NOAH: N-1 Victory Blocks Preview & Predictions

On September 12, 2021, NOAH will hold one of its annual tournaments “N-1 Victory”. This year’s edition of N-1 Victory will be different as there will be 4 different blocks with 16 participants in total, unlike the previous two years where there were 2 blocks. The tournament will take place in two different places. While the shows on September 12, September 26, and October 3 (The show on 10.3 will be a one-night tournament where semi-finals and the final match will be done) will be held at Korakuen Hall (Tokyo), the rest of the shows of this tournament (September 18, 19, and 20) will be held in an empty arena. The winner of the tournament will be able to challenge Naomichi Marufuji for the GHC Heavyweight Championship on October 10th at Edion Arena Osaka.

A Block

Takashi Sugiura/杉浦貴

Takashi Sugiura is the current leader of Sugiura Army (Sugiura-gun), and the current GHC National & ZERO-1 World Heavyweight double champion. Despite being the double champion, this is not enough for Sugiura as he also wants to win the tournament, and add the GHC Heavyweight title to his gold collection. Not long ago, Sugiura started to end his promos with the “1...2...3… NOAH!” line which is kind of similar to Antonio Inoki’s “1...2...3… Da!” trademark line and wants to elevate the company on the higher echelons. Sugiura also has the most number of reigns as GHC Heavyweight champion (4) along with Go Shiozaki & Naomichi Marufuji so he would definitely want to break this tie which winning the N-1 Victory would be the perfect opportunity for him. Sugiura is currently the most dominant wrestler of this block and has a huge chance of acing the block with a 3-0 record.

Kaito Kiyomiya/清宮海斗

Kaito Kiyomiya is a one-time GHC Heavyweight champion and won Global Tag League & Global League in 2018 (Global League was turned into N-1 Victory in 2019, KENOH being the winner of 2019’s tournament). Kiyomiya was considered as the company’s ace at one point and he’s currently one-half of GHC Tag Team champions along with Masa Kitamiya. Despite being a champion and the tournament schedule being on the horizon, Kiyomiya seems like he lost his focus and isn’t on the track as of now. Seeing how Kiyomiya getting frustrated over NOSAWA Rongai, his mind games, and the other shenanigans he faced (and still facing, as he got ran away with a car driven by The Great Muta recently), I assume that Kiyomiya will have a record of 0-3 in this tournament and have a breakdown afterward.

Keiji Mutoh/武藤敬司

Keiji Mutoh is one of the current members of M’s Alliance. Despite being a 58-year-old veteran and having pseudo knees as a replacement on his both legs, Mutoh is still giving his absolute best and spreading his love to this industry (Mutoh even performed his iconic Moonsault in Saitama Super Arena. His doctor scolded Mutoh after the match because he couldn’t even be able to walk ever again if his artificial joints broke during the impact. Fortunately, Mutoh's fine, and the artificial joints didn't break). Mutoh was the previous (34th) GHC Heavyweight champion and also one of the three wrestlers who were able to capture the IWGP Heavyweight (NJPW), Triple Crown (AJPW), and GHC Heavyweight (NOAH) championships on their careers’, along with Kensuke Sasaki and Yoshihiro Takayama. He was also one of the three pro-wrestlers that were a torchbearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (along with Kazuchika Okada and Kazushi Sakuraba). Mutoh has a decent chance of winning the block, provided that he pulls a shocking win over Takashi Sugiura. However, my prediction would be Mutoh having a 2-1 record, only losing to Sugiura.

Manabu Soya/征矢学

Manabu Soya is one of the current members of KONGOH and mainly takes part in the tag matches. Following up Masa Kitamiya’s betrayal to Katsuhiko Nakajima, Manabu Soya formed a team with Nakajima and tried to claim the tag titles on July 22 but ended up getting pinned by Kaito Kiyomiya. Soya, being placed in the same block with Kiyomiya now has the perfect chance for getting his revenge over that devastating loss. I’m predicting a 1-2 record for Soya, him getting the win over Kiyomiya but ending up losing to Keiji Mutoh and Takashi Sugiura.

