Haste defeated Yoshiki Inamura to win the title on Saturday at NOAH Spring Mayhem at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo.
The finish of the match saw Inamura miss a splash from the top, Haste hit two running knees, suplex, big lariat, and finally his Bomb Valley Death for the win.
After the match, Haste said he wants to defend the title against KENTA, who was translating Haste’s comments to the live crowd at the time. Both KENTA and Haste are members of the White Raven Sqwad faction.
Haste said:
“I want to put this GHC title on the line and defend it against KENTA! You want a match with me? I want to beat you holding this title like you did to me all those years ago.”
KENTA successfully defended the GHC Heavyweight title against Haste on September 7, 2013, at NOAH Shiny Navigation.
Haste later said backstage:
“The dream has become a reality. Right now, this is a dream I’ve had ever since I started watching PRO WRESTLING NOAH. It’s been maybe 15 years since I’ve held a singles title. I’ve only ever held one singles title before this and it was for EPW. THIS is the most important title to me in the world. This proves that I am the guy. I am THE MAN. Thank you everyone who supported me when I didn’t even support myself.”
“And now, it’s on to the next dream, and that is getting retribution on KENTA for when he beat me all those years ago. But now I’m the champion. Rematch: Haste vs KENTA II. Arigato gozaimasu.”
According to NOAH’s website, 4,539 people attended today’s show. The full results are available below.
NOAH Spring Mayhem Ryogoku 2026 results from Saturday, May 2, 2026:
Shane Haste defeated Yoshiki Inamura to win the GHC Heavyweight Championship
Dragon Bane defeated AMAKUSA to win the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship
OZAWA defeated Tetsuya Naito
Naomichi Marufuji & Kenoh defeated Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows
BUSHI defeated Jun Masaoka in a No Disqualification match
Alpha Wolf & Kai Fujimura defeated RYUSEI & Angel Reyes
Manabu Soya, Saxon Huxley & Yuki Iino defeated Kaito Kiyomiya, Haruto Ki & Alejandro and Masa Kitamiya, Takashi Sugiura & Tadasuke
Knull defeated Kid Lykos No. 1 & Kid Lykos No. 2 in a handicap match
KENTA, Tetsuya Endo & HAYATA defeated Mohammed Yone, Kazuyuki Fujita & Daiki Odashima
Shane Haste: “And now, it’s on to the next dream, and that is getting retribution on KENTA for when he beat me all those years ago. But now I’m the champion. Rematch: Haste vs KENTA II. Arigato gozaimasu.” 2/2#noah_ghc#MAYHEM52pic.twitter.com/6Ko2KgNPCm
Someone with a WWE background could be headed to Pro Wrestling NOAH soon.
Yoshiki Inamura, who did an excursion to NXT from November 2024 to August 2025, successfully defended his GHC Heavyweight Championship against Kenoh on Sunday in Yokohama at NOAH Apex Conquest 2026. Following the match, Inamura cut a promo saying he wants his next challenger to have “WWE experience.”
“Today, I’m making a big selfish request. I want to fight a man with WWE experience. Who is the next challenger?” Inamura said (translated).
This led to former NXT wrestler and the man Inamura defeated for the GHC Heavyweight belt, KENTA, coming to the ring. Rather than angle for a title shot himself, KENTA said he’s bringing in someone “with WWE experience” to join the White Raven Sqwad faction and challenge Inamura.
Former WWE wrestler Yoshi Tatsu then came out, but KENTA said Tatsu was not the person he was referring to.
Alpha Wolf, who does not have a WWE background, then attacked KENTA, and NOAH later announced that Wolf will challenge Inamura for the title at the April 12 show in Nagoya. It remains unclear who KENTA was referring to when he teased bringing in someone with WWE experience.
KENTA continued to tease the WWE name on social media following Sunday’s show.
“I wanna say my friend’s name soon,” he wrote (translated).
NOAH and WWE have had a cooperative relationship in recent years. In 2023, Shinsuke Nakamura returned to NOAH for a special match against The Great Muta at NOAH The New Year. WWE also sent Omos to NOAH that year for a brief run with the promotion. Ulka Sasaki, who is part of White Raven Squad with KENTA, has also announced that he will be going on excursion to NXT.
