Kaito Kiyomiya moved to 2-0 in the 2026 N-1 Victory by defeating Shane Haste in Okayama, while GHC Heavyweight Champion Tetsuya Naito addressed AMAKUSA’s injury absence before NOAH’s Kumamoto event.
Kiyomiya said the difficult first-time singles match with Haste reinforced the standard he wants the tournament to reach.
“Okayama was hot. If we wrestlers keep putting our bodies and our lives into these matches every day, the fans will naturally smile like they did today. I will keep focusing on winning and make every league match the kind where fans need to know who will win next.”
He credited Haste for the challenge and left the door open to another singles match.
“Shane was truly strong. Wrestling him was exciting. Let’s definitely do it again somewhere. Thank you.”
Haste congratulated Kiyomiya and said the undefeated start would create its own pressure.
“Kaito, your engine is running at full speed. I have known you since the Differ Ariake days, and I’m proud of the champion you became. But continuing to win and staying unbeaten in the N-1 brings stress. I lost, so I’m free of that stress. One loss is nothing.”
Naito turned his attention to the next stop in Kumamoto, where AMAKUSA was unable to compete after an abnormality was discovered during a medical examination.
“I know there are people disappointed by AMAKUSA’s absence. Kumamoto is a very special place for me because it is where I first used the phrase ‘the courage to take one step.’ I will be there, so it will be all right. The GHC Heavyweight Champion will be there, and I will make the Kumamoto show exciting.”
Elsewhere in league action, Alpha Wolf defeated Yoshiki Inamura, Takashi Sugiura beat Yuki Iino and Kazuyuki Fujita handed Chen his first loss.
Kiyomiya recently explained why beating Tetsuya Naito is central to his comeback story.
Source: Pro Wrestling NOAH official backstage comments. Quotes translated from Japanese.
