Tag: NOAH

Mayu Iwatani shares positive update on injury recovery

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Mayu Iwatani has received some good news in her recovery from injury.

The 33-year-old Marigold star fractured her big toe in April and recently had to vacate Pro Wrestling NOAH’s GHC Women’s Championship. At a follow-up appointment today, she learned that she will not need to undergo surgery. Iwatani shared imaging showing that her bone has begun healing over the past couple of weeks.

“Ooooooh!!!!!!!! Finally!!!!!! Finally My bones are starting to heal—!!!,” she tweeted. “Right is two weeks ago. Left is today. Yesssh!!! So glad. No surgery!!!!!! The best!!!”

Because she’s never had surgery before, Iwatani is especially happy that she was able to avoid it here.

Iwatani has also been dealing with a shoulder injury but has said that should no longer be an issue by the time her toe heals.

In Marigold, Iwatani remains Superfly Champion amid her injury. She was previously one of the top wrestlers in Stardom before leaving the company in 2025 for Rossy Ogawa’s new venture.

GHC Women’s Championship —

Iwatani was the third-ever GHC Women’s Champion, following reigns by Kouki Amarei and Takumi Iroha. The title was introduced in 2024 as the first women’s championship in NOAH history.

Because she would not be cleared in time for Wrestle Magic on June 15, Iwatani had to vacate the title. It will be MIRAI vs. Great Sakuya at that show to determine the new champion. Once she’s able to wrestle, Iwatani has promised to come after the belt once again.

Mayu Iwatani vacates Pro Wrestling NOAH gold

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Due to an ongoing injury, Mayu Iwatani has been forced to vacate the gold she’s held for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

Iwatani appeared at NOAH’s event at Korakuen Hall on Monday and announced that she is vacating the GHC Women’s Championship. She fractured her big toe in two places last month and will not be able to make it back in time for Wrestle Magic 2026 on June 15. A new champion will be crowned at that show, with the participants to be announced.

When she comes back, Iwatani plans on coming straight for the GHC Women’s Championship again. She left the belt in the ring during her appearance today.

“I am very sorry that things have come to this, but I’m going to relinquish the GHC belt,” she told the fans. “I wanted to make this belt even more my own, and I wanted to grow even more alongside it. When I return, I will definitely come back for this belt. Until then, I’ll have to say goodbye for a little while.”

The GHC Women’s Championship was introduced in 2024 and has only been held by three wrestlers: Kouki Amarei, Takumi Iroha, and Iwatani. Iwatani’s reign as champion lasted 135 days.

Formerly one of the top wrestlers for Stardom, Iwatani now calls Marigold her home promotion. At least for the moment, she still holds the Marigold Supefly Championship amid her injury.

NOAH’s Wrestle Magic event on June 15 will be headlined by a six-man tag match with Kaito Kiyamiya, Titus Alexander & Archie Cole facing a yet-to-be-revealed team of representatives from NJPW, DDT, and Dragon Gate.

New GHC Heavyweight Champion crowned at NOAH Spring Mayhem Ryogoku 2026

Posted on by Ian Carey

Shane Haste is the new GHC Heavyweight Champion.

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
  • Eita defeated Katsumi Inabata
  • Atsushi Kotoge, Hi69 & Hajime Ohara defeated Hayata Koyanagi, Hiroto Tsuruya & Aoi Takahashi

KENTA teases ‘someone with WWE experience’ to challenge Yoshiki Inamura in NOAH

Posted on by Ian Carey

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.

NOAH’s Ulka Sasaki works dark match prior to WWE NXT

Posted on by Shounak Chakrabarti

On Tuesday, February 24 edition of WWE NXT, fans witnessed Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Ulka Sasaki in a dark match.

Sasaki, 36, made his WWE NXT debut in a dark match before the February 24 episode of NXT against Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo.

A part of Pro Wrestling NOAH, Sasaki is currently on an excursion and training at the WWE Performance Center, which he recently confirmed on one of his YouTube vlogs.

Sasaki is a former MMA fighter and has competed for UFC as well as Rizin. He made his debut for NOAH in 2024 and has wrestled a total of 176 matches (as per Cagematch), with his latest being a loss against KENTA on January 11, 2026.

NOAH and WWE currently have a working relationship, where Yoshiki Inamura competed in NXT before returning to NOAH. Several WWE wrestlers, such as Omos, Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, Charlie Dempsey, Tavion Heights, Josh Briggs, and many more, have competed in the Japanese promotion NOAH.

NOAH wrestler confirms WWE NXT excursion

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Pro Wrestling NOAH star Ulka Sasaki has arrived in the United States to begin his WWE NXT excursion.