／ 🎤Yoshikiが次期挑戦者にWWE経験者を指名‼ そこにKENTAが現れる‼‼ ＼
Yoshiki Inamura「今日はビッグなわがままを。WWEのエクスペリエンスを持つ男と戦いたい。Who is ネクストチャレンジャー？」
He defeated Kenoh on night two of Pro Wrestling NOAH’s 25th Anniversary show on July 20 at Korakuen Hall to win the title for the second time in his career. His first reign lasted from January 27, 2013, to January 5, 2014.
Kenoh’s fourth reign with the title ended after just one day. He had defeated Taishi Ozawa for the belt via referee stoppage on Friday’s show, then immediately accepted a challenge from KENTA for night two.
Similarly, KENTA received a challenge shortly after his win when he was confronted by longtime rival Naomichi Marufuji. Marufuji and Daiki Odashima defeated KENTA and Junta Miyawaki in a tag team match on night one. Marufuji and KENTA have wrestled five championship matches previously, including two for the GHC Heavyweight Title: Marufuji successfully defended it against KENTA in 2006, and KENTA successfully defended it against Marufuji in 2013.
KENTA defeated KENOH at 7/20 Korakuen to win the GHC Heavyweight Title for the 2nd time—his first reign in 11.5 years! He now faces longtime rival Naomichi Marufuji in his first defense.
The MLW World Heavyweight Championship will be on the line when Matt Riddle and KENTA face each other for the first time ever.
Riddle will defend his MLW World title belt against KENTA at Summer of the Beasts 2025 in New York City on Thursday, June 26. The show is taking place at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens and will air live for free on MLW’s YouTube channel. This is the first match that’s been confirmed.
At MLW SuperFight earlier this year, KENTA defeated Kevin Knight and then declared that he was coming after the MLW World Championship. MLW then uploaded a promo from KENTA this week challenging Riddle for Summer of the Beasts.
Riddle has been champion since January, making three successful title defenses during his reign.
Both Riddle and KENTA are former WWE wrestlers. After several years competing for NJPW, KENTA is now back home in Pro Wrestling NOAH, where he originally became a star early in his career. He wrestles occasionally in the United States for MLW and on the indies.
Since MLW returned as a promotion in 2017, there have been eight wrestlers to hold the World title: Swerve Strickland, Low Ki, Tom Lawlor, Jacob Fatu, Alex Hammerstone, Alex Kane, Satoshi Kojima, and Riddle.
The only other announcement that’s been made for Summer of the Beasts so far is that Tokyo Joshi-Pro wrestler Yuki Kamifuku will make her MLW debut. Her opponent has not been named yet.
KENTA has returned to Pro Wrestling NOAH, signing a contract with the promotion.
After a five-plus year run in NJPW, the Japanese legend is returning to the company where he made his name in the 2000s and 2010s. The company held a press conference to announce the contract signing with NOAH wrestler and EVP Naomichi Marufuji sitting alongside his former rival. The presser streamed live on YouTube.
KENTA wrestled primarily for NOAH from 2000 to 2014, first starring in the company’s junior heavyweight division and capturing the GHC Junior Heavyweight title on three occasions. He later moved to the heavyweight division and held the GHC Heavyweight title once.
He left the promotion in 2014 to join WWE NXT as Hideo Itami, but would return to NOAH for a one-off against Marufuji in 2018.
KENTA left WWE in 2019, and joined NJPW making a surprise debut at Dominion that June, joining Bullet Club. He also made four guest appearances for NOAH while with NJPW. He has been removed from NJPW’s roster page.
The AEW star made a surprise appearance at the end of Defy’s Blueprint event on Sunday, confronting KENTA after he successfully defended the Defy title against Schaff. It isn’t known if or when the two will meet, though Defy is currently promoting their upcoming 8th Anniversary show that will take place on February 17.
Starks has been off AEW television since March, with no clear reason as to why he hasn’t been used. In recent months, he has instead appeared at various independent shows. A well-publicized situation saw Starks, who had just made his GCW debut, being pulled from all future events by AEW after GCW star Effy in an interview was critical of the Khans and AEW for running shows at the Hammerstein Ballroom just weeks before GCW was set to make their return.
