Tetsuya Naito has directly rejected the idea that his frequent references to New Japan Pro-Wrestling come from unresolved feelings about the company he called home for more than two decades.
Speaking at a Pro Wrestling NOAH press conference alongside OZAWA after the N-1 VICTORy 2026 event, the reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion addressed a pointed accusation from his next challenger. OZAWA suggested that Naito remains hung up on NJPW and is using his stated ambition to elevate NOAH as a way of moving beyond his former promotion.
Naito’s response was emphatic. While he acknowledged that NJPW remains the benchmark in Japanese wrestling, he insisted that discussing that reality is necessary if NOAH is serious about surpassing it. He also turned the criticism back toward OZAWA, saying his challenger has spoken more about NJPW than the champion himself in recent days.
The exchange adds another layer to a major GHC Heavyweight Championship match set for October 25 at Ryogoku Sumo Hall. OZAWA earned the title opportunity by defeating Kaito Kiyomiya in the N-1 VICTORy finals, positioning himself for one of the biggest matches of his career against a champion whose arrival has brought considerable attention to NOAH.
For more background on this topic, read NJPW Partners With Street Fighter Movie Ahead of King of Pro-Wrestling 2026.
OZAWA Questions Naito’s Motivation
At the press conference, OZAWA questioned why Naito continues to frame his NOAH ambitions in comparison to NJPW. Naito is competing in NOAH as a free agent following his departure from NJPW in April 2025, and OZAWA argued that a wrestler in that position should be focused solely on his own professional path rather than speaking on behalf of an organization.
“I get the feeling that Tetsuya Naito is still hung up on New Japan, and even though he’s a free agent, a free agent wrestler, participating in Pro Wrestling Noah, he talks about wanting to make Noah the top in the industry,” OZAWA said. “Since he’s participating as a free agent, he’s doing pro wrestling for himself, so he shouldn’t have any feelings of doing it for the organization. The fact that he deliberately puts that into words makes me think he’s trying to forget about New Japan Pro-Wrestling.”
OZAWA’s comments are a deliberate attempt to target an obvious part of Naito’s history. Naito’s association with NJPW is not a minor footnote in his career. It is the promotion in which he became one of the defining Japanese stars of his era, built Los Ingobernables de Japon into a major force, and collected many of the company’s top honors.
That history also makes Naito an especially compelling figure in NOAH. He is not arriving as a prospect looking for a breakthrough or as a veteran simply revisiting familiar surroundings. He is an established main-event name, a free agent and now the GHC Heavyweight Champion, openly presenting a vision for the promotion’s place within the Japanese wrestling landscape.
Naito Says Avoiding NJPW Would Be the Easy Way Out
Naito argued that refusing to mention NJPW would be a dishonest way to speak about the current state of the industry. In his view, NJPW is still Japan’s number one promotion, and NOAH cannot reach that position without confronting the company’s standing directly.
“I actually think that not mentioning New Japan Pro-Wrestling, which is currently the number one in Japan, would be more of a cop-out, so I myself have mentioned New Japan Pro-Wrestling many times,” Naito said.
The champion then noted that the person beside him had been especially vocal about NJPW. Naito said there had been a wrestler talking even more loudly about the promotion over the past two days, identifying OZAWA as the man in question.
“I heard he wanted to become a pro wrestler in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but maybe he couldn’t? I don’t really know,” Naito said. “But there’s no need to hide that past, and I think it’s fine to talk about it.”
Naito questioned why his own mentions of NJPW have attracted criticism or negative reactions. For him, the comparison is not an indication that he wants to return to his old environment. Instead, it is a measurement of the task he has undertaken as NOAH’s top champion.
“I’m serious about making Pro Wrestling Noah the number one in the domestic industry, and to do that, I can’t avoid New Japan Pro-Wrestling,” Naito said. “That’s why I keep mentioning New Japan Pro-Wrestling over and over again, but I have absolutely no lingering feelings towards New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Absolutely none.”
The wording leaves little room for ambiguity. Naito did not merely say he has moved on; he stressed that there are no lingering feelings at all. At the same time, he made clear that NJPW’s role as an industry standard is central to the goals he has set for NOAH.
A Defining NOAH Chapter for Naito
Naito departed NJPW in April 2025 after a run that spanned more than 20 years. During that tenure, he reached the summit of the company on numerous occasions. He is a five-time IWGP Heavyweight Champion, an eight-time IWGP Intercontinental Champion and a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He also won the G1 Climax tournament three times.
Those accomplishments explain why any comments Naito makes about NJPW will continue to receive attention. Few wrestlers of his generation are as strongly linked to the promotion, and his history there was defined by championship success, major tournament victories and a long evolution from young prospect to one of the most recognizable figures in Japanese wrestling.
However, Naito’s current position is fundamentally different. He is now holding NOAH’s premier championship, and his public focus is on what he can accomplish there. His insistence that NOAH must aim for the top is not a passing slogan in the build to one match; it is the standard he says the promotion must pursue.
For NOAH, that message carries substantial weight. A GHC Heavyweight Champion is expected to represent the company in its largest matches and its biggest public statements. Naito is embracing that responsibility even while operating as a free agent, which is precisely the point OZAWA attempted to challenge during their press conference confrontation.
OZAWA’s argument is that a free agent should be motivated primarily by individual achievement. Naito’s position is that his own individual goals and NOAH’s broader ambitions are not in conflict. By becoming champion and attempting to push the promotion toward the top of the domestic scene, Naito can pursue both at once.
OZAWA Brings N-1 VICTORy Momentum to Ryogoku
The challenger enters October 25 with major momentum after winning N-1 VICTORy 2026. His victory over Kiyomiya in the tournament final secured his GHC Heavyweight Championship opportunity and immediately placed him across from Naito in a match with significant implications for NOAH’s immediate direction.
Winning the N-1 VICTORy is a statement in itself, but OZAWA is also showing that he intends to make the championship contest personal. By questioning Naito’s relationship with NJPW, he has tried to cast doubt on whether the champion’s stated commitment to NOAH is fully genuine.
Naito has responded by making the stakes larger rather than shrinking from the subject. He is not denying the importance of NJPW in his past, nor is he pretending the promotion does not remain a central power in Japan. Instead, he is drawing a sharp line between recognizing a rival’s place in the industry and carrying emotional attachment to it.
That distinction will remain part of the conversation heading into Ryogoku Sumo Hall. Naito is defending the GHC Heavyweight Championship as a man determined to lead NOAH forward. OZAWA is challenging as the N-1 VICTORy winner who believes the champion may still be defined by what came before.
On October 25, the verbal battle will give way to a championship match. Naito has made his position unmistakable: his NJPW past is not something he is trying to escape, but it is not where his lingering feelings reside. His attention is on NOAH, the GHC Heavyweight Championship, and the challenge of taking the promotion to the top of Japanese professional wrestling.
Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.