After a long and hard-fought tournament, there are four men remaining in Pro Wrestling NOAH’s N-1 Victory Tournament. As the A Block winner, Kaito Kiyomiya faces the B Block winner, Kenoh. With C Block winner, Katsuhiko Nakajima, taking on the undefeated D Block winner, Masakatsu Funaki. The semi-finals and finals will take place on the same night. So now that the smoke has cleared, let’s take a look at the two semi-final matches. Then we will take our shot at guessing the winner of the 2021 N-1 Victory Tournament.
Masakatsu Funaki vs Katsuhiko Nakajima
In the first semi-finals match, Masakatsu Funaki looks to stop Katsuhiko Nakajima from repeating this year. While Nakajima – as last year’s winner – seems to be the safe bet, the odds are stacked against Nakajima taking a look at block action. Nakajima did win two out of his three matches, but Masakatsu Funaki swept his entire block; defeating every single man in the block, and barely breaking a sweat doing so. However, one must never count out Katsuhiko Nakajima and his ability to overcome the odds.
Kenoh vs Kaito Kiyomiya
The history of Kaito Kiyomiya and Kenoh goes back to Kiyomiya’s time as GHC Heavyweight Champion. You may remember that the two entered Global Tag League together, and upon failing to achieve their goal, they split. Kenoh went on to win the 2019 N-1 Victory and challenge Kiyomiya for the GHC Heavyweight Championship and Kiyomiya retained. Then when Kenoh was GHC National Champion last year, Kiyomiya made a challenge and he failed to beat Kenoh. Now they meet yet again.
However, things are different. Kaito, coming off something of a down year, came into N-1 and beat everyone in his block before drawing with Keiji Muto. Meanwhile, Kenoh won two of his three and won B Block. Both men have something to prove, and will give their all to win N-1 and get back to the GHC Heavyweight Championship picture. Who comes out on top in the next chapter of this story? Tune in to find out.
Predicting The Winner
This is a really good final four, in the sense that there is no bad option. Also, when adding in the fact that it’s genuinely unpredictable, it only adds to how good a final hour it is. However, with his quiet undefeated streak as evidence, Masakatsu Funaki might sneak away with the tournament. Plus, Nakajima, Kenoh, and Kiyomiya have many GHC Heavyweight Championship matches in their future. The window might close on Funaki sooner rather than later. It would set up another all M’s Alliance GHC Heavyweight Championship match.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch Pro Wrestling NOAH as well as DDT, TJPW, and more on Wrestle Universe.
Looking to talk wrestling, pro football, or any number of sports? Head on over to the LWOS Boards to engage in conversation with fellow fans!