Starks has an upcoming House of Glory match against Mike Santana next month.
Elsewhere on the show, actor Paul Walter Hauser appeared via video and challenged Joey Janela to a match for the 8th Anniversary show. Joey Janela accepted, making the bout a street fight.
Paul Walter Hauser just challenged Joey Janela to a match on February 7th at DEFY : HUNDREDTH – our 8th anniversary show!
One of the biggest stars in Pro Wrestling NOAH history is returning to the promotion to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
KENTA will be back in NOAH for a match against Kenoh at NOAH The New Year 2025 on Wednesday, January 1. The match was made official after Kenoh showed up at Friday’s NJPW event, confronting KENTA and challenging him to a match.
Kenoh said that, if KENTA still had feelings for the promotion where he came from, he would return to NOAH and face him on January 1. The challenge was then accepted by KENTA. Kenoh teased that, after he defeats KENTA in NOAH, they could potentially wrestle each other again in NJPW.
During his NOAH career, KENTA was a decorated champion with both Heavyweight and Junior Heavyweight title reigns. He left the promotion in 2014 but has returned a few times since then, making appearances while with WWE and NJPW.
Kenoh is a three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion in NOAH with his most recent reign lasting from October 2023-February 2024.
NOAH The New Year 2025 — a celebration of NOAH entering its 25th year in existence — is taking place from Budokan Hall in Tokyo. It will air live as a pay-per-view with English commentary. WWE’s Shinsuke Nakamura is part of the card, facing off against Ulka Sasaki.
Bryan and I will be back tonight with Wrestling Observer Radio covering the WWE deal in Indiana, Conor McGregor, G-1, AEW and all the latest news.
Raw tonight is from Indianapolis. The bouts announced are Bron Breakker vs. Ludwig Kaiser, Shayna Baszler vs. Lyra Valkyria vs. Kairi Sane and Braun Strowman vs. Chad Gable vs. Bronson Reed in MITB qualifiers and Kofi Kingston vs. Karrion Kross. The big draw is likely the Wyatt Sicks follow-up.
The show goes against a giant game seven in the NHL playoffs with Edmonton vs. Florida in Florida. Edmonton was down 0-3 in the series and has won three straight. The last time a Canadian team has won the Cup was in 1993, so you can just imagine the interest level. I expect it will be the largest television audience of the year for any show in Canada. Obviously it’s not as big in the U.S., but it will hurt Raw ratings. But Raw should have curiosity coming off week two of the Wyatt Sicks angle and MITB qualifying matches. There were 10,500 tickets out as of today. Good crowd but probably won’t be a legit sellout.
Rampage did 328,000 viewers and 0.12 in 18-49 Friday night. It was first in the time slot and I can’t remember the last time that happened. It was No. 6 on cable for the day.
Kenta debuts with MLW on the 7/12 show in St. Petersburg, FL, facing Bobby Fish in the first round of the Opera
The trailer for Dwayne Johnson’s movie “Red One” will be released tomorrow.
Taiji Ishimori may have suffered a left shoulder injury from a handspring spot in Saturday’s Arena Coliseo match where he Mistiico beat Volador Jr. & Hiromu Takahashi, but he did wrestle last night. As noted on last night’s show, in the post match, Mistico challenged Takahashi to a mask vs. hair match and Takahashi clearly said yes. Still, don’t take that as it’s happening.
Tonight in Puebla is Mistico & Mascara Dorada vs. Rocky Romero & Ishimori, Hiromu Takahashi vs. Templario and Zack Sabre Jr. vs. Virus.
Go out of your way to see the Sabre vs. Hehicero match from Saturday night. It is one of the best technical wrestling matches you’ll ever see and unusual for those kind of bouts, it also had super heat. Other bouts people have told us about to make sure and see are Josh Barnett vs. Jon Moxley from Bloodsort and today’s Yuma Anzai Triple Crown title defense against Hideki Suzuki.
