a sign for the future for NOAH. But his reign was cut short by the dominant veteran Takashi Sugiura just 79 days in. In his fourth reign with the belt, Sugiura would go on to have a monstrous run, a seemingly unbeatable champion who has taken down six different challengers!
It all ended however at Yokohama where last year’s Global League winner Kaito Kiyomiya finally dethroned Sugiura and became GHC Heavyweight Champion.
Now at present, the two had a great showing in their respective N-1 Victory journey. But only one will get to headline Sumo Hall and attempt in gaining back what was once theirs. Both of them will also be representing their own stables which they lead and a lot of pride is at stake. Who will be the inaugural winner of the N-1 Victory? Will it be the grizzled old veteran or the young superstar?
Shoutout to the Facebook page, NOAH: Reports from the Ark for the full card preview. Make sure to check out NOAH via the PuroresuDream Archives or KINGS AARK‘s Youtube channel.
