A Look at the 2019 NOAH N-1 Victory Tournament and the Participants

A Look at the 2019 NOAH N-1 Victory Tournament and the Participants
August 8, 2019 
By Ryan Porzl

Back in 2010, Pro Wrestling NOAH established a yearly heavyweight round robin tournament called the Global League. The tournament was supposed to be to the organization what the G-1 Climax is to New Japan Pro Wrestling, the Champion Carnival is to All Japan Pro Wrestling, or the Fire Festival is to Pro Wrestling ZERO1. However, with the change in management in 2019, NOAH saw many changes including new logo and the end of their signature green mats. Another change was the renaming of the Global League to the N-1 Victory tournament. For the first annual N-1 Victory, things got more interesting when it was announced current GHC (Global Honored Crown) Heavyweight Champion Kaito Kiyomiya would not participate and that the winner would be the number one contender to the GHC Heavyweight Championship with the match being held at Sumo Hall on November 2nd. As I've done this year with the Champion Carnival and Fire Festival, I shall take a look at the participants and see where I think they stand.



Block A

Naomichi Marufuji
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 8 (2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Pluses: 3 time GHC Heavyweight Champion, former Global League winner, and one of NOAH's top wrestlers
Minuses: Just had a title shot in March and a stale choice

Thoughts: Since the death of Marufuji's mentor and NOAH founder Mitsuharu Misawa, Marufuji has largely been "Mr. NOAH" both on and off camera. He's the only one to have held all five titles in NOAH's history (counting the now defunct Openweight Hardcore Championship), he's a former Global League winner, and still to this day is a top act for the organization. That being said, Marufuji has things against him. The first is he just challenged for the championship already back in March and though a great match, I doubt NOAH wants to do the match again so soon. Marufuji has also dealt with injuries as he made it to the finals last year but was forced out due to injuries and missed the end of last year. 20 years of wear and tear as well as his style seems to be catching up as well as his stubborn attitude about not taking time off. Perhaps the biggest thing that hurts Marufuji's chances is the fact that NOAH is in a brand new era with new logo, replacing the signature green mats with white, and the renaming of the tournament. Meanwhile, Marufuji has been a top act for most of NOAH's 19 year history, a former GL winner, and a multi-time GHC Heavyweight Champion. With 2019 being a year of change, I can't see NOAH going back to the Marufuji well. Ultimately, I see either Kenoh or Taniguchi winning and if Kenoh is set to win then expect Marufuji to win Block A and be the runner up this year. If Kenoh isn't booked to win then expect Marufuji to be second or third.

Chances of Winning: Slim to none

Takashi Sugiura
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 8 (2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018)
Pluses: 4 time GHC Heavyweight Champion, former Global League winner, a top NOAH wrestler, has history with champ Kaito Kiyomiya, and recently scored a win over Kiyomiya
Minuses: Stale on top, already faced Kiyomiya twice in recent months, and just challenged for the championship

Thoughts: Sugiura is like Marufuji is many ways. He's held all the current championships, won the GL, and has also an argument over the title "Mr. NOAH" given those achievements as well as holding the record for most successful title defenses with 14 during his first reign as well as the record of most GHC Heavyweight Title reigns at 4. Suguira's chances have also been boosted with a win over Kiyomiya at NOAH's 19th Anniversary show Departure '19 on August 4th. Best of all, Suguira can still go despite approaching 49, has been wrestling for 19 years, and coming off heart surgery two years ago. Having said all that, the same negatives Marufuji has are the same for Suguira. He's been a top star for a decade and is very stale on top as he's not only been champ 4 times but some of his reigns have been very long. He's also coming off a 9 month reign which was most of last year so it doesn't make sense to go right back to him. Sugiura already got a title shot back on June 9th so I can't see them doing another match so quick. Again, NOAH is in a new era and going back to Suguira right now would be very backwards. I see Suguira placing either second or third in the block.