At the start of 2026, Sasaki revealed that he would soon be heading to the United States. His excursion destination was not revealed at the time, but Sasaki has now posted a YouTube vlog confirming that he is in Florida for WWE. He will begin training at the Performance Center once he completes the medical process.

The 36-year-old Sasaki is a former UFC fighter and also has MMA experience in Rizin and Shooto. He began his wrestling career for NOAH just over two years ago. In that time, Sasaki has held the GHC National Championship and GHC Tag Team titles. His final match before excursion was against KENTA on January 11.

Sasaki noted in his vlog that WWE star Shinsuke Nakamura, who he once faced for NOAH in January 2025, made sure to come see him after his arrival and give him advice on adjusting to the United States.

The WWE-NOAH partnership has included talent exchanges between the two promotions. Yoshiki Inamura crossed over to NXT for an extended stay before returning to NOAH, while Omos, Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, Charlie Dempsey, Harlem Lewis, Tavion Heights, and Josh Briggs are among the WWE wrestlers who have gotten to compete in Japan.

Big Audio Nightmare: Wrestle Kingdom 20 lookback & a huge week of shows in Japan

Posted on by Adam Summers

The Big Audio Nightmare is back as Adam Summers & Mike Sempervive review NJPW Wrestle Kingdom 20, look back at the end of Hiroshi Tanahashi’s legendary career, and take a look the major shows from Stardom, Pro Wrestling NOAH, TJPW, Marigold, and All-Japan Pro Wrestling.

Subscribers can listen here.

NOAH’s Ulka Sasaki announces United States excursion

Posted on by Joseph Currier

Ulka Sasaki — a Pro Wrestling NOAH star and former UFC fighter — is heading on excursion to the United States.

At NOAH’s January 2 event in Tokyo, Sasaki revealed that he will soon be heading to the U.S. for an excursion. He did not reveal his destination, but NXT would seem to be the most likely option given the relationship NOAH has with WWE. Yoshiki Inamura debuted for NXT in 2024 and spent much of 2025 in the U.S. before returning to NOAH and winning the GHC Heavyweight Championship.

Sasaki will face off against KENTA at NOAH’s Korakuen Hall event on January 11 before heading off on excursion. Both are members of the newly formed NOAH faction White Raven Squad.

As an MMA fighter, Sasaki has experience competing for UFC, Rizin, and Shooto. He’s held the GHC National Championship and GHC Tag Team titles while with NOAH. Fans who watched NOAH The Year 2025 will remember Sasaki as Shinsuke Nakamura’s opponent from the show.

The WWE-NOAH relationship has also seen some NXT wrestlers pick up experience wrestling in Japan, with Hank Walker, Tank Ledger, Charlie Dempsey, Harlem Lewis, Tavion Heights, and Josh Briggs having spent time overseas.

Tetsuya Naito wins gold in surprise Japanese wrestling return

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On New Year’s Day 2026, Tetsuya Naito captured gold in his surprise return to Japanese wrestling.

Los Tranquilos de Japon (Naito & BUSHI) defeated Naomichi Marufuji & Kenoh at NOAH The New Year to become the new GHC Tag Team Champions. For both Naito & BUSHI, it was their first match in Japan since departing NJPW in May 2025. The two had been working international indie dates since then with stops in the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore.

The Tag Team title match was billed as Marufuji & Kenoh defending against BUSHI and a mystery partner. After teasing that Los Tranquilos de Japon trainee RYUSEI would be in the match, it was revealed that Naito himself was actually the partner.

Naito — one of NJPW’s most popular wrestlers of this era — departed the company in May after the two sides did not come to terms on a new contract. He was the leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon while with the promotion.

NJPW star Hiromu Takahashi was also in action at NOAH The New Year, losing the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship to AMAKUSA. Takahashi met up with his former LIJ stablemates backstage:

In their post-match comments, Naito & BUSHI did not reveal what’s next for them in NOAH. One team that could potentially challenge for their belts is The Good Brothers. Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows defeated Kaito Kiyomiya & Jack Morris at NOAH The New Year and then mentioned wanting to go after the GHC titles.

WWE NXT team loses NOAH tag titles

Posted on by Joseph Currier

WWE NXT duo Hank Walker & Tank Ledger are no longer the GHC Tag Team Champions.

Thirteen days after their reign began, Hank & Tank dropped the GHC titles to Masa Kitamiya & Takashi Sugiura on Friday at Pro Wrestling NOAH’s Cross Over 2025. Hank & Tank have been in Japan since late October for a NOAH excursion that’s helped them gain experience outside of the WWE system.

Kitamiya & Sugiura were the team that Hank & Tank defeated for the belts on November 8. The heels reclaimed the championships today with the help of steel chair shots, along with outside interference from their Team 2000X faction.