The Friday night Arena Mexico card hasn’t been announced but on Friday, Kyle Fletcher sent in a tape promo and accepted a challenge from Atlantis Jr. for the ROH TV title.
NXT tomorrow has Trick Williams vs. Shawn Spears for the title, Tony D’Angelo vs. Nathan Frazer for the Heritage Cup, a tag team turmoil for a 7/7 title shot against Frazer & Axiom with Luke Gallows & Karl Anderson, Chase U, New Catch Republic and Edris Enofe & Malik Blade, Wes Lee vs. Joe Coffey and Sol Ruca vs. Arianna Grace.
Amanda Lemos vs. Virna Jandiroba was announced as the main event for the UFC’s 7/20 show from the Apex Arena.
Clash Wrestling vs. Alpha-1 Wrestling from yesterday in Taylor, MI: Ren Jones & Elk & Cameron Skyy & Tommy Teznik b Max Caster & Dan the Dad & BMD & Etan Price with Ortiz as referee, Colt Cabana b James Alexander, Mark Wheeler & Jessie V b Juntai & GAvin Quinn Allysin Kay b Jody Threat to retain the women’s title, Kody Lane won over Jason Hotch, Jake Crist and Rohit Raju to keep the Zero-Gravity title, Ren Jones b Shane Sabre to win the Clash title with Jerry Lynn as refere. Jones replaced Ethan Page, who has signed with WWE.
Stance, a designed art toy company, announced a global partnership with UFC. The premiere relae is a Conor McGregor figure debuting this weekend. There will be four variants of the McGregor figure, being released on 6/28.
Last week Hulk Hogan was at Mall of America promoting his new beer. (Longtime wrestling observers know that Hulk Hogan’s Pastamania once called the Mall of America home.)
But Hogan apparently no-showed some other promotional events, brother. (thanks to Eric Krol)
The final episode of Who Killed WCW airs tomorrow night on Vice. The show covers the final episode of Nitro on March 26, 2001, which was the last WCW show ever. The synopsis blames the fall on “the worst corporate merger of all-time.”
Northeast Wrestling on 7/27 at the JCC of Greater New Haven in Woodbridge, CT, has Jinder Mahal as the headliner.
Jeff Jarrett, Karen Jarrett and Satnam Snigh will be doing autographs and photos at the AIW show on 7/13 in Cleveland at Temple Live.
KENTA is returning to Impact Wrestling and has his sights set on gold.
Impact announced during Thursday’s Impact Wrestling episode that KENTA will return to the promotion at the Saturday, October 21 Bound for Glory pay-per-view in Chicago to challenge Chris Sabin for the X-Division Championship.
KENTA’s last Impact appearance came in August at the joint Impact x NJPW Multiverse United pay-per-view event in a 12-man tag team match. In total, the Japanese legend has wrestled five times for the company this year.
The X-Division title match is one of two new title bouts announced for Bound for Glory. It was also revealed during Thursday’s episode that Mickie James will challenge Trinity for the Knockouts World Championship at the event.
Already announced for Bound for Glory, Josh Alexander will challenge Alex Shelley for the Impact World Championship, plus Will Ospreay will take on “Speedball” Mike Bailey at the pay-per-view.
The updated Bound for Glory lineup:
Impact World Championship: Alex Shelley defends against Josh Alexander
Impact Knockouts World Championship: Trinity defends against Mickie James
Impact X-Division Championship: Chris Sabin defends against KENTA
Will Ospreay vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
Don West, Mike Tenay, Traci Brooks will be inducted into the Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame
A Block & B Block have their penultimate Block matches today in Takamatsu as NJPW’s G1 Climax 33 tournament hits the final stretch.
In the main event, 4-1 Kazuchika Okada looks to rebound from a loss to Will Ospreay in a bout against KENTA.
In the semi-main, two of the proclaimed Reiwa Three Musketeers do battle, as Shota Umino battles Yota Tsuji.
