Pro Wrestling NOAH N-1 Victory 2023 A Block Preview
Pro Wrestling NOAH’s annual summer tournament, in fact their only currently active tournament, returns this August. After a fair bit of format flip-flopping in recent years, the 2023 edition marks the second successive tournament to feature the classic format of two blocks of eight, giving a total of 16 participants.
As a promotion, NOAH has been in a weird place in 2023. They drew three big houses at the beginning of the year as Keiji Mutoh finally called it a day but otherwise they’ve not been particularly strong from an attendance perspective. Part of that is down to their booking not being hugely compelling, part of that is down to them failing to suitably elevate people while Muto’s cronies were on top, and part is likely down to Jake Lee, who they picked up in January as a free agent after his All Japan departure, being champion for the last five months. I don’t mind Lee as a worker but he’s never been a draw and even putting him in there alongside big names like Naomichi Marufuji and Takashi Suguira hasn’t had a major impact.
That said, NOAH is still in a good place financially and this year’s N-1 feels fun, different and vibrant – only five of last year’s cohort are returning, meaning 11 returnees/debutants. In recent months, they have also managed to cultivate compelling narratives around three people coming into this tournament; namely Kenoh, Katsuhiko Nakajima and Go Shiozaki.
The latter of those two are in this block, which is a curious mix of established stars, brawlers and newcomers. Alongside Nakajima and Shiozaki, you have the reigning GHC National Champion El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr and All Japan’s super rookie Yuma Anzai. Manabu Soya, GHC Tag Team Champion Saxon Huxley and MLW’s Lance Anoa’i bring terrific wildman energy and have been paired up a lot in preview tags. That takes you to seven, with Daiki Inaba feeling like the odd one out as he completes the block.
Let’s get into the breakdown…
Go Shiozaki
The modern Mr. NOAH, Go Shiozaki is a five-time GHC Heavyweight Champion and a seven-time GHC Tag Team Champion. His fourth World title was undoubtedly the strongest, really starring as the ace of the promotion in the first year of the pandemic.
He has, however, never won the N-1 or Global League, with his best previous result being the 2017 final when he lost to Kenoh. Now 41 and the oldest man in this year’s field Shiozaki got injured at the end of last year’s tournament and missed eight months before returning to the ring in May. Since that return, he’s realigned with his former AXIZ partner Katsuhiko Nakajima and been clearly positioned as one of the favorites for this year’s N-1.
Could this be his year?
Past Singles Tournament Record:
N-1 Victory 2022
- 4-3
- 4th Place Block A
N-1 Victory 2020
- 3-2
- 2nd Place Block A
N-1 Victory 2019
- 2-2
- 2nd Place Block A
D-Ou Grand Prix 2019
- 5-1
- 1st Place Block A
- Lost final to Konuske Takeshita
Global League 2018
- 4-3
- 2nd Place Block B
Global League 2017
- 4-1-1
- 1st Place Block A
- Lost final to Kenoh
Global League 2016
- 4-3
- 2nd Place Block B
Royal Road 2015
- Eliminated by Jun Akiyama First Round
Champion Carnival 2015
- 3-1-1
- Shared 1st Place Block A
- Lost Block A Playoff to Suwama
Royal Road 2014
- Winner beat Suwama in final
Champion Carnival 2014
- 3-0-1
- 3rd Place Block A
Royal Road 2013
- Lost Final to Akebono
Champion Carnival 2013
- 3-0-2
- 1st Place Block A
- Lost Semi-Final to KAI
Global League 2012
- 3-3
- 4th Place Block A
Global League 2011
- 5-2-1
- 2nd Place Block A
16 Carat Gold 2011
- Lost Semi-final to WALTER
G1 Climax 2010
- 4-2-1
- 2nd Place Block B
Dragon Cup 2007
- Lost Semi-Final to Yutaka Yoshie
16 Carat Gold 2007
- Lost Quarter-Final to Murat Bosporus
King of Europe Cup 2007
- Lost Quarter-Final to Davey Richards
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Saxon Huxley
- vs. Yuma Anzai
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
- vs. Daiki Inaba
- vs. Manabu Soya
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
Prediction: Shiozaki is one of the favorites to win this block, alongside tag partner Nakajima.