A Block Winner Prediction - Takashi Sugiura

Most Anticipated Match - Takashi Sugiura vs. Kaito Kiyomiya

B Block

KENOH/拳王

KENOH, the current leader of KONGOH and one-time GHC Heavyweight and GHC National champion, was frustrated when he learned about Naomichi Marufuji not participating in the tournament. He also won Global League in 2017, and N-1 Victory in 2019 so he has a general understanding of what to expect from his block competitors. KENOH, being irritated at Marufuji and him appearing on the Weekly Pro-Wrestling cover instead of him, will definitely try to win and take his frustration off from his opponents (especially from Kendo Kashin). I’m expecting a 3-0 record for KENOH.

Daiki Inaba/稲葉大樹

Daiki Inaba joined the company from WRESTLE-1 where Inaba was the former champion there. Inaba has a match record of 5 wins, and 8 losses in 2021. While Inaba is only 33 years old and still has a lot of opportunities to chase in his career, I don’t think the N-1 Victory 2021 is that opportunity for him. I’m expecting a 1-2 record for Inaba where he gets a win over Kendo Kashin but a loss over KENOH and Masaaki Mochizuki.

Masaaki Mochizuki/望月成晃

Masaaki Mochizuki is one of the current members of M’s Alliance. Mochizuki is still actively wrestling for Dragon Gate while also appearing for some shows/wrestling for NOAH as well. Mochizuki was also a three-time Open the Dream Gate Champion. Being a 51-year-old veteran and having a Karate background, Mochizuki will be very tough on his opponents without showing mercy to any of them. I’m predicting a 2-1 record for Mochizuki though, getting wins over Daiki Inaba & Kendo Kashin while taking his only loss against KENOH.

Kendo Kashin/ケンドー・カシン

Kendo Kashin is one of the current members of the Sugiura Army and is known for his cheap methods. After the unexpected news came about Kazunari Murakami, which he had to withdraw from the tournament due to sciatic nerve condition, a match for Murakami’s empty spot was held between Kendo Kashin and King Tanny. Kendo Kashin ended up winning the match and taking the spot away from King Tanny’s hands. While he will utilize his methods as always, he still has to face three major threats, KENOH being the biggest for him (which he’s also afraid of). However, anything can happen in this tournament so there’s a possibility that Kendo Kashin might end up pulling a devastating win over KENOH. Though personally, I’m expecting a 0-3 record for Kendo Kashin.

B Block Winner Prediction - KENOH

Most Anticipated Match - KENOH vs. Masaaki Mochizuki

C Block

Kazushi Sakuraba/桜庭和志

Kazushi Sakuraba is one of the current members of the Sugiura Army and is an accomplished person in both his MMA and wrestling career. He was also one of the three pro-wrestlers that were a torchbearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (along with Kazuchika Okada and Keiji Mutoh). Sakuraba has competed in some remarkable promotions (both on his wrestling and MMA careers) like UWFi, K-1, PRIDE, RIZIN, NJPW, and he’s currently wrestling under NOAH. He has also won prestigious awards such as being selected as a UFC Hall of Famer in 2017 and winning the Tokyo Sports’ Best Tag Team Award in 2020 with his partner Takashi Sugiura. He has a stat of 13 wins and 6 losses in 2021, which is alright but I’m expecting a 1-2 record for him, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Masato Tanaka being the obstacles that prevent him from winning the block.

Katsuhiko Nakajima/中嶋勝彦

Katsuhiko Nakajima is one of the current members of KONGOH and the winner of the N-1 Victory 2020 tournament. Although he won the tournament, he wasn’t able to defeat his former tag member, Go Shiozaki, for the title. Nakajima stated that the ‘N’ in N-1 stands for ‘Nakajima’ in one of his recent interviews (much like how ‘G’ in G1 stands for ‘Goto’). Katsuhiko Nakajima’s chances of winning the N-1 Victory tournament back-to-back exists and I’m also expecting a “C Block Winner vs. D Block Winner” semi-final being as “Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Masa Kitamiya” where the betrayal of The Aggression, Nakajima losing his hair to Kitamiya, Kitamiya’s hatred towards Nakajima, pretty much everything between these two wrestlers will be settled on this very match. Predicting a 3-0 record for Nakajima.

