#AndNEW: HAYATA Wins GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship at MUTA the WORLD

Pro Wrestling NOAH (NOAH)’s junior heavyweight history for the past two years has been filled with chaotic changes within the company. Factions form before suddenly falling apart. One of the factions was the group was known as RATELS. One of the most significant members to come out of this faction was HAYATA. He was the tag team wrestler of YO-HEY. Since then, HAYATA became the second breakout star of the faction, behind Daisuke Harada.

HAYATA would eventually betray RATELS and join the STINGER faction. STINGER dominated the junior heavyweight scene of Pro Wrestling NOAH, with 2019 and 2020 being overwhelmingly dominated by the faction. This included multiple GHC Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship reigns. In the singles scene, HAYATA saw two GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship reigns. All the while, he remained a prominent member of the scene.

HAYATAがGHCジュニアの頂に再び！！ @ABEMA で視聴中 https://t.co/qu2RGY8Vvc #ムタ・ザ・ワールド #noah_ghc pic.twitter.com/jChYJYGA0G

— プロレスリング・ノア ｜PROWRESTLING NOAH (@noah_ghc) June 27, 2021

How HAYATA Won the GHC Junior Heavyweight Title

With Pro Wrestling NOAH’s junior scene evolving, the company held a junior heavyweight battle royal, which took take place at CAGE WAR. This battle royal would eventually end with a major upset with HAYATA winning the match, eliminating former partner YO-HEY. The next day, at MUTA the WORLD, HAYATA challenged for the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship against Atsushi Kotoge.

In this 20-plus minute match, HAYATA would pull off another major upset, dethroning Kotoge to become the brand-new GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion. This marked the 3rd time in his career that he has captured the championship; he previously won it in the first NOAH show of 2020. HAYATA’s upcoming challenger is unknown at the moment. What could be said, however, is that NOAH’s junior heavyweight scene got more interesting.