Since his return from injury, they’ve tried to tell the story that Shiozaki still isn’t quite at 100% but he’s pushing through. He lost his first match back, leading to him reuniting with Nakajima. They lost their first tag match back together, only to go 8-1 since then. He lost his first singles match back to Kenoh, meaning that his last singles win was on Night 7 of last year’s tournament against Masato Tanaka. I’d expect the classic slow start before turning it round down the stretch.
You also have Jake Lee’s arc as champion, where his defenses have been specifically targeted at all of the NOAH old guard. Lee has accounted for Marufuji, Suguira and Nakajima. Shiozaki is the obvious next step and in order to get there, that means Go winning this year’s tournament, getting his win back over Kenoh, who has questioned how injured he actually was during that eight-month break, in the final in the process.
If NOAH wants to give Shiozaki an N-1 win, it really has to be this year. Not just because of the story but because his body appears to be held together with double-sided sticky tape and safety pins.
Shiozaki and Nakajima meet on the last night and that seems the obvious nailed-on lock to decide who wins B Block. My pick is Shiozaki but if he doesn’t win, I’d expect him to have beaten El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr earlier in the block to set up a future National title match.
Saxon Huxley
I can’t say that Hartlepool’s finest was the sort of former WWE name I expected NOAH to go for but as Paul Völsch points out regularly on the Emerald Flowshow, you can never predict the NOAH random grab bag of foreigners.
Huxley has genuinely improved since his first appearance, when he looked like a low-rent Bruiser Brody. His work is largely fine if not spectacular and he’s brought a really entertaining monster energy while teaming alongside Timothy Thatcher and alongside his REAL stablemates more widely.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
WWE United Kingdom Title Tournament
- Lost First Round to Sam Gradwell
RISE Title Tournament
- Lost First Round to Darius Lockhart
Championship Chase
- Lost First Round to LA Austin
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Go Shiozaki
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
- vs. Manabu Soya
- vs. Daiki Inaba
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
- vs. Yuma Anzai
Prediction: Huxley will likely be booked less strongly than his fellow tag team champion Timothy Thatcher in Block A.
My hot take with Huxley is that he beats Go Shiozaki on night one. It’s a big upset, it gives him credibility out the gate (just like with Jack Morris against Kaito Kiyomiya last year) and it furthers Go’s story of still being on the comeback trail.
Other than that, I’m most looking forward to him against Manabu Soya, as those two went to a double count out in Huxley’s first NOAH singles match. I have no idea who wins but I expect more wildman festivities. A win for Soya, or Inaba, would likely set up a future tag title challenge though.
Yuma Anzai
Within a year of his professional wrestling debut, All Japan’s Yuma Anzai will have already challenged for the Triple Crown and wrestled in both a Champion Carnival and an N-1 Victory. If you don’t think he’s the future and the sort of talent everyone wants to get their claws into, you’ve missed the boat and might need to tune into something else.
He is still a bit green but he’s definitely putting it all together and this tournament will be a great learning experience for him. It’ll be interesting too to see how the NOAH crowds react to him.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
Champion Carnival 2023
- 3-4
- 6th Place Block B
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
- vs. Go Shiozaki
- vs. Manabu Soya
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
- vs. Daiki Inaba
- vs. Saxon Huxley
Prediction: Having an Anzai in this spot, rather than a Kento Miyohara or a Suwama, opens up a lot more booking possibilities for NOAH. He’s literally still a rookie, so he can end with a 3-4 record, just like he did in the Champion Carnival, and it’s not a problem.
He’s definitely not winning the block of the tournament but I expect him to get off to a winning start and could see him beating Shiozaki or El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr, with a win over the latter potentially setting up a National title match before he goes back to All Japan.
El Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
When he debuted for NOAH in 2019, El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr didn’t really do a lot for me. Now, approaching his third N-1, he’s one of the most improved wrestlers in the entire world and somehow that I consider a must-watch. He’s coming up on nine months as GHC National champion and has cracked my notebook with all four title defences this year against Manabu Soya (****), Hideki Suzuki (****), Jack Morris (****½) and Amakusa (****¼).
He’s charismatic, he’s over and he’s wearing a special mask in this tournament to pay tribute to the masks his relatives have used in tournaments.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
N-1 Victory 2022
- 3-4
- 5th Place Block A
N-1 Victory 2019
- 1-3
- 5th Place Block B
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Daiki Inaba
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
- vs. Go Shiozaki
- vs. Yuma Anzai
- vs. Saxon Huxley
- vs. Manabu Soya
Prediction: El Hijo del Dr. Wagner Jr was booked stronger in last year’s N-1 than his debut three years before and I expect another uptick here. Truthfully, he’s the only man outside of Shiozaki and Nakajima that has a chance to win this block.