The full card:
B Block: Kazuchika Okada (4-1, 8 points) vs. KENTA (2-3, 4 points)
A Block: Shota Umino (2-1-2, 6 points) vs. Yota Tsuji (1-2-2, 4 points)
B Block: Will Ospreay (4-1, 8 points) vs. Tanga Loa (2-3, 4 points)
A Block: SANADA (5-0, 10 points) vs. Gabe Kidd (2-2-1, 5 points)
B Block: Taichi (3-2, 6 points) vs. El Phantasmo (2-3, 4 points)
A Block: Chase Owens (2-3, 4 points) vs. Ren Narita (0-3-2, 2 points)
B Block: YOSHI-HASHI (2-3, 4 points) vs. Great-O-Khan (1-4, 2 points)
A Block: Kaito Kiyomiya (2-1-2, 6 points) vs. Hikuleo (2-3, 4 points)
Our live coverage begins at 6 a.m. Eastern time.
**********
Recommended Matches
SANADA vs. Gabe Kidd – I don’t think it’s a stretch to call Kidd an MVP contender at this point—outstanding performance after outstanding performance, and this match is no exception.
Shota Umino vs. Yota Tsuji – This was their first meeting post-excursion, and it did not disappoint.
**********
Hikuleo defeated Kaito Kiyomiya
This match was all about Kaito working from behind to ground the big man. Kaito slowly worked his way to a finish, but in the end, Hikuleo caught Kaito with a chokeslam to win the match.
This win leaves Hikuleo on the upper end of A Block with 6 points, keeping him alive.
Great-O-Khan defeated YOSHI-HASHI
With YH’s tournament on the rocks, you would expect something more urgent here. Instead, O-Khan just coasted through control until YH launched a late rally. After a few nearfalls, O-Khan dropped YH with an eliminator to eliminate him from this tournament.
O-Khan played spoiler here, moving up to 4 points.
Ren Narita defeated Chase Owens
While not great, this match between two guys who are already virtually eliminated was far from awful. Ren put in a strong performance, eventually forcing Owens to submit with the cobra twist.
This win formally eliminates Owens from playoff contention.
El Phantasmo defeated Taichi
These guys worked hard throughout this match, splitting the crowd. After extended back-and-forths and false finishes, ELP secured the Gedo clutch.
This win moves ELP to 6 points, but both men are on rocky ground in B block.
SANADA defeated Gabe Kidd
From before the opening bell, Kidd brutalized SANADA using chairs and environmental offense to take the lead. The SANADA rally that followed was one of the best in his title reign. SANADA caught Kidd with a low blow after eating a closed fist, opening up for deadfall and the win.
SANADA’s perfect run continues, making him the only man in the tournament with 12 points.
Tanga Loa defeated Will Ospreay
This match didn’t play to Ospreay’s strengths whatsoever. Both guys got a lot before Loa took the fight to the outside. On the floor, Loa threw Ospreay into the chairs as the referee’s count climbed. Before Ospreay could get back in the ring, Loa hit him with a spear and beat the count himself to win the match via countout.
This massive upset leaves Loa with 6 points, keeping himself and a lot of B block in playoff contention.
Yota Tsuji defeated Shota Umino
This match opened hot before transitioning into a Shota control segment toward the later middle. The closing sequence saw Tsuji fight back in a furious strike exchange before attempting a spear. Umino reversed into a curb stomp but failed to hit the Death Rider; instead, Tsuji freed himself and connected with the spear to win.
This win moves Tsuji to 5 points, keeping himself and a lot of A Block alive in the process.
Kazuchika Okada defeated KENTA
An underdog KENTA forced Okada to work from behind for the duration of this match. KENTA utilized weapons and wear-down offense to maintain a lead for most of the runtime. Regardless, Okada was able to hit the rainmaker to win the match.
This win makes Okada the only person in B block with 10 points, ensuring his place in the playoffs and eliminating KENTA, YOSHI-HASHI, and Great-O-Khan.
Dave Meltzer and I are back for a Friday edition of Wrestling Observer Radio going over all the news in the latest issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
We discuss the following:
Dave’s bio on the life of the Iron Sheik
Jon Moxley’s hectic week to get to Japan
Forbidden Door 2
AEW Collision streaming plan
Ticket sales for Collision shows
CM Punk vs. KENTA and whether it’s booking a match of hoping for a match
Possible stipulation for Brock Lesnar vs. Cody Rhodes 3
NJPW Strong Openweight Champion KENTA has responded to a report of a potential match against CM Punk at AEW x NJPW Forbidden Door.