Chances of Winning: Slim to None

Go Shiozaki
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 5 (2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Pluses: 3 time GHC Heavyweight Champion, former Global League winner, top NOAH wrestler, and fresh challenger
Minuses: Not in the main event right now and is focusing on the tag team titles

Thoughts: Shiozaki is another guy who's been a top star for a decade though unlike Marufuji and Sugiura, Shiozaki has bounced around All Japan and NOAH in that time. Shiozaki has similar pluses and minuses as he is a multi-time GHC Champ and a former Global League winner. Unlike Marufuji and Sugiura, Shiozaki is a fresh challenger as he hasn't challenged for the championship since Kiyomiya won it so that's a plus for him. He also is someone they could realistically put in the main event of a Sumo Hall show. Yet another plus is he just successfully defended the tag team championships over Kiyomiya and Shuhei Taniguchi where he got the pin over Taniguchi and with his partner Nakajima recently getting a shot, that might be a direction NOAH is going. That being said, I still feel they won't go for Shiozaki the same way as Marufuji and Sugiura as he's been champ multiple times and they may want someone who either never won it before or maybe once. Shiozaki has also taken a step back in recent months as he's been in the tag team division forming the team AXIZ with Katsuhiko Nakajima and is currently one of the tag team champs. I just don't think he's returning to the main event in 2019. All in all, like I said with Marufuji, I feel either Kenoh or Taniguchi will win the tournament. If it's Kenoh, then expect Shiozaki to place second or third. If it's Taniguchi, expect Shiozaki to win the block and be runner up given their history as former partners and Taniguchi avenging his recent loss.

Chances of Winning: Below Average

Masa Kitamiya
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 4 (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Pluses: Former Global League runner up
Minuses: Has fallen down the ladder recently and already challenged Kiyomiya

Thoughts: Kitamiya is one of NOAH's prospects and has "Future GHC Champion" written all over him while being a former runner up back in 2016. Unfortunately, Kitamiya has a lot going against him as he seemingly taken a step back lately and hasn't been given any big push. He already challenged for the GHC Championship back on February 1st and he's not in any position to be getting another title shot anytime soon. Not to mention that despite his potential, he's not a big enough name to main event Sumo Hall. I definitely see Kitamiya winning at least one someday but not this year. Sadly, given all this, tying last place in the Global Tag League, and being the lowest on the food chain, I see Kitamiya placing last. Kitamiya is the second youngest behind Hammerstone in Block A so NOAH could look at it as they have plenty of time to rebuild Kitamiya after this while they can't afford to have stars like Marufuji, Suguira, and Shiozaki that low.

Chances of Winning: No chance

Alex Hammerstone
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 0
Pluses: Fresh challenger and talented up and comer
Minuses: Not a NOAH wrestler and not a main eventer for MLW

Thoughts: Hammerstone is from MLW and anyone that's seen him knows he's got a world of potential along with being a future world champion. That being said, Hammerstone isn't there yet and it may be awhile before he is. Hammerstone is largely here as part of the new MLW/NOAH relationship and probably because MLW thinks it will be good for him and get him some seasoning. The only thing going for him is he would be a fresh challenger for Kiyomiya but there are several people on here that can be that and are much higher up the food chain. Not to mention, a Kiyomiya/Hammerstone match won't be big enough for Sumo Hall this year. Normally, I would say Hammerstone would place last but since he's a big MLW prospect, the relationship is new, and Hammerstone is the current MLW National Openweight Champion, I think NOAH will place him likely fourth place though he MIGHT get third.

Chances of Winning: No chance

Block B

Katsuhiko Nakajima
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 7 (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Pluses: Former GHC Heavyweight Champion
Minuses: Just challenged Kiyomiya recently and focusing on the tag team titles

Thoughts: Nakajima is somebody who should be considered a favorite but he has two strikes against him that makes him go from being a potential favorite to having no chance in hell. The first is he just challenged for the GHC Heavyweight Championship back on July 27th so I seriously doubt he'll get another shot so soon. If he was a bigger star or had a rivalry with Kiyomiya then I say this wouldn't bother him but neither is the case. Another issue is he's currently focused on the tag team division as one half of the tag team champions with partner Go Shiozaki in AXIZ so he's already busy doing something else so I can't see him moving to singles right now especially when the winner of this competition is likely to be the next champion. I see Nakajima landing third or fourth in the block with Mochizuki getting the other.