I can, for example, see a reality where he beats Manabu Soya on the final night and a draw between the AXIZ partners puts him through to lose in the final to Kenoh. Alternatively, though, I can see him losing to Soya, finishing second or third and having a couple of fun defenses lined up for the final part of the year.
Either way, El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr will be treated like a big deal in this year’s tournament and rightly so.
Lance Anoa’i
Lance Anoa’i, the son of Samu and cousin of Roman Reigns, is the third debutant in this year’s B Block.
Anoa’i debuted in 2010 and has been wrestling for 13 years, albeit sporadically for long periods of that time. He’s had a few WWE tryouts that haven’t worked out but his most recent home has been MLW, where he held the tag team titles with Juicy Finau for six months before dropping them in early July.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
23th Annual Super 8 Tournament
- Winner defeating Brian Pillman Jr. in the final
10th Annual Sean ‘Shocker’ Evans Memorial Tournament
- Lost First Round to Stryder
Jersey J-Cup 2014
- Lost First Round to Joey Janela
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Yuma Anzai
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
- vs. Saxon Huxley
- vs. Go Shiozaki
- vs. Manabu Soya
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
- vs. Daiki Inaba
Prediction: Anoa’i was the person I had most question marks over when he was announced for this tournament and that was largely down to him not working a ton of singles matches throughout his career and most of those singles matches being pretty short.
Like Huxley, I think he’ll be a change of pace for everyone in this block even if he’s not going to be cracking the notebook very often. He’s looked reasonable in his MLW tag matches so far, getting over this Wild Samoan-type gimmick, but he might have a couple of duds.
In terms of booking I imagine he’ll be about 50/50, with his matches with Soya and/or Huxley possibly ending in wild brawl double countouts.
Daiki Inaba
A 10-year veteran, Daiki Inaba has been with NOAH since his former home, WRESTLE-1, shut down in 2020. He was a pushed commodity there but has generally been used as a lower-end of the card act in NOAH.
He did, however, win his first title in NOAH earlier this year when he won the tag straps alongside Masa Kitamiya. Their title win over Satoshi Kojima and Takashi Suguira is one of my favorite NOAH matches this year and I’m hoping that Inaba gets the chance to show more of what he can do in his second N-1 appearance.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
N-1 Victory 2021
- 1-2
- 3rd Place Block B
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2019
- Winner defeating Shotaro Ashino in the Final
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2017
- Lost First Round to Masayuki Kono
Fire Festival 2017
- 4-4-1
- 5th Place
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2016
- Lost Second Round to Manabu Soya
WRESTLE-1 Title Tournament
- Lost First Round to Minoru Tanaka
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
- vs. Manabu Soya
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
- vs. Saxon Huxley
- vs. Go Shiozaki
- vs. Yuma Anzai
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
Prediction: Inaba cut a promo on the go-home show for the N-1 saying that he’d surprise people with this year’s tournament but it’s hard to look beyond the reality of him finishing towards the bottom of the block with a losing record.
His future direction seems to be forming a tag team with Manabu Soya and I suspect they establish that on the second night of this tournament.
Manabu Soya
Manabu Soya has been around for 16 years but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed him more than I have this year.
His tag teamwork with Kenoh was superb and their AJPW Tag Title bout with Kento Miyohara and Yuma Aoyagi is among my favorite matches this year. He had a notebook bout with El Hijo del Dr Wagner Jr back in February and, at the time of writing, he’s the only person with a singles win over Sanada this year.
He’s coming into this tournament on a bit of a slide though, going 1-5 in tag matches since being left very upset by the ending of Kongo.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
Champion Carnival 2023
- 4-3
- 2nd Place Block B
N-1 Victory 2021
- 0-3
- 4th Place Block A
N-1 Victory 2020
- 2-3
- 4th Place Block A
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2019
- Lost First Round to Koji Doi
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2017
- Lost Semi-Final to Jiro Kuroshio
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2016
- Winner defeating Yuji Hino in the final
WRESTLE-1 Grand Prix 2015
- Winner defeating Shuji Kondo in the final
WRESTLE-1 Title Tournament
- Lost First Round to KAI
Ikkitousen Strong Climb 2014
- 3-2
- 2nd Place Block B
- Lost Semi-Final to Shuji Ishikawa
GAORA TV Title Tournament
- Lost First Round to Kazushi Miyamoto
Champion Carnival 2012
- 4-3
- 3rd Place Block B
Taiwan Cup
- Lost Semi-Final to Suwama
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Katsuhiko Nakajima
- vs. Daiki Inaba
- vs. Yuma Anzai
- vs. Saxon Huxley
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
- vs. Go Shiozaki
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
Prediction: Manabu Soya’s N-1 campaign this year screams of one driven by storytelling rather than any particular directive towards winning the block.