Hank & Tank debuted for NOAH on October 26 and have worked seven matches during their excursion. In a social media promo before dropping the belts today, Hank & Tank said their goal was to come back to NXT still holding the GHC Tag Team titles.

Both Hank & Tank are former college football players. They’ve been paired together in NXT since 2023 and are one-time NXT Tag Team Champions, holding the titles for four months from April-August of this year.

NOAH’s working relationship with WWE has included Omos, Hank, Tank, Charlie Dempsey, Harlem Lewis, Tavion Heights, and Josh Briggs spending time overseas in Japan. Along with that, NOAH star Yoshiki Inamura — the current GHC Heavyweight Champion — had an extended stint in NXT before returning to Japan.

Inamura retained his title over Kaito Kiyomiya in the main event of Friday’s show — and it was announced that Inamura will defend the GHC Heavyweight Championship against OZAWA at NOAH The New Year 2026 on January 1.

WOL: It’s not the number of titles, but what you do with them

Posted on by Jim Valley

Image: WWE

It’s time for the Saturday edition of Wrestling Observer Live with Jim Valley.

This week’s introduction of the AEW National title has reignited the old argument about too many titles in wrestling. How many is too many? Three? Five? Eleven?

Until Friday, Giulia was one of two women’s champions on WWE SmackDown. Is she a bigger star after being U.S. Champion? It’s not the number of titles — it’s what you do with them.

Plus, Jim’s thoughts on WWE SmackDown, NOAH, NJPW, AEW Collision, and a talk with author Dan Murphy on his new book about Olympic and pro wrestler Ed Don George.

Click Here to Listen (sub needed)

WWE NXT female wrestlers expected to travel overseas in 2026

Posted on by Josh Nason

The female wrestlers from WWE NXT will need to get their passports ready for next year according to our Bryan Alvarez.

Alvarez is reporting that the tentative plan is that like with the male NXT talent working in Pro Wrestling NOAH, the women will also be doing tours of Japan in 2026. He didn’t specify whether that meant NOAH, Marigold or potentially both.

WWE and NOAH have had a working partnership for several years that has seen several main roster talents head to Japan including Shinsuke Nakamura, AJ Styles and Omos (who held the GHC Tag Team titles).

The NXT men have had increased representation over the last year.

Upcoming appearances include former NXT Tag Team Champions Hank Walker & Tank Ledger against Masa Kitamiya and Takashi Sugiura on November 8 at Korakuen Hall for the GHC Tag Team titles. The duo debuted this past Sunday with a win over Alpha Wolf and Dragon Bane to set up the match.

Charlie Dempsey and Harlem Lewis debuted in NOAH last month while Josh Briggs and Tavion Heights took part in last summer’s N1 Victory tournament.

Conversely, Yoshiki Inamura debuted in WWE NXT last November, competing in the promotion through this past August.

Hiroshi Tanahashi match official for Pro Wrestling NOAH

Posted on by Joseph Currier

On his retirement tour, Hiroshi Tanahashi will be competing at a big event for Pro Wrestling NOAH.

NOAH has confirmed that Tanahashi & Kaito Kiyomiya will be teaming up on October 11, facing off against Naomichi Marufuji & KENOH at Wrestle Odyssey. The match was set up at NJPW Destruction in Kobe when Kiyomiya showed up and invited Tanahashi to team with him.

Tanahashi — one of NJPW’s greatest-ever wrestlers — will conclude his in-ring career at Wrestle Kingdom 20 on January 4, 2026. NJPW has yet to name Tanahashi’s opponent for his retirement match.

Though he’s retiring from the ring, Tanahashi will still be heavily involve in NJPW with his behind-the-scenes role as company president.

NOAH Wrestle Odyssey 2025 is airing live on ABEMA in Japan. The card also includes two NXT wrestlers: Charlie Dempsey & Harlem Lewis. They will be facing Jack Morris & Sasaki Yuruka in a tag bout.

Pro Wrestling NOAH Wrestle Odyssey (Saturday, October 11) —

  • GHC Heavyweight Champion KENTA defends against Masa Kitamiya
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion Hiromu Takahashi defends against Eita
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi & Kaito Kiyomiya vs. Naomichi Marufuji & KENOH
  • Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Minoru Suzuki
  • GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champions Dragon Bane & Alpha Wolf defend against Daga & Daiki Odashima
  • Takashi Sugiura & Shun Skywalker vs. Tetsuya Endo & Hayata
  • Jack Morris & Ulka Sasaki vs. Charlie Dempsey & Harlem Lewis
  • Galeno & Harutoki vs. Manabu Soya & Yuto Kikuchi
  • Junta Miyawaki vs. Kai Fujimura