On Twitter Thursday, KENTA quote tweeted the WrestlingCovers Twitter account referencing a Fightful report that KENTA vs. CM Punk has been discussed for Forbidden Door on Sunday, June 25. The accompanying tweet included a fake match graphic made by the ItsTomsCustoms account.
KENTA’s acknowledgment of the report continues a long-running, typically one-sided social media feud between KENTA and Punk where KENTA teases the match and Punk does not acknowledge the possibility.
On June 6, KENTA tweeted in response to a video of Punk acknowledging that he stole his GTS finisher from KENTA in a red carpet interview from more than a decade ago. KENTA said he was only willing to wrestle Punk if the money was right:
I don’t really care who’s the original G2S. There is only one truth. If you want me to have match against Punk, Give Me correct amount of money. Other than that I don’t need to have this match. Seriously.
I don’t really care who’s the original G2S. There is only one truth. If you want me to have match against Punk, Give Me correct amount of money. Other than that I don’t need to have this match. Seriously. https://t.co/5eGIjN5bFO
NJPW Strong makes its Japan debut with Independence Day events at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo on Tuesday, July 4 and Wednesday, July 5. Night one will see TJP & Francesco Akira defend their IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles against Clark Connors & Dan Moloney.
On night two, Eddie Kingston challenges KENTA for the Strong Openweight Championship.
The TJP & Akira vs. Connors & Moloney title match was set up following TJP & Akira’s title defense against KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight at Dominion this past weekend. Moloney turned against the United Empire after the match and joined Bullet Club.
Kingston issued a challenge to KENTA for the Strong Openweight Championship at Resurgence last month. KENTA regained the title from Hikuleo that night.
The Independence Day events are taking place in advance of this year’s G1 Climax. At Dominion, it was revealed that this year’s G1 will see Kingston compete in the tournament for the first time ever.
Kingston underwent successful hernia surgery in May.
KENTA is once again the NJPW Strong Openweight Champion.
Becoming the first two-time Strong Openweight Champion, KENTA defeated Hikuleo by countout at Sunday’s Resurgence pay-per-view to regain the title.
Hikuleo’s title reign ends at 18 days and zero successful defenses, as he defeated KENTA for the title originally at Wrestling Dontaku on May 3.
KENTA’s second reign begins with another win on a pay-per-view in the United States, as he defeated Fred Rosser to win the title at Battle in the Valley in San Jose, California on February 18.
After KENTA’s win, a video message played from Eddie Kingston, issuing a general challenge to the winner of the bout for a future title bout. While not yet made official, the Strong roster and Kingston have been announced for the Independence Day pay-per-views in Japan on July 4 and July 5, so a potential KENTA vs. Kingston title match seems likely for one of those dates.
NJPW has announced that Zack Sabre Jr. will defend his NJPW World Television Championship against Jeff Cobb at the Wednesday, May 3 event. The Strong Openweight Championship will also be up for grabs as KENTA faces Hikuleo.
The championships being on the line in these matches became official after successful title defenses at NJPW Capital Collision in Washington, D.C. Sabre retained against Tom Lawlor, while KENTA retained against Eddie Edwards.
Sabre became the first-ever NJPW World Television Champion by defeating Ren Narita in the finals of a tournament at Wrestle Kingdom 17 this January.
KENTA won the Strong Openweight Championship from Fred Rosser in February. Wrestling Dontaku will be the first time the title has ever been defended in Japan.
Wrestling Dontaku is being held at the Fukuoka Convention Center and will air live on NJPW World. Here’s the updated card for the event:
IWGP World Heavyweight Champion SANADA defends against Hiromu Takahashi
NEVER Openweight Champion Tama Tonga defends against David Finlay
NEVER Openweight Six-Man Tag Team Champions Minoru Suzuki, El Desperado & Ren Narita defend against Kazuchika Okada and two mystery partners
NJPW World TV Champion Zack Sabre Jr. defends against Jeff Cobb
Strong Openweight Champion KENTA defends against Hikuleo