Chances of Winning: No chance

Shuhei Taniguchi
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 8 (2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
Pluses: Currently getting a renewed push with strong wins, is a tag partner with Kiyomiya, and fresh challenger
Minuses: Never won the GHC Heavyweight Championship or Global League

Thoughts: 2019 has been a highlight year for Taniguchi. After years of only finding success in the tag team division and being stuck in the midcard as the wild man "Maybach Taniguchi", Taniguchi has reverted back to himself and has been one of NOAH's shining stars this year putting on some good matches and reportedly, some fans have believed he's finally coming into his own. Taniguchi has also gotten a good push lately as he scored one of the biggest wins of his career over former partner Marufuji at the Mitsuharu Misawa memorial show on June 13th and won by submission, making him one of the few to force Marufuji to submit. On top of that, he's gotten quite chummy with Kiyomiya as the two have formed a tag team, challenged for the tag team championship, and frequently tag at shows. Given his close association with Kiyomiya, there's clearly something there to build an eventual Kiyomiya/Taniguchi showdown. Taniguchi is also a fresh face as he never has held the GHC Championship and the Global League and with NOAH in a new phase, Taniguchi fits that. Not only that, Taniguchi is long overdue for a title shot as he hasn't challenged for the GHC Championship in three years so he's fresh. While Taniguchi is nearly 43, he is a late bloomer as he turned pro in 2005 at 29 years old so he doesn't have the mileage of a Marufuji and isn't as old or having the mileage as Sugiura. Also, he's considered part of the current generation given it's when he turned pro as opposed to age. The only minus I see is maybe NOAH doesn't have faith in someone never having held the heavyweight championship or global league to headline NOAH's return to the Sumo Hall. Because of all this, I feel Taniguchi has the momentum and in the right place at the right time to finally break the glass ceiling at long last. If he doesn't win the tournament, expect Taniguchi to place runner up or second in the block.

Chances of Winning: One of the favorites

Kenoh
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 2 (2017, 2018)
Pluses: Former GHC Heavyweight Champion, Former Global League winner, top NOAH wrestler, and has history with Kiyomiya
Minuses: Has already challenged for the championship earlier this year

Thoughts: Like Taniguchi, Kenoh has just about everything going for him. He's a former GHC Champion and Global League winner but only won once each and his title reign was brief so he's nowhere near stale like Marufuji, Sugiura, and Shiozaki are in the same position. Being a former champion and Global League winner, NOAH probably has confidence in putting Kenoh in the main event of their return to Sumo Hall. Kenoh also has a long history with Kiyomiya as he retained the GHC Championship against Kiyomiya upon the latter's return from a learning exertion back in January 2018 and Kiyomiya avenged the loss one year later. The only negative is Kenoh has seemingly taken a step back in recent months forming his own stable Kongou (Japanese for Diamond or indestructible substance) and he already challenged Kiyomiya back in January. However, with the two tied one apiece, it's possible we get a rubber match. All in all, I see Kenoh being one of the favorites as he either wins or will at least place second.

Chances of Winning: One of the favorites

Masaaki Mochizuki
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 0
Pluses: Top act in Dragon Gate and fresh challenger
Minuses: Has only wrestled twice for NOAH and is pushing 50

Thoughts: Mochizuki is a Dragon Gate guy so I don't know much about him. I know he's a former FIP World Heavyweight Champion in America and is a former 3 time Open The Dream Gate Champion which is Dragon Gate's top title. That being said, those are the only good things I see about Mochizuki. For one, he has no history in NOAH as he had his first match there only months ago so I seriously doubt he's going to just win the tournament that quickly. Both his pluses and minuses work against him as he's nearly 50 and while Sugiura is the same age, NOAH would go with him before Mochizuki. He is a fresh challenger but so are Shiozaki and Taniguchi who are regulars and NOAH can get more mileage out of them. He's also never been in a Global League and he's nowhere near big enough for NOAH to give him one in his debut. Mochizuki's position in the block is tough because he's a top act in DG so they may not want to put him too low but I can't see him that high either as he's not a huge star. I guess I see him landing fourth though he might make third but that's might.

Chances of Winning: No chance

El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
Number of N-1 Victory/Global Leagues: 0
Pluses: Fresh challenger
Minuses: Not a main eventer and not a NOAH regular

Thoughts: Wagner is one of the MLW representatives in this tournament. Again, I don't know too much about him but as far as I know, he's not a top star or main eventer anywhere so that's against him. He's not a NOAH regular and again, is nowhere near a big enough star to be given this tournament on his first shot. Not to mention that if he's lower than Hammerstone on the food chain so if any MLW guy is going to win, it'll be Hammerstone. Wagner would be a fresh challenger but so are others. Honestly, Wagner is the job guy of Block B where he'll place last and may only get one win with that win being a spoiler that prevents someone from going to the finals.

Chances of Winning: No chance