Masato Tanaka/田中将斗

Masato Tanaka is one of the current members of M’s Alliance and also the previous ZERO-1 World Heavyweight champion (which he lost his title in an epic battle to Takashi Sugiura in Kawasaki). Following up on that devastating loss, Tanaka will aim higher and do his absolute best for winning the tournament and challenging his stablemate Naomichi Marufuji (maybe he wants Sugiura as the finalist for seeking revenge from Kawasaki as well). Tanaka has a match record of 39 wins, 8 losses, and 2 draws in 2021 which is actually great. I’m predicting that Tanaka will have a record of 2-1, only losing to Katsuhiko Nakajima.

Kotaro Suzuki/鈴木鼓太郎

Kotaro Suzuki is one of the current members of Perros del Mal de Japon and he will be going to have his title shot on the GHC Jr. Heavyweight championship against HAYATA, on September 3rd. Personally, I'm expecting Suzuki to dethrone HAYATA for the Jr. Heavyweight title, and then he’ll try to prove what NOAH Juniors are capable of in the tournament (kind of relatable to how Will Ospreay participated in G1 Climax 29). I’m not expecting Suzuki to win the tournament nor the block but he’ll fight for himself and the Junior division. Predicting a 0-3 record for him.

C Block Winner Prediction - Katsuhiko Nakajima

Most Anticipated Match - Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

D Block

Masa Kitamiya/マサ北宮

Along with Kaito Kiyomiya, Masa Kiyamiya is one-half of GHC Tag Team champions, followed up his betrayal over Katsuhiko Nakajima. Kitamiya is a very strong and destructive wrestler that has the mindset of “GO FOR BROKE!” just like his mentor Masa Saito. It’s safe to say that Masa Kitamiya and Kazuyuki Fujita will have an absolute brutal clash, which in my opinion will be the early decider of who’ll advance to the semi-finals. As I stated for Katsuhiko Nakajima, I’m expecting a “C Block Winner vs. D Block Winner” semi-final being as “Katsuhiko Nakajima vs. Masa Kitamiya” where everything will be settled on that very match. I’m expecting a 3-0 record for Kitamiya.

Akitoshi Saito/斎藤彰俊

Akitoshi Saito is one of the current members of Funky Express and was one-half of the most reigning GHC Tag Team champions along with Bison Smith. His win-loss stats for 2021 is almost 50/50 (having 14 wins while also having 16 losses) but unfortunately, I don’t see a bright light at the end of the tunnel for him. Thus, predicting a 0-3 record for Saito.

Masakatsu Funaki/船木誠勝

Masakatsu Funaki is currently one of the members of M’s Alliance and he’s also a hybrid wrestler (he can easily wrestle under both normal, and UWF rules). Funaki was also able to capture the Triple Crown and King of Pancrase championships in his career (like Minoru Suzuki did) and even after all those years he hasn’t lost his abilities a bit. He also took a part in Gleat ver.1 this year and defeated Yu Izuka under UWF rules in a fairly decent match. As for NOAH, he challenged KENOH for the GHC National Championship and both put a solid match in Nippon Budokan where KENOH ended up as the winner of the match. Funaki is one of those wrestlers that you should watch out for when wrestling but I’m predicting a 1-2 record for him, getting a win over Akitoshi Saito but losing to Masa Kitamiya & Kazuyuki Fujita.

Kazuyuki Fujita/藤田和之

Kazuyuki Fujita is one of the current members of the Sugiura Army and was also the previous (4th) GHC National champion which he lost his title against Takashi Sugiura in a physically grueling battle in April 29th. Fujita was also a three-time IWGP Heavyweight champion along with having a martial arts background and competing on K-1 and PRIDE in his career. Along with Masa Kitamiya, he’s one of the most destructive wrestlers on this block and I’m expecting a 2-1 record for Fujita, having his only loss against Kitamiya.

D Block Winner Prediction - Masa Kitamiya

Most Anticipated Matches - Masa Kitamiya vs. Kazuyuki Fujita, Masakatsu Funaki vs. Kazuyuki Fujita