He’s facing former Kongo stablemate Nakajima on night one, which has a lot of juice to it, and as I outlined in his intro he’s on this relative skid coming off Kongo’s disbanding. I can see him losing to Inaba as well on night two, with those then uniting officially as a team.
He’ll probably lose to Yuma Anzai, giving the super rookie his win back from the Champion Carnival, but from there the confidence boost of a new tag team should power Soya to a strong finish, potentially spoiling El Hijo del Dr Wagner on the last night.
Katsuhiko Nakajima
A former two-time N-1 winner, Katsuhiko Nakajima had cut the figure of a man bereft of confidence for much of the last year. A variety of backstage issues in NOAH and that slap incident with Tetsuya Endo had left Nakajima seemingly working within himself.
If his matches with Shingo Takagi and Jake Lee earlier in the year underwhelmed a bit, recent weeks have shown the Nakajima of old. He was fantastic in a 45-minute time-limit draw with Kenoh, throwing a full-force slap for the first time since the Endo incident. He subsequently stiffed Hajime Ohara in a tag match and delivered a bonafide MOTYC against Kento Miyohara.
A hot and reinvigorated Nakajima makes his tournament a very fun one to follow.
Past Singles Tournament Record:
N-1 Victory 2022
- 5-2
- 2nd Place Block B
N-1 Victory 2021
- 2-1
- 1st Place Block C
- Winner defeating Kenoh in the final
N-1 Victory 2020
- 4-1
- 1st Place Block Block B
- Winner defeating Kaito Kiyomiya in the final
N-1 Victory 2019
- 1-2-1
- 4th Place Block B
Global League 2018
- 4-3
- 1st Place Block A
- Lost final to Kaito Kiyomiya
Global League 2017
- 4-2-1
- 3rd Place Block B
Global League 2016
- 5-2
- 3rd Place Block A
G1 Climax 2016
- 5-4
- 3rd Place Block B
Global League 2015
- 4-3
- 3rd Place Block B
Global League 2014
- 4-3
- 2nd Place Block A
Global League 2013
- 3-3
- 2nd Place Block A
Global League 2012
- 2-4
- 6th Place Block B
NOAH Junior Heavyweight League 2009
- Lost Semi-Final to Yoshinobu Kanemaru
AJPW Junior Heavyweight League 2007
- 2-2
- 2nd Place Block A
AJPW Junior Heavyweight League 2006
- 2-0-1
- 1st Place Block B
- Lost final to Kaz Hayashi
Champion Carnival 2006
- 1-4
- 5th Place Block B
Young Lion Toukon Tournament
- Lost Final to Ryusuke Taguchi
Tenno-Zan 2004
- Lost First Round to Big Boss MA-G-MA
Best of the Super Junior XI
- 1-6
- 7th Place Block B
2023 N-1 Victory Schedule
- vs. Manabu Soya
- vs. Saxon Huxley
- vs. Hijo de Dr. Wagner Jr.
- vs. Daiki Inaba
- vs. Yuma Anzai
- vs. Lance Anoa’i
- vs. Go Shiozaki
Prediction: As outlined in my preview of Shiozaki’s tournament, the winner of B Block is realistically going to be one half of AXIZ.
Nakajima is a decided second favourite of the two though and that’s for a few reasons. Firstly, he’s already faced Jake Lee and I think it’d be weird to run it back for a few reasons.
One of them is that the post-match of his epic with Miyohara hammered home that those two are definitely running it back. With All Japan running their Royal Road tournament at the same time, it wouldn’t shock me to see Miyohara win that, dethrone Yuma Aoyagi and then get his win back with a defense against Nakajima on New Year’s Eve.
The other factor is the simple story between Nakajima and Shiozaki. Partners and rivals, I think it ties a neat bow on Go’s comeback if Nakajima, the man who helped him find his best, is the one he beats to win the block and then see off the snarling, brooding Kenoh in the final in Osaka.
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